DEVULCANIZATION OF RUBBER

NZ Truth, Issue 771, 14 August 1920, Page 5

DEVULCANIZATION OF RUBBER

MR. SKELLERUP SIICKSJO HIS CONDITIONS £1000 Ckeqie Lodged with "Truth" . PROMPTITUDE DESIRED

Sir,— Mr. Stoddart has now climbed flown very badly with his challenge. It was wide enough for anyone at first, but now, boiled down as per his letter m "Truth" of 7th, all he undertakes to do is— ipfoviding he is given sufficient secrecy and enough confidence is placed m him — that he will some time and some day produce something he calls "practical* commercial devulcanlzed rubber" at the factory at Miramar. What does Mr. Stoddart mean? He has stated m his prospectuses that hitherto rubber has only been reclaimed and when reclaimed is „ only fit for rubber heels, matar etc. Now he speaks of commercial de-vul-canized rubber as if it is an every-day product. Let us get RIGHT DOWN TO TIN TACKS and state the case simply. Unvulcanlzed rubber is soluble and when mixed with any of the customary rubber solvents, as benezol, mineral naphtha, benzoline, etc., makes what is known to the public as rubber solution, put lip m collapsible tubes for cyclistn and m small tins for the motorist. Vulcanized x-übber will absorb considerable quantities of these solvents, but will not break down into an adhesive solution or cement. Everyone is acquainted with these two facts. What 'l . have asked Mi. Stoddart to do is to convert three lots of vulcanized rubber into de-vulcan-ized rubber that will conform to the same • conditions as ordinary unvulcanized rubber and make an adhesive solution. If Mr. Stoddart can carry out this test he has a very valuable patent and should lose no time m having it patented; as the process is much too valuable to entrust to anyone to operate secretly without the protection of duly registered letters patent. If Mr. , Stoddart cannot . carry out the test asked for, my opinion is that the sooner he winds up his company, returns their money to the shareholders, and gets on with some busiress he understands, the better it will be for himself and all interested. I do not think that the Stoclcs process will do what is claimed for it, for jf it would, Messrs. Stoddart and Baxter would have a much better range ot samples i prepared than they have on exhibition m this city, and instead of hawking their patent about this ena ot the world Messrs. Stoclcs, Stoddart and Baxter would have found their way either Home or to the States, where many of the large rubber reclaiming ' works would gladly pay A SUBSTANTIAL ROYALTY for the right to operate! a process that will do even half of what these gentlemen claim lor theirs. ■ i Mr. Stoddart states m his letter that I have made wild statements without any elementary knowledge of what his proposition is, and that I have made misleading statements with the intention to do th e promoters of these companies an injury. Well, reBMrding the lack of elementary knowledge: that so Httje is known of this proposition is entirely the fault of the promoters. They have gone around New Zealand witli some samples of old rubber ground up into powder, about as much like unvulcanized rubber as a lot of brick-dust. In conjunction with this, they also exhibit some of this powdered , rubber mixed up vith new rubber and they call it devulcanized -dough. : These materials Bhow nothing that has not been known to the rubber trade for the past forty years, but are shown to the pubiic to induce thorn to take shares m what they are told is quite a new invention. What grievance have the promoters if those who are conversant with the processes of rubber manufacture publicly show up the weakness'of the patent? If Mr. Stoddart l'eela aggrieved, will he supply the following infovrna-tion,-about the 'qualities of his alleged tie- vulcanized rubber: l r irst-^-What is the specific gravity of his de-vulcanized* rubber? Second — What 13 its tensile strength? . . ' Third— What is its elongation limit? , Fourth — What is its permanent 1 set? These questions will not disclose any of his secret processes or parents and will add somewhat to the knowledge I now have of his patent, and its recultant product. I asked for some information about the foreign patents which it is intended that the World Rights Options will operate and for which the vendors are asking £25,000 for one-fourth interest. Mr. Stoddart HAS OMITTED TO SUPPLY 5 - this information; may I ask for it again? The American application for let-ters-patent was filed 'during the latter half of 1918, ' but has not yet been issued. If the American patent is not granted, will Messrs. Stoddart and Co, refund ther money to people who have pui'Chased shares m the World Bights Option? How can the New Zealand Rubber Products work theh process m New Zealand as a secret process, when the World Rights Option Company is to operate the same process m America under the U.S.A patent laws, m order to gain the pro- • tection of which it will be essential tc lay down all their specifications of the process for public inspection? In this connection I may say that I have spent several hours this week going through a resume of American rubber patents, for the .. last .two years, bul have not found any mention of Stocks process of alleged de-vulcanization. Next, Mr. Stoddart charges me witr. trying to injure his promotion of these companies. Well, if the promoters statements are not according to fad and will not stand investigation, th< more criticism they are subjected tc the less likely they are to sell shares; ' but, on the other hand, if they are promoting an- honest business on honest lines,, this criticism will only ADVANCE THEIR PROMOTION. It is not even now too late for their to change over from this prppositiof of trying to reclaim old rubber, anc paying out half of the New Zealanc companies' capital for the rights t( work a process that may not ever have the protection of letters-patent . to a small company manufacturing different lines of rubber goods fron new plantation rubber. Mr. Stoddart asks if I can sell hin any first-class rubber dough for 1: lOd per lb. I have about lOcwt., foi which I have not been able to find i market at anything like this price;. I is first-grade tyi'e tread stock, the pdc cuttings of small-pieces that we have not been able to use m our Christchurch workshop and only needs recalendering into large sheets for resale at 3s 6d per lb. All the newspaper correspondence / on this subject has been hitherto con- / ducted by Messrs. Stoddart and Baxter. v These gentlemen have no doufr tall information about the financia Bide of the flotation, but are, onlj stock-brokers. One would expect thai th e technical side of the discussioi would be supplied by the much-adver-tised expert, Mr. Stocks. Mr. Stocks Js said to have made the subject his "life study," and t o know all there' if to know about rubber. Thig being so why does he leave hi? -."id of the business to be expounded ;. y his associates

ill the venture? WHO IS MR. STOCKS, ANYWAY? During the time I was employed m th e Dunlop and Barnet Glass Co. mills 1 knew by repute all the men holding responsible positions m both mills; m fact, the only men I did not come m contact with ' were the employees working: the stores and- packing departments. Was Mr. Stocks employed m this capacity? It would appear to be an easy matter for people with a small knowledge of rubber manufacture to cdftne across to New Zealand from Australia and float a company to do something or other with rubber. We have had a succession of company flotations on these lines m New Zealand of late I years. There was first a Rubber-Sub. ' Co. which claimed to make perfectly good rubber out of gluten or some similar substance. A company was floated to exploit the process, and by careful manipulation the market price of the shares was forced well above par. Then after a lap"se of some months, those m the know having unloaded their holdings, the price dropped to nothing and the company Is now extinct. Next came the Rubberized Leather Co., another Australian invention. - This was floated successfully, buildings erected and plant installed at ... Hastings, but after some months this company followed the fate of its predecessor and did a quiet fizzle out. Following this, and also from Australia, came the muchlyadvertised Rubber-Air Co. .Thls-swas floated into a company m Chrjstchurch and carried on operations for quite a year, but about three years ago became defunct. We are not likely to read the obituary notices m connection with the New Zealand Rubber Products Co. until its shares have ceased to find a market among the optimistic uninitiated public; That is my opinion. Mr. Stoddart has available with his bankers £1000 m support of his claim to devulcanize rubber. I am forwarding you MY CHEQUE FOR THE SAME • AMOUNT. Mr. Stocldart can pay over his cheque to you. Mr. Stoddart has to produce within three months, to the satisfaction of a oommittee of five responsible people of good repute and sufficiently astute to detect any attempt at substitution or fraud, three lots of devulcanized or soluble rubber irom old rubber as specified, by the working of Stocks -s process. Money to be 'up within seven days; test to be carried out by Kovoir.ber 12, 1920. Conditions, as laid down m my letter of July 31. Let me calm any misgivings that Mr. Sloddart "may have m regard to me "pinching" his process. My business is that of a rubber merchant with a chain of retail rubber stores throughout New Zealand, raid I cannot con.ceh'e any way by which i could obtain 1000 .pence t for the 'process, without I went m for "floa.ting a company to exploit the re;-.t of the world," vide prospectus of 'World Rights Option. — Yours, etc., S. W. SKELLERUP. Para Rubber Co., Ltd., Christchurch, Aug". 9. 1920. [We have received My. Skellerup's cheque for £1000, as stated above. — Ed. T.]