Each shoe is treed, after having been drawn over a foot form similar to that on which the shoe was lasted, and any stain or dirt which may have been carelessly put on in former operations is cleaned off; the shoe is sponged with a gum prepared for either black or tan goods, rubbed down dull, and then rubbed to a polish. In many patent leather shoes the treeing is to clean off the surface, as we said before, and then to iron it with a hot iron, which takes out all stains, and leaves the leather shiny and black.
The shoes finally go to hand operators, who rag the edges and heels, leaving them ready to be laced and put into the boxes. After lacing, the shoes are passed to inspectors, whose duty it is to see that they are perfect, to throw out all which are not, make a record of them, and pass the perfect shoes to the packers, who see that the sizes are right, that each pair is mated, and placed in paper cartons, ready to be packed in wooden cases for shipment. The packing of cartons into wooden cases is done by men who nail on the lid when each case is full, mark where goods are to be sent, make a record of same and load the cases into freight cars.
There are other uppers that are treed, such as wax calf, for instance, and split uppers, which are used in heavy shoes. The main idea of treeing a shoe is to give it a smooth and finished appearance and a good “feel.” In the regular treeing operation they use liquid preparations, often called composition, and these are worked into the upper, filling it to some extent. French chalk is used a great deal in some uppers, and oil or some form of grease or gum is also used, all of which make the upper as it was when first put on the cutting board of the shoe factory. All work done in this room is intended to give leather its original luster, which has been lost to a certain extent in going through the different rooms and in being handled so much.
There are still other uppers that may not be treed or ironed but merely cleaned and polished to give luster. Some of these may be dressed. To dress a shoe means to put on a liquid dressing. In some cases two coats of dressing are put on and in other cases one coat. A shoe can have a dull dressing or a bright dressing, according to how the buyer prefers to have his shoes look.
CHAPTER SEVEN
McKAY AND TURNED SHOES
The McKay process is used very extensively in the manufacture of cheap shoes. Its introduction was a great improvement over the nailing and pegging of the soles to the uppers. It allows the two to be stitched together by means of a straight needle running through the entire thickness of upper, sole, and insole.
In following the McKay process through the factory, we find it very similar to the Goodyear welt process, which has been explained, the main difference being in the methods of fastening the sole to the uppers.
