The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-09-03
TO ESTABLISH BIG
BRICK PLANT HERE
Commercial Club Took First
Steps Last Night.
TO BUILD $4,000 FACTORY
Special Lime-SanG Brick to
Be Made.

At the regular monthly meeting of the
4 Commercial club last night steps were
taken toward the organization of a brick
company which will erect a $4,000 brick
plant in this city having capacity of
10000 brick per day. The club voted their
endorsement to the company and many
of the members expressed themselves
enthusiastically on the subject and stat
ed that they would become stockholders
/ in the company.
The plant is TO manufacture the special
dry pressed brick of sand and lime, which
/ is claimed TO be as good as the best
! pressed shale of clay brick, and which
! can be manufactured here to compete
with the cheaper building brick. Promin-
ent capitalists and brick men have long
! recognized Wichita as an excellent loca-
ton for a brick plant because of its ex-
| cellent home market and the large sur
rounding territory to which it is easily
accessible because of its good railroad
connections. However they have held
off because of the lack of a cheap fuel.
II Is Cldlineu liidI III liit AicN OiAAh -
found the solution OF this problem that
means so much to Wichita. The lime-sand
brick is not kiln-baked but is dried by a
special steam process in eight hours and
then hardens very rapidly in the open
air
For some time members of the Com
mercial club have been considering the
proposition to form a company 10 man
! ufacture the new brick here and c. G..
Easley was sent back to Indiana where
the process has been used three years
and where this brick is now used almost
exclusively in building to investigate the
matter He visited not only Indiana but
also Michigan and Chicago and returned
fully convinced that d plant in Wichita
would be great thing. He stated that
the cost of a 10000 capacity plant would
be about $4,000 and the members of the
Commercial club thought that a plant of
this size should be constructed here. He
also explained the process of making the
brick and the cost The brick is made by
a special process, principally of sand
there being a small percentage of lime.
The brick is then placed in steam cyl
inder under a steam pressure of $50
pounds to the square inch. where is is
left for eight hours. 1t is hard when it
comes from the cylinder but when placed
in the open air hardens very rapidly.
Mr.. Easley says that one day after the
sand and lime is taken TO the plant the
/ brick may be placed in the building. He
says that bricks week old have been
tested and found to have resisting
power of 2,20o pounds per square inch.
!
l.500 When the lime-sand brick is a
month old the hardening process has adj
vanced until the resisting power is ap-
proximately $500.
Mr.. Easley found that the bricks are
now being used almost altogether in
Indiana and Michigan. and that they are
being used in the largest buildings under
construction in Chicago. Ed Vail remem-
bered seeing the buildings constructed Of
the brick while visiting his relatives in
Michigan City. Mr.. Easiey had photo
graphs of many large buildings made Of
the brick. and Mr.. Vail recognized sew
eraI of them. His brother has bank
building in Michigan City made OF
them Everywhere the brick seemed TO
be meeting with success and it IS claimed
that the elements have no effect on them
The process was discovered in Germany
and buildings have been standing there
thirty years with little or no change
Samples Of the brick mace from Wich-
tia sand and lime obtained on the Wich-
tia market We're displayed at the club
meeting and examined by the members.
/ They weigh six pounds while the pressed
/ brick weighs about five. and seemed to
/ he strong and substantial. as well as
! fine appearing brick They may be the
natural grayish white or a dozen differ
ent shades or colors. When a colored
! brick is desired they are coIored by a spe-
cial mineral coloring The bricks make
good material for either Office buildings
or fine residences.
I The steam drying and pressing process
is patented and the Wichita company
has been offered the exclusive right to
manufacture the brick in the territory
/ extending for a hundred miles around
! Wichita. This assures the Wichita plant
large territory and il would be ship
ping ten or fifteen cars a day to outside
towns instead Of Wichita shipping that
many in here daily as at present. II the
brick IS what it appears and is claimed
+ company car make a good profit on the
brick and sell them ar the same price as
/ the cheapest building brick. although
they are said 70 rank with the best press
ed brick. This would furnish cheap build
ing material close at hand and would
keep an immense amount OF money in
this city.
The Commercial club voted last night
TO appoint a committee Of three substan-
| tial business men 10 go TO the Indiana
/ factories and investigate the process and
also 70 inspect the buildings made from
the brick When they return the com
( pany is 70 be organized and the con
struction Of the plant begun at once
Members Of the Commercial club express
ed belief last night that the plant
OLD AGE