The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-01-17

freproof paint had remained readable.
though blackened by smoke.
After this IL is hardly necessary to point
out that theaters, including scenery, drap-
cries and wooden stage floor. can be made
absolutely hreproOf. The cost of course,
Will be considerable. but that is the look
out Of the great American people favoring
the absorption of natural resources by
combinations Of fnanciers. Considering
that Count D'Aldini In Paris, advocated
asbestos uniforms for firemen at the begin
ming OF the last century, under Napoleon
the First, are we not moving ahead rather
slowly? Our boosted progressiveness not
withstanding. hundreds of brave firemen
are annually roasted alive frightfully
| injured, because we neglect to provide them
| with proper protectiOn-the asbestos COW
| ering advocated a hundred and more years
ago.
/ have seen men armed with asbestos
| gloves take UP an exploding kerosene
| lamp and hurl it out of harms way with
/ out suffering a scratch. L have seen them
| handle live wires with asbestos gloves with
| out damage to themselves. l guarantee
that asbestos glove, impregnated with
| rubber, will Withstand the strongest dy
| namO.
Asbestos has been successfully intro
| duced in the household. Asbestos wicks
| Outlive the best and most expensive lamps,
| as asbestos covers save the finely polished
mahogany table from injury by hot plates;
the ironer will not burn II she protects
| her hand with an asbestos rag.
The great European people too poor
to afford their subjects free education but,
Of course, money for war purposes is al
ways availab BILE While the Asbestos Trust
prohted considerably by this state of af-
fairs, it furthered the cause of humanity
at the same time by introducing portable
asbestos lazarettos to be used in case OF
war. These emergency barracks" So
called, are waterproof as well as fireproof,
besides offering abundant P IS protection pro
trating cold, for asbestos allows neither
heat nor frost to pass. Hence 1t is equally
successful in keeping warmth in incubators
frfgeratOrs.
Asbestos carpets would be Godsend in
the sick room, they keep noises of any
kind at distance. Indeed, if Carlyle had
lined his cell" inside and out with ashes
tos he need not have gone into fits of de-
spair on account of a growing cock or the
tolling of church bells.
Asbestos varies much In quality. but all
kinds, no matter where found, stand the
| crucial test; IL is invariably fireproof. l
have seen tests up TO and above three
| thousand degrees Fahrenheit The heat
| made the water in the streams evaporate,
| but the fabric itself did not suffer. The
contention of the Iroquois managers that
! their curtain, though asbestos, was de-
| stroyed by the fire may therefore be dis
| missed without argument. If the curtain
had been asbestos it would be there to tell
| its story.
This being the age of electricity. asbes-
| toss resistance TO the electrical fluid can
not be too highly appreciated, particularly
with respect TO hotels, theaters, and, above
all, the stage.
FAKE ASBESTOS GOODS.
''If'' the curtain had been asbestos
there is the rub. The market is full of
fake asbestos articles, and the sooner the
| government takes action, preferably in con-
| junction with other governments, against
dealers in "fire-protectors" that fail to pro-
tect, the more lives will be saved. If it is
mean TO adulterate whisky, and criminal
to forestall the price of food. it is unspeak-
ably Ubiquitous and vicious to sell shield
against fire that may cause the purchaser
posed cork life-preservers with sawdust.
By the way how many sawdust-cork life
preservers do you suppose are carried by
excursion steamers and ferryboats in all
parts of the world?
have seen asbestos cardboard. so-called.
that contained less than per cent. as
bestos, while the real article contains at
least 80 to 80 per cent. pure asbestos fibre.
Just now, as the dispatches tell us, a lot
of investigating and still more talking is
going on in all big cities of the States, but
unless the authorities or Legislature make
it a criminal offense to sell false asbestos
the burning up of people in gilded fire.
traps called theaters and hotels will con-
tinue before.
Those having the welfare of the public
at heart should insist upon the criminal Of
Tense clause, the mere imposition Of fine
would be quite useless TO frighten off per-
sons determined TO make money even at
the cost of jeopardizing peoples lives.
In conclusion. let me set down here a few
widely unknown facts regarding asbestos;
Writes Pilnius in his Natural History
(first century A. d. I'm the fiery deserts
OF India. the land that knows not rain, and
where the sun breeds poisonous snakes.
there grows grass that develops In the
fame OF fire. 1t is utilized to weave pre-
cious white fabrics, which. If thrown Into
the fire, emerge only withered and more
beautiful
Herodotos the Father of History" born
4S4 b. c., tells Of ''living linen" used by the
peoples of Asia 10 wrap up the bodies Of
their Kings when they are burned after
death. The living linens" he said pre-
vented the ashes of the dead from mixing
with those of the pyre."
Horodotos first used the name that gained
such awful significance since the Iroquois
fire He calls the living linen asbestos
4. e. indestructible.
Asbestos garments have been found in
Egyptian graves that existed 5000 years be-
fore Christ
Marco Polo. the globe-trotter of the thr-
teenth century brought back asbestos from
the Land of the Tartars. and Charlie
mango once amused a dinner party by
throwing a tablecloth into the fire and
drawing IL forth uninjured.