Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1901-08-22

prediction of Jules Henriyaux, till
lately the director of the great glass
mandatory at st. Gobain, and one
of the greatest French chemists.
Mr.. Henrivaux 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
cannon or glass men-o-war or glass
greykounds 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 substance
known TO us for every kind of stTuc-
tural purpose, and especially for dwell
tnghouses. In short, if the visions of
Mr.. Henrivaux are realized we shall
all be living in glass houses before
long.
The point of the idea is found in
the inexhaustible supply of the
materials from which glass is made,
In it's adaptability to all shapes and
forms, its durability, and its cleanli-
ness. 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 it is upon this aspect of
the Tea that Mr.. Henrivaux lavishes
his imagination.
There are SIN ways in which glass
can be manipulated. 1t can be cast
into window panes, paving stones,
panels, etc. 1t can be nodded into
cornices, 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 objects of art and utility.
1t can be drawn into the finest threads
and made into pipes. baskets, and
dress materials. 1t can be turned into
mosaics and enamels, and can be
brought into the closest imitation of
the precious stones.
Imagine, with Mr.. Henrivaux, the
construction of a glass house. The
foundation and the walls would be
constructed of a variety of glass,
recently invented. called "stone
glass;" which has already successfully
withstood the severest tests. When
crushed it gives a resistance three
times as great as granite. When
subjected to heat or cold it is
found less sensitive than steel.
When submitted to friction it shows
less wear than porphyry. Shock. as
OF a hammer blow, it resists to a
degree twenty-five times as severe as
that which would fracture marble.
The test of tension has practically no
effect on it whatever.
The walls, then, 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), convey
ing hot air, hot and cold water, gas,
electric wires, drains, and everything
needed for the health and comfort of
the inhabitants. Stairs and balus-
trades, ceilings and wall decorations,
mantel-pieces and fire-places, would
all be constructed of glass. Some of
MIR. Henrivaux's 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 prisms 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, as Theirs once said of Louis
Napoleon, is capable of anything
Our chairs and tables, in the new
glass age, will be made of vitrifed
material, toughened to the strength
of oak and mahogany. 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. If not
glass blades.
The new glass house will be alb
solutely clean and practically In
destructible. The whole of its sur
face can be washed from the top
story to the basement, without a trace
of humidity being left. Dust cannot
collect on its polished face. and the
spider will find no place on which to
hang it's cobwebs.
They have already begun to pave
the streets Of Paris with glass. and it
is found that the substance, while
practically indestructible. Is admir-
ably 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
Is somewhat increases the noise Of
the traffic, but even this might, by and
by. be overcome.
One of the features OF last years
exhibition was the Palais Lumineux,
or the Palace OF Light, built entirely
u glass. 1t was TO some extent the
realization Of Mr.. Henrivaux's ideal.
Not only was It Of solid construction,
but the adaptability Of glass to every
class Of decoration in form and color,
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