Show FOOTWEAR COSTS MORE The Boot and aud Shoe Recorder pub published at Boston presents some Inter Interesting esting figures on the increased cost of footwear It Is shown that the cost of f producing a shoe to retail at nas gone up 38 cents per pair pall within the thelast thelast thelast last year yeal Of this amount only three th cents is represented by the increased costo f labor The rest of it is represented by upper stock sole leather in inner inner inner ner solo hoel heel welt counter lin un lining lining ing and trimming all of which have increased per Jer pair Vall of shoos from one ono oneto onoto oneto to seven saven and cents If shoe dealers and shoe wearers de demand d demand mand the same quality as those thos bought a year er ago says the Recorder they will have to pay an advance ac In prices sufficient to cover coer this additional cost It is not very hard to account for the increased cost of shoe making and con consequently consequently the increased cost ost to the con consumer consumer sumer fur for in tho the end ond the consumer of as s the consumer of everything else must do the paying Practically everything ever hInS about an honestly made shoe except the cloth used in linings comes from a hide of some sort And the meat trust which does do some something something something thing liko 00 per cant of or the slaughter slaughtering ing of the countr country practically controls time the U e hide market The trust can make the price of hid e 6 almost anything it pleases the tariff art ol hides It has been estimated that the hide tariff adds practically pr fifty cents to the cost of every pair pall of shoes worn in iu th States The manu manufacturer manufacturer manufacturer dabs q s not get this fifty cents cent The It Jt In other othor words the trust levies lei a tax of fifty cents through the manufacturer m int on every pair of shoos Yeu wear vear If I oi gress should muster up enough coura to repeal the tariff tal lf on hides foreign hides to come int Competition with the trust the re result suit sult could not fall fail to be bp an n immediate reduction in the price of ot shoes It would at least le st be possible to buy today of ot the same quality and nd for tor or the same price as that at which they could be purchased a year ago Our Republican friends have for a along along along long time insisted that the hide tariff is 15 a great benefit to the farmer and stock raiser It is nothing of the sort The only beneficiary is the meat trust Does the trust add anything to the price of a live steer for the hide Not that anybody knows of The hide goes with the critter and its price is added to the profits of the trust e |