El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-04-20

terra Gotta II properly burned becomes
Z - AIon6 as the stone when mixed With
eeL4len- 4 is full q pores and air
I spaces, ana consequently IL much lighter.
I -l is very important 20 reduce the weight
I oL lne nun as Tar as possible consistent
VIII me strength Of the ship It is esti-
Z mated tnat FOR every pound per cubic fosf
] that we can cut down the v-efrhr Or me
D concrete we can reduce the weight OF
the ship from ten 70 20 tons depending
puon tne size Of the vessel II the weight
[ IS reduced 20 pounds per cubic foot. the
snip VIII carry from 200 70 900 tons more
or cargo II Is therefore important that
lne concrete be made as light In weight
] here asked as 70 the amount OF sta.l
IN the big ships. and vas told that each
OF the larger vessels viii have more than
$4,000 steel rods OF the larger size weigh
ms 100 tons and an equal number or more
OF steel rods ranging from one-hslf an
I men upward IN diameter. Each OF thsec
7 rods IS SO feet long md n All were foined
loeether they would make one great
strand of steel so long that ft would
reach from Boston to New York and
thence on 10 Washington. The larger steel
rods are bigger around than a hoe handle
another advantage to the government
10 u4l-ulng concrete ships in this time or
great need continued 1Ir. Wig lis that
the work can be done by a class q men
which IS not now employed IN war work.
anc by men who cannot be used fn the
nulldlns Of ships Of steel and wood One
OF the chief difficulties IN our hurried
snip building construction fuSt now Is
The lack OF skilled labor. We cannot find
the skilled men. and If takes time 70
train them into the work. This concrete
construction brings IN a new class OF
labor as vel as % material. and thereb-
adds one more factor TO our side ~ tbe
equation IL winning the war
Have concrete ship any ADVANTAGE
over me ships OF steel and wood -
asked, They have some advantages ard
some disadvantage renlfed NJ VIE
nur the chief ~. -
ship Just now Is that we need more W.
sells 20 withstand the submarine warfare
anu mat We must have them ~ the
earliest possible moment"
Durability l. Important
Ahroushout our conversation about
concrete ships M Wig was rerv conrerra-
tive he evidently believes thar the rev
vessels VIII do all that IS expected of
them but says that the government sr-
poets % test them out thoroughlv before
entering into any large shipbuudinr pro-
gram Nav Of the problems OF the con
crete ship are being carefully studied. and
experiments are made 10 remedy the DIFF
fculties which arise
A very important matter IS the durabil- /
ity q the ship and whether It's lie may
not be heightened. Mr. Wig thinks IL c-
and his judgment on such matters IS --or-
thy or great consideration IN connection Q
Win the bureau OF standards here az
washington he has been engaged for a .
Ions time 1nres-iEatiuE all matters reraf- I
inE TO concrete and its durabHfty- Il was 1
not long agc that he was sent By the /
nav department 20 inspect. TIRE concrete I
construction along the Atlantic and Pa
---lc coasts or this country and Canada 3
He also visited an the ports and examined Z
the concrete harbors OF the West Indis I
Islands.
During this work he found that the I
concrete vas greatly affected By the salt /
IN sea water. matter which e important /
IN making these ships 20 sail over the 4
oceans He found that wherever the con
O =InHn e. d
was deterioratinE and disintegratinc. ana
that the deterioration was much greater
IN some places than in Others For in-
stance. he examined = series % concrete
platforms erected on concrete piles in the
Cape Fear river from Wilmington. n. c.
70 the sea The platforms we're built by
ne light house service 70 hold the beacon
lights outlining the channel At VII
nington. where the water vas fresh. q
vas found that the concrete was almost
IS good as when Il Vas made ard that