The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-12-23

1 He next had a leather-sOled shoe 70 deal
| with, and it was operated upon IN exactly
| the same way as the other. the lines of
stitching running all the way across the
bottom. The writer, during the above
operations. asked many questions, and, as
| Sing had warmed into pleasant communi-
cative mood, the following very interesting
information regarding shoes was Cleaned:
t*In China, where, of course, the greater
portion of all the shoes worn by Celestials
in this country are made, there Is an alb
sence Of well-tanned leather. and it is for
this all-important reason that the leather
soIed shoes are made so thick. If a thin
layer Of that poor leather were used, the
shoes would wear out in no time, and as
they are rather expensive from Celestial
point of view, a wearer of thin-soled shoes
would have heavy bill for footwear to
pay. 1t is for the same reason that the
uppers of all the shoes are made of cloth,
for there is very little Of the thin, orna-
mental leather in the country, and as the
Chinese are not very progressive, they
would never think of importing that very
useful article so as to make their shoes more
durable.
OF the cloth tops there are many varie-
ties, although by far the greater percent
age of Cinnamon wear those of black silk
or cotton, Ornamented with embroideries of
different sorts. The designs upon them
elaborate Of the sabots cost as high as Sl2
and $15 pair, while those worn by the rich
mandarins in China are even more ex-
pensive than that. An ordinary pair of
shoes, however, can be purchased for about
So, and it is only the well-to-do merchants
or laundrymen or the Celestial dude who
can buy the more expensive sorts.
Chinese dudes, by the way, often wear
shoes the uppers of which are made of blue,
1T.fNla -ad oil ahrsraif III -a1
with some other contrasting color, but
these, as a rule, are sent to them direct from
China, where some sweetheart or living
Acknowledged wife has worked on them for
many days, so that her absent lord may cut
dash among the swells of Chinatown.
The shoes with felt soles are much more
popular than the other, and it is thought by
the wearers of them that they last longer
and look better than those made of leather
The soles are also easier to whiten, and this
is great point in their favor.
The Tartar ladies, who do not follow the
custom of Chinese ladies of rank in cramp-
ing their feet, wear the same sort OF shoes
as the men, but the soles are made thicker.
The only reason Sing could give why the
soles of the shoes were sewed all the way
across was that if the felt or leather used
was sewed only around the edge, it would
warp out of all reasonable shape on the
first wetting
There are also Chinese slippers that are
quite novelty in their way, and very
cheap. They are made either of woven
straw or bamboo with fiat soles, no heels
nor counters, and resemble what are known
in New England as slipshods. In the front
beneath the woven bamboo are placed strips
of different colored paper, which have quite
good effect.
Sing Lee lives very modestly, and as he
makes sometimes as high as 81 in a single
day on mending shoes, ne does pretty well,
and is quite satisfied with his life.