Document 70OLxZXLjpYdaVGvw08LQOeQB

r The Chameleon. Published on the Fifteenth day of each month by The Department of Publicity, at 104 Canal St., Cleveland, for the interest and benefit of Th e Sh e r w in -Wil l ia ms Co.'s loyal staff. VOL. VII. MAY, 1904 No. 5 THE LOGIC OF MIXED PAINTS. EDITORIAL FROM "DRUGS, OILS AND PAINTS" The subject of mixed paints was so abiy handled by the editor of ''Drugs, Oils and Paints" in a recent issue of that journal that we are anxious to place the article before everyone connected with the Company. "The Logic of Mixed Paints" was reproduced in The S.W.P. for May and in order that the readers of Th e Ch a me l e o n may have an opporunity to read and study the article as well as have it for reference it is reprinted herewith. ITHIN the memory of living painters, the wielder of the brush 1 was also a paint and varnish manufacturer. Every paint shop was equipped with its slab and muller for rubbing up colors in oil, and all shops of any pretentions also had their small hand mills for grinding and mixing tints and bases. In the course of time, partly because of the prevalence of lead poisoning among painters, partly because of the obvious economy of machine work, and partly because of the rapid increase of demand incident upon the growth of the country, the corroders of lead began to offer their product ground in oil. This was the first step in the progress towards ready-mixed paints. The advantage, both in the efficiency and the economy of this practice was so immediately obvious that the color makers quickly followed suit, and thus corroders and color makers became paint manufacturers; a new industry being thereby created, while shop mixing was inevitably doomed. The second step towards the production of mixed paints came when the corroders, realizing either the superior results or the greater profits obtainable from mixtures of pigments, began to put forth combinations of lead and barytes, lead and zinc or of all three materials, in varying proportions. These combinations requiring only the addition of tinting colors, oil, driers, and turpentine if desired, taught not only the consuming public, but the painter as well, several important economic facts: first (it is claimed) that a combination of bases gives better results than a straight or unmixed base; second, that with such compounds more work can be done for less money; third, that machinery is not only more economical, but more efficient than manual labor; fourth, that the uniformity of materials and treatment made possible by manufacture on a large scale is an important factor in assuring satisfactory results. At this point the native alertness of the Yankee genius caught the logic of the facts and quickly carried it to its inevitable conclusion. If it is advan tageous and economical to substitute machinery and factory organization for hand labor and shop rule of thumb in the grinding of lead, colors, and paint bases, why would it not be similarly advantageous to bridge the entire chasm and bring the paint factory in immediate contact with the brush? If it is ad- THE CHAMELEON. Dangers of White Lead. FROM CONSULAR REPORTS. ERMAN papers state that the French Government is at present considering the question of the use of white lead and other lead mixtures for paint ing houses. A committee of the Chamber of Deputies has been ap pointed to investigate the matter, and Mr. Breton, one of the experts, has been authorized to publish the results of this investigation in pamphlet form. He condemns the addition of white lead to paints and all colors contain ing it, declaring them to be poisonous in a large degree, both for the work men and for the inhabitants of a house painted with lead colors. He recom mends the use of zinc white instead, which, for surfaces exposed to the sea air, is also much more practical. He expresses the opinion that the abso lute disuse of white lead has become an imperative necessity.--Richard Guenther, Consul- General,Frankfort, Germany, February 24, ig04. Waste in Business. TACTFUL business man | exercises discreet economy in the conduct of his com mercial affairs. It matters not how large or extensive his inter ests, or how liberal or even extrava gant his tendencies at home or in social life, he does not permit willful waste of anything in his store, manu factory, or counting room, no matter how insignificant that waste may be. If he be a thorough disciplinarian, he borders on what may be termed by some as small or unreasonably mean. Such a man is not usually illiberal in providing all requirements for a prop er conduct of his affairs, nor is he disposed to underpay his help. What he wants and rightfully demands, is that those who are paid to advance and protect his interests shall not be too extravagant in the use of what be longs to him and not to them. Be cause of this economic characteristic, and for the reason that for every dol lar he expends he wishes full value, not only in direct returns but in the use thereof, he is generally successful. Too often we find a clerk or em ployee who recklessly uses expensive office stationery for memoranda; who never regards cord or twine once used as useful a second time; who feels that no matter how short the distance, car fare amounts to naught; who throws pins, paper fasteners and rub ber bands into the waste basket with discarded papers, and who, in short, does not realize that a "penny saved is two-pence earned." These acts of indifference, each in itself, are of no moment, but in the aggregate they figure up a tangible sum, if not a large amount. It is not so much the money involved that should be con sidered, as the reckless disregard of the employer's welfare. The man or woman who would criticise an employer for exacting economy on the lines set forth would be as much justified in regarding as proper or prudent the reckless throw ing away--not expending--of nickles or dimes by our prominent capitalists, contending that the small currency is too insignificant to carry about the person.-- Wall Street Summary.