The Industry.— As an industry, the manu facture of footwear is important. Of the manu factures of the United States considered in the tabulations of the statistics of 1914-344 in all —boot and shoe manufacturing, including cut stock and findings, ranked sixth in number of wage earners and ninth with regard to gross value of products. It is a distinctively Ameri can industry, due to the pre-eminence of Ameri can inventions, methods and machinery. So evident is this fact, that imports of footwear since 1870 have been almost negligible. On the other hand, shoes made in the United States have found a market in every land, their ex cellence being a standard of durability and style. New England, particularly Massachusetts, is (1914) the chief manufacturing centre of the United States, followed by New York, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois, New jersey, Minnesota and Michigan. The follow ing table gives the leading statistics of the in Of the total number manufactured in 1909, 432 per cent were of the McKay type, 35.3 per cent machine or hand welted, 10.6 per cent turned, 8.8 per cent wire-screwed or metal fastened, and 2.1 per cent wooden-pegged.
Since 1914 there is estimated to have been an increase of about 25 per cent in the produc tion of footwear over that of 1914, with a slight increase in the number of manufacturing plants — principally in the Middle West. Due to abnormal conditions resulting from the war many changes have been made in the industry and others are under consideration — chiefly with a view to uniformity and standardization. In 1914 the domestic per capita consumption of men's shoes was 2.9 pairs, as against an esti mated consumption of 2.6 pairs for 1918; wo men's, 1914, 2.6 pairs, 1918 estimated, 4 pairs. The increase in the latter has been ascribed in part to the short skirts that women are wearing, necessitating greater attention to shoe style. The relative decrease indicated for men is more than overcome by the shoe requirements for the army, contracts for 21,000,000 pairs for the lat ter being placed by the United States govern ment during the year 1917. Of these, 8,000000 pairs are marching shoes, 11,000,000 pairs field or trench shoes and 2,000,000 pairs naval or marine shoes. The contracts were apportioned
to over 50 different shoe factories, located m different parts of the country, the price ranging from $4.33 to $5.84— the average being about $4.90. All shoes must be of the Goodyear welt type, and conform to the °Munson)) last sup plied to the makers by the government. In ad dition, the contracts from foreign countries were large.
The exports of boots, shoes and slippers amounted in 1906 to 5,672,249 pairs, valued at $9,142,748; 1912, 9040343 pairs, valued at $16, M9,002; and 1916, 20,557,785 pairs valued at $47,454,846— the separate classes in 1916 being as follows: Exports of boots. shoes and dippers, 1916 Pairs Value Children's 2,722,209 $2,224,791 Men's 12,800,183 36,959,966 Women's 4,836,080 8,040,053 Slippers 199.313 2330.037 Bibliography.—