The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-12-07

f1du Certain recent statements as.
cribed to Thomas A. Edison come from
any other quarter they would have
been regarded as the babbling of an
irresponsible dreamer. From such a,
source, however, they carry with them
an air of authority that demands con-
sideration.
For Edison Is a man who has been
making such statements now these
many years. When he began to say
things about electric possibilities that
We're not even limited at in the. text
books the world was not startled out
of it's habitual calm. When he began
to convert these possibilities into
realities the same world accepted
them wonderingly and called him
"'Wizard."
So it has come to pass that when
he gives utterance to some new
thought conceived in the secret re-
.cesses Of his wonderful thinking ap-
paratus we do not scott at him or re-
fuse to listen. No matter how unspar-
ingly he draws on our credulity-it
cannot be denied that we have been
subjected to some trying tests-we do
not protest. Although our breath may
be coming in fitful gasps, we wait
and see."
1t certainly makes fearful drain
on our capacity for believing to be
confronted with Mr.. Edison's latest
marvel-the indestructible three-story
cement dwelling built in twelve hours
at a cost of $1,000. W
When we have recovered a little
from the shock of such proposition,
made apparently in good faith, we
turn expectantly to the facts as they
stand now.
On the second floor of Thomas a..
Edison's laboratory at West Orange,
N. j., there may be seen the model of
a very attractive Queen Anne cottage.
-Apropos of this model, Mr.. Edison has
recently delivered himself as follows:
Some time next spring intend to
build a house after that model. BY
means of a system Of molds which
have patented it will be possible for
any one who understands the business
to erect a house Of solid cement TWEEN
ty-five feet in width and forty-five
feet in depth, three stories in height
and roomy enough to house comforta-
bly, three families. 5 The building will
cost not to exceed $1,000.
'The all important feature of the
patent lies in the molds. They are of
iron and the inside facings are nickel
plated and are fashioned exactly like
the outside of the model. The materi-s
al for the house is composed almost
entirely of composition of my own
-devising, consisting Of one part &C.
ment, three parts sand and five parts
of quarter-inch crushed stone.
cat 6 in the morning we take the
movable steel castings to vacant lot.
These are clamped together with bolts,
and you have before you a house of
iron, with hollow walls. Meantime
we are mixing our concrete. The ma
.chinery to raise this soft concrete to
the top of the iron framework big
mold, you understands ready on the
spot.
''By 6 o'clock at night there is your
house inside your ironwork. Every
thing, except the doors ond windows,
Is in place. In six days the iron frame
is unbolted and removed In another
eight days the concrete is completely
hardened and the house ready to live
in-tifteen days from start to finish.
''The only wood used is the strips
around the edges of the floors on
which to tack down carpet and those
around the wall for THE picture mold
ing. All this is put in place in the
-ironwork before the concrete has been
poured in. The thing around the fire.
places and in the chimneys, the gas
and water pipes, are also cast in the
same way in the concrete walls. The
furnaces, the heating pipes, the bath
tubs and closets are all cast with the
walls"
All this without so much as the
twinkle of an eye to suggest that you
are being victimized. Do not finch;
there are further wonders to be told:
II have built the model of this house
on the basis of a laborer owner getting
.$1.50 per day. The molding forms
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