The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-10-19
THE DAY OF CEMENT.


The advantages of the use Of cement
in building construction arc Just be
ginning to be appreciated in their wild
or scope by the building experts and by
the public of the United States. Re.
inforccd concrete buildings were shown
! during the San Francisco earthquake
] bre 10 be the only construction abso.
lutcly lmpcrvious to all attacks. Even
dynamite could not destroy when il
was determined after the fire to clear
away all distinctions; and the Call
building. which was built of reinforced
cement, was found to be absolutely in
| desiructible,
Cement construction has expanded
very widely since that time. Bridges
are now made of cement and dams also :;
and 1t is found that dams made of &c.
mcnt are fully trustworthy where the
| engineers do their duty and place them
on solid foundations The dam at Aus.
tIn, Pennsylvania. to he sure. was ce-
ment dam. and went out, but ii was
placed on sloping foundation, and
had already been moved by the sliding
Of the rock to a position where expert
engineers pronounced il insecure The
other cement dams all over the country
arc absolutely safe; and without uucs,
tlon cement dam is about the strong
est and best that can be built. The
great works at the Panama Canal. in
Guiding the locks and the Gatuu dam.
arc all cement, and there is no oucs-
ilon Of tho excellence of the work
Poured . houses arc coming into
fashion in the East largely by reason
of Mr.. Edison $ endorsement of them,
and by reason of their chcapncss and
their adaptabilly TO any form that may
be desired, II will be recalled that Ed.
lson put out scheme of model houses
built of cement. which he claimed to he
superior 10 all other construction and
far cheaper than any other form TO
build.
\ discussion has recently sprung up
over statement in a paper al Dcs
Moincs' Iowa, that people are building
everything out of cement. That ma
torIa being frcproof, the Des Mones
paper declares that such construction
rs dong more for conservation than
all the laws Of Congress, - This will |
probably be true in few years if il is
pot true now. Cement is fast taking the
place Of wooden construction partly
because If is safer from fire and partly
because Of the dcarness of lumber.
AS n matter Of conservation, if we
would build Of cement. undoubtedly
here would cnsuc great diminuiion
IN The demand for wood of all kinds:
md therein would be thc conservation
ii our forests But of even more i'm.
'ortancc than this is The fact That cc.
nont construction would be an cnor
nous reinforcement to lhc means Of
preventing fires. Buildings can now be
constructed absolutely frcproor. With
cmcnt rs the basic construction ma
erlal. with illcs for roof with metal
n terra Gotta Tor window frames. for
oors. with cement walls for partitions.
'Ilh tiles for flooring and special prep.
ration for roofing aud with metal or
tic furniture, there will presently be
othlng inflammab'c IN apy house. and
res VIII not only be diminished. they
wi be prevented altogether.
lhls Is the sort OF conservation that
rts doubly. II conscrrcs our wood
upply' and It conscrVcs against fire
'ss. This fire loss beng al the ratc n;
like $25O,00o.GOO wear in
his country, constitutes in Itself 4 most
'cightv argument in favor of Grcrroof
We shall all be- clad to
20 the day when there arc no more
OGDEN houses put up, no more wooden
artitlons, no more wooden floors or
OGDEN roofs. When that dav comes =
lie IRE insurance cost Will be at It's min. Il
mum. and the people S lives and prop
ties viii be secure Ever one can 90
} bed at night with perfect confidence \
waking up absolutely safe and sound Il
the morning SO far as fire is cor.
'rncd. This is impossible now: for no \
after what precautions any house
1Ider may take as TO his own prem
es, he cannot control tho acts of his n
sighbors. and il fire in a neipbborinp !
'usc Is liable to be inst as dangerous |
lire IN ones own. The day of
nserVat'on IS evidently dawning. and
c people of the United States are Il
ming to their senses in manner that |