The Washington herald., 1907-09-08
WHITE HOUSE SHINES
Mansion Resplendent in It's
Immaculate New Coat.
MAKES IT'S TWELFTH PAINTING
Uncle Sans Master Painter Finds
II "A Very Particular JOb-Mixes the
fOns of White Lead ana Barrels
of OIL Himself in just the Proper
PrOpOrtiOn-JOb Must he Perfect.

When President and Mrs. Roosevelt and
the Roosevelt children return TO Wash
ington on September ., for the winter,
they Will doubtless be we'll pleased with
the appearance Of the Roosevelt home,
officially known as the executive man
sion. and popularity called the White
House.
A blind man could almost testify 70 the
fact that the house is white now, for
1t is respondent In a coat Of immaculate
paint that seems whittier than any OF its
predecessors. The whole building fair
ly glistens IN the sunlight. and its ap-
pearance from the street, through the
leafy boskage, and the prismauc waters
of the e.fountaln. ought 10 crafty the de-
sires OF the most blase "rubberneck, q"
many OF whom seem 10 be disappointed
when they discover the building is one
that relies upon lines Of imposing sim
plieity for beauty. and is not studded
with gold medals and Cullinane dia-
monds.
The work OF repainting the first house In
the land was begun IN June, immediate
ly after the President and his family
left for Oyster Bay. A score Of men
have been AZ work on the job constantly
since that time. under the direction Of
James N. McCabe, who IS Uncle Sam 5
master painter.
Tons of White LeadJ Barrels of OIL.
They began their task by burning OF
all the numerous layers OF paint that
have been applied 10 the building since
IL was burned by the British in 1919. This
work was done with gasoline torches, and
every inch Of the north front was gone
over carefully, Including the portico.
When this was completed. and the bare
sandstone OF which the walls are made
was exposed. the work OF putting on the
paint was comm snced. The paint con-
sists OF nothing put the best quality Of
white lead and linseed oil. The white
lead for the White House Job was bought
by the thousand pounds. and there were
several tons Of ii used in putting on the
coats that formed the completed Job.
The oil, too, IS bought IN large quantities.
always by the barrel. and It would take
a days work by clerk in the Office Of
the superintendent OF buildings and
grounds TO look through all the orders TO
find out how many thousand pounds OF
white lead and how many barrels Of oil
were used on the Job.
All the paint is mixed by Master Painter
McCabe
"A man may be the best brush hand
in the world" says McCahe. and not
know anything about mixing paint That's
the reason I always mix - myself"
A brush hand" Il is explained, Is an
ordinary painter. whose duty It is TO ap-
ply the mixed paint.
Must Be Swift, Perfect Job.
McCabe has no secret process-just
mixes up the white lead and the oil in
proportion that satisfies him. and that
It is a good proportion seems quite evi-
dent from the looks OF the freshly painted
building. According 10 McCabe It is only
a matter Of care and Judgment to get the
right proportions Of ingredients-not too
thin. and not too thick-but just right
And that's q matter of judgment, d"
says McCabe.
The men who put the paint on this sum-
meT were all union men. They are en-
ployed by McCabe as he needs them. and
he kept large force at work all summer
1t is always necessary to hurry the Job
for II must be done while the family is
out of town. and as McCabe has been
doing the Job once every three years for
the past several years. he kncws how 20
rush things without skimping the work
Il takes from about the middle OF June
until the 1st Of September 10 put on an
ordinary Job of paint and il took longer
this year than usual because OF the burn
ing required.
Has Been Twelve Times Painted.
The house was first painted after It was
rebuilt following It's burning by the Britt
ish in 1914, and has been redecorated
about twelve times. For the past score of
years. or possibly longer, It has been
painted once every three years with the
same mixture-white lead and oil.
In addition to having a new coat Of
paint, other repairs about the place In
clude a new roof on the east terrace
This was rooted last year. but 1t was
found to be not water tight, so the con-
tractor asked permission TO do the work
over again. He has about completed the
job, and with the renovating that has
gone on inside consisting OF touching up
the woodwork, and giving the entire
building a careful housecleaning, the
place is in good shape for another strenu-
Gus winter