Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-12-04
! LOOKER.ON in IOWA !
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

1 .
Applington, Dec. 4.-Recentay the
writer met an Iowa druggist. and IN
conversation the druggist remarked,
."rhe wonder is you newspaper men
don't take up the question of adulter-
alton of white lead, linseed oil and
mixed paints. Our citizens are buying
| every day these articles, and in many
cases pay two prices for what they
really get. Have you seen what North
Dakota is doing to expose these fraud
ulenk articles? At your leisure look
over this pamphlet issued by that
state"
1t has so much of general interest,
especially as all of us use more or less
paint, that copious excerpts VIII be
made from it in what follows:
| Under the date of February 2e, 1906,
there was issued by this department
the following circular notice:
| The North Dakota paint law has
been declared constitutional and valid.
The decision was rendered February
"a. by Judge Amidon. of the United
States district court The paint law is,
| therefore, now in force, and it is ex-
pected that the manufacturers and
from this time on will comply with the
products where such labels are found
necessary.
| 1t will be news to some that they
| pay from IS cents to S1.25 for a gall
lon of water when buying paint, but
this bulletin says:
I'VE emphasized strongly in Bulle-
| tin No. g. the evils of the presence of
| a large amount of water in paints and
showed that some of the paints upon
the market in the liquid portion con-
! tanned as high as "a per cent. 1t is
not our purpose to repeat what was
said at that time but refer the reader
| to the original. We may, however. in
passing. state that paint materials, lin
seed oilj various pigments and other
products that enter into the compost
tion of paint must naturally carry a
small amount of Microscopic moisture.
We have. therefore, held that paints
which contain not to exceed LIS per
cent of water in the fluid portion are
| to be considered as pure. in this re-
spect, and that such water is to be
classed simply incidental to the pro-
cess Of manufacture.
| "a number of comm ercial brands of
white lead, found in the state, have
been examined, and outside of the rec
ognized makers of white leads not one
has been found which did not contain
large amount of inert matter and in
some instances they have ben found to
contain no white lead whatever"
/
| watering" paint is bad enough, but
They short weight" us. North Da-
kota found:
Not only is there wide variation
in the composition of paints but the
paints of certain houses are frequently
short in measure. sometimes to the ex-
tent of 10 to Is per cent. Thus. man
paying for two quart can of some of
the mixed paints may receive bu. LIS
quarts thus loosing 1871 per cent which
gives a very considerable profit to the
benefit of the manufacture of this
paint as compared with the manufact-
urer who gives full mea sure. We have,
i therefore, in the following pages tried
| to give the true measure of each and
every sample of paint which has been
examined by this department 1t is be-
lieved that this publicity will have q
tendency to force all manufacturers to
bring the standard of measure more
nearly to what it should be.
All the white leads and so-called
white leads, examined by this depart
ment, have been found to be short
weight. That is, the kegs supposed to
contain 1214 pounds will actually con-
tain in each eight kegs which should
have shown 100 pounds only SO to 50
pounds.
Publishing one analysis. it says:
"From an inspection of the above
( table it will be observed that none Of
these products contain an amount
which the purchaser assumes to be
present. 1t is true that for number
of years this condition has prevailed,
but in making corrections of evils now
existing it seems good time to place
this product on a basis of the true net
weight. Why should "a man pay for
12h pounds when he receives but 1919?
1t is claimed that this additional price
pays for the pail or key but the man
who is calculating on the amount Of
material is misled and has a right to
expect that the product shall be la
belled truthfully not only with regard
to the actual composition, but to the
weight as well. While the paint law
does not apply to weights under the
general law of the state, it is believed
there is sufficient ground for demand
ing that this change be made on the
part of those who would send their
products into North Dakota.
Some of the paints furnished by cat
alog houses, and others who do BUSH
ness of similar nature, cost to pro-
duce less than one-half that for good
paints, even tho the good paint con-
tains a considerable percentage of inert
material, that is, the pigment in ore of
these catalog house paints per gallon
has been estimated to cost 12R cents,
while in another paint the pigment in
each galloon would cost not less Than
81 cents on the same basis of estima-
ton There are other cheap paints
costing less to produce even than the
one Indicated above and, too, in the
liauid portion there is even wider
variation in the cost Of the two classes
of paints"
tswater and. benzine are not to be
classed in cost with good Nturpentlne
and linseed oil. Neither are they to be
considered as adding anything OF viz
tue to the paint Three pounds OF sal
soda. one and one-half pounds glue.
one and one-half pounds of borax ana
two pounds Of sugar of lead in fifty
gallons of water when mechanically
combined with the pigment to the ex.