Pike County press. (Milford, Pa.) 1895-1925, 1901-03-08
cAsT-oFF RUBBER.
Bnyers OF the Material Now Pay Gool
Prices for Ola shoes.
Hose, Etc.

There is a good market for any ole
kind Of rubber thing Whether it g.
footwear, garden hose or ear spring
IL can be sold to junk dealers, no mat
ter what its condition. The hee.
snd soles of boots and shoes may
bring as much as i2 cents pount
because the rubber is unmiNed viii
fiber. The tops, which are lined Will
some sort of cloth, may bring no'mou
than six cents If detached from th,
soles, but the boot taken as whoh
commands nine or ten cents a pound
Garden hose brings from two TO ST,
cents, according to its quality aud the
amount of fiber mixed with It, Ca
springs are worth four or five cents &
pound Air~brake. acid, steam. waite
and brewers pipe sells at $40 to S5
the ton, which is two and 21b cents q
pound. Old rubber betting command,
about the same price, but packing 81
worth barely one-half cent pound
The difference in the prices Is largely
due TO the fact that some of the rub
Der goods are made Of old stock on
are loaded" with other substances on
are lined with sheeting or other
cloths. says the Chicago Chronicle
Chicago has number Of buyers O
Old rubber and they gather i'm hun
dreds Of tons every year. Their largest
supply comes from the rairond com
panies, and 1t is no unusual thing for
railroad to sell two car loads of rub
Der in a lot. It consists mostly r.
car springs and air brake pipes Thi
old junk is sent to rubber reclaimir.
works, which grind it up and subicc'
il TO rubber treatment with steam {.
burn out the fbrous stuff mixed Will
'it. The Old rubber is then mixed b.
manufacturers with new stock TO Pre-
duce cheap articles. The best Par
rubber is worth stO3 a pound. arf
has been as high as S115. Reclaim
rubber can be produced for 90 TO q
cents.
Garden hose costs 4 to is cents q
foot, according to quality Consc.
quently when one buys 40 feet Of hose
and reel for S249 the chances are
ninety-nine to one that the rubber e
largely adulterated with old stock
The man who congratulates himself
on having cot a good bargain may
chuche in his sleeve, but he can't foo,
the rubber. Having yielded up its
"life" once in the service of man, IL
is hereafter more or less dead" The
mixture of new rubber may deceive
the inexpert, but a rubber doctor can
tell by n little manipulation of his
fingers whether the corpse has been
galvanized or not If it shows signs
of cracking when doubled up sharply
he knows il is not first-class stock
Pure rubber should float on water
and should stretch five times its nat.
ural length Commercially pure man.
ufactured rubber has five per cent
of sulphur in its composition. If al.
lowed to lie in the sun for a few weeks
the sulphur is dried out OF it and il
becomes brittle. Betting that in the
east might last for ten years loses
its life in the dry climate of Colorado
i'm one-fifth of that time. The thin
sheets of rubber used. by dentists for
dams are made of pure stock. Shoes
were once wholly of fresh rubber, but
that is not now the rule. Almost al
rubber goods subject to rough use are
more or less adulterated with old OF
reclaimed stock. Manufacturers pre-
fer to use fresh stock, but ineXperi-
enced buyers demand cheap goods, and
the maker meets their prices by vary
ing the amount of old stock he mixes
with the raw material. Rubber man
ufacturers say there is no economy in
buying cheap goods. because the rub
ber is brittle and will soon give out
Bargain hunters may aatter them
selves they are getting a good thing,
but they cannot fool caoutchouc.