BRIBERY 



918 



BRICK AND BRICK-LAYING 



1910, which he broke by the unusual course of 

 calling the strikers to the colors for military 

 service. They were ordered to protect the 

 railroads, and in fact became their own strike- 

 breakers. Briand resigned in 1911, but was 

 again Prime Minister in 1913 for a short time. 

 In August, 1914, he was appointed Minister of 

 Justice in the Viviani ministry, which fell in 

 October, 1915, as a result of the diplomatic 

 failures of the Allies in the Balkans (see WAR 

 OF THE NATIONS). Briand once again became 

 Prime Minister, a position in which he soon 

 showed himself an abler statesman, a greater 

 leader than ever before, and to a remarkable 

 degree he won the confidence of the whole 

 French people. 



BRIBERY, bribe ' eri, the giving or offering 

 of something of value to one who in return 

 violates his duty or the law in order to benefit 

 the giver. In the eyes of the law the giver 

 and receiver of a bribe are equally guilty. The 

 gift, to constitute a bribe, need not consist of 

 money, but may take the form of property, or 

 position, or undue influence. Large fines and 

 sometimes long terms of imprisonment are the 

 punishments inflicted on those convicted. 



BRICK AND BRICK-LAYING. The story of 

 brick carries one back to days of the greatest 

 antiquity. The most familiar early reference 

 to brick-making relates to the struggles of the 

 captive Israelites in Egypt, over 2,000 years 



BRICK-MAKING IN ANCIENT EGYPT 



before the birth of Christ. According to Bibli- 

 cal history this was their principal employment. 

 There was a plentiful supply of clay and sand 

 on the banks of the Nile, also water with 

 which to mix them and the intense heat of the 

 sun to bake the bricks. When the captives 

 clamored for straw, it was not for burning 

 the bricks but to chop up and use as a binding 

 material in the same way that horsehair is used 

 in modern plaster. 



Brick was probably the first material used 

 for buildings of a permanent nature. The art 

 of brick-making was well known in Babylon 

 over 6,000 years ago and in that country there 

 were neither trees for lumber nor quarries for 

 stone. The Chinese employed bricks for build- 



ing many centuries before the Christian Era. 

 The Romans introduced the industry into 

 Britain and other conquered territories. At 

 the present time bricks exist in England 

 stamped with the initials of Roman brick- 

 makers who lived many centuries ago. The 

 first brick building in America was built in 

 1633 on Manhattan Island with material im- 

 ported from Holland. At the present time 

 wherever there is suitable clay and building is 

 to be done there springs up a brick-making in- 

 dustry. 



Brick-Making. The first necessity in the 

 making of good bricks is a clay free from 

 fossil remains and containing little iron or lime. 

 If sand is not already present in the clay in 

 the proportion of one part of sand to two of 

 clay, sufficient sand must be added to secure 

 these proportions. The clay and sand are 

 first mixed into a pliable mass by the addition 

 of water. From this mass the bricks may be 

 molded by hand or they may be molded and 

 cut by machinery. There are now in general 

 use machines which will make over one hun- 

 dred thousand bricks a day. From the trough 

 in which the sand and clay are mixed the 

 material is forced through tunnel-like openings 

 the size of the required brick. As the column 

 of clay comes from the machine, like meat 

 from a mincing machine, it is cut into proper 

 lengths by wires. 



The pieces drop on the endless belts on which 

 they are carried to drying sheds. After the 

 bricks are dried they must be hardened by 

 burning. This is done in kilns in which the 

 bricks are stacked so that the heat of a fire 

 may readily penetrate to all of them. Kilns are 

 of various sizes, the average being about thirty 

 feet in diameter and twelve feet in height. 

 The firing takes from six to ten days. Bricks 

 for ordinary building are kept at a cherry-red 

 heat. Others for finer purposes are raised 

 almost to white heat. 



Varieties of Brick. In addition to those used 

 for building purposes, pavement bricks are 

 made in great quantities. To make these hard 

 enough to withstand the wear of heavy traffic, 

 lime is added to the clay and sand. During 

 the burning the lime fuses and renders the 

 bricks extremely firm and durable. The intro- 

 duction of steel frames into buildings has 

 greatly increased the use of bricks. In parts 

 that are not seen, where strength only is 

 needed and finish is not a matter of importance, 

 a brick of somewhat rough appearance is used. 

 Facing bricks, or those which occupy prom- 



