BOOTS FOR SOLDIERS

New Zealand Times, Volume XL, Issue 9095, 14 July 1915, Page 5

BOOTS FOR SOLDIERS

THE MANUFACTURERS’ SIDE POINTS WHERE IMPROVEMENTS MAY BE EFFECTED. In order to examine the, class of Boots which are being supplied to the soldiers at Trenthara, and in regard to which some questions were raised by a letter signed "Cordwainer” and published in these columns, a “New Zealand Times” reporter visited the factory of Messrs R. Hannah and Co. and saw the process of manufacture from ijho hide to the finished article. This firm is supplying a very largo proportion of the military footwear, and, as the result of the reporter’s inspection and information provided by the factory manager, Mr Charles J. Ward, it appeared that the boots being turned out are, if anything, superior to the English article. At the outset, however, the local specifications state that the uppers are to bo cut from prime ox or cow hides — “chrome or vegetable tanned, as specified”—and for the supply of boots with chrome uppers, which the “Times” correspondent states are susceptible to damp, the manufactuiers are evidently not to blame, this class of leather being chosen by the Defence authorities. Chrome leather (which is tanned by a chemical process) is softer than kip, or vegetable tanned leather, but does not resist water so well. A British regulation army boot and a sample New Zealand boot of the same class were shown to the reporter, together with the specifications laid down in each ease. In the tongue and the eyelits it was obvious that the local article was better finished. The Engl.sli specifications provide foi uppers of any suitable leather; vegetable or chrom tanned, and, like the New Zealand boot, the Homo sample which was exhibited had a chrome upper. In the English boot the use of cotton for stitch ing is permitted, while for colonial manufacture flax or linen thread is stipulated- In the matter of the soles there is a fairly wide difference. Of course, under fho present conditions English sole leather is not procurable, the ex port hating been orohTmted, but Mr Ward stated that the best sole leather procurable in' the Dominion was being used., Then, as to the point raised that the soles of the local-made boots, combining .brass screws and machinestitching, are liable to break apart, it was explained that the English welted boot, as a standard boot, was dn> < away with in 18D5 as a result of the test of the Soudanese war. and a star' ard screwed and stitched boot was adopted. In the English article the sole contains '“V” nails, driven from the inside; the New Zealand boot, wbV'. 1 ). screwed and stitched, has the addition of heel and toe plates. A merely stitched sole, it was pointed out, would not stand ,the consequences of wear in sandy country, which spoils the work in the stitches. - Particular attention has to be mven to the insides of the boots, so that tney may be worn without any discomfort. The slip under the tongue is cut from firm leather with the grain,on. The boots now supplied are superior to the old Territorial boots, as they contain no split leather, the specification being ox or cow hide with the grain on. Tho specifications on which they are being made are based on tho specifications of the English War Office of November 17th last, but are. if anything, more exacting. Many hundreds of pairs were seen in the factory, and they certainly seemed to be np. to the requirements of the department. Two men are employed solely to pass tho finished product and reject any boots which are unsatisfactory, and in tho Defence Department a further test is applied. Nothing that resembled the shadow of shoddy material was to be,found, and this notwithstanding the fact that +he contract price is 18s 5d as against 23s 9d which tho English manufacturers are receiving. , After the tour of inspection the question as to whence inferior hoots hacbeen obtained remained unsolved. Several points, however, were made cleat which it is thought might with advantage be considered by the authorities The chrome material is one which docs not resist damp as well as kip would do. In a wax-kip product, the grain is inside the boot'; tho leather has been vegetable-tanned and treated with wax and grease. If any difficulty is to be experienced in maintaining a supply of such boots, tho authorities can accept the alternative of ordering chrome boots to be water-proofed, by “viscohsmg” or “pluvalising,” at an extra cost of a few pence a pair. The new French army boot, it is interesting to note the grain on the inside and the “rough' on the outside. A matter which was also mentioned by the “Times” correspondent was that only one pattern, or fitting, of boots - was' supplied. Now, in the Old Country five different fittings are supplied, and thus a man with a broad foot ha» not to cramp it into a narrow boot, nor is a soldier with more slended extremities under the necessity of wearing several pairs of socks in order to obtain a “fit.” The department, it is suggested, might also-with advantage follow tho example of the American army authorities in supplying a pattern .and last to the manufacturers, so as to ensure a uniformly fitting hoot.