Part 4 — LEATHER WORKING TRADES

Acknowledgment

This monograph was prepared by Clarence E. Bonnett, Special Agent of the Federal Board. Much of the material used herein was obtained from Bulletin No. 232 of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Wages and Hours of Labor in the Boot and Shoe Industry: 1907 to 1916.” Acknowledgment is due to Dr. John Cummings, of the Research Division, for editorial assistance.

PLAN No. 1051. SHOEMAKING

Modern Shoemaking a Machine Process

Modern shoemaking is practically a machine process. There are machines for cutting the various parts of the shoe, for sewing together the upper and the lining, for lasting the upper, for channeling the insole and the outsole, for sewing together the insole upper and welt, and for sewing the outsole to the welt. There are also machines for leveling the sole, for placing a smooth edge on the sole and heel, and for burnishing the sole, its edges and the heel.

Many of these machines are leased out to shoe manufacturers on a royalty basis. Patterns, lasts, and similar equipment may be made in the factory or purchased from factories that make a special business of producing these articles. A few hand tools are used in the factory, such as knives for cutting leather and threads, pinchers for pulling nails, and brushes for pasting certain parts. Ordinarily the workers who use these tools are not highly skilled, the only noted exception being that of the cutter who cuts by hand the vamps or other upper parts of the shoe.

Machine Shoemaking Highly Specialized

In the shoemaking industry, there is great division of labor, and accordingly, the amount of skill or technical knowledge required of the workers in many of the shoemaking operations is so little that it may be acquired in a few days or weeks at the most.

However, a few of the occupations require both manipulative skill and technical knowledge, and call for the quick exercise of sound judgment. These are the occupations that pay well. Training for them is necessary. The period of training, of course, depends in any case, partly upon the person taking it. But in general, there are two groups in which the skilled occupations fall, namely, those requiring less than a year’s training and experience to make a thoroughly competent operator, and those necessitating a year or over. Roughly, those who receive less than 50 cents and more than 40 cents an hour fall in the first group, while those receiving 50 cents or more an hour come in the second group.

Wages, Hours, and Working Conditions

In 1918, according to unpublished figures of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the highly skilled operators the hourly wage ranged from 43 to 62 cents. In this range, the following occupations were covered—Goodyear welters receiving the highest, channelers the lowest, and the others in a descending scale intermediate wages: Goodyear welters, rough rounders, edge trimmers, heel trimmers, Goodyear stitchers, edge setters, machine pullers-over, heelers, turn sewers, bed-machine operators, hand vamp cutters, hand-method-lasting-machine operators, hand pullers-over, machine side lasters, hand turn lasters, McKay sewers, machine vamp cutters, vampers, hand side lasters, heel scourers, channelers.

The hours of labor are somewhat dependent upon the occupation, with the general average for the whole country about 55 hours per week, which usually means a 10-hour day with a Saturday half holiday. For some factories, hours in a few occupations are nine per day for six days in the week, which makes a 54-hour week.

For the highly skilled operator, the shoe industry is a desirable occupation in peace times and will continue to be so in the future. With the growth of population and the higher standards of living comes an increased demand for shoes of the better sort, which means that greater skill must be employed in their production than in those of the coarser sort. While the work in the shoe factory is somewhat seasonal, the slack season comes in the summer time, when other occupations are open, and when the worker may frequently engage in gardening during the time he is not busy in the factory. The busy season comes in the fall and winter. The work is all performed indoors.

Disabilities

The shoe industry can not use all classes of disabled men, but those it can use, if well trained, will find in it a desirable occupation. In general the disabilities that will bar a man from engaging in this occupation are the loss of eyesight, the loss of both legs, or of both arms, nervous afflictions, and weaknesses that prevent a man from standing at his work or from doing it rapidly. For some of the work, the use of both hands is highly desirable, and the loss of certain fingers from a hand would tend to be a handicap. Good eyesight, steady nerves and dexterity of motion are essentials in shoe workers. Good hearing is not highly important to the well trained. For the man who has lost a hand, there are devices, such as certain forms of hooks that could be used, for instance, by the machine cutter to operate the arm to the machine. Pincer-like devices may be used for other work. An artificial leg of a certain type may be obtained for a man who has lost a leg, and this will enable him to stand without undue fatigue.

Promotion

There are two ways in which advancement in these occupations may be secured. A worker who learns rapidly may advance from a less skilled to a more highly skilled occupation. For instance, he may advance from a position as a turn sewer to one as a Goodyear welter, and thus receive approximately a 25 per cent advance in wages. Or a workman with the ability to direct others may become a foreman and thus obtain higher wages. With this ability and a general knowledge of the industry, or high skill at some of the occupations, he might become an instructor, or, with sufficient ability and education, he might go into the office.

Training for Office Positions

A knowledge of the processes in the shoe factory is a highly desirable qualification for the office force, and even for the clerical force of a factory. In the offices are found about 15 to 20 per cent of all the employees of the entire factory. A disabled soldier or sailor who has previously worked in a shoe factory, could, by taking the training offered by the Federal Board, qualify for a position in the business offices. Or he could take a course in salesmanship, and go “out on the road” to sell the shoes. Thus he could turn his past experience in the former occupation to profit, and make of his disability the means of promotion instead of a handicap.

Previous Experience and Additional Training

If a disabled soldier has had some experience in the shoe factory, he will find this of value. He might, for example, take training to become a designer. The change in fashions in shoes necessitates new lasts and patterns, and every new style means work for the designer. The work requires training, but does not call for much physical exertion. To do this work, one must have some facility in mechanical drawing, and so must understand the principles of geometry. Such work is stimulating. Not all factories do their own designing and pattern making, but in such cases designs and patterns must be obtained from concerns that specialize in such work. This profession, however, can absorb only a limited number of additional men.

Schools and Training

There are now well-established schools for teaching the shoemaking operations. Until recently the schools were private, but there are now schools in Massachusetts maintained at the public expense. Some factories, especially the nonunion ones, train the workers in the factories at the work, or in factory schools. In some cases, the workers in a factory “pick up” the knowledge and training required for the better-paying positions. For such workers the unskilled occupations serve as an apprenticeship to the skilled ones. This method, however, is not the most desirable one, since it does not always present opportunities to get the best and quickest training.

PLAN No. 1052. OCCUPATIONS THAT PAY WELL REQUIRE TRAINING

There are two general classes of workers in shoe factories—one made up of machine workers, who must use judgment and skill in their work, and are therefore the better paid; and the other made up of machine tenders whose main requirement is speed in doing some routine task. Since we are concerned only with the occupations that require training and which pay more than the wages of unskilled workmen, we shall discuss only the skilled occupations. Workers in these occupations may be grouped into three general classes: First, those who sew together difficult parts of the shoe; second, those who cut the leather to form; and, third, those who last the shoe.

PLAN No. 1053. OPERATORS WHO SEW TOGETHER DIFFICULT PARTS OF THE SHOES

The Goodyear welter receives the shoe on the last; the upper has been tacked temporarily to the insole and trimmed smoothly, and the insole has been channeled or lipped for the stitches. He takes a long narrow strip of leather—the welt—and places the shoe in the welting machine so that the insole, upper, and welt are sewed through at one operation by means of a curved needle. The stitch is made almost horizontal to the bottom of the shoe, and the welt lies closely to the upper nearly all around the shoe in front of the heel seat. The welt is also somewhat irregular, but the welt beater straightens out the welt so that is stands out properly for the outsole.

The work of the welter is not so simple as it may seem. He works with a very complicated machine, and he must be able to make readily all the necessary adjustments. He must know almost by intuition that the thread is working properly. He must be able to tell at a glance that the shoe has been lasted correctly. He must know at once whether the welt furnished is suitable for the type of shoe he is to place it on. He must guide the welt on accurately. If he does otherwise, not only is time lost, but a leather part or parts are ruined. He must be so skilled that he can place the welts on a pair of shoes at the rate of a pair a minute.[27]

The Goodyear stitcher receives the shoe with the outsole cemented on the shoe, the channel cut, and the lip of the channel turned back. He places the shoe to his machine so that the welt and outsole are sewed together all around the shoe in front of the heel. The seams are made in the channel of the outsole, so they may later be covered by the lip. The stitcher must be able to stitch about 37 pairs of shoes, on the average, per hour for the working day. At this speed, considerable skill is required to hold the shoe so that the curved parts are sewed around properly.[28]

The turn sewer performs a task somewhat similar to that of the Goodyear welter, but he does not attach a welt. He receives the shoe lasted, wrong side out. The outsole is, of course, now in the position of the insole on the Goodyear shoe. As in the Goodyear shoe, the channeling for the stitch is the same, but in addition, the outsole has been grooved, or a recess cut, so that a shoulder is formed around the outer edge of the sole in which the lower edge of the upper rests. The turn sewer sews through the lower edge of the upper and the shoulder on the outsole. The seam is buried in the inside channel. The process of sewing is performed on a machine that sews with a curved needle and nearly horizontal to the sole. Historically, the Goodyear welting process was a modification of the turn-shoe process of sewing the sole and upper together.

The McKay sewer receives a McKay shoe with the sole cemented on and channeled and the last withdrawn from the shoe. He sews through the sole, the lower edge of the upper, and through the insole. The seams thus appear on the inside of the shoe. This is clearly a simpler operation than that of the Goodyear welter.

The vamper sews the vamp to the quarters, or upper part of the upper. Since the vamp is curved and must be fitted to a rounding form, this operation is not so simple as flat sewing and so is paid for at a higher rate per piece.

PLAN No. 1054. OPERATORS WHO SKILLFULLY CUT THE LEATHER TO FORM

The rough rounder receives the shoe with the outsole cemented or tacked on to the upper part. He places the edge of the sole to the machine so that the edge of the outside and welt is cut to a uniform distance from the upper all round the outsole. In the same process his machine cuts an oblique channel in the outsole for the seam which is to bind the welt and outsole together. The work of the rough rounder requires strength and steady nerves, since he must hold the edge of the shoe against the cutting parts. He must know how to adjust his machine quickly for the various sorts of shoes, and must be able to place a uniform edge on over 900 pairs of shoes in a ten hour day.

The edge trimmer receives the shoe in the rough finished form. He holds the sole against a set of revolving cutters which trim the sole smoothly to the desired shape all around the sole. He must do this work carefully and not cut the upper or the stitches and at the rate of thirty-five pairs an hour.[29]

The heel trimmer receives the shoe with the heel nailed on firmly and the top lift in place. First, he holds the heel against a set of rapidly revolving cutters, which cut away the heel so that is has a smooth even contour from the sole to the top lift and all around the outside. Then he holds the sole part of the heel against another set of revolving cutters which trim the sole part off to conform in outline with the upper. He must exercise great care in this operation so as not to cut the upper. He must handle shoes at an average rate per minute of nearly three pairs, or 1,500 pairs or more in a nine hour day.

The heel scourer receives the shoe after the heel has been trimmed to shape. He holds the heel against a rapidly revolving wheel covered with sandpaper. This process gives the heel a smooth finish. A heel scourer must be able to smooth the heels of nearly 1,500 pairs of shoes in a ten hour day.[30]

The channelers cut the channels in the outsoles of McKay and turn shoes and in the insoles of welt shoes, so that the seams may be buried in the leather. The channeler holds the shoe to the machine and guides the sole so that all but the heel is channeled.

The vamp cutter cuts out the vamp—the lower and most important part of the upper. It must be cut out of the best leather and be free from defects or flaws. Accordingly, the cutter must lay the pattern or die on the side of leather so as to avoid any imperfections in the hide. If he is a hand cutter, he draws a keen-edged knife closely around the outer edge of the pattern and thus cuts out the vamp. If he is a machine cutter, he brings the arm of the cutting or dinking machine down on the die, which cuts out the vamp. The vamp cutter must judge quickly and accurately as to the quality of the leather and how to place the pattern or die, so as to obtain the greatest number of good parts from a side of leather.

PLAN No. 1055. LASTING THE SHOE REQUIRES SKILL

The machine puller-over receives the assembled upper part of the shoe on the last. The insole, counter, and toe box are in place, but the edges of the upper have not been drawn over the insole and fastened. This is the operation that he must perform. He must watch that the upper is properly centered on the last, and that the machine pincers pull the leather in evenly over the last, and if not even, he must make adjustments by means of levers until it is even. Then he presses a foot lever that causes the machine to tack the upper to the insole at various points.

The bed-machine operator is also known as the toe and heel laster. He usually works on welt shoes. He lasts the upper in around the toe so that the leather is smooth on the outside. His machine draws a series of wipers or friction pullers over the edge of the upper until the toe conforms smoothly to the last. He then tacks and wires the edges at the toe so that they will be held temporarily until they can be sewed by the welter. He performs a similar process with the heel, but he tacks the edges of the upper to the heel permanently. Both the heel and toe are tacked down permanently in a McKay shoe. The bed-machine operator handles on the average nearly a shoe every minute during the day’s work.

The hand-method lasting-machine operator usually works on a McKay-made shoe. The upper has already been tacked on the insole by the puller-over, but is now drawn around the last and insole, a part at a time, by means of pincers on the machine. As each part is drawn evenly and closely to the last and insole, a tack is driven into the insole and clinched by means of a metal plate on the bottom of the last. This process is carried on around the entire insole of the shoe. This work is similar to a combination of the processes performed by the side laster and bed-machine operator on welt shoes.

The work of the hand puller-over is to put the counter and toe box in place and pull the lower edge of the upper over the last and insole so that the upper is in the proper position on the last. He does a combination of the work of the assembler for the pulling-over machine and of the machine puller-over.

The turn laster lasts the turn shoe either by hand or machine, and in a manner similar to the methods by which a welt shoe is lasted, except that the parts are placed so that when the shoe is turned, they will be in their proper position. For instance, the counter is placed on the outside of the upper, but inside the lining. The lining at the heel is not lasted, but is cut off and turned back. The shoe is then sewed by the turn sewer. The turn laster now pulls the lasts and turns the shoe right side out. He fills the depressions in the central fore part of the shoe and the shank by inserting fillers coated on the under side with glue. He then returns the lasts to the shoes, reversing the right for the left—since the shoes have been turned—and pounds the shoe until it has the proper shape and is entirely smooth.

The side laster, by means of hand pincers, draws the upper leather to the last at the outside and instep and over the insole, so that it is tight and no wrinkles are left. He then fastens the edge with tacks. He does this at the rate of about a pair of shoes to the minute.[31]

The heeler takes the shoe and a heel already built up but lacking the top lift, and places the shoes on a metal last or jack. He sets the heel in place and presses a foot lever that causes his machine to drive the nails into the heel and clinch them in the insole. The nails on the outside of the heel are left protruding to a height of about half the thickness of the top lift. On these nails, he sets the top lift, which has received a coating of cement, and the machine presses this down over the projecting nails. He must be skillful enough to perform this operation accurately at the rate of over 100 pairs of shoes per hour.[32]

The edge setter holds the sole to a machine which polishes the edge by means of a series of hot vibrating irons which fit the edge of the sole. He must handle shoes at the rate of about a pair every minute during the working day.[33]

PLAN No. 1056. SHOE REPAIRING

In shoe repairing to-day we find all stages of development, from the purely hand methods to the factory methods. The shops that use the old hand methods are usually small and the owner is generally the only worker, although a few shops have two or three workmen. The shops that use machinery extensively are larger and frequently employ a number of workmen. Between the two extremes are shops of varying equipment and size. This variation of conditions makes it possible for a disabled man to fit into this business by taking a training and choosing the machines and methods adapted to his disabilities. Some man in a shop that uses machines must have considerable mechanical ability. In the shop that utilizes hand methods, some one must know much of hand shoemaking—in fact, be able to perform all the processes. In either shop there is opportunity for profit for the man who can make, either by hand or machine or by the two methods combined, an entire shoe for those persons whose feet are deformed or crippled, so that they can not wear factory-made shoes.

Machinery, Tools and Equipment

The outlay for a shop in any case is not large. The machines are leased as a rule. The number of tools needed for a workman in either the shop that uses hand methods or the shop that utilizes machinery is not large. The principal tools found in any type of shop are hammers, knives, chisels, lasts, pincers, awls, and needles. No great quantity of supplies need be kept on hand. Practically all shops have machines for sewing uppers. Many have the machinery for sewing on soles. These are probably the most frequently used machines. Practically all of the machine repairing is sewing rips and placing on new outsoles. Heels are largely rebuilt by hand, or replaced by new rubber heels put on by hand.

Repairing Shoes a Paying Business

In shoe repairing, there are slack and busy seasons. Slack seasons come in fair weather and busy seasons in bad weather. If certain work can be allowed to accumulate in the busy seasons, the work may be distributed throughout the year, since there are rarely long intervals of unbroken fair weather. The busy shoe repairer has a remunerative business. If he is able to do a high class of work, he can charge accordingly, and can take other work as a sort of “filler” for slack times.

A Desirable Occupation for a Disabled Man

As a rule, the repair shop offers the disabled man better working conditions than the factory. There is not the monotony of the single process. He can adapt his speed of work better to his physical condition, one day with another, in the repair shop than in the factory where he must not delay or check the regular progress of the shoes through the different processes. The disabled man can usually work at several things in the repair shop. For instance, the one-armed man could nail on heels or soles by hand or sew rips in uppers. By means of certain appliances, the man who has lost a hand could do practically any process in the shop. The man who had lost both legs could work on hand work at a shoemaker’s bench. He could nail on rubber heels, or build up run-down heels, make hand patches, and do similar work.

PLAN No. 1057. OTHER LEATHER-WORKING TRADES

Other articles than shoes are made of leather, but these are usually more simple than shoes, and require less skill in their making. Some of these articles are hand made, and others are machine made. A few of the processes necessitate both technical knowledge and skill, but the number of men employed in such occupations is comparatively small.

In the making of leather itself, few if any of the occupations are suitable for a seriously disabled man, since work in the tannery is usually wet and heavy.

In the leather industry there are, however, a few skilled occupations other than those discussed above. These include expert harness makers and saddlers, harness repairers, trunk and bag workers, and belt men.

PLAN No. 1058. THE HARNESS MAKER AND SADDLER

The harness maker and saddler must have a thorough knowledge of leathers and of their treatment. He must know how to lay out leather and cut it economically with due regard to the purpose for which it is to be used. For instance, where flexibility is more important than mere thickness or weight, he must select the proper piece. He must be able to adjust and repair the machinery with which he works. As a saddlemaker, he must be able to read blue prints or understand drawings or sketches, and to make patterns or cut the leather according to the specifications.

PLAN No. 1059. THE HARNESS AND SADDLE REPAIRER

The harness and saddle repairer must have a general knowledge of both harness and saddle making. He must be able to make the leather parts of the harness or saddle by hand, and be able to sew by hand as well as by machine. He must be able to take care of his machine and make all adjustments and minor repairs. He must understand the various sorts of leather, and how to cut leather economically. He must be skilled in the use of the tools of the trade.

Other Skilled Occupations in the Leather Industry

Of the other skilled workers, the belt man must know especially how to cement leather and how to treat it so that water or steam will not affect its use as belting. The trunk and bag workers must have the necessary knowledge of how to cut leather economically, its nature and uses according to grades, and how to sew and shape it for the various articles.

Disabilities not a Bar to Success to These Soldiers

A former porter, who suffered from varicose veins below both knees, and a bricklayer, troubled with rheumatism and lumbago, as the result of exposure, were trained in shoe repairing and are now successfully engaged in that work. A former farm hand, who was afflicted with epilepsy, took a course in shoe repairing and is now employed in a shop at higher wages than he formerly received as a farm hand. A teamster who sustained an injury to his spine, overcame that handicap through a course in shoe repairing, which enabled him to become a partner in a shoe-repairing business. A farm hand, who suffered from pleurisy and pneumonia, a farmer, who had his tonsils injured, and a carpenter, who received a shrapnel wound in the chest, were all enabled to go into business for themselves and make a financial success of it, through a retraining course in shoe repairing. A blacksmith, with diabetes mellitus, took a combined course in shoe and harness repairing and has now a successful business of his own. If you like to handle leather, you will like to make or repair shoes, to make or repair harness, or to make other leather goods. Surely some of these offer you an occupation where retraining will enable you to overcome your handicap, if not afford you advancement.