The Detroit times., 1917-10-17

he soil OF million acres Not
Zbnly does II water tho dry lands.
j. drains the vet and then friend
blways OF The farmer 81 hold hir
nsilago as 3D. ths housewife ina
on jar house bi oQlemeni ms
F0CK- MS nanny ttNHfa hls = 'ds, ,
keeps bis spring OF hls well intact
from contamination provides wa.
ering @oueh- dipping tank scW-
Ege systems and feeding aoor
Dives him cisterns. reservoir cul
Eerts and bridges. II paSes his road
10 market and 90 the distan, assoc
tiations that II and the motor have
|rade possible aves the road go
well that 30 pounds % pull Will move
ton. q & compared with "a pound
or macadam. - pounds for COCO
rrryi rrE--rt, ~ T7JyITTTtv TIT fi7TTri riTrt.
|nd 2ls pounds for mud (tests ~
Engineers OF the university ~ Call
ornia and The I. s Office OF Pub
lc Roads and Rural Engineeringl
These Uses here enumerated ,ug.
Eesf but a fen OF tho many Gssocia-
ions in which but one part OF The
great public finds The nratrriai con
retn .tTaehing upon tho rattx reali.
les or IS life, and white fhc farmer
ID "A great user OF cement in making
oncretc for scores OF common lt't
ier. he IS as yet onlt a small con
umer ~ the material as compared
with its vast applications IN cities
hnd towns 10 the purposes az botn
bubble and private industry.
Used by the Anclents.
II is no lonrer remarkable that VA
very feW decades concrete has
AIKEN such firm hold upon the
popular Imagination tp0n tie eNi
iences that ancient civilization used
similar material So structure
which remain 70 this day. there has
grown up the idea that the concrete
with which We uow are familiar be-
Identical with the composite Of The
incients Thus is attributed 10 con
arete the survival Of the corrotinE
ests ~ centuries and ma gnificant
nvulnerableness which tho every
bay aspects OF the modern material
ire fostering IN countless ways. The
Utmost unconscious capitalization Of
he half secret OF ancient times ana
he deft magic OF modern chemisia
snd engineers has made IL easy 20
Rccept tho cement manufacturers
haileneing slogan Concrete for
permanonce" And while each one
pr US knows that there Is nothing
permanent but the law or nature
bnd that nature continually destroy
hat she may build anew. still 81 Is
particularly American TO attribute
he absolute 10 the approximate. and
IN tho realization OF material
whose inherent quality Is 20 grow
stronger. not weaker. with age ~
esist Gre and food and the pound
ng griofa OF relentless traffic. 20
Rccept Il with such spontaneous zee.
PLANTATION as has been accorded thir
wenfieth century Atlas OF the struc
ural world.
Concrete Emperors.
a humorous but nevertheless tvu.
cal contribution 10 the popular esq
patton Of The material was publ
20 ediiorially in the Chicago HeraiG
Is, IN part as follows.
Concrete was used by the Ro-
mans. who also invented the cele-
prated Roman nose. which is still.
iscd with such great success. Cor
rete is composed OF cement md
broken stone, which Is mixed with
Eater by a tired man IN overaIls
md a rcd flannel shirt. and convert.
pa into Il sort OF geological Irish
tew. The mess Is then stuffed into
wooden mold and when II dries Il
3 go hard that when time attempts
o nibble II with It's Justly famous
ooth II has 10 go 10 the dentists
With low shrek OF agony.
This Romans wasted their con
rete building bridges. coliseums and
foads. Had they built their ON
berors of this material they would
pave been moro durable and tho
mpire would have lasted longer a
reinforced concrete emperor would
ave been less fatal 90 tho popu.
ace, whlle tho sieht ot a Praetorian
uard hacking away at the, impene-
rable crushed stone thorax ~ his
uler With a valuable sword IN an
mort 10 create vacancy on the
hrone would have been highly d.
ertlne.
Nowadays concrete Is used with
|rcat success IN building houses.
kyscrapers. bridges, baseball parks,