Omaha daily bee., 1910-02-03

No other industry has shown greater
strides of growth during the past fifty
years than that of leather making. The
demands OF the individual for leather pro-
ducts not only have multiplied many fold.
but the list Of leather userssis being ex-
tended with each passing year. Leather
follows civilization, and hundreds OF thou
sands OF b~arbarians are being converted
to its use each year. The result is a scar
city of leather-produclng animals. They
have not multiplied as rapidly as the de
mand for their hides, and the tanner Is
forced to ransack the world for animals
that hitherto we're exempt. Not even the
fishes Of the SET nor the serpents OF the
forest have escaped the tanners search. The
tortoise and the small whale are in favor,
and the boa constructor, the rattlesnake, the
cobra and the viper have not been danger
Gus enough to scare the skin hunter away.
The omobi industry affords one IL
lustration OF the increasing demand for
leather and its products. Ten years ago
there were about 1000 automobiles In use
in the United States; now there are nearly
200, 600. Each Of these machines has re-
quired leather in It's construction. and re-
qulres even more in the accessories. The
sartorial art journals declare that auto
MODELLING has brought into vogue the
leather vest. which is going to be the
fashion during the coming season.
The United States leads world in the pro-
duction of leather, its GOO tannerles pro-
ducing one-fourth Of the worlds supply.
Every year nearly zoo. 900, 1000 hides and
skins pass through these GOO tanneries. and
when finished into leather they are worth
eDEn Onn mo- 70 ,a,u,,trno 1 9En 0nn Sor1. - Na,
bark and G50,OOo barrels Of extract to meet
the demands Of the American tanner in the
conversion of these hides and skins into
leather. Two-thirds Of the tanbark used
is from the hemlock tree, which shows
that the forests are levied upon heavily.
The quebracho tree yields a valuable tam
ming extract, and the American tanner al
ready is established in the South American
woods gathering this staple.
Philadelphia is the hub of the leather
world. The goat skins used there each
year would suffice to cover a procession Of
goats reaching from the most northerly
point of Alaska to the most southerly point
of Patagonia. Other kinds Of hides and
skins may become scarce or rare, but the
goat is always ready with a supply equal
to the demand. The kid shoes men wear
"a Usually lldub llOlh 6Odb bhsLbs
A gentleman in Philadelphia owns a
saddle that was made from the skin of a
human being. 1t is presumed that he got
this skin from some medical school. He
employed one of the best saddlers in
Philadelphia. to do the work. When the
job was nearing completion the saddle
maker asked what kind OF leather It was
1t has such a fine grain and such a
smooth feel" When he learned that it
was human skin he threw up the Job.
Later another man was employed to finish
the saddle, but the employer was careful
not to let him know what 1t was made Of.
Many medical students have little trinkets
of leather made from human skin, but this
Philadelphia saddle is said to be the only
one of its kind in the world.
Newark, N. j., stands at the forefront as
an alligator leather center. over $4,000
a~lligators annually surrender their lives to
the needs Of the Newark ~tannerles and
factories. The saurians have a fashion of
with their heads slightly above,
the water, and in the darkness of a moon
less night their eyes form phosphorescent
lights which afford a splendid target for
the hunter. At one time only the belly
side of the alligator skin could be used.
But the tanner has learned how to get the
hard scales off the back, with the result
that the most valuable part Of the tanned
skin is that which formerly was rejected.