Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1886-12-08
NO. 9.
CAST-OFF FOOT-GEAR.
How Secondhand Shoes Are Made Owe
and Sold in Large Cities.


lated streets of South Brooklyn, sits
from sunrise to sunset an old and dried
upshoemaker He always appears to be
busy, but the boots and shoes which
are exhibited in a showcase at the front
of the door have a aworn and dilapidated
appearance. The shoemaker, who is
character in his way, makes a living
by repairing and selling second
hand shoes There is not fortune in
the business, to be sure, but the aged cob
bier informed a reporter recently that by
working from sixteen to eighteen hours
a day he was able to support his wife
and little ones. The industry of reno
yating secondhand shoes is not a new
one, by any means. The idea origin
ated in London and is carried on large
ly in all European cities in the quarters
of the poor.
Said the shoemaker: "You would
be surprised to see the class of men
who purchase secondhand shoes.
have among my customers an elderly
gentleman who comes here regularly
every three months and buys pair of
shoes for one dollar and fifty cents.
He is wealthy, but miser. Many
men whom [ might name, and who
are well able to buy new shoes, prefer
second hand ones for economy's sake.
When pair of shoes is cast off they
are worthless to the original pur-
chaser, and can be bought for song.
When business is dull sometimes go
out on a collecting tour, and in
couple of hours will obtain enough
shoes and boots to keep me. employed
for a month. Boots are much more
valuable than shoes, because they con-
tain more leather. / find that they are
not worn much nowadays, and those
I occasionally come across are made Of
the finest leather
'What means are taken to burnish
up old shoes?" was asked.
''The uppers of secondhand shoes
are always good, whether the lowers
are worn or not. If the body of the
shoe is not in patchable condition |
must put on an entire new instep.
Usually the upper part of the heel to
the curve of the foot remains In good
condition. Sometimes it becomes nec-
essary to entirely renOvate old shoes,
so that when finished they are like new
ones, with this difference, that the
leather used is not SO good as the orig
inal. Soles and heels always have to
be rebuilt and the toes capped. In all,
these repairs the cheapest of sole
leather is used. When finished the
shoes can be sold from seventy-fve
| cents to one dollar and fifty cents. A
shoe must be of the finest leather and
be but little worn to bring two dollars. "
''Who are your customers?'
"Poor people, who can afford to pay
but little for their shoes. l supply
whole families with shoes. from the
father and mother to the baby. | do
but little business in women's shoes.
Women usually wear their shoes in the
street until they become shabby,
when they are cut down and used in
the house as slippers. And then be-
side, women's shoes are now so cheap
that it would not pay to make them
! over"
While the reporter was listening to
the cobbler's chatter there entered the
store laboring man who, after much
dickering, bought pair of brogans
three sizes too large for him for ninety
cents.
.'Those shoes which Ihaye just sold, }"
continued the shoemaker, ''will wear
tie man nearly q year. You know
y, nat he paid for them, and can esti-
mate about what shoe leather costs
some poor people who know where to
purchase. "
Half a dozen or more cobblers make
living in Brooklyn by mending and
making over old shoes Bs0okEya
Eagle,
-nrrco, gIrIs ger very low wages III
Canada. judging from a recent sermon
of a Kingston preacher, in which he
pleaded for more pay for domestics.
saying that many girls work hard,
early and late, for three dollars a
month, when they should receive ten
dollars.
Straw will soon be used for build
ing purposes. 1t is claimed that straw
NAV be closely pressed into bales 14x16:
inches, or of any size desired, and the
bales be used for building walls. The
walls can be plastered over, or be ar,
ranged to suit the convenience of the
builder Troy Times.
"A mammoth well is being dug on
Breaker Island, near Albany. N. Y. It
is over twenty feet in diameter and will
be sunk below the bed of the river a
distance of several hundred feet, SO that
the water will be of the purest quality
that can be secured. About four mil1
lion gallons will be consumed on the
island every day when the blast fur
naces are in operation. Albany Jour-
9aGl
The New York Lumber Trade Jour-
nal predicts that cherry will hold its
own and continue to be a favorite cabi4
net and finishing wood because there Isl
so little good cherry left; it will not have
a chance of becoming too common
There is none worth mentioning north
of Pennsylvania. and in that State its
owners know its value. There is good
deal left in West Virginia, Kentucky,
Tennessee, and North Carolina, but most
of it is where it will cost great deal to-
get it to market.