The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1902-01-25
|PAPER IS WIDELY USED.
NOW EMPLOYED IN A GREAT DIVER
GlTY CT WAYS

Paper manufacturers have deVel-
oped their industry in two ways IN re
cent years, and the results justify all
the labor and experiment carried on
through the application of science ana
| chemistry. claims the Scientific Amerl-
can. The apple alton of machinery to
cheaper the process Of converting tn"
raw material into different grades OF
paper has enormously stimulated pa
per production in this country, ana
the various processes employed nave
often been described.
But no less important expansion
of the paper industry has been in in
creasing the manifold uses to which
paper can be put. Here, too, science
has been the chief agent. and it has
wrought remarkable changes and I'M
provements. Chemistry has been Ia
boring in this field for two decades,
and from the laboratory have come
discoveries that have made possible
the enormous side products OF the pa
per trade that are now manufactured
on large scale.
One OF the things in the paper in
dustry that seemed almost incredible
a number of years ago was the manu-
| .acture of car wheels. 1t seemed in
comprehensive to the lay mind that
wheels made of compressed paper
would stand the Strain better than
wheels made of steel. But the manu-
facture of paper wheels is no longer
novelty and they are made in
great variety Of sizes and shapes fcr
use on roller skates up to heavy car
wheels. After the car wheels made
applied paper to the construction Of
hollow telegraph poles, which were de-
signed to take the place of those which
had heretofore disgraced our streets
and highways. But paper telegraph
poles have never proved CT any great
value except to illustrate to the skepu-
cal what can be done with paper.
There have in recent years beer
made of paper, water and sewer mains
which promise to be Of value. These
are hardened and treated chemically.
30 that they are more impervious to
water than some of the iron and earth
enWarc mains. 1t remains to be
proved by actual test whether they
ian outlast some of the latter The
announcement was made a few years
ago that paper window panes had ac-
tually been made and used, but these
were much like the oyster-shell win
dow pares of the Filipino huts. They
may admit a certain amount of light
to brighten up the interior, but they
could never be looked through with
any degree of satisfaction. STILL
semi-opaque glass is often needed for
the ceilings of public buildings, where
The light admitted must be dimmed
and diffused in passing through the
substance. Paper window panes have
been used in this way with more OF
less success.
| By means Of improved machinery
md new chemical processes wood pulp
ran pe lawn out into the thinnest
imaginable sheets. IN this SHINING
|
its toughness. Thus thin paper nap
kins and tableclOths are produced and
printed with fancy borders and pat
terms. Some OF these articles are al
most as tough as linen in resisting
the attempt to tear them. Of course,
:hey will not stand wetting and soon
lose their toughness when moistened.
But otherwise they make serviceable
substitutes for table linen. Likewise
the paper vests and paper undercloth.
Ing and lining of winter suits are pre-.
pared for practical use, and they ac-
complish nearly all that is claimed for
hem. The paper vests and Innings are
made SO thin that their weight" is
practically nothing, and yet they keep
out the wind and cold. They arc
chemically treated so that they will
last long time. They are also man.
/ ufactured so that they do not make
!. the rustling sound usually character
istic of paper, and they are pliablc
enough not to stand out or bulge the
cloth in any way.
Waterproofing and, more recently,
6reproofing of paper have occupied
The attention of chemists and practical
papermakers. Paper made waterproof
and as fine as the ordinary napkins
md tablecloths would prove boon
to many lines of industries, especially
1t restaurants and hotels 1t is said
hat public eating houses are waiting
lnxiously for durable paper napkins
and tablecloths. Waterproof paper is
made today, but not in such a way as
I to be valuable for table use. Water
! proof paper sheets are frequently glued
to cloth, and in this way the latter is
rendered impervious to moisture. This
waterproof paper is good, however,
only for limited lines of articles.
Lately the paper pulp mills have
, been experimenting with fireproof
paper. In fact, the experiments in
producing fireproof paper paved the
way for making fireproof wood. The
wood pulp that is compressed into
molds for general household uses,
/ such as for wainscoting. dadoes, cell
, ings and holdings, can be made fire
proof in the same way as the paper