Washington Journal., 1942-05-22
Rubber Supplies Lie Southwark

Rubber supplies must stretch like rubber
itself. This was forcibly brought home to
American motorists with the recent rationing
regulations for automobile tires. The United
States is the greatest consumer of rubber
in the world.
"British Malaga and the Netherlands East
Indies long nave been the United States
chief source Of rubber, with large shipments
also from the island of Ceylon, French Indo-
China and other Eastern sources,'' says a
bulletin from the National Geographic So
ciety.
When Supply Runs Low
In 1910, British Malaga shipped to the
United States more than All 900 tons of
rubber. From the Netherlands Indies cam
over $4,000 tons, and 81 500 tons from Cey-
Ion. Since most of the imported rubber goes
into automobile tires, it is generally believed
that, with tire rationing, the United States
may be able to take care Of its wartime
needs, even if supplies from the East are
stopped.
In the period Of time that must elapse
between the exhaustion of the country's pre-
sent supply Of natural and reclaimed rubber,
and an adequate supply from expanding pro
duction in Central and South America, either
synthetic or guayule rubber, or both, must be
relied upon to supplement limited imports
of natural rubber.
Guayule rubber, the natural stopgap in
supplying United States needs, is made from
the desert shrub of that name which grows
wild in Mexico and III the Big Bend area Of
Texas. Two thousand tons Of this rubber
were supplied to our manufacturers in
1910.
Guayule now is being grown experimentally
in the Salinas Valley in California, and other
a sao IN fbo SOufbWacf haua haaO c1nOacfnd
as possible growing areas.
For best economic results, quayule rubber
should be extracted from shrubs about four
years old. One-year-old plants will supply
rubber, but at a greater unit cost. Superior
strains Of guayule and advanced methods Of
cultivation also increase the rubber yield.
To promote rubber production legislation,
now pending, provides for the planting of
$4,000 acres in guayule and for the establish
ment of extracting facilities, at Federal ex-
pense.
Twelve Countries Enlisted
With the belief that there are millions of
acres in tropical America suited to growing
rubber, Congress authorized a survey, begun
in 1910, to determine the most promising
rubber producing areas between Veracruz,
Mexico, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The
East has had 8 million acres in rubber.
The United States Government and twelve
Latin American countries co-operated in the
planting of more than 10 million seeds last
year. In addition some 5 million seeds were
planted by United States commercial inter
ests. Seeds have been planted in nurseries
from Mexico to Peru. Tapping may begin
when trees are four to five years old. Good
budded strains that are high yielding and
disease resistan are being introduced. These
include thousands of budded trees from the
Philippines. An increased yield is counted on
to offset the labor advantages of the Far
East, where the seeding trees are low-yield-
ing, and to put American producers on a
competitive footing after the war.
The Department Of Agriculture has esti-
mated that rubber can be produced in tropical
America at half the cost of synthetic rubber,
guayule rubber, goldenrod rubber or other
substitutes, even with large scale production
of the latter.
Of the more than 100000 tons of rubber
imported into the United States in 1910,
Africa supplied but 1868 tons, and 1913 tons
came from Central and South American
countries. This 1910 import figure is far
above normal. A more extended use Of re
claimed rubber is also counted on to extend
the use of the present supply.