The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1917-10-31
ONLY KAISER CAN AFFORD
REAL TIRES in GERMANY
Even Crown Prince Has to Bump
Along to Front in Car With Rope
bound Wheels--Rubber Tires Soar
Around $500 Apiece-Gasolin Sc
Gallon.

| Gallon.
The only automobile in Germany
running on pneumatic tires is Kaiser
Wilhelm's. Even the crown prince
is denied this luxury Along with
Won I1indenburg, Ludendorff, Won
Mackensen and the other diadems in
! the German crown, the crown prince
bumps along to the front on tires fill
, ed with rags, compressed cork and
paper. These observations form but
small part of the anthology of facts
gathered by Victor Van der Linde,
special technical representative of
The B. f. Goodrich Rubber company,
of, Akron, who just returned from
Europe after long study of tire condi-
tions abroad. In some countries tires
are not to be had at all, except at
fabulous price and only after dozen
or two high government officials have
had one on the witness stand for
weeks, literally speaking; gasoline is
worth more than champagne and is
obtainable only with government con-
sent, AID nine-tenths Of the automo.
| biles are not running.
German scientists have tried to
improvise for the scarcity of rubber
| by compromising what they call syn
thatic rubber" said Mr.. Van der
LinLc, "but in this they have been
unsuccessful. There is not an ounce
! of crude rubber in it at all and there
fore it is devoid of fiber. Then again
it has cost about fifteen times more
pound than the vegetable.
| "The situation of both Germany
and Austria as concerns tires, is truly
deplorable. Countries bounding the
central empires, with the exception
OF those that ar eatwa with them
are in just as bad plight. -.
! "Really the only car running with
inner tubes in Germany today is that
of the kaiser's Most castings are
stuffed with compressed champagne
corks, paper, rags and sausages made
of ground cork.
"Some have even been filled with
sand and dirt. This only refers to
those cars that have ragged castings
left. Most automobiles have ground
away their shoes and move about on
rims bound with rope. I was for
tunate to find taxicab in Berlin-a
taxi cab is rare there now.-and ex
pcricnced the sensation of riding in
a machine having nothing but rope
bound wheels. 1t was Just like rid
ing on a wagon. Everytime the car
struck a cavity in the road, you were
Jolted clear through.
"Thcre isn't bicycle tire left in
Germany outside of those on mill
tary bicycles. Raids by the whole
sale were conducted on shops and
residence and all bicycle tires seized.
These have been reduced to permit
their remaking as automobile tires.
In fact, everything in rubar has been
reclaimed for tire construction and
submarine battery cells.
The cargo of the Deutschland on
Its last trip was almost exclusively
rubber but so pressing was the de-
mand for the use of the rubber in
dlrigibles that none of it, with the
possible exception Of tires for the
royal family, was allowed to go into
tires.
Germany had little crude rubber
in stock at the outbreak of the war,
'Slncc then she has been depending on
what she could smugglc through the
mails and what she could buy from
Sweden. Single sheets of rubber
were sent in letters from the United
States until Great Britain opened
these and confscatcd the contents.
After this channel had been closed
she pun chased large numbers of auto
mobiles in this country and had them
shipped to Sweden. There she strip
ped the automobiles Of the tires and
abandoned brand new machines to the
Swcdes. Bat now Great Britain per-
nit no cars shipped to Sweden with
tire equipment"
Mr.. Van der Lindc gave the pro
vailing prices of tires in the follow
ing countries:
Germany--non2 to be had.
AuStria-nonc to be had
! Swcdcn-$550 for tire if you have
a permit from Royal Automobile
club
, Norway-$IG0 with permit.
Dcnmark-$32O for tire if YOU
can find one and give written assur-