Arizona republican., 1898-04-06
COLLAR BUTTONS.
Used for Manufacturing Purposes as
 Well as for Wear.

AS shirts are ma..e nowadays pretty much every man wears one or more collar buttons. Diamond collar buttons are not so much worn as they were. though some are stu sold; they cost from eight i.d tcn dollars each up to $40 or $50. The fine collar button now most generally worn is of plain yellow gold, and sells at from S2.50 to five dollars. A great number of silver col lar buttons are sold, and with the fall in the value of silver these are now cheaper than ever
 The number of plated collar buttons sold is enormous. They are made in great variety. There gre plain, plated buttons and plated buttons with eel luloid backs, and buttons with pearl backs and plated tops, and buttons with plated backs and pearl tops. There are Jewelry factories devoted solely to the manufacture of plated collar buttons and cuff buttons. The annual produc- tion in this country of plated collar but tons, such as are sold at from five to 25 cents each, is about 1 1,OOO, ,0O0 gross, or two for each person in the United States.
 Among the finer kinds of cheap collar buttons are those of pearl, which are imported from Austria. Of bone collar buttons and of agate collar buttons, which come from France and Germany. and are far cheaper, there are imported annually great numbers, many mil lions. There are now produced in this country great numbers of collar but tons of celluloid. There are collar but tons made of a composition; collar but tons of wood, lacquered, and buttons of iron.
 Enormous as the consumption of col lar buttons is, for the purpose indicated by their name, that consumption is sz:aa!l compared with the consumption for manufacturing purposes.
 In such uses the cheaper collar but tons are consumed by hundreds of mil lions annually. All shirt manufac- turers and manufacturers of womens waists use them in the manufactured garments. A shirt band is not pinned: it is fastened with collar button, and a collar button is commonly put in each waistband. If the shirt opens front and back two collar buttons are put in the neck, so that three or four collar buttons are used in every shirt. Many launderies send back laundered shirts with the ccHar not pinned, but secured by collar button; a customer would get in this manner from the laun- dry, in the course of year, as many collar buttons as he sent shirts; more if he wore shirts that opened back and front.
 Most of the collar buttons used for these purposes are very cheap; many of them marvelously cheap. Under this head come the commoner kinds of bone buttons, the agate collar buttons, and the cheaper metal buttons. The metal buttons are all made in this country. We can't compete with the cheaper labor of the European countries in the production of the pearl, bone and agate collar buttons, nor can they compete with us in the production of the vari- ous kinds of metal buttons. There are various grades and styles in these c'-eaper buttons. There are agate but tons with gilt tops, the cheap metal buttons are some of them gilt finished and some s:1vered, and some steel fin ished. The cheap collar buttons are sold by the great gross. Great numbers of them, foreign and domestic, are sold at such prices that their cost is cent a dozen, or considerably less, but even at such prices their cost is consider able item of expense to the large manu- facturer. There are manufacturers of shirts and waists who use millions of these cellar buttons annually.
 Some collar buttons used on high priced shirt waists are articles of jew elry manufacture, made with glass set tings in imitation of jewels; such but tons are sold in sets at about one dollar a dozen sets.
 The total consumption of collar but tons in this country for all purposes probably exceeds 1000, o,eoe, ,OOo annually, and the amount expended for them probably is not very far below s1o,O0O,- Oo0.-N. Y. Sun.