El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-12-26

50 satisfactory for foot covering
Shoes Of some form or another have
been worn almost from the beginning
of civiIizat ion and from the sandal Of
the ancient Israelite to the high boot
of today is marked a gradual develop
ment in manufa curing. While shoes
having the upper part of cloth. velvet or
silk nave been shown at various times.
there have been few made in which
leather did not enter largely. The ma
jOrity are practically all leather, cOnse-
Quently the leather industry IS one OF
the most important in the world and
one that is constantly calling for new
and improved ma chinery and equipment.
Since leather is. the principal material
used in the manufacture OF shoes, the
supply of this product IS an important
matter to the trade. The leather bust
ness now ranks third in importance IN
the commercial industries and lmporta-
tiCns of the United States \ great deal
of the leather for American shoes has
to be imported because the domestic
supply is insufficient.
GOatslzins Scarce.
The supply Of gOatSkin is especially
small fewer of these animals being
raised in the United States than in any
other country. Lately Mexico has been
developing its American trade in this
article 10 a large degree.
The quality Of goat skins produced In
Mexico is excellent and during the past
two years, goat culture for the purpose
of supplying the American leather mar
ket, has become a thriving Mexican IN
dustry. Goat skins for American shoes
are also brought from China, india,
Russia and Morocco. The goat skins
imported last year for American shoes
amounted to l04,O4S,244, valued at aoout
that number OF dollars, nearly one alI
Of this amount coming from Mexico.
South America furnishes q large per-
centage. of the other leather used in the
United States Argentine calf and OK
skin are especially good and their
trade is increasing. Last year Argen-
tina exported over 100000 skins VAL
ued at S25, O00.0 600 and the United states
was its heaviest customer Other south
American republics are developing this
industry. A representative of the de-
par1ment of commerce and labor OF
the United States has recently made
view to increasing their leather trade
with the United States.
Raw leather isfknOwn to the trade
generally as hidesS kips and skins.
animals, producing the stiff, heavy
leather suitable for the soles Of shoes.
heavy betting in machine shops ana
other purposes requiring great strength
kips are the skins produced from the
undersized or young animals. II is
soft, durable leather. suitable for the
upper parts Of shoes. The hides OF small
animals, such as calves, sheep and alli-
The Tanning Of Leather.
The tanning and finishing processes
for leather have been developed to
higher degree in the United States
than in any other country The chrome
process Of tanning leather has made It's
wearing qualities two or three times
greater than the methods formerly most
in vogue. This is especially true Of the
finer grades of wOmen's shoes. gen
Grafton a 20 n woman looked upon a pair
of fine kid shoes as being practically
ruined If they were once thoroughly
wet Modern shoes stand unlimited
wettings and still hold their shape.
Leather Is being made more water
proof each year and Its finish or polish
is more durable
New methods Of finishing leather are
developed each year. The old patent
leather was bulky and uncertain II
was a split leather. treated with sDe-
cially prepares varnish. The formula
Of the varnish and the method of split
ting the leather have been wonderfully
improved during the past 10 years The
newer high polished leather, which may
be known as enamel or Japanned kid,
holds its luster indefinitely. These
feathers can also be positively guaran-
teed against cracking or brea king,
something that 10 years ago was not
considered possible.
Leather in COlors.
There is an increasing demand for
leather in different cOlors, so that shoes
will be purchased to match the cloths.
This does not apply to wOmen's shoes
alone, for men are now buying shoes in
soft gray, which tone in with their
suits much better than the tans, browns
and wine cOlOrs which were the only
changes from black until very recently.
Leather also may be given any de-
sided finish without lessening its wear
ing qualities, thanks TO some very eX-
celent American machinery. Most OF
the fancy feathers known by special
names are only calf or goats skin,
properly prepared The customer does
not suffer much in the substitution. for
generally the imitation alligator. seal
or porpoise leather wears better than
the real skin Of the animal for which
it is named. American granting ma
chinery is used in the leather manu-
factories throughout the world
American Shoes Best.
finest in the world for general pur-
poses. Mary Garden took with her on
her last trip to Europe no less than
40 pairs of shoes from New York. In
Paris, the American shoe IS more IN
demand than that of any other nation
and the same is said to be true in Ber-
lin and Vienna. In England also, there
is great demand for America shoes, not
outstanding the fact that for many
years English shoes were considered
the best in the world. The export Of
English shoes last year was 6,tll, 1854
pairs, valued at S11, 443.222. while the
United States exported 10.Ol9.I6O pairs,
valued at S11,169.156. These figures in
dictate that while the United States
leads in the size Of its exports the eX-
port shoes of Great Britain are still Of
higher quality. The high class shoes
made in America are worn at home.
Hides 200 Years Old Used.
There are few materials used for
clothing the body that are so durable a 5
leather. In the museums Of Paris and
London leather shoes are on exhibition
which are centuries old and yet in SO
good condition that they might be worn
Articles of silk or cotton of that age
would be too frail to be handled. In
1 Germany lately there was discovered a
buried tannery believed to be over zoo
years old. A number of hides were
found in the old watts, which when
taken out proved to be in sufficiently
good condition to be finished and used.
For this reason leather is used for 9TH
er purposes than shoes 1t is the most
durable of fabrics Tor clothing having
hard usage. The buckskin breeches OF
the pioneer have their successors in
the leather garment used by scouts and
hunters in the present day. Automobile
coats and outing clothes of various
kinds are largely made OF leather
Leather belts are in never ending de-
mand and leather is frequently used
to a considerable extent both in milli-
merry and dress trimmings
Glove Making in America.