The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-05-09
STAFF"
The New Compound Used on the
Worlds Fair Buildings.

| 4A0 NOW SOupOuuo O5co OK S14O
Worlds Fair Buildings.
From Hdrper's Weekly.
Looking at the fair from this island, will
be seen. as from no other point in the entire
layout. to what exquisite use the COM
pound called staff may be put. This ma
terial, which seems to be a revelation to the
American public, has two qualities that
render 1t pre-eminentlY fit for just such
work as it Is here devoted to: First, Il
makes the wood, around which it is placed
as an exterior, perfectly fireproof from any
ordinary condagration; second, It
Is susceptible of the highest artistic
decoration and plastic ornamental
ton. When the buildings OF the exposition
are finished they will present an aggregate
OF marble palaces, colored and tinted &c
realize the ideals Of the most artistic fancy
nay, extravaganza, In color. The chemist
who first manufactured c0lored marble out
OF plaster of Paris believed he had made a
grand discovery, nor is this denied; but all
his ingenuity could devise no process where
by he could reduce his process to a practl-
cability possible OF such vast extent as the
staff walls Of the worlds fair will show.
1t is no wonder, then, that this material
its uses and the methods Of its manufacture
make up one of the most curious features
of the worlds fair. Staff is new to Ameri-
cans generally, but it has been known in
Europe for years. The rockmakers of
| America had heard of it; nav, had manu-
featured and sold it, long before the worlds
| Columbian exposition in Chicago was
| dreamed of; but these were the few, the
many were in utter ignorance OF its ex-
| istence.
The exposition In Paris three years ago
| furnished the first extensive experiment
| that had been made with staff as a large
| factor In the building arts, and with such
an example before them, the directors of
| the Chicago enterprise had not far TO 20 for
! precedent. They chose staff as an exter-
| nal covering for their buildings; aud at
once found many firms in the Units I'D States
ready at a moments notice to undertake the
contract Of furnishing the material and
| doing the work.
The manufacture, modelling and applica-
ton OF the staff at the Chicago fair are
| done by three firms The mere manufact-
ure of the material does not require any
! special technical knowledge; mere laborers
can do all the work. But it is fact that
| the laborers who work in the staff rooms at
the worlds fair are Belgians, French and
| Italians. One might as we'll be in Flanders
| or Paris as in one Of these rooms so far as
surroundings are concerned. The small bov
cuts a conspicuous figure herein. He is
active, useful, cheap, accurate, and an
effective worker when he can be persuaded
to pay attention to his task. The small boy
pair is assigned the work of cutting or
choppiug hemp. Hemp or jute Is a neces-
sary integral of staff.
Here Is a young Frenchman-a really
handsome son OF the people-clad in the
proverbial blouse and trousers. It may be
that the color OF this garb was originally
blue. In all probability such it was, but
the color is not apparent now. At present
1t is undoubtedly white. His dark curly
hair resembles a stage wig supposed to
properly indicate the prevailing ballroom
style of the seventeenth century, 1. e., pow-
| dered white. But its southern darkness
| crops out here and there. His eyes. too.
tell what color is his curly head, for they
are as black as night; and his manly beauty
Is not at all disturbed by an occasional daub
| OF plaster OF Paris here on his nose, there
under his right eye. or there on his chin.
| This man is a mixer. That is to say, he
| unites the component parts of the staff,
kneads it up into thick paste about the
| consistency of what puddlers call an ANAL
gam, and makes it ready for the sculptor or
| the caster.
| He is a type OF the staff maker, So are
these two boys near a small chopping block
| One is sitting on a roll of hemp that
is twisted into 1-inch rope. He places one
| end of the rope loosely on the block. His
| companion. armed with a severely sharp
little ak, brings that tool down swiftly
| on the ropes end with marvellous
accuracy, cutting it off clearly and
| with dispatch, and shoves it into a
basket that stands ready to receive it.
| When basket is nearly full another bow
carries 1t away aud the cut hemp is "teased"
| into loose pile 1t is now ready for the
mixer, who scstters the right proportion of
1t in his half-barrel of common cement,
mixed with a small percentage OF plaster of
Paris, agtates the mass until the mixing
becomes difficult to the hand, and there's an
end to it. The staff Is made. The cement
| contributes hardness to the compound, the
hemp adhesiveness and the plaster of Paris
finish. 1t is then pressed into slabs, which
are nailed to the wooden walls of the build
ing, or turned ove- to the modelers and
| sculptors, who work 1t out into mural
decorations and bass-reliefs.
Most Of the sculptural work of the worlds
fair is done by American artists. But there
| are no Americans who work in staff, per-
| haps for the reason that the American sculp.
| tor considers his dignity above the labor.
| The ma 1ority OF the staff modelers come
| from Italy, and some few OF them from
| France. They are paid higher wages, prob
ably, than any other one class Of workmen
| on the grounds. They learned their art in
Italy, where the demand for cheap sculpture
| is large and the supply is large. Aud as
| sculptors in worlds fair work they earn as
| much as IS or $40 a day-a rate of wages
considerably surprising the profits to be
! derived from lmage-maklng in their native
couutry-a profession which is somewhat
over-crowded, and a market wherein the
| prices for the work are quite low.
The staff modelers' work is of low order
of sculpture, but the results are sometimes
really artistic They are assisted by ORR
ginal models of drawing, and in this COM
bination are enabled TO make bass-reIiefs
and friezes that will contribute in no small
way to the beauties OF the buildings. The
results of this work will not end with the
worlds fair, it is thought. There is no
reason why the effects should not extend
further, and IN some degree cause a change
in building methods IL staff may be used
with such good success in such large struct-
ures as these, and contrive to present a sur
| face that can Withstand the ravage of
weather for year, and yet remain as USE
| full and ornamental as it was when first
manufactured and applied, the conclusions
| are obvious. The object lesson the big
buildings present may not be altogether
! ost, but may reach in no very limited way
| American architecture in general