El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-06-15
Hat Making Is Interesting
BANANAS DO NOT COME FROM PANAMA;
SALE OF TOP HATS INCREASES YEARLY.

HE straw hat season for 1910
promises to be unique in many
ways. In the first place, a cam
paign for the extension of the season
of regular prices is on, and in some two
score cities, agreements have been
signed by the retail hat dealers, pro-
viding that there shall be no cutting of
prices on straw hats prior to August l.
Last year some 20 cities had such an
agreement, and the hat men found that
they sold just as many mats, and made
considerable more profit Under the
August l arrangement. They found
also that they were just as successful
in clearing up the odds and ends of
the season after August 1 as they had
been when beginning their clearance
sales a month earlier
Sale of Panamas Disappointing.
At the beginning of this season there
was promise of record year for Pan
anna hat sales, but the recent dispute
between the importers and the customs
officials is declared by the hat deal
ers to indicate a falling off of at least
80 per cent in the supply of Panama
hats this season 1t is claimed by the
hat men that the customs officials
did wrong in Selling the hats brouOht
into the port Of New York. They assert
that there is no standard OF value in
the Panama hat trade. and declare
that often hats are bought for %
cents each that are Just as good as
those which at other times they buy
for 20 cents each.
In bale of hats, continuing IA doz-
en-, no two hats may have the same
value In a recent case a jobber had
S,OOO mats for SALE but his dealer
wanted 5000. So he ordered his buyer
IN Ecuador to get the extra thousand
although he might have to pay as
much again per hat As the basis Of
the valuation by the American customs
officials is the price paid in the country
from which they are imported, it is
claimed that great injustice is done to
the importer
As Staple the Derby.
Under the conditions Of the seizure
OF the cOnsignments of hats at New
ork, 1t Is probable that all the hats
now IN bonded ware houses will have
to undergo revaIuation. and this
means that thousands of dozens Of
hats will be kept off the market until
the season is practically over For a
great many years. the Panama hat has
been regarded as the acme of straw hat
excellence. After the early reign of
high prices. the selling figures were
brought down TO a basis which made
the Panama hat at once a luxury and
an economy. 1t is declared by the
trade that the Panama has come TO
stay, that it as permanent as the derby.
one of the most interesting show
window exhibits ever made by ha+
store has been going the rounds of
chain OF stores owned by one firm
IL consists of an deliberately trimmed
window filled with Panama hats in all
the stages of their making. from the
1lrst button in the crown to the com
pIeted hat. In the midst of all these
hats, some. of which are small enough
for doll and others large enough for
giant there is a macunia plant grow
ing IN pot. This is the plant from
which the Panama is made
There is rawhide case or two in
which the hats are shipped like bales Of
nay and dozens Of pictures illustrate
the process Of Panama hal making
from the time the seeds of the ma
cunla plants are sowed down to the
moment the. hat is completed. In the
exhibit there is what is said to be the
largest Panama hat ever made. the cir
cu1n1erence of the brim being six feet
They Don't Come From Panama
or course, everyone knows that the
Panama hat does not come from Pan
anna 1t got that name through the
Iact that Panama used to be the dis !
triOutlng center of the business Ec-
uador claims the honor of being the
home of the hat, and it is said that
the first one was Wholesome 275 years
ago In the province of Manavia. by
one Francisco Delgado.
From the home of its origin. the hat
got its name as the Manavi hat. a
name by which it still is best known
In the regions where it is produced. |
Peru and several other South American
countries now make the Panama hat.
The grass from which It is made Is :
grown in the rainy season in rows set
in low. wet ground 1t attains to !
height Of from five to seven feet, and !
is cut before It IS ripe
Manufacture Interesting.
1t is then boiled in water and after !
wards sundried. After assortment. it !
is ready for use. The best fibers are I
selected for the high grade hats. and /
by peculiar manual process. the flat /
blades are made to appear round like |
a shoestring. Most of the work on /
the Panama hat must be done during /
humid weather, the best results being /
between midnight and sunrise
From three TO five months are required /
to make some of the finest hats. At
ter the weaving is completed, the hats
are washed in cold water, coated with
a solution Of gum, and then polished
with dry powdered sulphur.
Orient SuppIys Panama Straw.
Most of the braids from which the
ordinary straw hats are made are i'm !
ported from Japan, China and other
across the Pacific By a re-
cent ruling of the treasury department, !