National Republican., 1882-03-18

sS5Sis ssSSsf:: g aSS sdS g g sSSS sSSSS 90 90
Totai................., IS 26,s7l Os 5o4.C7l 90
In other words the school buildings designed
and erected under the supervision Of Mr.. Cluss
have cost the taxpayers at the rate Of s7,231.73
per school-rooml And for that service he has
been paid the sum OF so, s74,0s On the other
hand, taking the three buildings erected by the
Inspector Of Buildings and the School Board-viz.,
the Force, Peabody, ana street buildings, con-
tanning thirty school-rooms, not counting the
fourth story or large hall in the Peabody-and
they cost altogether the sum of sl07,lo0, or an
average per building Of S35,73O, which il per
school-room 92,975.50. II win thus be seen
that in proportion TO the number of school rooms
of equal capacity Mr.. Cluss' buildings have cost
almost t0o and hdU times as much as those buit
under he sVperrision Qfe Inspector Of buildings aud
fhc School Bodrdi
nut LEST Mr.. cLUss SHOULD SAY
that this Is an unfair comparison, because mate
rial cost more then than now, will take the U
street and the Henry or P street buildings, both
built at the same time and under the same super
vision, each by the lowest bidder, both having
Gre-proof halls and stairways the same heating
apparatus, and exactly the same number and size
of school, rooms:
Cost of Henry building tcuss' plan)- si41s
Cost OF U street bullding. 3l77
IlHerenCc....... lOZbl
In other words, other things being equal, a
building Mr.. Cuss' plan costs almost one 1,ird
more than one on Mr.. Lauritzen's plan, and is not
particle better except Us TO It's "cxternal archiec-
ture." Ten thousand dollars for mere show is
more than / think the taxpayers Of the District
ought to be called upon TO pay to merely TO ad-
vcrtlse Mr. Cuss. Besides this, large sums have
been expended on the wallach and Franklin to
adapt them to the purposes for which they were
mad md Ell thaN far frnt nfrnt,lai
In the Wallaeh there was no basement except
under portion, and an estimate is now before
Congress !, Of $500 t9 complete IT.. To-day the
while the pipes run in trenches under the floor,
where, when they froae up and closed the schools
last winter, the workmen had to crawl on their
bellies to get at them and mild as IL has been
this winter, we have had TO put up stoves In his
steam heated rooms to enable them TO be oc-
cupied Although Mr. Cuss may not feel
INTERsT ENOUGH IN THESE FIGURES =
to find time to examine them, / think the tax
payers Of the District. with a debt of 0pe t1entg
tree millions, oeer sl2S7O per cdptd Including e,erv
tri debt four and haif times much per eapitaas
de whoie detV igiRid and eq,dito one fourth Of dA
say % think they they viii ind time % to examine them,
and will feel some interest in them, too. And
when they have examined them they will be pre-
pared to appreciate Mr.. Cluss at his real value.
They win also, no doubt, appreciate the skin of
the great architect in settling the complex ques-
ton" Of how to get the most out of the taxpayers
with the greatest amount of sham and humbug
THE CHARACTER OF HIS WORK.
An architect who designs and erects buildings
for the public and gets his 8 per cent. therefor
the public. But. lest he may consider me rs pre-
indiced,: II will simply quote the official record.
For instance, in the school report for lST78 find
the following;
"THE PRESENT scHooIrHousEs.
1t is plain enough casual observer that much at
sns 5 S e %aah Smer IN ahd
,FraI1klln should the observer pass inside these
1orethought In The Arrangement Of Railways, hat
rooms. and school rooms; but he win be likely to
Franklin and Sumner. In the Franklin the stair
Of unequal length The lover sht being nearly "a or
quite double o M the length of the npper ahes, gre De-
cdIn0 be defended al al.
VENTILATION.
But should the observer enter either one of these
school children he wn need no nice analysis to dis
cover noxi9ns state ofthe ar The odor ofynted
Will greet hin him as he crosses the ihreshold and
foul ar himself viii soon persuade him 10 leave At
least such has been the writer's experience But the
Ssan and % agan the same ar until L becomes Seavg
with poisonous gas The 'rondsr Is nat children can
nS FOR enGy and eSueRt OPENING Of
doors ana Windows IhG statement OF the Health Health
rooms (st15rd, p y may be read In this connection
S o s 80 Spos 70 as ei
be compelled 10 include in every design for school
house plans for ample and efficient ventilation.
VENTILATION OF THE wALLAoH
Amer much careful study the board came to the con-
clSion that there ,roud and could be no effective veSt
tot0n OfGhe school rooms i ne Wai,dch building with
These chimneys u,eess for lack Of size &c.
cordngy. plans have been prepared for that purpose
Scon H SS "' cXREs iReSSTE RRoeSEY ana
ISAAC n. GARY,
Committee"
And That was the result OF the years of conscien-
sctiOus labor In which the architect, with the aid
gineers and Others, had solved the problem of
the movement Of gases" Rather hard on the ar
ShitecI pupil or his teachers, Better far better
more of the practical common sense of the "house
carpenter" at whom Mr., Cuss elevates his pro-
bOscis with such naughty disdain! In addition to
this, when the storm OF last June exposed some of
the "Cheap factory work on the roof of the
Franklin building the principal trusses, carrying
hecl-slraps, simply nailed on, and some
not nailed at all, necessitating the
y snie The heavy ornamental cast-iron railing
three or four feet high, on the roofw found to
be fastened TO wooden blocks, laid loose on the
roof, aud simply held In place by the tin covering
them. Several feet Of the same blew down and
exposed the bad work. All of this was probably
moi shown In the model sent to the several ex.
ventilation could not well be raised or determined
by the examination Of small model, and of
"
be in any part cheap factory work" as it seems
II was,
THE GREAT ARCHITECT OF TRIUMPHAL ARCHES
was not supposed at that time to have failed In
solving the complex problem of the art Of de-
sign the science Of construction, the strength of
materials the balance Of forces, the stability of
structures the movement of gases. the power aud
quantity of light" &C.; and no doubt casual OBJ
servers, dazzed by the splendor of his external
architecture" may have been betrayed into in
dOrsng what In fact was but q painted toy" II
may be true, as stated In one of the glow
ing descriptions OF this monument of the great
architect presumably written by himself, that
aud unObstTucled panoramic view of the District,
the river and the scenery OF Maryland and Yr-
ginin ito say nothing OF the Kidwell BOttom), un-
eqllaled from the dome Of tho Capitol" But beg
60 suggest that that is not what the taxpayers
build school buildings for Children are not ed
might refer 10 other wonderful examples OF the
marvellous skill of the architect, whose "years of
conscientious labor" produced
SUCH ASTONISHING REsULTs
such, for instance, as Masonic Temple, which was
literally built with fear and trembling" until
strengthened by changing his plans Calvary
Churchi toundry church, &c, the history ofwhich
bear. The day Of shams and grand outward dis
play for mere elect, regardless of health or COM
fort in our school buildings has passed, thank
Heayeni and think the taxpayers Of tue Dis
tric and the School Board are TO be congratulated
on having at last got rid of an architect who ad-
eslitadies although paid 8 lper cent Tor
seeing that Is was properly am honestly done.
Others viii agree with him that tprobably frauds
had been committed" and that as he stated to
me, his mouth was closed Whhelosed and how
olosad9 lis that what ne WAS naf1 for nv the tax-