The Washington herald., 1908-07-19
LEATHER INDUSTRY OF HAITI
Tanners and Shoemakers Supply
Home Trade.
works Sometimes Import Bark and
Hides, but No Footwear,
from America

Consul John B. Terres makes the fol-
lowing report from Port au Prince on the
leather and footwear industries in the
West Indian republic Of Haiti:
The importation Of foreiEn-made shoes
into this country has almost entirely
ceased In the past eight years Previous
TO this period nearly all OF the finer
grades OF mems women's, and childrea- 3
shoes were imported from France The
United States furnished some OF the
cheaper grades Of women's shoes. The
French make OF shoes has always had the
preference In this market for It's style,
finish. durability. and low price. and at
no time has the American article been
able TO compete with the French on these
lines.
Since the period mentioned the italian
and Cuban shoemakers established here
have almost entirely checked the importa-
tion % foreign shoes They now supply
the demand for ali grades Of shoes and
are able 20 produce a stylish. durable. and
much cheaper article than can be i'm
ported from France OF the United States
IN the makeup they follow the French
styles. The homemade article has the
advantage OF cheap labor. low price of
the leather. which Is prepared in the
country. and exemption from the heavy
customs dues
At the Tannerie Continentaie et Fab
riaue des Chaussures. one OF the largest
establishments of the kind in the coun-
try, the proprietor superintends the
cutting and fitting only. the workmen are
all Haitians. who are apt IN learning light
trades and IN a short time are able %
turn out satisfactory work samples OF
the finished leather may be seen al the
Bureau OF Manufactures The pay OF
the workmen for the best grades Of shoes
Is . gourties. equivalent to 81 cents gold.
per pair The uppers are cut and stitched
for the workmen. and they turn out two
pairs per day or ter pairs per week. The
establishment turns out weekly about
1.500 pairs OF all grades OF shoes. The
price obtained for the finest grades is u
gourdes per pair. equivalent to 3 gold.
while cheaper grades are sold at from 10
to Z gourdes and children's shoes at 8
Eourdes.
There are q few establishments that
turn out finer grade of work. for which
better prices are obtained. the equivalent
Of s. gold for mems OF women shoes.
The concern named has contract with
the Haitian government 20 furnish every
week 800 pairs Of shoes for the army; for
these Il receives gourdes. They are
made OF very ordinary leather. light gray
color, soles nailed with brass nails. and
are laced; the workmen are paid l gourde
per pair for making.
All the machinery for making shoes
and the trimmings used in the trade are
imported from the United States. which
more than compensates for the small
quantity Of shoes and leather that were
previously imported from the United
States
The tannery employs some 200 hands, all
natives with the exception OF the pro-
prietor- The pay OF the workmen for
dressing the hides. attending to the vats
and such other work pertaining 10 the
trade is 10 gOurdes per week. which is
equivalent TO S1-42 gold at the present
rate OF exchange.
The vats are 10 feet square and feet
deep. built OF brick and cemented- It
takes seventeen days TO tan the hides or
skins. Of the latter some twenty-four
colors are produced The chrome and
combined dyes are all imported from the
United States. The bark used by the
smaller tanneries. OF which there are
many, is the mangrove bark. native OF
the country. which IS considered to pos
sess fine tanning qualities; but the pro-
prietor OF this establishment informed me
that he found difflculty in obtaining the
native bark in sufficient quantity. and this
necessltated the Importation Of oak bark
from the United States
On account Of the limited supply. the
price paid for raw hides Is nearly the
same as IN the United States Goat calf,
and sheep skins are plentiful and prices
are low.