part of the war when the British Government, suspecting--not without
reason--that some American rubber goods were getting into Germany
through neutral nations, suddenly shut off our supply. This threatened
to kill the fourth largest of our industries and it was only by the
submission of American rubber dealers to the closest supervision and
restriction by the British authorities that they were allowed to
continue their business. Sir Francis Hopwood, in laying down these
regulations, gave emphatic warning "that in case any manufacturer,
importer or dealer came under suspicion his permits should be
immediately revoked. Reinstatement will be slow and difficult. The
British Government will cancel first and investigate afterward." Of
course the British had a right to say under what conditions they should
sell their rubber and we cannot blame them for taking such precautions
to prevent its getting to their enemies, but it placed the United States
in a humiliating position and if we had not been in sympathy with their
side it would have aroused more resentment than it did. But it made
evident the desirability of having at least part of our supply under our
own control and, if possible, within our own country. Rubber is not rare
in nature, for it is contained in almost every milky juice. Every
country boy knows that he can get a self-feeding mucilage brush by
cutting off a milkweed stalk. The only native source so far utilized is
the guayule, which grows wild on the deserts of the Mexican and the
American border. The plant was discovered in 1852 by Dr. J.M. Bigelow
near Escondido Creek, Texas. Professor Asa Gray described it and named
it Parthenium argentatum, or the silver Pallas. When chopped up and
macerated guayule gives a satisfactory quality of caoutchouc in
profitable amounts. In 1911 seven thousand tons of guayule were
imported from Mexico; in 1917 only seventeen hundred tons. Why this
falling off? Because the eager exploiters had killed the goose that laid
the golden egg, or in plain language, pulled up the plant by the roots.