The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1884-04-27
SIX PAIRS or SHOES 4 MINUTE
Machines witch Iurw Them Ous ~ " they
were narrsI slaves or TSnNls Cana.


A cobblcr takes half day to sole and heel
pair Of shoes. In Grow Hill penitentiary a
few hundreds Of men and women start with
tho raw material. and turn out $500 pairs Of
shoes In ten hours or tSore than six pairs Of
shoes q minute. Tho men and women have
little to do with II. Machines do the work. and
need only to be fed. started. and stopped: all
the flne and ingenious work ~ building n beau
tiful shoe they do. one part at u time and ono
machine to each part. For instance. ths first
machine cuts tho solos out Of tho loathor 1t
Is nothing but punch fitted with knife the
share OF II shoe sole. Different sized knives
gu. out anything. from baby's to plantation
dafkys size. Cutting out the soe3 louvcs the
sheets Of leather In tattcrs. The biggest tat
tcrs ars used for heels: tho smallest mako
fuel. Leather scraps make as good q furnace
fire as coal docs. The next machine splits II
thin slice o, tho upper surface Of tho solo n lit.
u" way from the edge al around. so that 1t
looks AZ II II thin sheet hal been pasted on. to
tho sole. leaving tho .dErs unpastod. Under
this iOus" edge u machine prrssrs II littlo gut-
ter or channel IN which the mailing or sowing is
done md nfterwnrd hidden by pnsting tho
loose edge over il when the upper Ia attached.
Al the same moment othorcpnvicts arc cut
hng prr.rs out Of sheHis q dressed fniiskin.
tho needed sizes This is done by hand but
the Innings ara sewcd to the uppers and tho
lining by machinery. Ths but,onholcs IRE
stitched by automatic machines. consisting OF
n sewing machine having under tho needle a
little plate which turns exactly in accordance
with the outlines Of tho buttpnhole and stops
when the bnttonhoe is finished. Ono man
feeds several III iclinrs. starts them. ana does
not touch them white they AFRO at work. After
this the soies and uppers, come into the hands
on. who put tho , two together, with 2 worry few
small tncks. These people all work like light
nE but are nn Sw hsls ths in
several ways One machine puts in brass
screws ana bites them OH exactly at the right
surface OF tho leather; another drives in an
iron screw with the same nicely; another sews
passnr bsSasR s heai meta horn Whea
hand sewing with yellow thread. leaving nm
look pretty. The merit Of this machine is that
the shoes it sews nre piabc and easy to the
h IN Srnk xSsd price, This does its
The heols ars mais separately. and when
finished have all the nails projecting half an
leather. convict puts ono of th"se heels into
metal cup in press OF grcnt power. and
Then down comes great bar and suuoc2cs the
heel and shoe together driving every other
na,l al the way in ami ,'aYin. every other nail
out, puts n pretty heel tap in. puts tho shoe
back. submits Il to tho pressure. and then with.
the nails not quite through the tap. which pre-
scntsa smooth. unbroken under service. Tho
set Of ranidy ,eVolying knives shaped to MAKE
aiys FTonGS Soe mother %ashin chin - cuts ss Inc .
and smooths the edge of the sole. The edge Of
tho solo and the sides OF tho heel are black
en"d and the edge Is put under 4 hot iron
moves to and fro with incredible rnpidty. in
imitation OF the motions. OF tho .cobhlers who
Also heated by u gas Jet. doe: the same tnin..
for the heel, and does 1t under such pressure
smootne4 oyor filed UP. and concenlsd,
Snms slno unperrs have eyelet holes instead
prison tor doin. this work. 1t has two stool
rods close to ono another. and while ono
punches ths holes the other inserts the eyel"ts.
exactly into place to fix into the punctures in
the leather. and to have their edges squeezed
over by. the other rod and tho piece that fits
upon 1t. Twenty years ago shoemaking ma
chinerv performed only one half this work and
did that roughly. Now the shoes made in
wro 1T iii rrIGn are o such as most persons
nhln. and well finished. Some OF them retail
for IL or - Il pair.
In th's prison. side by side with tho scum OF
poycd. There ara probably two hundred girls
in the female prison. who live in Brooklyn.
come every morning. and arc free to 60 home
Whenever they present u certain ticket at the
prison door. The Warden. who is. in all probn-
hIity. NOT consulted. since these persons work
for the contractors. was asked what he thought
y"nhs of good morals. He renlird TINT there
used to be-. u general feeling that the arrange
men, was imrroper and danG,;r2us. but it has
employed in Grow Hill eleven or twelve years.
ahn OF al tao hundreds who have thus come
dhily to the prison mt ono has ever b'rn sent
there rs prisoner The outsiders do not have
anything TO do with tho prisoners. They sit
apart and never under any circumstance
speak word to the convets.