Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1884-08-14
On ewlng.Gu N.

Whsre less prosperous days were passed,
And cloud Of revret marked every face
AZ We went from 3 poreh at last.
CbewinG. Gun.
-" Do schoolgirls chew as much gum
as ever ? Why, bless my soul, such a
question And do you think school
girls are the only people who chew
gum ?"
The wealthy proprietor of large
chewing-gum factory leaned back In his
Handsome chair in his handsome Office,
down town and laughed. When the
laugh was out he Strengthened up, and
taking q small silver case out Of his
waistcoat pocket, opened 1t and handed
the reporter piece Of gum and putting
piece In his own mouth, rolled It as q
sweet morsel under his tongue. During
this operation he emitted various re-
marks upon the object of his attack,
and dwelt with emphasis upon the his.
tory Of his gum.
at was in 1850, 1 believe" he said,
that l went to Mexico, and while
there 1 collected many specimens Of the
products of the soil of that wonderful
country. l kept them as curiosities and
carefully laid them away. In 1867
began to experiment with some Of them,
among them the gum chicle, q sub
stance similar to rubber. I thought
had discovered the WAY to cheaper the
production of hard rubber goods by
collaborating with this chicle. Success
seemed certain and about %, 900 pounds
Of the gum were collected and brought
to New York and the business was
begun.
after expanding oonsid cradle
money aud time and patience the pro-
ject WI. abandoned because the gum
could not be successfully vulcanized
gave up in despair. After q while
tried other experiments, such rs adapt
ing 1t to cable purposes, making glue
and 30 forth, all of which proved fail
ures. 1 then tried to sell the stuff :,
but as it was entirely unknown to the
trade, and possessed no recognized
value, no offer could he obtained. In
the meantime, the goods lay In a store
house, the charge running up all the
time. till considered the al visabili. y
Of throwing the whole of 1t into the
North River. All hope of ever being
able to dispose Of 1t departed.
"One day, rs 1 was leaning against
q confectioner's counter, saw a little
girl come in and heard her ask the pro.
prletor for penny's worth of masto
| chewing-gum. Instantly thei idea fiash-
ed through my mind, why could not
| chicle be made into u chewing-gum?
Immediately began TO experiment
| with it and after some months Of hard
study and many disappointments sue
cess was achieved. When the manipu-
lation Of the chicle was so far develop
ed as to produce beautiful, white sub.
stance, l applied for patent and 30
became the sole proprietor Of the bust
ness. Thus, by accident, as it we're,
the discovery was made. The gum is
known all over the world, 1T has increas-
ed year by year In favor and is now an
important item in the stock Of every
jebbing Confectioner, grocer and drug
gist, and is handled extensively by the
notion trade.
"The fruit of the tree from which
the chicle exudes is called sapoiilla. 1t
IL about the size of an apple, delicious
in flavor and largely used by the ma
tives of Mexico as an article of food.
The gum is collected by tapping the
trees as we tap the maple. 1t runs out
cakes, hardening in the sun, and Ia
brought to market on pack mules, each
mule carrying about twelve arror as, or
800 pounds When the Indians, OF
natives, start out on q long journey
across the country they always provide
themselves with . chicle in order 70
allay the pangs of thirst, for by chew
ing the gum the mouth and throat are
kept moist and the desire for water is
diminished"
Does chewing gum possess any mer.
its?"
Humph should say 90 ! There
are"
A handsomely dressed woman enter.
ed the office and the speaker turned 70.
ward her.
"Will you sell me some chewing.
gum ?" she said.
Certainly, madam. How much dc
you wish?" in his politest tone.
"Only a small box"
| But we do not sell at retail at ALL
She seemed much disappointed. "I
suffer so much from dyspepsia" she re.
sumed, "and your gum Is the only
thing that will relieve me. Where can
buy it ?"
She WAS directed to . confectionery
and went out.
THAT 8 one merit" said the smiling
caterer to the school girls appetite.
know plenty of people who relieve their
dyspepsia In the same way, and cure
their indigestion. You see, the action OF
the jaws in chewing releases the saliva,
which goes into the stomach; and the
saliva being one of the principle elements
|of digestion, must bring about hea by
lconditiou of those organs. For the
same reason the appetite is improved.
The digestion being perfect, q vacancy
Is created and a desire for food must
follow"
Who are the gum chewers?"
mostly children. Women and
young girls do their share. Men chew
to considerable extent, and know
many case where slaves to tobacco
have been cured by chewing gum. II
men didn't chew tobacco they would be
las fond of gnm as women are. Negroes
Iare fond of gum, and you never met acol.
lored girl that has not her mouth full oil
lit. The gum-chew wing States are Ken
lucky, Illinois and Ohio, in order nam.
led. The Kentuckians must eat it.
tdon't see how else they dispose Of &c
much of it. ;"
as gum chewing economical ?"
"Well, yes. Here is n piece that
have been chewing on for three months
| 1t is jusG AL big and as good as when
first put it in my mouth. Cant wear II
tout.
"Is the use of gum increasingly"
Every day."
II sold by the sheriff
Sberiff Martin. on Tuesday, sold or,