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THE“GENTLE ART’OF MAKING SHOES
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rx -.I , V The Piked Shoe of the XIV Century. Slipper of Elizabeth’s Time.
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!Shoe of Richelieu's Time. I
Goodyear Stitching Machine.
I INTERESTING STORY OF THE
| SHOE AND ITS EVOLUTION
i FOOTWEAR OF THE
I PAST AND PRESENT
Great Development of the In
dustry in the Past 50 Years
V/onderful 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
<>f some suitable protection for his feet
had demanded his attention and the prob
lem. as far at least as bis immediate re
quirements. solved.
It is a far cry from this primitive foot
covering, conceived by man when the
world was young, to the wonderfully com
fortable, durable, ami beautiful products
of American shoe factories of tiiis present
time, for through every stage of human
development, the shoe has kept thorough
ly apace, reflecting in its design, his en
vironment and ids vanity. It remains to
day tlie same reliable index to the charac
n r of tlie wearer that it has always been.
Never before in all history has footwear
been made Which was so comfortable, and
la durable, or sold at so moderate a
price, quality considered.
Strange as it may seem, tiie shelves of
the greatest libraries contain but little
information regarding this important
commodity.
Almost every tribe amt nation has some
tradition of the slice, generally attributing
to it some mysti rioiis power for good or
evil.
The ruined Temple of Thebes. Egypt,
show the primitive shoemaker fashioning
th,' sandals which protected the feet of
his patrons.
It seems almost incredible, but the tools
(employed by this ancient maker of shoes;
the awl. knife, hantmer and pincers
remained the only Implements employed
by < ven the m -t killed masters of this
am i nt I'all. until about tit) mars ago.
when the first crude machine was intro
duced.
The development in the past ?."■ years
has been most bewildering. So rapid has
J it beep that those who Were familial witt
ti ■ : , .. n , ; |.king of even ab w short years
a. < , lose in sheer a ,'ia a* in ent before
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 J. K. Orr Shoe Com
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 ?s finely adjusted as a
watch.
In this exhibit the J. 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 ih the
American shoe, and what is even of more
importance, the product of the local “Red
Seal" Factory, of which Atlanta has every
reason to feel proud.
Adjacent to this exhibit are two show
cases containing a portion of the remark
able collection of ancient and historic
slices owned by tlie 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 tlie gradual evolution of style,
v hicli Ims been going on in the past five
centuries, and compare shoes which were
undoubtedly masterpieces in their day’
with tlie wonderful product of the present
t fme.
The gradual evolution of Hie shoe from
the first simple Sandal worn by primitive
man is interesting indeed.
from tin first simple piece of hide or
plaited grass bound Io tlie bottom of the
fw.it there was no change other than to
beu iihy In tin fiiot protection worn by
• .1 .ens of countries whose histories have
been pri served tor several centuries; ti
was not. in fiu i. until after the decline of
fTTE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS
proaching in design the shoe as we know
it, was devised.
In medieval times throughout Europe
•hoes 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
spurs, 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, catne 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 horsemen
generally. By William HI 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 somewhat 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 aides 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 shoemaking were men
tioned as industries of Virginia as early
as 1646. Special mention was made of
tlie fact that a planter named Matthews
employed eight shoemakers on his place
In 1656 legal restraint was placed on
the cord walner 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 lite capitulation
of the Dutch to the English in 1664.
The industry was carried on profitably
in 1698 in Philadelphia. An act regulat
ing the material and tlie 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 be served
an apprenticeship of seven years with
some master shoemaker. During this
time Hit' 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 tin t,. tor lite peg
was p.- prominent iyia • I
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
tile 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 I.as 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
i lishment by supervising the work of a
number of apprentices and ordinary shoe
i makers, instead of spending his time
actually making shoes himself. This
marked tlie birth of the factory system.
I 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 were 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 tinned
their hands to making an honest penny
in this way.
They built small ten-by-ten factories on
their farms. Many of these little shops
arc still standing.
In some cases these farmer shoemakers
only partially finished the shoes ami 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 that, a halt 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 leaf tier 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 hip stone and
hammer.
But the machine which gave the shoe
making industry its greatest impetus was
the sewing machine perfected by Elias
Howe.
This machine was followed by another
which sewed with wax thread.
With it the uppers of shoes were sewed
in a much more reliable manner than
they had ever been sewed by hand, othei
marhines followed for splitting the sole
leather and buffing the grain.
Lyman It 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 which
he endowed the Lawrence Scientific school
at Harvard college.
The machine teas in a crude state when
Blake first endeavored to have it used.
< 'olonel McKay believed in lite 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 thev 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
bad failed to obtain by all his offers The
demand for shoes, more shoes and better
shoes than ever before forced the manu
facturers Io take up the MeKai ma
chine.
Colonel McKay was still embarrm • d by
’he lack of capital ami was unable p. , ar
’■y on his rapidly increasing busim 'l'l.js
brought about the introduction of th,- roy
alty system, whereby the machim or ti-.e
inuer.l’)- owner participated in the profits
accruing from the use of the m.-iehit•<■
This has become an inherent part of the
shoo industry,
ROYALTIES BRING DEVELOPMENTS.
Royalty paying became one of the prim
ciples of the industry and if has lived
ever since. It afforded an easy manner
in wliieh •machine-- could he msl.tlli dw J
out entailing a heavy expense upon flu
manufacturers.'
The success of Colonel McKay in in
troducing his mm Im es induced a number
of mechanics an,l inventors to enter his
field. A large number of their ini ■ titions
were purchased by Colonel McKay
A New York mechanic. Auguste De
toney. Invented a machine for sewing
soles. Il did m t prove successful. I >w
• ■ver. But Charles Goiaiyear nephaw of
Mr Goodyear, of vulcanized rubber fame,
was impressed with the Idea and firmly
believed it could bo made praol ic :il.
He put n number of inventors to wrk
on the task. Four modeis wore con
structed before a mi-cssftll machim was
turni d nut
I TFG ... . o.s'geod t-> .-on "nli-
many years before it proved a decided
success.
, But Mr. fjoodyear believed tnai a ma
’ chine could he made whicn would sew
neb shoes also. He went to worn on this
proposition. Ln tills, too, he was even
tually successful.
1 Then came the introduction of a tna
i chine for heefcs. These heeling machines
, have been developed steadily ever since.
Mr. Goodyear made further improvements.
He developed machines tor doing all the
i auxiliary work upon the shoes and for all
the work necetF.iry upon welt shoes.
These maenbxes ultimately oceanic the
famous Goodyoar wen system, whicn lias
■ been improved until today It is as perfect
as human invention can make n.
t UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY
Organization Ppt an End to Litigation
Which Threatened Prosperity of
5 Bicy Industry.
' Tlie invention-of many machines simi
lar to those tunned out by McKay and
1 Goodyear, about the year 1890, threatened
- to bring about a. disastrous industrial
f war.
3 There was gre-.gt business competition
at first, then the various inventors and
manufacturers of machines began a legal
* war, on the grostnd that their patents
1 were being infringyvl.
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 tlieir shoes. They had,
m fact, to bear the brunt of the strife
■ which was being wtaged between the in
ventors in the one istae and tlie manufac
turers of machinery tn the other.
‘ Injunctions against the use of machines,
damage suits and UClgation of all kinds
1 became the order of tlie day. These con
ditions threatened to kill tlie shoe Indus
try of the United Stsaes. or, at least, to
1 seriously cripple it.
’ But, fortunately, all this trouble was
brought to an end by the formation of the
1 United Shoe Machinery' Couqiany 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
ua- brought about, timjcr which all tlie
jealousies and bitterness of the past were
wiped away.
PRESS COM PL I M ENTSiCORPORATION.
, The formation of this company, which
plays such an important, part in tlie or-
! ganization and development of the great
i shoe industry, was recently commented
upon by an editor of one of tlie largest
shoe trade papers in the country, as fol
lows:
"I suppose that every corporation with
sufticient capital and pow«ar 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
. mist i".lily inclined, and tlie United Shoe
Machinery Company was certainly no ex
. I certion to this rule, for in its earlier days
I lew companies have been more grossly
maligned or so unreasonably assailed
" Vni oite. however, who reviews impar-
I tialli the record of happenings that im
, | mediately preceded tlie formation of this
i company and those which have transpired
. | in the succeeding years can not be other
. I wise titan surprised at the wonderful
change and improvement that, have taken
place in conditions affecting the manu
facture of slices, as the plans of those
woo directed its affairs have been un
folded."
LIKE TREATMENT FOR ALL.
The company treated all manufacturers
aliki They soon came to realize that
leach could obtain from the company ma-
■ chines and service at the siune prices
• I that all tlie others had them. This prin-
D'iple of equality to customers has been
I maintained at all times by the United
I Shot Machinery Company, and it lias
■ | borne splendid fruit.
, | The new company determined that it
I would have the best, whether in brains
. - ■ v rl mansion, and the best inventions
wort taken up, tb(- t.est machines wcr<
co !'-'ed and tiie best and fairest business
I rn< ’ nods Were adopted.
Tie non Who were best tiued to solvo
t 1 c t-r- blem of tiie trade were made to
Ic'l r-;il the company offered them a
reel opportunity for advancement. Whilo
! they helped the company they were lielp
, Ing themselves The company has paid
a l> git premium for ability along all lines,
and this course bus engendered a fuiendly
I rivalry among the men in its employ.
CENTRALIZATION OF PRODUCTION.
When the company was first formea
it found itself in possession of a num
| her '-1 ni.-in ilio i uring plants in various
jpa'i- < f the country only by centraliza
tion ■-i Io tie eomimtiy hope to attain
,Un- l-ighfr i-eotiotnics for itself and its
custi-mers which II Io ped to obtain
The officials of tlie company realized
thai its u.,inutacturing interests must. In
- lire alit gi tlior. Willi litis idea in
I mi' Ia ' imlttee -pent a whole year vis
I Itiu.-r Ho- various plants owned by the
' ■-ompany . This eonithittei' gathered data
i which eventually restuied in the <-ot>-
I stnictlop f great plant at Beverly
• .Mass I i.a-lt ’ been leclared by on-i-
plants in the worLi.
An idea of the magnitude of the work
• •rriod on within this great manufactur
ing plant may b€ obtained from a brief
lescriplion A walk through the factory
means « journey of six miles. There arc
s vpiitpon acres of Moor space.
An army 'f employees 4,200 in num
ber works there every day. The weekly
wa^ r es of these employees exceed $75,000
In the stock count So.ooo different kinds of
machine part,s are stored, ready for <le
l.Vf jv at any time they may be required
Mac nines *o the number of 450 a Weei
arc : hipped . \\ay from the factory. As
ma t as JO 090 nr.vt been shipped out in
a year. iCach one of the.se machines per
forms the work of from •me to twelve
men.
One hundred and twenty-rive thousand
founds 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
employees.
The 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 whe
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 tliat what is good can al
ways he made better. Therefore (he com
pany is constantly endeavoring to bet
ter the machines which it turns out, tA
make them do more work and to do the
work more correctly.
In many cases this seems to he a search
for the impossible. Nevertheless, the
company employs a corps or efficient me
chanics and well-known inventors to bet
ter the machines, which already seem
perfect. As soon as a new invention h&B
proved its worth the old machipcs me
tisplaced and new are installed
In this manner the shoe manufacturer
frequently finds himself better equipped
to carry on his business* than lie was be-
I fore This is duo in no small measure to
the energy and initiative of the I’nlted
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
1 out or purchases from the company fur
nishing the material certain findings es-
1 sential to its operation.
ROYALTIES NEVER INCREASED.
This system, while it provides the man
ufacturer year by year with improved
machines ami facilities for making shoes,
does not entail an Increased expenditure
1 by him for machinery The royalties
have never been increased since tiie or
ganization of the company; but rather,
they have been decreased. It is rather
■ surprising to learn that the average roy-
I ally accruing to this company is less than
two and two-thirds cents per pair of
shoes This covers the entire cost ot
• manufacturing tiie machines, the supplies,
improvement, maintenance and adminis
tration.
1 There lias Been a striking prosperity in
1 tiie entire shoe industry of tiie United
1 States during the years in which tiie
. United Shoe Machinery Company has
been in existence. The Federal statistics
ehow 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 J. 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 and carry
to so successful a conclusion so ambitious
an undertaking, ft 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 critl
oa inspection, and representatives from
the Red Seal factory In Vonge street, are
present to answer any questions regarding
the quality of tiie 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 Sime will
interest not only lite 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 fVelt
• hoe from that embryonic state in wnjen
it s “mere leather and thread,” 'o that
I c.tect product which has eontribut*! so
much t > the cm. fert of the world, t or
dinarily passes through, one hundred and
six different pairs of bands, and ts
obliged to conform to the requiramen ts of
fifty-eight different machines, ear'll per
forming with unyielding accuracy tiie va
rious operations for which it was design
ed.
in the beginning tiie different parts
form i g tiie shoe upper are cut from care
fully selected leather; (lie edges carefully
finished; the linings and various stays
I rcf.ared. and the whole carefully stitch
ed t< gather; tiie eyelets through which the
sh.i- is laced are set tn position, and the
whole is ready to be placed over the
woo.ien last, which determines the size
and shii|.f* of the shoe.
T” ti t bottom of this last there has a r
r< a<!’ tacked, by I’nlted Shoe Ma-
< bine < <••:,. j»-»».v insole tacking machine, an
in<ol<> w‘i'« h .-•■ just the shape of the bat
L tn *’l the last Ibis insole has been
I reviousiy i r» pared by having a little slit
• nt along the edg» on a slight bevel to
vuid the renter Another little slit In
side Mir first one and on the opposite
s.ant is cut. and ih< two turned outward
o’ '.’ a: ‘.T?' ? tan .“ at r ' Kht ansles to
the late of the Ir.svlc
Ihe toe box. which gives permanent
form to the toe of the shoe, is put in place
coated with a peculiar elastic gum by tiie
I.ox Hox loe Company machine The
operator imw places 1 lie upner mi the last
SO that every seam comes in just the no
designed, and a tack diiven part
wav in by the Rex assembling machine
hoi.is it m position at the heel.
AN IMPORTANT OPERATION.
Now comes 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 at just
the exact position intended. A second
pressure "n the foot lever of the machine,
and two tacks driven mt each side ot' the
toe holds the upper at that point securely
in place
Th,, consolidated hand method lasting
machine now draws each poriimi of tin
upper securely down to the last, taking
Um stretch from tin- b then, and tacks
driven uulomatieally but part wav in hold
It there. Tiie loe portion Is smoothlx
drawn around this part of the shoe by
the ingmtio.is I’niied Slice Tlaelenetw's
lasting machine Xo. 'i hesc operations
are most carefully performed, and the
last |< not removed until the slice is
finished. s>< shoes held their shap ■
tightly in one place and loosely in an
other.
The Rex upper trimmi. , 'achine now
trims off all the surplus ]. -ts of the shoe
upper and tiie Goodyear insole tack pull
ing machine withdraws the tacks which
held tiie insole to the last. The shoe is
now ready to receive tiie 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. Thin
part of the work was formerly one of the
most difficult and laborious tasks in shoe
making.
As it «a« performed entirely by hand,
tiie 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
how quickly and easily the work is done
on the Goodyear welt sewdng machine—
Model G. This famous machine has beer
tiie 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 never
tires it draws the thread as strongly In
the evening as in the morning. Every
revolution of the shuttle forms a lock
stitch of great strength, which holds tlir
welt, upper and insole securely together.
The Goodyear Universal fnseam Trim
ming Machine now trims the surplus por
tion of the welt and upper smoothly down
to tiie stitches, and tiie Goodyear Welt
Beater and Slasher forces the welt to
stand out evenly from the edge of the
shoe. The Goodyear Shank Welt. Skiver
thins off the welt at the shank, and a
specially prepared material Is spread over
the 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 front 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 ot 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
hand, but seems simplicity itself when
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
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 Rounding Ma
chine is turned up so as to leave the
channel open for tiie 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 tiie 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
waxed 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 of the machine.
A coating of cement is now applied in
side the channel just before stitching,
ami after it lias been allowed to properlv
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 tiie 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 everv
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 tho
shoe. The shoe now receives its heel,
which, with 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 al! heel
nails are driven at one time and clinched
inside the shoe. The heads of the nails
are loft protruding above the heel so as
to retain the top Utt. which is also pressed
into place on this machine. As it is
pressed down over the heads of the nails
they do not show on the surface of tiie
top lift.
SHOE SLUGGING MACHINE.
The next machine drives the small
piece of brass or other metal 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 and
cutting them off as they are drawn from
a continuous cord or wire. The tup lift,
wliieli was accurately placed on the heel
ing machine, also serves as a guard tor
the Ultima heel trimming machine, m
which a rapid revolving knifa cuts away
.ill tire rotigii and surplus portions of th’e
leather, leaving the edge ot the hei 1
smooth with tho exact e ntouc intended.
The edges of the so' ■, . now trimmed
a
and a o ries of indentations made along
the surface of th,, wilt between the
stitches to give the shop a much more
l leasing ui>|,e iran,. e and finish. This won;
is done on the Goodyear well indenting
and burnishirg machine.
The shoes from this point pass through
a variety <‘t operirtions, carry ing with the
lactoiies in which they a'e imide. In
tending to bring every port mi to the high
est and most durable tinisb. After all i.-
< omplete I tile lasi, which !>a ■ been pi
llowed to remain in I’,- shoe, is wiili
drav.m mid Hie final m. ing tini r a i q 1( .
administered, o tliat the sho stands fur: .■
a perfect product.
In every pottioii of the yvi.rld it will be
found that wherever die highest grade
of footwear is made this sum ■ process am
th* machines are employeil. viirylnt
only in unimportant details, and that tlx
Goodyear welt shoe is .■.-tc-'mod the high
e-t typ" of f otw in aim,'.-
