The Washington herald., 1911-10-15
(SpecaL)

New hats, for women They have hs-
gun to arrive from the Philippines, and,
inasmuch as fashion particularly that CT
| Paris) has already set it's seal of ap-
proyal upon them, there is nothing for
the men to do but to go down into their
pockets and pay for them.
Deep. too. for these hats are not only
the most beautiful that ever were seen.
but also the most expensive by far Some
! of them cost $50 or more. without bit
| of trimming! But they are worth the
money-if one happens to have that
much. At all events, the women are sure
to think So
Fortunately, however. not all Of them
are so costly. Quite beautiful ones Of
rattan may be had for as little as 81
apiece-though the finest of this material
run UP to 800 or more. Others are of
bamboo, and are much cheaper; while yet
others are made from the leaves of the
'burf' palm, and. in the more expen-
s1ve grades, are sold at prices well-nigh
fabulous.
Our government is doing its best to
encourage the development of hat-weav-
ing In the Philippines, and has gone so
far as TO introduce the teaching Of the
art as compulsory course in the prfm-
ary schools Of the archipelago. It has
long been household craft among the
natives, and is susceptible of enormous
expansion. By learning to make good
hats, the children will acquire a per-
manent means Of livelihood, and they can
never lack market for their product in
asmuch as the growing demand for IL in
the United States and Europe will con-
tinue to absorb all the hats the Philip
pines can supply.
Europe Especially FranceD, as well as
America. is now looking to the Philip
pines for hats. Already a great many
imported from that source are worn in
this country, being usually sold under |
names that disguise the place Of their |
origin; but nearly all of these are of |
inferior grades. and 1t is but recently that |
the superior hats have come to be known |
at all in the United States.
They are the finest hats in the world
the best of them far superior to the
highest grade of Panama Some of them
are so light as to weigh literally almost /
nothing at all. Oddly enough, the manu- |
facture of different kinds is restricted |
almost entirely to certain towns Thus |
Baliwag makes all the fine bamboo hats
and Lukban produces most Of the bun
tai hats from, the leaf stems of the
burr palm. =
The Philippines might appropriately be
called the Hat Islands, inasmuch as in
that archipelago is found greater va
rlety OF hats, as well as more oddities in
the way of headgear, than anywhere
else in the world. Some of the head
hunting tribes wear sun-helmets that
look like huge mushrooms. The Ilocanos
use for the purpose the excavated half
of a large white squash. There are CO.
coanut shell hats, light wooden hats and
hats made Of strips OF carabao horn
and of turtle sheN. Some of the native
hats are covered with silver ornaments
usually made from silver pesos
In the hat towns there are certain
standard shapes Cor the hats of civiliza-
tion), which the weavers are accustomed
to make, and for which blocks are used
But the brokers who buy and sell the
hats, acting middlemen. in order to
meet the demand of changing styles in
the United States and Europe. are in the
habit of furnishing blocks and giving di-
rectiOns as to the size Of brim. &C,
wanted. Brokers and exporters in Ma
nila are now receiving blocks from this
country with large orders for certain
patters of hats.
The large exporters in Manila employ
expert men to travel through the hat
producing districts. look over the hat
crop, and buy where it seems most
profitable. On Wednesdays and Satur-
days in Baliwag there are hat markets
where brokers and independent weavers
sell their hats. Some of the most i'm
pOrtant brokers are women. The brok-
ers advance money, rice. and other COM
modities to the weavers. whose output
they contract TO buy. They sell to the
exporters at Manila in lots of 1000 and
to small dealers by the dozen.
The best-knOwn Philippine hat is the
bamboo or BaliwaS hat. This industry
originated in the town of Baliwag, the D
material used being the common, long
iOinted bamboo OF the archipelago-a
kind of bamboo that has many other |
uses, for baskets. ropes. furniture, &C {
Its ClumPs begin to sprout in May, and
the stems are old enough to be cut in
the fall.
The work Of preparing the bamboo and ,
the hats is done almost wholly I
oy women. So expert do they become {
hat they can sit for hours at time I
half doing, yet rapidly manipulating the I