The Rich Hill tribune. (Rich Hill, Mo.) 1903-1911, 1906-06-21
AMERICANS ARE PAINT USERS

than any other people n the world
In a recently published article IN the
subject f. was figured that our yearly
consumption ls over i~00.o00o90 gal
IONS Of paints o. eli kinds. of which
over onehalf Is used ia the paintings
Of houses.
The reason for this great conEump
ton is twOfOld. a large proportion
Of our buildings. especially Ia small
towns and rural districts, are con.
struCted of wood. and we. as a people.
are given 20 neatness and cleanliness.
For, take II all In all. there Is moth
ing 50 clearly OF 50 sanitary as paint
Travel where we viii throughout
the country. everywhere we find the
neat, cheerful painted dwelling. pro
claiming az once the prosperity and
the ~self-respeCt Of our population
Fifty years g this was not so;
painted dwellings. while common in
the larger cities and towns. were the
exception IN the rural districts; be
cause, on the one hand, a large pro
portion Of those buildings were tenn
p0rary makeshifts. and. on the other
hand, because paint vas then a lux
ury, expensive and difficult 20 obtain
In the out-ofthe-way places, and re-
curing special knowledge and much
preparation 70 81 81 for use.
The introduction Of ready mixed or
prepared paints. about 1860. changed
the entire aspect Of affairs. As the
Jack-ofalItrades told the Walking
Delegate in one Of Octave Thanets
stories. Anyone can slather paint
The insurmountable difficulty With
our predecessors was 10 get the paint
ready for "slathering." That the
country was ready for paint in a con-
venient, popular form is shown by
the immediate success Of the indus
try and its phenomenal growth in
50 years from nothing TO $1,000, 900
Eall0ns-the estimated output for
1900.
Some pretty severe things have
been written about and said against
this class OF paints, especially by
painters and manufacturers Of GER
tain kinds Of paste paints. Doubtless
In many instances these structures
have been justified and some fearful
y and wonderfully constructed mix
lures have In the past been worked
OF on the ~guileless consumer in the
shape OF prepared paint But such
products have had their short day
and quickly disappeared, and the too
~enterprising manufacturers that pro
duced them have come TO grief in
the bankruptcy courts or have
learned by costly experience that
honesty IS the best policy and have
reformed their ways.
The chief exceptions 20 this rule
are some mail order houses who sell
direct 70 the country trade. al a very
low price-frecuently below the
wholesale price Of unseed oil. The
buyer Of such goods. ike the buyer
Of gold brick. has only himself q
blame II be finds his purchase worth.
less. With gold selling AZ any hank
or mint AZ a fixed price. owners OF
gold do not sell IL At a discount: and
with linseed oil quoted everywhers
al SO to 20 cents a gallon, manufac
turers do not sell q pure unseed OIL
paint at 30 or 30 cents a gallon.
The composition Of prepare a paints
differs because paint experts have
not yet agreed as 70 the best pig
ments and because the daily results
OF tests on q large scale are constant
ly improving the formulas Of manu-
~iacturers; but all have come 10 tins
conclusion that the essentials Of goot
paint are pure linsced oil. fine grind
ing and thorough Incorporation, anJ
IN these particulars an the products
, OF reputable manufacturers CORE
spund; an hrstclass prepared paiDu
are thoroughly mixed and ground an,
, the liquid base is almost ~exclusivell
. pure nnseed OIL the necessary VIOLA
tile "thinners" and Japan dryers
The painters opposition 20 suol
. products is based largely on self-in
, forest. He wants 20 mix the pain
himself and 60 be paid FOR doing Il
and 20 a certain class OF painters !
g. 10 recommendation for a paint &,
say that Il viii last eve OF ten years
The longer a paint lasts the longe'
he will have 10 wait Tor the sob O
& ropainting. The latter considerable,
has no weight with the consumes
and the former Is a false Idea O
economy. Hand labor can never d
as cheap or rs ehcignt as machinI
work. and every time the paiute.
mikes paint. did he but know g. n
, Is losing money, because he a hul
q better paint than he can mix a
less than it costs him 20 mix h.
Prepared paints have not onl,
on their actual merits. but on Jhoi
e convenience and economy. They az
u comparatively cheap and they are In
, comparably handy. But when an d
said. the experienced painter is N.
d proper person % apply even a mad
5, mixed paint he knows better thai
"a anyone else the when" and how
e and the difference between paiutinl
p and "slathering is much create
it than IL appears 10 a novice Every