582 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[August 1, 1914. 



of the population. To be sure, tliere are many members 

 (if that class who are not addicted to this habit, but on 

 the other hand, there are undoubtedly many who have 

 passed the 20-year mark who still cling to this delicacy ; 

 so tliat it would probably be conservative to estimate 

 the chewers of gum at one-fourth of the citizen body. 

 But to take the posiliun that twenty-five million people 

 consumed twelve and a half billion pieces of gum last 

 \ear, or at the rate of five hundred ])ieces per capita, is 

 making a .statement that w ill hardly appeal to the reason- 

 ing mind. It might not be impossilile, but it is distinctlv 

 improbable. 



The journal referred to probably secured its figures 

 from some optimistic sales promoter — a class of statis- 

 ticians whose calculations are always prone to run along 

 the higher levels. It should not be difficult, however, 

 to arrive at a figure that should be approximately cor- 

 rect. 



The essential feature of all chewing gum is chicle, 

 and as chicle belongs to the great rubber family — being 

 derived from the latex of the .-Ichras sal^ota. which has 

 a rubber content of o-\-er 17 per cent. — it might not be 

 uninteresting to pursue this subject a step further and 

 to discover how much of a factor in American life the 

 jn-oduct of this particular lublicr tree may be. 



During the last calendar year chicle was imported into 

 the United States to the amount of 13,758,592 pounds, 

 of which 4,896,996 pounds was re-exported, leaving for 

 domestic use 8.861,596 pounds, which was made up into 

 chewing gum. Xow the question is, — How much did it 

 make.'' Not a difficult question to answer — at least ap- 

 proximately. One of the little five stick packages re- 

 tailing for a nickel weighs just an ounce. When all the 

 various decorative wrappings are removed, the residual 

 gum is reduced to one-half ounce in weight; and 50 per 

 cent, of this weight may be told off for sugar, pepper- 

 mint and the other ingredients employed to appeal to 

 the palate. That is, the amount of chicle in five sticks 

 of gum is one-quarter ounce. From which it may be 

 readily deduced that a pound of chicle will make three 

 hundred and twenty of the customary sticks of com- 

 merce. It follows further that the importation of chicle 

 last year would make something over two billion, six 

 hundred million sticks of gum. .Apportioning this 

 among the twenty-five million people who constitute the 

 gum consuming class, it gives them an individual allot- 

 ment of one hundred and five sticks a vear — which seems 

 fairly moderate and reasonable. 



An interesting feature of this industry lies in the fact 

 that this consumption of chewing gum calls for a yearly 



expenditure on the part of those who engage in it of 

 twenty-six million dollars — which is one-third of what 

 .\mericans spend for rubber boots, arctics and over- 

 shoes to preserve the national health, and one-fifth of 

 what they spend for tires to make it possible to use the 

 million and a quarter motor cars of one kind and an- 

 other. 



Here is a great chance for the rnoralist to recite how 

 many kinds of uplift that twenty-six million dollars 

 could be made to give humanity if properly applied. 

 But that is another story. This treatise simply views 

 the matter in the light of a widespread and increasing 

 use for rubber — to be sure, one of the minor rubbers, but 

 still an exceedingly popular variety, carrying chronic 

 joy, not to mention possible dyspepsia, to the hearts 

 and stomachs of millions of youthful or once youthful 

 Americans. 



WHEN THE RUBBER TRADE GENUINELY MIXES. 



' I 'HE midsummer outing of the Rubber Club of Amer- 

 ■*■ ica has come to be an event. Its last celebration, 

 held July 14, is set forth elsewhere in this issue with 

 proper circumstance and several photographic illustra- 

 tions. No other feature in the life of the club is so ef- 

 fective in fostering and forwarding general trade amity, 

 personal acquaintance and wholesome good fellowship 

 as these July gatherings of rubber men. The midwinter 

 banquet is not to be esteemed lightly; that is a notable 

 function. But social activities at a formal dinner are al- 

 ways more or less circumscribed, and beside, no man 

 can be altogether true to himself when hidden behind a 

 vast expanse of shirt front and a white choker. 



Bat in the midsummer outing all this is changed. 

 There are freedom and informality, and an all-day 

 chance to get acquainted. When a man who hasn't played 

 baseball for twenty years goes to the bat and actually 

 hits the ball and starts for "first," he instantly reverts 

 to type ; all veneer is laid aside, and he becomes his nat- 

 ural self for the rest of the day. 



And then again, what could possibly mellow a man 

 more towards his hated business rival than to trim him 

 handsomely at quoits? It becomes evident at once that 

 this business rival is really not such a bad fellow. 



The rubber club during the last year or two has taken 

 upon itself some tasks of great moment, the accomplish- 

 ment of which will undoubtedly be of substantial benefit 

 to the trade ; but if the club were to do nothing more than 

 to maintain iiUact and undiminished its midsummer out- 

 ina:, it would never need anv other excuse for being. 



