Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1909-07-30
HOMES FOR THE POOR
EdiSOn'S Plan 10 Provide Cement
Houses at $40 Per Month.
THEY WILL NOT ALL BE ALIKE

HEI WILL NOl NIL OC HLlNC
Different ornamentation and Wide Va.
riety Of Plans From the Same Molds
Cost $1,000 to Build House For One
Family.
The men I'm my shop wanted to make
O. plain naucl for the house. one with
cut oruamcntation. but | told them we
would give the nottingham and his
family ornamental work for their fu-
iurp homes. They deserve II. and he
sides. n costs no more after the pat.
tern Is made 10 give decorative effect
than II would to make everything
plain"
These words, spoken by Thomas A.
Edison q few days ago rs he stood on
the steps of his laboratory at Orange
y. j.. hold out an interesting future
for trc vorkiugman who is proud oi
his home His words revealed not only
his real motive IN the latest work the
great inventor has been undertaking.
but they demonstrate the fact that he
had attained the success he had been
aiming ~ for tie last eight years to
provide for the worklngman the
alauec of possessing a substantial and
attractive home for little money.
In recent years Edison has been a
ph,Hmhrrpist For nearly ten years
he haS been working ont various prob
lcmS Tor the welfare Of his fellow men,
Tut la all that time he has been trying
to evolve something that would make
the struggle Tor existence easier and
p'vf~antcr for the worklngnnn, and
he hgs accomplished a great thing. In.
stead or living as he does al present
10 Giuey tenement or stunfy, unat'
tra,tivc apology FOR a house, the wage
Garner VIII soon be able to live In a
miniature palace.
Can Pour a House.
This prospect has been brough,
about by Mr. Edisons new poured
crmcut house" which is about 10 he
come factor In twentieth century
building construction.
1t la Edisou's hope to erect for the
millions Who dwell in tenements high
~ ornamental. waterproof and vermir
proof houses In the suburbs for Si2n
each. and on the proposition that
for $40 month the workingman car
live IN q detached, sanitary cement
house. with u yard FOR the children tC
play in. Edison went ahead and per
rctted his processes. To this worI
Edison has given his best thought
Architects and engineers and. in fact
an tcclml al men who have a knowl
edge ot the properties of concrete
greeted the first announcement Of the
Edison poured house two years age
with ncrcduiry and smiles.
Some Of the Objections.
The most frequent objection or crlti
cism offered was the apparent I'm
practicahiity of pouring concrete Int
an intricate set Of molds aud sccur
iug a surface throughout that woul(
hc free from imperfections. "It vii
clog at viii not iiow." We're expires
sluns heard on NIL sides. Then obiec
tiuns were offered on artistic grounds
Imagine a city Of houses every on'
OF which is like all the others. 1t i
prepostcrous,' was said.
MIR. Edison has answered all thcs'
objections 80 the full satisfaction o
the most critical Here are the impor
tant facts about the poured house:
He has produced mixture Of
consistency almost like water whicI
holds the stone or aggregates in sus
pension, allows the mixture TO tioV
freely 20 all parts of the noids an'
secures uniform distribution Of tn
aggregates throughout the mass. Tn
mulds are adapted to variations OF Ill
rangcment thus making II possible I
change the style Of houses with IN
same set of molds. With five or 81
sets of molds, therefore, a wide variet
Of style is possible
Following is n description of one o
Edison's Sl3oO poured cement house
for one family, with floor plan % b
80 feet:
It is intended to be built on lot
40 by GO feet, giving lawn and sma
garden room. The front porch extend
eight feet aud the back porch thre
! feet on the first floor Is larg
| front room. II by % and nine an
opc-half feet high. intended as livin
! room. ana kitchen In the back, IL b
| 20 and one ana one-half feet higl
4 In the corner of the front room is
| wide staircase leading to the secon
floor.
Plenty of Light and Air.
This contains two large bedrooms.
wide hall and roomy bathroom
/ The third floor has two large room
Each room has large windows,
there is an abundance of light an
fresh mir. The cellar, seven feet 81
inches high, extends under the who
house and will contain the boile
washtuhs ana coal bunker. The de
\ orations will he east with the hous
! and will therefore be a part of Il
1 structure,
/ In preparing the cement for the hou'
/ the concrete, after being mixed. w
| ba dumped into large tanks, fro
which il will be conveyed to distri
utiny tank on the roof or top of Il
/ forms. A large number of opt
troughs or pipes will lead the miStu
4 10 various openings in the roof
whence it will flow down and fill {
\ narls of the molds to the footings