In all factories and all classes of work, the “case” has always been of such a number of pairs that it can be divided by twelve in every instance. A case can be twelve, twenty-four, thirty-six, forty-eight, sixty, or seventy-two pairs, and in children’s work it is often sixty and seventy-two pairs. All cases of these numbers are regular cases, whereas any other number would be out of the ordinary. Of course, a case of shoes may contain any number of pairs, but the numbers given above have always been used in regular work.
Cases of shoes may differ, but every pair of shoes in any one case must be made exactly alike. All shoes are made in cases, except in the matter of custom work or single-pair orders or samples. In making men’s heavy shoes, or working shoes, the regular case was formerly sixty pairs or thirty-six pairs, but the tendency has been of late to have a standard case of twenty-four pairs. In the men’s fine trade the regular case is twenty-four pairs, while in the women’s it is thirty-six pairs. Long boots for men have always been made in twelve-pair cases.
Goods are sold by the samples, sent out with the traveling salesman. As fast as he receives an order, he sends it to the main office. Here the orders are subdivided and sent to the factories making the goods. For example, an order for seventy-five dozen men’s shoes of a certain style received by the main office from the traveling salesman would be sent to the factory in the form of a typewritten order, covering the general description and sizes written out in the proper form, for each case is made according to the specifications on the tags that are made out in the office. These tags specify the sole, heel, upper, kind and quality, how stitched, the last to be used, how bottomed finished, treed, and packed. Everything is marked plainly on the tags so that a buyer can have any shoe made just as he wants it.
This order would be sent from the factory office to the cutting room, where a clerk would make out twenty-five long tickets.
Twenty-five are made because the shoes go through the factory in lots of twenty-four pairs, each lot being called a job and when finished making a case of shoes. The long ticket is made in duplicate form, and is perforated so it may be tied to a lot of shoes. Both parts of the tickets are made out to contain the various operations with the specifications as to detail. The lower part is sent to the stock or sole leather room, while the top part remains with the uppers which are cut in the cutting room. While each part of the ticket is sent by a different route through the factory, they finally meet in the form of finished shoes.
In addition to the long ticket already described, two other tickets are made out, the top ticket and the trimming ticket. The top ticket is sent to the leather bins of the factory, where the sorter knows by experience exactly the amount of leather required to cut the order, being careful to see that it is all of uniform quality and free from blemishes. He rolls the leather in a bundle, attaches the ticket and sends it to the cutter.
In the cutting room there are three classes of cutters; cutter of trimmings, who cuts lace stays, top facings, back stays, tongues, etc.; outside cutter, who cuts quarters, vamps, tops, tips, etc.; and the lining cutter, who cuts cloth linings.
A Nine and One-Half Foot Skin divided to best advantage before Cutting.