The Coalville times. [volume] (Coalville, Utah) 1894-1923, 1898-06-24
now - HArs Az MApr.
Thousand. Of Men. Women aud noJ.

Thousands ~ Men. Women ana noys
Are Employed In the Industry.
one OF the leading industries in this
country ia the manufacture OF hats.
AZ the present time fur felt hats are
made ia eleven states namely. Con-
neciicut Indiana. Illinois. Maryland.
Maine, Massachusetts,. Missouri. New
Jersey, New York. Pennsylvania and
I Rhode Island There are IN all more
than 200 manufacturing plants produc-
Ing hats Tor mems. boys. women's and
I chlldren's wear CON posod OF the fur OF
/ the rabbit. beaver. nutrla. and other
animals. The industry employees up
| ward Of $4,000 men. women and boys.
and the approximate value Of the out
| put Is said 20 be '2OO0O.0OO annually.
Speaking Of mems hats aud their manu-
/ facturc. a representative OF one Of the
largest hrms In this city said: Felt
hats include the popular derby and tho
various styles Of soft hats. all OF which
are made from animal furs the natural
coats Of the coney. hare, nutrla. musk
rat and beaver. To manipulate the
skins Of these animals 30 as to properly
prepare the fur for feltlng purposes 10
an expert chemical operation, In fact.
q trade In itself. entirely distinct from
that OF hatmaklng. and Is carried on by
matters fur cutters In London. the
worlds great center for that work. Tho
art Of the hntmaker includes = knowl-
edge OF the particular fur or combina-
ton Of furs for making a given quality
of hats. Tho proportloning OF the diff
ierent furs requires the utmost exact
ness. The quality Of product having
been decided NJ the fur Ia then
cleaned and separated from stray hairs
and all Unreliable substances. This In
ltial process Ia accomplished by a win
dy machine called tho devil Tho
next process. forming. eonsista OF dis
tributing by means OF air currents a
light coating Of fur upon the outer sur
face Of revolving perpendicular cone
perforated with small holes. When FUR
covers the cone sufficient for one hat
II IL wrapped In wet cloths and given a
brief hot bath. thon stripped from the
cone. and. after the stopping process
OF adding little fur 10 weak spots, is
wrapped with other cloths inside n
wooden cloth to harden Il for handling.
ny a process called sizing which con-
slsts Of repeated lmmerslons In hot wa
ter. together with rolling and unrolling.
folding and unfolding. the cone-shaped
mass n reduced 10 ono-thlrd IL origin
al size. II Ii wonderful how each hber
will twist and lntcrtwlne. basket fash
ion. with the other. until the product
a. closely woven mass. The body IL
then shaved, 70 remove stray hairs In
the fur and then II r. stinoned with n
coating OF shellao. thoroughly dried,
'ud then subjected to steam, which
: softens the shcilac and draws II into the
. fabric. when dried Il Is immersed In
: a hot alkaline solution TO free the sur
face from shollac and then In cold
water to remove tho alkali. Block
ing succeeds stificnlng. The fabric II
dipped In boiling water and placed on
, a block patterned for tho final shape
Of the hat. After the dyclng process
comes that Of finishing. which consists
, Of steamlng. blocking TO shape the
crown. drying. coating with n stiftening
solution, drying again. ironing out
! wrinkles. after which Il II bounced with
, emery paper and slngod to remove the
, long nap. and oil applied 20 smooth
, the surface The curling department
, cuts the brlm TO the desired width. rolls
, mp the sides, and pitches the front and
rear as tho style demands With tho
process Of trimming consisting Of sew
Ing on the binding and band and CO
montlng the lining, the derby Is nn'
ishod. II a soft hat IL desired the stiff
: fleming process Is omitted, New Yorl
d Commercial.