The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-11-26
SHOE OUTLOOK.

SHOE OUTLOOK.
The tanners have combined; they
fix the price of hides, tan bark
and leather. The shoe factories have
to pay the tanners price for leather,
and say I'VE will only manufacture
shoes as we get orders for them, and at
a good profit" The wholesale dealers
in the large cities, Boston. New York,
Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago, &C.,
have run prices up IN stock in their
hands because they n forced to or
lose heavily. The retailers in country
stores say I'VE don't know what will
be the outcome of all this, so will de-
lay our purchases, to supply the de-
mand on us, until we are compelled to
purchase, and then take what we are
bound to have, only" So between the
tanner, the manufacturer, the whole
sale jobber and his host of drummers,
the smaller jobbers and their drum
mers, the railroads and their freights,
the retailers and their profits, the
allowance all the way along for losses
in failures and bad debts, and for in.
terest on long standing accounts; all
this stalls
First, on the man who raises the cat
tie and saves the hides, who is ground
down by the tanner.
Second, the consumer of shoes, or
those who have to foot the bills that
sh5e the feet. You may belong in part
! to both these classes. You c~ertAi~I
belong to one of them; the second. Ac-
cOrding 70 the 1890 U. s. census. North
Carolina's per capita proportion of the
product of the factories of the U. s
cost the snug sum of. ..... SIS, OPP, 754 81
They cleared a profit on
! them 677,9l9 70
The factories sold &c.,. So, 700, 674 46
The census does not tell us who pur-
chased these shoes, but we find out by
observation and reading some things.
The wholesale jobbers in the large
commercial centers took nearly the
whole output; sold them to
wholesale dealers in the smaller
cities, who drummed them off
to such cities as Raleigh,
Charlotte, and towns of that size whence
they go out to the country stores. then
to the foot of the wearer. Is it reason
able to suppose that these shoes should
take this course over ships, rivers and
railroads and wagons to our feet, cal
culating the profits at every town, to
gether with the losses and risks, that
[ should not pay 81 90 for a shoe that
cost the factory only 81 90. This would
make the shoes worn in North Carolina
cost the wearers more than $1O,-
600, 600 One per cent, or one dol
lar on every hundred of this i'm
menee sum which we do pay, are
bound TO pay, would m Ike a
fund of 800 600, OF ONE E out of
ever THN DOLLARS of it would make a
fund of $40, 600,
Suppose our brethren in the Alliance
purchase shoes for 10O, 900 pairs OF feet, |
aud they do this much at least, ten
cents for each pair of feet would make
$40, 900. Nov it is plain that it would
be econOmoy on the part of our brethren
to make up at once the fund we ask
for to start our shoe factory. It is a
small matter we ask Of each individual.
We ask it not for our individual good
alone, but for the good of the Order,
and the good of the State. and yet each
contributor will be a gamer of tenfold
more Than he ia called upon to con
tribute. We want at least SIC, 600; we
have In hand about one-fourth of this
amount, Now we beg you, for your
own interest, do not le5 this matter
rest in your community until the
amount is in hand, the factory run
ming, the hides and tan bark from the
farm of yours and neighbors is being
worked into shoes and harness in our
own factory in our own State. !