The morning news., 1891-02-01
SOLID MEN AND WORK
READY FOR TEE BUILDERS
NATIONAL CONVENTION.

How the New York Exchange Will
Entertain Great Crowd of Notable
Guests - Arbitration and Other
Important Subjects to be Discussed.
| (Copui0htl
NEW YORK, Jan. 3l.-The National As
sociation of Builders holds its fifth annual
convention in New York beginning Feb. 9.
The meeting is notable because of the re-
preventative men who will be called to-
gether, the important questions which will
be discussed, and ths widespread interest
in the decisions TO be reached.
First, as TO the men. The association
was organized in 1885. The delegates 10 its
convention are elected by building ex-
changes, or similar bodies having member
ship in the association. Each city is repre-
sented by a delegate at large, who is a
director Of the association, and by one addi-
tional delegate for every fifty members or
fraction thereof. About forty cities are
represented.
The officers of the association are: job n
]. Tucker Of New York. president; Arthur
McAllister Of Cleveland. o.. first vice presi-
dsnt Anthony Ittner of st. Louis, No,
| second vice president; William II. Sayward
| of Boston, Mass, secretary; and Geo. ge
Taper Of Chicago, ILL.,, treasurer.
Among the delegates who will be present
are the following whose names are well
o. w. Norcross, Elisha Littleheld, Z, Noyes
Whitcomb, James Smith of Bos-
ton; George c. Prussing, w. P. Ketcham.
Joseph Downey, John Rawle, W. H. Alsip,
C. w. Gindele, Nj. B. Madden, r. Viesling,
F. e. Spooner. w. Goldie, d. V. Purington,
p: B. Wight Of Chicago; D; w. G.. Bell
vile, E. D: Tippett, NJ. P. Scnlly, of Gin
OF Denver; B. f. Swain, David Pullman,
w. U. Louvett, Capt. Goss. of Kansas
City; George W. Libbey, E. F. Dobson, of
Minneapolis; w. Hardness, Jr, Stacey
Reeves, John s. Stevens, Charles Gilling-
ham, Murrell Dobbins, Samuel Hart,
George Watson. of Philadelphia; Edward
E. Scribner, J. w. Makinson, John II
Donohue, Of st. Paul.
The regular delegates will of course be
accompanied by host of members from
the several exchanges. Not less than a
thousand men are expected to attend the
banquet, which will be one of the features
of the entertainment offered by the New
York Builders Exchange to its guests. Ever
since last March the committee appointed
by the exchange has been considering the
question Of properly receiving what will
unquestionably be the largest and most
influential company Of builders ever assem-
bled. The exchange appointed committee
OF l06 for this purpose, which, as is the rule
with such bodies, selected an executive
committee to do the active work. 1t con-
sists of these men: Marc Eidlitz, chairman:
Charles A. Cowen, George Moore Smith,
Frank E. Conover, John NJ. Canda, Richard
Deeves, Otto M. Eidlitz. Robert c. Martin,
Henry w. Redfield, William G. Smith
John j. Tucker, Stephen III. Wright. Mr.
Tucker Is president of the New York ex-
change and Mr.. Wright is secretary. The
latter, IN particular, has had his hands
full making the arrangements for the con-
vention and for the entertainment of the
guests.
The general programme includes daily
sessions OF the convention at Masonic hall.
Forenoons and afternoons will be occupied
in this way. On Monday evening the build
ers will visit the New York trade school at
First avenue and Sixty eighth street. There
will be general sightseeing at all available
hours on Tuesday. The biggest theater
party ever given in New York will occur on
Wednesday evening. The committee of ar
rangements has made a bargain for u whole
theater-one of the Broadway houses-and
they will run it to suit themselves The
regular attraction will be given but special
gags will be introduced, and gag" COM
mittee has been preparing them during sew
eral weeka. 1t is pity that the general
public will not be permitted to discover
what sort of gag can be turned out by the
rules governing bricklaying and masonry.
Handsomely engraved invitations and
gorgeous souvenir programmes will also be
included in the list of special attractions.
The house will be decorated for the oc-
casion.
Thursday evening will witness the grand
banquet in Lenox Lyceum. 1t is a spacious
N Nf
have been required to solve the problem of
getting in seats enough. On Friday the
whole party will be taken to Philadelphia by
special train. The trip will be under the
direction of the New Workers. but the enter
tainment IN the Quaker City will be in
charge of the local exchange.
The special reason of this visit is to give
the builders chance to see the home of the
Philadelphia exchange. which is regarded
as very near the ideal Of what such build
ing should be. 1t is one of the chief objects
of the national association to encourage
local exchanges in its membership to put up
such buildings as that in Philadelphia. It
includes besides the facilities necessary for
the ordinary exchange business a perma-
nent exhibition and a manual training
school. These two features, in the opinion
of the builders, are of the utmost i'm
portance. To- Philadelphia belongs the
credit of first carrying out successfully the
designs of the association.
The permanent exhibition is intended to
bring peace out of the three-cornered war
fare which has always been waged among
owners, builders and architects. 1t is worth
while speaking of it here, because the idea is
so prominent in the minds of the builders,
and because the coming convention and the
visit to Philadelphia will doubtless result
in the establishment of similar exhibitions
in other cities. The builder has ALWAYS
claimed that he was u1justly at the mercy
of the architect. The latter, according to
the ordinary business form, holds the certi-
ticates of pay, and the builder cannot get
his money unless the architect is ready to
say that his designs have been carried out
A builder sometimes finds it hard to make
an architect state distinctly what kind of
work he wants in the various parts of a
building. The architect makes his plan.
the builder goes ahead with the work,
and the owner isn't satisfied. Then the
owner goes to the architect with "kick.n
and the architect lays the blame upon the
builder.
This isn't the sort Of wall intended. - he
says, and the builder can only reply that
that was the sort he understood was re-
quired. 1t is often impossible for the owner
to decide where the fault lies. There is need
of some satisfactory ar riangement of
samples which remain unchanged, and can
always be used as a reference in case of dis
putes. This is what the Philadelphia Ex-
change building supplies Therein is n wall