Atlanta Georgian. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, August 06, 1912, EXTRA, Image 9

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THE“GENTLE ART’OF MAKING SHOES 1 Tpmmmg / s / , Vg• ; 7 A / I V., ...'. vi ■' ' ;> < !< ’ AV/ 4\. i? / - r ?^.---'— j/ Iki / T AA ll fy ■ *€ / ,< > / ft ->- _ M W I Lvvffirx ~ ~i j 7— n~"T~ ’ V Y. rS ( Goodyear Welt Mach.no .£j-|. ' ffy ' - '■ ~'i lS Manufacturing Plant of the United Shoe Machinery Corr. • ” \\ '//\ ** /Ht /TN ,/;■ * n pany, Beverly, Mass. i iznA^O i wMkf7 fess— ssssadi- 1 Ilf tvi rx -.I , V The Piked Shoe of the XIV Century. Slipper of Elizabeth’s Time. & t "■■ • WwO !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,'.-