The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-09-07
ILLICIT COMMISSIONS TO ARCHI-
 TECTS.


 TECTS.
 Bridgeport, Sept. 1, 1896. Editor Commercial Record:
 Sir:-Apropos of the offering of illicit commissions by makers of and dealers in, building material, and the accep- tance of the same by architects, con- cerning which articles have recently appeared in the Commercial Record, I venture to suggest that more promi- hence and notoriety is being given the matter than the occasion warrants. By this I do not mean to imply that the acceptance of such commissions by architects is in itself d matter that can be lightly passed over by members of the profession, as that is question of common honesty as between them and their clients-a question which can neither be argued ignored nor lightly dismissed; but I believe the matter to be one in which great publicity is cal culated to do more harm than good in that it tends to represent the evil as being much more prevalent than is ac- tually the case.
 That such commissions have been, and still are, occasionally offered can not be denied. Happily, however the instances have of late years become more and more infrequent as manufac- turers and dealers have come to bet ter understanding of the architects po- sition and duties; and evidence is not wanting to prove that at no distant day such offers will be entirely a thing of the past.
 So far as architects are concerned, l am of the opinion that the practice all luded to exists only in an exceedingly limited degree. During somewhat extended experience I have invariably taken pains, whenever a commission was rendered or even hinted at to in- quire whether the individual or firm whose goods it was desired to have specified was in the habit of making such offers and, if so whether many architects were found willing to accept them; and I am able to recall only three instances in which names or any thing approaching definite statements could be obtained. In one of these cases the architect named lived in a distant part of the country, and it was impossible to ascertain whether or not 1 the allegations were correct In the second, subsequent inquiries among l salesmen with whom I had long been personally acquainted and who would not have hesitated to tell the exact truth, convinced me that the charges | were absolutely unfounded.
 | The third case was that of man | practising in this state and I regret to | say further inquiries tended to con- | firm the accusation; but the fact that | there is one architect in the state of | Connecticut who is willing to accept 1 bribes-they cannot be called otherwise ought not to be considered a reflec | tion upon the profession as whole. It | would seem, instead, to be record of | which any profession might be proud. | As to the material-men, they are | doubtless we'll able to defend them | selves from unjust charges, and need no assistance from me; yet cannot re-
 
 | number of those who deliberately go | about trying to corrupt architects to be | as limited as is the number of archi- | tects who are open to such corruption l Furthermore, leaving aside the ques- | tion of morality, 1t is a well-knowr | fact that nearly all manufacturec | goods are produced at a margin o1 l profit so small as to render impossible | the payment of any commissions other | than legitimate ones to the trade. 1 In nearly every case that has come within my observation the parties of fering commissions have been those who had but recently begun business and who, for that reason, had had nc | previous experience with architects by which they could be guided. In sucf | instances I have found that civil anC courteous explanation on my part as tC | the position and duties of an architec has rarely failed to be received in tht spirit in which it was given; and 1T several cases have had the satisfac tion of knowing that such explanation 1 has been instrumental in preventing similar offers to others.
 To sum up. I believe that the majori | ty of architects are gentlemen and. a: such, are honest in their dealings; tha manufacturers of house. building good are possessed of as much business in tegrity as any other class of men, anC that they desire to deal honorably witl both architects and owners, as well a | to avoid unnecessary expense in tn | sale of their goods. Hence it would seem that the less prominence such ; malodorous subect is given the bette for all concerned, inasmuch as a con | tinual discussion of it would tend t convince the average layman of tn truth of the adage that, Where ther is so much smoke there must be som fire" Very truly yours,
 l c. T. BEARDSLEY, JR., Arobitant