The Rotary Balita no. 604 (September 16, 1948)

Mr. Willis M. Waldo, a ramie specialist now working with the National Development Company, told Rotarians of the wonder fiber, ramie. Ramie cloth is perhaps best known to Manilans as China grass linen. It has 14 times the abrasive resistance of flax, which has long been used for industrial packing. It has 4 times the strength of much-publicized nylon. Sale of its by-products, such as gum, wax, and cattle feed, yields even greater revenue than sale of the fiber itself. A climate like that of Mindanao, without destructive typhoons and excessive rainfall, is admirably suited to propagating ramie. The one drawback to development of the ramie industry is the necessity of de-gumming plants. These, Mr. Waldo pointed out. can be established and operated on the same principle as a sugar central - either by a large corporation or by cooperative effort of the planters. Mr. Waldo, a Rotarian from Florida, and a thoroughly informed expert in his line, have a most illuminating address.