The Coconino sun., 1923-09-14
TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT
YOUR SHOES; THEY'VE
BEEN ALL OVER WORLD

DlaaAlN 1ALL VSLLA WVAAAAU
The following interesting paper was
read at Tuesdays Rotary meeting by
Sid GassInan:
If you feel that the construction OF
shoe does not call for a great var
ietv of materials selected from var
ious parts Of the world, perhaps the
following will be of interest TO you
and set you right.
Let US consider for instance q cerr
tain high grade shoe with patent
leather vanp and dull leather top, and
sec where all the materials found IN
this particular shoe have come from.
Shoes made up differently of course
derive their materials from other
sources. but the following story COW
ers only the shoe above described.
The vamp in this shoe is made of
Russian horsehide, tanned in this
country with a bichromate of potash
formerly obtained from Germany. The
top in all probability, is made from
the skin of a goat raised IN South
America. tanned in Philadelphia with
gambler brought from the East In.
dies. Wood oil from Michigan makes
it soft and pliable The brilliance OF
the patent leather is obtained by pol
ishing it with a composition contain
ing lanpblack and turpentine from
North Carolina, linseed oil from Ohio,
danler from New Zealand, couchone
and ashphalt from South America,
wood naphtha from Michigan, benzlne
from Pennsylvania, amber from the
Baltic sea, candarac from Africa, mas
tic from Greece, flemi from Asia and
Cuba.
The lacing, hooks and eyelets are
made in Connecticut. Agatlne, an
ebony-like substance containing eight
distinct ingredients, gathered in ASIA,
South America and United States, Is
used to coat them. The Australian
kangaroo furnished the leather for the
tongue, the lining of which is felt
made IN New York state from the
wool of sheep grown in Ohio. This
felt is glued to the back of the tongue
with gum arabic from the Near East.
The outer sole is obtained from the
back of a Texas steer, tanned in KEN
tueky from bark from Tennessee,
while the inner sole is made from
the honle-tanned hides of California
cattle. The lifts of the heel are made
from South American leather and the
aextrin which holds them together
comes from Illinois cornfields.
Before leaving South America the
leather is partially preserved with
chenang. The sole Of heavy oak is
stitched to welt, cut from Texas
leather and made into welsing IN
PENNSYLVANIA. The welt is stitched to
the insole and upper with linen thread
made from flax grown in Belgium and
spun in Scotland.
Portugal supplies the cork filler
which keeps the moisture out of the
shoes. The cork being mixed with d
solution OF pitch and tar from the
Carolinas. The base of the leather
box toe is made from Texas hides
hardened by shellac, which in the
crude state, comes from Siam. The
counter originally comes from the Ar
gentine. Over the box tee is a pro-
tector made Of Georgia cotton and
coated with a composition of Para
rubber. The felt heel pads are pro-
duced from the same sources as the
lining of the tongue.
Thread spun from Sea Island cotton
supplies the top stitching, while the
silk thread used in stitching comes
from Japanese raw silk spun in Con-
necticut. The silk label also origIrl-
ates in Japan, but is woven in New
Jersey. The shoe lace is made OF
native cotton dyed with logwood from
Yucatan or with aniline coiors made
in Germany. and this country The
lining and upper of the shoe are past.
ed together with a cement made of q
Brazilian rubber composition.
The bright polish seen on the sole
Of a new shoe is due to a coat of bay
berry taElow, which is produced from
the fruit of the Indian bayberry tree
mixed with native beeswax and tur-
pentine. The tops are cleansed with
gum tragacanth from Persia.
Last but not least, the nails used t.
fasten the heel and shoe together are
made from swedish iron ore.
1t would take Jules Verne many
more than the famous eighty days he
wrote about in his book, around the
World IN light Days." to visit every
country which contributes Of its basie
materials to the building of this sin.
gle pair Of shoes.
Not such an uninteresting product
after all, Ell