The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1889-01-08
CAR or CIVILIZATION.
What King Paper Promises TO BE In I'll
Course of Human Events.

When we look back to the past it is
marvellous 10 recall the rapid growth OF
paper as a substance Of practical use in
the arts and manufactures of the world.
Rut the limit of the uses to which paper
may be put is uudefnable. Twenty-Five
wears aro pauer was almost unknown as
a factor Of manufacture. Today it Is used
for the composition of car wheels, pals,
boats. domss collins and thousand and
one different articles.
The advantages of paper over iron,
wood and other substances are many.
The greatest point in its favor, perhaps,
Is its durability. The famous mummies
in the British museum are wrapped in
papyrus, which is nothing more than
paper made by the Egyptians 5000 years
ago. Paper may be exposed to the
weather without the possibility of its
cracking or splitting, as, unlike wood
and iron, it has no grain or flaws.
Furthermore, it is one of the greatest !
non-conductors of heat and cold known, |
and the constant changes of temperature |
peculiar TO our attitudes have but little |
effect on it.
The Proudft observatory of the Rens- |
selaer Polytechnic institute is crowned |
with n paper dome, which has withstOod |
the torrid heat of summer and the frOsts |
and SHOWS of winter for decade, and Is !
as strong and perfect today as when it
was first taken from the mOlds. This
property of withstanding the inclement
weather is one of the principal reasons
for the rapid introduction of paper car
wheels Many terrible accidents have
been caused by the breaking of an iron
wheel on account Of frost. BY the in
PRODUCTION of paper wheels the chances Of
casualties on the rails are greatly lessened.
Moreover, recent experiments in Ger
many have produced a successful paper
rail, and it seems only question of a
few years before the great railroad sys-
TENS of the country will be equipped
with paper rails, paper wheels, and even
paper cars.
There is no denying the fact that paper
is much stronger and more resisting than
wood. Experiments have shown that a
bullet from a revolver at close range
failed to penetrate n paper target three
cloths of an inch in thickness, while the
saIAe bullet passed entirely through a
two inch plank under the same condi-
tioss. Some years ago, at a banquet in
New York, Admiral Farragut predicted
that the time would come when ships of
war would be sheathed with paper in
place of steel and iron. The great adj
vantage Of such an armor would be its
elasticity. The manufacture of paper
boats is now confined to the construction
of pleasure and racing craft, but move
ment is on foot toward the building of
life and ships boats.
1t needs but a cursory glance at the
existing so called hfeboats to show that
they are merely such in name, and the
majority of them are unfit foI: service.
The handsome lifeboat hanging from its
davits, in conformity to the law, is APP
parently a model of strength and dura-
bility, but in reality it is perfect death
trap. The bright paint and gilded stripe
often hide the rotten hull with its puttied
seams. We often read accounts of dis
asters at sea, when it is reported that the
Sboats were swamped soon after leaving
the vessel. If the truth were told it
would be shown that in many cases the
swamping was caused by the opening of
these seams and not from the high seas,
as is generally supposed. In the paper
lifeboat there would be no seams to open.
Not the least important of the uses to
which paper can be put is that of orna-
mentation. The apparently handsome
bronze figures and bas reliefs are often
merely embossed papier mache, and so
fail to give forth the metallic ring one
would expect. Some kinds of paper are
now made as soft and phable as leather,
and are used as such. Paper timber Is
made, which possesses many more adj
vantages than wood and yet is ineXpen-
sive, and thus the old idea Of living in
paper houses bids fair to become some
thing more than idle talk; not only shall
we live in paper houses, with paper fur
niture and utensils, but our gas, water
and sewerage will be conducted through
paper pipes.
The paper burial caslets now quite ex-
tensively manufactured are possessed Of
some peculiar advantages; they can be
made absolutely vermin proof. They
can also be made for very little money,
and in view Of the crusade against ex-
travagant funerals recently inaugurated
by some OF the clergy, this viii be an
Smportant consideration. Paper can be
made fireproof, and the government has
successfully experimental with paper
powder barrels. Paper cartridge shells
are now used almost exclusively, not only
on account of their being inexpensive,
but because of their not becoming heated
when fired, like brass shells.
In the manufacture of various articles
from paper it may be said that there are
three main processes. The first and old
est is the pressing of papier mache by
means of molds. Ornamental interior
work is made in this manner. The sec
ond method is that of placing layers OF
paper one upon the other until the re-
quired thickness is obtained. Car wheels,
pulleys and boats are made thus. The
third and last way is the shrinking OF
pulp paper, wet from the machine, into
the required shape. Examples of this
Il lxN,A -
domes, caskets, etc.
1t is a fact that nearly all articles now
manufactured of wood can be made t.
better advantage Of paper, and it is alsC
becoming an extensive substitute fol
iron. Even gold has been forced to sue
cumb to paper money as a convenien
method of exchange. There is no neces
sity of waiting for future developments
Paper is already king.-Paper Mid.