East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1907-02-06
How-and Where Panama
Hats are Made

1t is interesting to know how and
where the Panama hats worn in large
numbers in Umatilla county, are
made.
Consul P. P. Demers states, in a
letter from Barranquila, that one OF
the important industries of the repub-
lie Of Colombia is that of making
palm hats, known as Panama hats,
of which nearly 100000 in value are
exported annually.
This industry follows in Importance
those Of coffee. gold, hides. cattle, to-
bacco and rubber, in the order named,
and is carried on in the departments
OF Cundinamarca, Tolima. Antioquia
and Santander. but mostly in the lat
ter, where II is the breadwinner to
more than one-half its population.
There are no regular factories. but
the hats are hand made by thousands
of peasant women in almost as many
households and sold or traded in the
local stores in exchange for provis-
ions or articles of clothing. the hat
being in these regions a convenient
medium of exchange; the house wife
exchanging the product of her labor
for so many pounds of flour, sugar,
etc.
How Panama Hats Are Made.
Panama hats are made with the
veins or fibers of a palm leaf, the
tissues of which are scraped off or
combed in much the same way as
hemp. The palm (Carludovica pal
natal. called locally "jipijapa,' is
very small in appearance and grows
in great quantities on the low and
swampy lands of the upper Magda-
lena. 1t grows wild. but is also cul-
| tivated, although to a limited extent,
in the largest hat districts, the palm
producing in a little over a year.
The preparation of the fiber after
the tissues have been combed off,
consists of boiling same in water con-
tanning salt and lemon juice for the
effect of whitening and rounding its
surface; this operation takes a few
| hours. The straw is then exposed to
night air for three consecutive nights,
after which it is ready for use.
The material employed in the
|
Is to 40 cents equivalent thereof
per hat, according to the fineness and
whiteness of the straw, the youngest
leaves generally giving the best quail
| ity. It takes a woman four days to
make an ordinary hat, eight days for
a good one, and as much as 10 days
for the finest hat made in Colombia.
The salary of the peasant woman
employed in the making of "jipi-
japa" hat is reckoned at 10 cents a
day, including her food, which can
be calculated at 10 cents additional.
The best hats exported from this
country are those called "Suaza,"
made in the city of that name in the
partment of Cundinamarca. The
next in order are the Antioquenos
made in the department of Antioquia
Then follow the ones made in the de.
partment of Santander, called, re-
spectively, Zapatoca, Barichara, Bu
caramanga and Giron, from the vari
Gus cities where made and varying IL
quality and price in the order named
But the Zapatoca, although the mos
expensive from Santander, are sup
posed to be Of less duration.
The best Suaza hat exported cost
on the premises $5 and the cheapes
from that place 81, the Antioqueno
one degree cheaper. the cheapest o
all being those from the department
Of Santander, which range from s.
: cents to 50, according to the quality
( Indeed, some Panama hats, made a
the rate of one a day, sell for les
than so cents, but these are made ex
clusively for home consumption an
) in no way exported.