The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-04-28
MAKING HATS FOR THE ARNgEY-By Frank G. Carpenter

withstanding hats of similar quality and make are selling in the retail stores all over the country from s3.50 to S4 As I figure it, the contractors are not making more than from s1 to s1 50 per dozen upon their work for the government That means they are receiving a profit of from to 121s cents per hat. 1 doubt wheth- CT many of them make as much as l. cents."
 How many hats does it take to sum- ply the army?''
 'So far the government orders have amounted to just about 5000, ,000'' Colonel Cummings replied. More probably will be needed. We are doing all we can to keep the orders down to the minimum and, with that in view, establishments TOT the repair of army hats will be made here at home and in France. where a great hat repair department has been started back of the lines. Expert hat makers have been sent from this country to take charge of that plant and amons those who sailed last month were 2: men from our factory here We esti- mate we can save 50 per cent in the cost of our soldiers hats by repairine those which have become shabby and is- suing them again to the army. The old hats will be secured and cleaned and fitted WY Vtth iiCW COIuS duQ T1DDOnS. They will be reblocked and when finished will look just like new"
 How do our hats compare with those of other armies of Europe?"
 I am told they have created a sensa- tion among the soldiers abroad" said Colonel Cummings. We have about the only soldiers who wear hats. The pri- yates and most of the officers of Ger TOT o,I 11 tl1 French and Italians. The hat might be called the distinctive featura of the American soldier. Indeed. it is looked upon as such by the people abroad. It hts in with the impressions they have gotten through the European movies. which so often show the American cow boy in action. The cowboy always wears hat"
 'We have reason, also, to believe that our soldier hat may be adopted as the headgear of some of the armies abroad. '' Colonel Cummings continued. '1The Eng. fish have done that to a small extent in the past. When the Boer war of South Africa was on I remember we once re. ceived cablegram from General Baden Powell asking us to ship him 5000 hats of our army type for the British sol diers. When the order came in I did not know who Baden Powell was. and
 
 phia to find whether it was safe to fill the order He replied that the bill would be paid by the British department of war. few months later we received the second order for 5000 and filled that We got our money, of course, but was rather amused later on to see that the purchase was criticized by the Scottish newspapers, whose editors wanted tc know why h was necessary for the Brit ish army to send 8. 50 each to America for hats when they could buy hats from Scotland at 75 cents''
 "Of what material are the soldiers hats made?" I asked.
 'The body of the hat is composed of the fur of the rabbit. It takes about five pounds of such fur to make one dozen hats, and 100 skins to supply the five pounds of fur. The rabbit skins are brought from Australia, England, Scotland and France. Here the fur is removed and felted as you will see it done in any hat factory.
 Why do we have to go abroad for the skins? What is the matter with the American rabbit?" I asked
 "The fur of the American rabbit will not make hats. Its fiber has no felting properties, and for this reason we have to bring in the skins from other coun- tries. In fact, 90 per cent Of all the material that goes into a hat comes from abroad. This is so, not only of the fur, but of the raw silk for the hands, which comes from China, Japen or Italy; of the sweat leather, which is made of sheepskin from France, and of the shel-