The Portland daily press., 1867-11-13

tFrom the Shoe and Leather Reporter


" hois responsible for all the curses hurled
st ana the aiiathenas heaped upon the manu-
i1cturerS OF ana dealers i'll sfoddy shoes; ecno
answers, achoF Ii is notorious fact, peculiar
y appilcabie TO this country, that a large ma
lofit! OF c sale work made by our army OF
manufacturers is sadly detective, causing con-
SINNERS to condemn them in no measured terms
lhe assertion has been often repeated and as
often feiuted that the DAYS of shoddy were ov-
or, anu that the people were determined III fu-
lure 10 purchase none but first class coverings
ior tiie teet. 1t is n common be asst that the
United States possesses better wnrkmen and
greater facilities for making. DO DIS and shoes
IMAM any country on the face of the globe, and
yet the quality Of the goods annually sold I'M
der fancy and high sounding names is any
thing but good, II taken as whole.
III Is an old saying, that every effect mas IT'S
cause, aud it applies well in one case as an
other. If consumers and retaiefs Were 70 IT,
fuse 10 purchase poor goods, the hi".i
of the same would soon cease, were u nor ipr
fine fact that boots or shoes may be made which
| have every appearance of being of superior
| onalitv and vet when put to the test of wear,
| hidden detects soon crop out anu the wearers
cont;dence in the manufacturer is destroyed.
| The inability of consumers who are in poor
circumstances to pay the prices demanded for
prime goods compels them to purchase those
which are cheaper i'll price, but dearer in other
respects. The retailer, anxious to obtain the
best looking shoe for the least amount of mon
ey, refuses to buy first class goods knowing
well that they will not be appreciated by his
customers. The manufactures, in view OF the
high cost OF materials and labor and the great
competition in the trade; resorts to many novel
and ingenious methods to make his productions
pleasing to the eye, without mourning too
much expense; for instance the upper may be
of good quality, while the sole NAV be dam
aged or inferior leather, faced or veneered
Win very thin shaving of prime quality.
The heel may be composed of pancake
which is made of successive layers of thin
leather shayings obtained from the curriers'
and pasted together, and which, well finished
and covered with black varnish, looks very
| well, but lacks the elements of durability
| The inner-sole may be cheap, spongy leather,
| pasteboard, or an article called leather
board, which bears n resemblance to leather,
| and is made by grinding the shavings, scraps
| and cuttings, obtained from the shoe manu-
| factories, TO a fine powder, to which is added
an adhesive mixture the whole thoroughly
| combined and rolled into sheets of the desired
| thickness LII TO the above is added a misera-
| BILE apology for lining, poor and insufficient
| ly waXed thread, patent leather tips OF inferior
| quality, the whole badly lasted, consumers
| soon learn Ito their sorrow) that the question
| of durdbafdy has been entirely ignored still,
| IN their ignorance of the original cost of supe-
| ror goods and their inability or unwilling
| ness to pay the figures asked for fhem they
have encouraged manufacturers to resort to
| practice detrimental TO the reputation of the
| trade
| The faults of the trade not confined TO
| manufacturers alone, but are divided between
| them, their customers and the consumers. Ii
| the public desire to remedy existing evils, let
| them first cast the beams from their own eyes,
| resolving that the best goods are the cheapest,
and that they will have no other; such Il course
| would soon force retailers to comply with the
| wishes OF the people, and wholesalers and
manufacturers finding no market for shoddy
goods, would turn their attention to the pro-
| duction of first class articles