Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1886-07-09
FAST SHOEMAKING.
Interesting Facts Given BY
Talkative Workman
Finishing n Fine, Handmade Pair Of
Shoes In Six Hours and Twenty Min.
utes-A Pair of Top-BoOts Worth
S125-Tricks of the Trade.
IN. Y. Tritune.l


"They have been ready for you Just ten
minutes" said a downtown shoe-dealer to
a man who ran excitedly into his store a
few days aro. A fine-looking pair of
shoes were taken out of a box and shown
to the man, who said they appeared too
small. His old shoes we're taken Off, the
new ones put on, and he seemed to be sat.
isfed and went out as hurriedly as he
came in, leaving, however, twenty-five
dollars for the new shoes.
"Yes, that is pretty fair price for a
pair of shoes; much more than i could
have got from any one else, bat no more
than would charge under the same cir
eumstances,' said the dealer. "To make
those shoes had TO stop work on another
mans who was not in as great hurry
This customer came to me at ten O'Clock
this morning and asked If could make
him pair of shoes so that he could wear
them when first put on and in time to catch
the six O'Clock train from the Grand Central
Station. Wen, being a regular customer,
told him would try, and if succeeded
he agreed to give me twenty five dollars.
Having his measure already, l did rot
have to stop for that, and the bargain was
no sooner made than l called up a little
English shoemaker f ON down stairs, who
is the swiftest workman / ever saw, and
told him what | wanted. He went back to
his bench, and tell you things fairly flew,
although the little fellow did not seem to
be hurried. He could lay his hanl on every
tool without looking, and he kept on stead
lily, not wasting much time for lunch.
Once in awhile his eye would seek the
clock, and he seemed satisfied. We'll, he
went through the whole process of making
the shoes, from cutting out the leather to
polishing and fitting in the linings, in six
hours AMI twenty minutes. This, l be-
lieve, is as quick as any handmade shoe
was ever finished, and it was good work,
too.
"Do you know that there arc only few
shocmakers in New York? What mean
is that there are not any m IN who know
all about the shoemaker's trade. There
are enough shoemaker's signs hanging
around. but a sign docs not make a shoe
maker. He must have learned his trade,
and do not think that seven years. ap-
premiership is any too long for even q
bright boy to learn the trade in all its de-
partments. Would you believe that about
nine-;enths of all the shoemakers in this
city can not cut an upper SO as to be sure
OF tit! Nearly all of them when they
get an order for pair of shoes will take
the measurements TO cutter in some of
the large shoe factories. who is kept
specially for this purpose. Most Of the
shoemakerS are bunglers, and even when
the upper is cut, can not fasten it to the
sole so as 70 preserve the shape, except
once in n while by accident Though
people generally do not know il, a shoe is
one of the hardest things to make-that is,
when made properly an / 50 as to fit every
wrinkle iii the foot wi:hou5 pressure or
strain upon any part. People risk their
| feet and future comfort in the hands OF
men who claim to be shoenakers, but who
have yer been taught any thing more
! than the way to put on heel ani sole
! Machine ork has driven hand-mad shoes
ont OF the market TO large extent. But a
man who makes machine shoes can not be
called shoemaker. He only makes a.
part of a shoe. There are five distinct
processes in making an upper and eleven
la putting on am finishing soles. Where
the work is done by machinery each of
these processes is done by one man. The
man who cuts the upperS by iron
patterns knows nothing about
putting on the soles, except in a
general way, and SO on in every other
branch of the work. BY machinery a
complete shoe can be turned out in as
many minutes as it takes hours by hand.
Team work is more profitable to the work.
man, but the product is not as economi-
cal to the purchaser. Despite all claims
to the contrary, machine shoes wear out
sooner than handmade, and only retain
their shape for q few days. The seams
give and the upper stretches in every di-
rection. Machine-work, of course, is ac-
curate and teams become expert at it and
do creditable work of the kind, but one Of
these shoes which viii fit to-day to-mo--
row will be large enough fer foot and a
half.
"Is there any dull season in the shoe
trade! Yes, it begins about tho first of
July and lasts until the mi Idle OF Septen-
bcr, an also from the mi Idle Of Decen-
ber 10 the middle of February. Between
these periods the main part of the shoe
business is done. The profit on shoes
ranges from fifty to one hundred re. cent /;
i'll individual cases it is frequently more or
/ less than these amounts. The largest
/ price / ever got for a pair of shoes or
! boots is one hundred and twenty five dol
lars. This was for pair of top boots or
dered y an actcr whose name is known
the world over. They were for use on the
stage and were simply gorgeous. They were
! not worth nearly that amount, but had an
/ order to make the finest boot that could be
! turned out, n 0 matter what it might cost,
and by putting up the price TO good
| figure it gave the impression of value til at
/ did not exist. If l had placed the same
| boots at ten dollars he would hare thrown
| them into the street. But the shoemaker
! has trials. Human nature is q queer COM
! pound. I've been selling shoes for forty
/ years, and never met man yet who put
on a shoe for the first time who did not
! have a word or two to say against it. But
| / would rather fit ten men thIn one woln-
| an. A shoe that just fits her foot so as to
be comfortable is always too big for any
thing, ut if her foot is cramped, twisted
contorted and generally deformed she
! looks into your face with a smile that
hides her suffering and tells you it is Just
the thing. How some women Gun walk
with the shoes they wear is more than ]
can understand. People never take proper
care of their shoes. Backing ruins The
! leather. IL used it should be washed OF
thoroughly every two weeks at least, and
the leather rubbed with neatsfoot oil. A
little shellac in solution put on the soles
once in a while viii keep them hard and
add greatly to their durability. Thas, fos
about fifteen cents for these two items. at
least one hundred per cent. will be added
TO the wearing capacity of shoes.
! N
/ There are more ban IS sold now in o