The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-04-26
ANornnR rprsoN INVENTION.

ANOTHER EDISON INVENTION.
 In recent issue of The New Bedford Standard we find this. which will inter- est many of our readers:
 Much has been said in recent times about the possibilities of cement in house building. If Thomas A. Edison is correct in his conviction thai aaseveM sn substancs by his process for esso, there would seem to be no reason why cement houses should not speedily become
 popular He has invenseo ,o o,Hs new ch eS, 1 as molten iron is treated in casting. and he claims that it is entirely practical l for house building-molds to be hrst erected and the, cement run in. The | process will give one house almost while he waits. for the cement will dry ! in a day and the house stand ready for
 n'erlGr is entirely Sn done away with with. but there will still be some need for the carpen- ter. though metal window and door
 tn.rs2 ss asss a Ws the shs sa pres sl ent scale of building prices Edison's | scheme seems almost like a burlesaue. but he has faith in t, and that ought possibility: and the mold process may likely enough. prove practical. What ever the process of construction, they parts of the country. and with the ever increasing price Of lumber there is ev-. cry reason to believe that cement will grow into popular building material.
 As an inventor Mir. Edison doubtless stands at the head of all living men. and probably ahead of any who has lived in the past He has given to the world so many inventions that list of them would be astonishing. and some of them have proven so useful and in- valuable, and have become such nec- essary part of American daily life that we are led to wonder that they were not long ago thought out, as well as to marvel over the condition of hu- manity without them. Familiarity breeds contempt" we are told, and ifJ familiaftty with some of Edison's in- ventions has not bred contempt for them 1t has at least caused us to look on them as part of our natural and in-' dispensable environments.
 But if the claims indicated in the 1 foregoing article shall prove to be well founded we feel safe in saying that nothing he has done in the past will prove more valuable to the country at large than a method of building good houses cheaply. It is discovery which comes right home to all who intend or contemplate building sub- stantial houses. More than that, it Is a discovery that will increase in value continually because of the great and
 increasing cost of all kinds of wood. It seems very much as if comment in
 some form must be the building mate that there will be any material de- crease, if there is any at all, in the cost of constructing houses and other struc- lures of brick or stone. It is a certain ty that houses built of wood will not only not become cheaper but will keep going higher. All workers in wood know that prices have been steadily advancing for years, and that second or third class lumber costs as much now as the first class article did a decade ago.
 All these considerations unite to make Edison's statements interesting to all people except the rich who can afford to pay big prices for their homes. We do not know the particulars of the Edisonian plan. When he speaks of
 building a seven room house for only
 s350 we do not know whether he means
 the entire structure or only the bare
 walls, but suppose he means the latter,
 other work costs as much; think of l building a substantial and complete ! house of seven rooms for only seven
 hundred dollars, and compare that with
 the cost of house of the same size,
 well built of first-class wood, and we
 can see what difference there will be
 in first cost. and can appreciate what
 his plan means
 But the first cost is not all, or even the greater consideration. A solid
 building of concrete, with as little wood about it as can be used, will not only
 be practically fire-proof but will be in finitely more durable than any wooden structure can possibly be. These are two considerations which will at once appeal to all who want enduring homes. and they are two which all who build
 or contemplate building will appreciate.
 The raw material for concrete is almost
 without limit, it can be easily moulded
 into solid wall or into building blocks.
 and hence we see no reason why there
 should be any doubt. either as to the
 feasibility or the economy of the Edison
 plan. We expect to hear more of 1t and
 hope there is no mistake about it.