Rebellion Record: a Diary of American Events: Poetry and Incidents., Volume 2.
Frank Moore, Ed.

Leather and shoes.--The Southern people have heretofore purchased large quantities of leather goods from the North. Of course this supply is cut off by the war. Our people and our troops must have shoes. How are they to lie supplied? Winter is near — no time is to be lost. The necessity must be met in some way. We have good reasons to believe that there are hides and leather enough in Alabama to shoe all her people, including the volunteers. In the northern portion of our State large numbers of cattle and sheep are slaughtered for home consumption. Many of the hides thus taken are entirely lost or indifferently tanned. If some plan could be adopted to purchase and collect these hides, they could soon be converted into leather and manufactured into shoes. In this way our volunteers could be furnished. Either a company should be organized to purchase these hides and have them made into shoes, or, if such company cannot be formed, or cannot accomplish the object, the necessity of the case would justify the State in assuming the management of the business. There are shoemaking shops enough in our State to make all the plain shoes we need. And there are, perhaps, tanneries already in operation which could furnish the leather, if they had or could get sufficient stocks of hides. [41] We believe there are hides enough on hand, which, together with those that will be saved this Fall, in the hands of the people, to supply the demand. It will be necessary to save and make avaiable these hides. How can this be done Montgomery Mail.