Evening star., 1897-03-06
SECRET OF THE BOOT TRADE.
oid Harness Finds Its Way Into
Cheap Footwear.
From Answers.

"old harness thrown away Not likely"
said a dealer in old leather Every scrap
of it is worth money in fact. l can't get
enough Of it. Old harness collecting Is as
good as gold digging, If a man can only
forage cut enough horse owners to keep
him we'll supplied. When you just think
how many thousands of horses there are
working In harness in London alone. you
can imagine how great the supply is
Nearly all the caSt-off harness is con-
sumerd In making cheap boots. People will
have cheap boots. and the boot manufactur-
ers find that for making a servceable arti-
Gle at low figure there's thing to beat
old harness. Then again, whp-thongs and
hootlaces are also made from old horse
trappings.
I'm the first place. the greater part of it
is bought up by big marine store dealers
who collect ii from the harness makers
and from army sales of condemned goods
also from railway companies sales the
average buying price being twopence pcr
pound These dealers have it taken to their
warehouses. where il Is sorted into dit
ferent qualities and prices ranging from
one one penny to siXpe'cc pound. 1t is
Kind. who in turn distribute il to the boot
manufacturers and others
Now. If it wasn't for the enormous
quantity OF old harness used by boot manu-
facturers, workingman would not be able
to purchase pair of new boots for A few
shillrgs No bootmaker could afford 10
sell a pair of mems boots made entirely
OF new leather for three and sixpence:
yet hundreds of pairs are sold az this
price every week in our great towns. and,
as long as horses are worked in harness,
Will continue to be
old saddles are mostly used for making
the inner sole of a boot. they are gen
orally composed of the best leather and
besides being more durable. will not crack
or perish The most profitable saddle to
cut up is riding saddle You see they
contain tremendous quantity of good.
sound leather; and then they are frequent
iy thrown aside more because they are
dingy than anything else. Undoubtedly a
hunting saddle makes the finest boots.
but military riding saddles are usually
made of the very best leather.
The 'reins' used for driving a horse
form an important item in the construc-
ton of cheap boots. being split by ma
chinery and laid under the sole Then the
'blinkers' and ~traces' are never very much
worn. especially when they come from rich
people. Some sets of harness, such as is
used by omnibus compan nies, are very often
useless when thrown aside. being cracked
and perished through hard wear and long
exposure to the weather.
The demand for old sets OF military
harness is much greater than the supply
as it is very little worn. and. being well
cleaned and always kept in good condi-
tion. is much more pliabe and works up
newer. AIRY goods made from the caSt-oit
harness of railway companies are also
pretty serviceable. the large size and good
quality of the leather making them very
| useful for working up into other goods In
fact. this leather. when used in bootmak-
Ing, looks so well when trimmed and ironed
that it Is impossible for any one except
those in the trade to detect it,
Small shoemakerS UP a great deal
of the cheap harness. In the winter time
they use most of it for football boots. 1t Is
cut into strips and matted across the sole
of the boot to prevent the wearer from
slipping. You'd hardly think anybody
would have this done, considering that
| foot ball boots are SO cheap; but. then,
some men prefer to Wear out their Old
| boots In this way. as they are generally
more comfortable than ones
There is really no cast-off article where
| the material is SO little wasted as old
| harness, every particle of it being used
| in some shape or form. The buckles and
ornaments are cut off and sold by second
hand dealers. the collars are cut up and
| used for repairing leather bags. the hay
| stufting being utilized for resulting old
chairs and coaches
Indeed. if the supply of disused harness
| were twice as great it Is It would not
| fully satisfy the demands Of the boot and
other trades