El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-07-20


BOSTON, Mass, June 90 havO
D figured out the cattle needed e,
furnish the shoes already supplied e,
the army. They are so many that il
you could bridge the ocean by a road
way 40 feet wide all the way from
Boston 10 France the animals would
IN the bridge and reach on to the
trenches. In this instance the cattle
could be driven nose 10 tail 20 abreast
and each score allowed 10 or 70 feet
Of the length Of the roadway. BY the
government Specifications we can get
only five pairs OF shoes out Of each
hide, and the number Of pairs so far
made IS in the neigh5orhOod OF go
100000.
In addition 20 this IS the great
amount Of leather needed for saddles
and leEgiuEs This means the con-
sumption Of millions Of cattle, and
also muItitudinOus pigs, for the best
leather for saddles and leggings comes
from the hog.
And then there are the gloves which
lhe soldiers use They are made Of
horse hides and colt skins. There are
also the jenkins or vests which the
air men, the navy, and even the boys
in the trenches must have to keep out
the cold The jenkins are made Of
sheepszin with the wool on. they
are the Warmest OF the garments pos
sessed by the soldiers.
Other Uses for Leather.
Furthermore, we must have vast
quantities Of leather OF one kind and
another for the harness Of the cavalry
and straps for the artillery and army
equipments A great deal is used in
automobiles. motor trucks, and in the
machinery that goes TO the battle
Held IN fact, the war now demands
every class OF good leather for one
purpose OF another and Il comes from
the OK, COW and calf. the horse and
colt. the sheep and the lamb, the goat
and the kid. as well as from the water
buffalo and the hog, and even the
seal, alligator and kangaroo.
In addition 10 these items are the
many varieties OF leather used in the
industries making munitions and sup
plies and all sorts Of goods for the
army and navy so that skins Of every
description have a part in the war.
Tan 20,OO0.OOO Hides.
All Of this leather has 70 be made in
the American tannerles- We have
hundreds Of them and they handle
each year the skins from which al
most s1.G0OsG00.000 worth OF leather
products are made. They tan some
thing like 20.0O0,000 hides to produce
the heavy feathers. and about 00.0OO,-
900 other skins from which the light
er feathers are made.
About oue-fourth OF this leather
comes from animals killed at home
and the most OF IL from the meat
packing houses which are today the
chief source OF domestic supply. The I
number OF cattle so killed would fiu (
a bridge twice as long as the one 4
above mentioned, and in addition we
get the skins OF more than 5000 600 /
calves, 140, coo, 900 sheep, about 800 900 4
goats and more than 100000 horses I
and colts.
Al these taken together make to- I
tai OF about "a 100000 animals, where /
as the number OF hides and skins /
which so through the tanneries are 4
four or five times as great The bal !
ance is imported and we pay for it IN I
the ueighborhood OF 160.O000o0 a /
3 ear. Ar least that Is what we paid i
for the amount we imported in 1915 /
the year before we entered the war. I
Import 100000 Cattle Hides.
during that year we brought in .
from abroad the hides OF 1000 900 cat
lie and those Of 100000 calves The
goat skins imported numbered $1,000
coo, and the hides Of horses and colts
represented an equine population Of
100000 The sheepslzins from abroad I
weighed more than 100. 000. 001 pounds
and we had more than 100000 pounds
This raw material came from all the
countries OF the world excepting !
those with which We are at war and
those which no ship can now reach.
ABOUT one-1ifth Of she hides were from
Uruguay The shsepskins came from
ireat Britain China and India and
arge number OF them were from
loc2zs Of South Africa and New yea
ana The kangaroos came from Aus
.ralla1 Tor the kangaroo IS found no
where else on the globe. The horse
md colt skins were chiefly from
south America and British ports
me raw materials Of the leather in
dustry come mostly from the q coun- {
tries at war with Germany. The only
question OF getting the materials is
SHIPS There are large supplies Of
hides in South America. We have TO {
have ships TO get them 20 the United .
states There are large supplies in =
-nIna, and the same is true OF Africa !
and Australia They have to be sent .
over thousands Of miles Of water to
0ur ports.
At present the United States and
Great Britain have pooled their inter-
esls Ia the buying OF hides They. are
competed with by Germany. which is
buying raw materials needed for war
-are IN al the countries OF the world.
How Leather IL Bought.
Just now the buying Of this vast
product intended for leather is more
OF less directly i'm the hands Of the
government Uncle sam is the chief
customer for all kinds Of raw ma
erals and you might think Ii would ]
be easy Tor che men furnishing our
leather 70 get big rakeoff from every
government order. Tt is not The war
department has a board Of hide and
leather control, and its dollar a year
employees include the leading hide
and leather men Of the country
In Washington is also an organfza-
ton known as the tanners council.
which came together as soon as we
entered the war TO cooperate with the
war Industries board and the war de-
parrnent IN the purchase OF skins
both at home and abroad and in all
mportauons Of leather from other
parts Of the world This council rep
-esents many branches Of the leather
industry 1t has no capital stock. and
L pays no dividends 1t is not a buy
ng or selling organization, and its
lnly object is TO furnish the govern
nent with Information as 70 the sup
ply Of leather materials both at home
and abroad. and TO aid it in placing
contracts which win eliminate exor-
litant profits and most efficiently
mobilize the leather Industry for the
work OF the war
Uoot Specifications.
Every attempt IS made 70 get the
best material at the lowest possible
.osL I VIII cite some Of the specifica-
ions FOR the feathers required for
hoes Of the soldiers. Take the new
7erEhiuE boot Of which we are now