Omaha daily bee., 1910-03-03
Some Things You Want to Know
Chewing Gum Industry.

was to come from Chios, and II has been
reasoned from this that the chewing gum
Of Columbus day was a sort Of gumy
clay, which was reputed to have medicinal
qualities.
But the habit Of chewing gum may be
traced even beyond Columbus time. Ac-
cording to an ancient sanskrist poem the
soft-eyed Hindoo maiden, even in the times
when the Hindoo sun-worshlpers were a
budding people, had the habit Of chewing
"kashnir' gums, which we're supposed to
sweeten the breath, redden the lips and
put color into the cheeks.
The story Of the discovery Of the avail
ability Of ehicie for chewing purposes
reads like a romance and involves some
of the leading characters OF American his
tory. II General Sam Houston had not
banished Santa Anna from Texas, or II
the attempt to make gum shoes for chicle
had not proved a failure, the chewing gum
habit as America knows II, might not have
been acquired by our people. Back I'm the
forties a young man from New Jersey
went TO Mexico, where he made the ac-
quaintance of Santa Anna. He spent some
time in that country and then returned
home. When Santa Anna was banished
from Texas, he went to New York, looked
up the young friend Of his better days
and, It is said, lived with him ~incognito
for some time. During his stay he sug-
gested to his host that the sap of a certain
Mexican tree might be made into gum
overshoes. When he returned to Mexico
he sent a bale Of raw, hard gum for ex-
Fermentation. The effort to prepare the
stuff for gum shoes was a failure, and a
big chunk Of it was relegated to the wood
shed as useless.
But the boys OF the neighborhood soon
set aside the useless" verdict. They be-
gan whiting off pieces of the gum for
chewing purposes. This was a suggestion
to the father and he again got out his
kettle paraphernalia. This time he made
1t into u%nflavored gum and placed it upon
the market. BY doing so he laid the foun-
dalton Of a p~rincely fortune. The next
proposition was to get flavoring into the
gum. This was a task to which the en-
bryo chewing gum millionaire was not
equal, so he employed an Englishman, who
was an amateur chemist to conduct a
series of experiments for him. The chemist
borrowed $500 from outside sources and with
this perfected the original process of flaw
oring chicle gum.
From that time the success of the chew
- oNAA NN.ANNR "0e 119AANu Aohal
those boys, who taught their father the
secret of utilizing the old junk in his wood
shed, are millionaires. Before they gave
him the tip that was to develop into a
great fortune, he was doing odd Jobs
around Jersey City. From this small be-
ginning has grown a business which
amounts to more than $4,000 900 a year.
1t las made millionaires of more families
than this one. and has helped to pay the
rent of thousands Of stores, small and
large, from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Some of the big factories of today sell
their own gum to the trade. Others are
simply manufacturers for the trade, and
advertise to make gum in any quantity
and in sticks OF any size, prepared ready
for the wrapper. In this way any person
who is willing to pay for the expense of
manufacture can put a brand of his own
on the market and tempt millions to come
his way. One can buy gum at all prices
from B cents a paakage down to / cent for
five sticks. rigo2G e e-| ~ ~"a
1t is said that wHile the aggregate sales
OF chewing gum are growing because of
the increase of the habit in rural districts,
the competition OF the n~ickelodeon and
other rivals for .children's pin money is
seriously felt in the cities. If the prac-
hASSo Va NV NNA bhh ldtAOIN were
generally adopted, It would mean ruin to
the business. The operatives are prohib-
tied from chewing gum while on duty. On
the other hand. berry growers furnish their
pickers will gum in order to give them a
happy frame of mind while pursuing their
work,
The advent Of the chewing gum slot ma
chine as an automatic salesman did more
to stimulate a demand for pennies and
nickels than any other agency except the
street car. 1t now requires an annual
supply of about 1OO.OOO,O 900 pennies and more
than 5O,0O0NO scent pieces to meet the
demands OF the trade. 1t is said that the
penny works oftener in buying newspapers
and penny-in-the-slot gum thai for any
other purpose.
ny FREDERTO J. HAsKm.
TomOrrow-''ssa Island Cotton"