Show TH THE HAT TRADE DE I BY F FREDERIC D J. J j at straw raw hat season cason Just opened THE to lo be u In Jn many I ways In the tho nr first t place a campaign cam eam Jor or tho the extension of or tho the scaBon ecu ecu- son Bon of or r regular gular prices Is on and In two score cities agreements havo havn b been en signed b by the tho retail ha hat t dealer providing pro provid lug Ins that there bo be no cutting o or of prices on straw w hats a prior to August 1 I 1 Last Y year some Ome twenty cities had euch an agreement nt and the l hat lt t men 4 found that they sold Just as man many hats and made con consIderable considerable consider consIder- able more mor profit t under under un un- Ull- Ull der the We 1 ar The r found also allo that they were cr Just a u a H fill lul in fn clearing U up k the odds and ends o otho or of orth th tho season n after August Augull 1 aa as they thoy Frederic Haskin haO haa been when b ho ginning their clear elMr anco anca sales a month earlier earlier- At the h beginning of ot this season there was promise of ot a l lr r record cord year ear for tor Panama Panama Panama Pana Pana- ma hat sales Bales but th the recent dispute between bo be- be tween the tho Im Importers anti and the customs of officials of of- OJ Is declared by th hat dealers to Indicate a It falling ort off of ot at least 30 pe per ocr percent cent In the supply of ot Panama hats this season It In Is claimed b by tho the hat men that tho the cu customs toms officials did wrong In seizing the thc hats brought into tho the por port of ot Now ow York They assert frt that there 1 Is no standard of or value In the Panama hat ha trade and declare that often orton hats haw are arc bought for 25 cents each that are Jusas just Jus justas t tas as good as those which at other times they bu buy for 75 cents each In a bale o of at hats containing HI IH dozen no two to hats ma may have the same samo value In a a. recent caso a A. Jobber had hata hats for sale bu but his hia dealer deahr wanted So he lie ord ordered rfd his hlA buyer huer In Ecuador to get the extra thousand although he might havo to pay payas payas payas as much a again aln p per r hat hat- hatAs As At the basis Js o othe ot of the valuation b by the tho American customs officials is the price paid in tho the country from which they ore are imported it Is claimed that great injustice Is done to the Importer Under tho the conditions of oC tho the seizure o otho ot of the tho consignments of hat hats at Now York it I is probable that all the tho hats hata now in bond bonded d warehouses vl l iii I have to undergo a revaluation and this thin means mean that thousands thou thou- sands ands of ot dozens of at hats will be kept off orr tho the market until the season is 18 practical practical- ly Iy oV over r For n a great many years ars the P Panama nama hat has hl been regarded as the of ot straw w hat hat excellence A After the carl early reign of high prices the selling Jn fiR hg- hg urea ures were brought down to a a. basis which made tho tha Panama hat at once a a. luxury and an economy It is declared df by the trade that tho Panama has ha t come to stay taY that It is as itS permanent a as tho the derby One of the most Interesting show window win win- dow exhibits over ever made by a hat store storo has hat been going tho the rounds of ot a a. chain o ot of stores owned by byone one firm finn It consists o oan ot of otan an elaborately trimmed window tilled fillet with Panama hats in all the stages stage o otheir or of their making from flom the first button In Inthe Inthe inthe the crown to the tho completed hat In tho the midst of all the these o hats some Bome of ot which are small enough nou h for a doll don and others largo large enough for tor a n giant there is a plant growing In a poL pot This is the plant from which th the Panama is made There Is 18 a rawhide case or two In which the hats hata aro shipped like bales of hay and dozens of ot pictures Illustrate the process of at Panama hat making from the tIme timo the tho seeds of or the plants aro are sowed down to the moment the haIs hat ha Is completed In the exhibit there 1 Is 18 what is lit said to be bo tho the largest Panama hat ever eer made tho the circumference of ot the brim being six feet Of Ot COUrtier course everyone c knows that the tiO Panama hat does docs not come from Pana Pana- ma It got that name through the tact fact that Panama Pan used to ho bo tho distributing center of ot tho the business Ecuador claims tho the honor of at being tho the home of ot the hat and it Is 18 8 said that the first one was made some somo years ago in the province of or by one Francisco Delgado From the home of ot its Us origin tho the hat go got its name as 8 the Manavi hat a n. name by which it still Is b best t known in tho re regions re re- gions glons where it Is produced Peru am and several other South American countries now make tho the Panama hat Tho grass gral's from which it Is made Is grown In the tho rainy season In rows set in low we wet ground It attains to a height of or from to seven feet teet and is cut before 1 It ItIs itIs Is ripe It is then boiled bolted In water ater and afterward ard d After assortment it Is ready for tor use Tho The best flers are are- selected fo tall forthe for tal l the e high grade hats and by a I peculiar manual process the liar Hat blad blades are aro made to lo appear round like a shoestring Most Mos of ot the work on tho Panama hat must be donn during humid w weather ather the best bent ro ro ro- suits cults being obtained between midnIght and sunrise From three to live JIve months month are required to make some of ot the fines hats halB After tho weaving is completed the hats are washed In cold water coated coatee with a solution of or gum and th then n polished po d with ath dry lr powdered re-d re sulphur Most Moet of ot the tho br braids from which tho the ordinary or or- dInar straw h hats am aro larn made are aro Imported from Japan China and other countries H across tho the Pacific By a n recent ruling o othe ot of the treasury department It Is 19 asserted that a B. r reduction ha has hl been made In th the tho cost of at straw hats amounting to from 1120 to per dozen Under the former for tor- flier mer practice straw braid coming into American ports port was taxed ta 20 O per cen cent dut duty Under the tho ruling Just made mado th the rate has been en reduced reducer to 15 16 p per r cent I It Itis Is 18 said that con considerable difficulty Is la ex 11 ox- ox p d in securing girls to lo sew se sethe th the braid In mens men's hats by reason of or th the fact tact that tho the makers of ot women's hats hat ar are arc willing to pay more for tor their services r Tho The making of ot a felt hat is ono of th the tho most Interesting processes In the whole field of or clothes making It is said Mid th thit tho the credit for tor inventing felt feit is 18 duo t to St. St Clement nt and the da day sacred acred to hi his memory is still BUll tho the da day of mo most t of ot th the tho conventions of at the world I In taking Ion long wal walks ho ha wore tho the lint oft off hi his wool socks and from this ho hI is 18 said t to have hov made tho the first felt The hare th the muskrat the coney and the tha heaver beaver supply most of ot tho the hair hall used In making felt fo for hats The felting quality or new cut fu fuIK fur furI furIs IK Is not as 88 good as 85 that of ot old The Tho s aton of at the year at which the tM animal is 8 killed also affects tho the f felting quality The fu fuIR fur furis IR is cut ofT off and the pelt is used In making glue and gelatine when tho the hair reaches the tho hat factory It Is first sent through a machine called tho the devil de which bleh tears tear it all apart so 80 that the tho next prOC process passing through the blowing machine ma may cleanse It Jt from all aU dirt and other foreign for for- eign substances Tho cleaned hair Is ts the then passed on to the forming machine Till This consists of ot a casing containing a a. revolving turntable carrying a a. copper comb some som six feet high This comb IB is filled with wit hol holes s like a colander and the rushing t o a otho ol tho the air through this cau causes s a a. d deposit o of hair all 1111 over It This maul masH is b then coy cov ered cred with wet Ct cloths and Is la Immersed i in hot water for a mInute After Alter this it Is stripped from the com comand comb and undergoes undergo R a hardening process 1 It next Is sent to its first sizing whore 1 It ItIs itis Is shrunk to third ono of ot its Ils original size After Arter this it Is 18 shaved sho by a II multitude o ot of tiny little razors and then goes goe to II Its l' l second sizing where it is treated to a rollIng rolling roll roll- Ing process s with a rolling pin like that tha used by the housewife in rolling dough Stiffening Is next Introduced which con can of ot shellac and ammonia II or some som alkali It is then dipped ed repeatedly repeated i tn In wat water r and rolled After ACler that it takes a abath abath bath In diluted acid and is then placed d dIn in a metal steam chest After Its hobath ho hot bath it is 18 blocked dyed ded hand blocked again steamed again and i is then pla placed place d dIn in a n hydraulic press where it Is given give shape After Arter b being ln dried In a II gas oven It Is 18 sand land papered and th the brim put o oby on b by b a process too technical to be described describe hero here Tho The result Is 18 a a. stiff tift hat ready rendy fo forthe for tor the thc trimmer Soft hats are arc made In th the same samo way ay except that the shellac Is left lef out It II Is said that the silk hat business this year r is 18 better than ever before The to top hat hatS was S originated by a Mr Mi- a haberdasher in tn 1797 It II is III re related related re re- that when whAn he went out upon th the street he was followed by a a. mob and ar al' arrested arrested ar- ar rested for tor disturbing tho peace and ing riot Ho Ilc had to give bon bond 1 for tor JEBO sterling The court officers described d th the tho hat as a R. tall structure of ot shIry luster an and calculated to frighten timid people Th The record shows shown that women fainted chit dron screamed dogs yelped and tho the so son of ot Thomas fell and roko broko hi his hilt arm as 8 a n. r result sull of ot the tho excitement Tho The process hat making is an in interesting In- In one Including five n different stages stageR with tho the uso use of at but little tittle ery eory First Pint th the foundation known n as th the tho pie crust cruet is made from several thick thick- nesses neeses of at muslin stretched around a block trat treated d with A t coating of or shellac and then varnished It 1 I b then passe passed through a It machine and Ironed severa several times After Arter this thin th the brim is soldered on so O to speak and aud the hat Is 18 now read ready for the plush cover covel This Is in fn tw two pieces ono one one a circle and the othor other of a rhomboid shape e. e After Arter being being- put on th the frame expert rt omen needlewomen sew the tw two pieces together and brush the nape over the seam earn It is then placed In a n wooden block of four tour sections and shaped up Th Tho plush Is IA made to adhere re b by means of ot a wire brush a a. damp sponge e and a hot Iron There are sixty five establishments I Ithe In inthe th the United States making hat and ca cap materials with a product that Is valued at over a n year Sixty eight straw hat factories produce hats worth a at wholesale and felt hat ha factories produce worth of ot felt hats ts a oar Factories making hats hat other I Ilhan than felt relt straw w and wool aro are In number num num- b bar ber r with a product valued ilIuM at It Il will b be seen from figures that th lie tho O value of ot tho the hats made In the St States amounts amount to more than 60 which l i in probably multiplied d by two when tho they reach t the c consumer r. r Tomorrow Tho Thio The Revival of Pageantry |