The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1884-08-15
THE COBBLERS.
American Inventions Crowding Them
on the Bench.

II might just rs well give up" IN
old English cobbler said, sorrowfully;
.there Is no use fighting American ma
chinery. Things get worse every day,
and all the cobblers are going into 9TH
er trades"
SLOW long have you been ut itf'
almost fifty years. l was appren-
ticed when / was boy for seven years,
and learned my trade under good
master. l became journeyman and
did fairly. When was "a l came to
this country and opened small shop.
Business was good for ten or twelve
years, and put by little money.
Then they began to invent Idon't be-
lieve there is single thing about
boot or shoe but what is covered by
dozen patents. There arc machines
that cut pegs, and machines that drive
them, sewing machines that sew with
cord, or gut, or wire, and finishing ma
chimes. They were bad enough until
manufacturers began TO divide up the
trade. Instead of one man who started
with the leather and worked until he
turned out pair of boots, they'd have
two dozen men. each of them TO do one
thing and no more. Then the Massa-
chusetts men made contracts with the
prisons and the penitentiaries, and SO
got their labor for almost nothing. You
can see how it is yourself There is
that shoe store across the way. The
storekeeper never handled an awl in
his life, but he makes money. Those
shoes hanging on the left marked 81,
were made down near Boston by ma
chinery in great factory. They sell
'em to the jobbers for about q dollar.
The jobber sells them again to the re-
taller for dollar and q quarter, and
he makes 75 cents on them. And they
are not bad shoes either. / couldn't,
to tell the truth, make 'em for less
than So. The shoes alongside marked
81 and 81. so are what makes me dis
gusted. They come from some state
prison and usually wear for two or
three months. In the good old days
the mechanic or clerk could buy pair
of shoes for four or five dollars, and by
being careful they'd last five or six
months. He'd then have 'em half-soled
and they'd be good for couple Of
months more. For half-soling and
heeling we cobblers would get from 81
to 81. Nowadays the mechanic buys
these prison shoes, and when they wear
out gets new pair. don't blame
him, though. He keeps his feet in bet
ter condition, and 1t costs less than 1t
used to. suppose it used to cost
workingman about $12 for his shoes;
now it costs IS or Sc. But it's rough
on us old cobblers. Business is just
about one quarter what it was, and be-
fore long there'll be no cobblers left.
You may have noticed how most of 'em
are Germans. The English, American
and Irish are nearly gone, and even the
Germans get discouraged. and give up
the lapstone and open q small beer sa-
loom"
Doesn't the machinery do honest
workp"
That depends on the concern. Take
those evening shoes. OF course, they're
only worn in the parlor, and SO they
never need half-soling. You'd suppose
that sole solid leatherP Well, it isn't
one machine slices the leather rs thin as
writing paper. They take two of these
sheets and sandwich them with PASTE
board and some patent glue, and an
other machine rolls it out into what
looks like handsome piece of sole
leather. 1t costs one quarter rs much,
and for pariors it is all right. But it
the owner has to walk home through o
heavy rain, all of o sudden the whole
thing may drop out. They use it, too.
for shoes for babies and nurses. Here
Ia another sample-a thin sheet of
leather veneered on to canvas. This
isn't altogether fraud because you
can use it for baby carriages and for
covering furniture, but for shoes it is
worse than worthless. 1t wouldn't last
more than three days. IN T. Sun.