Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-01-01
QUARTER OF A MILLION DE.
VOTED ANNUALLY TO THIS
LITTLE KNOWN BUSINESS.
MANY NEW BUYERS
HAVE DOOMED PELTS
nore Than 100000 Will Be Paid Out
Hero for Raw Furs This Winter
Local Furriers Have Been Big Fac
tory-Soms Interesting Details of the
Fur Game.

largest fur markets Of Iowa The
reader, who is not informed of the sub
ject, may, at first thought, say this
statement is untrue. Before he does he
should investigate. If he does he vii;
find that this city ranks far above the
average Of it's size as a trading place,
where the pelts Of fur bearing animals
are bought sold and shaped and taSh-
toned for the retail trade.
In spite Of the big volume Of this
business not much is known of its de-
tails by the public, considered as a
whole The reason for this is that the
public's knowledge of the subject has
not kept pace with the local traffic in
furs, which has been developed SO eX-
tensively in not much more than I'VE
years This increase has been made IN
spite Of the rapid decrease in the num-
Der of animals which grow the peltrE
Quarter Million for Furs.
In the face of this lessening supply,
almost 100000 was paid for raw furs
delivered here in the season of l9ll-l2'
An even larger sum will be paid TINS
season If the market and the QualllS
of the furs continue as good as they
have been up to this time.
Tracing the complete course OF the
man who first sells the raw fur, and
following it on thru the mlddleman'
who bought it, and past him to the
second huyer or furrier. at which point
the melt either leaves here or starts
thru the processes Of being made into
wearing apparel or furnishings, s2oo,-
GOO changes hands annually in all o.
the transactions directly or lndlrecllN
connected with this fur business
Many Now in the Business.
A very large part of the fur handed
is Iowa fur. Much Of the expansion OF
this business must be credited TO the
Increased number Of buyers. Where
half dozen years ago there vas only
one firm that regularly bought lurs'
a reporter recently found five resident
buyers
itinerants visit the city at FREQUENT III :
tervals, Each local buyer employs one
~ moro travelling agents. who search
the villages and towns Of the state 1or
pelts.
Jews Active in Game.
Nearly all Of the newer recruits IN
th,- fur game-and they will tell YOU
IFS good deal Of a gamhle-are Jews
Most of them came TO deal IN scF!p
iron and Junk and stayed to barter IN
furs as an extensive sideiine.
Their thrift and numbers makes
keen the competition. With their raclai
shrewdness for driving a good bargain
they'll follow the scent Of 4 hunch
os rats. nainks or sl1unlls that promises
a quick turn Of money at proi!t WIN
the same assiduity and enthusiasm as
does the hound when he puts tongue
legs and speed to the pursuit OF Ihe
red fox.
T. THAT'S why their gross purchases
and sales mount into the thousands
every season. Their activity has been
a force in booming the home fur mar
ket.
Manufacturing a Factor.
II. Willard. Son & Co. has been an
other big factor. This old firm has done
q large business in raw ruTs Tor de-
cades A few years ago it established
a tannery and mandatory Of fur gar
ments. and the influence OF tHes" de-
velopments mas been I" increase great
lv the amount Of moreT handled III
the local fur trade. Where il formerly
sold to furriers OF distant cities the
pelts 1t gathered from wide terri
tory. this firm row fashions most OF
them into coats, muffs, Neckpieces and
cans and robes. rugs, and other fur
niShings
But this story must skip over the
many processes Of the making Of fun
articles. interesting as those processes
are. It's purpose is TO tr! to tell some
thing about the city as & fGr market
and a few things about certain loWlI
little furred animals which furnish
the most pelts. but which were so uu.
der the ban OF fashions GistaVCr lna'
their coats We're forced to travel I'M
der all sorts of aliases and commercial
nom de plumes-if the phrase may Dt
50 misused-because Mime. Fashio.
would not tolerate them about hel
dainty person unless these small pro
ducers winter garments came to hel
under high sounding, but nanufac
tured names, that meant nothing out
side Of the trade. bu- were less sug
gestive Of fetid origin.
But the ban on the names has beer
lifted. These little fur makers have
regained their birthright. They have
even done more than that, they've
come into favor.
Where the Furs Come From.
It's hard to realize that 10000 o
more muskrat, half as many skunk
several thousand mink, and fewer cool
and opossum pelts are bought and sol
here every year. But they are.
They come from all over centra
and northern Iowa, and from states a
far distant as Maine, Louisiana, an
California and Canada. Thrifty farm
ers and their sons furnish most o
them. Indians trap thousands. Man
an Iowa farm was paid for in part a
least during the sos and SOS with flu
money. And this winter hundreds o
Iowa boys and men are adding to thei
income by running a line Of traps
"a Rats by the Bale.
III Because they are the most plentiful
ID rats, the trades shortening of musk
IA rat make both in the number Of pelt
and in value the largest items OF tn
\ home trade. The skunk, despised 70
Il his fetor, whose pelt no furrier had tn
courage to sell for what it was be
cause of the long standing abhorrenc
~ its malodorous grower fostered, come
Asecond in numbers and value. Ate
rim trails the mink, coon. the civet
the spotted first cousin OF tn
4, and the oposum, with sprink
e wolf and fox. AL are trappe