Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-11-22
Napoleon of Tire Industry
Gives a Lesson in Courage

ating in the United States. In a decade
it rose to eighth place.
Seiberling is recognized generally as
an executive but he also is one of the
great inventive minds of the tire indus
try. He developed the tire building ma
chine, the present type of cord tire,
the big pneumatic truck tire, the straight
side tire, the detachable rim, the internal
hot-water and vapor-curing methods,
construction.
AS an EXAMPLE of his resourcefulness,
story is told OF how, soon after the
Goodyear company was founded, it's
bicycle tire department had to be closed.
A patent infringement was alleged. Sci
berling discovered that by placing tissue
paper between the fabric there could be
no charge of infringement. Operations
were resumed on a larger scale than
ever.
Seiberling doesn't coddle himself in his
office. It's furnishings are extremely
simple. There is an old-fashioned desk.
a couple of chairs and two tables; on one
table is the first tire the Seiberling COM
pany produced; on the other few arti-
cles Of experimental work.
1t Is all crowded into a space hardly
more than by IL feet. Here Seiberling
talks quietly in short, clipped phrases
He tells you with no waste of words that
he regards development of the revolu-
tionary straight tire as one of his
most important achievements; that he
looks upon synthetic rubber as a stop
gap that cannot completely replace
natural crude, especially because he
doubts whether the cost of producing
synthetic ever can be brought down to
the level of crude.
Selberling was born in small settle
ment called Western Star, only a few
miles from the present site of his rubber
company, on October 6, 1859. His father
was an inventor of agricultural imple-
ments and machinery, including a
mower, a reaper and Irvine binder.
After elementary school education in
Akron, Seiberling went to Heidelberg
College at Tif1n, then turned, with a
brother, to operating the Akron Electric
Street Railway System for time after
it had come into his fathers control.
But he soon went back to the farm i'm
plement business as secretary and treas
urer Of his fathers company.
Industrial Napoleon.
In 1898 competition in the agricultural
machinery business had become intense.
creditors had been satisfied, IF. A." was
broke. But he foresaw future for the
still Graded rubber industry, and, with
borrowed capital, he began the career
that has made him one of the out
standing figures in American industrial
history.
Seiberling continued as president Of
his company until he was rs; then he
turned the presidency over to his son,
J. Penfield Soldering. For all practical
purposes, however, 1t still is MIR. r. AS
company" The doorway to his ONCE
always is open to any employe, and he
knows many Of them by their given
names.
About the only alteration Seiberling
has made In his normal routine of daily
climbing the long flight of stairs to his
second-floor office is to slightly shorten
his work day. He averages five or six
hours now instead of the 10 or IL that
was his custom only few years ago.
On the wall Of the first floor reception
room in the administration building is
one OF Seiberling's most cherished
possessions, bronze plaque presented to
him by employees of the Goodyear COM
pany on the night Of May 81, 1921, when
he ended his connection with the COM
pany he had founded % years earlier.
It lauds Seiberling as "the builder Of
. mighty industrial empire" and as IAN
inspiration to right living. to love Of
home, Of education and family and every
right American ideal"