Edison and Tesla on Concrete Houses

There is a lurking suspicion that when Mr. Edison, the famous inventor, told a newspaper man that he had contrived a house capable of 'comfortably accommodating a large family, which might be built of concrete and constructed in a single day at a cost of $1,000, he was having some fun with the boys. Possibly, it might be done, but it is not likely that any contractor would take the job at present. Nevertheless there are great possibilities in concrete, as every one who has kept in touch with the march of events must know. In all probability the concrete house will be popular in the near future, not merely because of its cheapness but on account of its durability and for many desirable features. When the concrete house comes it will come to stay, for it will be difficult to remove it by any process other than blasting. And then it is not So very new. either. Nikola Tesla, another light of the electric world, calls attention to the fact that some time ago Herr Krupp, the famous gun manufacturer of Essen, Germany, not only put up large numbers of houses of concrete for his employees, but actually proposed to cast an entire concrete fort in one solid piece. It may yet come even to that. A concrete fort, with walls thick and deep enough, would seem to be as near to the actual rock as anything that could be devised, and might be made to bid defiance to the most modern and powerful guns. In fact, it would seem that nothing short of an earthquake could overthrow such a structure.