Norwich bulletin., 1916-03-23

y
m furs! Henceforth the United
~ States Is to dye, dress and sell
her own sea4slkins, and with
in har own borders. A factory Is now
- built for this purpose In st.
Louis. Mo-, -~~-
- = - ---7:.-S with experts
--a@-
Once this brand-new industry is fair
ly launched. st. Louis may proudly
claim the distinction of being the CEN,
ter of the fur trade Of the world. AL
ready ranking third among the fur
markets, circumstances arising from
the European war have censpired to
place the crown of fur leadership upon
the brow of that city. with yearly
value that promises ten tettwelve mil
lion dollars.
Soon the lordly sealskins.. whose pro-
hibitive cost has kept them away above
the reach Of the ordinary purse, even
when the Christmas spirit pulls the
strings wide apart, must perforce de-
scend from their dizzy heights as for
tunes favored tag, the label of wealth
and affiuenee, and be found upon the
gift list of the many instead Of the
favored few.
Because of the increase of popula-
ton that has steadily pioneered into
the remotest wooded wildernesses of
the country, encroaching more and
more upon the natural habitat of the
fur bearing animals and reducing their
breeding places, furS have steadily
diminished and their prices have cor
respon6ingly scared, until the posses
sion Of fur garments of fine quality has
become the exception rather than the
rule, save among the wealthy.
Though the trappers have penefrated
farther and farther into the uninhabit-
ed regions of the north and have re-
doubled their efforts to increase their
yearly collection of pelts, 1t has been
long since the supply met the demand m in !.
ferior skins have been used as sub
stitutes.
The fact that the natural production
Of hrst-class furs was in danger OF ex-
haustion has caused the government
to take drastic measures to conserve
its seals and to go into fur farming
upon an extensive scale as soon as 1t
mails could be sufficiently domesticated
for this purpose. This has now as
sumed the proportions of vast indus
try that is worth millions of dollars
demonstrated most forcibly by the re-
cent auction of government furs, Oc-
tober 81. 1915. at st. Louis. No, when
s61, 214.50 came to the United States
Treasury from 64s skins, all but seven
ty of which were fox skins.
X y
Fox farming, by the way. is merely
Incidental to the main fur industry
fostered by the government. which Is
that of the seal raising. Seventy beaver
skins, which brought Ss92.50, were con-
dscated by the authorities because they
were taken during the closed season
l.. - &1,A ctr oh nut -
auction were blue and white fox skins
for which record prices were obtained
Sixty-five white foKskins brought S1,59t
and the 51S blue foxskins the sum OF
$5S,T26.
skins were disposed of silver foxskini
were sold at fabulous prices. One pail
of Alaskan silver fox pelts brough
$3.50 and other pairs brought from
No seaiskins were offered at the auc
ton, and the reason was most signih
cant. in view of the facts that tn
producing country in the world, an
at the same time the most extensiv
purchaser of the finished fur.
The reakon is not hard to find, whel
be the great fur market Of the world
London. SO long the autocrat OF tn
earth, as the selling place OF virtual
step down from her place of eminenct
since the English pound has ceased t
be the standard of exchange in tn
worlds commerce, The naughty lilo
has given place to the American eagle
for now the standard of exchange 1
the worlds commerce is the America
dollar which is drawing the world
trade to America.
Then, too, Leipzig, Germany, In tn
past the largest buying and distrihut
ing market for furs, will scarcely, 70
long time at least, care to market /
London for her fur supplies, because {
the animosities engendered by the wa
relations of the two countries. Leipzi
has also been a large purchaser dires
from Russia, which Is also q great fu.
producing nation.
II
Both America and Russia, as th
greatest fur-prodncing countries Of til
Earth. have heretofore sent all of the
surplus furs 20 London to be sold 4
luctfon; and Leipzig has been the prir
sipal purchaser. After the war Is owe
L is unlikely that Russia will care I
Immediately resume the trading rels
lions of the past, and the plan of til
yeyernment is to take advantage
his psychological moment in the gel