Woonsocket High School - Quiver Yearbook (Woonsocket, RI)

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THE QUIVER 13 OUR PERMANENT BENEFITS FROM THE WAR IN EUROPE Although it sounds absurd to say that any country can be benefited by the present European war, this war has been an aid to the United States in one way. The enormous war orders, which have brought millions of dollars into this country and have given employment to thousands of American workmen, cannot really be regarded as a benefit; for, in the first place, it is only temporary, being an abnormal condition which will disappear when the war ends. Besides this, any gain made in this way is counteracted by the loss in trade of many other articles caused by England’s blockade and the lack of merchant vessels. But this war has awakened the American scientists and inventors, who were overlooking many opportunities. Beforj the war, Germany was the leader of the world in scientific research and manufacture. Any problem of manufacture that seemed too difficult for the manufacturers of other countries would be solved by the Germans, although sometimes they had harder natural difficulties to overcome than the people of other countries. Many of the manufacturers in the United States were content to pay exorbitant prices for certain materials, which, with a little research and ingenuity, could have been produced right here in America at a far less price. One example of this is manganese. Manganese is used extensively in the manufacture of dry batteries for electric torches. All the raw materials are found here for making manganese, but no one thought enough about it to attempt its production. All that was used was bought from the Germans at from thirty to forty cents a pound. Then the war came and the delivery of manganese was stopped. One manufacturer needed a large amount of it, as he had secured a contract to supply torches to the armies of the Allies. He called his experts together and told them that they must find a way to make it. At first they said it was impossible, as the Germans had a patent on their process; but at last they succeeded, and found that they could make a better quality for a cent and a half a pound than the German manganese, which cost from thirty to forty cents a pound. Quartz glass was another instance. This glass is heat and acid proof, and is used as a substitute for platinum in crucibles, retorts, and test-tubes used in chemical laboratories. If the supply of this glass stopped, the laboratories would have to suspend operations, as ordinary glass will not stand up under the extreme conditions of heat to which this apparatus is subjected. The sand for this glass can be found only in Nebraska; but the Americans, instead of taking advantage of this

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12 THE QUIVER V. The Storm’s Story For a certain number of days each year I rule the ocean, the thunder, the lightning, and the winds; and a very jolly reign I have, too. I like excitement and contests of strength. To please me, therefore, the wind, the ocean, the lightning, and the thunder matched their strength against one another. You sea-men do not enjoy it as much as I, do you? You are afraid for your worthless old vessels, for the people on board, and, some of you, even for yourselves. What weak creatures you mortal men are! RUTH SCHLIVEK. T8. ; ♦ NIGHTFALL The sun is setting in the west; The tiny birds are in their nest; The world begins to think of rest. i The gentle breeze whispers a song, With accent soft, but feeling strong, Which makes the heart for home-folks long. The leaves a hushed conference take; Scarcely a rustle do they make, Lest they the soothing silence break. On us the twilight soft doth steal; The nearest objects seem unreal; A restful peace we now do feel, For hushed the sounds of joyous day. On speeds the night without delay, While purple shadows pave its way. In the trees o’erhead the soft wind dies. In slumber wrapt the old world lies, Thus to remain until sunrise. O countless days! O nights untold! Still ever as you do unfold, For us enchantment weird you hold. HELEN THAYER. ’18.

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14 THE QUIVER fact, shipped the sand to the Germans, who supplied this apparatus to the whole world under the name of Jena Glass. Soon after the war began, this glassware became a scarcity, and the chemical supply companies were swamped with orders which they could not fill. This demand became so great that quartz glass factories were built in the United States. The war stopped the importing of thermometers from Austria, which had almost a monopoly of the manufacture of them. In a short time, the demand was greater than the limited supply, so the American glass workers were called on. Then it was found that they did not know how to make them; but two Austrians who understood the rather complicated process were found. They were put under contract, at large salaries, to teach the Americans how to blow thermometer tubes. One of these men could not stand prosperity and died from overeating; but the other turned out a class of pupils who are able to -upply the needs of this country. At one time it looked as if we should have to do without indelible pencils. The lead for these is made from a coal-tar dye and a peculiar kind of clay. The American chemists could make the dye, but the clay was lacking until someone discovered a field of clay that did the work as well as that coming from Europe. Another branch of manufacturing that was affected by the war was the automobile and machinery concerns. Although the United States leads the world in the manufacture of high speed machinery, all of the high speed steel used in this machinery, automobiles, and machine tools was imported from the great Krupp Gun Company in Germany. This company had installed electric processes, and could furnish this steel at a price that discouraged all thought of competition by the American steel men; but when this supply stopped, the Americans had to produce it, and, as they were in a hurry, they installed electric processes and the most up-to-date methods. The Stassfort mines in Germany had supplied the world with potassium chloride, which is an essential in chemical, electrical, and metallurgical work, and in drugs, fertilizers, and munition powder. According to the United States trade report, the imports to this country of this product for the year ending June 30, 1914, were over two hundred thirty thousand tons, valued at nearly forty dollars a ton. During the last year, however, a process has been invented on the Pacific coast for obtaining a potassium chloride, or potash, from the inexhaustible supply of kelp, or sea-weed, for about twelve dollars a ton. Lately, a man on the Atlantic coast claims to have invented a