Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-11-08
EDISON ON BUILDING.
Wizard Has Novel Ideas Of Future
Methods of Construction.

Wizard Has Novel Ideas of Future
Methods of Construction.
1.-The poor man need no longer live
in a box for house." said Thomas A.
Edison today at his laboratory in Or
ange, N. J., He can own a palace.
Before next summer will build a
three story, indestructible concrete
house that a laboring man earning
$3.50 a day can buy and run. 1t will
be as artistic and comfortable as any
Fifth avenue mansion and will be
built in half a day. Come up and see
It,"
Had anyone else made these state
ments you would have said that he
was a dreamer. But when Edison had
led you through the balconies Of his
study, packed with charts. diagrams
and models Of his successful inven-
tions, you began to believe him. Then
when he had reached the top floor OF
the building thrown open the door OF
a spacious room fitted with quarter
size model Of the house and pointed
out of the window to a huge concrete
building in the distance, where he was
making machinery to build not only
one. but thousands of houses like 1t
YOU knew that he meant business.
There it is." he said briefly though
with a bit OF pride Frightening his
clear gray eyes.
The model was a three story Queer
Anne house, with a high-peaked tiled
roof and a bay front very suggestive
of the houses on Riverside Drive. Tho
eleven rooms were high studded ant
we'll lighted. The walls within anC
without were frescoed simply.
You hardly think we can put thai
up in half a day?" the inventor ques'
toned in his shriil, high pitched
voice. well we can, and for les!
than $1,000. too. This is how we'll dt
1t:
"Over in that factory you just look
ed at we are molding cast-iron forms
The inside facings Of these forms arr
nickel-plated and are fashioned ex'
actly like the outside Of the model
When these are done we are ready t
build any number Of houses. H.
AT o'clock in the morning We
take these movable steel castings to
vacant lot. These are clamped togeth
er with bolts and you have before yol
a house of iron, with hollow walls
Meantime, we are mixing our concret'
one part cement, three parts sand
and three parts quarter-inch crushed
stones. The machinery to raise thi
soft concrete to the top Of this 'iroI
framework big mold, you understand
Is already on the spot.
by 6 o'clock at night there is you
house inside your iron work. Every
thing except the doors and windows Il
in place. In six days the iron franz
Is unbolted and removed. In anothe
eight days the concrete Is completel!
hardened and the house ready to liv'
in. Fifteen days from start to finish
"The only wood used Is the strip
around the edges of the floors on whicl
to tack down a carpet and those aroun'
the wall for the picture molding.. Al
this Is put in place in the ironwork be
fore the concrete has been poured In
The things around the fireplaces ant
in the chimneys, the gas and waite
pipes are also stuck in the same wa.
In the concrete walls. The furnaces
the heating pipes, the bathtubs ant
water closets are all cast with tn
walls.
"Will the unions object because the.
can't plumb, carpenter, lay bricks ant
the like?" Edison was asked.
well. they ought not to-" he said
"They are going to live in thes
houses"
1--WE been working on this tw,
years. That's the way 1t is with ev
erything I do. The idea comes cas-!
enough-doesn't take l per cent Of m!
time But the details mean plug, plug
plug. And the worst part Of It Is tina
when you've done anything it's neve
perfect, and never will be.
Take my storage batteries. Thre,
years ago I made battery capable o
doing $4,000 miles before new plate
were needed. Now I have one tina
will last $4,000 miles. But that's {
good ways from what the idea can dc
1t means. however, that the horse il
dead.
THE truck with my battery will TAX
twice the load of the ordinary truck
will have twice the speed and will TAX
up half the space. So it's eight time
as useful as horse and wagon. Thes
batteries will make trucks so cheal
that a Tenth avenue butcher car bu.
one. In fifteen years you won't see ;
horse in the business section of New
York
"Airships%' Edison laughed. THE.
have only made balloons so far.
guess I'm too commercial to bottle
with them. Nothing higher than tn
snowline of the Himalayas for me-"
He reached into his pocket and
pulling out a plug Of tobacco. took ;
good sized chew.
Learned the trick when 1 was ;
telegraph operator" he apologized
It's my only stimulant. 1 don't neet
anything else. No man does who take
care Of himself"
The minute my weight gets abov
normal, 176 pounds, eat a little less
If 1t falls below l eat a little more
rarely more than four ounces a meal
That's a fifth of what the ordinar!
man eats.
Most men sleep too much. too.
never sleep more than five or 81,
hours. What's the use Of sleeping
more? It's all dreams after that.
MY wife used to doze eight hours
three of them dreams. She wouldn'
try my method. She said her consti
tuition was different from mine. Fl
nally l got her to try five hours {
night. Now she feels better than ever
THE public won't believe it. Blu
% . I hal \,