The culmination of the shoe development was the model known as the Victory shoe. This model corrected certain defects in the Pershing shoe. The Pershing shoe was prone to rip along the back stays, and the upper did not fit snugly. In the Victory shoe the entire back of the upper was one piece.
At one time 52 shoe factories in 13 States were working on Army shoe contracts. A scheme of packing shoes for overseas shipment in burlap bags instead of in boxes was worked out, and it resulted in saving a great deal of space on board ship.
Machinery and tools for the shoe repair shops of the salvage division were purchased by the Clothing and Equipage Division. This was the first time that Uncle Sam had ever acted as cobbler for his soldiers. About 2,000 machines for repairing shoes were bought, besides some 28,000 repair kits, each one of which cost $135. Among the items of supplies for the Army shoe repair shops may be noted 20,000,000 pairs of half soles.
A shoe waterproofing grease, or dubbin, as it is called, which had no odor and which would not turn rancid, was developed. The experts worked closely with officers in the field in training soldiers in the care of shoes to make them last as long as possible. Every man who received a new pair of shoes was required to break the pair in by standing in them in water for a certain period and then walking for an hour until the shoes dried on his feet. The men were cautioned not to dry their shoes by placing them too closely to any heating apparatus, as this shortens the life of the leather. Good care of the soldier's feet has long been standard Army practice with us. No soldier in 1917 and 1918 was permitted to wear darned socks, unless he wore two pairs at once. At regular intervals officers inspected their men's feet, treated any blisters or sores that might exist, and dusted the feet with powder.
Bad shoe fitting means foot troubles, leg troubles, and sometimes even spinal and mental troubles. E. J. Bliss, a Boston manufacturer of shoes, developed a shoe fitting system which was adopted as being unexcelled. The fitter was an implement about like a roller skate, with movable wings on the sides and a movable plunger in front of the toes. The soldier to be fitted equipped himself with rifle and loaded pack. With this weight on his shoulders he stepped both feet upon the skate-like devices and then raised on the balls of his feet, until the weight and movement pressed out the wings as far as they would go and advanced the front plungers. With the size thus automatically determined, the next step was to check the accuracy of it. This was done by inserting a pair of implements with knob-like ends in the toes of the shoes, the implements just filling the space in front of the soldier's toes. Wearing shoes and implements, the soldier then walked about the room, stepped upon a platform, climbed a cleated ramp, and otherwise simulated actual service demanded of shoes in the field. If the checking implements in the shoes did not hurt his toes the fit was regarded as correct.
| Produced. | Shipped overseas. | |
|---|---|---|
| Blankets | 19,419,000 | 3,127,000 |
| Coats, denim | 10,238,000 | 3,423,000 |
| Coats, wool | 12,365,000 | 3,871,000 |
| Drawers, summer | 38,118,000 | 3,889,000 |
| Drawers, winter | 33,766,000 | 10,812,000 |
| Overcoats | 7,748,000 | 1,780,000 |
| Shirts, flannel | 22,198,000 | 6,401,000 |
| Shoes, marching and field | 26,423,000 | 9,136,000 |
| Stockings, wool, light and heavy | 89,871,000 | 29,733,000 |
| Trousers and breeches, wool | 17,342,000 | 6,191,000 |
| Undershirts, summer | 40,895,000 | 4,567,000 |
| Undershirts, winter | 28,869,000 | 11,126,000 |
CHAPTER III.
MISCELLANEOUS QUARTERMASTER UNDERTAKINGS.
Sergt. Irving Berlin, one of the fountain sources of American jazz music, found a special job cut out for him when he was drafted into the military service. The needs of the war machine called upon a wide range of individual talents, and this range did not exclude the artists. The painters engaged in camouflage work and made sketches and pictures of such things as unusual surgical operations for the permanent records of the Government, the poets fired the zeal of the country, and the musicians inspired the soldiers by providing them with music.