Asbestos, Its production and use / With some account of the asbestos mines of Canada

by Robert H. Jones

As a final instance of its applicability for purposes connected with warfare, it may be interesting to mention that I have lately seen it stated that the fibre would be of great value for use as lint in hospitals and on the battle-field. Of this I am unable to speak, but if it be a fact that it can be so used in favourable comparison with the best lint, as stated, it is certain that its imperishable quality would be of great advantage, seeing that it could be used over and over again, only needing to be purified by passing it through fire after each time of using.

In regard to the use of asbestos in connection with building operations, much attention is now being given to this in a variety of ways, in America especially. The building laws of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia pay special attention to this, and many material alterations have been required to be made in consequence in the fittings of several important public buildings, whilst the use of the mineral is, I believe, rendered compulsory on those wishing to procure licences for the erection of new theatres, libraries, concert halls, &c. At the American Academy of Music, in Philadelphia, the underwriters went so far as to offer a reduction of one per cent. per annum provided an asbestos curtain was placed in the house. The Fire Apparatus Committee then, it is reported, succeeded in perfecting "the only barrier of complete protection to an audience against fire in the world." This curtain, made of asbestos cloth (97 per cent. pure asbestos and 3 per cent. cotton) is 54 feet wide and 53 feet high. It is hung on wire lines, three-eighths of an inch thick, connecting with a drum located in the apex of the roof, and can be raised with ease by two men and lowered by one.

Again, after the disaster at the Ring Strasse Theatre, at Vienna, when attention was drawn to the great danger arising from the want of some certain and rapidly applicable means of separating the stage from the body of the theatre, the Roman Minister of Public Security issued an order that every theatre should be fitted with a fireproof curtain capable of entirely isolating the stage from the theatre, and he indicated an asbestos cloth curtain as one that would meet the case. All the principal Roman theatres are now supplied with these curtains, the material having been furnished by the United Asbestos Company of London. The same company has also recently fitted a similar curtain for use at the Theatre Royal in Manchester. This is formed of an iron frame holding the asbestos curtain.

Asbestos fireproof curtains are also in use at the New National Theatre, Washington; the Criterion, Brooklyn; and in the theatre at Cleveland, Ohio. They have also lately been supplied to several English theatres, as well as that at Manchester just mentioned.

The terrible calamity at the Opéra Comique in Paris, coupled with that which so recently occurred at the burning of the theatre at Exeter, again set men's minds running in the direction of greater security from fire in theatres. As a consequence several varieties of curtains, all involving the use of asbestos, have been contrived. For instance, at the building of that pretty little theatre (Terry's) in the Strand it was resolved to replace the usual heavy, cumbrous, slow-lifting iron shield by a single light-grey asbestos curtain, which moves up and down as easily as an ordinary window-blind. And the authorities agree that this is as valuable a protection to the audience as the former ponderous iron portcullis which, winding slowly up and down, was calculated to depress the nerves of the audience in the same way that passers-by in the street are affected by the harsh grating of the iron shop shutters when being wound down for the night.

Again, in the proposals for a new "Safety Theatre," brought to the notice of the public by Mr. Henry Irving, stress is naturally laid on the necessity of sealing the stage, or shutting it off from the auditorium, so that in the event of fire its perils might be confined to itself, and to providing an outlet for the smoke, which is often more disastrous in its effects even than the flames. This he proposed to accomplish by means of an asbestos curtain which, on being dropped, would at once become rigid with the wall on either side. This curtain was proposed to be worked in iron grooves going straight up to the gridiron floor; and the suggestion was made that this should be used as constantly as the ordinary act-drop, there being at the same time nothing to prevent its being made as ornamental as the usual curtain. It could also be worked as easily, and be just as easily lifted for a recall. The audience, it was said, would thus have the satisfaction of knowing that every time the curtain was dropped they were effectually protected by a fireproof screen, which could be lowered with the same rapidity as the present curtain.

In continuation of this subject it may be worth mentioning, as showing the amount of attention which is now being directed to this important matter, that an experiment was recently made in the neighbourhood of Oxford Street to test the fire-resisting qualities of another new curtain for the stage, said to have been invented by Captain Heath. This experiment took place within a specially built hoarding, within which there was erected a large model of the Drury Lane stage proscenium. Captain Heath explained to the company, invited to witness the experiment, that the curtain was made of asbestos and canvas, and was rolled on a block of wood placed underneath the front part of the stage, where it occupied an otherwise useless space, and in no way interfered with the business of the theatre. The sides of the model were made of iron plates, and the front entirely of wood. When certain catches were released counterbalancing weights came into action, and the curtain was run rapidly up from below. On reaching the top, it pressed tightly and automatically against the back of the proscenium, turning on at the same time a supply of water from a perforated pipe which ran along the whole length of the top of the curtain so as to keep it constantly wet. The arrangement of the switch used for communicating action to the curtain was such as to turn on the water and close the curtain against the sides at will. He also stated that communication with the lever of the switch could be fitted to any part of the theatre. A very severe fire test was employed. The model was first filled with inflammable materials such as shavings and large blocks of wood, over which petroleum was poured. At a given signal the curtain was raised and the fire lighted. The flames at once rose, accompanied with volumes of smoke, none of which, however, found their way to the front of the proscenium. The interior looked like a furnace. But so effectually were the flames shut off that it was possible to sit on the fore part of the stage without feeling the heat, the only thing noticeable being the steam arising from the wet canvas. This, Captain Heath explained, might be obviated by painting the canvas in oils. The fire burned fiercely for half an hour, and the universal opinion of those present was that the curtain was perfectly fireproof, and that its construction was as simple as it was useful for the purpose intended.

Whilst these sheets are still in the press, yet another theatre dies the apparently natural death of all such structures, that is, by fire. Portugal is this time the scene of the disaster, the sufferer being the Baquet Theatre in Oporto. The calamity was caused by the wings catching fire from a gas-jet, whereby the whole of the stage scenery was almost, immediately afterwards enveloped in flames, the furious progress of which it was found impossible to arrest. Here, then, was a striking instance of a holocaust being caused by the want of such a curtain as has been described; for, had such a thing been available, the stage would have been at once shut off from the auditorium, and even if it had not been found possible to save the structure, the fire, at any rate, would have been localised for a sufficient length of time, to have enabled the authorities to clear the building, and so have prevented the panic and horror which ensued, and the fearful sacrifice of life which humanity now deplores.

It is worth while perhaps recording the foregoing, because there can be very little doubt that something of this kind will presently be made compulsory even in England for use in theatres and music halls generally. And it is believed, from the course matters are now taking in the United States, that the use of asbestos in some form or other will be made compulsory there for the shelvings and doors of public libraries and places for the custody of records, for sheathings between wooden floorings and below carpets, for hearthstones, for the linings and doors of elevators or lifts, and for the better preservation of Pullman cars from fire.

The premises of the American Watch Case Company, of Toronto, have their floorings protected by an asbestos covering, and I saw an announcement recently in the Sherbrooke Gazette that this covering had saved their premises from destruction by a fire which had occurred there. In connection with this part of the subject it may be added that various attempts have been made for the introduction of asbestos into the manufacture of lace curtains, dresses, &c., but I believe that the principal obstacle in the way of success in this line lies in the fact that in its present state, in the shape of curtains, for instance, it is found to be an obstinate holder of dust. This objection will, no doubt, be presently got rid of; and soon we may hope to have heard the last of those fearful scenes which have at times occurred from the firing of ladies' dresses at the footlights in theatres.