Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-12-19
FOUR OF THE FINEST.
Work on the New Bank Buildings
Progressing Satisfactorily.
EAST LIBERTY STOCK YARD RUMOR
Which Readers Are Cautioned 10 Accept
With Many Grains of Salt.
WATER THE BEST FIRE ExTINGUIsHRR

Work on the new building of the Pitts
burg National Bank of Commerce is making
substantial progress. Every effort will be
made to have it completed by April l. The
upper floors will be used as offices, and many
of them have been rented. The cost OF the
building will be about S9OO,OO0
In talk with Cashier Wade yesterday he
said: "0ur object has been. and is, to put up
good, substantial business house, one that Will
be an ornament to this part of the city, at as
reasonable cost as possible. We have, there
fore, paid more attention to the useful than
the merely ornamental, although the latter has
not been wholly discarded. 1t will be provided
with all the conveniences conducting to ease and
comfort, and when finished Will be. we think,
one of the nandsomest bank buildings in the
country. 1t is as near ireproof as possible"
The other new bank buildings-German
National, Keystone and Marine-are making
good headway.
Reports concerning the removal or abolition
of the East Liberty stockyards, like Banquo's
ghost will not down. They were floating
through Fourth avenue yesterday with varia-
tions. One Of them was to the effect that the
yards were to be wiped out altogether upon the
completion of the Ohio connecting railroad
bridge from Temperanceville to Woods Run,
where through stock will be fed, and thence
shipped East over the West Penn division,
thus avoiding the East Liberty hill, which is
one of the worst on the road, ami avoiding the
difficulty and Inconvenience Of passing through
several miles of city railroad yards, which are
nearly always overcrowded So ran the story,
and it is given for what it is worth.
There has been so much wind wasted on this
subject, so many reports have been put in cir
culation which, on being run down, proved to
be illusory tnat the best thing to do is to treat
everything bearing upon the removal of the
stockyards as pure fction-the new along with
the old, One reason gwen for their abolition
is that they are losing money. This is known
to be untrue. They were never more profit
able than now. When the railroad people get
ready to remove them the public will know it.
1t will be big job, and concealment win be
impossible.
One good reason given against q reaction in
the local real estate market is that property is
highly favored by all classes of people, who
buy mostly for Improvement and not specula-
tion. Where one piece of property is bought
for the latter purpose ten are bought by persons
for home sites. This kind Of demand has an
element of permanency in it which can stand
large amount of squeezing.
In an article on fires and hreproof buildings,
the Sanitary NeiOs remarks: THE delusive
trust in our so-called freproof buildings may
create an assurance of safety, but it should not.
Our fireproof buildings are only comparatively
So They burn slower than many older build
ings but often we have seen their entire con-
tents swept away in a few hours. One great
protection against fire is water. Safety requires
that the fire department, however efficient,
should be reinforced by high water pressure.
1t is an agent that can be easily and quickly
employed, and its effectiveness has been wit
messed on more than one occasion. No one can,
say that snch system Is not needed, for no one
knows at what time a conhagration may be
upon u.s."
This is in line with what THE DISPATCH
said a few days ago on the same subject
Clearly reliance for protection against fires
should be placed in large. powerful streams,of
water, and plenty of them. rather than in 30
called fre-proof buildings.
great many good ideas originated in Ger
many. Here is one which offers good oppor-
tunity to some enterprising Pittsburger to es-
tablish paying business. Briefly, it is q new
departure in building practice, which has
proved very successful in that country. It is
the wholesale manufacture of mortar of the
best quality, to be sold to small builders and
private individuals. Some 100000 barrels
were thus sold last year in Berlin. 1t is clear
that this system obviates the necessity Of max
ing the mortar on the ground, often under un-
favorable circumstances and at great expense