The Great Falls leader. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1888-1890, 1888-07-28
MAKING STRAW HATS.
HOW THE INDUSTRY HAS GROWN
IN THIS COUNTRY.
Successive Steps by Which the Grass Of
China Becomes . Hat In America-Why
Bleached Hats Turn Yellow-Finishing
Touches

China Becomes . Hat In America-Why
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 number Of straw hat manu-
factories, some of which give employment
to more than two hundred hands, besides
lot Of the most ingenious and skillfully
devised machinery Most of this ma
chinery is Of American invention. With
it ten times more work can be turned out
by the skilled operative than by the old
hand process, and yet better wages made
At less labor.
The straw hat of civilization is nearly .
century old, and it's 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
broucht higher prices, braids woven with
Tuscan straw, and that from Bohemia and
Switzerland, were exclusively used, but
they are now employed only for the finest
grades. The cheaper qualities for the
masses, such as the "Mackinaws." are al
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 Leghorn hat Is made entirely In
Italy. and only the finishing is done In
| this country. Chip and Panama hats. al
| though sold under the general denomina-
| tion Of straws, are made in fact from en-
tirely different material The chip Is so
called because made from the splints Of
the Lombardy poplar. out Of which the
sap has been dried by burial in the ground
for three years-a precaution taken to
prevent it from turning red, which hap.
pens when dried in the air. The Panama
is made from the immature leaves Of 9
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, 1t is often the
only occupation that all the members o1
the family engage In. The average wages
earned are penny day. When The
species Of grass or wheat used for making
the straw has attained it's full height, ani
before it is quite ripe. it Is cut down. lef'
on the ground and allowed to bleach /,
the sun. This process being completed
the stalks are bound in sheaves about I
foot in circumference and then drawn ou1
as wanted. After severing them at th'
joints into strips four or FIVE inches il
length, they are put into a kind Of a slew
and sorted in equal sizes. Those at th'
top being finer have a greater value thar
the lower or coarser ones These piecel
are In turn separated and tied into bun
dies of convenient size. Those of goot
color are laid aside for bleaching. Will,
those spotted or discolored are dyed ant
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 th'
stalks in a box with burning birthstone
The plating, next in order. Is done mostl,
by women and girls, while the straw is ii
damp state, and after the braids ar,
pressed fat they are put in rolls of It,
yards, packed in bales and ready fol ex
portation. Encouraged by their govern
ment the japanese. with their character
1 istic energy. havo recently begun thi
industry.
WHY HATS TURN YELLOW