"Americans should produce their own rubber"

The quote by Harvey Firestone at the top of the ad caught my eye. In the years following WW1 the US was expanding its world view and the rising automobile industry needed raw materials. The British interests in Malaysia had a virtual monopoly on rubber production, their Stevenson  Restriction Scheme was an attempt to stabilize prices by controlling supply. The American response was the Rubber Survey authorized by Congress in 1923 and attempts were made to increase American presence in the rubber market.  US investors increased their influence in the world rubber growers, experiments began for making synthetic rubber and to grow rubber trees in the US, with little success.

 In the end, growers in The Dutch East Indies did not join the Stevenson plan and captured much of the American tire market. The Stevenson Plan was repealed in 1928. 

The quote in this 1925 ad might also have been a bit of promotion for Harvey Firestone's upcoming book, Men and Rubber. The Story of Business, published in 1926.



As for the design of the actual ad, the car being piloted expertly on the edge of a cliff, either shows the driver on the wrong side of the car (no steering wheel is in evidence) or both people visible are happy confident passengers at the mercy of an unseen but trusted capable driver- I guess. 

What's the big deal about gum-dipping?