The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-11-16
OVERSEAS SHOES
HObnail Footwear Is Comfort
able for Outdoor Use.
All the Looks and Shine Are on
Inside.
by w. s. TRAVIS.

The army issue overseas shoe looks
at a distance like a gentle amber
colored suedefinish Jersey calf with
a hundred legs. Put two of them to-
gether and they have the appearance
of a slightly weather-beaten new
board woodbox, put up on stills to
keep the fuel dry and provide a home
for thr cat on wintry nights The
myriad supports are steel hob-nails, of
which it has been estimated that there
ara something less than eight pounds
in each pair of issue shoes. And yet
the army overseas shoe is one of the
most comfortable pieces of footwear
ever made for outdoor use.
All Shine on Inside.
When they get around to rig up an
overseas shoe in the factory, they
somewhat reverse the process adopted
in making civilian goods. The looks
and the shine are on the inside, which
is as smooth and free from bumps as
a landscape picture on calendar. The
soldiers foot gets the benefit, and it
seems as favorably impressed as could
be any scrutinizing eye in searching
for trim and well-appearing shoe.
The seams and rough spots come out
side. and the undressed surface of the
leather shows-it looks as tho you
could scratch a match on it anywhere.
And army overseas shoes are made
according to the last the Lord de-
signed; they have no English effect.
They are built to fit the normal foot
And they do tell that the majority of
the population of this country today
has English pointed feet, with abnor-
malities galore; the men SO blessed
who come into the army are finding
joy in the way their feet spread out
and are getting back to natural Most
any soldier boy can go home after the
war and after wearing army shoes and
have toes as pink and straight and as
much fun to play with as when he
was three years of age, they will prob
ably be some eighteen times as large,
however, and some of the attraction
of that childish sport may have been
lost.
Soles Are Plenty Large.
The soles of these big shoes-they
are large enough to fit the foot with
two pairs of heavy wooden sox, to al
under heavy packs-these soles are
worthy of note in themselves. 1t
would take pretty good-sized heap
of leather to provide a resting place
for all those round steel hob-nails;
and the government wanted to do the
job UP brown. They may be likened
to a single coil of a steam-radiator
made foot-shaped and polished and
limbered up to taste. When the
rookie first puts his shoes on he inter-
IeTeS when goes TO cross MS legS-ne
doesn't lift his free foot-high enough
to quite get over the obstacle. But
with a little practice he does it like
veteran; when the war and civilian
shoes are once more in vogue it will
be dangerous to stand near a street.
car seat where an ex-soldier may
cross his legs. lest the innocent by
stander wake up in the hospital with
visions whirling in his head of the
cltapult of olden time.
Will Not Stand Polish.
The treatment best accorded to the
oversee shoe is a problem in itself
The soldier can take bottle of polish
and half a large can of paste, and
shine up those dainty pumps till he
can see the time of day in their glist-
ening surface; but the leather is apt tc
get hard and have it's pores filled W
SO that the shoes are hot like rubber
boots; so unless he is going on a pass
and wants to look his best in the
civilian eye, the best thing that he car
do is to wash the shoes as he would
his ears, and oil them as he would hi:
rifle, and keep them from fire as he
would q high explosive; and he'll have
a pretty comfortable, durable and sat
isfactory pair of she's for all his army
days.