St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-11-14

ETOdliHS tncS matte Wt!ic cHcNlHS
gum was very annoying, and the vestry
sent All official complaint to the mother
OF the gum-cheWerS in these Words:
Dear Madam: Complaint has been
made to this official board that your
daughters, Misses Moliie and Tlliie,
make n practice when they attend Grace
Nj. E. church OF disturbing the public
service and worship of God, greatly to
the annoyance of people sitting near
them. Will You kindly exercise your
parental authority and draw the young
ladies' attention to that which So griev-
ousiy affects the worship of God in Ills
temple?
The gum-chcwers denied that their
g~um-cheWing was an annoyance, and
asserted that there was malice behind
the charge. 1t is said that parishioners
who hated gum chewing as Il habit
drew the attention of the congregation
generally and %warningly 10 the alarm
ing words of the New York doctor.
What the doctor said, as reported by the
Ladies' Home Journal, was that the
constant chewing of gun mas produced
weak minds III fourteen cases OF young
girls now under treatment, the constant
movement of the mouth causing too
great 4 strain on the head.
These eases arc extreme results of
the gum chewing habit, but cynical
critS assert that they indicate what the
country is coming to unless the perna-
ciouS habit is curbed The cynicS point
out that no fancy of tho American peo-
pie has become such a craze asDabii in
diligence in the gum chewing habit, and
that no craze has iiourished SO in the
face of public odium. The habit, as Il
matter of cold fact, has reached Il stage
now that makes 10 impossible for a New
Yorker to go TO the theater or church or
enter the street cars or railway tram OF
walk on a fashionable promenade with
out meeting men II ONE whose
jaws are working with the activity of
the g~um-cheWing victim. And the
spectacle is maintained in the facc of
frequent reminders that gum chewing,
especially in public. is al essentially
vulgar indulgence that not only. shows
bad breeding but spoils u PRETTY coun-
tenance and detractS from the dignity
of those who practice the habit. CynicS
who observe it have sighed for the re-
turn of the sturdy discipline of their
youth when the Sch0Olmaster useG to
spank everybody caught chewing gum
in public.
This is one ray of hope for the de-
spairing eynics. 1t was found in the
assertion by those who profess to know
all about the c~hewing-gum business
that the present prevalence of the habit
is only the climax that proceeds its
wane. Hundreds of thousands OF dol
lars worth of gum was sold last year
in New York. Brooklyn and Jersey
City. and the whole year showed all in
crease over the sales of the previous
year. it is asserted, but there is no such
increase this year. 1t is said that the
sale of gum is now largely limited to
the patrons of the drOp-a-penny-ili-the-
slot machines that are set up in ferry
houses, elevated railway stations. and
other public places. There is Il very
marked diminution in the sales at
the drug stores.
1.-THE sale Of chewing gum,n said
Druggist Charles J. Perry, "has -ap-
parently arrived at a stage, that the
trade calls coming to Il .standstill.' The
next step Will probably be retrogressive.
Gum chewing is sometimes beneficial,
gar II uGseemIy practice. Chewing
gum after a meal for a little While may
facilitate digestion, and thus be a bene-
fit to dyspepsia"
1t is doubtful If any business in the
country yields such an enormous profit
on the capital invested as the manu-
tacture of chewing gum when carried
on on a large scale. Some idea of this
profit may be obtained from the state
ment of Il New York druggists that the
sticks of tolu gum, that contain five
small blocks of gun and are sold for
five cents a stick, cost less than half a
cent to manufacture, and that, with
tinfoil and all, the article does not cast
accent. -Four hundred per cent profit 5
not a bad thing when the trade runs
into hundreds of thousands of dollars a
year.
Three kinds of chewing gum are now
manufactured-iavored tOlu. spruce
gum and the small white sticks that
were popular with school children a
quarter of a century ago. Spruce gum
is the most expensive and the white
gum the cheapest.
"'There is really no such thing nova
days in trade" a druggist said yeSter-
day, las pure spruce gum. You will
have to go out into the country and
gather the gum yourself to get it pure.
The manufactured article SOLD in large
cities is adulterated-a mixture Of gIu-
cOSe and licOrice, with precious little of
the original spruce gum. The genuine
article is too expensive, and the supply
wouldn't be equal to the demand. The
white gum is made of paraffiDe as q
basis, with glucose and q little bit Of
cheap gum thrown in"
The gum that is in general use is
made of tolu or gum chicle or gum
catechu. with licorice and glucose and
some ~fiavOring extract. 1t is boiled and
rolled out in great heaps and cut up
into blocks by machinery. Gum arabic
was used formerly to give it consist
ency, but, little of it is now employed
because it is too expensive. Gum Of
turpentine is substituted. The effort of
the manufacturer of gums is always. of
course. to cut down to a minimum the
cost of production and he secures sub
stitutes for the most costly ingredients
wherever it can be done. 1t Toes not
follow by any means that these substi-
tutes are harmful in their effects, but
they are not so good as the more costly
ingredients, and profit is quite enough
to entitle the public that cares for gum
to the very best in the market at a cent
a block.