Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1917-10-17
CORK sAUsAGEs USED
INSTEAD OF PNEUMATIC TUBES

WAAuo4u =. GVou LAo NIOWn 1IAuCo 40
denied this luxury. Along with Won
Hindenburg, Ludendor2, Won Macken-
sen and the other dadems in the Ger
man crown, the crown prince bumps
along to the front on tires filed with
rags, compressed cork and paper.
These observations form but a small
part of the anthology Of facts gath
cred by Victor Van der Linde, special
technical representative Of The B. F.
Goodrich Rubber Company of Akron,
who just returned from Europe after
dong study Of tire conditions abroad. !
In some countries tires are not to be
had at all, except at a 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 consent, and nine
tenths of the automobiles are not run
ming.
German scientists have tried to i'm
provise for the scarcity Of rubber by
! compromising what they call synthetic
rubber" said Mr.. Van der Linde, but
in this they have been unsuccessful.
There Is not an ounce Of crude rub
Der in it at all and therefore it is
devoid Of fiber. Then again it has
cost about fifteen times more a 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 are at war with them
are in just as bad plight.
"heally the only car running with
inner tuDes Ill Germany today il that
OF the kalsers. Most castings are
stuffed With compressed champagne
corks, 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
lett. Most automobiles have ground
away their shoes and move about on
rims bound with rope. / was FORUM
ate to find taxicab in Berlin-a taxi
car is rare there now-and experience
ed the sensation OF riding in ma.
chine having nothing but rope bound
wheels. 1t was just like riding on q
wagon. Every time the car struck q
cavity In the road, you were jolted
clear through.
There isn't a bicycle tire left in
Germany outside Of those on military
t bicycles. Raids by the wholesale
r were conducted on shops and resi-
s dences and all bicycle tires siezed
|. These have been reduced to permit
t their remaking as automobile tires
q In fact, everything in rubber has been
g reclaimed for tire construction and
k submarine battery cells.
n 'The cargo of the Deutschland or
q it's last trip was almost exclusively
d rubber, but 80 pressing was the de
n mand for the use of the rubber IL
l. dirigibles that none of it, with thu
e possible exception of enough for thu
n building of tires for the royal family
was allowed to go into tires.
# Germany had little crude rubber il
3. stock at the outbreak Of the war
IS Since then she has been depending OF
n what she could smuggle. through tn,
IS mails and what she could buy from
70 Sweden. Single sheets Of rubber wer,
It sent in letters from the United State
d until Great Britain opened these ant
Il confscated the contents. After thi
IF channel had been closed she purchas
8. ed large numbers Of automobiles il
x this country and had them shipped t
e. Sweden. There she stripped the auto
J.. mobiles of the tires and abandone
y, But now Great Britain permits no car
ia shipped to Sweden with tire equiv
IN ment.'
re- Mr. Van der Linde gave the prevail
70 ing price Of tires in the followin
countries:
I'd Germany-None to be had.
,e Austria-None to be had.
n Sweden-$550 for a tire II you hav
it. permit from Royal Automobile Clul
" Norway-$460 with permit.
1e Denmark-$320 for tire if you ca
Ia find one and give written assurance
s government that it will not go to Ge
ri many.
of Holland--$35O for tire with go,
eminent guarantee.
ut Russia-$100 for one tire
70, Great Britain-$90 for one tire.
Francisco for one tire. E.
ltaly-$100 for one tire.
2 Spain-$125 for one tire
I'm Sweden" continued Mr.. Va
=" der Linde, there are 10000 autom
- ~ biles. There are 1000 in operatio
~ and on tires from which has disa)
I,1 peared all semblance Of the origin;
%. - casing. Tires hold twenty and thirt
40 patches. Sweden has been placed |
this predicament because of the nun
Der of tires that have gone to &c
"a many from it's ports. England hs
denied it rubber supplies Tires al
scarcer there now than diamonds"
Gasoline, Mr.. Van der Linde sal
is as big problem as tires. In L
country can YOU get it without 60
eminent permit, and in Germany tt
prices are practically prohibitive,
pleasure trip Of two hundred mile
would cost the average German $2(
in gasoline alone.