The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1914-10-03
THE HAsEiN LETTER
HOW THE WAR AFFECTS Us.
(LI-As 10 [ Gather Goods.
BY FrederickJ. Haskin.

IN $50 - - -
when wars alarm rings. buglers
play Boots and Saddles in more
sense than one. It Is not only that
they call hard-riding cavalrymen 70
! mount for the charge, but the name
\ Of the historic call suggests one OF
the great economic factors in mod
lern warfare.
It has been written that an army
less true that modern army travels
on shoe leather Armies must oe
fed, and they also must be shod. a
very great part of Europe does It's
work in time OF peace in wooden
shoes. but wooden shoes are not
suited for the grim toll Imposed by
the God of Battle.
The war is barely two months oAo'
and already there are tales of intense
suffering caused by bad shoes. Iners
are stbries of German reserve regE
lmentH shod in rough, il-ftttng boots.
an occasional pathetic story OF Bel
tgian reservists in wooden shoes. ana
| of Servian regulars reduced to wrap
ping their feet in rags. One reaoS
of French soldiers wearing out their
too delicate shoes, and at the Sans
time hears boasts OF the superior
quality of British boots.
In such fighting as is going on N
Europe, shoe leather is rapidly worn
away. No doubt the two months OF
war already have consumed more
shoes chan Europe ordinarily would
wear out in a year. This brings II
the question of our own boot anu
shoe industry. The United STATES
leads all the countries OF the Worlo
in the production not only OF SHOES,
but all shoe-makfng machinery AZ
one trade journal says:
The members OF the boot ana
shoe trade are sufficiently gifted with
powers of deduction to infer when
man appears with an order for sever
al hundred thousand pairs of men :
shoes-all of one type, and that type
such as is commonly used by those
who travel much on foot-that the
order originates with some EUROPE
an government, and that the snoes
are needed for armies in the nelo.
Several such orders have been OF.
fered to American manufacturers.
but thus far few, if any, OF them
have been accepted. One order for
one million pairs, supposed to ne
from the French government, was
seriously considered. An effort was
made to apportion it among severaa
large plants which. 1t was DeileVeu,
could turn out consideraDle
amount, but the effort was unsuc-
cessful and the order has NOT yet
been placed.
There are several difficulties in the
way. In the first place. the orders
are offered by persons who are e1-
ceedingly reticent. They will not
admit that they are acting for Eu-
ropean governments, but, as there IS
complete absence of orders TOT
women's and children shoes, IT is NOT
4 to be supposed that the enormous
export demand results in ordinary
trade operations American manu-
facturers are not particularly deslr-
Gus of taking this business unless
they can be absolutely sure OF de-
livery and collections.
Again, the whole leather market
shows a decided upward tendency.
Prices are very stiff. and manufac-
turers are reluctant to accept DIE
shoe orders on the present ieather
market. This feature OF the leather
market is partly the result of specu-
Ilative holding and buying. and partly
the result of the danger that imports
! of raw hides may be interfered with
or entirely cut off. Many tanner1es
in this country already have been
forced to curtail PREDICTION on ac-
count of falling off in the imports OF
hides.
x
fcommon with all other industries IS
the scarcity of money. This part1c-
ularly affects orders for army foot
wear, because the character or shoes
wanted is different from that orul-
narily manufactured. and to go into
new business would involve the pur-
chase of new appliances and, there
fore. a considerable outlay of fresh
capital The trade is not'inclfned TO
be excited over the foreign demand.
While a million pairs of shoes might
seem to the uninitiated a tremendous
order, it is really not SO great when
placed against the background or the
ordinary boot and shoe industry OF
1.-THE United States.
| IL the war should be prolonged
the buying of army supplies would
undoubtedly stimulate the American
Industry. but the element OF specp<es,
ton will enter into the prices, and
the home as we'll as the foreign trade
will have to stand for heavy ad-
ivances. Nevertheless. the United
States is practically the only neutral
country able to furnish shoeieather
supplies for the European armies
Soldiers in the field may get along
well enough with ragged and torn
uniforms, but they can not be Ell
lficient in worn tout shoes. This fact
lis sufficient to guarantee that as soon
as the money market is eased up
American manufacturers Will take
steps to accept some of the numer-
Gus orders now Offering, and our ex-
port trade will thereby be greatly
enhanced.
AS to saddles, much the same sit
uatfon obtains. Saddles are not
al