The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1886-09-17
PAPER RAILWAY rIca.


That y . railroad tie" TWAS OF
tne regular sine and polished Is smooth
y - . piece u Italian marble. The
gram was 30 fine and the whule appear.
ancs WAS 20 artistic that 1t might easily
nave been taken for . chip from a Dill.
M Of Grecian temple instead of such
. practical thing As a railroad tie. The
speaker was . short stout, sad-faced
man. with large head and overland.
ing brows. and was the inventor of this
esthetic sleeper, and in his little office
In Fulton street there were many mod.
els OF cars and railroad tracks scatter.
ed about This" said he. M he
patfed the railroad tie lovingly, sis the
result of years Of labor. and 1 believe
now that it is perfect It is made Of
paper, which I believe is to enter to a
large extent in all building Operations
ct no distant day. The great enemy to
the use of paper for many things is
moisture, and in INV invention Of
course, . means had to be discovered 70
prevent dampness from having the
slightest effect. as = railroad tie. being
IN the ground. is subjected constant
~ to it, and . rotten tie might
cause the loss Of many lives and much
property. The process Of manufacture
is secret to certain extent, but the
tie Is absolutely fire and water proof.
There; will throw . piece of the pre-.
pared paper into the fire. You see il
will not burn. have submerged it for
weeks and months in both hot and cold
water and the moisture has never been
found inside the surface. Consequently
1t can not rot Though apparently as
hard as iron, IN ordinary spike can be
driven into it without difficulty, and
when the spike is in position the mate
rial is of such nature that it closes
around the iron and holds it so firmly
that it can never be shaken loose.
There Is also certain amount of spring
in the tie. and when there is load on
it it operates as . sort of cushion and
takes away . certain amount of jar from
running cars. Under certain condi-
tons. by slightly altering the combine
ton Of materials. the paper can be made
% hard that 1t will turn the edge of the
hardest tool without being more than
scratched. The ordinary wooden tie
will last about i've years under the most
favorable conditions, while this paper
tie win stand any kind Of weather for
at least thirty ysara
1.-The paper used is generally made OF
straw. though almost any kind of fibre
will do a. well. Straw is preferred be-
cause it can b easily obtained and the
supply 10 unlimited. There are mills
in the west where the straw is made up
into boards. Il is . large industry and
was first started to utilize the waste
straw in the vast West for fuel, instead
Of wood. This Is . paying business,
and fortunes are being made out Of
what only. . few years ago was thrown
away or burned up Is useless. These
boards are put together in layers. and
after being treated to . liberal dose q
cement are put under tremendous
pressure in . hydraulic machine. This
forces the atoms together in . solid
mass Under pressure dozen boards
will take the place Of one. Heat 10 also
m agent in tho manufacture Of paper
ties, and they are thoroughly baked in
m oven It high temperature. Under
the present Imperfect conditions and
appliances It takes considerable time %
make tie. but with every thing built
IN accordance with my plans they can
be turned out quicker than.they can b
cut from trees and q . much less cost
The number Of wooden ties used every
year to construct new and repair old
roads d enormous and is . large ele-
ment in the disappearance Of forests In
this country. Il Il my belief from what
/ know Of paper that it is destined TO
take the place of wood in many thingA
and this win give protection to our for
ests. Legislation can mover protect the
forests q long as there Is such large
demand for wood.
The strength and durability of paper
u we'll shown in car wheels made a
this material It makes IN iron wheel
sick to contemplate light paper wheel
running for years after it has been
thrown away - uselesa Paper will
not only take the place Of wood, but
also Of good many metals and Of
stoneware. A portable paper bath-tub
il one Of the latest ideas, and pots.
plates, knives, forks, stoves and engines
made Of paper have . large and in
creasing market. A large part Of the
beautiful bronze ornaments and statues
seen in public places and offered for
sale in stores devoted to the sale OF
ancient and modern bronzes are made
Of composition the principal element
Of which Is paper or fibre. A man
to-day can wear paper shoes and clothes,
eat from paper dishes with paper knives
and forks, served upon paper table, sit
on paper chair, sleep in paper bed.
in : room carpeted with paper. wash in
paper tub or bowl. live in . paper
house, ride in : paper car or carriage.
sill in . paper boat build up fortune
on paper; and yet tho industry is only
in il infancy. Are any railroads using
my tiel No. They All admit IL useful
ness and are willing to try il with big
IL. This means that I have got =
satisfy the clique which j. part Of
every railroad in tAis country in tn
purchasing department. and tho only
way this can be done u to present them
with your invention or controlling
interest am fighting against this and
viii nv to beat thcm, % that ! can gcl