The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-10-25
A BOOT TRADE SECRET.
why Old Harness Collecting Il Almost ~
Good ms Gold Digging.


Good ms Gold Digging.
"Old harness thrown away? Not like
ly," said dealer in old leather "Ev-
cry scrap of it is worth money. In fact,
/ can't get enough of it. Old harness
collecting is as good as gold digging if
n man can only forage out enough horse
owners to keep him well supplied.
When you Just think how many thou
sands of hcrses there are working III
harness in London alone, you can imag-
inc how great the supply is.
NEARLY all the cast off harness is
consumed in making cheap boots. Peo-
pie will have cheap boots, and the boot
manufacturers find that for making q
serviceable article at low figure there's
nothing TO beat old harness. Then,
again, whip thongs and boot laces are
also made from old horse trappings.
''In the first place, the greater part OF
it is bought up by big marine store deal
ers, who collect it from the harness
makers ard from army sales OF con
demncd' goods, also railway companies
sales, the average buying price being
twcpcnce per pound. These dealers have
it taken to their warehouses, where 1t
is sorted into different qualities and
prices ranging from penny to sixpence
q pound. It IS then sold to smaller deal-
ers of the same kind, who distribute 1T
to the boot manufacturers and others.
"Now, if it wasn't for the enormous
quantity Of old harness used by boot
manufacturers workingman would
not be able to purchase pair OF new
boots for few shillings. No bootmaker
could afford to sell pair of mems boots
| made entirely of new leather for three
and sixpence. Yet hundreds of pairs are
sold at this price every week in our
great towns, and, as long as horses are
worked i'll harness, will continue to be.
"Old saddles are mostly used for max
! ing the inner sole of boot, as they are
| generally 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 frequently thrown aside
more because they are dingy than any
thing else. Undoubtedly hunting sad
die makes the finest boots, but military
riding saddles are usually made of the
very best leather.
1.-THE 'reins' used for driving 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 companies,
are very often useless when thrown
aside, being cracked and persisted
through hard wear and long exposure tC
the weather.
"The demand for old sets of military
harness is much greater than the sup
ply, as it is very little worn, and, being
well cleaned and always kept in goo(
condition, is much more pliable ant
works up newer. Any goods made from
the cast off harness of railway companie
are also pretty serviceable, the large
size and good quality Of the leathe
making them very useful for working
up into other goods. In fact, this leath
er, when used in bootmaking, looks 81
well when trimmed and ironed that i
is impossible for any one except those II
the trade to detect it.
"Small shocmalers use up grca
deal of the cheap harness. III the white
time they use most OF ii iCr fcotbal
boots. It is cut into strips and malice
across the sole Of the boot TO prevent tn
wearor from slipping You'd hardl,
think anybody would have this done
considering that football boots are s.
cheap, but then some men prefer to Wea
out their old boots in this way, as the.
are generally more comfortable thai
new ones.
"There is really no cast off articl
where the material is so little wasted q
old harness every particle of it beint
used in some shape on form. The buckle
and ornaments arc cut off and sold b
secondhand dealers, the collars are Gu
up and used for repairing leather bags
the hay stuiflng being utilized for re
!. stufing old chairs and touches.
"Indeed, if the supply Of disused han
. ness were twice as great Us 1T il, IL woul
= not fully satisfy the demands Of the boo
= and other trades. London Answers.