The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-01-12
Che TGlleritall Boot BarOn>.
BY FREDERICK II, FneRenZIe

Two years ago three peaceful Amer
can traders set out to make the people
of Europe pay tribute to them.
Unlike the freebooting barons Of old,
they did not erect their castle on the
heights over some main roadway and
make passing strangers stand and de-
liver But, though their method was
different. the result has been the same.
Today every man, wOr an and child in
Great Britain, and the majority Of
the people of central EurOpei yield reg
CIar revenue to this little group of en-
terprising Yankees.
How did they manage it? Their
story is one OF the romances of modern
trade. They chose boots as their Weap-
ons CT war. Now, boots are articles
which modern society cannot Go with
cut. A man may economize in dress,
he need not buy pictures. he can even
Incredible though it sOunds-do with
out his daily newspaper but boots he
must have, and the supply Of yesterday
wears out 20 quickly that il must be
renewed tomorrow. Hence We have
trade with d steady output and demand.
Boots are made and sold in England
b. the millions each month. The Amer
leans knew this, and knew that il they
could manage to secure the smallest
profit for themselves on each pair OF
shoes made, their fortune was an ac-
compIished fact. Thus the famous
Blake Sewer. which mad increased the
speed of boot production, cleared
profit of tens of millions Of dollars for
its owners.
These men had already mastered the
shoe trade OF America. Under the name
To- inc cor "a Z
they had amalgamated many old
houses. and had acquired all the great
master patents in home production
They had an army of clever engineers
md inventors al work. Wherever they
heard Of a new improvement they
bought it, They designed, they origi-
mated. they improved, and their rest
less energy and keen business enter
prise proved irresistible.
Then they came to Europe. Already
many of the improved machines were
at work here. Subsidiary companies
had been formed for Europe. In Eng
land they now formed the British
United Machinery company" in which
the capital was almost wholly Ameri-
can. They absorbed house after house
of the biggest shoe machinery firms
in England. sucn as Pearson & BenyOn,
the F1nRHSn AAilEAlNeAA -fAeAeAAAAA~A ,
company the Union Machinery COM
pany and the Goodyear company. Those
thew did not think worth absorbing
they fought and crushed.
IN France they created a. company
under the strange name Of THE United
Machinery Company &c France In
Germany they formed another, and
shey sent their minister plenipotentiary'
Mr. Csonnor, to Frankfort TO generally
SUPERVISE their operations.
They set themselves to deliberately
force their machinery down the Threats
of unwilling British manufacturers
Your British shoemaker is conservative
and hard TO move. What is worse, the
,yorkmens trades unions do all in their
power to prevent the introduction OF
new machinery and its use to the best
advantage. These unions will not allow
raany machines te be worked to then
fun capacity. BY their regulations they
sometimes charge more for the labor OF
doing half the work with an improved
machine than is charged for the whole
Job done by older methods.
Such things might well have frighr-