Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-04-28
one-third az many skins, ~ have al
ready been used for the United States
Army.

ready been used for the United States
Army.
The next step in army hat making is
blowing, mixing and cleaning the fur.
This is to take out the long hairs and
dirt, and to leave only the short fur
ready for felting. This work is done In
machines where the fibers are torn
apart by revolving cylinders. which
the end the fur Is SO fine that it seems
to be almost dust notes rather than
the hair of the rabbit. The fibers are
then mixed, coming forth from the ma
chimes in lap. fine and soft, and so
bear the touch. They now go to girls
who measure them out into parcels or
boxes. each containing enough for one
hat. Each hat is to have Just SO many
ounces Of fur, according to size, and the
weight Is exact.
The next process Is the real beginning
Of the hat. This Is done by feeding the
fur which has been torn into pieces.
Into circular chamber. in which Is a
cone Of perforated copper about as high
as your waist This cone is damp. 1t
has hundreds of small holes and it flies
around at many revolutions per min
ute. The air Is drawn through these
holes by an exhaust fan below. The
In like a cloud OF mist, and they are
drawn by the suction onto the cone.
where the little hooks Of the fibers in
terlock until they cover it with a thin
film of felt. This covering is not much
thicker than piece of plotting paper,
and 1t must be very carefully handled.
1t remains on the cone, while 1t Is TAX
en- out wrapped in wet flannel and
felt to shrink, and the fbers to tighten.
When lifted from the copper cone 1t
looks like a petticoat, rounded out at
the top. or sugar loaf bag. This IS
the embryo hat. 1t is now rolled and
pressed in the hands, and run through
shrinking and hardening machines to
make the felt tighter and thicker. At
the same time the cone-shaped fur body
grows shorter and shorter, and at the
end it has the right texture and thick
ness required for the hat. After this
the fur body is dried and then dyed in
a boiling bath of chemicals suited for
the fur. and then pulled out into shape.
The pulling requires number OF men,
It is done both by machinery and by
hand, the felt being worked back and
forth in this way and that until it final
ly reaches the form of the hat OF the
soldier. The brim is then soaked or
coated with shellac to give it the stiff
ness required in the brims of all army
hats
The hat has now to be finished. 1t
must be ironed to close the pores
opened up by the steaming and stretch
ing, and it must be sandpapered to
make the felt smooth. The smoothing
is done with emery paper. There are
number of other processes. so that al
together each hat goes through many
hands before 1t is ready for trimming.
The trimming is done by women and
girls who work at long tables with nee
die and thread. They sew in the sweat
bands and fasten the cords around the
crowns. saw one room in which there
were at least an half acre of girls
trimming hats for the soldiers, and.
during my stay. l walked through one
vast room after another filled with men
handling these hats in the various
stages Of making. The establishment
is one of the largest in the hat-making
industry, and trip through its various
branches gives one some idea of the ex-