Lapas attēli
PDF
ePub

New Year's Resolution Which

Would Mean Something

We hear much sweet and sentimental talk about this time of the year relative to New Year's resolutions. Well, here's a resolve that could be taken very profitably by every local union:

Resolved, That this local union will take an active and whole-hearted interest in THE PAINTER AND DECORATOR during the coming year and see to it that a correspondent is appointed to send in the news about trade conditions and other notes of interest to the Brotherhood in the locality.

Now, Brothers, let us start the New Year right and make THE PAINTER AND DECORATOR a valuable medium of exchange of labor news among painters, decorators and paperhangers.

Significance of Cartoon Which

Appears in This Issue

All of us have heard, no doubt the Biblical legend of one David, a puny but brainy man, who slew the bestial Giant Goliath. This tradition is symbolical of several things, among which are the triumphs of brain against brawn, right against might.

In this month's journal there is reproduced a cartoon of a Modern David in Defense of His Home. We see the Giant, Big Business, brandishing his formidable club and about to surmount the insufficient barriers erected by strikes and lockouts and we see Labor personified in the person of David and ready to hurl the missile, tiny but sure, which will crush the Philistine and put an end to his depredations.

This cartoon is eloquent in its meaning. The significance of the sling identified as the Defense Fund and of the pebble, representing the quarter of a cent a day which each member is being asked to contribute for its maintenance, are too obvious to be misunderstood.

The cartoon might have been presented under any number of titles, including Cooperation, Loyalty and Preparedness. It bespeaks each and all of these. The Defense Fund, itself, embodies one of the strongest and most essential bids for Cooperation. Cooperation is a big word and its significance to the working people is equally as big. It is only through cooperation, in its true sense, that they can ever come into their own. By cooperation they will win a proper standard of living and come to enjoy the fullest possible fruits of that which is produced through their efforts in industry. And what is more important in this

[ocr errors]

era, it is by cooperation that we can protect ourselves from the ravages of the selfish. The Defense Fund is offered as a basis for continuing cooperation to the ends of justice and fairness. It is intended to be the corner stone for an impregnable structure of Justice-a bulwark behind which Labor can stand safe in its principles and secure in its self-respect.

Demise of Brother Beck
Saddens Brotherhood

The sad tidings which have reached us, announcing the death of Brother Morris J. Beck, L. U. 78, Hoboken, N. J., have brought grief to the ranks of all the membership and particularly to those who knew him more intimately. Brother Beck died suddenly at his home in West New York, N. J., Sunday, December 31, 1922, and his passing with the old year terminated the mortal life of one who was esteemed most highly by those with whom his work brought him in close contact.

Having joined L. U. No. 78, Hoboken, on April 20, 1899, Brother Beck was a valuable, member of that branch continuously until his death. He was forty-five years of age and had served in the capacity of auditor for the Brotherhood since May, 1906. He also was efficient in organization work and his duties necessitated that he travelled quite extensively and this made him generally known throughout the membership, especially in the east.

Brother Beck was a man of splendid ideals and sound integrity and in his death the Brotherhood has lost a member who cherished the interests of the organization with earnestness and sincerity.

The deceased is survived by his widow and several children.

Value of Paint; Its Influence
on Human Mind

Freshly painted houses inspire the occupants thereof to be cleaner and better citizens. Dwellings with shabby paint look decadent and when an entire neighborhood is similarly affected, the run down appearance of the community must eventually not only demoralize the habits but the minds of those within the radius of its influence. Wanton indifference replaces community pride and if there exist in that community folks who are inclined to make improvements, they usually are passive in this respect because of their inability to overcome the general forlorn impression.

It is the duty of every individual member

of the Brotherhood of Painters and Decorators to create and advance in the minds of such sluggish householders the desire for general betterment and the qualifications of paint as a medium in achieving this end. Once get the people interested in painting their homes and you have them started on the way to a general clean-up. They will then take the view that inasmuch as their abodes look so well on the exteriors, it would be a pity to have them marred by unsightly conditions conditions of any kind and will immediately begin to clean up refuse and mend things that need repair. It is surprising what cheerful and hopeful thoughts, clean and bright colors suggest.

A man's outlook on life is noticeably affected by his environment. If you put him in an unclean, shabby dwelling, the chances are ten to one that he will become slovenly in his habits and listless in his thinking. But transform that man's house with paint and, presto, the brighter and more cheerfui appearance has a subtle effect upon his outlook on life and his manner of living and thinking. He is encouraged to feel that he still is part of life's gay procession and doing his share in the community plan of things. A well painted town or neighborhood invariably is a go ahead sort of place and people have confidence to settle there with the conviction that it will show enduring life and enterprise.

Here's How You Can Aid the

Cause of Unionism

Join the union, not as a favor to the man who asks you but as a matter of principle and duty.

Pay your dues cheerfully, not grudgingly. If you fail to get value received, it is mostly your own fault.

Give a reasonable amount of attention to the affairs of your local. Do what you consistently can to help it. It is trying to help you.

If tendered an office or even a committee assignment, accept it. It may mean some work but remember it comes to you because of the union's respect for you and confidence in your ability. It is therefore an honor not to be lightly cast aside.

Do not hesitate to criticise if you have something better to offer. Remember that a conscientious critic is a help, but a plain knocker only blocks the wheels of progress.

Get acquainted with your fellow members. Much real worth is concealed under a rough exterior and frequent rubbing yields a pol

ish and discloses a value that casual con tact does not permit.

You may be able to "paddle your own canoe" and do quite well without the aid and prestige of your local, but this does not prove that you might not do some things much better with it and at the same time have the happy consciousness of helping the other fellow while helping yourself.

In this day and age there is an attempt to tie the hands of Unionism with outrageous restrictions, and were it not for the vigilance of your Brotherhood as well as other organizations, whose business it is to scrutinize legislation in your interests, Labor's program would be severely hampered. In Union there is strength.

ONE OF OUR BROTHERS WRITER OF SONG LYRICS.

The Brotherhood is very proud to know that it has among its membership a writer of song lyrics in the person of J. E. Reed. L. U. 128, Cleveland, Ohio.

Mr. Reed wrote the words for a song entitled, "One Union True," for which H. A. Hummel supplied the music. In the spring Mr. Reed plans to have his song set to band music and sent to union musicians all over the country. The melody is a very appealing one and the words sincere and inspiring. Any member of the Brotherhood who would desire a copy of "One Union True" will be supplied if he sends twenty-eight cents in postage stamps to Mr. Reed, P. O. Box 46, Station B, Cleveland, Ohio.

The first verse of Mr. Reed's song and the chorus follow:

"Come rally around our standard, the ban ner that will set you free,

"Come and drive out all this slavery, from our great land of liberty,

"Joined together in one strong band, we'll drive tyranny from our land, "Just tell them organized labor always fought for the working man."

[blocks in formation]

THE BROTHERS' COLUMN

Open to Our Readers for the Marketing of Ideas, Suggestions and Opinions The Painter and
Decorator Welcomes Communications Pertaining to the Brotherhood-All Communications
Must Be Signed, Signatures Withheld From Publication at Request-The Painter
and Decorator Assumes No Responsibility for Opinions Expressed

in This Column Other Than Guaranteeing the
Authority of the Communications.

[ocr errors]

CANADIAN BROTHER SAYS EUROPE

NOT TO BLAME FOR KIPLING.

Mr. Charles J. Lammert, G. S.-T.,

Lafayette, Indiana.

Dear Sir and Brother: I wish to write a few lines of comment on the editorial entitled, "America's Sacrifices Rewarded by European Contempt."

I wish to say that Europe is not responsible for Kipling any more than America was for the incarceration of Eugene V. Debs. Kipling is a silk-gloved aristocrat; Debs is an honest man. Now I venture to say that the allied soldiers of the great war are tired of hearing the bombast of these non-participants of the war just past who are at all times trying to raise international disputes. As a soldier myself with active service in the line and there are quite a few more in our local unions-don't reckon ourselves above par. With our American comrades we allied soldiers did not figure on any cost.

T

We just laid ourselves upon the altar. How-
ever, learn the lesson and the lesson is,
that not only can we gain advantage by be-
ing allies in war but also by discouraging
these European and American flag wavers
and plutocrats by using, both in Europe and
America, our best influences in organizing
labor; using our papers and journals which
labor pays for, for and in the interests of
labor only. Let us then heed this lesson
and for all time recognize our own people,
the workers of the world, showing wisdom
of what the fruits of organized labor and
good fellowship might and could attain. Let
us heed the lesson in the war-unity of the
biggest part of the people beat the other;
unity of the workers can beat starvation
wages and would better conditions. That
and that only can bring peace and pros-
perity which the worker only is entitled to.
Fraternally yours,

JAMES H. DODD, L. U. 151,
Toronto, Canada.

STRIPING AND LETTERING PENCILS
Most Delicate Tool in Painter's Equipment

HE striping and lettering pencil is about the most delicate and sensitive tool embraced in the painter's equipment of utensils. And perhaps it would be fair to say that it is quite as often, if not oftener, neglected and variously abused as any of the coarser tools of the paint shop. A perfectly made striping pencil has been described by an expert workman as "a joy forever", the intention of the expert evidently being to convey the information that the good pencil, properly used and cared for, is not only a surpassingly pleasing tool to work with, but grows in value as its age increases, and it becomes worn to an exact adjustment of point and hang to the surface.

Machine Made Not so Good.

The ordinary round striping or lettering pencil may be easily purchased. The sword or dagger pencil, however, is not so easily obtained. There are, to be sure, many firms advertising sword and dagger pencils for sale, but as a rule the machine-made pencil of this class lacks that fine poise, precision of balance and elasticity of stock at the point where elasticity is chiefly desired that distinguishes the hand-made pencil. In the class of pencils to be bought ready made, it

is the most economical at the end of the chapter, if not at the beginning, to buy the best, regardless of the price. This advice has been passed along through the columns of trade papers for many years, and it is venerable enough to be respected. But, unfortunately, there are consumers who humbly worship the price of the pencil rather than the quality of it, and in the field of carriage ornamentation nothing is so valuable as the quality of the pencil. Quality, then, and not the price, should govern the purchaser's choice.

The Better Kind.

In the matter of lettering pencils, those having the hair set in metal ferrules are, as a rule, preferred, although the quill pencils are said to be more easily controlled, more elastic at the base and to a greater extent responsive to the wrist movement of the operator than the metal-encased ones. The quill pencil is handicapped in that the quill eventually gets dry and hard, and then cracks. Thenceforth it figures in the role of a patient requiring a great deal of doctoring. Sometimes the quills split and rupture while being fitted with a handle, an accident to be avoided in this way: Steam the quills

until they become soft and pliable before fitting the wood. When sufficiently soft, the quill allows the handle to be forced into it very close and firm. For the soft, light pigments and colors, the camel's-hair pencils are the best adapted, while for lead and other heavy pigments the black sable pencils are the more desirable. For applying size or gold or aluminum ornamentation, the black sable pencil is a particularly useful tool.

Red Sable Pencils.

Red sable pencils, save for lead, or principally lead, pigments, are a little too stiff and coarse in texture to suit the average workman of the carriage paint shop. Sable pencils require exceeding good care in handling and storing, in order that their shape and elasticity be preserved. The sable lettering pencil, and, indeed, the lettering pencil composed of other stock, should never be greased and flattened out, but rather should it be greased and rounded out to a natural and perfectly-drawn point, with the grease worked fully into the hair from point to base. And in cleaning it is of the utmost importance that all the accumulations of pigment be completely washed out of the hair. There is scarcely an easier way to permanently injure a pencil than to permit a gradual accumulation of pigment in the base or "heel" of the tool.

Dry Out the Turpentine.

The paint substances having been washed out of the pencil, it next remains to dry the turpentine out, which may be done by rolling the handle of the pencil between the palms of the hands and blowing gently into the hair of the tool until it becomes thoroughly dry.

Beef Tallow is Good.

During warm weather beef tallow is probably the best mixture for greasing the pencils with. It has sufficient firmness of body to hold the pencil, when greased and drawn out, to the proper position, and it is one of the best protective coatings known, safeguarding the pencil against dust and dirt accumulations, as well as against acids and atmospheric impurities. During the colder months of the year a few drops of olive or sweet oil will render the tallow soft and pliable.

In no case attempt to keep the pencil supply, when not in use, pasted up against the shop window glass. This is too much after the order of the schoolgirl with her choice bit of gum to be considered good paintshop practice. A pencil soon becomes poisoned and loses its elasticity exposed in this way to all the forms of uncleanliness present at one time and another in the paint shop.

Keep Striping Pencils in a Tin Box. Striping pencils are best kept in a tin box, large enough to hold a glass tray upon which the pencils may be naturally drawn out and permitted to rest. Some workmen make the mistake of flattening the pencil hard down

against the glass, and thus leaving it in this unnatural position to lose its shape and hang. There exists no readier way to ruin a pencil once and for all time than this. Any unnatural position which the hair may be forced to assume is a direct step toward destroying the original form and style of the pencil. Every striping pencil should have room in plenty upon the glass, so that any be single pencil in the assortment may picked up without disturbing the location of its neighbor.

Very Sensitive.

Lettering pencils require a little different treatment. The majority of sign writers grease their pencils, drawing the stock out straight or round, and slightly to a point at This is a the extreme tip of the hair. natural and easy position for the stock, with no strain upon it at any point. A rather long, round box, or a box similar to the pencil box as used by school children, makes the the most desirable holders for the lettering pencils. Indeed, the common pencil boxes are excellent receptacles in which to confine and carry about the pencil supply. Carry the box so that the handles will be down and the stock and points up, and at all times and under all circumstances handle the pencils gently and with exceding delicacy. They are composed of a material. and mechanism quite as sensitive as the tiniest watch direct from the land of the Alps. We need, therefore, scarcely emphasize the importance of handling the pencil equipment with the utmost care and gentle

ness.

The Striper's Art.

To the young man, or to the man of ma-, ture years, who aspires to the mantle of the Early striper's art, we bring the message: learn to make your own pencils. Buy the swan-quill camel's hair pencils, and from these take the hair for the sword or dagger pencils. Make at least a half-dozen pencils at a trial. Possibly at the first attempt you may not get more than a single thoroughly "smart" pencil, but this need not discourage you. Persevere! Try, try again, until the art is at last mastered. In making these pencils it is first desirable to remove the superfluous short hairs, to accomplish which take that part of the hair that is to be bound with thread between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, and with the right hand pull the long hairs over to the right, thus exposing the short and unavailable hairs and allowing for their easy removal. This is what is technically called the weeding out process, and it is really essential in order to produce the pencil of one length of hair, or at least the pencilwith one quality of stock.

Best Way to Make the Sword Pencil. Now, with the remaining hair there are several ways of making the sword pencil, but for the beginner the following will furnish the best results: Take the hair carefully in the left hand, with the thumb and

forefinger of the right hand work a bit of trimmer's paste into the end that is inserted into the handle. Narrow strips of paper, say, inch in width, and of the full length of the hair, are cut and spread with a thin glazing of the paste, and on these prepared strips, about the center of them, lay the hair, keeping it perfectly straight.

Next fold the uncovered portions of the paper over the hair. The day following, or at any time in the future, the superfluous hair and paper may be trimmed from the embryo pencil and a handle attached. A straight-grained piece of pine affords a good handle. Split in center of handle, insert the hair in the split, wrap tightly with stout linen thread and the pencil is ready for use. Have a Pencil for Each Particular width. For the several widths of stripe which it is desirable to draw with the sword pencil, it is best, all things considered, to make a pencil suited to each particular width. For a fine line, make the pencil in size to draw such a line and no other. Also one for the medium fineline, and so on. While there are some workmen, especially those employed in factory shops, who can draw with a mediumsized pencil nearly all widths of stripes, from the fine line to the round, or, as it is known in the shop, "handy" line, there are comparably few who can do this with any degree of success.

Steady Nerve Needed.

The really expert striper, the man who moves multitudes to admire his work, must be the possessor of a steady nerve, an eye of unvarying accuracy and a color sense capable of large development. As a matter of fact, he should be a colorist thoroughly schooled in all the departments of color magic and uses. He should study the law of color to form in its almost infinite adaptations. Grace and freedom and accuracy of eye and precision of hand and celerity of action are the essential mechanical requirements to insure results worthy of recognition in the field of good line work. Couple these with the accomplishments of the colorist, and you have, in a word, the combination which develops the stripers who have won and are winning fame over the face of the continent and in the land beyond the seas.

Style in Striping.

What is known as style in striping is merely the fleeting fancy of the passing show. It is but the shadow of a substance, that is here today and gone tomorrow. What the carriage world recognizes as style today has no permanent existence, inasmuch as it may vanish in a night, or be presently changed at the dictation of a Newport lounger whose millions support a livery that makes the blood tingle. For this reason fashion or style may be accepted as sufficiently elastic to adapt itself to prevailing local requirements, without departing to any important extent from what is regarded at

the time as the ruling style the country over. For, as previously intimated, striping must be considered as subordinate to form, color, surface and finish.-M. C. Hillick, in The Vehicle Monthly.

RETAIL COST OF FOOD.

The U. S. Department of Labor, through the Bureau of Labor Statistics, has completed the compilations showing changes in the retail cost of food in 21 representative cities of the United States.

During the month from October 15, 1922, to November 15, 1922, 20 of the 21 cities increased as follows: Bridgeport, Denver, New York and Philadelphia, 3 per cent; Cleveland, Indianapolis, Manchester, Milwaukee, Newark, New Haven, Norfolk and Portland, 2 per cent; Chicago, Kansas City, Little Rock, Omaha, St. Paul, Salt Lake City, Savanah and Washington, D. C., 1 per cent; New Orleans showed a decrease of less than five-tenths of 1 per cent.

For the year period, November 15, 1921, to November 15, 1922, there were the following decreases: Kansas City, Salt Lake City, and Savannah, 8 per cent; Manchester and Norfolk, 7 per cent; Bridgeport and Omaha, 6 per cent; Denver and Indianapolis, 5 per cent; Chicago, Milwaukee, New Haven, New Orleans and Portland, Me., 4 per cent; Cleveland, Little Rock, Newark, New York, St. Paul and Washington, D. C., 3 per cent; Philadelphia, 2 per cent.

As compared with the average cost in the year 1913, the retail cost of food on November 15, 1922, was fifty-four per cent higher in New York and Washington, D. C.; 49 per cent in Philadelphia; 47 per cent in Manchester, Newark, and New Haven; 46 per cent in Chicago; 4 per cent in Milwaukee; 42 per cent in Cleveland; 41 per cent in New Orleans; 39 per cent in Omaha; 38 per cent in Kansas City; 37 per cent in Indianapolis and Little Rock; 33 per cent in Denver, and 25 per cent in Salt Lake City. Prices were not obtained from Bridgeport, Norfolk, Portland, Me., St. Paul, and Savannah, in 1913, hence no comparison of the 9year period can be given for these cities.The Sponge and Brush.

LEAD POISONING AMONG WORKERS.

The report of the United States Public Health Service on this subject is now in press. The danger is chiefly to those handling the glaze; the lead is inhaled as dust, the lungs absorb lead from fumes, and there is some absorption through the skin. The use of leadless glazes, already established in European factories, would remedy the trouble, but this requires sweeping changes in our manufacturing and firing methods.Scientific American.

Amateurs often step in where profession als fear to tread.

« iepriekšējāTurpināt »