The morning call., 1892-10-15

remain obscure and unknown of few min
utes previously.
daDper young man, with little book
in his hands, was moving rapidly around
from one man to another, and then he dis
appeared up stairway.
lie was checking off the men, and later
the women employed. to see that every
body was in his or her place.
The women do not commence their days
work until 7;45 A. NJ in that factory-three-
quarters of an hour later than the men.
A great many people in the shoe factories
work by the piece" that is, they are paid
according to the amount OF work they are
doing.
If any of these are tardy and happen to
come late there is not much said about il,
except when times are very busy and there
is big demand for the particular kind Of
work he or she happens to be engaged on.
But the people who are paid by the day
are compelled 10 be on time or lose at least
quarter OF day.
Ii man fails to show up at A NJ. he
might as well remain away until $50 A. NJ,
because he will only be able 10 make
three quarter day ANYHOW.
All these ihings 1 learned from very
obliging foreman who constituted him self
my guide. mentor and assistant chaser of a
shoe.
To this man am very grateful. for with
ont him | surely would have been hopelessly
q
women and material.
To prepare me properly for what might
expect to encounter during the day Jones,
my guide (whom call by that name because
he has anotber), informed me that shoe
before 1t Is ready for the market has to pass
through from sixty to seventy hands, ac-
eording to what kind Of shoe 1t is.
This was decidedly discOuragng, but did
not propose to back out, and we started ON
our chase in what Jones said was the
cutting-room.
1t impressed me at first as formidable
place. There were long rows of tables
surrounded by men with their shirtsleeves
rolled up brandlshing long knives with
cleaning blades.
But Jones assured me they did not mean
any harm and they used their weapons in
the peaceful pursuit of cutting the different
parts of boots and shoes according to pat
terms out Of the skins ana hides spread on
the tables.
around the surface of a skin so as to leave
hardly any remnant 10 speak of is a first
class cutter.
Economy and quick eye in calculating
how 10 utilize every bit OF that skin are
necessary Qualities for a man who wants to
earn his living in this department.
In some OF the big Eastern factories they
use dies and stamp the patterns by machin-
cry, but in this city that kind OF work is all
done by hand.
''You see this floor is covered with little
bits and strips Of leather" said Jones'
They are the unavoidable remnants, and
we use them to feed our furnaces with,
which goes to show that there is nothing
wasted in shoe factory"
The remnants could be ground into pulp
and used I'm the manufacture OF what is
known as "shoddy" leather.
They use them that way in the East, and
that is the reason there are so many shoes
in the market that fall off a mans feet
when they get wet.
California people want no such trash and
therefore the remnants are used as fuel.
The next room Jones led me to he called
the wax-thread room. There the sides as
they come from the cutters are sewed to-
gether by machinery
When they leave these machines they are
turned inside out, and there are number
Of men in an adjoining department whose
sole duty is to turn them outside out again.
For this purpose they have long brass
cylinder machines which accomplish the
turning process with neatneSs and dis
patch
When nv shoe had gone that far it was
put with several hundred of its own kind on
a shelf which moved on rollers.
The shelf WAS rolled on the platform of
an elevator and sent up to the next floor.
OF course we followed. and when / got mp
on that floor | met with an agreeable sur
prise Ny shoe had been sDatehed out OF
| the rude hands of the men downstairs to
| pass into the gentle care of the shoe6tter
| girls upstairs.
Jones pulled me by ne coatsleeve as
| was about to start in hot pursuit of that
| CATER, for when perceived into what kind
| of hands 1t would fall next my interest in
| its career increased strangely.
Hold on, young man." said Jones. BE
| fore you wander around these sacred pre-
| cincts in which man is rarely allowed to
| enter it becomes my duty to impart to you
| some information on the genus homo shoe
| filter for but little is known to the outside
| world of what the gay and festive shoe-
| factory girl, seen at pienics and dances, -
| when she Is at work earning some mes not
only her own living but in many instances
| That of mother or baby besides.
| Jones was very much in earnest ana 1
| had 10 listen to his lecture. Besides. ne
| assured me that my shoe would have TO re-
| main nm that floor for some time before all
| tho women were through with 1t. So
| learned all he knew about the shoehtteIs
| before made the personal acquaintance of
| the latter.
"You must know" Jones said as starter,
"tbat there are many different kinds OF shoe
filters. .
| habits amp In their value as workers.
] fore it depends entirely upon their skill nd
| industry how much wages they earn.
"Some of them are married, and those
! who are not wish they were.
when shoehtter marries she generally
| selects a shoemaker for husband.
| There are about twenty different lines
| OF work done on this floor. each one OF them
coming under the head of shoeftting.
There are yampeTs, stitchers, lining