January 1945
CONTENTS
For the Home
What Can You Spend for Post-War Recces'cs - +++.» +Deane G, Carter
Housing?. ocee Paint for Glass-Frosting Lacquers and Varnishes for Linoleum Cosmetics Nail Lacquers and Removers
For the Automobile Winter Motor Oils
Miscellaneous Another “Institute” of “Consumer Research”. . Ersatz Photographic Film
Features Off the Editor's Chest The Consumers’ Observation Post Ratings of Motion Pictures
Vol. 15 @ No. 1
BULLETIN
January 1945
OF the Editor's Chest
ITH shortages of many favorite foods still
widespread, it is a little difficult for con- sumers to understand the anxiety that agricultural experts and government officials have been express- ing in recent months over the food surpluses pre- dicted for the immediate post-war period. Yet one government agricultural economist warned in September 1944 that surpluses of farm products would plague all food-exporting countries, includ- ing the United States, soon after the war ends. It appears that in spite of the government’s ex- tensive official ballyhoo for “government planning”’ and “planned economy,”’ the planners have fallen down, in the only two ways in which agricultural planning could fall short of its goal. They have
failed to provide consumers with an abundance of the particular foods they need and are willing to pay for, and they have failed to prevent surpluses of those foods which they do not want in excessive
quantity. It does not take economic training to convince one that if the price of planning may be surplus, as a recent governmental publicity item commented, the end result of planning may be futility and waste. About the only measure that has not yet been suggested or tried is that of mak- ing people eat up surpluses of food they do not particularly care for, through some sort of forced or State-decreed consumption.
In time of war it is quite understandable that emphasis should be put on quantity of food rather than quality, and on the kinds of foods that best lend themselves to mass production with minimum use of labor and machinery. (Agricultural econo-
mists tend to look upon the whole food problem as a problem of the quantitative supply of “nutri- ents,’’ as though the marked differences in quality and utility of the different types and varieties of foods did not need to be considered. It is this con- cept that has underlain the whole idea that we could economize greatly as a nation by substituting cereals for foods containing the higher quality pro- teins, such as meat, poultry, fish, and eggs, and thereby avoid “waste,” involved in the biological “‘inefficiency”’ of the conversion of cereals into meat and eggs by farm livestock.)
There is a limit, however, to the usefulness of quantity production, even in a time of scarcity. It was discovered somewhat belatedly by the War Food Administration officials, for example, that the beleaguered British would not eat all the dried eggs that could be provided by this country, that they did not care for our overfat pork, that dried milk was not so popular as it was nutritious, that Ched- dar cheese to be acceptable to Lend-Lease buyers had to be more than just cheese—it had to be cheese of first quality. One Army officer was heard to quote a soldier's remark, in referring to the sustain- ing qualities of a particular ration, that he could live on it longer than he cared to.
Several expensive and disrupting crises in agri- cultural markets and, of course, much inconveni- ence to consumers have resulted from the lack of foresight and failure of governmental agencies to emphasize and encourage the production of foods of the kinds and qualities which people are willing to
(Continued on page 25)
Scientific and Technical Experts and Editors: Charles
F. J. Schlink, R. Joyce, M. C. Phillips, A. R. Greenleaf, and . Bernier. Editorial Assistant: Mary F. Roberts.
Symbols used to indicate sources of data and bases of ratings: A—recommended on basis of quality; AA—regarded as worthy of highest recommenda-
tion;
B— intermediate with respect to quality; C—not recommended on basis of quality; cr—information from Consumers’ Research's own tests or in-
vestigations; 1, 2, 3—relative prices, 1 being low, 3 high. Note that price and quality are completely differentiated in CR’s listings; a quality Judgment is independent of price; 44, 45—ycar in which test was made or information obtained or organized by the staff of Consumers’ Research.
It will be advantageous if you will, whenever possible, send prompt notice of change of address at least a month before it is to take effect, accompanying your notice with statement of your old address with name in full. At least three weeks’ notice must be givenin any case. This rule, however, regarding long advance notice does not apply to military personnel. Changes cf address for men and women in the services will gladly be handled whenever required.
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Te. Consumers’ Observation Post
>
CIGAR SMOKERS will be glad to learn that the OPA is figuring on saving them something like 50 million dollars a year by raising the ceiling price of "nickel" cigars to 7-1/2 cents apiece. Before someone accuses us of misuse of words we hasten to add the OPA’s explanation that the increase in price will bring these inexpensive cigars back on the market so that smokers won’t have to buy 15-cent cigars. Were we to suggest, following this method of economic rea- soning, that smokers could save a lot more by not ; smoking either 7-1/2-cent or 15-cent cigars, we prob- ably wouldn’t even succeed in getting our proposition into the "Letters to the
Editor" column.
a =
FASHION is something all girls should study, according to the University of California—-as if they didn’t. It appears, however, that close attention to current trends in style pays dividends, for a garment selected at the height of a style trend has a greater likelihood of remaining in fashion for a consider- able period than one selected at the beginning or end of such a trend. The chief difficulty now, however, is to find garments at a reasonable price that will withstand wear and cleaning processes long enough to go out of style while
still wearable.
* *
VITAMINS are the currently fashionable “cure-all” and there is a lot of hocus—pocus and mumbo-—jumbo used, largely over the radio, to sell them to people for "that tired feeling," and “loss of pep and energy," and “poor appe- tite." Lest you get the idea that vitamins are just today’s best-selling type of "patent medicine," and so don’t buy vitamin pills or capsules, along comes the National Vitamin Institute with a Personal Requirement Guide to Supple- mental Vitamin Needs that calls for one’s answering such questions as "Do you have heart trouble, kidney trouble, mental depression, sleeplessness, chronic fatigue, faulty vision, anaemia, etc." Further information called for includes what you ate for the last three days and how much, and whether you are under care of a physician for any specific disease. After the two-page questionnaire has been filled out and returned with $5, the Institute advises that "our ex- perts" read the form and "will give you their opinion and recommendations" as to whether you need vitamins or not, and if so what kind. Diagnosing human ailments by mail is something which every competent physician knows is quite unsatisfactory, often downright dangerous, as a method of determining a par- ticular patient’s difficulties or medical needs. Perhaps the most significant feature of the National Vitamin Institute’s literature is its complete omission of names of responsible officials, medical men, nutritionists, biochemists, or Others associated as experts in the enterprise. The observing consumer would decide at once that absence of such signs of professional responsibility should keep him from trusting his medical and dietary welfare to the organization’s literature and recommendations.
a ae. ae
CORSETS, foundation garments, and two-way stretch girdles that make use of Synthetic rubber in their construction are expected to continue in short supply in spite of the increased availability of neoprene, the most desirable type of the synthetic product for this purpose. It appears that now there is a short- age of cotton needed to wind on the rubber threads. Women are advised to re- pair the garments they have, to make them do for another six months at least.
CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH BULLETIN @ JANUARY, 1945093
COAL that would not burn in home furnaces and stoves was sold to consumers in the St. Louis area to the extent of some three. thousand tons last year by the Triangle Fuel Company, reports the unusually able and effective St. Louis Better Business Bureau. One expert who had conducted burning tests of the coal in a St. Louis university’s laboratories reported that the coal was "the near- est approach to fireproof material we ever have seen." The company refused to make good on the "unburnable" stuff and some unfortunate householders even had to pay to have the stuff removed from their coal bins before they could have good coal put in. Consumers from other sections may well take warning and check carefully on their source of supply of coal before making their pur- chases. Anyway, don’t, if you can possibly help it, buy coal from unknown or
questionable sources. - a eS
UMBRELLAS, particularly those of the pre-war 16-rib variety, should be given good care to make them last as long as possible. Those covered with Oiled silk can be kept attractive looking by sponging inside and out with cool soapy water followed by rinsing with clear water, advises Cleanliness Bureau. Other fabric coverings may be washed with a soft brush dipped in soapsuds and then thoroughly rinsed under the shower. Further advice is to keep an umbrella open until it is dry, and dab a speck——and only a speck——of oil on the hinged joints if they show rust. Tips that come off can be put back with glue, or rubber or celluloid cement. Small rips may be repaired with the popular iron- on mending tissue that is widely sold in dime stores and department stores.
* +
APPLES cooked in a pressure cooker made better sauce than those prepared in the standard covered pan, an open pan, or a steamer, reported Ruth M. Gris- wold in the Michigan Quarterly Bulletin last summer. It was found that color and flavor of the sauce were improved by using a glass rather than a steel knife to cut up the apples, and a cotton net for straining them, and so avoid- ing contact with metal so far as possible. Fruit cooked for five minutes less than the standard length of time (18 minutes) had a better flavor than that
cooked for the longer time. The particular variety used in these tests was the Jonathan apple.
* *
CARBON MONOXIDE continually and repeatedly inhaled is an important factor in the ill effects from excessive smoking, although inhalation of nicotine and other combustion products may also be involved. The toxic effects of carbon monoxide are due to the high affinity for this gas of some of the compounds re- lated to red blood corpuscles, which are of vital importance in the metabolism of the body. Experiments have been made to determine the carbon monoxide con- tent of smokers’ blood using a method sensitive enough to detect the increase of carbon monoxide due to the smoking of a fraction of a single cigarette. One Surprising fact discovered in the course of the study was that the carbon monoxide in the blood of pipe and cigar smokers was about the same as that in the blood of cigarette smokers.
* +
THE CAUSE OF THE TWO-PANTS SUIT, production of which is now banned by the WPB, has acquired a champion in the person of Congressman Errett P. Scrivner of Kansas who has pointed out in a letter to WPB Chairman Krug that in families whose budgets call for strict economy, the two-pants suit has great importance in enabling the man of the family to conserve on clothing. In these days, when it sometimes takes three weeks to get a pair of trousers back from the clean- ers, the Congressman noted that an extra pair just about doubled the wear-life of a suit. One trade paper columnist objected to the policy on the two-pants suit, and said that the clothiers aided in killing it off because they knew it represented a saving to the consumer.
* *
DRAFTS really do seem to increase the likelihood of catching cold, ac- cording to a study made by Dr. Joseph H. Kler of New Brunswick, N. J., reported in Science News Letter. In two fair-—sized industrial plants, Dr. Kler found the incidence of colds very high in the shipping departments, notoriously drafty places. Among 5500 employees observed over a period of 19 months, it
(The continuation of this section is on page 29)
4 @ CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH BULLETIN @ JANUARY, 1945
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a ar —— a+ ae eet 2s ae As
aos are no rules that will answer the question of what the consumer can afford for his house. That is a problem that is strictly post-war planning within the family. The answer depends on so many things that the best we can do is to set up some guides and raise some questions to help in making the decision. Most important of all is, of course, your decision that you are going to own a home; next is determining how you will pay for it. Buying a home is one of the big financial transactions in the life of the typical family, and you will have to pay out, to the last dollar, no matter how attrac- tive the terms may seem to be.
A vast number of new houses will be needed in the next ten years to make up for the hous- ing deficit that has accumu- lated over the years of depres- sion and war. Many families who have never owned a home are saying, with our friends down the street, ‘‘Yes, we plan to build as soon as materials and labor are available after the war. Our war bonds will make the down payment. Sure- ly with vast manufacturing ca- pacity, technical developments, mass production and prefab- rication, costs will come down and we can have a really mod- ern home, insulated, safe against fire, and attractive, with auto-
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
matic heat, complete mechan- ical equipment, and maybe air conditioning.”
There is indeed hope for im- proved values, considerably better equipment, new mate- rials, and a higher degree of comfort and convenience than was available in pre-war houses, for there are important tech- nical developments in the offing that can make the post-war house definitely better than that of the pre-war period. It is believed, however, that there is no immediate hope for lower costs. The prices that must be paid for land are high, in many cases higher than ever before. There are many costs besides the structure itself—for excavation, landscaping, side- walks and paving, and the util- ities of gas, water, sewage, and electricity. The rates paid for labor are higher now, and this is an important factor, since labor accounts for about half the cost of building a house. Besides, a large part of the cost of construction materials is labor, from the forest and the mine, on through to the trans- portation, sale, and delivery of materials to the site.
Many of the older houses are afflicted with wet basements, shaky floors, weak foundations, cracked plaster, leaky roofs, and thin walls, and it will be in order to correct these weak-
CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH BULLETIN ®@ JANUARY, 1945 @ 5
What Can You Spend for Post-War Housing?
By DEANE G. CARTER, PROFESSOR OF FARM STRUCTURES, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING,
nesses in new construction by providing better qualities of materials and workmanship, that will insure comfortable and
durable housing. The new home should be safe against fire hazards. In some regions there should be protection against termite infestation; there should be thermal insula- tion, and better surface finishes; and there should be more auto- matic regulating and control- ling devices connected with the heating and other mechanical equipment. All such changes and improvements add to the cost of construction (and in- cidentally to the costs and diffi- culties of owning a home).
At the very least, then, the post-war house is likely to cost as much as, and probably more than, the same sort of house cost in the period from 1935 to 1940. Newspapers in central Illinois are carrying advertise- ments for houses of from five to seven rooms, built within the past five years and in the best locations, at prices rang- ing from $8000 to $15,000. There is no reason why a family with ample funds available might not invest in one of these houses, or buy a lot, employ an architect to prepare plans and supervise the construction of their ideal home.
The real problem is posed by the income limits of millions
of typical families whose wages or salaries range from no more than $20 a week or about $1000 a year, up to around $3000 a year. At such levels of in- come, the cost of housing be- comes extremely important, and the amount that can be afforded bears a close relation to income, if the family is to attain home ownership with- out undue risk of losing their investment and without hard- ship in maintaining it. The first step in the study of possi- bilities is to find out as nearly as possible, the cost of housing in yourcommunity. Costs are normally higher in cities than in towns or villages and rural areas. The cost increases from south to north because of dif- ferences in wage scales and the greater weather protection re- quired. Costs become higher with the distance from the sources of materials, on account of the extra costs of transpor- tation and handling of mate- rials and equipment.
It is possible to make a very rough estimate of the cost of housing of satisfactory quality by assuming a cost of $1000 per room in the house, count- ing living room, dining room, bedrooms, and kitchen, but not closets, bath, and hallways. Of course, the actual outlay will depend on specifications for material and workmanship, and with the other variable factors, as well as the extra costs for land, utilities, and services. Thus the $1000 figure can be used only as a starting point. Real estate agents, lumber deal- ers, contractors, and building and loan association managers know costs within the commun- ity, and every prospective own- er will be well repaid for the time spent in gathering infor- mation about costs for the type of housing he wants to build.
6 © CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH BULLETIN @ JANUARY, 1945
If funds are likely to be very limited, it might be well to con- sider some of the ways to re- duce the cash costs of a house. Farmers have the best chance to cut costs by the use of teams, power tools, trucks, and assis- tance on the job when farm work is not pressing. A good many families in town, how- ever, can make a real contribu- tion by doing some work of construction. that does not re- quire special skill. Expert craftsmen especially find that they can often do much of the kind of work that is related to their special training. In some cases a location outside the cor- porate limits makes cost reduc- tion possible through lower land costs, lower taxes, and thé ab- sence of codes and restrictions of a jurisdictional nature that may be imposed by certain skilled trades.
Careful selection of materials for the house, especially if some expert advice can be secured, will provide many ways to cut costs without affecting the durability or livability of the house. For example, many will find it fully satisfactory to use No. 1 or No. 2 common oak flooring rather than the ‘‘clear”’ grade. The appearance is as good or better, the wood is just as durable, and the cost is about half as much. There are sev- eral wall coverings that are low- er in cost than plaster—most of them are as good or better— and they permit interesting dec- orative effects. A shower bath of plain style in the basement costs only a fraction as much as a tile-lined, chrome-finished shower on the main floors.
Whatever the cost of the house, care must be taken to maintain good durable qual- ities threughout. Architectural service is always desirable, for the architect is in the best posi-
tion to work out economical plans, select proper materials, and see that a good job is done. Moreover, the architect is used to the details of home plan- ning and construction, and on that account will remember many points and provide for time-coordinations on the job that the average consumer, even though he has some familiar- ity with the building trades, will not likely have in mind. However, it makes a difference what architect is employed; be sure if possible to engage one who has had experience and has acquired a good reputation in small home construction. The generally established fee for architectural services in pre- paring plans and supervising the contracts and construction is six percent. . This fee is for general construction; however a great many architects use the same percentage in their work on dwellings. Fees on fine work and work involving various spe- cial and detailed services may be higher, up to ten percent. The professional architect justifies his fees on the basis of service rendered, and the ultimate saving to his client in assuring careful planning, proper handling of business de- tails, getting good and safe con- struction, and knowing how to effect savings. The architect will welcome the opportunity of discussing the types of serv- ice and their cost with pros- pective home owners. In obtaining bids for the ac- tual building job, be especially wary of the individual or firm that quotes prices far below the normal local prices for they may be leaving out some im- portant items, or expect to skimp on materials or work- manship. preliminary estimates that seem abnormally low, but he is not
A builder may offer
assuming any responsibility for the actual finished cost of the job. Reputable builders esti- mate costs, or make bids that cover the job as it is outlined in the plans or described in the specifications. This means that there must be a clear and defi- nite understanding as to what is included. For example, there have been cases where roof gutters were omitted by the contractor on the ground that they had not been specified, and then they had to be applied after the house was finished, at a considerable extra cost. Properly prepared plans and complete specifications are nec- essary, for they enable the con- tractor to figure his costs with reasonable certainty and sub- mit a close bid, and at the same time, give the owner the assurance of a complete job.
It is always good business to get several quotations from reputable contractors or indi- viduals in order to be in a posi- tion to take advantage of every reasonable saving. Too often | have seen families start their house with the hope of getting it for perhaps $4000, only to have the cost climb to $5000 or more before the job was done. It’s a very easy thing to concede a change or addi- tion that will add a few dollars here and there as the work pro- gresses, just because “‘it will be better in the long run.”’
At some stage in the plan- ning the question will come up as to whether to build new, purchase a new house already built, or buy an older house that seems to fit the need and the pocketbook. Many fam-
ilies of course will have to de- pend on ‘“‘secondhand”’ hous- ing, but fortunately in most urban areas, transportation fa- cilities permit the family a de- gree of freedom to move about,
HE accompanying ar- ticle is the first in a ser- ies which will discuss prob-
lems the typical family will face in planning for the post- 'war home. In this article, Professor Carter begins at the beginning, with the de- cision of whether to buy a home, and, if one does de- cide to buy, how to deter- mine the amount that can be paid, and how to plan for repayment of the housing loan, in the light of the fam- _ily’s income and other cir- cumstances; and what are | the basic precautions to be taken in arranging for the purchase and choosing the type and quality of house to be built.
Other topics to be dis- cussed soon in this series are what to look for in buying a home, and prefabrication as a method of home build-
and one of the older houses, which will often give the buyer more house for his money, may be the stepping stone to a future new home closer to his ideas and needs.
Now for the guideposts by which you can determine what you can afford to spend for housing. In the long run, money is the principal limiting factor that sets the kind and quality of housing, and deter- mines the safety, pleasure, and satisfaction you will derive from it. While no one can settle these problems for you, here are the factors involved, and some suggestions on setting the limits of expenditure:
The Down Payment. Build- ing a new house calls for some outlays in addition to buying the lot and paying for the con- struction. Moving expense, floor coverings, plantings, win- dow shades and drapes, initial insurance premiums, perhaps
CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH BULLETIN ® JANUARY, 1945 @ 7
some new furnishings and equipment may be involved in addition to the payment on the property. ;
The larger the down pay- ment, the greater your own security, and the less will be the costs for interest. Some- times a lower interest rate can be secured by a large first pay- ment. Under the FHA plan so widely used before the war for private homes, it was pos- sible under certain conditions to pay 10 percent down, and give a mortgage for the other 90 percent. This is the very minimum down payment. Many lending agencies require at least 20 percent, and up to 33 percent. On a 20 percent payment, you can buy a $5000 house (including price of the lot and other costs) if your re- sources permit you to apply $1000 to the purchase.
Monthly Payments. The amount you now pay, or can pay for rent is an excellent guide to the amount you can afford to invest. Payments on a loan can properly be some- what higher than rent, for you are acquiring a permanent value. The payments should always be on a regular basis, usually monthly, in an amount sufficient to cover the interest and a definite sum applied to the principal. (This method of repayment is called amor- tization.) Payments may also be worked out on a monthly or other periodical basis so that insurance, taxes, and special as- sessments will also be covered. According to one FHA illus- tration, a loan of $1000 can be paid out in ten years with a monthly payment of $10.37 to principal and interest, or in the same proportion for a larger amount. If payments are ex- tended over 15 years, each $1000 of loan will require a monthly
payment of $7.65. (These fig- ures are based on an interest rate of 44% percent.) To this must be added several dollars a month for taxes, insurance, and assessments, according to the local situation.
Size of Loan. All reputable lending agencies are interested in the welfare of their clients as well as in the safety of the loan. They take into account the reliability and standing of the individual, as well as the value of the mortgage security. Their concern is with the re- payment of the loan and the payment of the interest to them, not in foreclosing the property. Each agency, therefore, will in- vestigate your standing, and your ability to repay without hampering your normal budget. It is a good plan to advise with lending agencies and ask their help in determining what you can afford. It is the author's opinion that the loan should rarely, if ever, be more than the equivalent of two years’ in- come, and preferably less, even though some recommendations would permit going to 2% years’ income. Keep the term down to 10 years if you can carry the
payments; 15 years ought to be the top limit. Some lending plans provide for repayment over 17, 20, and even 25 years, but it is best for the family to clear the debt for housing as soon as possible. In every case the loan agreement should give the option of paying off the principal before maturity if you wish, and allow you to make extra payments on any install- ment date.
Annual Income. Although there are many exceptions, the most commonly accepted rela- tionship between income and housing investment is that you can safely spend from 2 to 2% years’ income for your home. On this basis, a family income of $2000 a year would justify from $4000 up to $5000 for a home. Families with incomes below $2000 a year might find it impossible to make this in- vestment, especially if they had or expected to have other heavy expenses. At higher income levels, the family needs may often be met with a lower rela- tive expenditure. This top limit of 214 times the annual income is justified by another
lt is assumed quite generally that about one- fifth of current income can be
. comparison:
spent for shelter, by families of average income. The calcu- lated cost of owning a house is about 8 percent of the first cost each year, for repairs, taxes, insurance, depreciation, and in- terest on the money invested. Eight percent of $5000 is $400, which in turn is one-fifth of $2000; thus on this basis, the $2000 income may justify a $5000 house.
Miscellaneous Factors. Costs of building a house vary somewhat according to the sea- son of the year; often accord- ing to the competition in the housing industry; and always in relation to local conditions pertaining to wage scales, trans- portation, and the demand for houses. There are also long- time trends both up and down in costs and values. Some houses have sold for less than half the cost it took to build them; other houses have brought double their original cost. The amount you can af- ford to pay, however, must be based largely on the conditions at the time you are ready to
| Guideposts
iY)
tf Sound Financing «f the NEW HOME
ul
af - ==> $2000 | $3 000 Ne ncome . Gezi-! Ss mm. Et k| era Value ef House | Ey {jt i 1st Nel] BK. Tst. Wat’). . ist = = Down Psy ment 43 One | pen Y600'| ey $2000 20% page requirement $41.50 B, 62.25 32 s , Morithly Payment on loan <-D on lean on loan yall Ae % oon jm eons | f 4000<y | of 6000L| of 8 008,
$5000
8 © CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH BULLETIN @ JANUARY,
1945
build or buy, and the decision should be based on the value to you as a home. It is safest not to make your decision on any assumption that the house can be considered as a specula- tive investment.
For the majority of families, it is a reasonable assumption that home ownership is desir-
|
HE nail lacquers, often re-
ferred to as nail polishes, are available in two general types: the clear lacquers and the cream lacquers. The for- mer are composed of nitrocellu- lose (or other cellulose deriva- tives) which forms the coating, color, solvents in which nitro- cellulose is dissolved so that the form of the product is liq- uid, and plasticizers which make the coat somewhat pli- able and elastic to prevent chip- ping. The cream lacquers have essentially the same composi- tion, but in addition, they con- tain an opaque and insoluble substance, such as titanium di- oxide or a similar inorganic powder. They must be well shaken before use.
Although cream lacquers are effective on nails with distinct ridges because of their hiding power, they are not so resistant to “blush,”’ on contact with water, as the deeply colored varieties. Colorless lacquers are likewise not as resistant to “blush” when in water, but their imperfections are not as apparent as in the deeply colored lacquers. (‘‘Blush”’ is
a technical term designating
(lt Lacquers
able. There are some pitfalls waiting, to be sure. The most vital problem in the beginning is to determine carefully what you can afford, and then stick to that figure against all tempta- tions to increase it. This dis- cussion has sought to cover the major aspects of this problem. There are other problems, which chiefly concern the legal and
ee 2. Ff & @
loss of gloss and transparency, with a dull or cloudy appear- ance, of a coat of nail lacquer.)
The following characteristics are desirable in a bottle of nail lacquer:
1. Should not dry too rapid- ly (slower drying is conducive to glossy finish).
2. Should not chip off readily.
3. Should not “‘blush,”’ turn cloudy, or change color on con- tact with water.
4. Should be thin enough to spread easily, yet not so thick as to spread poorly on the nail.
5. Should be easily removed with any nail polish remover.
6. The brush should not shed its hair, and should be long enough to reach nearly to the bottom of the bottle.
It is usually observed, that after a bottle is opened several times, the remaining lacquer tends to harden, and by the time half the contents of a bottle are used, the remainder is so hard as to be unusable.
CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH BULLETIN ® JANUARY, 1945 @ @
business procedures involved in owning and building a home— the question of choice between building and remodeling, steps that can be taken by low-in- come families to help them to- ward home ownership, and vari- ous problems of planning, speci- fications, and choices of mate- rials. Some of these problems will be treated in later articles.
() Hemevetd
This condition may be prevent- ed by tightly closing the bottle after each use; it may be cor- rected by pouring a small quan- tity of nail polish remover into the bottle of hardened lacquer. When set aside, and shaken a few times during the course of a day or two, the lacquer becomes once more usable. It should not, however, be expected that the same degree of gloss and drying will be obtained with this ‘‘restored”’ lacquer, as was obtained from the fresh bottle. A more lasting and glossier coat is obtained by two appli- cations. For best results, the first coat should be stroked on the nails transversely and the second one longitudinally. This can, however, be effectively done only by the clear, or faint- ly colored lacquers, which are generally thinner in consistency than the dark or the creamy ones. The smoothness of a coat is also related to the condition of the brush, for an unevenly cut, or shedding brush will not apply the lacquer uniformly, Nail lacquer or nail polish removers are essentially sol- vents, dissolving the nitrocellu- lose, essential ingredient of the
Cream Lacquers
1, Change color on prolonged contact with water.
2. Hide nail ridges best.
3. One careful application gives best results.
4. Air bubbles likely but not apparent when present.
5. Good brush helpful for fine finish.
Clear Lacquers (deep red shades)
1. Do not change color on pro- longed contact with water.
2. Do not hide nail ridges as well as the so-called cream lacquers.
3. Two thin applications may give better results than one thick application.
4. Air bubbles mar finish; therefore apply very care- fully.
5. Good brush an absolute ne- cessity for a fine finish.
Clear Lacquers (colorless or nearly so)
—
. Tend to change color on pro- longed contact with water and not as resistant to it as deep red shades.
2. Do not hide nail ridges.
3. Two thin applications give better results.
4. Air bubbles not likely on application, since these are thinner than the other two varieties.
5. Even a poor brush is cap- able of making a fine finish, since this type is thinner than the other two classes.
—~ we
lacquers. They are used on cotton or cleansing tissues with which the lacquer is removed by rubbing. Since all of the removers dissolve fats, they tend to dry the skin surround- ing the nail and the cuticle. To overcome that tendency, a variety known as “‘oily”’ or “‘oil- ized” nail polish remover has become available. Since the “oily” polish removers partial- ly overcome this drying effect, they are certainly preferable to the non-oily varieties, or to plain acetone which is often bought for this purpose. It is only slightly more difficult to remove cream lacquers, than clear ones, since the powders which cream lacquers contain are not soluble in the solvents.
Medical literature has re- ported a number of cases of nail lacquer dermatitis (irrita- tion of the skin) of late. Since this is due to the sensitivity of a particular individual to cer- tain ingredients, it cannot be predicted just which persons
10 © CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH BULLETIN @ JANUARY, 1945
will react in that fashion. It is, therefore, a sound practice to use a new brand carefully, since some persons sensitive to an ingredient in one brand of lac- quer may not be sensitive to another brand of lacquer that does not contain that given in- gredient.
The differences among the three types of lacquers appear in the accompanying table.
The prices given do not in- clude the 20 percent federal excise tax.
Nail Lacquers
A. Recommended
The following gave an excellent fin- ish when applied to the nails, and one application retained its good appear- ance through one week's wear.
Cutex (Northam Warren Corp., 50 E. 57 St., New York 22, New York) 1/3 fi. oz. bottle, 10c. (30c per fi. oz.) “Natural Clear.” Free flow- ing. 1
Flamingo Nail Polish (Distributed by Flamingo Sales Co., Hollywood,
Calif.) % fl. oz. bottle, 25c. (34c per fl. oz.) ‘“‘Cocktail.’’ Easily ap- plied. 1
Glazo Cream Polish (The Glazo Co., Inc., East Rutherford, N.J.) 5 fi. dr. bottle, 25c. (40c per fl. oz.) “Cabana.” 1
Miraglo Nail Polish (Distributed by M.V.C. Labs., Toledo, Ohio) % fi. oz. bottle, 10c. (27c per fl. oz.) “Natural” and “Victory Red.” Easily applied. 1
Plat-Num Nail Polish (Distributed by Plat-Num Laboratories, 80 Fifth Ave., New York 11, New York) 7/16 fl. oz. bottle, 10c. (23c per fl. oz.) ““Mohogany.” Easily applied. 1
La Cross Natl Polish (Distributed by Schnefel Bros. Corp., Newark, N.J.) 6 fl. oz. bottle, 66c. ($1.32 per fi. oz.) ‘‘Natural.”’ 3
Revion Nail Enamel (Distributed by Revlon Nail Enamel Corp., 125 W.
45, New York 19, New York) % fi. oz. bottle, 60c. ($1.20 per fl. oz.) “Shy” and “Rosy Future.” 3
B. Intermediate
Although the following brands gave good performance on the whole, each had at least one objectionable feature.
Elizabeth Post Nail Polish (Distrib- uted by Elizabeth Post, Fifth Ave., New York City) \% fl. oz. bottle, 10c. _(20c per fl. oz.) ‘‘Colorless.” “Blushed”’ in water.
Glazo Liquid Polish (Distributed by The Glazo Co., Inc.) % fl. oz.
bottle, 25c. (40c per fl. oz.) “‘Na- tural.” ‘“Blushed” in water. 1 Chen Yu Nail Lacquer with Lacquerol (Associated Distributors, 30 W. Hub- bard, Chicago 10) Lacquer, % fi. oz. bottle, plus \% fl. oz. Lacquerol, 75c. (Combination $1.20 per fi. oz.) “China Doll”; “blushed” in water and changed color; chipped when used without a preliminary coat of the accompanying bottle of Lac- querol. ‘Dragons Blood"’; did not give a smooth coat. 3
C. Not Recommended
Cutex (Northam Warren Corp.) 1/3 fl. oz. bottle, 10c. (30c per fl. oz.) “Off Duty.” Chipped when sub- jected to tests for resistance to abra- sion. 1
Dura-Gloss (Packed by Lorr Lab., Paterson, N.J.) 5/16 fi. oz. bottle, 10c. (32c per flvoz.) “Blackberry”; chipped on abrasion test. ““Natural’’; “blushed” in water. 1
Elizabeth Post Creme Polish (Distrib- uted by Elizabeth Post) % fl. oz. bottle, 10c. (20c per fl.oz.) “Night Life Red.” “Blushed” in water. 1
Protector Nail Plastic (Distributed by Protector Products, Inc., 80 Fifth Ave., New York 11, New York) 34 fl. oz. bottle, 10c. (27c per fl. oz.) “Black Tulip”; heavy in consistency and chipped on abrasion. ‘Clear Natural”; fairly heavy in consis- tency and “blushed” in water. 1
La Cross Nail Polish (Distributed by
A “National Institute of Con- sumer Research” has been circulating a questionnaire regard- ing a so-called ‘‘Share-the-Whis- key-Plan,”’ to determine the type of whiskey and amounts wanted by recipients of the question sheet. We hasten to assure our readers who may have thought the or- ganization had some connection with Consumers’ Research that the whiskey-survey organization has no relation whatever to CR nor any of its activities or inter- ests. The N. I. C. R. is just one of many agencies that have chosen
fil. oz. bottle, 66c. ($1.32 per fl. oz.) ‘‘Pi- rate Red.” Chipped on abrasion. 3 Peggy Sage Manicure Polish (Distrib- uted by Peggy Sage, Inc., 50 E. 57, New York 22, New York) % fi. oz. bottle, 60c. ($1.20 per fi. oz.) “Mad Apple”; heavy in texture, coat not smooth, “blushed” in water, changed color. “Regency”; “blushed” in water and changed color. 3
Schnefel Bros. Corp.) 4%
Nail Polish Removers There is little if any dif- ference among the various nail polish removers with respect to their ability to remove nail pol- ish effectively. The oil-con- taining brands, commonly la- beled as ‘“‘oily’’ or ‘“‘oilized”’ nail polish removers, are given top rating because the oil to some extent counteracts the drying effect of the solvent or solvents which they contain.
A. Recommended
Cutex Oily Polish Remover (Northam Warren Corp.) 1% fl. oz. bottle,
Another “Institute’’ of ae “‘“Consumer Research’’
a name similar to Consumers’ Re- search, probably because of the high reputation and standing of CR. Other commercial interests which have used names similar to Consumers’ Research and have at times been confused with it by readers of questionnaires, adver- tising and other literature are Gen- eral Motors’ “Customer Re- search,” “‘consumer research”’ (of R. L. Polk and Company), “Con-
sumer’s Research Service,” ‘‘Con-
sumers’ Bureau of Standards,”’ “Consumers Research Founda- tion,”’ “‘Consumers Bureau.”
CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH BULLETIN @ JANUARY, 1945 @ 11
10c. (9c per fi. oz.) 1 Dura-Gloss Nail Polish Remover (Lorr Lab.) 1% fi. oz. bottle, 10c. (8c per fl. oz.) 1
Elizabeth Post Polish Remover with Oily Base (Distributed by Elizabeth Post) 3 fl. oz. bottle, 10c. (3-1/3c per fl. oz.) 1
Glazo Polish Remover (Distributed by Glazo Co. Inc.) 3 fl. oz. bottle, 25c. (8-1/3c per fl. oz.) 1
Miraglo Beauty Shop Oilized Nail Pol- ish Remover (M. V.C. Labs.) 1% fl. oz. bottle, 10c. (6-2/3c per fi. oz.) 1
Protector Oily Nail Polish Remover (Dis- tributed by Protector Products) 14% fl. oz. bottle, 10c. (6-2/3c per fi. oz.) 1
Peggy Sage Lubricant Polish Remover (Distributed by Peggy Sage, Inc.) 2 fl. oz. bottle, 50c. (25c per fl. oz.)3
Revlon Oily Polish Remover (Distrib- uted by Revlon Nail Enamel Corp.) 1 fl. oz. bottle, 35c. (35c per fl. oz.)3
B. Intermediate
The following nail polish removers contained no oil.
Chen Yu Remover (Distributed by As sociated Distributors) % fl. oz. bot- tle, 25c. (50c per fl. oz.) 3
La Cross Glycerated Polish Remover (Distributed by Schnefel Bros. Corp.) 2 fl. oz. bottle, 55c. (27% per fi. OZ.)
xzTt ® =
Like many another such organ- ization, the ‘National Institute of Consumer Research”’ makes no mention in the literature which it sends out of the men behind it or their commercial interests, posi- tions, and affiliations. It is under- stood, however, that the organ- ization has a tie-up with some distilling companies and was set up by an advertising agency—as a plan “to assure you a regular supply of your type of whiskey (Rye and Bourbon) at your regu- lar dealer’s ... every month”— hardly an enterprise properly to be named a consumers’ research institute.
I tomato juice popular for itself alone, or for its vita- mins? One brand included in CR’s current test claimed to be “an excellent health drink for all the family.”” Another claimed to be ‘“‘far more than a delicious thirst-quenching beverage. It is a food that is an excellent source of vitamins A and C and a good source of vitamin B;. Low in fattening calories. Easily digested.”’ The basis for the “health food”’ claims for tomatoes was laid back in 1918 when researchers M. H. Givens and H. B. Mce- Cluggage, A. F. Hess and L. J. Unger discussed in a scientific journal the importance of to- matoes as a potent source of vitamin C. Hess and Unger also recommended the feeding of tomatoes to infants, as a less expensive source of vitamin C than orange juice.
As public interest in vitamins grew, tomatoes became a lively topic for research, and by 1928 it became well established that tomatoes were an important source of vitamins A, B;, and C. At first, tomatoes in the form of tomato juice were rec- ommended chiefly for infants and children, but grown-ups evidently liked the flavor for they took to including the juice in their menus in the form of tomato-juice cocktails. As
nutritional studies in the field continued, however, it was dis- covered that the spiced and seasoned cocktail juices con- tained less vitamin C than did
12 @ CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH BULLETIN @ JANUARY, 1945
the unmodified juice. Investi- gations made at the University of Maine, by Dorothy Marie Somers and Marion Deyoe Sweetman, published in Sep- tember 1935, indicated that the vitamin C content of tomato- juice cocktails was considera- bly below that of ordinary can- ned tomato juice.
One of the problems that con- fronted the canners of com- mercial tomato juice in the early days was the development of bacteria in the canned juice which caused an off-flavor, sometimes referred to as ‘‘me- dicinal.”” It was discovered that the trouble was due partly to contamination pockets of bacteria that formed in the can- ning equipment at various points and partly to faulty proc- essing. The remedy was to re- quire that the canning equip- ment be sterilized and kept scrupulously clean at all times, and further to process the juice at the proper temperature, which had to be adapted to the size of the can or bottle.
Since the vitamin content of tomatoes is of interest not only to consumers and canners but to farmers as well, agricultural researchers devoted themselves to the problem of discovering what varieties were outstand- ing in this respect. Work pub- lished in 1937 demonstrated that in North Carolina the Pritchard and the Louisiana Pink tomatoes were higher in vitamin C value than eight other varieties, including the
Researches at the Massachusetts Agricultural Ex- periment Station published at about the same time showed that the richest in vitamin C in that locality were their new Waltham Field Station crosses
Marglobe.
and selections. Marglobe and Stone were found to be rela- tively good sources while Rut- gers and Pritchard were rela- tively poor. Still another study of about the same date made on home canned tomato juice reported that little vitamin C was present in tomatoes pur- chased in Madison, Wisconsin, in mid-September 1936. Ob- viously, the conclusion to be drawn is that the vitamin con- tent of tomatoes varies greatly with the variety, soil, climate, and conditions of growing.
Variability of Vitamin Content
Other factors affect the vita- min content. H.M. Hauck of Cornell University reported that from studies he had made it appeared that the vitamin C content of tomatoes and to- mato juice was more stable when tin cans rather than glass were used in home canning. In com- mercial canning processes it has been noted that the greatest loss of vitamin C occurs before the can is sealed, due to oxida- tion. The careful packers, therefore, take great pains to prevent the tomatoes in proc- ess from coming into contact with air. The B vitamin con- tent of the finished product is
also affected by excessive ex- posure to causes that might fa- vor oxidation during the can- ning process. On the other hand vitamin A in tomatoes is re- ported to be comparatively un- affected by the common com- mercial processes.
In view of the fact that the amount of vitamin C in fresh tomatoes varies with the cli- mate, location, variety of seed planted, and other growing con- ditions as well as expertness and care with which they are canned, it is not surprising that the vitamin C content of the finished product as it is finally bought by the consumer at the grocery store differs widely from brand to brand and even be- tween two cans of the same brand. In June 1942, for ex- ample, the North Dakota State Laboratories Department pub- lished a survey of 81 samples representing 25 brands that were graded for quality, ana- lyzed for ascorbic acid (vita- min C), and examined for mold and other factors. The ascorbic acid content ranged from 2.3 to 31.1 milligrams per 100 milli- liters. There appeared to be no relation between quality as measured by government standards, and vitamin C con- tent. The general average for the sixteen samples that were top grade was 19.1, while the 29 cans that were Standard or Grade C averaged a little bet- ter, or 19.8 milligrams per 100 milliliters. The brands that graded Government Grade A or first grade ranged from 14.4 to 25.3 in ascorbic acid con- tent. It would appear that the nutritional values of commer- cially canned tomato juice as measured by the vitamin C con- tent have little relationship to the quality as measured by the government grading experts. It should be noted, however,
that there is not such a great Variation in the vitamin C con- tent from the poorest to the best of the first-grade brands in respect to vitamin C con- tent as there is of the two lower grades.
U.S. Grades }*™ anc According to the system es- tablished by the U.S. Depart- ment of Agriculture, there are three grades: U.S. Grade A (Fancy), U.S. Grade C (Stand- ard), and U.S. Grade D (Sub- standard). The factors on which the grade is based are primarily color, flavor, consis- tency, and lack of defects. In addition tomato juice must not contain mold filaments in more than 20 percent of the micro- scopic fields. Since it is known that flavor is unpleasantly af- fected by the presence of any considerable number of spore- bearing bacteria, the need for such a limitation is obvious. It is fair also to regard mold count as a kind of index to the amount of competent supervision to which the canning process is subjected. The “official stand- ard”’ for tomato juice defines it as “both the liquid portion of the tomato and a part of the flesh which has been finely di- vided and carried in suspen- sion. Tomato juice is not a concentrated juice. ...It may be homogenized or viscolized to prevent the fleshy material from settling out. Salt may be added.” The term tomato ‘juice’”’ is something of a mis- nomer since the product as bought in the grocery store is really a suspension of pulp in juice. Consumers are reported to show a preference for high pulp content; this is a sound preference because it is the pulp
CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH
that contains the A vitamin. In order to keep the pulp from settling out and going to the bottom of the can, it is nec- essary to subject the juice to an homogenizing process. (A proc- ess for breaking up globules and shreds under high pressure and impact, to give the whole a uniform and finely divided character.)
From a study of available literature, the Council on Foods of the American Medical As- sociation concluded that can- ned tomato juice may be ex- pected to contain approximate- ly 850 U.S.P. units of vita- min A, 15 International units of vitamin B;, and 20 Sherman- Bourquin units of vitamin G (riboflavin) per hundred grams. Seventeen samples of canned tomato juice examined for the Council showed an average of approximately 400 interna- tional units of vitamin C; the average for eight different brands of canned orange juice in the same study was approxi- mately 900 International units per hundred milliliters. While it is possible to give infants canned tomato juice in place of orange juice to provide them with plenty of vitamin C, the difference in potency should be kept in mind. It takes a little more than twice as much to- mato juice as orange juice to secure a given amount of vita- min C.
There will be considerable differences in flavor, aroma, and consistency, as well as vitamin content, between the various brands of tomato juice, even those that fall in the top grade. The variety of tomatoes grown, the amount of rainfall during the growing season, the type of soil on which they were grown, all have their effect on flavor. Whether he likes a particular brand or not is something any
BULLETIN @ JANUARY, 1945 @ 13
consumer must judge for him- self. From the economic stand- point, however, the govern- ment grades are useful in help- ing the purchaser determine whether the price asked for a given brand is a reasonable one, for the lower grade juices have a lower market value than those of top or medium grade. In- cidentally, if you are buying a juice for its vitamin values, al- ways give preference to the plain tomato juices over the mixed vegetable juices. The Ameri- can Medical Association after making investigations of the two types issued a warning that, in most instances, these mix- tures were inferior to ordinary tomato juice in vitamin C con- tent and probably in carotene (provitamin A).
CR’s Test
There are a number of firms at the present time that oper- ate under the U.S. Continuous Factory Inspection plan which permits them to carry a notice of such inspection on the label along with the U.S. Grade for which their products qualify. Three brands of tomato juice that have qualified for the Grade A label under this plan are Dewco (D. E. Winebrenner Co., Hanover, Pa.), Sacramento (Packed by Bercut-Richards Packing Co., Sacramento, Calif.), and Wegner (Packed by Wegner Canning Corp., Sodus, N.Y.). In order to pro- vide CR subscribers with a wider selection of brands, CR had a number of brands cur- rently available graded for qual- ity and examined for mold count by a firm of consulting chem- ists skilled in this special field. Brands that graded A or Fancy
14 © CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH BULLETIN @ JANUARY, 1945
are rated as A. Recommended; those graded C or Standard are rated B. Intermediate. None of this lot graded D or Substand- ard, which would have been rated C. Not Recommended by CR. While there are four U.S. grades for canned vegetables, there are only three for tomato juice. All juices were packed in tin cans unless otherwise des- ignated. The mold count fig- ure is the percentage of fields examined microscopically that were found positive. Ratings are cr44.
A. Recommended
Hunt's Supreme Quality (Hunt Broth- ers Packing Co., 135 B Hayward, San Francisco) 1 pt. 2 fl. oz., 7c. (6.2c per pt.) Salt added. Graded U.S. Grade A (Fancy). Mold count, 4%. 1
Ann Page Tomato Juice (The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., 420 Lex- ington Ave., New York 17, New York) 1 pt., 2 fl. oz., 10c. (8.9c per
pt.) Tomato juice seasoned with salt. Found to be U.S. Grade A (Fancy). Mold count, 8%.
Armour's Star Tomato Juice (Dis- tributed by Armour & Co., U.S. Stockyards, Chicago) 1 pt., 2 fi. oz., 12c. (10.5c per pt.) Labeled in part “the natural juice of whole ripe tomatoes, with salt only, add- ed.”” Graded U.S. Grade A (Fancy). Mold count, 6%. 2
Campbell's Tomato Juice (Campbell Soup Co., Camden, N.J.) 1 pt., 2 fl. oz., 10c; and 1 pt. 4 fl. oz., 10c. (8.9c per pt.) Labeled in part “the pure juice of vine ripened tomatoes, lightly salted."’ Graded U.S. Grade A (Fancy). Mold count, 8% in one sample, 4% in the other. 2
Heinz Tomato Juice (H. J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.) 1 pt., 2 fl. oz., 12c. (10.5c per pt.) Labeled in part “The whole juice of vine-ripened fresh picked tomatoes. . .Seasoned with salt." Graded U.S. Grade A (Fancy). Mold count, 4%. 2
Stokely's Finest Tomato Juice (Dis- tributed by Stokely Brothers & Co., Inc., Indianapolis) 1 pt. 4 fl. oz., 10c. (8c per pt.) Seasoned with salt. Graded U.S. Grade A (Fancy).
Mold count, 14%; second sample, 4%. 2 Webster's Grade A Fancy Tomato Juice (Packed by G. L. Webster Co., Inc.., Cheriton, Va.) First sample: 1 pt. 4 fl. oz., 10c; (8c per pt.); graded U.S. Grade A (Fancy); mold count. 6%. Second sample: 1 pt. 4 fi. oz., llc; (8.8c per pt.); seasoned with salt and sugar; graded U.S. Grade A (Fancy); mold count, 10%. 2
S and W (Distributed by S and \V Fine Foods, Inc., 155 Berry St., San Francisco) 12 ff. oz., 12c. (16 per pt.) Seasoned with salt. Graded U.S. Grade A (Fancy). Mold count, 12%. 3
Welch's Tomato Juice (Packed by Welch Grape Juice Co., Westfield, N.Y.) 1 pt., 14c (packed in glass). Labeled in part “‘pure juice of select sun-ripened tomatoes.” Graded U.S. Grade A (Fancy). Mold count, 4%. 3
B. Intermediate
Libby's Tomato Juice (Packed by Libby, McNeill & Libby, W. Ex change and S. Packers, Chicago) First sample: 1 pt. 4 fl. oz., 10c; (8c per pt.); seasoned with salt; graded U.S. Grade C (Standard); mold count, 4%. Second sample: 1 pt., 2 fl. oz., 13c; (11.5c per pt.); seasoned with salt; graded U.S. Grade A (Fancy); mold count, 8%.2
Premier Pure Tomato Juice (Distrib uted by Francis H. Leggett & Co.., 13th Ave. and 27th St., New York 1, New York) 1 pt. 2 fl. oz., Ile. (9.8c per pt.) Seasoned with salt. Graded U.S. Grade C (Standard). Mold count, 12%. 2
Wegner Brand New York State Fancy Tomato Juice (Packed by Wegner Canning Corp., Sodus, N.Y.) 1 pt. 4 fl. oz., llc. (9.8c per pt.) Sea- soned with salt. Graded U.S. Grade C (Standard). Mold count, 16%. 2
Kemp's Sun-Rayed Pure Tomato Juice (The Sun-Rayed Co.; Div. of Kemp Brothers Packing Co., Frankfort, Ind.) First sample: 12 fl. oz., 9c; (12c per pt,); graded U.S. Grade A (Fancy); seasoned with salt; mold count, 8%. Second and third sam ples: 6 fl. oz., 7c each; (18.4c per pt., packed in glass bottles); graded U.S. Grade C (Standard). Mold count of second sample, 8%; of third sample, 12%. 3
Feeding Your Dog in
Wartime and After
WwW™ to feed dogs during a period of wartime re- strictions and shortages has been something of a problem to pet owners during the past two years—a very serious prob- lem to many city people.
Before the war, commercial- ly canned and dry dog foods were an important source of supply for the nation’s more than fifteen million dogs, which consumed many millions of dollars’ worth of the product, though less than twenty per- cent of the dogs were fed on commercial dog foods at the peak of production.
When war in the South Pa- cific cut off our most important sources of tin, the War Pro- duction Board banned the use of tin cans for dog food and certain other products. The result was that nearly one bil- lion pounds of food packed year- ly in this form had to be modi- fied and find its way to market in some other form.
When the war came, many companies turned to dehydra- tion, putting out a dehydrated version of their canned prod- uct, which in its new form could be packed in a fiber container. Some changes, however, often had to be made in the formula, besides merely drying it, to take into account color, tex- ture, odor, and palatability.
Quite a number of companies experimented with quick-frozen dog foods, particularly after it was discovered that the dehy- drated foods did not find favor
with their canine consumers. Although the quick-frozen type of pet food undoubtedly has a bright future, it does not offer a solution during wartime be- cause of limited distribution fa- cilities, which cannot be ex-
panded until government re--
strictions on the manufacture of refrigeration and freezer-stor- age equipment are lifted. The frozen foods are at a disadvan- tage compared with the new dry foods because they contain from 60 to 70 percent of water (where the pre-war canned foods ran 65 to 75 percent), and on account of the costs involved in the handling and shipping of the wet material, the frozen food commands a price about three times as high as that of the new dehydrated dog foods.
Further limitations were put on the pet food industry in the form of an order by the War Food Administrator which be- came effective in January 1943 requiring the manufacturers to limit the content of protein. The future for balanced meals for both dogs and cats looked very dark.
It turned out, however, that the problem was partly one of finding adequate rations for the household pets and partly one of educating their owners on how to provide them with a well-balanced diet. There were many by-products of fish and fowl, for example, that were known to have valuable qual- ities as food, in view of the
CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH BULLETIN @ JANUARY, 1945 @ 15
fact that dogs and wild animals invariably ate the organs and entrails of their kill first. The chief problem was how to make these products generally avail- able.
Under the sponsorship of the American Humane Association, Dr. Mark L. Morris, executive secretary of the Committee on Foods of the American Veter- inary Medical Association and the American Animal Hospital Association set to work to make special studies on the subject in collaboration with James B. Allison, biochemist of Rutgers University.
Chemical Analyses Are Not Enough
It has long been Dr. Morris's contention that while chemical analyses of dog food give in- formation as to just how much protein, fat, fiber, carbohy- drates, minerals, vitamins, and moisture, a particular dog food may contain, but that such in- formation in no way provides a reliable evaluation of the feed- ing quality of the product.
Dr. Morris points out that, for example, two dog foods may contain exactly the same amount of crude protein, but one may furnish about 70 per- cent of available protein while the other may supply as little as 22 percent. By the stand- ard methods of chemical analy- sis, such animal tissues as slaughterhouse by-products of
meat animals (particles of hoofs, horns, udders, and lungs) would be rated equally as pro- teins with the materials of high biologic value such as liver, neck meat, and tripe (stomach lining).
The amount of protein pres- ent in dog foods that is actual- ly used by adult dogs for main- tenance may vary over a very wide range, from about 15 per- cent to 85 percent. Digestibil- ity is also subject to some vari- ation. Although the subject is within the purview of the new Food and Drugs Act and within the normal range and scope of the activities of the Food and Drug Administration, it is understood that no money is being spent by the F. & D. Admin. on the control of the quality of dog food.
A New-Type of Dog Food
Dr. Morris and his associates have worked out standard methods for assaying dog foods on a reliable scientific basis, by carefully controlled feeding cycles on dogs. Recently he, Nakamura, Allison, et al. have completed studies on feeds made with poultry and fish offal and concluded that either one com- bined with cereal food ingredi- ents make a food that has good protein values, with an odor and taste that are appealing to dogs, and to cats as well. The average housewife, perhaps, will not be happy about undertak- ing the preparation of such ra- tions from the raw materials, but the experiments will.be of interest to kennel owners who may be in a better position to handle the collection and prep- aration of by-product materials from fish stores and poultry packers. It is reported that
one large poultry packing house and cannery is looking into the problem of using the various
16 @ CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH BULLETIN @ JANUARY, 1945
by-products of chickens and turkeys to make a high-qual- ity canned and frozen dog food after the war.
Dehydrated Dog Foods
Dehydrated dog food is the wartime form of dog food mix- tures made from the by-prod- ucts of the packing industry which in pre-war days were put up in hermetically-sealed tin cans. The dry dog foods use chiefly various by-products of the cereal and milling indus- tries and have long been mar- keted in packages and bags. The dehydration process is be- lieved to cause deterioration of nutritive values and, on the whole, dehydrated products have not been palatable to dogs. Many veterinarians and kennel owners teport they consider that a number of such products have been responsible for a lot of illness among their animals. The possibility that the pro- tein ingredients used in the first place are not of high biologic value may be a contributing factor to their unsatisfactory quality.
The shift from canned moist dog foods to the present dry form does not, it appears, imply any less feeding value, for peo- ple who have very valuable animals do not hesitate to feed them on dry foods of the proper quality and of an approved type. The addition of meat, fats, broth, milk, etc., improve palatability and nutritive qual- ity.
That the quality of the basic protein used markedly affects the resulting product, whether it be dog food, or a medicinal product such as liver extract, has been demonstrated by Drs. Morris, Nakamura, and Atkin- son, of the Raritan Laboratory Inc., and reported at the an- nual meeting of the American
Veterinary Medical Association in August 1944 at Chicago. In assaying dog foods, it was found that a ration which was nutritionally adequate for maintaining an adult dog may fail when fed to a bitch nursing a litter of pups. In several such cases, injections of a very small amount of liver extract (0.2 cc.—equivalent to about 6/1000 of a fluid oz.) twice a week administered to three of the pups until they were weaned was sufficient supplement to provide for normal health and growth, whereas three litter mates that did not receive the injections died. When the three pups that survived were weaned, they were put on the same ration as received by the mother and the liver injections were discontinued. Their prog- ress continued satisfactorily. The experiment has been re- peated and subsequent observa- tionsconfirm the initial findings.
The properties of liver in curing various deficiency dis- eases, including anemia, are well-known and on this point the research may seem not to have produced a result that would be unexpected in scien- tific medical and nutrition cir- cles. What happened when an initial supply of liver extract was exhausted and a new sup- ply was ordered is a discovery of epochal importance, and of interest to every medical man using liver injections thera- peutically, and to his patients. The new lot of liver extract failed to produce the previous restoration to normal health and activity in the anemic pups that had taken place in the earlier experiment.
One characteristic of the in- adequate dog ration that has also been noted as a predomin- ating factor in the basal ration of sows whose litters have a
high death rate ts that both were rich in corn products and low in wheat by-products. Corn is known to be poor in protein particularly, because it lacks some essential amino acids, such as tryptophane. Dr. L. Emmett Holt, Jr., of Baltimore, in an address to a scientific meeting in the spring of 1944, described the ill-effects in human beings caused by the lack of trypto- phane in the diet, which in- cluded baldness, defective teeth, and female reproductive failure. In view of the fact, however, that the defective ra- tion supplemented with poul- try offal and other protein sup- plements was still found to be inadequate, it is the opinion of the Raritan workers that the deficiency is probably not due to the quality or quantity of the protein.
This new and somewhat in- cidental discovery of the dif- ferences in performance of liver extract indicates in striking fashion the need for new meth- ods of assaying the potency of
such biologic materials used in medical treatment, and possibly
the need for closer attention to the feeding and care of all animals from which by-prod- ucts used for therapeutic pur- poses are derived. (At present such products are among the numerous important by-prod- ucts of the meat-packing in- dustry.)
The finding also serves to reinforce more strongly the fre- quently repeated thesis that dog food must be assayed bio- logically, to evaluate its feed- ing value, for chemical analyses give information only as to what nutrients are contained in any given food, and do not measure true nutritive value at
all.
Two Foods Approved
There are two dry dog foods that currently meet the ap- proval of the Committee on Foods of the A.V.M.A. and A.A.H.A. for acceptable ra- tions. These are:
Friskies (Albers Milling Co., Seattle, Wash.) 25c per 2-lb. package (13c per Ib.).
Gro-Pup
Mich.)
per Ib.).
(Kellogg Co., Battle Creek, 22c per 25-0z. package (14c
In the past there have been a number of brands on the list approved by the Committee on Foods of the American Veter- inary Medical and Animal Hos- pital Associations, but wartime shortages of many important ingredients have reduced the nutritive valuesof some of these.
Dry dog food, if properly pre- pared from the right ingredi- ents, provides the cheapest way to feed a dog adequately, since the purchaser can easily supply the liquid with which it is to be mixed, instead of paying for it at the grocery store and carry- ing it home in cans—as in pre- war days. Broth from vege- tables cooked for the table and a little fat, preferably rendered from meat scraps or other ani- mal material, mixed with the dry ration will provide a palat- able and economical mixture for feeding of dogs and cats.
A Paint for Glass-Frosting
Sapolin, a ‘‘glass frosting’’ material selling at 40c a half- pint, intended to be used for giving a window a coating which will transmit light but prevent those outside from seeing in, was found on analysis to con- sist of petroleum naphtha, some resin and oil, and a pigment consisting of a mineral similar to clay. The material is thus
apparently a grayish yellow
enamel of low pigment content so that its hiding power is low and the resulting film is trans- lucent rather than opaque.
Of the two samples of Sapolin tested, the directions of one called for tapping the finish be- fore it had set, with a lint-free cloth, to produce a stippled ef- fect. This had the advantage of eliminating the brush marks
CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH
and producing asomewhat mere opaque, and better appearing finish than was secured by fol- lowing the directions on the other can, which omitted men- tion of this operation. Both samples produced a frosted fin- ish that was judged satisfac- tory for obscuring vision, as would be desirable on windows or glass door panels of bath- rooms, etc.
BULLETIN @ JANUARY, 1945 @ %7
Tere, a2
F your linoleum or enameled
floor covering is beginning to look a bit shabby or if it is still in good condition and you want to protect it without the con- siderable effort involved in fre- quent waxing, you may have felt inclined to buy one of the so-called ‘‘plastic’”’ floor finishes now being widely advertised and marketed through mail- order firms and in department and household specialty stores, or one of the older varnish type of finishes. Unfortunately the term ‘‘plastic’’ is being very much overworked these days, and the consumer is prone to believe that anything that is called a ‘‘plastic”’ is of revolu- tionary character and quality and is to be regarded as one of the early forerunners of the numerous miraculous post-war products that have been prom- ised by glib promoters and press agents.
The claims for the new lino- leum coatings are indeed revolu- tionary. For example, one ad- vertises ‘“Try this new super- plastic finish that lasts up to six months! It’s waterproof, non-skid and can be applied in a jiffy with a brush. It won’t darken your linoleum and will give it that shining finish you'll be proud of. Dries in only 60 minutes. Gallon size $6.75.’’ One of CR’s sub-
18 © CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH BULLETIN @ JANUARY, 1945
scribers who was tempted, much to his regret, to use one of the “plastic” finishes, pur- chased from a large depart- ment store, on expensive bat- tleship linoleum, reported his experience as follows: ‘This was applied with great diffi- culty with a paint brush and left a horrible streaked appear- ance on the linoleum, ruining the looks of the entire floor. Furthermore, the fumes... filled the house, making it im- possible to sleep, and remained about the office for a period of several weeks.
“This condition was report- ed to the department store and one of their representatives gave us two quarts of a solvent which ... smells like acetone and which has not been used up to the present time.”
In some respects this sub- scriber has been lucky—he at least did not complain of trouble from slow drying. CR has found that certain brands of these finishes when applied to some linoleums require several days to dry, and when they do dry, present an appearance far worse than the linoleum had before the finish was applied. This may be due to two causes: (1) The varnish would not make a good bond with the plasticizer used by the manufacturers to seal the pores of the linoleum
Lacquers and Varnishes for Linoleum
at the time of manufacture. (2) Wax coating present may not have been completely re- moved, so that the wax inter- fered with the drying and for- mation of a hard varnish film.
To remove the wax com- pletely, particularly from worn linoleum, may be difficult, if not indeed impossible, for the wax will have penetrated the pores and only the surface wax will be removed. Manufac- turers of these finishes give varying recommendations for preparing the floor for the coat- ing. Some advise washing the surface to be coated, with naph- tha, gasoline, or turpentine, but, except for Lin-X, do not give warning of the great fire and explosion hazard involved in use of such solvents; other labels suggest strong soap and water, or combine this treat- ment with washing with naph- tha or turpentine. CR strongly recommends against using any such solvents as gasoline, tur- pentine, or naphtha indoors (except under exceptional and carefully controlled conditions that might apply in a large office or factory). There is al- ways the possibility of the fumes being ignited by a spark from an electric appliance, pilot light of a gas stove, or in any of several quite unexpected but fully possible ways. The re-
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sult could be a very serious fire or explosion, and possible casualties.
The view has been generally accepted in the past that var- nish, shellac, or lacquer should never be used on linoleum be- cause such coatings wear through or change their sur- face appearance rapidly, thus marking out in an unsightly manner the principal paths of traffic over the floor. It is im- possible to maintain a varnished or lacquered floor covering in a satisfactory condition; in most cases the use of the coat- ing lacquer or varnish will give the floor an unpleasant yellow- ish cast. The effect on “enam- eled”’ or imitation linoleum floor coverings is equally undesir- able, as the coatings of the types that would be applied by the householder have a tendency to soften the linseed oil vehicle in the enameled (printed) paint surface.
CR purchased eight different brands of these linoleum fin- ishes, representing both the newer “‘plastic’’ and the var- nish types. These were applied according to the manufactur- ers’ directions on new samples of both true linoleum and enam- eled (printed) floor covering. One-half of each sample was left untreated for comparison purposes. These samples had never been waxed (unless by their manufacturer, in some cases, as a final stage of his process of preparation for ship- ment); they were however thoroughly cleansed with naph- tha to remove any wax coating that might have been applied at the factory.
The test samples -were then installed on a testing machine designed to test wear resistance of floor coverings, to determine their intrinsic wear resistance and the nature of the wear that
would occur in use.
Since gradual discoloration of these products is sometimes a factor, samples were prepared for exposure in a ‘‘fadeometer,”’ to determine their resistance to discoloration by the action of light. In addition, an office vestibule floor covered with a high-grade dark green battle- ship linoleum was thoroughly cleaned with soap and water, and then by a solvent (naph- tha) to remove any remaining wax, with which the floor had previously been treated. The floor was then marked off into strips six inches wide. Each strip was then painted with a different brand of finish and when dry exposed to normal foot traffic. Three of the brands, Lin-X, Master-Mixed, and Ve- neer-O-Lac, were very slow in drying, requiring eight days be- fore they were ready for traffic. As this was considerably longer than the same brands required when applied to new samples of linoleum, it was assumed that, as suggested in an earlier paragraph, it had not been pos- sible to remove completely enough the wax previously applied to the floor at fairly frequent intervals. The results of the practical wear test on the floor confirmed the findings of the wear test under labora- tory conditions. After being exposed to moderately heavy foot traffic for only eight days, all of the coatings had a very poor appearance, chiefly from scratches, which showed up very plainly.
Results of Tests
Prompt drying will usually be extremely important to the householder, and will be indis- pensable when a finish is to be applied to the floor of a kitchen or bathroom. The labels on the various products claimed a
CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH BULLETIN @ JANUARY, 1945 @ 19
drying time (dust-free) of a few minutes to three hours; they claimed their coatings would be fully dry so that the finish could be walked on in periods from one-half hour to overnight. The stated times were found to be substantially correct for the printed enameled floor cover- ings but were not, in some cases, for the true linoleums; some of the finishes when applied to certain brands of linoleum ap- peared to have a reaction with the plasticizer used by the man- ufacturer to seal the pores of the linoleum, with the result that they remained “‘tacky”’ for several days. Then, when they did dry, the coating was un- even and highly unsatisfactory in surface and appearance. Montgomery Ward appear to recognize this problem, for in their latest catalog they offer what they termed “Linoleum Varnish” with a warning ‘“‘Use to renew enameled floor cover- ings. . . .Not recommended for use on inlaid linoleums... .”’ Since Wards was one of the brands of linoleum on which most varnish type coatings did not dry satisfactorily, it is possible the mail-order firm were aware of the drying diffi- culty and were trying to avoid comebacks from consumers who might apply this finish to a linoleum of the Ward brand. There is of course no excuse for calling such a product “Linoleum Varnish,’’ for many people, of course, might not note the warning correcting the name, until after the product had been purchased.
Wear Resistance
To be of any value a floor finish should have good wear resistance, at least sufficient to improve the life of the floor covering beyond what would compensate for the labor and
expense involved in its appli- cation. At the same time it should obviously improve the appearance of the floor—at the very least, not make it worse in appearance than before the finish was applied. Unfortu- nately, all of the finishes except the so-called ‘‘plastic’”’ type had poor wear resistance, and most of them would show wear very badly in areas of heavy traffic. The “‘plastic’’ finishes had a wear-life approximately one- tenth that of the surface pat- tern of the best printed-enamel floor coverings (the cheap imi- tation linoleums). This life, if the labor and trouble involved in completely removing the fin- ish before refinishing can be done is considered, is judged much too low to be practicable ; it would surely be of little value to most users, considering the poor appearance of the floor after application of the coat- ings and the quick loss of ap- pearance of the surface coat- ings with wear.
CR has a chemist’s analysis of one of the so-called “‘liquid plastic’ linoleum finishes, which discloses that it contained 25 percent amyl acetate, 16 percent amyl alcohol, 12 per- cent nitrocellulose, 25 percent benzine, 9 percent petroleum naphtha, 11 percent methyl ethyl ketone and small amounts of a resin and a plasticizer (a substance designed to keep the coating somewhat soft and free from brittleness or tendency to flake off).
Those who have used such finishes and wish to remove them will find that this can only be accomplished by the use of lacquer- or varnish-sol- vent substances. Unfortunate- ly, these are not only poisonous to breathe, and as a rule flam- mable and explosive, but have bad effects on the linoleum it-
20 @ CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH BULLETIN @ JANUARY, 1945
self; it will be practically im- possible by their use to remove a varnish or lacquer finish with- out serious damage to the floor covering.
None of the products listed can be recommended for appli- cation to floors. (However, in view of their resistance to the effects of water, a linoleum finish of better quality might have a place as a protective coating on linoleum-covered work tables, cabinet tops, sink drain boards, and the like.) It is hoped that department store owners and others who are in- terested in the welfare of con- sumers and who are informed of these findings will take prompt steps to remove the unsatisfactory linoleum var- nishes and ‘‘plastics’’ from sale.
The care of linoleum is no simple or easy problem, but it is certain that plastic and other surface finishes of the kind here discussed do not provide a solu- tion. Those who wish to get the utmost from their floor cov- erings will do well to follow the advice given briefly in an article soon to appear on the proper care of linoleum and similar floor coverings.
C. Not Recommended
Horn China Plastic (A. C. Horn Co., Long Co., Long Island City, N. Y.) $1.79 per qt. A colorless finish which darkened only in a very slight de- gree when exposed to ultra-violet light for 40 hr. Had better wear resistance than most of the other brands. The exceptionally quick drying properties of this material may make it difficult to apply with- out leaving brush marks, and the finish produced was very unsatis- factory.
New Plasti-Lino (Sager Chemical Products Co., Chicago) $1.65 per qt. Slightly yellowish tint which turned to a deep pink on exposure to ultra-violet light. This product, although kept in its original con- tainer, tightly sealed, deteriorated so badly within a period of a few
months that later applications to samples of linoleum were of a fairly strong and quite objectionable brown color. Claimed to be practically impervious to wear and repeated washings. Wear resistance was poor, but best of all brands tested; how- ever, Plasti-Lino’s very quick dry- ing properties made it difficult to apply without leaving brush marks, and gave a very unsatisfactory ap- pearance.
Warcote Floor Finish (The Warren Refining & Chemical Co., Cleve- land) $1.20 per qt. An almost colorless finish with only slight dark- ening of color. When applied ac- cording to directions, gave an ex- tremely thin coat (of poor wear resis- tance) whose effect was so slight that it was rather difficult to determine by visual inspection any difference between the treated and untreated halves of the test sample.
50 New-Lac (New York Woodfinish- ers Supply Co., Inc., Brooklyn 31, N.Y.) $1.59 per qt. Had a slightly yellowish tint which turned to a pinkish shade under exposure to ultra-violet light. Wear resistance was poor. Appearance after wear on both linoleum and floor covering, fair.
All the following required several days to dry on certain brands of lino- leum. They also had markedly poor wear resistance and poor appearance after wear when applied on either lino- leum or enameled floor covering.
Lin-X Clear Gloss (Acme White Lead & Color Works, Detroit) $1.79 per qt. Had pronounced yellowish tint, which under exposure to ultra-violet light acquired a pinkish cast.
Master-Mixed (Sears-Roebuck's Cat. No. 30—2641) 98c per qt., plus postage. Had pronounced yellow- ish tint which acquired a faint pink- ish cast (much less pronounced than Lin-X) under exposure to ultra- violet light.
Veneer-O-Lac (Liquid Veneer Corp., Buffalo) 74c per qt. (label on bottle marked $1.50). Slightly yellowish tint, which darkened slightly with exposure to ultra-violet light.
Warco Perennis Bakelite Finish (The Warren Refining & Chemical Co.) $1.70 per qt. Had a slightly yellow- ish tint which acquired a pinkish cast under exposure to ultra-violet light.
F A CAR manufacturer rec- I ommends 20W oil for winter use and SAE 20 for summer, can the 20W oil be safely used all the year round, or has the special treatment the 20W oil received in the refinery rendered it unsuitable for summer use?
The above question is a very natural one recently raised in a subscriber’s letter to CR. The answer is not a simple one. Essentially, ‘““W’’ oils are oils which are designed to permit easy starting in cold weather, and the special property which they are given to favor easy starting is to lower the pour point—the pour point being the temperature at which oil be- comes so stiff it does not flow freely. When an oil has a high pour point, it contains waxy substances similar to petro- latum. When necessary to give the oil fluidity at low temper- atures, the greater part of these are removed or a synthetic in- hibitor or pour depressant may be added. Some researchers hold that waxy substances are desirable in a lubricating oil, and if this be true, it would appear that the use of pour point depressants is the prefer- able method of obtaining a low pour point and easy winter starting.
The selection of an oil of the correct viscosity depends on several factors, chief among which is, of course, the lowest probable temperature of the lo- cality in which it is to be used (since all oils, of course, in- crease in viscosity at low tem- peratures and finally reach vis- cosities so high as to become stiff and practically unusable as lubricants). Other factors determining choice of viscosity are permissible oil consump- tion and engine friction. The
rate of wear of piston rings and cylinders is not appreciably af-
xk *&
Winter Meteor Oils
fected by the viscosity of the oil used, though miany suppose that thickness or viscosity in an oil plays an important part in reducing wear. oil consumption goes up rapid- ly as the oil becomes thinner and more fluid because more oil passes through clearance spaces between piston and cy]l- inder wall and escapes into the
Brand Cities Service Conoco Nth Co-op Gambles Penn Havoline Hyvis Iso-Vis Kendall Koolmotor Lubrite Mobiloil Opaline Penn Co-op Penn Union Pennzoil Phillips Polarine Purol Quaker State R.P.M. Shell, Golden Sinclair Penn Tagolene Texaco Tiolene Trop-Arctic Unique
Veedol
Wards Supreme
Wolf's Head
x**
combustion space where it is consumed or discharged in the
exhaust. In general, it is desirable to However, use the thinnest (‘‘lightest’’)
grade of oil that is practicable without giving an excessive rate of consumption. There are, of course, exceptional circum- stances where this rule may not apply. One exception
RATINGS
Mfr. or Distrth. 1OW |} 10 | 20W! 20 30 Cities Service Oil Co. gt oC \ by, B Continental Oil Co. \ B* Interstate Co-op Assn. \ | 1A 3* \ | Gambles Stores, Inc. | B* cer | co he Texas Co. Be | A \ \ \ Conewango Refining Co. \ A | A \ Standard Oil Co. \ \ B* B* Kendall Refining Co. B! Bi} BI \ Cities Service Oil Co. Bt | — | A |] BI] B* Socony Vacuum Oil Co. : Ct! | Cc: | C* Socony Vacuum Oil Co. A A | A B* | Sinclair Refining Co. Ct | Ct Bi B B Interstate Co-op Assn. A co Farmers Union Oil Co. Y | Cr Pennzoil Co. B* \ \ B! | Phillips Petroleum Co. B | Ct | B Standard Oil Co. B 1B] B!/ B Pure Oil Co. Ct | | B]- Quaker State Oil Ref. Corp. | C*! | B! | c* Che California Co. & | B* | B | A Shell Oil Co. | —]- | | B* \ Sinclair Refining Co. Li, ATATIA \ Skelly Oil Co. L— 1A] ae The Texas Co. | — | - \ A i C Pure Oil Co. B! A - cre Phillips Petroleum Co. Gy | c* | B | ba Phillips Petroleum Co. L— cei} ¢ | Tidewater Assoc. Oil Co. | A B! | Bi | Ctl Montgomery Ward & Co. | A — io | c= Wolf’s Head Oil Refining Co. | Ct | . — | B! | c*
* Pour point too high
t Misbranded as to viscosity
! Carbon residue too high
A dash for a given oil in any column indicates that test data were not available
_ for that viscosity.
CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH BULLETIN @ JANUARY, 1945 @ 21
"
hi " sf
would be in extremely dusty locations, as in certain uses of a tractor or farm vehicle, where it would be unwise to use too thin a grade of oil because the minute particles of dust and dirt may permit bridging of the very thin film remaining be- tween adjacent metal surfaces and thereby bring about rapid wear of bearing surfaces.
Use of a thin oil in a car previously operated on heavy oil because of large clearances in bearings, etc., would result in heavy, perhaps excessive, oil consumption. There is no rea- son, other than those stated, why a 20W oil, provided that it is of good quality (which chiefly means that it has a high vis- cosity index), cannot be used in both winter and summer. Fortunately there are many 10W and 20W oils on the mar- ket which are also SAE 10 and SAE 20 oils in that they meet the specifications for both types.
Winter problems in the use of oil differ in different localities, and are especially severe in northern latitudes and moun- tain districts. The following grades of oil are those recom- mended by the Society of Auto- motive Engineers for various temperature conditions. (These do not apply universally, but are considered valid for aver- age conditions of driving and for the majority of passenger cars.)
Temp. above 32°F. . .SAE 30 (or pos- sibly higher if the engine is old or worn)
Temp. above 10°F. ..SAE 20 or 20W
Temp. above -10°F...SAE 10 or 10W
Temp. below -10°F.. . 10W diluted with an amount of kerosene equal toabout 10% of the amount of oil
The ratings in the table are based on tests made by the
State Government of North Dakota, but the actual ratings are by Consumers’ Research. These are based on four fac- tors: (1) correct labeling of the oil as to viscosity; (2) viscos- ity index; (3) pour point; and (4) carbon residue. Out of the 106 oils reported, 24 failed to meet the limits of Navy Speci- fications for carbon residue, which represents but little change in this respect from oils reported last year. Some of the ratings may err on the side of leniency, since there are quite a number of oils which failed to meet the Navy viscosity specification applying at a given temperature. CR considers that conformity of an oil to the requirement of a high viscosity index (small change of viscosity or flowing qualities with tem- perature) is of considerably greater importance than its sim- ply meeting a stated viscosity figure for a single temperature.
ee Ersatz Fil oie eae
And Pretty Poor Stuff It Is
pew SCARCITY of roll films of standard quality, bearing the names of well-known man- ufacturers, has provided an op- portunity for the sale in recent months of considerable quan- tities of a “mystery” film of unknown antecedents and qual- ity. Several photographic sup- ply stores in New York City have been taking advantage of the extreme shortage of roll film in the most popular sizes, by selling 5-exposure rolls in No. 127, 120, and 616 sizes at prices only slightly lower than the prices of standard 8-expo- sure rolls. For example, the
No. 120 panchromatic film sells at 33c (29c at another store), the orthochromatic film at 25c, as compared with 37c for pan- chromatic, 32c for orthochro- matic, normally asked for the limited supply of the films made by Ansco or Eastman.
The ersatz film is represent- ed by the stores selling it, and by the paper sticker supplied to fasten the end of the exposed roll, as panchromatic. Some dealers say that the film is un- derstood to be of the type used for airplane photography. This is probably a misrepresenta- tion; it is much more likely
22 @ CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH BULLETIN @ JANUARY, 1945
that the rolls offered are strips cut from defective sheet film that the present film shortage has given the manufacturer an opportunity to unload. Other dealers just sell it, and have nothing to offer on the source or character of the film. From whatever source this film is de- rived, it is not roll film, but sheet film which has been slit to roll film widths and pack- aged, with the customary length of backing paper, on spools. Because of its increased thickness as compared with standard film used for spool- ing as roll film, there is room
on a spool only for sufficient length to provide five instead of the usual eight exposures. To use the film, the first three numbers on the backing paper are ignored and exposures made when No. 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 ap- pear in the red window at the back of the camera. This in- formation does not appear any- where on the film or its wrap- ping—as of course it should if the product were produced and distributed under respectable auspices—but may be found on a sign displayed on the sales counter.
Regardless of the quality of the emulsion, the use of heavy base film in a roll-film camera has obvious disadvantages. The film is so stiff that the springs which operate the pressure plates in most cameras are too weak to hold the film flat, in the focal plane; the substitute film assumes a considerable curvature, which means that the picture will be out of focus, particularly in the center. (If conditions of use are such that a smaller than normal stop can be used, the resulting depth of focus may make the blurring due to the out-of-focus condi- tion fairly unobjectionable.) The film is so stiff that there might even be a question in some cases whether it would overstrain the camera pressure plate springs and so cause permanent impairment of the camera in later use. Finally, the extra thickness of the film makes it difficult to load it into the reel of the usual roll-film tanks.
Reported results obtained on this film vary widely. One dealer claimed to have sold 100,000 rolls without any prob- lem with respect to complaints. Another dealer, although he claimed to have received no complaints, stated that he would have no more of this
Figure 1
A real surprise for the film buyer.
This roll of ersatz film was found to be in two
parts, each about 10 inches long, stuck together with cellulose tape.
*
type of film for sale after the present supply was sold out. Dealers who do not sell the film take the position that they are unwilling to sell their cus- tomers an inferior product; nearly all of them tell of vari- ous troubles which have been reported to them by disappoint- ed users.
The most frequent complaint is that the film is rather badly fogged; if the amateur does his own developing, and com- plains of fog, the dealer can sug- gest that something must have been wrong with his methods or chemicals. If the dealer de- velops the film for the amateur, there can be the excuse of some- thing wrong with the camera; an amateur who understands photography well enough to know the difference between fog caused by a leaky camera, and chemical or age fog, is un- likely to have his negatives de- veloped by a dealer or photo- finisher, so this alibi will work well enough perhaps with the average amateur photographer. Another complaint has been that some rolls have not been panchromatic film as repre- sented, but ordinary or ortho- chromatic film. At least one
dealer has lately offered substi- tute films designated as ortho- chromatic.
For test purposes, Consum-
CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH BULLETIN @ JANUARY, 1945 @ 23
*
ers’ Research purchased rolls of film, of the panchromatic type and of Eastman Plus-X, for comparison. Five exposures were made on each film, using the same shutter speed (nom- inally 1/25 second) and at stops f:4.5, £:5.6, £:8, f£:11, and f:16. Both films were given identical processing in an amateur-type roll-film tank, using developer, acid chrome alum stop bath, and hardening fixing bath, at 68°F. The negatives made on Plus-X film were normal, with the dif- ferences in exposure showing the expected density differ- ences. The ‘“‘mystery”’ film was found to be panchromatic as claimed, but had a low speed (about that of the old Kodak N.C. film, in daylight) and was severely and irregularly fogged throughout its length. Except for the edge fog, the cause of which was obviously in that the heavy base film could not be rolled with sufficient tightness to prevent light leakage past the spool flanges, the fog was obvi- ously not caused by exposure to light, but was either emulsion fog attributable to an inherent defect in the emulsion at the time of manufacture, or the type of fog which can be caused either by age or by improper condi- tions of storage. Whatever its cause, the fog was so bad as to make the negatives quite worth-
less. The gelatin coating on the back of the film was reticu- lated despite the use of an acid chrome alum stop bath. As expected, parts of all the pic- tures were out of focus.
A roll of ersatz orthochro- matic film was also purchased; this was found to be even more of a gyp than the panchromatic for the film was not even a continuous strip but two pieces each approximately 10 inches long joined together with a piece of cellulose tape, indicating that it had been cut from rejected or outdated 8 x 10 sheet film. This orthochromatic film had less fog than the panchromatic but still enough to give it a muddy appearance. Reticula- tion and finger prints were also present. Its speed was judged to be about half that of Verz- chrome, and hence too slow for good photography by anyone not fully aware of the speed limitation.
If, as seems probable, these rolls are made up from odds and ends of film coatings which were defective in the first place, or which have been discarded as being probably defective by reason of age, it is not sur- prising that some rolls may be of satisfactory quality, as some have reported. Evidently the whole matter is in such an un- settled and unstandardized state that the consumer has little certainty that the film he receives will serve his pur- poses even moderately well. As the odds appear to be decidedly
* %* Corrections and Emendations to Consumers’ Research Bulletin
Insulation Page 15, Col. 3 October '43
The reference to Figure 2 appear- ing 12 lines from the bottom of col. 3 should be changed -to read
“Figure 4’ (the diagram at head of page 16).
24 @ CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH BULLETIN @ JANUARY, 1945
ROAMING
CR’s Report on Tests of
New Electric Irons
(4 to 5 automatic — 1 non-automatic)
against getting a good roll, CR strongly advises against the purchase of this film.
Recently there appeared on the market a film named. Sian film, in No. 127, 120, 620, 116, and 616 sizes; it was distrib- uted by the well-known food distributing firm Standard Brands, Inc., through various stores, including Macy’s in New York City. The film was sold at prices which included develop- ing the roll and making eight slightly enlarged prints from each roll: No. 127, 85c; 120 and 620, 91c; 116 and 616, 96c (plus the ic N.Y.C. tax in each case). The exposed film was to be mailed to Stan-Film, G.P.O. Box 541, New York City; 25c additional to be in- cluded if 12 pictures were taken per roll, or 50c if 16 pictures per roll. The results which have been examined were ex- ceptionally poor. The negatives indicated either an inferior emulsion or careless methods of developing, or both. AIl- though the negatives were
Index Page 17, Col. 1 December '43
sharp, each enlarged print was badly blurred on one end, in- dicating either defective equip- ment or careless operation in the printing.
CR’s attempts to secure a roll of this film, to permit mak- ing its own test of film quality and type, have so far been un- successful. An article in the September 1944 issue of Na- tional Photographic Dealer stated that the sale of this film had been discontinued until the OPA decides whether the meth- od of selling film with develop- ing and printing included in the price constitutes a tie-in sale, which officials naturally object to since it often affords (as in the case of selling foun- tain pens only in “‘pen and pen- cil sets’’) a means of avoiding regulations against price rises. If this film does again appear on the market, it will be decid- edly C. Not Recommended un- less improved film or printing or both are shown.
There has been complaint among amateurs that many small photographic supply mer- chants, drugstores, and other small dealers have taken ad- vantage of the scarcity and re- fused to sell film unless cus- tomers agree also to purchase developing and printing at the same place. This is an unfair and unwarrantedly restrictive practice on the part of dealers, and should not be tolerated by those in a position to object to it effectively.
x *
The Bulletin reference, house slip- pers, women’s under shoes and un-
der slippers, house, should be Dec.,
19-21 instead of Nov., 19-21.
——
[Continued from page 2}
Of the Editor's Chest
pay for.
It is obvious that if low-quality foods are not acceptable to con- siderable numbers of people, even in wartime, we will indeed have surpluses after the war when peo- ple have opportunity again to be critical and exacting in their tastes. Just why taxpayers’ money should continue to be spent to dispose of unwanted surpluses in one fashion or another is something that pos- sibly only a politician can explain. The consumer who foots the bill would greatly benefit from a com- plete reorientation of present fed- eral agricultural policies around the idea of quality rather than quantity. If there are premiums to be paid, these should be for producing desirable grades and qualities of foodstuffs, and decid- edly not for not-raising this or that vegetable, cereal, or fruit.
Neither the consumer of fresh vegetables and fruits nor the gro- cer, as a rule, realizes that the present practice of “‘scientific agri- culture” in the growing of crops is not to provide vegetables, fruits, and grains which will be most satisfactory eating or best for the health of the eater, but to use strains of seeds and plants which yteld the largest returns per acre of land, per dollar of investment in machinery and equipment, and per dollar of labor outlay, and at the same time, best withstand the insects and climatic characterist- ics of a particular region. An- other factor often considered is the ability of the produce to stand up well under shipment or factory processing, as canning or preserv- ing. Thus reports by agronomists on trials of new varieties quite regularly take no account what- ever of their comparative nutritive values as measured by vitamin and protein content (or the qual- ity of the proteins—often even more which may be important), but stress their yield per acre, their ability to withstand heat and
drought during the growing season, and their resistance to various dis- eases and insects. A brief mention is sometimes made of their attrac- tiveness of appearance and tender- ness, which immediately and di- rectly affect marketability, but the inner qualities of the vegetable or fruit, which could be examined with present-day nutritional knowledge, are normally disre- garded entirely. Experts who fol- low this approach in their studies and reports are simply following the customary pattern of research in their particular field, in which the emphasis, as with the raising and feeding of animals for the market, is predominantly on get- ting the largest yield which can be obtained with the minimum amount of land, labor, and mate- rials, including, of course, insect sprays and fertilizers.
Only within the last few years has agricultural literature begun to show an awareness of the prob- lem of growing crops for their food values. In a 1943 Agricultural Experiment Station bulletin from the State of Wisconsin, for ex- ample, a report on the vitamin content of various canned vege- tables made this significant cam- ment:
“One of the striking indications to come from this investigation is that foods of the same type can vary greatly in vitamin content. In some cases the richest sample was three or four times as potent as the poorest one.
“Future research may reveal, with marked benefit to human health, just what causes variations in the Vitamin content of foods, as well as methods of assuring high potency. Among factors that may be partly responsible for variations are the crop variety, soil fertility, climate, cultural methods, harvest- ing and handling methods, and can ning processes.”
There, in brief, is a research program for the federal Depart-
CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH BULLETIN @ JANUARY, 1945 @ 25
ment of Agriculture and the state, Experiment Stations that would give them something to do of the utmost importance to consumers, and at the same time would re- dound directly to the interests of the farming populations—if it be true, as government officials have often- stated, that the best way to guarantee prosperity to busi- ness enterprises of all types is to assure that their work and prod- ucts shall most effectively serve their customers (in this case, the whole 140 million or so American consumers).
Whether high quality, as mea- sured by trade standards, and optimum nutritional qualities go together is a field that is still virgin soil for research. There has been a great deal written recently in the field of nutrition that gives the impression that chemical analyses of foods provide a suffi- cient criterion for measuring nutritive properties. (A few years ago, it was calorimetric determina- tions—food calories—that were re- lied upon as the chief measure, in nutritional circles, of the nutri- tive worth of a given foodstuff.)
Bread, for example, used to be made from whole grain flour which retained most of the germ and much of the bran. Public de mand, stimulated by flour manu- facturers’ advertising, has made the bleached white flour bread nearly universal. Within the last few years, attempts have been made to put back into the flour important food elements lost in the refining process, by the com- pulsory adoption of an “enrich- ment program,”’ so-called, that in- volves the addition of iron and the vitamins niacin, thiamin, and riboflavin, with the optional addi- tion of calcium. Whether this program was effective in correct- ing in part the harm done by faulty types of food, or not, it has failed to arouse any great pub- lic enthusiasm and since it in-
volves extra costs on the part of the millers and bakers, it is likely that after the war-stimulus has gone and government compulsions over industry have been relaxed, the bakers will to a great extent resort to their pre-war formulas for bread making.
There would undoubtedly have been a greater response by the public if some attention had been given not just to enhancing the food value of bread as measured by chemical and biochemical in- gredients but in encouraging the making of bread that people would like to eat more of. Certainly the poor quality of the customary loaf put out by the big baking com- panies has been mentioned fre- quently enough that some at- tempts might have been stimu- lated to improve its palatability.
That consumers appreciate good bread sufficiently to pay double the price of the customary taste- less baker's loaf is well illustrated by the popularity in a limited area of the East of Pepperidge Farms Bread, which is made from special- ly-milled unbleached flour by a modified home-production meth- od. According to reports, Pep- peridge Farms has no difficulty marketing all the bread that it can produce and, due not to “plan- ning,’’ but to making a quality product, it has little or no prob- lem of surpluses to be disposed of. The Pepperidge formula calls for the simplest of high-quality in- gredients and.none of the fancy chemical substances used in mass- production baking by the com- mercial bakers; it is made of un- bleached flour, fresh whole milk, butter, and yeast. By the use of all’ the improvements of modern engineering and chemistry, the commercial millers aad _ bakers, supplied with bleaches and other chemicals, “dough improvers,” “Vveast nutrients,” etc. (to save yeast, labor, and flour)—the com- position or nature of which they do not know or, indeed, care about —produce what one critic has re- ferred to as ‘‘cottony, white loaves of bread, fit only for wadding,” and a trade journal characterized
26 © CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH BULLETIN e JANUARY, 1945
as so blown-up with air that the children might well put strings on the loaves and use them for ballooas.
The present butter shortage is not the mysterious phenomenon which the public has commonly supposed it to be. It is a govern- mentally produced shortage, pro- duced with intent, by market manipulations that set the selling prices of milk at such levels as to favor the manufacture of powdered whole milk, evaporated milk, Cheddar cheese, and dry ice cream mix. Since it is unprofitable for the farmer to supply cream for butter, the consumer, even if she has saved the required 20 red ra- tion points by skimping on her family meat supply, is often un- able to find any butter available at her grocer’s. There has been much evidence cited by those who are pushing oleomargarine as a butter substitute that on the basis of its raw materials and processes, margarine is the nutritional equiv- alent of butter. The chief pro- ponent of this idea, aside from the margarine interests and the OPA, has been the CIO, whose repre- sentative testified before a Con- gressional committee that ‘‘the country would be much better off if they stopped producing the but- ter altogether.”’
There is not space here to de- bate the involved scientific ques- tion of whether one may say cate- gorically that margarine, on the basis of its chemical and nutri- tional properties, is fully the equiv- alent of butter—or better, as the CIO’s representative implied in his testimony. On one point, how- ever, there can be no disagree- ment, and that is that margarine is not a high-quality food and can- not compete in any market on equal terms with high-score but- ter. Women who put up sand- wiches for children at school or men working at war plants are quite outspoken on the unpalat- ability of sandwiches spread with margarine, that have stood for a few hours in a warm locker. For such reasons, many women would
sacrifice their meat allowance so that. their children and husbands may have more acceptable meals.
In time of war, it is of course necessary to some degree to sacri- fice standards of quality in food as in many other things, but such sacrifices seem nonsense if while making them we are to be faced with difficulties in the rather near future of disposing of unmanage- able surpluses of foodstuffs. It is surely silly, and one does not need to be an economist to see it, to put a premium on or pay a bonus for mere mass production of foods without respect to quality, and then have to devise ways of get- ting rid of what is produced or give it away, or “dump” it abroad at the taypayer’s expense. It is as stupid to overproduce without respect to quality as it was to underproduce (at an earlier stage of the governmental economists’ thinking) in order to hold up prices in disregard of the consumer's right to buy at the best price possible, in a competitive market. Because consumers have felt it their patriotic duty to tolerate inconvenience in wartime, they have been subjected to much un- necessary degrading of the quality of many important consumer goods and services. Compared to the hardships and sacrifices of the men who are fighting the war, these difficulties are, of course, of a trifling character. That, how- ever, is wholly beside the point, for there is no virtue in tolerating low quality in foods and other necessities merely for the sake of sacrifice.
Some indication of the possible trends for the future was amusing- ly pictured in a recent meat-trade journal which showed a butcher dusting off and preparing to post a sign reading, ‘“The CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT.” The con- sumer will have to do a little plain speaking, and not only to the butcher, but to those who decide what the butcher and grocer shall be allowed to sell and at what price, to give that sign again its pre-war significance and useful- ness to the public.
HIS section aims to give critical consumers a digest of opinion from a number of reviews, ranging from the motion picture trade press to
Parents’ Magazine, which rates motion pictures not only on their quality as entertainment but on their suitability in various aspects for children.
It should be emphasized that the motion picture
ratings which follow do not represent the judgment of a single person but are based on an analysis of the reviews appearing in some 19 different period- icals. The sources of the reviews are: Box Office, Chicago Daily Tribune, The Christian Century, Cue, Daily News (N.Y.), The Exhibitor, Harrison's Reports, Mademoiselle, Motion Picture Herald, National Legion of Decency List, Newsweek, New York Herald Tribune, New York Times, Parents’ Magasine, Release of ithe D.A.R. Pre view Committee, Successful Farming, Time, Variety (weekly), and Unbiased Opinions of Current Motion Pictures, including reviews by the General Fed eration of Women's Clubs, the American Legion Auxiliary, National Film Music Council, and others.
The figures preceding the title of the picture in- dicate the number of critics who have been judged to rate the film A (recommended), B (intermediate), and C (not recommended).
Audience suitability is indicated by “A” for adults, “‘Y’’ for young people (14-18), and “C”’ for children, at the end of each line.
Descriptive abbreviations are as follows:
adr—adventure mus—musical
bicg—biography mys——mystery
car—cartoon nov—dramatization of a novel com—comedy rom—romance
cri—crime and capture of criminals soc—social-problem drama
doc—documentary i—in technicolor dr—drama trav—travelogue fan—fantasy war—dealing with the lives of people
in wartime wes—western
hist— founded on historical incident meil—melodrama
A B C 10 3 Abroad With Two Yanks........ war-com A 1 1 3 Adventure in Bokhara.......... mus-com A :.« 1 Adventure in Music......... .mus-doc AYC 3 Adventures of se 0’ dowede cri-com A 3 1 Alaska : mus-mel A 2 7 Allergic to Saran eagae .mus-com A 2 1 Amazing Mr. Forrest, The. ..com A 1 10 4 American Romance, An.......soc-dr-t AYC 1 ) And Now Tomorrow.... nov A 2 10 Are These Our Parents?. soc-mel A 3 3 Arizona Whirlwind.......... wes AYC =e FE 3+ ee on war-com A 3 10 Arsenic and Old Lace....... cri-mel A G 6 Be GS svccccesceecs mus-com A a Sy wee Se os wc See keneseede war-doc A
7 3 Babes on Swing Street..... mus-com AYC
8 12 Barbary Coast Gent...... wes-mel A
ir ee lll Ee mus-com-t A - 1 5 Beneath Western Skies......... ..wes AYC - 8 7 Between Two Worlds....... a fan A - .. = by Tag RES com AYC —e Ae 0llll ES. ER Oe mys-mel A — 3 7 Black Parachute, The. tie ee war-mel A — 3 § Block Busters...... ee com A —— —=—— § Beedle Peover. ......ccccces com A ie a) ae cri-mel A
- 3 Bordertown Trail s AYC 2 4 Bowery Champs mel AYC
1 5§ 3 Bowery to Broadway mus-com A _— 1 2 Brand of the Devil mus-wes AYC
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Brazil ; Bride by Mistake
Call of the Jungle Call of the Rockies. . Call of the South Seas Candlelight in Algeria Canterville Ghost, The Carolina Blues Casanova Brown. . Cheyenne Wildcat Christmas Holiday Climax, The
Code of the Prairie Conspirators, The Contender, The Cowboy Canteen
Cowboy from Lonesome River
Crime by Night. Cry of the Werewolf Cyclone Prairie Rangers
Dangerous Journey Dark Mountain
Dark Waters
Dead Man's Eyes... Delinquent Daughters. Delinquent Parents Dixie Jamboree Doughgirls, The Dragon Seed
-
End of the Road Enemy of Women Enter Arsene Lupin. . Eve of St. Mark, The Ever Since Venus
Faces in the Fog Falcon in Mexico, The Follies Girl
Follow the Leader Forty Thieves Forty-Eight Hours Frenchman's Creek Frontier Outlaws Fuzzy Settles Down
Gangsters of the Frontier Gaslight Ghost Catchers. . Gildersleeve’s Ghost Girl in the Case.
Girl Rush
Girl Who Dared, The Goin’ to Town. Goodnight Sweetheart Great Mike, The...:... Great Moment, The.... Greenwich Village Gunsmoke Mesa.... Gypsy Wildcat......
Hail The Conquering Hero
Hairy Ape, The. _ Heavenly Days
Henry Aldrich’ Little Secret
Hi, Beautiful. , Hidden Valley Outlaws Home in Indiana
I Accuse My Parents. I Love a Soldier. . I'm From Arkansas.
mus-com AVC com A
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soc-dr A cri-mys A mus-com A cri-com A
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mus-mel A war-com A mus-com A
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Impatient Years, The.......... war-com A See eee mus-com AYC In the Meantime, Darling........war-dr A
Invisible Man’s Revenge, The....mys-mel A Irish Eyes Are Smiling.......... mus-dr-t A NE Re i re eli ge a ee ly com A
Johnny Doesn’t Live Here Any More.fan A Jungle Woman............... mel A
mus-com A
Kansas City Kitty............
Ne ee ..fan-t A Ladies of Washington........ war-mel AYC Last Horseman, The......... wes AYC
cri-mel A mys-mel A .wes AYC ..cri-mel A mus-wes AYC war-mel A mus-com AYC mus-com AY
Last Ride, The. Laura.. er Law Men Pee
Lights of Old Santa Fe....... Lili Marlene.... =P Lost in a Harem..... Louisiana Hayride......
Machine Gun Mamma....... —— Mademoiselle Fifi.............. soc-dr A Maisie Goes to Reno. . com A Make Your Own Bed.. com A Man in Half Moon Street, “The. .mys-mel A Marine Raiders.............. war-dr AYC Mark of the Whistler, The.... mys-mel A Marked Trails................ wes AYC Marriage is a Private Affair... . com A Marshal of Reno............ eC U Mask of Dimitrios............ ..cri-mel A Master Race, The............. .war-dr A
Meet Me in St. Louis........ mus-dr-t AYC Meet Miss Bobby Socks.......mus-com AYC OO a war-mel AYC
mus-com A war-mel A
Merry Monahans, The......... Ministry of Fear
a mus-com AYC Miracle of Morgan’: s Creek, The com A Moonlight and Cactus. . .mus-wes A A ee nov A Mr. Winkle Goes to War.......war-nov AYC
Rage. Peememetom... ........... i dr
Mummy’s Ghost, The........ ..mys-mel . Murder in the Blue Room... .mus-cri-com . Music in Manhattan.... Ne Oia cinigs wrerns My Gal Loves Music...........
mus-com
ES RE com AYC i ae ae is oa ei ..wes AYC National Barn Dance......... mus-com AYC Night of Adventure, A........... cri-mel A None But the Lonely Heart....... nov A Nothing But Trouble............. com AYC 7) saree rae cri-mel A One Body Too Many............ mys-mel A One Mysterious Night. . ..cri-mel AYC Our Hearts Were Young and Gay.com AYC I aaah. wa ba oh oes 6 our wes AYC Outlaws of Santa Fe.............. wes AYC Pardon My Rhythm.......... mus-com AYC ,. cri-mel AYC People’s Avengers................ war-doc A Port of Forty Thieves............ mys-mel A Princess and the Pirate, The....... adv-t Raiders of Red Gap............... wes AYC Raiders of Sunset Pass............ wes AYC I fos oes tes aye mad war-dr A ee mel-t A NT de nih 8 ate a nike 9 it wes AYC in ist ol mus-com AYC Return of the Ape Man...........cri-mel A menere Of Gamta Fe................ wes AYC nad Sis cha wa o +0 mus-wes AYC Roger Touhy, Gangster.............. mel A Rustler’s Hideout................. wes AYC
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San Antonio Kid............. wes AYC San Diego, I Love You...... ..com AYC San Fernando Valley..........mus-wes AYC Scarlet Claw, The............. cri-mel A Secret Command.............. war-mel A Secrets of Scotland Yard...... war-mys AYC Sensations of 1945......... ..mus-com A I on oo o's a wine a Sate war-dr AYC Seven Days Ashore......... war-mus-com A Seven Doors to Death.............cri-mel A
EP EI rere war-mel A Shadow of Suspicion...........cri-com AYC Shadows in the Night....... ..cri-mel A
Shake Hands with Murder..... cri-mel AYC She’s a Soldier, Too...... ..war-com AYC Sign of the Cross (re-issued). . hist-dr A 98. a cri-mys AYC
Sewer City Mae. ......00.. - wes A Since You Went Away...... war-dr AYC Sing, Neighbor, Sing...... ..mus-com AYC Singing Sheriff, The....... ..mus-com AYC Something for the Boys... ..mus-com A Song of Nevada........ wees. mus-wes AYC Sonora Stagecoach............... wes AYC
reer rere mys-mel A Ee ..mus-com A Stars on Parade............ .mus-com A Se ....mus-com A Storm over Lisbon............... war-mel A kg ina ken mkieie'e 4 mys-com A Ee oe dr A Sundown Valley............ wes AY( Sweet and Lowdown.......... mus-com AYC Swing Hostess. sesees ss Cem AIC Swing in the Saddle......... mus-wes AYC
CO eee mus-com A Take It or Leave It.......... com A Tall in the Saddle........... wes AYC ES IIL. ccc sc ceeescess mus-com AYC A eae soc-mel A That’s My Baby..... aes mus-com AYC They Live in Fear............ war-dr A They Met in Moscow...... mus-com AYC Thin Man Goes Home, The cri-mel A Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo war-dr A cep ewes war-dr A er I so ocwevecws ces com A Three Little Sisters...........mus-com AYC Three Men in White........ com AYC Three of a Kind............ com A . 9 eee soc-dr A Thundering Gun Slingers... wes AYC
war-mel A war-mel A
Till We Meet Again......... To Have And Have Not.....
Together Again.............. com A Town Went Wild, The...... com AYC Tucson Raiders............ wes AYC
mus-wes AYC war-dr A
Twilight on the Prairie... ... I odin tos ewe apres
U-Boat Prisoner........... .....war-mel A Underground Guerrillas. ... ..war-mel A Unwritten Code............ war-mel A
Valley of Vengeance............... wes AYC Very Thought of You, The..... war-com A Vigilantes of Dodge City.. wes AYC 0 Ee ee war-mel A Wave, a Wac, a Marine, A....... com A West of the Rio Grande........... wes AYC
We’ve Come a Long Way.doc-propaganda AY 7 When Strangers Marr mys-mel A When the Lights Go On Again. .war-dr AY (
ieee gS Oh an awpait sae we biog-t A Wing and a Prayer.............. war-mel A .. *.. war-mus-dr A Woman in the Window, The... ..mys-mel A Wyoming Hurricane....... ..wes AYC Yellow Rose of Texas......... mus-wes AYC I NE NUNS o xnccceevecceens soc-dr A
Consumers’ Observation Post
(Continued from page 4)
The
was noted women lost more time due to colds than men and that there were more colds among office employees than among factory workers. There was a rise in the number of colds a day or two after a sudden drop in temperature. Early treatment appeared to be of value in reducing the time lost due to a cold.
* *
CHILDREN’S GARMENTS, particularly those made of cotton, have been hard to find, as every mother knows. The clothing trade journals have warned that for some time to come shirts, pajamas, underwear, work clothing, and slacks will be genuinely scarce. CR discovered in a survey made recently to ascertain what brands of children’s pajamas were available and where, that manufacturers, for reasons of their own, remain for the most part silent on the whereabouts of dealers selling their products. Consumers apparently are expected to join them in a little game of "hide-and-seek" in a search——usually fruitless—-of depart- ment stores and specialty shops for the elusive items.
* *
THE NEW METHOD OF PHONOGRAPHIC RECORDING on a fine wire which "embalms" the sound in magnetic changes in the wire until it is needed for reproduction seems not likely to supersede the present-day electric phonograph and record disc. It appears that the fine-wire sound-recording method cannot supply the high sound quality or fidelity of the best disc records. The other difficulty is that the wire recording does not provide any convenient or satisfactory means of mass production of records such as is afforded by the present method of record—pressing by which an enormous number of very faithful copies of an original master record can be made very cheaply and at great speed.
- 2 a
WHY ARE COTTON GARMENTS-——when you can find them-——priced so high? It can’t possibly be the cost of the raw material, if the figures of Tom Linder, Com- missioner of Agriculture of Georgia, are correct, for he asserts that there is
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mary of a wide range of CR’s previous tests of household appliances that will again be Use the available one of these days, not to mention cameras, automobiles, and other things that Handy must be purchased at second hand now, but will soon be major items of consumer Order Blank purchase. on the Study the information in the ANNUAL CUMULATIVE BULLETIN now, in “ext Page order to make wise purchases, now and later. TODAY!
CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH BULLETIN @ JANUARY, 1945 @ 29
only about 10 cents worth of cotton in shirts costing the consumer from $2 to $7 each. He estimates that ladies’ cotton dresses are selling in the stores at the rate of $3.50 to $350 per pound of the cotton they contain. Did somebody
mention the word "inflation"? > & &
RANCID FATS are well known to have a toxic effect on those who consume them. This is now believed to be due to the fact that they destroy vitamins and other essential food elements. Experiments at the University of Minnesota and by researchers of the Food and Drug Administration have established this fact in animal experiments. As a practical application of these findings, the Journal of the American Medical Association emphasizes the researchers’ con- clusion that dietary mixtures containing fats should be prepared fresh, and if storage is necessary, it should be at subfreezing temperature. Such warnings should be borne well in mind by those who are working on all kinds of ready- prepared quick-—frozen foods for post-war marketing.
* * *
COOKING STEWS OR SOUP in a vacuum or "thermos" bottle works very well, re-7 ports a farm journal, testing directions sent in by a reader. The directions given call for filling the bottle with lukewarm water, then pouring it out and filling with boiling water. Cork the bottle and let it stand while the un- cooked food is brought to a boil and heated thoroughly. Pour out the water in the bottle and fill it with the hot food. Cork it, and in about four hours’ time it will be well-—cooked and ready to eat. There is some difficulty in get- ting chunks of meat into the small neck of the vacuum bottle unless they are cut very fine. The gallon food jars, the kind that are not vacuum jacketed, will not do the work as a vacuum bottle does, since they do not hold heat long
enough. * *
SHOE RATIONING is likely to be prolonged indefinitely if present plans for } distribution of cattle hides, sole and upper leather to liberated countries re- Jj main in force. The present plans, according to the New York Times, call for smos 80,000 hides to be furnished by the United States and 47,500 to be sup-— plied by Great Britain from her foreign supplies during the period ending
January 1945. This ratio is expected to continue as the basis for future dis— tribution. What the leather industry considers particularly unfair about the whole arrangement is that under the initial agreement supplies are controlled by England, which will, channel them to the countries whose needs are to be cared for. If shipments are held up for any reason, Britain may use the hides, although they must be replaced later when shipments can again be made U. S. tanners are reported as feeling that the additional drain on our short supplies of leather will require extended shoe rationing, and they feel that this coun- try should at least get credit for the sacrifices involved, by permitting the United States to be represented directly in the over-all distribution of the foreign-relief articles that are made of leather.
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PHONOGRAPH RECORDS
By Walter F. Grueninger
Please Note: Prices quoted do net include taxes. Im the ratings AA indicates highly recommended; A, recommended; B, inter-
mediate; C, not recommended.
ORCHESTRA
Bach-Gounod: Ave Maria & Schubert: Ave Maria. Andre Kostelanetz and His Orchestra. 2 sides, Columbia 7416. $1. The first instrumental record waxed under the new agreement between Columbia and the AFM shows no eeeeng Bapeeee- ment in fidelity over those recorded 27 months ago. erate- ly clear highs, faint bass. Performances of these popular classics are simple, in good taste. Yet, for a prayer, I prefer a solo voice or instrument. Quiet surfaces. Interpretation A
Fidelity of Recording A
Mozart: Symphony No. 34 (K338). London Philharmonic Orchestra under Beecham. 6 sides, Columbia Sct 548. $3.50. An outstanding work. This set supersedes the old Columbia Set 123. The competitive recording appears in Victor Set 795 ($5) which also includes the exceptionally good Mozart Symphony No. 29, both played by the Boston Symphony under Koussevitzky. Beecham’s performance is even better than the fine Koussevitzky performance. Beecham’s English recording brings out more low tones than Koussevitzky's but fewer highs. Guiet surfaces. Interpretation AA
‘ Fidelity of Recording A
Tchaikovsky: Hamlet—Overture Fantasia. Hallé Orchestra
under Lambert. 4 sides, Columbia Set X243. $2.50. I find
no less satisfying Tchaikovsky's shorter, later, Hamlet Over-
ture which is based on the same thematic material, is better recorded and performed on Victor 13760 ($1).
Interpretation A
Fidelity of Recording B
Tchaikovsky: The Swan Lake. London Philharmonic Or- chestra under Dorati. 8 sides, Columbia Set 349. $4.50. Re-issue. Excerpts from the ballet score conducted by a musician widely experienced in this field. Superior to the competitive Victor discs 11666/7 ($1 each). Quiet surfaces. Interpretation AA
Fidelity of Recording AA
CONCERTO
Mozart: Concerto No. 24 in C Minor. Casadesus (piano) and Orchestre Symphonique de Paris under Bigot. (7 sides) & Rondo in D Major. Casadesus (piano). (1 side). Columbia Set 356. $4.50. One of Mozart's masterpieces. Re-issue. The eight side competitive set, Victor 482 ($4.50) features Edwin Fischer in a better recorded, noisier-surfaced, more dramatic performance. Interpretation AA
Fidelity of Recording A
CHAMBER
Shostakovitch: Sonata (Op.40). Piatigorsky (cello), Pav- lovsky (piano). 6 sides, Columbia Set 551. $3.50. Composed a decade ago. For the connoisseur, though more melodious than you'd suspect. Quiet surfaces. Interpretation AA
Fidelity of Recording AA
VOCAL
Wagner: DieGotterdammerung—I mmolation Scene and Finale (5 sides) Traubel (soprano) & NBC Symphony Orchestra under Toscanini. Tristan und Isolde-Liebestod (1 side) NBC Symphony Orchestra under Toscanini. Victor Set 978. $3.50. Comparisons arise between this set and the scene recorded by Flagstad and San Francisco Opera Orchestra under Mc- Arthur in Victor Set 644 ($5.50). Aside from my personal preference for soloists, I find the orchestra's performance and recording is far superior in the new set. The odd side offers great love music superbly played. Gritty surfaces complicate matters. Interpretation AA
Fidelity of Recording AA
Scandinavian Songs. Lauritz Melchior (tenor). 12 sides, Victor Set 851. $5. Melchior is at his best in fifteen songs by Grieg, Sibelius, Rygaard and lesser known composers. Preferred discs in this re-issue: 2189/0. Interpretation AA
Fidelity of Recording A
LIGHT, POPULAR, AND MISCELLANEOUS
Churchill: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Lyn Murray and His Orchestra, soloists, and chorus. 8 sides, Decca Set 368. $3.50. Favorite songs from Walt Disney's film. Audible surfaces. Interpretation A
Fidelity of Recording AA
Durante: Hot Patatta & Ryan-Durante: Inka Dinka Doo. pad Durante (comedian). 2 sides, Columbia 36732. 50c. enjoy Durante but this record shows how much depends on seeing as well as hearing him. Although his performance stands in a class by itself, the flimsiness of the songs are now fully revealed. Noisy surfaces. Interpretation AA Fidelity of Recording A
Ellingtonia. Volume 2. Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra. 8 sides, Brunswick Set 1011. $3.50. An assort- ment of mood music recorded in 1928 and 1929 some of which is superb, some of which is mediocre. On the whole, inferior to Volume I. Included are Creole Rhapsody, Tiger Rag, Yellow Dog Blues, Jazz Co ions, etc. Interpretation A
Fidelity of Recording B
Gould: Boogie Woogie Etude & Blues. Iturbi (piano). 2 sides, Victor 10-1127. 75c. The first Red Seal disc recorded by Victor in 27 months offers a stunning performance of synthetic jazz which I do not find worthy of frequent hearing. Guiet surfaces. Interpretation AA
Fidelity of Recording AA
Musical Comedy Favorites. Andre Kostelanetz and His Or-
chestra. 8 sides, Columbia Set 430. $3.50. Fancy orchestral
arrangements, featuring strings, of “Begin the Beguine,”
“Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” “Tea for Two,” “I Got Rhythm,” and other popular show tunes. Re-issue. Quiet surfaces.
Interpretation AA
Fidelity of Recording A
Porter: .Mexican Hayride. Members of the original New York production. 8 sides, Decca Set 372. $3.50. A current Broadway success. The disc likely to interest me longest is Decca 23336, two songs in Spanish style by Corinna Mura. Wilbur Evans’ singing of J Love You, the hit tune, is praise- worthy. June Havoc’s comedy is likely to bore after a few hearings. Quiet surfaces. Interpretation A
Fidelity of Recording A
Schonberger-Rose-Coburn: Whispering & Ponce: Estrel- lita. Lowery (whistler). 2 sides, Columbia 36727. 50c. This is the kind of record critics look down on yet the public rushes to buy. Guitar and Novachord accompaniment. Audible surfaces. Interpretation AA
Fidelity of Recording A
Tommy Dorsey “Starmaker."" Tommy Dorsey and His Or- chestra and Soloists. 8 sides, Victor Set P150. $2.50. A
compilation of previously released discs featuring “the man musical stars developed by Dorsey,” according to Victor's — release. The soloists include Connie Haines, Sinatra, iggy Elman, Jo Stafford, and a Interpretation A idelity of Recording B
CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH BULLETIN ® JANUARY, 1945 @ 31
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