The herald., 1898-02-12
PAVING CONTROVERSY
THE ANALYSIS OF ALCATRAz
ASPHALT ANTAGoNIzED
The Rival Company Files Protest
Against the Decision Of Its
Own Referee

The long-drawn- out contest which has
been carried on between the representa-
tiyes of the various asphalt companies
as to the wording of the city paving
specifications. and the claim made by
each company that its material is su-
perior to any other, was supposed to
have been put in process Of settlement
when, by agreement of all parties, the
question of the relative excellence ana
suitability Of the respective asphalts
was referred to a competent authority,
namely. Prof. Samuel P. Sadtler OF
Philadelphia. Each company made up
Its package of samples and these We're
sent by the board of public works TO
the well-known professor for his analy-
sis and physical tests. The samples were
DISTINGUISHED by number and letter, and
there was nothing to inform the analyst
as to the origin of any of the materials.
The cost of these tests, amounting to
a good round sum, was paid by the as
phalt companies themselves, and 1t was
understood that the result of this refer
ence should be final.
In due time the professor sent for
ward his report, which was printed in
these columns on the 5th inst. The doc
ument was a long one, full of figures and
scientific terms. and, as 1t refers to the
respective samples by number and let
ter, it takes some little time to follow
| it through the various stages by which
| the professor shows how he arrives at
his conclusions. In brief, however, Prof.
Sadtler explains the proportions of pc
trolene and asphaltene, which together
make up the total bitumen of the sam
pies, and he states that the best ratio,
according to most authorities for a
| tough and yet solid and durable paving
cement is about three parts of petrolene
and one part of asphaltene; but he also
| lays stress upon the point that even
with these proportions the petrolene
must have a certain body and tenacity.
and not be made up simply of thin pc
troleum or light oils. which of course are
| soluble in petroleum ether.
The samples tested were submitted by
| the Western Refining company. the AL
catraz Asphalt company and the Cali
fornia Asphaltum company. The pro-
fessor describes how he made briquettes
| with pulverized limestone and sand,
| treating the three classes of asphalt
| materials alike, so that the result should
| fairly show their different values under
these conditions. In his tests for ten
sile strength at 80 deg. F. on briquettes
of one inch in section, the results were as
follows: Alcatraz. 62S pounds; Western.
440 pounds; California. 207 pounds.
| Similar tests of tensile strength at "a
deg. F. showed as follows: Alcatraz,
201h pounds; Western, 11Sh pounds;
California, 110h pounds.
He next gives the results of his COM
preston tests on two-inch cubes four
square inches area), with the following
results, compression at 80 deg. F.: AL
catraZ, 11,770 pounds; Western, 1000
pounds; California, 3070 pounds.
Compression tests at "a deg. F.: AL
catraz, 4770 pounds; Western, 1920
pounds; California, 1850 pounds.
The compression test is, of course, the
most convincing proof Of the adapta-
bility of a material for paving purposes,
as the wear and tear of traffic, with its
inevitable compression, is the thing
which determines the value Of the ma
terial.
With the results of his chemical and
physical tests before him, Prof. Sadtler
| decides in favor OF the material SUBJ
mitted by the Alcatraz Asphalt COM
pany, and certifies that this particular
material is capable Of making a strong
and durable paving, and in these re-
| spects Is superior to the other mixtures
analyzed by him.
To the ordinary reader this would ap-
pear to settle the controversy, and it
has been so accepted by the board of
public works The Western Refining
company, however, is not satisfied with
the result Of the arbitration to which
it was willing party, and yesterday
| filed long communication with the
board of public works, in which an at
tempt is made to show that Prof. Sadt-
Ter meant something different from what
he said when he decided in favor Of one
| of the three materials submitted to him.
The object of the protest is to induce the
council to change the asphalt street
specifications so as to allow the artificial
asphalt to come in on the same terms
with the natural product, although the
analysis shows that it is very inferior
| material.
In this connection 1t is worthy to note
that the specifications for asphalt paw
ing in leading cities Of the United States
usually designate by name some particu-
lar kind of natural asphalt, as the Trini-
dad or the BermudeZ, which is required
to be used and in some specifications
1t is provided that "the use of coal tar
petroleum residuum and so-called ar
tificial asphalts will not be tolerated"
1t is probable that the council at its
meeting on Monday will fix a time for
taking up the paving specifications and
coming to a final determination in the
| matter.
1
| Vegetables which have suffered physical
| injury are said to be thrown into a state
of fever, showing a distinct rise asd fall
| of temperature.
The great silver champion, Hon. Charles
| A. Towne, at Hazards Pavilion this
evening. Hear him. Seats Free