The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-03-27

i low bench. induStrlOusly hammer
ing on a shoe which looked very
l6TFIM much the worse for wear. He was
- man well advanced in years,
and IL could easily be told by the way he
worked that he had been at the business OF
mending shoes for long time When he
stood up il was impossible for him TO stand
erect for his back remained in the position
acquired from bending over his work. The
shop in which he was working was small,
and. like all shoemakers' shops, was strewn
about with old lasts and bits of leather.
The bench on which he kept his tools was
all confusion. and to observer it seemed
next 10 impossible TO find anything. but the
old man had no trouble in locating the diff
ferent tools he wanted and picked Up each
one Of them as he needed il without ever
having to look for it.
He was putting a new sole on the shoe on
which he was working Finally he put on
II the last touches. which consisted in
smoothing off the edges and neatly backing
them. He then laid the shoe aside and
pushed his spectacles up his forehead
After rummag ing around in the debris on
his work bench he brought forth little
short black pipe. which he slowly filled with
natural leaf tobacco. This he lit, and
when the blue smoke began to ascend 1t
loosened up his tongue and he began talk
ing. In the course of his conversation he
proved very interesting, showing by his
knowledge that, while he had been shut up
in his little shop repairing old shoes. he
had also kept I'm touch with the progress
made in his line of business.
This business" he said 'fs not what it
was when / first started in at my trade.
You see that old shoe that have just fin
ished? Well. that is the extent of the work
i have done to-day. And TO do that kind OF
work takes no skill whatever. Anybody
who can use hammer anG sew leather
little can do just as good job on that shoe
Us have DONE"
Don't you ever get chance to make a
pair OF shoes or boots?" inquired man
who was in the shop.
mot very often replied the old cobbler.
ct have made just one pair of shoes in a
year. and they were for a policeman. He
is en- his feet all the time. and, as he has
a peculiarly shaped foot, 1t is hard for him
10 get a shoe that fits him. 1 had last
made which is just the shape of his foot,
and he has one pair Of shoes made once a
year.
I'm the old days could not make boots
and shoes fast enough for the demand. but
the factories have got to making shoes so
cheaply that it is impossible for cobbler
to compete with them. 1 can't make pair
of shoes under IS. and there are very few
men who pay such a price for their foot
wear. This policeman pays 50 for pair OF
shoes. and they last him year, so, you see.
I'm the long run it pays him TO have them
made 10 order.
BOOTS OUT OF FASHION.
.As for boots, haven't made a pair in
1--WE years. There used TO be doctor here
In the city who always wore boots, and he
had them made for him He did this after
everybody else had quit wearing boots, but
re died about five years ago. and haven't
made any since To have a good stylish
boot made would cost from s12 to SIG. This,
OF course, puts the best material and work.
manship into them. They fit the foot per-
fecily. and are as dressy as any shoe that
was ever made.
us there any reason but the price why
the people do not get shoes made to order?'
ssYes: the shoes that are made now are
of so many varieties that almost any kind
of foot can be made comfortable. which
was not the case formerly. The average
man pays about $3.50 for his footwear. but
some to IS. but they are exceptions. Where
the shoe that is made to order has the ad-
vantage is that IL will wear longer. and
many men do not like that. for they get
new shoes every time the style changes.
In former years styles did not change as
often as they do now. and men were con-
tented 10 wear their shoes longer
Factories. of course. turn out shoes very
fast. and in the cheaper grades they use
all kinds of leather When we made the
shoe by hand used specially selected
leather and there were only one or two
parts of a hide that could be put into a
shoe. and calf skin was principally used.
but. as IL is now. all kinds OF hides are
made up into shoes and very little of them
is wasted.
They are getting the repairing of shoes
down to such fine point. continued the
old cobbler that there is no skill displayed
In doing it. Now take that sole. for in
stance. which / just nailed on that shoe.
Ii was not very many years ago that you
saw i'm every shoemaker's shop side of
sole leather hanging on the wall. or it
might be a roll of such leather standing
over In corner. From this We used 10 cut
our supply or soles we needed them in
repairing and making shoes. But now from
these shops this once familiar feature has
disappeared. Instead. we buy soles already
cut out and all we have to do is to tack
them on the shoe
Can you get them to suit all sizes and
shapes of shoe?'' was asked
Yes: the cut soles are made in a great
variety OF sizes and shapes. The cobbler
can now buy exactly what he wants for
much less than he can buy the leather and
cut them out himself. and then ii is not
nearly so much trouble
II saw an account in paper devoted to
news OF the shoe manufacturers which said
about 80 per cent. of all the cobbers of New
York and that part of the country now buy
cut soles. in the South now about . per
cent. buy them and in the West. which in
eiudes Indiana, about IS per cent. OF the