The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1910-10-27
PRICE OF
SEALSK|NS
WILL SOAR.
YOU'LL HAVE TO DIG If
YOU GET HER A CHRIST
MAS FUR
JODDERS BLAME IT ALL
ON THE GOVERNMENT
Because Congress Put a Closed
Season on Fur
Hunting
kG MAa@
(By Leased Wire.)

st. Paul, Oct 27-The man who
plans to give his wife, his daughter or
some other mans daughter a seal
skin coat for Christmas remem-
brance this year will have to pay
more for It than ever before, accord
Ing to furriers and jobbers of St
Paul the largest market for fur goods
in the United States, If not the world
The woman who misses getting a
sealskin ccat, probably the most priz-
ed of all garments worn by the fair
sex, because OF this added cost, can
blame it on Uncle Sam and ms mem-
oers Of congress. BY recent act OF
congress it was made unlawful to
kill seals after May and this law has
about put the sealskin line of trade
out OF business. This act has made
sealskins so scarce that a coat, say,
80 inches long, win cost $1,000 this
year The St. Paul manufacturer how
ever ha sfcund ready sale for all he
could make, and the factories have
been kept busy supplying the demand.
Bsam seals have been used much this
year In place OF the genuine fur.
| These are made of muskrat fur
which is very fine and Is guaranteed
TO keep milady as warm as the real
hing. Near and electric seals haye
also been made into many coats. The
! Russian pony and caracul skins are
next in demand. In small furs the
mink holds its popularity.
Despite the higher cost the St Paul
iur jobbers have enjoyed the largest
business OF their history tails year.
Representative Of ST. Paul fur houses
are now in all parts of the world to-
purchase supplies for next years use
ne sl. Pau houses buy in winter and
manufacture in summer, BECAUSE the
iur producing animal Is trapped at the
season when nature has gwen h.ni the
heaviest coat and at the time when
the coat VIII be most serviceable TO
mankind. These expert buyers are in
the Orient to buy Chinese dog and
sheep skins; in Australia after the
'possum and wombat hides; in Rus.
5ia and Persia competing with the
great Hudson Bay company for the
purchase of otter beaver and mink,
Formerly Chicago and Detroit diyid.
ed honoss with st. Paul in the manu-
facture OF fur goods. but that was
fifteen years ago Today st. Paul
snlps its furs past the doors OF these
cities and practically supplies New
England and New York This city
got its start in the fur business when
the entire Northwest began to barter
its produce and trappings with ST.
1pnl panrnhan nf re Ifhuf In
the eighties, when a buffalo coat.
which would now bring-if 1t could be
found at all-from 5000 to 5000. sold
lor S45. II was the making or a
buffalo coat that caused other cities
to become over-zealous and lose out
Ia the fight with St Paul, They
sent white men to the plains to kill
buffalo, and the hides were shipped
toDetrot and Chicago to betanned by
white men who tried to rush along
the process. The Indians of the
Northwest had deliberate fashion
OF their own for tanning and their
methods were much better, leaving
the fur softer and more pliaDle. When
Poor Lo got hard up for ca5sr he trad
cd the buffalo coat and buffalo skins
for whatever he could get. These coats
soon found their way to St Paul and
were afterwards distributed through
out the United States north of the
Mason and Dixon line and gave st.
Paul the reputation of handling the
very best. Finally its fame grew
and spread to other lines of furs. thus
naturally making St Paul the leading
manufacturing and distributing cen
Ter of fur goods. st. Paul handles
VIII -lesale trade of more than $780,
100000 annually, and OF this the fur
busines contributes a large part