The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-03-02

CHEWING GUM INDUSTRY
BY FREDERIC J. HAsKIN.

excellent state OF preservation In the
prehistoric ruins OF Mexico. It II in
BreHt demand BY cabInetmakerD. ThS'
tree grows to maturity In little less
than nifty years.
When the sap y gathered Il has >
milky appearance, which changes to-
yellow when exposed to the air. IL
u carried to the boiling sheds, where
1t il concentrated to the proper ccn-.
and made ready Tor export. The
duty on II u ten cents a pound. and
was laid only after the hardest sort
OF fight when the Payne-AIdrich
bill was framed.
The chewing of gum II by no
means q new habit. Our fathers
chewed birch bark, slippery elm and
shosmaker's wax years upon years
ago, but even their pleasure in naolar
activity II far antedated. Christo-
pher Columbus lett botiind him . let-A
ter which proves conclustvely that
chewing gum was used more than
four hundred years ago. and that no
regarded 1t as of sufficient import
ance to offer some to Ferdinand and
Isabella as a part OF his inducement
to them to finance his second expe-
dition to the New World. He of
fered to bring them as much gold as
gum, spices, etc. The gum. he said
was TO come from Cnios, and II has
been reasoned from this that the
chewing gum OF Columbus' day was
n SORT OF -gilmuy- clay which WAS re=
they would need, ~ many slaves a.
their navy would require. chewii.,.
puted TO have medicinal Qualities
But the habit OF chewing gum may
be traced even beyond Columbus
4 a RI In % tn nj q
writ poem, the soft-eyed Hindoo
maiden. even in HE times when the
Aryan sun-worshippers were q buds
ding people. had the habit OF chew
ing "kashnir" gums, which we're sup
posed to sweeten the breath. redden
the lips and put color into the cheeks.
The story OF the discovery OF the
availability of sdhicie for chewing pur-
poses reads like romance and fn.'
wolves some OF the leading charac~
ters OF American history. IL General
Sam Houston had not banished Santa
Anna from Texas. or II the attempt
to make gum shoes from chicle had
not proved failure, the chewing gum
habit as America knows 1t might not
have been acquired by our people.
Back In the forties a young man from
New Jersey went to Mexico. whore he
made the acquaintance OF Santa Anna.
He spent some time In that country
and then returned home. When
Santa Anna was banished from Tex
as he went to New York, looked up
the young friend of his batter days.
and. 1t Is said. lived with him In
cognito for some time. During his
stay he suggested to his host that the
sap OF certain Mexican tree might
be made into gum overshoeA When
h CT DC ~ txo La
Of raw, hard gum for experimental
ton. The effort to prepare the stun
for gum shoes was q failure, and
big chunk OF 1t was reiegated to the
woodsned as useless.
49, Bat the iasa Of the neaEhhaehood
soon set aside the useless verdict.
They began whiting on pieces OF tho
gum for chewing purposes. This was
suggestion to the father. and he
again got out his kettle parapher-
MALTA This time be made 1t into
unfiavored gum and placed II upon
the market BY doing so he laid the
foundation OF princeiy fortune. The
next proposition was to get f1avoring
into tho gum. This was a task to
which the embryo chewing gum miI-
lionaire was not equal. SO he .employ.
ed an Engltshman. who WAS an anna
tenr chemist, to conduct series df
experiments for him. The chemist
borrowed $500 from outside sources,
and with this perfected the original
process OF fiavoring chicIe gum.
It is said that while the aggregate
sales OF chewing gum are CROWNS
because Of the increase of the habtt
In rural districts. the competition OF
the nickelodeon and other rivals for
children's pin money is seriously falt
In the cities. II the practices OF the
chewing gum factory we're generally
adopted, II would mean ruin TO the
business. The operatives are prohibit-
ed from chewing gum while on duty.
On the other hard. berry growers fur.
nish their pickers with gum in order,
to give them o happy frame OF mind
while pursuing their work
The advent OF the chewing gum sioe
machine as an autocratic salesman did
more to stimulate . demand for pen.
MES and nickeis than any other
agency except the street car. X now
requires an annual supply Of about
100. 600. 900 pennies and more than
so, 900. goo five-cept pieces to meet th&
demands of the tplde. 1t II said thai
the penny works oftener IN buyixI
newspapers and penny-in-the-slot gIlH
than for any other purpose.
TOMORROW.