West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1885-05-01
SHORT SHOES.
Two-Thirds or More of the Peo-
pie Wear Them.
What Practical Shoemaker Has to Say
About Footwear-Interesting Com
ments on the Outlines OF Many
Queer Feet.

II II hucn Detter Tor man to have
short meal than short shoe. =" re-
marked one of Bostons oldest practical
shoemakers, rehectively
" say it, he continued without
fear of contradiction. that at least two
thirds of the people in Boston wear
shoes that are too short. A shoe
should bc comfortably tight about the
instep, and especially 50 through the
waist of the foot, between the instep
and the great toe joint This permits
free movement of the toes, which is alb
soluteiy essential if one would keep his
foot in good condition; that is, as ma
ture intended it should be. This Is
especially true as regards children. A
child's foot is so flexible that il can be
formed in almost any shape The
Chinese, as YOU know, by bandaging
their feet make them very short with
high insteps. That is to say, what
they save in the toes and front pAft of
the foot is forced into the heel and
ankle"
What is the average size of mans
shoe?"
Well, about eight. and three full
neatest foot gear man can wear-tAat
is, provided no buttons are missing
but "A laced one is better for the foot.
because it better and more easily sup
ports it. Nearly all armies. YOU know.
of the present day march with laced or
tied shoes. Congress shoes are good
looking and easy to put on. They arc
well adapted for lazy folks, but don't
believe in them, for they frequently
make the ankles ache without the wear
ers being aware of the cause.
How about long boots?"
Such as were formerly known as
WellingtOns? We make very few of
them now, shoes having almost entirely
taken their place. They are particu-
larly injurious to the feet when not
properly fitted. One of them badly fit
ted in the instep may cause an injury
in one day that will last a lifetime.
Think of that! The instep bone, once
injured, will never recover 20 complete
~ that q new boot. pressed on it will
not cause pain. Strangely enough the
sale of them has fallen of at least nine
~ per cent. within the past five years
The few we make now are mostly for
old gentlemen Gentlemen Of the old
school, you may say. The use Of top
boots for horseback riding, is, however.
becoming quite general. For weddings
and dancing parties the popular boot is
q patent leather congress with cloth top
They may be'allowed 10 fit little closer
than other boots, because they are only
worn for a few hours on smooth or car
peted floors, and not for twelve hours
and upwards on rough roads, pave
ments. etc, as most other boots are. "
"How about slippers?'
They can be worn a little shorter
than a shoe, but should be easy over
the toes, with snug waist and instep
All patent-leather shoes by the way.
should be warmed in cold weather
before being put on. otherwise they
will crack and bring, perhaps, unjust
blame ON the dealer Ordinary boots
and shoes should be kept i'm moder-
atelv dry place and never in damp
closets. where leather soon molds and
rots
What have you 10 say about heels?'
They should. as n rule. be low. not
only out Of regard for the wearcr'
feelings. but for the longer wear Of the
boot or shoe A Young man. 81 customer.
once remarked in the store. Il don
want any such flat heels, referring
to those on n pair / had shown him
There happened to be q clergyman in
the store at the time, and he said DO
you allow such cxpressionsY / told
him that we could not dictate 10 Gus
TONERS '
" We'll, he said, 4 believe II God
inten led us to have high heels that he
would have given them TO US and ]
agree with him.
"Iu taking measure, 10 YOU measure
both fect?'
Not unless ! observe q difference i'm
them. or am told by the customer that
one exists that is, of course, unless the
foot ! measure Is very much mis-hapcn.
when ] naturally expect that tbc other
viii present some peculiaritic- We
had case last week Of man with one
foot shorter than the other. but we made
his shoes OF the same length, so that his
feet should appear alike, and 60 give his
short foot "a chance 20 lengthen out Ia
70 case OF that kind, as you will see it
Is much better 90 encourage the hort
foot than discourage the long one.
Such encouragement is Of course much
more liable 90 be effective with children
/ than with adults Cases of this kind
/ are. however. rare
''You mus, have some YER, nid feet