Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-05-09
! WINS CONCRETE Fight
Congress Makes Another Appro-
priation For Experiments in
Building Material
100000 HAS BEEN SAVED
100000 HAS BEEN sAvEl
Government Alone Benefits Extensively
by Knowledge Gained From Expert
ments-consressman Norris Wants
Whole People to Gain Thru Use of
Material and Inventions.

Washington. May S.-For the
third time Representative Norris,
of Nebraska, has won his fight
for the appropriation to pay expenses
of government experiments in the use
of concrete and related materials in
building construction.
Mr.. Norris was the father of this
proposition. Three years ago he tried
to get it put into the sundry civil bill
by the committee, but that body OBJ
jected, and it was stricken out on
it in such form that it was not subject
to the point of order, and on fight
he got it in. The same was repeated
year later, and again he Won This
year the committee put it in the bill,
but cut the amount from 100000 to
$50, 900; and again Mr.. Norris had a
fight. and again he won, getting the
full 100000 inserted on the floor.
The purpose of these experiments is
building material, to find how differ
ent kinds of concrete may be used, the
methods of building with it, and to
work out all the various mechanical
architectural and physical problems re-
lated to this use of new material for
construction. The object is manifold.
Concrete buildings are the safest in
the world in case of fire or earthquake.
They last longer than other structures:
they are cheaper when the concrete is
cheap and there is reasonable knowl-
edge of its use.
The supervising architect of the
treasury before the committee this
year told the members that its own
building operations alone, in the last
year. the government has saved 81
10000 as a result of the knowledge
gained thru these experiments. 1t is
now going in extensively for concrete
construction, and is proving the prac-
ticability and the economy of the
method Advocates of forest conserva-
ton are devoted to the new process
b. cause it is now promised that in
few more years the use of concrete
will have reduced the demand for lum-
Der W dH SASSiAs.
Mr. Norris has some highly inter-
esting ideas about the possibility of
concrete construction. He has been
watching the operations of Thomas A.
Edison. who has long been experiment
ing with an invention to cheaper con-
crete construction. The Edison idea
is to construct a set of molds into
which liquid concrete can be poured,
to harden and, when the molds are re-
moved, to leave concrete house in
one solid piece. The report that Edi-
son has gone so far as to assure the
perfection of the scheme was received
/ by Mr.. Norris with the greatest in
terest.
81 see no reason he said. "why the
! people should not in the end derive
immense benefits from such an inven-
ton. 1T would be one of the greatest
ever produced, if it will do half of
| what is claimed for it in the way of
cheapening construction Of houses.
Everybody will be able to have home.
I don't see why the government should
| not properly, in such a case, buy the
natent rights to such an Immensely
| useful invention, and let everybody
have the benefit of the idea from the
| start. should not wonder if some
such proposal would be made before
long, if Edison works out his plan to
| an unuuestonable success. The con-
crete house would not only be cheap
err than anything else known, but II
would be warmer in winter, thus e1-
fecting a great economy in fuel, and
| cooler in summer"