Arizona republican., 1902-11-17
BUILDING TESTS
How the Power of Material to Do Its
 Part Is Proved.

Boston; November 9.-(Special Cor repondence of The Republican.)-Al- though it is somewhat the fashion to admit that the modern world considers the wonders of science to be its most important field of observation and study, few persons realize how impossi- ble would be the erection of modern city. the establishment of a modern railroad or the building of modern steamer or battleship without certain amount of preliminary work in scien- tific laboratories. To us Americans what is perhaps more interesting, is that the important European labora- tories. now playing this absolutely nee essary part in goth century civilization, are based upon methods that originated on this side of the water. Such is one of the conclusions of Professor F.. r. Miller, of the Massachusetts institute of technology, who has just returned to Boston after a tour of the best known technical schools and govern ment experiment stations of England and the continent. Never an import ant building or q big vessel, ship dock. railroad bridge, or any one of the indefinite number of large modern structures for the comfort and conven- fence of humanity is built until the ma terial is thoroughly tested to see if 1t will bear the strain to which 1t must be subjected. Naturally the labora- tories of the world are always watching each other; the authorities of the great German institution at Charlottenburg, for example, keep a watchful eye on the Massachusetts institute of technology and the institute of technology sends its representative to visit Charlottenburg.
 At first glance this seems simply an example of the rivalry of important educational institutions. But in reality, having in view the actual relations be- tween national civilizations, it is also in the long run a rivalry be- tween national civilizations. In Lon don. where the business quarter is said to be threatened by an invasion of the lofty American office building, there is already tangible opposition on the ground that the buildings are still an experiment and probably unsafe to ten- ants. The answer of course lies in the continued safety of the high building and this in turn depends obviously on the accuracy with which the material has first been tested. Before the high building became so important a part of modern construction these tests were made with small pieces of the material from which the strength of larger sec tions were deduced by complicated ar ithmetical calculations. But the cree tion of taller buildings, as well as the growth of ships, steamers, bridges, etc, found these tests unreliable and the Massachusetts institute of tech nology not so very many years ago, took the pioneer step of adapting it's laboratories to testing full sized ma
 terial by the methods now almost uni versally followed on both sides of the water.
 To see these tests in progress is an interesting glance at what is practical ly the birth of many familiar struc- ture, whether the office building of big city, the floating fortresses of navy, or the railroad bridge spanning a deep gorge in the mountains hun dreds of miles from civilization. In the engineering laboratories of Tech, as the prophet of modern testing is best known in it's own immediate neighbOr- hood of Massac achusetts, these tests are in progress not only night and day but some of them lasting over several years of constant strain and pressure on a given piece of material. The labora- tory itself is what seems almost chaos of powerful machinery whose sole pur- pose is to bend twist, pull or push the various materials of modern construc- ton to their last points of resistance