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THE“GENTLE ART”OF MAKING SHOES
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Goodyear Stitching Machine.
INTERESTING STORY OF THE
SHOE AND ITS EVOLUTION
FOOTWEAR OF THE
PAST AND PRESENT
Great Development of the In
dustry in the Past 50 Years
Wonderful Machines of the Goodyear
Welt System Shown by the J. K.
Orr Shoe Company at the
Manufacturers’ Exposition.
"To the making of many ‘shoes’ there Is
no end.” The substitution of the word
“shoes” for "books” in this trite old say
ing, seems eminently fitting and proper,
for long before the mind of man conceived
the idea of making any permanent record
of events, or his thoughts, the fashioning
of some suitable protection for his feet
had demanded his attention and the prob
lem, as far at least as his immediate re
quirements, solved.
ft is a fax - cry from this primitive foot
covering, conceived by man when the
world was young, to the wonderfully com
fortable, durable, and beautiful products
of American shoe factories of this present
time, for through everj' stage of human
development, the shoe has kept thorough
ly apace, reflecting in its design, his en
vironment and his vanity. It remains to
day the same reliable index to the charac
ter of the wearer that it has always been.
Never before in all history has footwear
been made which was so comfortable, and
so durable, or sold at so moderate a
price, quality considered.
Strange as it may seem, the shelves of
the greatest libraries contain hut little
information regarding this Important
commodity.
Almost every tribe and nation has some
tradition of the shoe, generally attributing
to it some mysterious power for good or
evil.
The ruined Temple of Thebes, Egypt,
show the primitive shoemaker fashioning
the samfals which protected the feet of
his patrons.
It seems almost incredible, but the tools
employed by this ancient maker of shoes;
the awl, knife, hammer and pincers
remained the only implements employed
by even the most skilled masters of this
ancient craft, until about 60 years ago,
when the first crude machine was intro
duced.
The development in the past 25 sears
has been most bewildering. So rapid has
it been that those who were familiar with
the shoemaking of even a few short years
ago. pause in sheer amazement before
these wonderful machines of the Good-
year Welt System, which have been in
stalled on the stage of the Auditorium.
This very comprehensive demonstration
of up-to-the-minute shoemaking, has
been installed by the .1. K. Orr Shoe Cofit
pany, of this city, through the cordial co
operation of the United Shoe Machinery
Company, of Boston, who make and sup
ply to shoe manufacturers the wonderful
machines shown, many of which, are as
intricate and as finely adjusted as a
watch.
In this exhibit the .1. K. Orr Shoe Com
pany are showing the exact method em
ployed. and every detail of the materials
regularly used in the manufacture of
their now famous "Red Seal" Shoes. The
machines are operated by employees from
the Yonge Street Factory of this firm.
It would be difficult indeed to conceive
a more comprehensive and convincing
demonstration.
The thousands who have watched the
operations of the machines in the first few
days of- the Exposition, have gone away
with a firm and abiding faith in the
American shoe, and what is even of more
importance, the product of the local “Red
(Seal” Factory, of which Atlanta has every
reason proud.
Adjacent to this exhibit are two show
cases containing a portion of the remark
able collection of ancient and historic
shoes owned by the United Shoe Machin
ery Company, of Boston, and which have
been loaned to Mr. Orr for this occasion.
By studying them one is enabled to
comprehend the gradual evolution of style,
which has been going on in the past five
centuries, and compare shoes which were
undoubtedly masterpieces in their day
with the wonderful product of the present
time.
The gradual evolution of the. shoe, from
the first simple Sandal worn by primitive
man is interesting indeed.
From the first simple piece of hide or
plaited grass bound to the bottom of the ‘
foot there was no change other than to
beautify in the foot protection worn by
citizens of countries whose histories have
been preserved for several centuries: it
was not, in fact, until after the decline of
the Roman empire, that anything ap-
HIE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS. MONDAY. AUGUST 5, 1912
proaching in design the shoe as we know
it, was devised.
In medieval times throughout Europe
shoes with long pointed or "piked” toes
were worn by the high born. Toward the
end of the fourteenth century these points
became so ridiculously elongated that
golden chains were used to fasten them
to the limbs of the wearer. A law was
finally enacted restricting the length to
which shoes might be made.
Different kinds of half boots were worn
by the Anglo-Saxons and the Anglo-Nor
mans. in the reign of Edward IV. if not
earlier, the boots proper, with tops and
s)jurs. was established as an article of
knightly dress.
In the reign of Charles I a species of
boot, exceedingly wide at the top, made
of Spanish leather, came into use. With
Charles II a highly decorated French boot
was introduced as an article of gay courtly
attire.
Meanwhile the jackboot, as it is call
ed, had become indispensable in the cos
tume of cavalry soldiers and hprsemen
generally. By William Hl and his fol
lowers it was regularly naturalized in
England
This huge species of boot remained in
use in British cavalry regiments, until
comparatively recent times. In a some
what polished and improved form it is
still worn by the Horse Guards. The jack
boot is almost entitled to be called the pa
rent of the top boot and some other va
rieties.
What perhaps contributed to break up
their general use was the introduction of
the Hessian boot as an article of walking
dress. Worn over tight pantaloons, the
Hessian boot was a handsome piece of
attire, giving undoubtedly an elegant ap
pearance to the nether costume.
Boots of this shape were worn by the
English general officers in the early part
of the French war and somejvhat later.
At length they were superseded by the
well-known Wellington boot, introduced
by the great duke as a simplification under
the loose military trouser. When the
name of Blucher was given to the half
boot, the Wellington was almost entirely
abandoned in England, in consequence of
the universal use of short ankle boots.
It is still largely used in some continen
tal countries and the United States.
SHOEMAKING IN AMERICA.
INTRODUCTION OF MACHINERY.
The first shoemaker on record who came
to America was Thomas Beard, who came
in the Mayflower on her second trip. He
brought with him a supply of nides and
made shoes for the colonists.
The pioneer shoemaker of Lynn. Mass.,
was Philip Kertland. a native of Buck
inghamshire. who settled in what was to
become a shoe center in after years, in
1636. Os course, all his work was by hand,
as machines were not then dreamed of.
Kertland taught others his craft. Shoe
making became an industry of the place,
so much so that fifteen years later Lynn
was not only supplying all the neighbor
ing towns and settlers, but also the port
of Boston.
Tanning and shoemakmg were men
tioned as industries of Virginia as early
as 1648. Special mention was made of
the fact that a planter named Matthews
employed eight shoemakers on his place.
In 1656 legal restraint was placed on
the cord wainer in Connecticut, and in
Rhode Island in 1706
The business of tanning and shoemak
ing was firmly established in the province
of New York previous to the capitulation
of the Dutch to lhe English in 1664.
The industry was carried on profitably
in 1698 in Philadelphia. An acl regulat
ing the material and the prices of the
boot and shoe industry was passed by the
legislature of Pennsylvania in 1721.
When a young man desired to become a
shoemaker in these early days he served
an apprenticeship of seven years with
some master shoemaker. During this
time the apprentice was instructed how
to shape the insole and the outsole. He
depended almost entirely on his eye for
the proportion. He was taught to pre
pare pegs and to drive them, for the peg
shoe was the most prominent type of
lootwear in the early half of the last cen-
tury. The apprentice was also taught
to make, turn and welt shoes. This re
quired exceptional skill on the part of the
artisan in channeling the insole, sewing
the welt and stitching the outside.
"WHIPPING THE CAP.”
As soon as the apprentice had served
his term he started on what was known
as "whipping the cap.” He journeyed
from, town to town, living with the fam
ily while making a year’s supply for each
member.
John Adams Dagyr. a celebrated shoe
maker of Essex, England, came to live
in Massachusetts in 1750. He was a mas
ter craftsman and gave a great impetus
to the industry in Lynn. Recently a mon
ument has been erected to his memory
in that city.
In the development of shoemaking, this
master craftsman discovered that he could
greatly increase the output of his estab
lishment by supervising the work of a
number of apprentices and ordinary shoe
makers. instead of spending his time
actually making shoes himself. This
marked the birth of the factory system.
In time women were employed to per
form some of the lesser tasks. So that
in Lynn, in the year 1795, there were two
hundred master workmen, employing 600
journeymen and others, in a year 300,-
000 pairs of shoes were turned out.
These early factory buildings wore sim
ple structures, and the shoe was made
under one roof. Frequently the leather
used for the shoes was tanned on the
same premises on which the shoes were
made.
The farmers found that shoemaking was
remunerative. During the long, cold New
England winters many of them turned
their hands to making an honest pennv
in this way.
They built small ten-by-ten factories on
their farms. Many of these little shops
are still standing.
In some cases these farmer shoemakers
only partially finished the shoes and sent
them to the factories to be finally com
pleted and put out on the market.
INTRODUCTION OF MACHINERY.
Thus the industry slowly developed
until the introduction of machinery, which
happened a little more than a half a cen
tury ago.
The first machine invented to aid in
making shoes -was designed to turn out
shoe pegs. This was invented in the year
1811, and peg shoes were worn widely in
the next few years.
It was not until 1835 that a machine
for driving pegs was made. This was a
hand machine, and its work was by no
means satisfactory.
A machine for rolling sole leather under
pressure was the first machine widely ac
cepted by the trade. With this machine a
man could do in a minute the work it
had formerly taken a half hour to per
form with the old-fashioned lap stone and
ham mer.
But the machine which gave the shoe
making industry its greatest impetus was
the sewing machine perfected bv Elias
Howe.
This machine was followed by another
which sewed with wax thread.
\Vit|t it the uppers of shoes were sewed
in a much more reliable manner titan
they had ever been sewed by hand other
machines followed for splitting the sole
leather and buffing the grain.
Lyman R. Blake sprang into notoriety
in 1858, when he invented what was later
known as the McKay sole-sewing ma
chine. and which brought to Gordon Mc-
Kay in later life the millions with w'hlch
he endowed the Lawrence Scientific school
at Harvard college.
The machine was in a crude state wh,en
Blake first endeavored to have it used.
Colonel McKay believed in the machine,
however, and employed skilled mechan
ics to aid in its perfection.
He encountered a great deal of skep
ticism and opposition to the adoption of
the machine. At one time he offered to
sell the machine to the shoemakers of
Lynn for their exclusive use, if they would
pay him $300,000. Luckily for Colonel Mc-
Kay the offer was not accepted.
Public necessity, however, compelled the
shoemakers to do what Colonel McKay
had failed to obtain by all his offers The
demand for shoes, more shoes and better
shoes than ever before forced the manu
facturers to take up the McKay ma
chine.
Colonel McKay was still embarrassed by
the lack of capital and was unable to car
ry on his rapidly increasing business. This
brought about the introduction of the roy
alty system, whereby the machine or the
machine owner participated in the profits
accruing from the use of the machine.
This has become an inherent part of the
shoe industry.
ROYALTIES BRING DEVELOPMENTS.
Royalty paying became one of the prin
ciples of the industry and it has lived
ever since. It afforded an easy manner
in which machines could be installed with
out entailing a heavy expense upon the
manufacturers.
The success of Colonel McKay in in
troducing his machines induced a number
of mechanics and inventors to enter this
field. A large number of their inventions
were purchased by Colonel McKay.
A New York mechanic. Auguste Des
touey. invented a machine for sewing
soles. It did not prove successful, how
ever. But Charles Goodyear, nephew of
Mr. Goodyear, of vulcanized rubber fame,
was impressed with the idea and firmly
believed it could he made practical.
He put a number of Inventors to work
on the task Four models were con
structed before a successful machine was
turned out.
'Phis machine was designed to sew only
turn shoes. Even for this purpose it was
many years before It proved a decided
success.
, But Mr. Goodyear believed that a ma
chine could be made which would sew
welt shoes also. He went to worts on this
proposition. In this, too, he was even
tually successful.
1 Then came the introduction of a ma
i chine for heels. These heeling machines
I have been developed steadily ever since.
Mr. Goodyear made further improvements.
He developed machines for doing all the
i auxiliary work upon the shoes and for all
the work necessary upon welt shoes.
These machines ultimately Became the
famous Goodyear wreit system, which has
■ been improved, until today It is as perfect
as human invention can make it.
. UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY
Organization Put an End to Litigation
Which Threatened Prosperity of
Big Industry.
1 The invention of many machines simi
lar to those turned out by McKay anti
1 Goodyear, about the year 1890, threatened
■ to bring about a disastrous industrial
e war.
3 There was great business competition
at first, then the various inventors and
manufacturers of machines began a legal
- war, on the ground that their patents
’ were being infringed.
1 This brought great hardships to the
manufacturers of shoes, who found them
selves in many cases, prohibited from
using the machines which they had in
stalled for making their shoes. They had,
in fact, to bear the brunt of the strife
‘ which was being waged between lhe in
ventors in the one case and the manufac
turers of machinery in the other.
' Injunctions Against the use of machines,
damage suits and litigation of all kinds
1 became the order of the day. These con
ditions threatened to kill the shoe indus
try of the United States, or, at least, to
1 seriously cripple it.
But. fortunately, all this trouble was
brought to an end by the formation of the
1 I’nited Shoe Machinery Company in 1899.
By purchase several of the more impor
tant concerns making shoe machinery
were brought together in one company.
All the litigation, all the injunctions were
terminated. A harmonious management
1 was brought about, under which all the
jealousies and bitterness of the past were
wiped away.
PRESS COMPLIMENTS CORPORATION.
, The formation of this company, which !
plays such an important part in the or
ganization and development of the jn*eat
, shoe industry, was recently commented
upon by an editor of one of the largest
•shoe trade papers in the country, as fol
lows:
“I suppose that every corporation with
sufficient capital and power to accomplish
1 any great undertaking will always be
the object of a certain amount of suspi
. cion and abuse from those who are pessi-
■ mistically inclined, and the I’nited Shoe
-Machinery Company was certainly no ex
ception to this rule, for In its earlier days
few companies have been more grossly
maligned or so unreasonably assailed.
“Anyone, however, who review’s impar
tially the record of happenings that im
mediately preceded the formation of this
company and those which have transpired
tn the succeeding years can not be other
, wise than surprised at the wonderful
change and improvement that have taken
place in conditions affecting the manu
facture of slioes, as tlie plans of those
who directed its affairs have been un
folded."
LIKE TREATMENT FOR ALL.
The company treated all manufacturers
i alike They soon came to realize that
each could obtain from the company ma
chines and service at the same prices
that all the others hail them. This prin
ciple of equality to customers has been
maintained at all times by the I'nited
Shoe Machinery Company, and it has
borne splendid fruit.
'1 he new company determined that it
would have the best, whether in brains
or workmanship, and lhe best inventions
were taken up. the best machines were
employed and the best and fairest business
methods were adopted.
The mon who were best fitted to solve
tjic problem of the trade were made to
leel that the company offered them a
rcat opportunity for advancement. While
they helped the company they were help
ing themselves. The companv has paid
a high premium for ability along all lines,
and this course lias engendered a friendly
rivalry among the men in its employ.
CENTRALIZATION OF PRODUCTION.
When the companv was first formed
It found itself in possession of a num
ber el manufacturing plants in various
part- of the country Only by centraliza
tion could the company hope to attain
the higher economics for itself and its
customers which it hoped to obtain.
The officials of the company realized
that its manufacturing interests must be
brought ’■ gather. With this idea in
mind a committee spent a whole year vis
itlii,,' the various plants owned by the
company. This committee gathered data
which eventually resulted in the. con
struction of the great plant at Beverly
Mass, which has been declared by emi
nent engineers to be one of the finest
plants in the world.
An idea of the magnitude of the work
carried on within this great manufacture
ing plant may be obtained from a brief
description. A walk through the factory
means a journey of six miles. There are
seventeen acres nf floor space.
An army nf employees—4,2oo in num
ber —works there every day. The weekly
wages of these employees exceed $75,000
In the stock room 80.000 different kinds of
machine parts are stored, ready for de
liver v at any’ time they may be required
Machines ♦© the number of 450 a weel
are yhipp-d *t\\a.” from the factory. A?
man” as 20.000 have been shipped out in
a year. Hach one of these machines per
forms the w’ork of from on** to twelve
men.
One hundred and twenty-rive thousand
pounds of steel are consumed each week
in the factory.
The foundry produces thirty tons of
castings each day. Sixty thousand pieces
a week are made by the drop forge de
partment
EMPLOYEES’ INTERESTS PROTECT
ED.
The interests of the employees are care*
fully guarded by the company. A sav
ings bank and Insurance company are
operated especially for the benefit of the
em ployees.
'l'he salaries paid the employees are
high. The company has provided a coun
try club, a gun club and the very best
quarters for the men and women wh6
work for it. The employees have beer
given opportunities to do co-operative
farming.
The old policy of let-well-enough-alone
has not been recognized by the company.
It believes that what is goods can al
ways be made better. Therefore the com
pany is constantly endeavoring to bet
ter the machines which it turns out, t«
make them do more work and to do the
work more correctly.
In many cases this stems to lie a search
for the impossible. Nevertheless, th*
company employs a corps of efficient me
chanics and well-known inventors to bet
ter the machines, which already seem
perfect. As soon as a new invention hafl
proved its worth the old machines art
displaced and new are installed
In this manner the shoe manufacturer
frequently finds himself better equipped
to carry on his business than he was be
fore. This is due in no small measure to
the energy and initiative of the United
Shoe Machinery Company, for the shoe
manufacturer is provided with the latest
’ and best machines as soon as they are
perfected.
If he had to purchase the machines the
’ manufacturer would find himself sadly
hampered. Instead, he pays the company
‘ a certain small sum on each shoe he turns
I *
out of purchases from the company fur
. nishing the material certain findings es
t sential to its operation.
1 ROYALTIES NEVER INCREASED.
This system, while It provides the man
ufacturer year by year with improved
machines and facilities for making shoes,
does not entail an increased expenditure
1 by him for machinery. The royalties
have never been increased since the or
ganization of the company; but rather,
they have been decreased. It is rattier
surprising to learn that the average roy-
I ally accruing to this company is less than
tw’o and two-thirds cents per pair of
’ shoes This covers the entire cost ot
• manufacturing the machines, the supplies,
improvement, maintenance and adminis
i tration.
' There has been a striking prosperity in
1 the entire shoe industry of the United
1 States during the years in which the
United Shoe Machinery Company has
been in existence. The Federal statistics
show this in a striking way.
MODERNIZING SHOEMAKING.
i
Wonderful Machinery Shown in The Red
Seal Exhibit Operations of the
Goodyear Welt System.
The machines shown in the .1, K. Orr
exhibit form one of the most interesting
groups imaginable, and many compli
ments have been paid to this firm on the
, enterprise which could conceive ami carry
to so successful a conclusion so ambitious
■ an undertaking, it is also a sterling tes
timonial to the character of the Red
Seal shoe for man, for the inmost re
cesses of the shoe are laid open for criti
cal inspection, and representatives from
the Red Seal factory in Yongt street are
present to answer any questions regarding
the quality of the materials used or the
details of the wonderful Goodyear Welt
system employed in making them.
As a shoe is made either a comfort or
a torment in its manufacturing process
the following brief details regarding the
construction of a Goodyear Welt Shoe will
interest not only the thousands who have
already visited the exhibit, but those who
are sure to do so before its close.
EVOLUTION OF A SHOE.
In the evolution of a Goodyear Welt
shoe from tliat embryonic state in wnten
it Is "mere leather and thread," • > tl.at
pe; feet pn.dttet which has contrihut I so
much to the c< n fert of the world, t cr
dlnarlly passes through, one hundred and
six different pairs of hands, and is
obliged to conform to the requirements of
fifty-eight different machines, each per
forming with unyielding accuracy the va
rious operations for which it was design
! e<l
In the beginning the different parts
form,t g the shoe upper are cut from care
fully selected leather; the edges carefully
finished; the linings and various stays
prepaied. and the whole carefully stitch
ed together; the eyelets through which the
shoe is laced are set tn position, and the
whole is ready to be placed over, the
wooden last, which determines the size
and shape of the shoe.
To the bottom of this last there has a’
ready been tacked, by United Shoe Ma
. chine tom puny Insole tacking machine, an
insole which ,s just the shape of the bot
tom ol Ute last This insole has been
previottsly prepared by having a little slit
cut along the edge on a slight bevel to
ward the cfutet Another little slit in
side 'he first one and on the opposite
slant is cut. and th< two turned outward
so that they stand at right angles to
tl>e face of the insole
The toe box. which gives permanent
form to the toe of the shoe, is put in place,
coated with a peculiar elastic gum by tlie
Hex Box Toe Company machine The
operator now places the upper on the last
so that every seam comes in just the po
sition designed, and a tack driven part
way in by the Rex assembling machine
holds it m position at the heel
AN IMPORTANT OPERATION.
Now conies one of the most important
operations—the Rex pulling over machine
draws the leather smoothly around the
last, the operator adjusts the machine so
that every seam in the upper lies al just
Hie exact position intended. A second
pressure on the foot lever of the machine,
and two tacks driven on each side of the
toe holds the upper at that point securely
in place.
The consolidated hand method lasting
machine now draws each portion of th<
upper securely down to the last, taking
the stretch from the leather, and tacks
driven automatically but part way in hold
it there. The toe portion is smoothiv
drawn around this part of the shoe by
the ingenious United Shue Machinery's
lasting machine No. 5. These operations
are most carefully performed, and the
last is not removed until the shoe is
finished, so the shoes hold their shape
and are comfortable, they are not drawn
tightly in one place and loosely in an
other.
The Rex upper trimming machine now
trims off all the surplus parts of the shoe
upper and the Goodyear insole tack pull
ing machine withdraws the tacks which
held the insole to the last. The shoe is
now ready to receive the welt, which is
a narrow strip of prepared leather sew
ed along the edge of the shoe, beginning
where the heel is placed and ending at
the same spot on the opposite edge. This
welt Is sewed from inside the lip of the
insole, and the curved needle passed
through the lip. shoe upper and welt,
uniting all three securely and allowing the
welt to protrude outward from the edge
of the shoe.
DIFFICULT TASK IN SHOEMAKING.
The needle in making this stitch does
not go inside of the shoe, but passes
through only a portion of the insole, and
as the tacks which are driven but part
way in. in lasting, are withdrawn, the
shoe is left perfectly smooth inside. This
part of ihe work was formerly one of the
most difficult and laborious tasks in shoe
making
As it was performed entirely by hand,
the drawing of each stitch depending upon
the strength and mood of the workman,
it is, of course, obvious that stitches were
oftentimes of different lengths and drawn
with different tensions. It is surprising
iiow quickly and easily the work is done
on lhe Goodyear welt sewing machine—
Model G. This famous machine has been
the leading factor in the great revolution
that has taken place in shoe manufactur
ing. Its work should be carefully noted;
all stitches are of equal length and meas
ured automatically, the strong linen
thread is thoroughly waxed and drawn
evenly and tightly, for the machine neverj
tires—it draws lhe thread as strongly in.,
the evening as in the morning. Every*
revolution ot the shuttle forms a lock
stitch of great strength, which holds the
welt, upper and insole securely together.
The Goodyear Universal Inseam Trim
ming Machine now trims the surplus por
tion of the welt and upper smoothiv down
to the stitches, and the Goodyear Welt.
Beater and Slasher forces the welt to
stand out evenly from the edge of the
shoe The Goodyear Shank Welt Skiver i
thins off the welt at the shank, and as
specially prepared material is spread over
lhe Insole to form a partial cushion for
the feet.
RUBBER CEMENT APPLIED.
The entire bottom of the shoe is now
coated with rubber cement from the Star
Cementing Machine, and the heavier out
sole, made from the most carefully tanned
selected sole leather, the rough or flesh
side of which has been coated with ce
ment, is molded into shape and pressed
securely into position by the Goodyear
Improved Twin Sole laying Machine,
where it is allowed to remain a sufficient
time for the cement to set. The next op
eration is that of trimming the sole and
welt so that .they protrude a uniform dis
tance from the edge of the shoe, giving
shape to the sole. Simultaneously with
the rounding operation the machine cuts
a little channel or slit along the edge of
the outside in much the same manner as
the work was done on the insole.
'■ This portion of the work was formerly
very difficult and a costly operation by
J. hand, but seems simplicity itself when
t the operation is performed on this ma
. chine. The rounding operation simply in
cludes that portion of the shoe to which
! the welt has been sewed, leaving the
I outside ■at the heel without a tension.
’ This portion is first nailed to the shoe
on the Loose Nailing Machine, from which
small brass nails, automatically driven
and spaced, are clinched against the steel
heel of the last.
The surplus portion of leather is then
trimmed off on the Heel Seat Rounding
Machine, and the little channel cut by
the knife of the Rough Routjding Ma
chine is turned up so as to leave the
channel open for the little Goodyear Uni
versal Opening Machine, in which a little
wheel turning very rapidly lays the lip
smoothly back. The outsole is now sewed
to the welt. This operation is performed
on the Goodyear Outsole Rapid Lockstitch
Machine, which is very similar in opera
tion to the Goodyear Welt Sewing Ma
chine used in sewing the welt to the shoe.
DURABLE LOCKSTITCH.
The stitch, however, is finer and ex
tends from the channel which was cut
for it to the upper side of the welt, where
it shows after the shoe has been finished.
The lockstitch formed by this machine is
a most durable one; using a thoroughly
v axed thread, it holds the outsole securely
in place, even after the connecting
stitches have been worn off It is one of
the most important machines in the shoe
making process. In connection with this
machine there is also a Bobbin Winder,
which winds the bobbin used in the ro
tary shuttle ot the machine.
A coating of cement is now applied in
side the channel just before stitching,
and alter it has been allowed to proper!'"
set the lip is smoothly laid down by the
Goodyear Channel laying Machine.
The next operation is that of leveling,
which is performed on the Automatic Sole
Leveling Machine, one of the most inter
esting used in the shoemaking process.
It is a double machine, and by its use a,
vibrating roll passes over the sole of the
shoe under heavy pressure, covering ever' -
portion of the sole and shank, and after
completing its operation the shoe is au
tomatically dropped from its position be
neath the roll. It removes every possi
bility of unevenness in the bottom of the
shoe The shoe now receives its heel,
which, wit It the exception of the top lift,
lias already been prepared It Is secured
in place by the American Lightning Heel
ing Machine, by means of which all heel
nails are driven at one time and clinched
inside tlie shoe. The heads of the nails
are left protruding above the heel so as
to retain the top lift, which is also pressed
into jilace on this machine. As It is
pressed down over the heads of the nails
they do not show on the surface of the
top lift.
SHOE SLUGGING MACHINE.
i'he next machine drives the small
piece of brass or other meta' which pro
tect the top lift from wear and which
are called slugs. This is done by the Uni
versal slugging machine. They are ac
curately' placed at any desired number
the machine automatically driving ano
cutting I hem off as they are drawn from
a continuous cord or wire. The top lift,
which was accurately placed on the heel
ing machine, also serves as a guard for
the Ultima heel trimming machine, in
which a rapid revolving knife cuts awav
all the rough and surplus portions of the
leather, leaving the edge of the heel
smooth witli the exact contour intended.
I'he edges of the sole are now trimmed
on the Model A edge trimming machine,
and a series of indentations made along
the surface of lhe welt between the
stitches to give the shoe a much more
pleasing appearance and finish. This work
is done on the Goodyear welt indenting
and burnishing machine.
The slices from this point pass through
a variety of operations, carrying with the
factories in which they are made. In
tending to bring every portion to the high
est and most durable finish. After all >«
completed the last, which has been al
lowed to remain in the shoe, is with
drawn and the final dressing and finishing
administered, so that the shoe stands fort)
a perfect product.
In every portion of the world it will b
found that wherever the highest grad
of footwear is made this same process an
the same machines are employed, varyin
only in unimportant details, and that Hi
Goodyear welt shoe is esteemed tlie high
est type of footwear in appearance, con
fort and wear, the world has ever knowi
7