The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-01-23
A Connecticut Town Where
One Industry ThriVes.
OTHERWISE DISTINGUISHED
A Trip Through One of the Establish
ments Where Headgear
is Made.

To speak of Danbury, Conn, is to
speak Of hats ana hat-maEing, for hats
have been made in DanbuTy ever since it
was town To visit Danbury and not
90 through a hat shop would be like a
sightseeing trip to Washington without
visiting the Congressional Library, the
Capitol, or the White House.
Danbury is not content with the dis
tinction the making Of many hats has
brought but boasts Of being the strong
est union town of its size in the country.
There are more unions than one can
count in the hat trade alone Every
branch Of the trade, from the "couers and
slippers" to the women @ftrimmers." has
its own organization The spirit of union
ism has spread out in every direction.
The Ice cutters have their union; the
taiIors, the butchers, the bakers-and if
candles were made in Danbury it is Ger
tain that the makers would have a union
Of their own.
All but three Of the thirty-one Dam
bury nat shops have been unionized in
the last few years. All holders Of union
cards have not been ordered out Of the
non-union shops, and no violence has
been done them; yet the fight is being
waged steadily on both sides Boycotts
have been established by the United Hat
tiers Of North America, and every effort is
being made to unionize the remaining
shops. At this time both the hatters and
the manufacturers are confident Of event
uaIly winning the fight
History Of Hatmaking.
The history Of hatmaking in Danbllry
begins in 1880, when Zadoc Benedict
erected q small shop on the present
site of the Main Street station Of the
Consolidated Railroad. Hats were made
in Danbury before this date. but the
Benedict shop is the earliest of which
there is detailed information. That ii
was painted red is one Of the details
that have been carefully handed down
The owner employed one journeymen
and two apprentices At first they made
only three hats a day, or a dozen and d
half week. Presently, when the work
men became more skillluI. one man
could make nine hats a week. Hats at
this time sold for from So to SO apiece.
The methods used in this early shop
were crude in the extreme Mr. Benedict
bought skins by the bundle wherever he
could get them. The fur was taken OF
by hand. and the longer hairs caused a
great deal OF trouble The hats were
finished of by women in the town. who
picked out the long hairs with rweezers-
In 1900 Danbury exceeded any other
town in its output of hats, the number
being 10000 a year. The shops were all
small and machinery had little to 90
with IT. The first machine blower for
separating the fur from the hair was
used in 1912. It was wire drum. turn
ed by hand, and compared with the ma
chimes used today for the same purpose
it was chiId's toy.
Packing the Goods.
They had an odd way of packing hats
for shipment in these early days. The
finished hats we're rolled together in
pairs and done up in paper, Then they
were put in a linen bag From SIX to
eight dozen Of these bags were stuffed
into 4 leather bag. which the stage car
ried 10 New York
For ten years, from 1910 to 1850. the
making Of silk hats predomfnated in
Danbury. The silk hat, invented by =
Chinese hatmaker. who tried to make Il
beaver hat without having the necessary
fur and used silk as d substitute. was
introduced In Danbury by a hatmaker
wLc learned IL from two EngIishmsn
in New York. The hats were in great
demand. and for a number OF years the
Danbury shops turned out little else.
Until 1850 he trade system was in
force here. Practically no money was
in circulation among the working pe0-
pie. The manufacturers paid them for
their work in orders upon the various
stores in the town. The storekeepers
even exchanged hats for the goods which
they bought in New York SO firm hold
had the system that when the merchants
and manufacturers decided TO put the
business on a cash basis the workmen
did not know what TO make Of it.
When We get paid cash. uOurncE
one OF the lawmakers. how in the world
will ever get my coIoring liquid?" He