Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1905-06-13
TWENTY-THIRD COMMENCEMENT OF THE|E
WAUSAU HIGH SCHOOL
Held at the Assembly Hall of the High School, Wednesday and
Thursday Evenings, June 9Th and 9th.

Wednesday evening, June 18th, the
| first half OF the commencement exer-
cises of the Wausau high school were
| held. Every reserve seat was taken
and to accommodate great many who
were unable to secure seats, chairs
were placed in the aisles. The music
was furnished by the high school orches.
ira and was very pleasing and delight
| full. The auditorium had been very
prettily and artistically decorated by
| the Juniors in the class colorS, green
and white At the back of the room a
large emblem of the class pin and
around it the motto, mo Excellence
Without Labor" added greatly to the
effect Of the decorations.
The invocation was given by Rev. b.
b. Gibbs He was followed by George
&. McNaughton, whose salutatory was
on Explosives" and was as follows
EXPLOSIVES.
Explosives In peace and IN war have
changed the history of nations. In the
present war we see the great field IN
which they act. In peace they are
equally important Many of our indis-
pensable mining products depend upon
them; the construction OF canals re-
quires them; all of the great tunnels
nave been possible only by the extern
sive use of these agents; and you can
cite countless other instances of their
immense value in industrial life. There
is hardly farmer in the county who
has not either had occasion to use dyna-
mite, or who is not familiar with its use
According to their composition explo-
sives may be divided into five classes.
OF the first class, gunpowder is fam
liar example.
In the early manufacture of gun
powder, the three ingredients sulphur,
charcoal, and saltpeter, were simply
mixed as we shall do; but the pres
ent process is complex, and is
carried to a high grade of perfec-
ton. The different materials are
generally refined or purified, at
the powder mill, mixed, compressed
into a large cake, which is broken up
or grained; the pieces then glazed,
dried, and busted to form common gun
powder. There are many conflicting
claims as to the discovery of this eXplO-
sive but the first record of It's in 1920 at
the battle of Grecy, where it was used
to brighten the French horses. Greek
fire, substance known to the Turks five
or six centuries before Europe was aware
of it, seems to be the immediate precur-
sor of gunpowder; but although its per-
centage composition does not vary
much from Prussian gunpOwder, it is
not probable that the two were at all
similar Greek fire was hurled at the
enemy with intent to destroy by virtue
of its combustible nature, rather than
by it's explosive force. The principle
involution found its successor in the
modern Roman candle. Here is the re
1f hon n re C1 mn VI
mixed. (Bnrnt mixed. The smoke is
the effect of incomplete compassion,
having minute particles floating in the
air.
When a substance is suddenly and
violently converted into gases, an eX-
plOsiOn occurs. Since the gases formed
have a much greater volume than the
original explosive, if confined, they will
necessarily exert enormous pressure on
their surroundings. This force did not
show itself when the gunpowder was
burned, but with this simple apparatus
we will endeavor to represent it. Here
we have a spool partly filled with gun
powder. The ends are tightly plugged,
and allow only the electric wire to enter.
In the powder, the wire is broken, and
a small piece of lead is joined to the
ends. The resistance offered by the
lead to the current of electricity, pro-
duces the heat to start combustion of
the POWDER explode powder spool.)
When the gases escaped, the place
where the instant before was state of
condensation, became region of rare
faction. 1t was the restoration of equili-
brum that produced the report.
In modern usage, the second group,
the nitro compounds, seems to be dis
placing the former nitrate mixtures.
These compounds burn instantly, and
as they produce only colorless gases,
there is no smoke. The first member
of this class, to consider, is nitrocellu-
lose, or more commonly called guncot-
ton made by sleeping cotton waste in
nitro acid-a mixture of one part nitric
to three of sulphuric acid. To show the
velocity of its explosion: whereas, two
and one-half pounds of gunpowder re-
quires one-one hundredth part of a
second to explode, the same weight of
guncotton requires only fifty thousandth
part of a second. Guncotton will eX-
plode when either moist or dry; but eX-
plosion ocC urs only when burning has
been starte>.; and when wet, this ex-
plosive refuses to ignite by any ordinary
flame, so detol ators must be used. In
submarine warfare guncotton hnds Its
most extensive use, where in mines and
torpedos a wet charge of one hundred
to two hundred pounds of it is placed.
While nitrocellulose is made by the