The Opelousas courier., 1892-06-11
GOATSKINS
THEIR CONVERSION INTO FINE
LEATHER A BIG INDUSTRY.
how the Skins Are Purchased of
Sharp Arab Traders-Sorting
Skins for Leather Man
u~tacturers.
uTTHE American thinks he is

smart, SAID w. Il. Hill
dreth, of a New York firm,
G who are the largest buyers
of goatskins in the world, "and he does
know a thing or two about trading, but
the chances are that an Arab trader
would get the best of him every time
they made a deal. The Arabs are the
shire widest traders in tho world. They
know 20 a farthing the commercial
value of the article they want to sell,
and they will stick half a day for a
penny. They bring skins over the noun.
tains to Alden from the interior of Arabia.
At Alden abroker is employed to bring
about a conference between the American
buyer and the Arab seller. He gets the
two together in a room, coffee is drunk,
they are ready for business, and the fun
begins. Arabs are suspicious in trading,
and no one but the buyer and seller is
permitted to know what the terms are.
They clasp right hands and a scarf is
thrown over the hands, that hone may
sec. Not a word is uttered. The offer
is made in sign language. The buyer
grasps the sellers fore-inger at a joint.
The first joint indicates an offer of So
much; the second joint sc much more,
and the knuckle joint SO much, all the
time their hands being hidden by the
scarf. Invariably the first offer is re-
jected. The men part with words of
scorn, walk around the room and turn
their backs on each other. Then the
hpoJ-nr 5ptow,o,n, noFfoo 10 1rVrnL
and presently they get together again,
clasp hands under the scarf, and the ne
gotiaticn is resumed. This goes on about
half a day before an agreement is
reached. Then the buyer, if he was in
experienced enough to bly, by weight,
is lucky if he don't find a half pound or
SO of valuable Arabian sand sewed up in
the shank of each goatskin."
After the bales are lifted from the
hold of the steamers reaching this port
| they are carted to warehouses in various
parts of this city or Brooklyn for assort'
ment, but generally to the building in
Gold street, where the bulk of the work
of sorting and selection is done. The
four fours and basement of this Gold
| street warehouse in the heart of the
Swamp are filed to bursting at all sea-
sons with bales Of skins. The Tribune
reporter who visited it was told that the
value Of the goatsklns in this one build
| ing was $500, 600. All of the business
of sorting goat skins at this port is IN
der the SUI ~ervision of William Friel,
who is to the morocco manufacturing
world what the Caliph Haroun AL Ras-
child was to the people of Bagdad. Mr..
Friel is tie arbiter Of all the disputes
over goatskins, the Supreme Court, so to
speak, from whose decision there is no
appeal. This function, combined with
the responsible work Of classifying 3d.
000, 900 skins, by which their market
value is determined to the satisfaction of
both importer aud morocco manufac-
turer, renders Mr.. Friels place n of
great power and authority in the Swamp.
MIR. Friel was born in Brooklyn in 1912.
From the age of ten he has worked in
the Swamp handling hides and skins.
Ten years ago the buyers of goatskins
prevailed upon him to set up a business
as original as it is useful, that of a
"culler' of goatskins. All purchasers of
goatskins insist upon "Billy" Fr1el's Sc
l~ections. His rare judgment is shown
BIZ the fact that he has divided the i'm.
portations into over 100 different CLASH
fcations.
"The conversion of goatskins into
leather" said Isaac H. Bailey, editor OF
The Shoe and Leather Reporter, "ha'
increased all over the world to a larg'
extent. Calves, as we'll as other skins
have fallen into the background on &C
count of the good quality of the goat.
skin, which makes leather more pllablo
and almost as durable, especially with
the new tannages which have. come into
use in America. The American article
has widely superseded to French. Book
binders use it in considerable quantities.
There seems to be something like a rea
scarcity Of these skins. There ar
several reasons why there should be
The lands whence goatskins are imported
are generally poor countries, and tn
people treat the goat just as poor folk
in rich localities treat q savings bank
They keep their goats as long as the
can, aud only kill them as a last resort
But as supply generally keeps pace wit
demand, it is safe to say that goatskin
will increase in the world with tn
growth of the market for them"
One feature of the development o
morocco-manufacture in this country has
been the starting of a new business, thu
tanning of kangaroo skins. Eight year
ago the Australians hunted and shot thes
animals, and sat up nights devising way
to get rid of them. As an experiment
a small consignment was sent to TIL
country and tanned. They found
ready market, and now the factories o
America use 1,o01,0 600 kangaroo skin
yearly. The price in Australia has gon'
up from twenty-five cents oSi a pound,
and the people of that i~sland-continen
have begun to raise and herd kangaroo
as they would sheep.--New York Tribune