Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1904-12-24
WAXING GRANTS TOMB.
Weather Was Harming the Granite and
1t Had to Be Treated to
Protect 1t,

Fresh evidence that a mans own name
is the most indeStrucGble monument &
man can raise is TO be found in Gen.
Grants tomb, on Riverside Drive Built
of the stoutest granite at Il cost of nearly
100000, it has been found advisable
10 coat a portion of the solid stone roofs
Of the pOrtico and gallery with parailine
wax, as was done with the Obelisk nine
teen years ago in order to protect the
stone from diSintegration and to stop the
leaks which have developed. The same
persons who coated the ObeiiSz 50 cffec-
lively are doing the work. The tomb,
which was the testimonial of the more
than ninety thousand persons who con-
uibuted to its construction, will not be
permitted to suffer injury if it is possible
to prevent il. The tomb was dedicated
less than eight years ago, and is one Of
the most costly tombs ever erected.
The possibility OF damage resulting
from leaks was discovered by George D.
Burnside, the custodian of the mauSo-
leum. He noticed that thc plaster on the
ceiling on the north side ct the gallery
around the dome was begiRaing to flake
oft and that the under side of the portico
over the entrance WAS turning white from
the deposit of salts called effiorescence
These deposits We're due to the Fercola-
ten OF the rain through the thick stone
bE 4hC fDtls AAS ltit moisture came
through At brought With it certain of the
mineral constituents of the granite. When
it evaperated from the under part of the
Stone il left the mineral ON the surface.
1t is sand that if thIs is permitted to
accumulate for a long enough time it will
appreciablv decrease the strength of the
stoae. About $50 pSInds of stone flake
off from the Obelisk in Central park un-
der the influence OF the storms Of this
china tie before it was protected from the
elements by the application of a water
proof coat of paratEne. There appears to
he no stone into which water will not
work its way, The stones through which
the water percOlated in Grants tomb
were over two feet in thickness
When the work of repairing tire tomb
Was begun it WIS found that a consider
able quaHitfty of the cement in tine joints
between the stones had disimtegrated
also, permitting water to enter between
she stones. In some places it was pos
sjble to drive a TOOL three inches into the
joint. Wherever the jOinting has shown
disintegration, il is being done over An
parentiy, this is not due to any careless
ness in the construction of the tomb.
Gen. Horace Porter. through whose ef-
forts, IN large measure, the funds for
its completion were raised, gave a great
deal of his time to watching the work.
In the work now being done, the stone
rs warmed by means of HAT stove be-
fore the wax is applied. This stove is IA
simple affair, being practically nothing
more than "a sheet iron box, about two
feet square and SIX inches deep. One.
side of the box is a wire screen. This re-
tains the charcoal which is burned in
the stove and at the same time permits
the free radiation of the heat upon the
stone. The stove is suspended against
the stone whose pores are to be filed. II
almost touches the stone, and is held
there for two Or three minutes. That is
sufficient time to heat the stone to n
depth of perhaps quarter of an inch
Then melted paraffine wax is painted ON
the heated surface with a brush. 1t
soaks into the store to the depth to
which the stone has been heated, filing
all the inteTstices between the crystals
If the rock. Great care has to be taken
cot to heat the stone unnecessarily, as
agly a small portion of it can be heated
~ one time. Uneven expansion of the
stone might cause it 10 crack.-New
York Tribune