The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-05-13

W NC SIoohCu ILOA I'LL
Yes, maam Zeb up and showed me how
to make rubber from cactus and right away
l began to feel myself stretching, and by
that l knew l was going to become crooked.
Well, anyway, neb told me how to make
rubber from the cactus plant, and l though
l could make it. But lacked something
brains, mebbe. Still l went and built me
rubber factory on my ranch out there on
the Cache lie Poudre river. Anyway, it
looked like a factory.
This here ranch of mine was practically
all cactus. 1t looked like ranch that
needed shave, but didn't have the price.
Down at one corner, next to the shack,
was lake full of mud-black, oozy sticky
midland no self respecting cactus would
grow in the darn stuff Otherwise the cactus
was not very smart.
| reckon l would have starved plumb to
death if an occasional wild duck, or some
other water fowl, hadn't been buncoed into
the belief that my lake had water in it.
But that is where those fowls were in error.
They ascertained that mournf"l fact as soon
dS luey StuCh d couple Ol leSt IIIO Tic ldhc
vertebrae. They just naturally stayed there
as permanent fixture, and if hadn't come
along and knocked their heads off, they
would have died painful death of starva-
ton and innocuous dsuetude.
Well, anyway, that was all my ranch was
good for--cactus and catching wild ducks,
but leaning a little heavy on the cactus. So
after Zeb Kootch, the crook had told me
how to make rubber for commercial pur-
poses out of my cactus, why, up and built
me machine and started to rubber. But
the rules, or formula, or whatever it was
he gave me, were too elastic, or something,
and no rubber ever happened
Which was about the time began to feel
myself getting crooked.
Yes, ma am, decided to -fiam some
eastern sucker and this is how l did that
same:
1 sent back to Akron, o., and bought 10
barrels of crude rubber. Then I filled my
extractor full of cactus and mixed it we'll
with the rubber, and started the engine.
Well, sir, it worked fine-the refuse of the
cactus came out one chute, the rubber, all
covered with goo from the cactus, rolled ou.
the other, and man that didn't know
hardly anything would have believed that
intended telling him about it. He was due
to swallow the hokum that I merely
,hoveed the cactus into the mouth of the
extractor, and the little whirling dinguses
and dew-dads inside would convert it into
eirst-class rubber.
So I went over to Fort Collins and
topped at the Excelsior hotel and waited
ill the suckers began to get ripe SOS could
,ick me one. Well, l did it.
His name was Walter P. Anthony and he
wned 600 acres of land in Madison county,
.owa, which may have been what the matter
was with him. l dunno. Anyway, l in
,eigled him into conversation of a high or
der of intelligence, waiting for somebody to
say rubber" or something like that SOS
could get into the subject at hand. And
when l saw an automobile 60 by with a
listed tire, why, it was very easy indeed.
So one thing led on to another, and
pretty soon he said he had read something
like what I was telling him. Shucks, of
tourse he did, l was repeating something
had read all the time.
''But can't be done?",h he wondered. at
1t possible to make commercial rubber out
of your cactus plant? 1t should revolution
ize the rubber industry, if it is possible" he
said.
at not only is possible, it's being done,"
4 said, leaning heavy on every other syl-
able. 'Im doing it myself" said.
''No" he typed. "Why, that's mighty in
:eresting. I'd like to see your factory in