San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-08-11
Firestone Postpones Cut
Schedule for This
Week.
IMPORT LESS RUBBER
Restrictions on British
owned Plantations Hav-
3 ing Effect.
Ry i. C. ROYIE.

New York, Aug. 1l.-MotoristS
who have been waiting for chance
to buy new tires at low price still
have n wait in front of them. The
cut in the price of automobile tires
which the Firestone Tire and Rubber
company was scheduled to put into
effect the end of this week has been
postponed. Whether it has been
abandoned is not generally known.
Firestone dealers. according to the
trade were notified secretly OF the
proposed cut about week ago. Ad-
vertising announcements were pre-
pared, but these have been withdrawn
in some instances after they were in
type.
4 There has been considerable con-
lecture among tire and rubber men
as TO the cause of this action. 1t
is known. however. that several other
manufacturers although they vigor-
ously opposed a price reduction at
this time, learned of the move and
were prepared to follow the Firestone
lead as they did some months ago
when the first reduction went into
effect. Then, too rubber prices have
stiffened materially both in London
and in the local market. advancing
above the 80 cents pound level for
last quarter deliveries.
Restriction Blamed.
This advance, according TO Fred
b. Peterson. prominent local dealer
who has just returned from study
of the London market. is due TO the
fact that output restrictions on the
British owned plantations in Malaga
imposed under the Stephenson plan,
have at last begun 10 restrict.
The surplus rushed to the so-called
free ports before the restrictions went
into effect has now been absorbed TO
a large degree, Mr.. Peterson said.
In addition the British colonial gov
eminent has reduced the amount
which may be shipped in the next
three months an additional five per
cent as is provided for in the plan
whenever the average for the previous
quarter has failed to reach IL pence
or little under 30 cents a pound
in American money.
British plantation owners in Dutch
East Indian territory are voluntarily
obeying the restrictions, he added.
Then also the moe effective methods
of preventing the smuggling out of
rubber TO the free ports have been
inaugurated and although some Snug
Cling still exists. it is confined al
most entirely TO small amounts of
unsmoked sheets collected by Chinese
and japanese traders, which have 10
be reprocessed.
Imports Show Loss.
Only about 100000 tons OF rub
Der were imported in July and it is
expected that this will drop to H.
100000 tons this month. The latter
amount is about the normal amount
consumed but there still remains large
stocks both here and in London.
Some of the rubber thrown on the
market earlier this year is under
stood TO have come from japanese
spectators who bought heavily before
restriction and were forced to tnload
their holdings by changes in the silk
and cotton markets in which also
they were heavily involved.
The percentage of the rubber
brought into this country which is
now in the form of tires is not defin-
itely known, but manufacturers stock
are believed by the trade to be ex-
tremely heavy in spite of the fact
that tire output has been cut nearly
40 per cent from the. peak produc-
ton Of the year. Dealers stochs are
known to be heavy and some retailers
have sufficient castings on hanl TO
run them Through the fall season.
Tourist Traffic Heavy.
The demand from the public. how
ever, has been active. Throughout
| all sections the automobile tourist
traffic has been extremely heavy.
Travel to the national parks of
Colorado. Montana. California and
the Yellowstone is estimated both by
railroad and automobile experts as 80
per cent above that for August,
1922 and the peak of travel has not
yet been reached. Seattle attributes
the fact that retail business there
has shown no summer slump and is
fully up 10 the five-year annual
| average TO the increased automobile
and railroad traffic on the west coast.
Hotels in all the north Pacific cities
including Vancouver and Victoria are
taxed TO the limit to provide accom-
modations for visitors.
Through rail traffic by way of
Denver to the Pacific Coast is much
heavier with trains running in two
and three sections to accommodate de-
mand.
"All the railroads operating
through Denver will have an excel
lent year." Frank A. Wadleigh. gem
eral passenger agent of the Denver
and Rio Grande Western railroad, de-
clared.