Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-10-09

holding In the same hand the unused
glove of the right
But in spite of the fact that gloves seem
to have acquired a bad significance, they
soon developed into an object of luxury
and remained so for a long period Of time
Their use became limited to the rich, and
il was not until the eighteenth century
that IL was considered good taste to put
on gloves for all occasions Since then
the practice has greatly increased.
Whether fCr show, for convenience, or
simply to protect ones hands from the
cold. gloves are now worn by all classes
of society.
WHAT DOOMED KID GLOVES.
Previous to the 18th century glovs we're
made. as they are now, from cloth fabrics
as well as from skins About the middle
Of the same century the silk glove was
the standard type. But in 1890 a peculiar
incident happened to which the kid glove
owes its origin and present popularity. A
celebrated physician made sensational
discovery. He proved, after reasonable
experiments. that silk gloves were inju-
rious, as they dried up the skin He pub
lished his opinions in a famous journal
and almost Immediately the silk glove
patronage disappeared The kid glove
was then resorted to and up to the pres
ent has remained the standard type OF
hand dress
So far however. the glove industry as
such did not amount to much It was not
until the year 1919 that the fabrication
or gloves received reasonable attention
from the public. The exposition held that
year in France provided for an exhibition
of gloves. That date seems to indicate
the beginning Of the success of the indus
try. All the glovers then were striving to
improve their product SO as to increase
their trade. They began to do n number
Of things that their forerunners seemed TO
neglect. They gave more attention to the
preparation of the skins that they were
to use. They tried to improve the cutting
processes. They concentrated more in
tently OH results i'm finishing They aimed
at more hrmncss I'm their sewing. The
natural result Of that attempt to make
better goods was big increase in the
demand. so that in 1898 nearly s2.OOOOOO
worth of goods were exported to the
United states. England, Germany, Bel
GUM, Prussia and Sardinia.
GLOVES MADE BY MACHINERY.
II was about this time that manu-
facturer from England Boudart Aine, in
troduCed into France for the first time
the sewing of gloves by machine. Then
almost Immediately appeared the inveu-
tion OF Navier Jouvin of Grenoble,
France, whose name is perpetuated by
the continuation Of the well-known
Jouvin glove factory in that city We
must remember that up to this time.
every pair Of gloves had to he cut out
Of the skin Ivy the long and tedious hand
process. Xavler Jouvin invented ma
chine to do that work. The effect on the
glove business was instantaneous and all
that might be expected. The industry
began to grow by leaps and bounds. La
borers enjoyed n wider field and salaries
went up in proportion TO the increase in
trade.
Up to this point it is interesting to no.
tice that French gloves enjoyed an unds-
puted superiority over those OF foreign
make. In 1851 the expectation from
France amounted to more than $500 900.
In 1857, moreover. the production was
more than twice that amount, the annual
production being 900 dozen gloves,
which furnished employment to 10000
workmen. In fact, the glove industry
outside of France now was practically
nothing. and the French glover did not
know what competition meant.
But the war of 1870 changed all this It
will be recalled that In 1S72 there was a
paralysis of all the French industries, and
gloves came in for their share of suffer
ing, But to make matters worse for the
French, there appeared upon the national
market from foreign sources gloves of a
specially attractive sort which seduced
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FRENCH MEET COMPETITION.
For the first time, them the French
we're confronted with the serious prob
lem Of meeting competition They real
ized wisely the necessity Of perfecting
their factory equipment. such as ma
chimes, tools, etc. For q time they were
able to make a fair showing by adding
those necessities. But there yet remained
one handicap That was largely n ques-
ton of factory conditions. With them
very little work was done inside the fac
tories, being distributed among various
workmen outside. while their foreign
created vast factory plants
and installed In them all the modern
means Of perfection and division Of labor. /
The French glovers remember that pc
rod as a crisis in their business.
Statistics compiled In 1852 by Mr.. Ray,
head OF the Jouvin firm at Grcnoble. |
show that the number of people engaged /
In making gloves had decreased about .
nne-fifth since 1860. The salaries Of the
,o r1srnau zeeD, Ia have diminished civ,