Boots and Shoes
foot coverings made usually of leather. In colonial days the shoemaker went from house to house making up the family supply of footgear for the year. Each person had his own last. This custom was inherited from England and, indeed, was common throughout the whole continent. Somewhat later the shoemaker established a shop at which customers left their measures for whatever they needed in his way. Nowadays nearly all footwear is made at factories. When manufactories were first established the cutting was done at a central shop, and the work was given out to be done by the piece at the homes of operatives; but now everything is done in the workrooms of the central factory. Soles and uppers are cut by machinery. Whether the various parts are sewed together with thread, pegged with wooden pegs, riveted with metal rivets, or fastened with bits of twisted wire, the work is done by ingenious machines. According to the last United States census, 150,000 persons are employed in 1,316 establishments, chiefly in New England towns. The manufactures pay out $70,000,000 a year in wages and turn out nearly a third of a billion dollars' worth of boots and shoes annually. American factories make on an average three pairs of boots or shoes for each man, woman, and child in the Union. Brockton, Lynn, Haverhill, New York, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Rochester, Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, and North Adams are centers of manufacture. American-made boots and shoes are finding their way into foreign markets in competition with the best products of British factories. In 1908 we exported 6,552,000 pairs-worth $88,000,000 at wholesale. American shoe stores are in evidence in most European cities.
An ordinary pair of shoes requires 26 pieces of leather, 14 pieces of cloth, 24 buttons, 28 nails, 80 tacks, 2 tips, 2 heels, 2 box toes, 2 steel shanks, and 20 yards of thread. Not long ago an exhibition was given showing how rapidly shoes could be turned out. A pair was made which required fifty-seven operators, on forty-two machines. Word was given the work began. In thirteen minutes the pair of shoes was pronounced complete.