Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-07-01
THE COMING AGE OF GLASS
ALLURING. DREAM OF CELEBRAT.
ED FRENCH sAvANT.
He Believes That We Will Ultimately
Live I'm Glass HOuses-G1ass Pave
ment in Paris.
From the London Express.

| From the London Express.
Our good friend. NJ. Yves Guyot, editor
| OF the Paris Steele" sent US a fraternal
| greeting at the beginning of the new CEN
fury. Not the least interesting part Of the
message was a sentence in which he said
that M. Jules Henrivaux, till lately the
director of the great glass mandatory at
St. Gobain, had predicted that the new age
would be the age Of glass. Through the
kind offices Of M. Guyot, M. Henrivaux has
sent some Celebrations Of his idea. and
we have found them profoundly interesting.
M. Henrfvaux is an enthusiast on glass.
He believes it to be the material of the
future He does not pretend that we can
look for glass cannons, or glass men-o'-war.
or glass greyhounds Of the ocean. nor does
he contemplate the substitution Of vitreous
machinery for that which We now employ in
our various processes of manufacture, but
he does claim that glass is the best sub
stance known to is for every kind OF Struc-
| tural purpose. and especially for dwelling
| houses. In short, if the visions OF NJ.
Henrivaux realized we shall all be liv-
ing in glass houses before very long.
The Virtues of Glass.
| The point of the idea is found in the mex
haustible supply of the materials from
which glass is made, in it's adaptability to
all shapes and forms, it durability, and
its cleanliness. With regard to the second
point it is obvious that glass can be shaped,
colored and decorated to an extent of
which no other material is capable. and 1t
is upon this aspect of the idea that M. Hen
rivaux lavishes mis- imagination.
There are six ways in which glass can be
manipulated. 1t can be cast into window
panes, paving stones, panels, etc. 1t can
be nodded into cornces, states, wall
decorations and even statues. 1t can be
blown into bottles, tumblers, vases and all
the utensils comprised under the name OF
glassware" 1t can be blown and ground
into crystals, lenses. prismS and other Cd
jects of art and utility. 1t can be drawn
into the finest threads and made into pipes,
baskets and dress materials. 1t can De
turned into mosaics and enamels. and can
be brought into the closest imitation OF
most of the precious stones.
CINE, with M. Henrivaux. the con-
struction of a glass house. The founoa
lions and the walls would be constructed OF
a variety of glass recently invented called
"stone glass" which has already success
fully withstood the severest tests When
crushed it gives a resistance three times as
great granite. When subjected TO neat
or cold is found less sensitive than steel
When submitted to friction 1t shows less
wear than porphyry. Shock. as or nam
times as severe as that which would frac-
ture marble. The test Of tension has prac-
tically no effect on it whatever.
Our Glass Houses.
The walls, them would be built Of glass
held together by angle iron so as to permit
of a hollow space through which pipes
could pass (the pipes themselves being
glasswork) conveying hot air. hot and cold
water, gas, electric wires, drains, and
| everything needed for the health and COM
fort of the inhabitants. Stairs and baluS-
trades, ceilings and wall decorations, man.
telpieces and fireplaces. would all be con-
structed of glass. Some Of NJ. Henrivauxs
conceptions in the way Of decorations In
which the glass Is made opaque or tinted
with brilliant colOrs, or made silver and
golden, or arranged in prtsms and crystals
with facets like diamonds. are perhaps too
fanciful to be taken seriously. but through
them all there runs the same enthusiasm.
the same belief that glass. Theirs once
said of Louis Napoleon, Is capable Of any
thing.
Our chairs and tables, in the new glass
age. will be made Of vitrifed material,
toughened to the strength of oak and ma
hogany. Our cooking utensils, our plates
and cups and saucers. will be made OF the
same substance. Even our knives and
forks will have glass handles. II not glass
blades.
The new glass house will be absolutely
clean and practically indestructible. The
whole of it's surface be washed from
the top story to the basement without q
trace of humidity being left. Dust cannot
will find no place on which to hang its cob
webs.
GLASS PnyfnS stones.
They have already begun to pave the
streets of Paris with glass, and it is found
that the substance. while practically in
| destructible, is admirably suited to the feet
of both men and beasts: and as it neither
holds nor makes any dirt, 1t Is absurdly easy
to clean Its only fault Is that 1t somewhat
increases the noise of the traffic but even
this might. by and by, be overcome.
One of the features of last years exhibit
ton was the Palais Lumineux. or the Pal
ace of Light, built entirely of glass. 1t was
to some extent the realization Of NJ. Henri
vaux's ideal Not only was it of solid con-
struction, but the adaptablity of glass to
every class of decoration in form and In
color, aided by it's various degrees of
opaqueness and transparency, enabled it's
| builders to raise a structure which as far
transcribed own Crystal Palace as
diamond outshnes the imitation.
Cost Not Excessive.
The question of cost has not been left
out Of account Glass can be made out of
almost anything amenable to the influence
of fire. The stone-glass, to which reference
has already been made, is manufactured
mainly from what have hitherto been re-
garded as waste substances. The Stag
heaps which diSfgure mining and iron
districts are all convertible into glass. Evil
IDENTIFY the days of bricks and states are
numbered.
Perhaps it might be possible in connec-
ton with one of the many projected cxhi-
billions, to construct on modest but suf-
ficient scale dwelling of the kind that NJ
Henrivaux describes. People would then
be able to experience the actual sensation
of walking along glass floors, or climbing
glass staircase. of being surrounded by
glass walls, of sitting on glass chairs at
glass tables. drinking tea out Of glass cups
and stirring it with glass teaspoons
How far this could be accomplish ed with
due avoidance of monotony 1t Is hard to
say. Certainly NJ. Henrivaux is enthusiasts
tic enough to believe in the fullest develop
ments Of his idea.
1t is perhaps a fanciful idea, but 1t must
be confessed that with NJ Henrivaux's
guidance, inspection of the brilliant,
comfortable, clean, fndestructible 5lass
houses of the future Is thing to charm
the imagination and delight the aesthetic
senses.
Stone Food.
From the London Times.
The chief medical officer of Palputana in
a recent report says that in a very unusual
season like that through which the district