Popular Science Monthly 379 



Identification Tag of Indestructible The War Is Causing a Decrease in 

 Metal for Naval Men the Number of Lunatics 



THE difficulty of finding a 

 simple and adequate method 

 of identifying soldiers or sailors 

 who are killed or seriously in- 

 jured in the course of war oper - 

 tions, has been solved by J. H. 

 Taylor, of Alexandria, 

 Va., by the invention 

 of an identification 

 tag which was adopted 

 by the U. S. Navy 

 Department on May 

 12, 1917. The tag, 

 which is considered 

 the best in use in any 

 country in the world, 

 consists of a plate of 

 Monel metal, 

 which does not melt 

 below a tempera- 

 ture of 3840 de- 

 grees Fahrenheit 

 and is not corroded 

 by salt water. The 

 name of the bearer 

 and other data are written with diluted 

 printer's ink on. one side of the tag, while a 

 rolled impression of the bearer's right in- 

 dex finger is placed on the opposite side. 

 The tag is then dipped in asphaltum and 

 the superfluous asphaltum removed with a 

 fine brush, after which it is heated until 

 the ink on both sides is glossy. After 

 cooling the tag is deposited in a nitric- 

 hydrochloric acid bath which etches the 



surface of the 



metal not cov- f 

 ered by ink. 

 By means of a 

 string or chain 

 passed through 

 a hole in it the 

 completed disk 

 is carried 

 arou nd the 

 neck of the 

 wearer upon all 

 occasions, in 

 the same man- 

 ner as a charm, 

 for it takes up 

 no room and is 

 put on and 

 forgotten. 



EVIDENTLY a great na- 

 tional struggle makes for 

 mental steadiness. For the 

 past two years there has been 

 a decrease of over three thou- 

 sand in the number of insane 

 persons cared for in 

 England and Wales. 

 This fact is thought- 

 provoking because be- 

 fore the war the yearly 

 statistics showed a 

 constantly increasing 

 number of lunatics. 



A 



~^--'-^^y- 



This naval identification tag only melts 

 in the most intense heat and is not cor- 

 roded by salt water, being of Monel metal 



B. F. 



Rolling Roads with 

 Gaspipe 



SIMPLE 

 method for 

 compacting the sur- 

 face of concrete 

 roads and removing 

 excess water has 

 been evolved by an 

 Batchelder, of Ravenna, 



A piece of ordinary gaspipe is successfully used as a 

 roller to remove excess water from the road surfaces 



engmeer, 

 Ohio. 



After striking off the surface with a 

 template, according to Mr. Batchelder's 

 plan, a piece of ordinary gaspipe, operated 

 by two men, is used as a roller. After the 

 excess water has come to the surface, 

 another trip up and back with the roller 

 removes all the water and leaves the sur- 

 face in good condition for further finishing 



if necessary. 

 A wave of mor- 

 tar is carried 

 ahead of the 

 roller the "first 

 time over," 

 which fills in 

 porous placesor 

 depressions. 

 The second 

 rolling removes 

 nothing but 

 water that is 

 virtually clear. 

 This method 

 is especially 

 useful when 

 using crushed 

 stone or slag. 



