Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-05-11
NEW RUBBER SUPPLY.
A NEW YORK DEALERS CHAT CON-
cERNlNG cAouTcHouc.

The Reason why the Modern Rubber Shoe
Wears Out So Quickly - Process of
Making n Rubber Oyershoe-For HUI
manity's Sake.
Gotham rubber manufacturers were con-
siderably astonished recently by seeing in
print an advertisement for a man who had
had experience among the rubber plantations
OF Central America and Para 10 start on an
expedition to new source of rubber supply.
Excuse me,n said a dealer, with laugh,
"the new source is a secret. Suffice it to say
that in some way have discovered new
field of operations. 1t will be a sort of exper-
mental flyer. The new field may not yield
five pounds Of rubber, and, again, it may be
an exceedingly rich source. | want to settle
for myself which it is
"Why do you start.the expedition" the re-
porter asked Have the present known
sources given evidence of exhaustionf'
"Well, | guess not" the dealer replied.
eve get about 10000, 600 pounds of rubber
yearly from Borneo and Africa and Para, in
South America But so great is the con-
sumption of rubber in American commerce
that there is plenty of room for new supply
of the material.
at is curious how little people generally
know about rubber any how" the dealer
added suddenly. "They kick up a row and
possibly swear when they find out that their
new rubber shoes sometimes wear out in IA
couple of days, but they don't seem to under
stand enough about rubber to know that IL
they knew more they could get rubber shoes
that were really made of rubber gum, and
wouldn't wear out in a hurry. Inspired by
the complaints that went on all about me
during the blizzard by people who had got
stuck on what they declared to be paste
hoard I
ney into history recently and jotted down
some things about real rubber for the benefit
of my friends and the American public-that
is, if the American public wants the benefit
of it. When Columbus discovered America
he found those old Fifteenth century Ameri-
cans were fussing away making things Of
rubber among them rubber shoes But
even before the time of Columbus the East
Indians knew that rubber was "A useful
thing, and they made shoes of it, too. They
made it out of the juice of tree called
Ficus elasticus, and if anybody wants to
know right here why rubber Shoes so called,
wear out right off, you can tell them that it
is because there isn't Ficus clasticus juice SO
to speak, in the shoes.
BOOTS AND BOTTLES
columbus Indians and the natives of
East India made rough rubber boots and
bottles and things Of rubber in those old
days, and ever since the rest of mankind
woke up to the fact that rubber was a good
thing, the manufacture of boots and bottles
and things has gone on boomingly. The rub
bers of those old days, though, We're rubbers
that would wear well, although they had an
uncouth and clumsy appearance. Now we get
enough rubber from the valley of the Amazon
and from Para and Brazil to justify every
manufacturer in making rubbers of rubber
instead of something else, and the reason
that people have chance to growl so much
about "bogus rubbersn is that the bogus rub
bers are not made by the honest process at
all.
''The making of rubber overshoe is an
interesting process indeed, if You travel back
to the beginning and follow it from the very
outset. To get the rubber in the first place a
hole is drilled i'll rubber tree, and the sap is
drawn off just like sugar is drawn from the
maple tree, and the juice is dried over the
smoke from fire of wild nuts in Para, and
when thckened is hung up to dry further |
This crude material contains 80 per cent. of |
raw caoutchouc or rubber This raw rubber !
has to be cleaned with great care, and |
dried afterward to exclude 81 per cent. of |
water that is part of it. 1t takes all the /
way from one to four months to do this |
thoroughly. Before being fully dried it is /
kneaded as is paper pulp, and crushed and |
anu Jolh up belelalJ " TeHiONe
the impurities. All the time this is going on |
the rubber is thoroughly washed by a steady |
flowing bath of water With rubber that is |
treated in this style you can make rubber |
shoes that are lasting and also waterproof, |
but you will have to pay more than fifty |
cents or 81 pair for them. When spread |
upon the cloth shell of the overshoe, this style |
of honest rubber shoe makes a shoe that is |
really gum shoe, and will keep out the wet |
and the snow, and will wear without going |
out at the heel or the toe, or breaking en-
tirely away from the upper. And that's the
kind of rubber that hope to get from this |
new source of supply, and if do, perhaps 1
will become sort of public benefactor by
giving to Gotham commerce a material
for making gum shoes that my fellow citi-
zens after they have worn them once, will
not be obliged to sit up the next three nights
in succession completing their vocabulary of
strong language to furnish fitting terms of
abuse for shoes that aren't rubber. The new
expedition is journey for the good of
humanity. New York Sun.