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proportions. Numerous cases of a similar character abroad might be cited.

One firm in Barcelona, Spain, operating two factories under the American system and after methods in vogue in this country, occupies an aggregate of 70,000 square feet of floor space. The firm manufactures 1,500 pairs daily of men's, women's, misses' and children's shoes, and employ 400 hands.

From far off Siam comes information that even the Siamese are adopting leather footwear.

American boots and shoes are said to be slowly gaining in popularity in Africa. Laced boots are mostly used there; very few congress, but a few buttoned ones are sold. Bluchers and heavy mining boots are sold in Johannesburg and other regions. Footwear with rounded toes and military heels are most popular.

It is said that the Boers have shoe factories for the manufacture of their own shoes. They also make crude saddles and harness for their own use, as well as belting and leather articles required in military equipment. They raise cattle, tan the skins, and complete the entire process of manufacture, so they are independent of outside supply for footwear. There are numerous shoe factories in the Transvaal, but it is said to be difficult to obtain contented reliable employes. Expert workmen are plentiful but the close proximity of the gold fields and diamond mines creates a feeling of unrest in the minds of workmen.

A London leather factor en route for home from Australia said to the writer recently, "While men's shoes worn in Australia are for the most part staunch and stout (although the climatic conditions do not seem to warrant such heavy footwear) glazed kid, is used to some extent in uppers for men's shoes. The increasing popularity of American goods is apparent. There is a strong sympathy in favor of American products and a growing tendency on the part of traders to give greater attention to their introduction and sale. In Australia up-to-date shoe factories have been erected and for the most part American machinery installed. In men's goods the greatest sale is in the medium and good grades; ladies' medium grades are the best sellers. The shops also run on cheaper grades of men's shoes, which, though lacking in style and finish, seem to suit the trade. The stockmen, boundary riders and roustabouts care little what shape shoe they wear so long as they have comfort at a low price. The Australian "bushman" is much in the saddle, and the light shoe is, therefore, proper weight for 'bush' trade, in the country districts remote from principal towns."

A peculiarity of some Portugese shoes is that they have wooden soles and heels, with vamps fancifully made of patent leather,

The Persian footgear is a raised shoe and is cut a foot high. It is made of light wood, richly inlaid, with a strap extending over the instep.

The Muscovite shoe is a band woven on a wooden frame and little attention is paid to the shape of the foot. Leather is sometimes used, but the sandal is generally made of silk or woolen cloth,

The Siamese shoe has the form of an ancient canoe, with an open toe. The sole is made of wood, the upper of inlaid wood and cloth, and the exterior is elaborately ornamented in colors, with gold and silver.

In distant Siam, there is evidently a desire for artistic modern footwear. An order recently executed by an export firm for the King and Queen of Siam, consisted of forty-two pairs of slippers. Half of these were to be ordinary court shoes, the remainder Grecians. The embroidery on the court shoes extended around the shoes, on the front of which was the monogram of their majesties, executed in gold bullion. For that, as well as for the raised floral decorations, special embroiderers had to be employed, as the work was beyond the skill of the ordinary operators.

But enough of the old world and its curious shoes and quaint shoemaking. Let us turn to the newer world of our own western hemisphere. Our next door neighbors, the Mexicans, are great and famous leather workers. Most of their work is done without the aid of machinery, by small operators or individual artisans. Patient and painstaking must the leather workers be, for their task is long and laborious and great skill is required. The designs are first traced in the leather, then chiselled out with the aid of a small chisel and a wooden mallet. The blows must be dealt with even force, otherwise the design is spoiled and worthless. Practice makes perfect, and the leather worker soon becomes expert. But, however skilful the Mexicans may be in their decorative leather working, they are but inferior shoemakers, and the number of properly equipped factories in the republic is limited. There are, however, a few factories where shoes are made of Mexican leather according to American methods. Considerable business is done in imported shoes at about double price, and their superiority is unquestioned.

The Chilean government has fostered the native shoe and leather industries by imposing heavy duties on importations, and, in consequence, a considerable proportion of the domestic requirements are supplied by their own establishments. This obstruction to commercial freedom, however, it is said, need not prevent American manufacturers of boots, shoes and leather goods from considering whether or not .hey can push a better business in the Chilean market

Shoemaking is one of the principal industries of Valparaiso. The Chilean shoes are very light and do not last long. English shoes are preferred, as they are more serviceable, and some coarse and strong shoes are imported from that country. Very few American shoes are sold in Chili. Patent leather and shoes for childrenthe latter coming chiefly from Switzerland-are imported in considerable quantities, as few children's shoes are made there. It is said an English firm will soon establish a shoe factory there, with English workmen, for the manufacture of shoes.

In addition to the factories, there are a number of shoemaking shops spread over the country, in which footwear of fairly good quality is made to order. Chili is fertile, too, in the production of salted rawhides and in goat skins. Sole leather is largely manufactured in Chili and large quantities are exported. There are a few tanneries making upper leather, but it is not of much account, and French upper leather is imported. The patent and colored leather comes from Germany. There seems to be no good reason why American trade should not be extended in Chili and all South American countries as well as Mexico. The Chilean tanneries have not yet reached the point of making superior grades of fine leathers, which will doubtless continue to be brought from abroad for years to come. The establishments engaged in the manufacture of leather for shoes, harness and leather goods are few throughout the country. The largest of these factories, which are located in the chief cities, use some machinery; others employ hand work only.

In Brazil are a large number of shoe factories, the majority of which employ steam power and are operated on a considerable scale. At Rio de Janeiro and at San Paulo shomaking forms an important industry. As a general rule, boot and shoemaking of the country is confined to the manufacture of the common kinds of men's wear. The hide and leather business forms a substantial item in the general trade and commerce of the country.

Boots and shoes are now being manufactured in the Republic of Columbia, and the industry is said to be growing. It cannot be said that the manufacture of these goods is done on a very large scale, however. They are made in small shops or factories and almost entirely by hand, very little machinery of any kind being used. The shoes made there are almost wholly for sale in the interior.

It is related of the women of Paraguay that they have begun to wear the modern woman's boot, which is somewhat of a social revolution.

A shoemaker who had settled in that country recently gave a

officials. That lady "set the style" and thereafter the shoemaker had all he could conveniently do.

In Uraguay boot and shoemaking is prosecuted to such an extent as to not alone supply most of the local requirements, but to furnish considerable quantities to neighboring countries.

Very unique sandals are made on a large scale by native workmen in Venezuela and their manufacture forms one of the most important industries of the large cities. The output of one factory in Caracos is twelve hundred pairs of these slippers per day, and the same factory makes boots and shoes. The design and quality of these sandals, or slippers, is peculiar to the country. They have a sole of unusually heavy red leather, with canvas vamp, side strap and heel piece. This canvas is sometimes of variegated colors, but more frequently white is used. The soles of the sandals project a full quarter inch all around and protect the upper from wear and give additional breadth of tread for comfort. The soles are moulded to fit the shank and rounded on the bottom; they are channeled on the inside and the upper is drawn into the channel and fastened by a cord extending the length of the shoe. There is no lining to either the sole or the upper. These sandals are worn without other foot covering, and are particularly well adopted to the mild climate of the country, while the heavy, serviceable soles withstand the hard wear and tear of sand and rocks. A hole in the toe allows water to run out without removing the shoe.

The soldiers of the Venezulea army wear these sandals, with white canvas uppers.

The number of boot and shoe establishments in Buenos Ayres, Argentine Republic, in 1898, was 788, employing twenty-two hundred persons. Most of these establishments produce hand-made custom goods, but several are well equipped with power machinery. Bogota, the capital of the Republic of Columbia, and other cities of the country, it is said, offer excellent opportunities for the establishment of modern retail shoe stores. The few shoe stores there sell at high prices, a poor grade of boots and shoes made in the cheapest manner. There is one unusual feature about the shoe trade in that country, that is the style seldom, if ever, changes, "Once made, always the same," seems to be the motto, the only difference being in the quality and the low quarter or high shoes and the style of heel.

The form of the shoes used in Panama are high laced and congress boots for men, boys and youths. Ladies and misses use mostly high button boots. Misses and children use spring heels, while adults, both men and women, mostly use low English heels. Oxford, or low, shoes are very little used, while "Faust" slippers are

leather is very little used, glazed kid and calf skin being most in favor and black the shade preferred, although russet is in some demand. Medium and narrow toes are the favorite, and tips are largely used. Laborers on the canal and railroad work buy cheap, laced "plow" shoes. Country people wear few shoes, and when they do they buy the cheap cloth footwear, with soles of twine and rope. As a rule, the native foot in Panama is short and wide, with high instep. Local made shoes are good and for every-day use are mostly called for. The work is cheap and made mostly for women; low slippers are made of light kid or calf leather, without heels to a great extent.

Leaving South America and the Isthmus, let us take a glance at the footwear styles in vogue in the new possessions of the United States -Cuba, Puerto Rico and Philippines-as that is particularly timely just now.

The best people of Puerto Rico generally wear shoes similar to the styles and qualities worn by the better classes in other parts of the United States. They are imported from United States, England or France, or are made in large local shoemaking establishments, which do excellent work. The shoes worn by the poorer classes were formerly imported from Spain. They had a shabby-genteel appearance and their make-up was of the poorest and flimsiest character. The materials, as well as workmanship, were cheap, and although the prices were low, they were out of proportion to the low grade of the goods. The feet of the native Puerto Ricans are short and thick, broad at the ball and comparatively narrow across the toes. The instep high and full.

In Puerto Rico, congress gaiters of calf skin for both men and women are in vogue; button and lace shoes of calf skin and imitation button of the same leather rank next in order. Men's and women's patent leather and quantities of fancy shoes and slippers are in demand for women's and children's wear. Fancy shoes of various kinds and some riding boots, as well as canvas sandals, with rope soles similar to those used in Mexico and South American countries are worn. Low-cut black calf-skin shoes are in some use by both sexes, as well as both high and low-cut russets. As a general thing, the men's calf shoes, which are mostly congress, are made of the poorest material throughout. The upper and sole present the appearance of being glued together, so closely do they meet at the edge; the toes are narrow, blunt and rounded, inclining toward the pointed toe; the heels high and somewhat tapering, and instep high. The russets are laced, but otherwise similar in appearance to the black congress shoes. The women's high shoes are fastened with hooks and many are imitation lace or button. They

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