Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1909-02-05
General Investigation to Be Made.
I M by Experts. q ~
LITTLE KNOWN ON SUBJECT.

Work Undertaken at Request Of Fed.
eraI Officials In Charge Of Construe.
:,tion Work Many Manufacturing
Failures Due to Wrong Selection Of
Clay Deposits. ..
At the request of federal officials I'm
charge Of the construction work of the
government, which now amounts to
more than $4O,OOO,OOO annually, the
United States geological survey.
through its technologic branch, has
taken up a general investigation of the
clays and clay products of the United
States. A ceramic section has been
created, with A. v. Bleininger Of
Champaign. ILL.,, as ceramic chemist,
Government engineers. startled at
the enormous losses from fire in the
United States and the consequent de-
struction of valuable natural resources,
have been endeavoring for some time
to learn more about the fire resisting
qualities of structural materials, not
only to stop the present waste. but
also to preserve, If possible, the wan
ing timber supply. 1t was for this
reason that the government q few
years ago took mp scientific study OF
concrete, which is now being used ex-
tensively In government construction
work. . 80
Clay products, such as hollow tile.
f1reprOofng, terra Gotta, enameled
brick and glazed tile, play an important
part in modern ,freproof buildings,
and these are to be tested for the DIFF
ferent construction bureaus Of the gov
eminent. This will insure the high
est quality of ware obtainable In the
industry for the government buildings.
A series of tests'will also be conducted
with bricks in order that a, standard
may. be arrived at for the use of the
engineers in the future.
Mr.. Bleininger, the clay expert, 10
one of the leading authorities In his
line in the United States. In outlining
his work he said: 1.-THE coming tests,
although conducted to meet the needs
Of the. government will be Of great
value to the engineering profession and
the public, for the results will be OBJ
tainable by any one sufficiently inter-
ested to ask for them.
IAN important phase of the work
will be the determining of standard
for good brick. We shall study the
relation between the crushing strength
Of commercial bricks and their poros-
ity, the object being the establishing
Of a technical definition for q good
building brick. thus enabling engineers
and builders to reject poor materials
and encourag ing the manufacturers Of
well made and burnt bricks. At the
present time we do not know the Diff
ference between a good and q bad
brick. Another feature Of the work
will consist in evolving standard tests
Of clays for the purpose of determin-
ing the use to which they are best suit
ed, thus assisting in the development
Of the clay resources of the country
and avoiding the great money losses
caused by i'll advised investments In
low grade clay properties. An exam
nation Of many failures of new clay
enterprises may frequently be traced
back to- a mistake made In the selec-
ton of$the clay deposit.
"Strange as it may seem, we do not
fully understand such familiar proper
ties as the Elasticity Of clay. Neither
Is the nature Of the various grades Of
clay clearly understood. Another phase
Of the work deals with the general
manufacturing problem l might men,
ton the important question of white
wash appearing on brick walls, diff
dculty causing serious annoyance and
loss to manufacturers and users of
bricks by marring the beauty Of many
structures.
1.-The clay industry is one Of the most
important in the country. Last year
the value of such products amounted
to $149.697, 900, gain Of IA per cent
over the previous year. We are slow
" realizing that it IS not necessary to
import clay or clay products from Eu-
rope. An American manufacturer has
demonstrated that hs can make as fine
china and porcelain us any one In the
world. We import the finer grades OF
glass, but this is unnecessary. We
have the silicates here. The best cut
glass in the world is made In the Unit
ed States"
Professor Neweombe on Aviation.