Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1899-11-17
Anent the New Court House.

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The citizens cf the county have yot-
ed for a new Court House, have voted
the money out Of their pockets to pay
for It. and are entitled to have the
very best building their money will
buy. Now this is not thing to be
done in a hurry, nor by favortism. nor
"Star Chamber" management A fine
public building Is something every cit
izen is interested in, just as much as
those officially charged with its con-
structlon.
Let It be widely known that Wash
ington county is about to build a
Court House for gay $15O,O00, and in
vite the competition of architects all
over the country. Let their designs be
placed on exhibition, and every one al
lowed to inspect them. that a eonsen-
sus of opinion, as near as possible,
may be had as to the best one.
OF this matter, would quote from
letter received from Mr.. VIM. Bos-
woron, a young man born in Marietta,
and consequently much interested in
tie matter, who has spent three years
at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris,
and who is now at work on the great
Public Library building in New York.
He writes:
This is how the matter should be
conducted.
First-The committee should write
to an expert, such as Prof. VIM. Ware,
of Columbia University (who contln-
ually serves in just such matters for
cities all over the west) to come out to
..arietta, examine the conditions and
needs of the bulding required, and
then write a programme stating all
these matters.
Then the committee sends this pro-
gramme to all the architects whom
they wish to have compete. A suit
aJle jury should in the meantime have
been engaged, including the expert and
two other architects of repute. (And
this is perhaps as important to a good
result as anything)
The jury should be composed of
first-class educated men-architects-
in lew York They are continually
doing such service at no charge, for
the sake of better art throughout the
country. Such men as George b. Post,
who built the Produce Exchange, ETC.;
Mr.. Carrere, who has just been called
to Cleveland by the public authorities
to tell them how to lay out their new
public buildings, or Richard Hunt,
who is now building the new Metro
politan Museum in Central Park; or
Bruce Price, or Walter Cook, who
served on the International Jury for
the Phoebe Hurst California Unlver-
sity competition.
These men are continually serving as
Jurors; and a committee from Marietta
would receive just as unbiased atten-
tion as one from Boston; and the Ma
rietta ought to have the best advice
obtainable. above all things the jury
should be composed of experts, and
not of inexperienced men.
1t might be we'll to offer two or three
prizes in order to attract better com
petitors; though this. is not entirely
essential, as any man who seriously
wlsnes the contract will compete with
out them.
The programme states the require
ments--the size of lot-gives a plan
of lot and grades-states amount to be
expended, giving all possible latitude
as to materials and methods of con-
sruction-states time about three
months, and number and scale of
drawings-states who the jury is to be
composed of-and that the work is to
be executed according to the schedule
of prices for services Of the American
Institute of Architects.
The appointment Of Prof. Ware,
first mentioned, would mean a good
building for Marietta. He has tre-
mendous force of character, and would
influence and teach the doing of the
right thing. If he is sent for. he
would give public lecture, with ster-
eopticon views, at the time of writing
the programme, etc. have known of
MS doing this in Milwaukee at the
time he judged tie Public Library
lere."
The whole object of doing this is in
the interest of Marietta's having the
very best, the most serviceable public
building, one of which every citizen
can be proud
TASKER B. BOSWORTH.