The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1888-06-22
MAKING STRAW HATS.
HOW THE INDUSTRY HAS GROWN
IN THIS COUNTRY.

Chipa Becomes n Hat In Amcrica--why
Bicached Hats Turn yeiiow-Finishing
Touches.
The manufacture OF straw hats though
not peculiarly American, has attained I'm.
mense proportions In this country. Over
In Brooklyn, In some OF the quiet streets
between the city hall district and Broad
way, are q number OF straw hat manu-.
factories, some Of which give employment
to moro than two hundred hands, besides
a lot Of the most Ingenious and skillfully
devised machinery. Most OF this ma
chinery is of American invention With
IL ten times more work can be turned out
by the skilled operative than by the old
hand process, and yet better wages mado
at less labor.
The straw hat Of civilization Is nearly q
century old, and its manufacture was not
begun In Brooklyn to any extent until
about eleven years ago The raw mate
rial Is all imported and, In fact, reaches
the manufacturer here In considerably.
advanced stage of preparation. 1t comes
from China, Japan and southern Europe
chiefly. Years ago, when straw goods
brought higher prices, braids woven with
Tuscan straw, and that from Bohemia and
Switzerland, were exclusively used, but
they arc now employed only for the finest
grades Tho cheaper qualities for the
masses, such as the "Mackinaws," are nl-
most entirely made with the straw braid
imported from China. This was found to
be less expensive than any other, because
the cost Of living among the producers
amounts to almost nothing.
|. THE CHIP HAT.
The Lechorn hat Is made entirely In
italy, and only the finishing Is dono In
this country. Chip and Panama hats. oil
though sold under the general denomina-
| bion of straws, are made In fact from en-
| sirely different material The chip is SO
| called because made from the splints OF
the Lombardy poplar, out Of which tho
sap has been dried by burial In the ground
| FOR three years-a precaution taken to
| prevent 1t from turning red, which hap
pens when dried In the air, The Panama
| Is made from the immature leaves of
| palm tree indigenous to South America.
The district of China where straw braid
is made lies in the region of Canton, and
many millions Of people are employed in
Its production. Living principally on
fruits, which the soil Of that country
naturally yields, and with no inclination
to do more profitable work, it is often the
OILY occupation that all the members of
the family engage in. The average wages
earned are a penny day. When the
species of grass or wheat used for making
the straw las attained it's full height. and
before 1t Is quite ripe. 1t Is cut down. left
on the ground and allowed to bleach In
the sun. This process being completed,
the stalks are bound in sheaves about a
foot in circumference and then drawn o1t
as wanted After severing them at the
Joints into strips four or five inches in
length, they are put into kind of sieve
and sorted in equal sizes Those at tho
top being finer have greater value. than
the lower or conrser ones These pieces
are In turn separated and tied into bun
dies of convenient size. Those of good
! color are laid aside for bleaching, while
those spotted or discolored are dyed and
used with the bleached to make variega-
ted braids The. solid colors are all dyed
In America to suit the leading fashion.
The bleaching is done by inclosing tho
stalks in box with burning birthstone
The plating, next in order, is done mostly
by women and girls, while the straw is in
q damp state, and after the braids arc
pressed fiat they are put in rolls Of xty
yards, packed in bales and ready fu ex-
portation Encouraged by their govern
ment the Japanese, with their character
istic energy. havo recently begun this
industry.
WHY HATS TURN YELLOW.
When the rolls reach the manufacturer
. In this country the braids are slightly
moistened and then sown together, begin
ming at the crown and working rouno
until tho whole Is finished. On the to!
floor of the straw works are the sulphur
rooms, where some of the hats are bleached
1t is found that nature or science has pro
vided nothing so powerful In this regart
as the SUM- and all the sulphur baths anC
other processes of bleaching are not com
parable with a sun bath. Ladies oftel
feel disappointed because their straw hat
turn yellow, but this Is the natural resul
of sulphur bleached goods Such O thin
never happens after sun bleaching. Whel
practicable and the weather permits thi
latter process Is used at all the works, an
on fine day rows of hats may be seen o.
! the roof undergoing whitening by tn
: operation of the suns rays. After bein
, dipped in French glue they are placed |
, Il drying room where the temperature
about 1l5 degs. and where the moisture
! extracted by means Of rapidly revolvin
t fans driven at high speed. This leave
. the hat in very pliable condition.
1 The blocking process is next In order
] Looking at a numbered tag which hi
been previously sewed inside, the worl
o man places the hat on. the proper steal
: heated sectional expanding metal bloc
Q and presses 1t into the required size an
o shape This blocking machine was II
= vented at the straw works The hat
s then placed on solid metal dies CORE
Il ponding In size to the blocks above mel
y toned, and subjected to n powerful h.
3 draulic pressure, which gives it it's prop
% form If for men and boys, the swea
D. band is then sewn in, and meanwhile Il
l. lace tip for the Interior Of tho crown
" | prepared by an ingenious machine whi,
r has an attachment for cutting 1t the g
act shape and size, as well as for sewin
Putting ON the band. the only process l
quiring handiwork in the making of the
" goods, is the last operation, and the b
" is finished ready for boxing ard shi
il ment. - New York Commercial Adv'
"A | tiser