The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-09-18
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORM ALTON
BUREAU
FREDERIC J. HASIIIN, Director,
washingtan. D. C
BE KIND TO YOUR SHOES.
W&sh1ngtons d C

Washington. D. c.. Sept 15.-You
can cut the cost of footwear in half
without injuring a single profiteer if
you will JUST treat your shoes with
the kindness. care and consideration
which a good brogan deserves.
This cheering news comes from the
bureau of chemistry. While most of
the other government departments are
| loud on the track of the profiteer
hoping to bring down the price of
shoes. the chemists have turned their
attention to the problem of making
the expensive shoes last longer.
These chemists would change your
whole attitude toward your shoes. The
cold Indifference with which the aver
age man treats these intimates of his
daily life is little short of criminal
After walking on them all day, he
seldom gives themsa thought at night.
but pitches them into a corner to
lie neglected until morning. If they
get wet, he often puts them on the
radiator and shortens their lives by
allowing them to become hard and
dry. He seldom gives them a rest or
a bath or a good massage. as he
should do. once in a while he lets a
boot black clean them with a caustic
or acid solution, which is about as
good for them as laundry soap is for
the face. and afterward rub them into
motives of vanity, and not for the
good Of the shoe.
But the time is ripe for a great re-
form in the relations between you and
your shoes. You are becoming more
acutely conscious of your footwear
everyday. In the good old days when
your shoes were worth three or four
dollars, you didn't care how far you
walked, and you went right thru pud-
dies like a boy in new pair of rel
top boots. But with a ten dollar bill
tied up in each foot, it's a different
matter. 1t costs you a nickel to travel
block under your own power. Riding
on the street cars is becoming an
economy. and the constitutional stroll
n luxury that only the rich and the
! barefoot can afford.
Every man, woman and child in
this country wears an average of three
pairs of shoes a year. IN England the
average is two and one-half pairs a
year With the price of shoes soaring
higher every month, and the predic-
ton o. shoe dealers that shoes which
sold for $40 and SIS this summer will
sell for SIS and $40 during the winter.
1t is plain to the man in the street
that the shoe item will be an impor-
tant one on the yearly budget
After several months of experf-
menting. the experts have found that
the life of shoes. and, in fact, all
leather articles, can be extended by
following simple measures~in caring
for the leather. They have discovered
/ that shoes and leather properly treat
ed viii last almost twice as long as
when reasonable precautions for pre-
| serving the leather are neglected.
Hoy many people go to the trouble
| Of oiling their shoes? The number is
small. But it is just a little thing
! like oilins the shoes that pro1ongs
| their lives. According to these gov
| ernmeift leather experts, grease or oil
should re applied to the shoes when
ever tha leather begins to get hard or
| dry. The shoes should be brushed
thoroly and all the dirt and mud that
remainS washed off with warm water
N water should be allowed to re-
main on the leather. but the shoes
should be rubbed dry with a soft cloth.
| Oiling the shoes should be done more
| frequently in the winter, so a. 10 pro-
tect the leather against snow and
slush.
Instead of paying a dime for shine
every time your shoes get a little
| dirty. you are advised to use some
| castor oil. This is a good thing for
dress shoes as it is possible to work
up a bright shine over it. 1t should
be applied lightly at night to the dried
! shoe by rubbing the oil into the
leather well, especially along the welt,
where the sole is Sewed to the upper.
| When you get up in the morning you
| can polish the shoes until they look
almost Ike patent-leather. A little ell
bow grease will do the trick Tan
| shoes are, of course. slightly darkened
! by grease and even by polish. Do not
| apply any oil or grease on rubber
heels or composition soles, since such
! application is unnecessary and in
furious.
Work shoes. which are not to be
| foot oil, fish oil, tallow, vaseline, or
petroleum.. The oil or grease should
! be about as warm as the hand can
comfortably bear, and should be
rubbed well into the leather, especially
along the welt.
| Very good water resistance can be
! secured by adding beef tallow to any
one of the oils or greases mentioned
above for greasing work shoes. In
! all cases. each mixture should be
\ melted together by warming carefully
and stirring thoroly You can get
better penetration if you apply the
| grease warm, but 1t should never be
J hotter than the hand can bear.
| Creased shoes should always be left to
dry over night in warm place.
| Saddle-soap, which is made from
| oils. is the best thing with which to
wash the shoes. 1t takes the dirt out
/ of the leather, and makes it soft and
pliable. 1t also adds to the life of the
/ leather.
In using saddle-soap, you should
wash your shoes and let the suds stay
Observation-Disclosures