The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-08-15
SANBORN BLAMES
ADMINISTRATION
FOR SHOE PRICE
Should Have Been Embargo
on Exports-Little Prof.
teering in Trade, He Says.
BY WILLIAM r. SANBORN
Fourth Chapter.

BY WILLIAM r. SANBORN
Fourth Chapter.
The failure of our government to
protect the American supply Of leather
either by limiting the percentage of
exports, or by q wholesale embargo, is
directly and almost altogether re-
, sponsible for the present high prices
of shoes, and Of everything made from
leather.
This is an incontrovertible fact.
This does not mean, exactly, that we
should have had cheap" shoes at this
time; but that shoes would never have
reached present prices In the first
place, and that the prices we shall
have to pay for next spring and sum-
mer footwear, would have been an i'm
possibility, had our representatives at
Washington done their plain duty
toward our people, back in November,
1918.
1t isn't altogether too late to amelio-
rate conditions right now. Better very
late than never. in this particular
instance. for surely 1t is now very
late. We can now only save the rem
will be used at home. until the poor
est among US can wear decent shoes.
at a proper and reasonable cost.
Don't imagine that the fact that we
have been almost cleaned out Of leath-
er ends the matter and that Europe
is now supplied. Europe is not sup
piled; she is buying in this market
and bidding up prices every day. and
is likely to do so for a year to come,
unless we put on the brakes by some
form Of regulation. An export tax
would help little, and would bring
some cash into the treasury; but
partial or wholesale embargo until
our shoe industry is on more normal
basis. Is the action now most needed.
$4,000, 600 For Leather.
We take this stand from a purely
unitarian point Of view, because OF
the need of home protection. There
is, of course, the international trade
aspect to be considered, and the free
exchange Of commerce with Europe
But England did not hesitate an
hour to embargo our shoes after Sc
curing the bulk of our leather. Eng
land organized leather buying COM
mission on the signing of the arms
tice and bought $S0,000,000 worth OF
leather in Boston and New England,
inside of sixty days, by constantly
bidding the market up
Tanners could not resist the tempta-
ton to make lot Of money In record
time, so England now has, or will get
this leather later, with much in addi-
ton picked. up in the Central West.
A lot of our leather will be sold by
Britain to other European countries
at a large profit, presumably.
Buyers Stampeded.
When the American buyers who had
anticipated an easing down in prices,
because the war was over, caught the
drift, and saw that England, France,
Italy and smaller countries were anx-
ious bidders for our leather, they
stampeded and began to bid against
each other, fearful of being unable to
supply their own trade with shoes.
The result is apparent in present
prices, and will be still more so un-
less we take national action.
American Hide and Leather pre-
ferred was quoted at $35 on the New
York Stock Exchange on August 6,
1915, and as in mighty little demand;
today it will bring about $500 per
share We know of no tanner who
hasn't made barrel of money since
1914.
And the packers! The Traction Of
a cent per pound they claim to be
making on meats has nothing to do
with the immense profits they must
have made on hides and on finished
leather, for some of them are also
tanners, in a very large way.
Guarded Against Proflteer.
After buying American leather with
American money, freely loaned her,
England guarded against profiteering
in a businesslike way. She not only
apportioned the leather to the manu-
facturers under a license system, but
o1co lin3itnd and watched nrjrnc ne
dollars to dimes that the Yankee is
now paying more money for his shoes
than Is the Britisher.
Our furnishing of the raw material
has given thousands Of Englishmen
work, and at the same time closed the
British market against our shoes Nor
can England be blamed for this; her
problems are much weightier than
are ours and her financial and other
troubles much more pronounced.
Leather Costs.
c. F. Williams, secretary OF the St.
Louis Retail Shoe Dealers association
and a member Of the National Execu-
tive committee, is quoted by the St.
Louis Globe Democrat, as follows:
I'm 1913 the market on calfskin was
20 cents per pound and the finished
product 80 cents per square foot. In
1919 the green sailed hide costs 81
and the finished leather s155 a square
foot.
I'VE are using sole leather In my
shop. for which we paid s125 to s135
per pound, which would cost us $3.50
today. 1t takes a little over one.half
pound to half sole mans shoe and
there is little waste in the leather"
AS an instance of the rapid advance
in prime leather. and also of the
patriotism, shall we say, OF a ST. Louis
shoe manufacturer. Mr.. Williams re-
lated in an address to his association
on August Z, the following illustrative
incident: