The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-02-19

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Data contributed by leading shoe mer-
chants, checked by Investigators and APP
proved BY Massachusetts Fair Price Com
mittee on the necessities of life.
The retail shoe business has been mves-
tieated by Federal and State Investigators.
and the result Of all such Investigations has
shown that retail shoe merchants are not
taking undue profits except in possible re-
mote instances that have no appreciable
bearing on the prevailing high prices.
Shoes Admittedly High in Price
This situation is even more uncomfortable for the
shoe merchant than the customer because he meets the
customer face face is obliged to explain the reasons
and particularly because his stock investment has
increased faster than volume and profits.
Cooperation and Patience Needed
The public must cooperate with the retail merchant
before any for relief be inaugurated Let
first why shoe prices high and the reader can
pick out from those the where he IS vtay
interested and then discuss methods of cutting
down individual shoe costs.
Shoes are High Because
L. The consumed leather IN enormous quantl-
ties causing shortage then and now for civilian
g The end of the war found Europe bare Of leather
and animals from which leather is obtained and they
naturally turned America to buy for Immediate needs
This caused acute scarcity just when needed
more leather for our own use Our leather in six months
jumped from 60c foot S0c co. 25 and to 81 d.
and even 81 rs for certain kinds.
g. Wages paid to shoe workers well over
the 100 per cent increase mark many grades $50 and
200 per cent higher than 1914 Not only is this true but
shoeworkers have reduced hours Of work at time when
should work full time, and worse yet have dellber-
atey cut down production pairs % to so per cent
the pairs per hour reduced
a. Labor other than direct shoemaking, has affect
ed the cost of shoes has increased transportation cost
Slaughter help tanning help, shoe clerks, all recev
ing for their labor, just, and it appears In
shoe costs.
s. Leather is by-prcduct Of the meat industry and
cannot be created or curtaed to meet demand There
hundreds of grades which before the war were all
utilized but the mounting cost of shoes led to grading up
in quality of all factories and insstent demand from
for better shoes AS the best leather amounts
to only 10 per of the whole this led to pyramidng
the value of the top grade due to extra demand and the
lower grades forced upwards correspondngy The
public urged to look for shoes made from lower grades
Of leather, such as kid feathers
g. The public, particularly wage earners caring
double and higher wages have been buyers OF finer
shoes than before 1914 and this has created superde
mand for the best grades and lesser demand and mar
ket for the cheaper grades used prior to the war.
The above form the basic for high shoe cost
reduced to simple English, but there many others,
important and minor many technical in character
special interest to the layman One that the
tura law Of supply and demand has simply asserted it
self $
Actual cost Of nine-inch black kid woman's boot in
1914 and September 1919-taken from the records Of
one of our factories typical of the whole industry
Uppers 05 rs
trimmings 10 ~
Tongues .............. w Loo
Innings .............. ~
lIaces ................ ~ ~
Eyelets ............ .oZo ofoo