ERJ Archives: Provisions of war with Guayule rubber

The following article was published in our archives on 7 March 1925 which highlights US provisions of war for rubber supply.

Reporting from the US, the article says that officials of the Akron-based General Tyre and Rubber Co. sought to secure their rubber supply by turning to Guayule rubber as early as 1925.

“Southern Texas, with the possible aid of Norther Mexico could, by growing Guayule, easily save the raw rubber situation of the United States in the event of war,” said the report.

The piece went on to say that most of the world’s rubber was produced in South East Asia, adding: “This source of supply is largely controlled by the British and the Dutch, who also control the price partly by legislation and partly through operation of the economic law of supply and demand.”

The article added that high demand of crude rubber could lead to a shortage by 1930 and throws in the possibility of a war that could cause more problems.

“If war were to come, the foreign supply would be shut off entirely except for such shipping as our busy nacy might be able to protect. We can produce right here in America a rubber that can be used in war emergencies with supply of Para [rubber] curtailed or shut off.”