H

AVING in mind the dormant attitude of a great number of our members, upon questions of importance to our craft, the matter of appealing to them through the columns of the "Painter and Decorator," I earnestly believe, will tend to bring about the desired result, as many seldom attend the meetings of their respective Locals, and again others simply appear for the sole purpose of paying their dues, while many look forward each month for the next issue of our "Official Journal," to read, and I'm quite sure appreciate it more each time they read it. Many very important matters appear from time to time, and are discussed by the members and eventually the subject matter receives the proper digestion, whereby some good, generally, results to the membership.

I would therefore most respectfully urge the following for your perusal as I find the subject matter has not received just consideration by many of our fellow craftsmen. Max. N. Cedar

I find, after a thorough investigation of the "Sanitary Codes" of the "Local Boards of Health" of the entire State of New Jersey, over 80 per cent. have no clause pertaining to the removal of old unsanitary wall coatings or coverings; about five cities have an effective law, outside of the "Tenement House Code," which applies to houses where three or more families reside, making it compulsory to remove "old coverings," such as dirty kalsomine or "germ breeders," etc., before papering.

Too much cannot be said in favor of such a law from a sanitary standpoint. We find, however, in certain cities, the local boards of health are subordinate to politicians, who no doubt have to be on guard for the interests of the "land sharks" and "realty mongers," who seem to care only for the first of each month and collection of rent; who say, "We'll paper So-and-so's rooms for you." "The sanitary condition of the walls is O. K.," and thereby cover up breeding places for vermin and disease germs. How often does this happen? Do you very often hear an owner or agent tell the boss painter:"I want all the old dirty kalsomine washed off and the old paper removed, the walls put into a sanitary condition, as Mr. or Mrs. Soand-so has rented the rooms and we want them clean and healthful?" Rarely.

In other cities we find the whole craft, both masters and journeymen, wasting away valuable time when their several organizations should realize the fact that we must get together and be up and doing, as our craft literally swarms with an element who care absolutely nothing for progressive legislation, much less for trying to raise the standard of the painting industry. Our bickering with each other from time to time over a few pennies more per day for wages has served to allow the undesirable element to slip into the business to the detriment of the bona fide master and journeyman painter. Let us hope it is not too late to amend our shortcomings of the past, to the end that some good will result for all concerned. I herewith enclose for your perusal two resolutions presented to the last convention of the New Jersey State Building Trades Council, held in the City of Orange, N. J., last May, same being circulated to the end that same will be thoroughly discussed pro and con, and I hope eventually spread upon the statute books, and if carried out will eliminate at least some of the evils in the painting industry. The resolutions read as follows:

To the Officers and Delegates of the Tenth Annual Convention of the New Jersey State Building Trades Council.

Resolution No. 8. Whereas, The building industry of the State of New Jersey is injured by incompetent, unscrupulous and shyster bosses from time to time who have no honest regards for either the mechanics in their employ or the grade of work they perform, and

Whereas, The actions of the same master builders and shyster bosses have tended to not only rob the public, but lower the standard of the entire industry to the detriment of the bona fide master mechanics and journeymen of the several crafts in the building industry, be it therefore

Resolved, That we, the representatives of building trades of the State of New Jersey petition the Gov ernor and Legislature of the State of New Jersey to appoint a commission of equal representatives, viz.:Two bona fide representative master builders and two bona fide journeymen building trades mechanics, residents of the State of New Jersey, to make a thorough investigation of the building industry and report back the advisability of an effective license law for all master builders and construction companies with recommendation to Governor and State Legislature of the State of New Jersey, to the end that the honest master builder and employer shall be protected, and the standard of the building trades mechanic maintained. Fraternally submitted,

Max N. Cedar, R. Fitzgerald, William Bedlington, W. C. Vanderhoff, Axel Lembcke, Committee on Legislation.

Moved and seconded that the report of the committee be received and concurred in. Motion carried.

B

ECAUSE of the fact that from the earliest period of wall-paper manufacture that material has in the largest degree followed in design the patterns produced in various textiles, the chronological record of textile design and weaving which is given below is an interesting study for all concerned in the handling of wall-paper. Wall-papers, original in design and following no particular historic style, have been produced, but the use of wall-paper in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred has been to take the place of expensive and perishable textiles as a material for wall-covering.. Naturally, therefore, the elements of design which have figured in the reproduction of wall-paper have to a large degree originated from the textile industry.

The following data, chronologically arranged, traces the development of the weaving and designing of textiles.

Development of Textile Design.

B.C. Design consisted (1) of repeated lines, spots, bands or stripes; (2) crossed lines or stripes; (3) by changing colors of lines, checks and trellises were produced; (4) by changing proportions, plaids were produced; (5) then came rectangular patterns and diamond shapes.

100 A.D. Development of circular or square frame.

200-600 A.D. Squares or circles filled possibly with floral detail suggested by the Persian and Syrian weavers. The same sort of thing was repeated again six hundred or seven hundred years afterwards in simple stained-glass effects.

400-600 A.D. Broken circles or circles joining the upper and lower segments and spread out to form bands.

600-1100 A.D. The use of circles continued, but they were now linked together, large circles being joined together by smaller circles at the points of contact. The designs in and out of these circles became more ornamental, developing by the end of the Romanesque period great elaboration, and hexagons (Saracenic) arranged with geometrical nicety and elaborated in design.

Up to and including 1100 a common type of design was the persistency of balanced groupings of birds, animals or men, facing or back to back.

From 800 to 1100 saw the development of the ogival form or that form of design where the joining circles were brought to acute angles at points of juncture, forming ovals or ogival shapes. The ogival form continued, developing greater and greater elaboration through the Gothic period. We understand the forms of design, the beginnings of circles and squares and diamonds, the second stage of borders, the third stage of joined circles and the fourth stage of ogival forms, but we must note the fact that the fabrics were made in Persia, Constantinople, Syria and Egypt, and under the Saracenic influence in Spain and Italy. Therefore we must expect an Oriental type which, though common in the Romanesque age, was not related to the Roman origin of Romanesque architecture and carving.

Development of Textile Weaving.

3000 B.C. Weaving was understood in Egypt. Possibly earlier in Babylonia. Silk weaving introduced from China, where it was practiced at a remote period, presumably 1200 B.C.

200 A.D. Complicated mechanical weaving done by Syrian weavers in Eastern Roman Empire,