The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-01-29
THE RUBBER QUESTION.
Cause of the Deterioration in Quality of Over.
Shoes-Some Interesting Facts.

Cause of the Deterioration in Quality of Over
shoes-Some Interesting Facts.
Correspondence st. Louis Globe Democrat
There about 80, COO 900 pounds of rub
Der imported yearly to the United States.
About one-half of this comes from the
valley of the Amazon, the finest being
from Para Brazil Many other tropical coun-
tries produce rubber but not such quality of il
as the Para stock. Next in quality comes the
African rubber, which ranks among the poorest
Sorts and is used for betting and articles where
united with duck by hydraulic pressure, the
ru bier receives no strain. The best quality of
rubber-the Para-is the sort of which over
shoes are made--or ought to be- But there are
about 10000 900 pairs per year to be made out
of the limited stock of Para material, and 1t
takes at least one-half pound of rubber itself
for pair of mems overShoes, and as 20 OOO 900
will not 60 into 80, coo 600, there are few over
shoes made of complete rubber of the best quail
ity The price of rubber is about Zoe per pound;
this means rubber of the Para quality
The material in clear rubber of the best
grade for pair of ordinary overshoes can not
cost more than SOC at most The futher ex-
penSes necessary to the production OF the shoe
are for the cloth ininc-two small per pair to
need noting almost; and all the remainder is for
this manufacturing process. The average price
per pair is soc over the Uni ted States. but the
prices of the different shoes range from 81 10 to
19c pair. Especially in New York this variety
has existed at the same season, and the 81 70
sort very little better If at ALL than the l9c
grade The deterioration in the quality of rub
Der garments and overshoes everywhere has
been for several years matter of general pub
lie note.
The competition of dealers is the cause, the
crude rubber itself being good now as 1t ever
was, and the general competition and variety or
prices. 1t is impossible to know where genuine
rubbers TO be had and nobody can tell what
proportion, if any, of the good grade rubber is
contained in newly finished pair of overshoes;
the expert or the dealers themselves can not tell
by an inspection of the article when it is new.
The difference between two pair of rubbers that
have seen Service-one made of rubber at first
hand. and the other made of rubber composition,
is very distinct.
1t happens this time. however that over
shoes made for sale are wholly of the crude i'm
ported rubber at first hand and of the first
quality. The second grade of Para rubber is a
very inferior one, and where the overshoes are
at their best at the present day, they are still,
to a great extent, made of the second and in
ferior grades. Manufacturers pretend at times
to make article for sale of the first quality,
but competent non manufacturing authority
dealing in rubber say that probably not pair
of rubbers in the market is made thrOughou of
genuine first-class rubber. and that at the pres
emit prices of overshoes, such quality can not be
manufactured. Some rubber firms doing a
large business use only one of rubber per
month. A Jewish rubber company of Jersey
City beats this by supplying the public with i'm
mense stocks of overshoes without receiving
any of the native rubber at all. The resources
OF their trade are gathering up of refuse rub
Der, on the principle by which some cigarettes
are made; and the cast-off and worn out rubber
shoes of one seasons wear. turn out new. shin
ing and advertised OF superlative quality in a
following season. No other material to adulter-
ate rubber with has ever been found except
rubber itself. But the old and broken stuff and
the crumbling and inferior new material
sufficiently poor to be very marked in their
difference from the first-class Para stock.
The secrets of the rubber trade and the pro-
portion of rubber which enters into every manu-
facturerS products, are not known to aCy
outside the trade. or, perhaps, inside of the
establishments.