Pike County press. (Milford, Pa.) 1895-1925, 1901-05-04
CAsT-oFF RuBBER.
Huyers Of the Material Now Pay Gool
Prices for Old shoes,
Hoae. Etc.

There is a good market for any OIL
kind of rubber thing. Whether It
footwear, garden hose or car spring
it can be sold to junk dealers no mat
ter what its condition. The hee.
and soles of boots and shoes ma.
bring as much as 12 cents a pount
because the rubber Is unmixed witt
fiber. The tops, which are lined witt
some sort Of cloth, may bring no mor'
than six cents If detached from tn,
soles, but the boot taken as a who's
commands nine or ten cents a pound
Garden hose brings from two to 81,
cents, according to its quality and thu
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 2Ds cents
pound. Old rubber betting command
about the same price, but packing j
worth barely one-half cent a pound
The difference in the prices is largel.
due to the fact that some of the rub
Der goods are made of old stock o
are LOADED" with other substances o
are lined with sheeting or othe
cloths. says the Chicago Chronicle
Chicago has number Of buyers o
old rubber, and they gather in hun
dreds Of tons every year. Their larges
supply comes from the railroad com
panies, and it is no unusual thing 70
a railroad to sell two car loads of rub
ber in a lot. II consists mostly o
car springs and air brake pipes. Thi
old junk is sent TO rubber reclaimin,
works, which grind it up and subiec
it to rubber treatment with steam L
burn out the fibrous stuff mixed wit
it. The old rubber is then mixed b.
manufacturers with new stock TO pro
duce cheap articles. The best Par
rubber is worth s1.O3 a pound, an,
has been as high as S1.15. Reclaime,
rubber can be produced for 20 to 4
cents.
Garden hose costs 4 to is cents
foot, according to quality. Conse
quently when one buys 40 feet of hos
and a reel for S2.4o the chances ar
ninety-nine to one that the rubber !
largely adulterated with old stock
The man who congratulates himsel
on having got a good bargain ma.
chuckle in his sleeve, but he can't foe
the rubber. Having yielded up 1t
"life" once in the service of man,
is hereafter more or less dead" Tn
mixture Of new rubber may deceiv
the inexpert, but a rubber doctor ca
tell by a little manipulation of hi
fingers whether the corpse has bee
galvanized or not. If it shows sign
of cracking when doubled up sharpl
he knows IL is not first-class stock.
Pure rubber should float on waite
and should stretch five times its nat
ural length Commercially pure mar
ufactured rubber has five per cent
of sulphur in its composition. II a
lowed to lie in the sun for few week
the sulphur is dried out Of 1t and
becomes brittle. Betting that In tn
east might last for ten years lose
| its life in the dry climate of Colorad
| in one-fifth of that time. The thi
sheets of rubber used by dentists 70
dams are made OF pure stock. Shoe
were once wholly of fresh rubber, bu
| that is not now the rule. Almost a
rubber goods subject to rough use ar
more or less adulterated with old O
reclaimed stock Manufacturers pre-
fer to use fresh stock, but inexper
enced buyers demand cheap goods, an
the maker meets their prices by vary
ing the amount of old stock he mike
with the raw material Rubber mar
ufacturers say there is no economy i
buying cheap goods, because the rul
Der is brittle and will soon give ou
Bargain hunters may fiatter then
selves they are getting a good thing,