The Red Cloud chief., 1885-07-03
ElREMEN.S HATS

tJHe HAJS.
Belts and Truopses Ases vssssesss
Comp.aies Thsn MISUNDERSTANDING
Points.
With al the changes in the styles
Of hat, the old regulation iireman's ha;
holds its own" said one II the oldest
dealers in iirenen's equipments in the
city 10 = reporter. The place was .
little store on q downtown cross street
and the dealer was found busily q: work
attaching small ~red-lesther letters TO
strips Of white leather By means Of glue.
1.-The regulation fireman's hat to-
DAY is the same shape As it was long be-
fore we began business. and ;ha, i,
twenty-five years ago he aided.
They are lighter weight. but tha, is
the ONLY difference. We make item
usually Of black. but there are IRE COM
psnies who prefer colored one and we
have made them in all co!orS jus:
now We are filing an order for a lot in
q bluish-gray color. The chief part Of
q fireman's hat is made of oak-tanned
sole leather. fastened to a framework Of
strong wire"
What are the prices" was asked.
1.-The usual price is from $50 TO IS
each. but ! have made fancy one for
presentation purposes that cost as high
as s1h You may think il n little
strange, but we send . good MANY of
them TO South America Another fact
that may interest the public is that
Cuba has the largest fire company in
the world. Why. we have made over
two thousand equipments for Cuba and
Havana The reason this company j,
the largest known is because the whole
fire department there is called one COM
pany. II is known as Bomberos del
Comercio No. /. The hat is black and
the front shield i, the same. on which
are the letters in red giving the name
of the company. These letters are all
cut by hand. There are very few man
ufacturers Of this kind Of good, in the
country ard only three or four in this
city. But there are many supplying
agents who travel about the country
taking orders for anything = fire COM
pany needs
but don't you make any Of the hats
of q shape different from tho r-gula-
ton pattsrn9"
.'Oh. yes. a good many. Some o! the
companies wanting to be peculiar have
ordered some Of helmet shape. like
policemen's hats. But the style dOesa't
last. for. after wearing them q short
time. the companies usually cone back
and var the regulation shape. BY
regulation VI mean the hat used by
both pad and volunteer departments.
1t has four large cones. and between
these -four smaller ones. For service
no better hat is made. and on parade
they are the most becom NJ to firemen.
Care is always taken to have sufficient
ventilation w.thOut injuring the strength
Of the hat. For officers and p~resenta-
tons We frequently make them with
fancy embossed rim and gold leather
fronts. on which is painted a steamer.
hose carriage, or truck. In these fancy
hats the peculiarly is in the great num-
Der Of cones. For instance, the Prize
Chicago Tournament hat had Is cones.
and one that VIC had at the Centennial
had $40 cones. the lsrges; number
ever known TO have been put in . single
hat.
1.-The fact is" added the speaker,
''that the companies having the best
equipments and who take most pride in
their work are the volunteer companies.
As fo- the volunteer organizations de-
creasing in number. rs is generally
supposed, the contrary is the case.
There are more volunteer companies in
existence now than formerly. Take it
in the towns close to New York. Zach
one has volunteer fire companies. and
they are composed of young business
men ia some Of the largest houses Of
this city. They make a sort of social
club of their company as well. and ut
the same time are exempt from any jury
duty"
What do belts cOst?:"
Ordinary ones come at S1.oO to %.
But l have prize Ones for a. high as $50
and $40. A new thing in the ..reman's
trumpet line is one twelve inches high
that will throw the voice as far as any
of L larger size. is more convenient to
handle, and can be carried in the over
coat pocket. 1t first was introduced BY
the Auburn Fire Department. A trumpet
double-plaiei in silver with bell and
mouth-piecr. gilt, and twenty inches
high. costs from $50 to $S5.-N. \.
hail and Express.