Judge, 1916-07-29 · page 18 of 28
Judge — July 29, 1916 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a political cartoon** but rather **corporate advertising** for the United States Rubber Company, disguised as editorial content in *Judge* magazine. The page celebrates the rubber industry's evolution from natural resource to industrial dominance. It presents a narrative arc: rubber trees originally served only ecological purposes until "civilized man" discovered their commercial potential. The text emphasizes that the U.S. Rubber Company now controls 47 major factories producing diverse rubber products—from tires to clothing to medical supplies. The numerous factory photographs surrounding the text function as visual evidence of corporate scale and industrial might. This is essentially propaganda dressed as historical commentary, typical of early 20th-century corporate messaging in magazines. There is no satire here—the piece earnestly promotes American industrial capitalism and the rubber company's dominance in the market.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Fruits of the Rubber Tree RUBBER TREES first gave shade and a harborage to the birds of the forest. That was all they gave for many ages. Then a beetle bored into the bark and a liquid oozed out which barbaric man discovered could be dried into crude balls to play with. Then civilized man found how these balls could be transformed into things to serve all mankind. The birth of the rubber tree is lost in the shadowy past. The birth of the rubber industry is comparatively recent. Seventy-four years ago the first factory was licensed to make tubber goods. This ponerse plant—the great-great-grand- father of the entire ru ber industry of the world—is now an important unit of the United States Rubber Company. Pictured here are thirty-four of the forty-seven great fac- tories owned by the United States Rubber Company, the world’s largest producer of rubber goods, including Foot- wear, Clothing, Automobile and Bicycle Tires, Drug- gists’ Sundries, Insulated Wire, Soles and Heels, Belt- ing, Hose, Packing, Mechanical and Moulded Rubber Goods of all kinds. ey ee | ge i ; Sano