The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1919-08-14
STEWART WRITES ABOUT
HIDE AND FUR SITUATION

/
cess Of tanning is still tedious one
consuming weeks and even months.
Many materials besides oak bark
are now used to make tanning infus-
ions and some of these being stronger
and fastening the tanning process.
4 Among the most important Of these
are valonia, an acorn of an evergreen
oak found in Asia Minor and Greece,
4 which contains three times as much
1 tanning as the strongest oak bark; the
! sumach; the divi-didi and algarovilla
pods, of South America, tree close
ly resembling logwood: and the larch,
] spruce, pine and hemlock tree. Be-
sides this group, there are the tanning
materials derived from abnormal
] growths caused by the sting of insects
or other injuries such as gals and
knoppern.
Undressed leather, after it is tan
ned, needs simply to be rendered
smooth and compact, which is accom-
| plished by securing and COMPRISING
the surface with stones, brushes, the
Striking pin," and rollers, all of
processes are effected by machinery.
Dressed feathers must, in addition, be
"stuffed" with oils to increase their
resistance to water and Their f1exibility;
they must frequently be dyed or stain
ed in black or colors and grained"
These processes are also performed by
machinery In 1860 machine was
| invented for splitting leather to any
desired degree of thinness. The pro-
cess previously used was to shave the
leather down, the shavings being vast
ed. The process of dressing tanned
leather known as currying, was for
merly separate industry, but it is
now carried on as a part of the gen.
A favorite oil used by curriers' for
stuffing leather is the degras or sup
erf1ous oil pressed from chamoised
leather. The demand for this oil is so
great that it's manufacture has recent
ly become a separate industry
The possibility of tanning by the
use of chromium compounds instead of
the older tanning materials, was dis
covered as early as 1856 by the Ger
man Knapp, but the first process
which attained commercial success
was invented in 1884 by Augustus
Shultz The introduction of this pro-
cess in Philadelphia caused it to be-
come at once great leather manufac-
turing center. Chrome tanning con-
sumes only few hours as compared
with weeks or months required by the
older method and it produces leather
which is extremely soft and pliable, of
close texture and thoroughly resistant
to water. At the present time two
thirds of the glazed kid made in the
| United States is chrome, although
tanning by this process has not been
applied successfully to sole leather.
The process consists of treating the
skins first with a. weak solution of
| bichromate of potash to which suffic-
lent hydrochloric acid is added to lib
crate the chrome acid. Of course,
picked skins may be used without the
necessity of adding free acid. After
| the skins have taken up bright vel
low through their entire texture, they
Of hypo-sulphite of soda, to which
( hydrochloric acid is added to liberate
| sulphurous acid, which reduces the
chronic acid to green chronic oxide
The sulphuric acid is at the same'
time oxidized to sulphuric acid, until
the whole of the chronic acid is reduc
ed. The leather so produced is of a
Acknowledgment color. The combi-
nation of the hide fibre or corium
with the chromium oxide is apparent-
ly more staple than it's combination
with tanning. The leather can also
be dyed successfully if the dive is ap-
piled while the skin is still moist, but
so great is it's water repellant char
acter, that once dried, it cannot be
wetted successfully to dye properly.
Now as to the necessary increase in
profits on leather goods, I wish to first
show the cost of shoes made by vari-
Gus concerns for the U. S. army.
Shoes made for the army must be
made exactly to specifications, and the
very best leather produced, and are all
inspected by specialists in this line.
On the 10th day of June, 1914, the
following awards were let:
Washington, July 15.-Army Quar-
termaster Department. Following
awards on 100000 pairs garrison
shoes, bids for which were opened this :
morning: Rosenwaser Bros, 100000
pairs at $7.15; Joseph M. Herman &
Co., $4,000 pairs at SILT; Charles
Keighley & Sons, $4,000 pairs at S6.73,
and j. D. Murphy, 10000 pairs at
SIP.
Thus you will see that the average
price paid by the government for
some 100000 pairs of the best shoes
we are able to produce today, was
$7.05 per pair, which is an increase Of
about $1.03 per pair over a similar
contract let in December, 1918, or
seven months previous. l could fur
nish data on millions of pairs Of shoes
sold to the government, but this would
be list of tiresome figures; but what
/ wanted to impress on your mind is
that, although the raw material has
| advanced some eighty per cent in six
or seven months, the cost to the U. S.
government has onlv increased about
$1.03 per pair. But this does not
] mean that the retail dealer of today
is making this profit, for the govern
ment gets shoes cheaper than the
large jobber; and the large jobber
sells to the small jobber, the small
/ iobber sells to the wholesaler, and
thence to the retailer. and consumer,
so that four profits must be made
above the original cost, to maintain