Seattle's Hidden Leather Industry
A local company makes big moves in the hide and leather trade, aiming for national reach.
The story, cleaned up
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The operations of the Puget Sound Hide and Leather Company are carried on so quietly that few people are aware of the extent of the business. In addition to the wool trading and shipping business, the company has added a tannery with all modern improvements for turning out all grades of leather. They have secured 800 acres of land with a heavy growth of hemlock for bark. A member of the company stated that they ship their leather over the Canadian Pacific Railway to Boston, noting that they make more money doing so than by selling it on the coast. They even joked that the 'yellow dog' problem might be solved by tanning dog hides for boots.
“I think the solution of the 'yellow dog' problem is near at hand. A gentleman brought to the tannery the other day a couple of dog's hides to be tanned for making up into boots.”
This piece captures the transition of the Pacific Northwest from a raw material exporter to an industrial processor. The boastful claim about shipping to Boston highlights the massive logistical shift brought by the completion of the transcontinental railroads.
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