The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1905-12-07
WANT FREE HIDES.
WANT FREE HIDES.
Leather Men are Asking 1t. Shoes
and Harness are Going Up on
Account of Shortage in
Home Supply.

nootS or SHOES is To-Day paying from
% to rs cents more per pair for
every pair he buys than he did
year ago, or else he is bearing an
equivalent depreciation in quality.
Every farmer, teamster or horse
owner who buys a set of harness
after January l. possibly earlier,
will be required to pay approx
mately $1,000 more per set than he
paid year ago.
Every buyer of leather articles of
any kind is today paying, or will
soon be obliged to pay, from 20 to
50 per cent more for them than
year ago.
These facts have thus far not been
generally known to the public, because
an increased cost of raw materials
always reaches the consumer last of all,
but for months the hide and leather in
dustries have been in perturbed con-
dition because of them. Not since the
time of the civil war have hides and
leather products commanded such prices
as they do today, and it is predicted
that the end is not yet. There has been
advance after advance in the past year
or so, first in the price of hides, then in
the price of leather, and now in the
price of leather goods of all descrip-
tions. Where couple of years ago
hides commanded only cents per
pound, today they readily bring 49,
cents per pound, and because it takes
at least two pounds of hides to make a
pound of leather, the finished product
has increased just twice that much in
price per pound.
At first, when the rise began, the man
ufacturer and jobber stood the increase;
then, to avoid marking up prices, the
quality of shoes and other products was
cheapened bit here aud there; now
these schemes no longer avail, and
everything made of leather has al
ready been marked up or must be mark
ed up soon. Many manufacturers of
shoes, and especially of harness. had
large stocks of goods made out of cheap
priced leather, and this kept prices
down for long time, but now these
have been exhausted. and as the goods
made Of expensive leather GO onto the
market, the new scale of prices rule.
The whole unusual situation, say the
dealers in leather goods, is entirely due
to shortage in hides, which in turn is
due to the large tariff duty on imported
hides from South America. They declare
that the shortage is not temporary, bnt
! is likely to be permanent, due to the in.
crease in the demand for leather, which
has been far greater than the increase
in the supply of hides. 1t is pointed out
that the production of hides cannot BIZ
stimulated, as can the production q
other raw materials, like iron, because
hides are entirely a by-product; cattle
are not killed for their hides, but fol
their meat, and hides are merely an in
cident of the cattle Strengthening in
dustry. The leather men also point out
that the Importation of hides has largely
; increased, and that it must of necessity
continue to increase, because of the
permanent shortage of the home supply
The brunt of this increased cost Of
leather and leather products will fal
upon the consumer, who is already pay
ing increased prices for shoes, harness
) ETC., and who must pay still more if the
rise continues. In the aggregate, this
will amount to many millions Of dollars
annually.
) Tariff Revision Wanted.
Regardless of their political atlilia
tions, jobbers and others interested il
the leather industries are organizing tc
ask congress to reduce or remove the
Il litlas. !.