New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1853-05-27
THE SHOE TRADE AND sH0EMAKERs
OF NETWORK.

The number Of those who visit this City during the
ur.e Of year whether Of American citizens attracted
4, business or pleasure of foreign immigrants in pur
& Of the advantages social and industrial denied them
..evbere has been estimated to exceed that of any
otber city in the world Without adopting the respOn-
fbty of this assertion, it is ndisputable that among
h floating population feeling is prevalent and that
Of surprise at the magnitude of our business opera
IONS as exhibited in the crowded wnarves, ths impas-
ble sidewalks the busy Streets the welhlea stores,
and other mutudinous evidences of prosperous COM
punity New-York is at once the wonder OF foreigners
and the pride Of its own inhabitants aud Americans
senerally-the former being struck by the unexamPsd
rapdity with which has forced its way into the very
brsmOst rank Of the commercial cities OF the world,
AID the latter seeing in it in addition miniature of the
rspid development and growing wealth OF the entire
Union New-York may justly be called the Me-
rOpos of the United States according to the popular
,cceptaton of the word standing it does first on this
continent in point of wealth and population and attract
De TO it, like the capitals Of the old countries, all the
extremes of social system, both for good and evil
Tot aspiring and ambitious il appears to offer thea
ter wherein may be developed some favorite scheme
whose success will make the protector rich famous
and hardened outcasts resort hither secure hiding
Race from the vengeance of outraged laws. Indeed,
ttDOugn III WOulu NC tdhy w chOn sofcin clOicS WIN
,srger population than this both in Europe and Asia,
here scarcely one with the exception of LOndonstl
the great metropolis of the world-whch does extern
ve general business as this vast City of ours though
Manchester and Glasgow deal extensive scale
the single article of cotton Lyons in silk Birmingham
hcutlery, and so forth.
Yet few of those crowds who daily gaze and admire
Re endless line of vehicles loaded with all kinds of
ranfr tfaI
shops extend their observation beyond The feeling Ofas
enlistment to which sight TO many novel, naturally
gives rise but they to reflect the details of this
immense wealth. and endeayOr to form an estimate
the capital employed and the energies exercised to pro-
duce the spectacle they were witnessing, they would
then for the first time discover the real them, for won
DER It ia true such study at first siga dull and
wprOmisug; yet it is so in appearance only for each
fresh inquiry leads to the discovery of some interesting
het before unsupported and true knowledge of the
condition of our domestic ndustFy-what are its re-
,ources-how affected by foreign cOmpettOn-the con-
dtion of the arzans engaged in the particular branch
under investigation and other equally important points
1t would probably appear difficult to select more
common place topic than that of che Boot and Shoe
trade yet the inquiries we have been led to make
on the subject convince that the contrary, is
one full Of interest and really national Importance as
regards the amount of capital engaged the number of
hands to whom it gives employment, and It's immense
annual products which supposed to exceed those of
any other single branch of manufacture. We annex
few results of our observations.
The Boot and Shoe trade may be classed under two
great diysons-the Wholesale and the retail these are
again subdvded into customers and factory work, of
which the latter is by far the most extensive aud
WILL therefore, speak Of it first The great seat of this
branch is 10 the Eastern States principally Mlssschu
setts Maine and Connecticut, though there are several
manufactures in New.Jersey Pennsylvania and Ohio
A. Massachusetts, is estimated TO have greater capital
invested in this trade, employing more hands aud pre-
ducng more goods than the rest of the Union together
some particulars respecting it will be found interesting
The latest official papers the subject were collected
ufar back as 1885, though We believe new estimate
Of the commerce and industry of Massachusetts, will
shortly be made BY these returns find that in that
Jingle State during year, there manufactured
%6 60 pairs of boots and IL 123 1852 pairs Of shoes of
total value &C the makers computation of $l4799,
no. giving constant employment to 1887 persons
S,l99 being males and 1868 females. In the same
State, and during the same period, l3sOs bushels of
Oepegs, valued at $ls2O6, and l2S5OO lasts, worth
towns engaged in this commerce are Worcester Lynn
Huerhil and Milford, though there are many others
less worthy of mention doing very extensive business
To give some idea of the extent of this trade We may
mention that sne6h Of the whole population OF Essex
County are engaged in it
But immense these 6gures prove the trade TO be,
they very nadequate represented its real value and i'm
portanee as the returns though collected az the expense
OF the State for public purposes entirely voluntary
in consequence of which many refused to render any In
formation while others notoriously uuderyaued the eX
tent Of their business from what they improperly
sidered prudential motives" But il by no means
faithful index at the time of publication it is totally n-
applicable to the present state Of the trade as persons
who have for years been extensively engaged in the
wholesale branch in NewYork and whose position ena-
bes them TO form an accurate Judgment, of opinion
tate production in OF boots aud shoes
least doubled in the last nine years We may thus get
approximation to the real value at tbs present day by
adding say twenty-five per cent. 10 the stfeial re'
turns for differentiation which would give $lS,a95925
a. the value ofthat manufacture in 1916 aud doubling
to allow for the estimated increase should have the
enormous Of S36997 $50 which, great as 1t is is
believed to be within rather than to exceed the value
and onehrd ofhe whole of this finds its way to New
iork, either for resxportaton or home use.
Presuming the imperfectiOns ia the returns to be
evenly proportional throughout every branch of trade,
We lind developed the startling fact that every other
nuiaeture Is inferior in value to that Of boots and
Aaoss the next most important item consisting of cotton
I'll a n