Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-07-02

an undue preference to any Of the parties to
the erection Of q house. By former decision
the court held that the contractor under sub
contractor could not come back on the owner
to make good any loss occasioned by the de-
linquency Of the subcontractor. Now the last
decision maintains the principle that the owner
is not required to pay out more than the con-
tract price agreed upon, and that therefore a
lien placed upon the property by a sub
contractor or material man does not oper-
ate prior to the date Of filing the
lien. II the subcontractor becomes
convinced that the contractor is not acting in
good faith and is liable to retain the money
paid to him by the owner to meet the INSTALL
ments on the contract price as they become due
then he should notify the owner before the
money is paid. The court holds that it is an in
justice to compel q man to pay twice for the
same service. Therefore the law is construed
to mean that the lien Of a subcontractor or ma
terial man Is not retroactive and can apply only
to claims due after the date Of filing the lien.
The rights Of the contractor as contemplated by
the law are maintained, and the priority of his
placed on the property is asserted to be good
for three months after the completion of the
work.
FOR THE PROTECTION OF OWNERS.
1t was claimed for the law when it was enacted
that it was designed to protect the mechanics
and laboring men from being robbed of their
just wages by an interruptions contractor. For
this reason the journeyman and laborer were
given the right to place liens on property as
well as the material men, subcontractor and
contractor. While no doubt it was Just to pro-
tect the rights OF the employees it was found that
one Of the practical operations of the law was to
indorse the credit Of men engaged in building,
the property, in the event Of their inability to
meet their obligations, being held liable for
the claims Of the men who supplied the
material. In this way a number Of men
were able to engage in business as con-
tractors who had neither capital nor credit
This circumstance led to the adoption Of
measures for the protection of the owners and
1t Is now q common feature Of a contract with a
builder to require bond good for the period
of three months after the completion Of the
building indemnifying the owner against any
liability which might arise from the filing Of
liens. Another device is q clause in the con-
tract which enables the owner to retain a GER
tain percentage Of the contract price for the
period Of three months.
Before, however, the effect Of the lien law
those engaged in building arising from the ire
sponsibility Of contractors. There are. Of
course, still instances where persons building
have incurred losses owing to their neglect to
protect themselves against the possible opera
ton Of the law. The average number Of liens
Of the law ia nov az oeneroiiy Lnovn tbat tL.re
are but few cases Of imposition. The desire To
get as much for the money az possible leads
1eopIe now. "A before the nassape Of the Law To
take risks I'm employing men to bnild FOR
them. Bv adoptin9, Rowever onIv the
ordinary bnsinesa 6recantions bnildno can
be done here without Ioss. "a il shown bv
the extremely small nercentage ~ iens sled
In this Connection II ia sirniHcsnt that a ,aroer
amount Of money was ernended in bnildinos
Last wear than dnr;no anv nrev;nns yaor ond t5e
nrosnect il that this record will no s,rnossad hv
that of the nresent ysor f''''~N "
VALUES On CAPITOL HILL
During the past week deed was placed on
record transferring a lot f6LxsO feet at the
corner of East Capitol and 9Th streets. The
oons;do-.t;o. - 49,, =. ooo 80
AZ no. taat r1e was .s "nrcn maxes
sions Of the Tot are rather unusual. but still it
must be admitted that s. 800 pretty good price
to pay for single building lot in any section OF
snr th LA 10y I Inv; oeem speci .easJns
lions N radio,p;na lots TbSra a. % donht
however that nr;ces of rronartv IN ths sostarr
section - The c;tv orc oSropc;ng IT, Il S,,;.a
w;,bin The raroa - noss;h;i;,;ns ,ha. c.In;t"I
Hill r;lI coma 70 d;Ipn.a ,.i.h .ha INV x.hPsOt
The nror,;Onn.e - nrcas II, en- .,nn. ro.'
hansP b;ah'nr;c..i ia ,r;u III i .ens, Pc, u.
-. 81 ou;. la.u III ~ isoi uo sns
suoe:. VI VI: .t "nion +" nas @rouSeo
o''"SionAi' Al 'ne paS''
AMPHIrHEATER FOR MEDICAL srupENrs