Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-03-19

WASHINGTON, March 53-Halt |
a million dollars will be spent by |
the government of the United States |
in the next year or two in the max
ing of survey and a series OF eK-
periments designed to protect the
American people from the closing OF
avenues of supply of unique and
valuable products not now produ2-'
ed on dom estic soil,
The millions of good broad acres
hich compose the United States of
America produce almost everything
that mans heart can desire, put not
quite everything, For instance, not
in the whole stretch between the
Portlands or from the lakes to the
Gulf of Mexico is there any IODINE.
Nor is there any cork, any slsai' any
rubber nor any of number OF olner
commodities which have grown IN
to necessities in the complex clVl!!-
cation of modern times.
The investigation which is to pc
made was started when the Ameri-
can rubber industry-the largest
rubber manufacturing industry IN
the world-woke up overnight 10
hnd that it's source of raw material
was in the control of Great Britain
10 the extent Of 70 per cent of the
world supplies and that OF the re-
naming "a per cent there was only
a handful in American control. Ihe
English and Dutch were possessed
of the plantations which produced
this valuable commodity and the
South Americans owned the Wltd
rubber. When Great Britain put on
an export tax and restriction, the
American rubber industry found
that its lack of self-reliance in this
particular was adding $3.50, 100000 a
wear to what Americans must pay
for automobile tires and other man
ufactures of rubber.
This revelation resulted in the
government and the business men OF
the country looking around in other
directions to see how dependent we
are on foreign sources for otner mn
portant materials. 1t was discoV-
| cred that there are many such pro-
| ducts which are OF a unique nature
! in that they are Indigenous to a re-
| stricted part of the earth.
Things We DO Not Produce
| Cork, for instance, grows almost
wholly in Spanish territory. The
! cork oak thrives on Spanish hill
| sides but nowhere else in the world.
Jute, a, fibrous growth from which
I rough sacking NECESSARY for grain
! sacks and other heavy textiles are
| made, grows almost solely in India,
| Peru has natural monopoly on
| Iodine. The island of Formosa, a
Japanese possession, produces prac-
tically all the camphor in the world,
Chile has nitrate deposits which are
almost unique. Germany has the
! advantage in Potash. Nowhere but
in a. restricted section of Mexico
does sisal, the fibre from which
twine is made, grow. Germany
alone produces certain dyes.
When the American government
and American industry awoke to
a full sense OF their dependence on
foreign nations for these products,
the President asked congress for a
special appropriation of 100000
for the purpose OF a scientific in
quiry to take a. dual form and be
direeted to an emancipation OF
America from so thorough an out
side dependence. The congress has
, provided the funds and $350,000 is
to be expended in making a survey
OF what steps can be taken TO bet
ter our circumstances abroad ano
$3.50, 900 is to be expended in ex
perimentation by the Department o.
| Agriculture to determine whether
> or not some Of these products car
be produced at home.
The principal effort will be made
in connection with rubber because
it is the most important OF all these
products, but the others will conn'
in for fair share of attention. Al
effort will be made to obtain tn,
repeal of the British restriction, {
survey will be made of the posi-
bility OF raising rubber in the Phil
ippine Islands and in the AmazoI
Basin of South America under
American domination, and, lastly
an effort will be made to find SOM
part of the continental United State
!. where rubber can be produced.
Early action will be taken on tn
8 subject Of sisal. the Mexican fbr
grass, becatise it is of the utmos
importance to the American farmer
q The sheaves of wheat are all boun'
: | with a particular sort of twin
made from sisal or henequen. TIL
a ! Bureau of Foreign and Domesti
Commerce already has set out {
n determine the scope and condition
of the existing monopoly in Yucata
e with a view to the ultimate Sdou
tion of practices which viii effeC
a free and open market. AlsH tn
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