“In June, 1916, an unusual but tremendously significant fiftieth anniversary of the chewing gum was ushered in—but not with laurels or pæans of praise did this gummy little product celebrate. In fact, very few of its enthusiastic masticators knew a thing of this birthday, until it was mentioned in the papers.
“Just think of it! Fifty years of chewing on something that never satisfies but always attracts more and more—like a nightmare where money lies scattered everywhere but vanishes when an eager hand tries to grasp it.
“We have had all kinds of trouble with Mexico in recent times, but never, no matter what we do or what they do, can the public of the United States ever properly reward Mexico for introducing the greatest boon known to base-ball fans, movie fanatics, and commuters—to say nothing of the miscellany and Woodcraft folks!
“It was on a certain occasion when General Santa Anna of Mexico was calling on a friend at Snug Harbour, Staten Island, that Thomas Adams also called upon the same friend. While the three talked the General took a chunk of something resembling a solid bit of over-shoe from his pocket and cut off a small piece. He placed it in his mouth and began chewing. Then he offered some to his companions.
“Mr. Adams looked it over dubiously and said: ‘Will you please tell me where you found it?’
“Then the General explained that it was the gum of the zapote tree, better known as ‘chicle.’ Mr. Adams was a brave man, so he experimented. As he chewed he evolved a brilliant idea and he asked the General for a goodly sized piece of the gum. He took it home to see if it could not be vulcanized for a patented rubber to be used as a basis of artificial teeth.
“But the tests proved hopeless for false teeth, as the chicle was too conscientious to lend itself to any falsity, knowing well that it was meant for a far greater blessing than to hold porcelain molars in place. It felt in its soul that it could entertain a great and mighty nation in its elasticity between the jaws but never to become a part of a jaw.
“So in a huff, the chemist who was experimenting for Mr. Adams got up and snapped out: ‘The stuff isn’t worth a darn for anything but just chewing!’
“Now Mr. Adams was a right clever Yankee so he suddenly felt inspired to try out this curse on the gullible American public, for he felt much as Barnum did, when he made his speech which will go down in history.
“So he and his son raised a capital of thirty-five dollars and began the manufacture of the greatest sorrow-quencher, intensest joy-maker, most fascinating jaw-acher, and effervescing hunger-stabiliser the world ever knew.