The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1916-06-22

What a tale of romance of Spanish
conquerors and English explorers, of
discoveries of the chemist rivaling
the tales of the Geuii of Aladin's
Lamp; what visions of the tangled
maze of tropical forests, the twisted
and turbulent currents of mighty
rivers; what stories of elementary
man in the struggle for very existence;
a. what dreams Of avarice of the explo-
Nrer lie in the story behind the produc-
ton of the simplest article made from
that magic substance-rubber.
Rubber, the substance that even
today is only on the threshold Of
its possibilities; that has made
possible the ocean cables, conser-
we'd the health of millions through
its use in footwear and done much
to remove the terror Of infection
from the surgical operation. Con-
slider the ice cap for the fever pa
tient; the invalid cushion to the
bedriddcn; The hot water bottle to
the pain racked; nipples to the
babies; surgeons gloves to the
surgeon, and who will say that
rubber has not contributed to the
sim total of human c0mfort2
To Christopher Columbus is gen
orally credited the discovery Of this
great country of ours, but few are
aware that he is also given the
credit of being the first white man
to observe the use of rubber by
the natives Of the new land
The Spanish historian, Antonio
Herrera, writes in his early me-
moirs, that Columbus reported
having seen the natives of Haiti
playing with balls made from the
gum Of a tree, the first observed
use of rubber. This was confirmed
by the Spanish conquerors, who
found the Indians using elastic
balls in their games.
In 1918, Juan de Torquemada
issued a report on a milky liquid
which Spaniards used to make their
clothing waterproof. 1t was, how
ever, left to the American to make
the use of rubber d commercial
possibility, and, like many other
great discoveries, it was brought
about by accident. Rubber, at the
time Of the discovery, was mostly
used for making overshoes, and
&c wearer of these shoes was
always in trouble. In summer
the heat made the substance sticky,
no doubt on many occasions max
ing their removal from the feet
difficult, if not impossible, while in
winter it became hard and brittle,
and it was not unusual for the
wearer to have his shoes crack and
fall off his feet.
The discovery of inflammation,
or curing of rubber, changed all
this. Goodyear, while wearing an
apron coated with incurred rubber,
accidentally spilled some sulphur
on it and leaned against a hot
stove. Later examining the apron,
he was surprised to observe the
change which had taken place, the
rubber being no longer sticky, but
smooth and entirely changed in its
characteristics. His quick mind
grasped the cause and experiments
soon proved the feasibility Of cur
ing or vulcanizing rubber with
sulphur.
Many, no doubt, like the author
of the famous saying that eggs is
eggs, believe that rubber is
rubber, - and associate all rubber
with the product of the great Am
azon region in South America; the
far-famed and justly celebrated
Para rubber. There are, however,
upward Of one hundred varieties Of
crude rubber known to commerce;
Mexico, South America, Africa,
India and the Islands Of the East
Indian Archipelago all contribute
their quota.
Crude rubbers are divided, rough
ly, into groups according to the
species Of tree from which they are
gathered.
The standard among rubber sun
dry manufacturers is that known
under the general name of fine