The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-01-07

this is rarely done. and if yOI viii %
upon the roof Os one Of the houses where
tbs hCt-air pines run mp the chimney, you
VIII be amazed al the amount Of heat that
Is going TO aic in the warming Of Infinite
space
"Latroba strives are usually put in like
the furnaces just described. and af,er the
pipes are LITTLE old and Il role or two
has rusted II the sheet iron covering to
the chimney. the complaint is that there
is lao heat III the rooms down stairs
OF course. this Is very poor way to
Put III the heaters Of a house. No stove
man needs 10 be told that but l do not
see how Il IS 20 be improved SO long as
thC present contract system OF building
IS IN vogue
The reporter suggested that the building
regulations might place restrictions upon
stove men similar 10 those nov il force
against plumbers
Well. the stove man replied. If you
can JIIug the contractors under such a
RUE then ! viii &c in favor Of It. for il
would u@ OF immense advantage TO the
stove trade If better heating appliances
were used.
The reporter thought hat the views of
a contractor on the subject might be in
teresJiag. Accordingly. one vas fouLd and
the subject preached 10 him. Al first he
was very reticent. but alter some CONVEX
sotiOn. n which he was Informed that
Sc, eral others had given their views. he
consented to do 50, with the reservation
that he should not be quoted over his
name
The subject is enc upcn which much
might be said the contractor observed. %
but the contractor IS placed in a posi-
ton where 10 IS obliged to count the cost
Of al he does down 10 the last penny You
see in the contract work which We are
called upon 10 do We are obliged 10 enter
into competition wiJh others The con
tract is usually awarded to the lowest
DidIer- As q consequence. we figure very
closely upon every item of cost. The heat
ing appliances are made as cheap 2s will
possibly do You know The regulations
prescribe that the walls shall be Of . Ger
tain thickness: that the rooms shall be of
. specified height. and there are stiIl 9TH
er requirements with reference TO nearly
all parts of the building Happily for he
contractor there is nothing said about
stoves. and IN this age Of severe c0mpe-
titiOn he is apt to recOup himself for cost
n other directions by saving what ne can
On the heaters The stoves and the
plumbing are among the costly items of
the contract The plumbing Is now under
rigid restrictions. and the heating ar
engagements are one CT the few outlets for
cicsc shave on the contract
Where tI,r Trouble Higgins.
1t IS always possible for the owner to
have the hest Of everything in his house
if he viii only pay for it. But the owner
wants his houses as cheap as possible. and
right there is the trouble about this de-
tective healing Nine owners out Of ten
are not willing to pay for the kind of ap-
paratEs that is really needed in a house.
There viii be 10 relief for the tenant IN
Ill he rises up ana demands that the 5. owe
man shall be placed under bonds like The
plumber Then we can say 10 the owner
10 step up and pa fe- the right kind of
stoves and furnaces He gets nov what
he pays fer. and dom you be deceived
about The dishonesty OF the contractor. If
the truth were told. the owner wants
frst-cIass goods fer second-cIass pay"
The reporter Is a tenant himself and he
began to realize about this time that the
hand OF every man IL the building bust
ness Is against him. ana that he has no
recourse except to make Rome howl
until he gets justice in this merciless era
or competition ana contracts BuL he DID
.Ct Ieei equal to the task Of voicing the
woe Of the tenant Struggling with the
miserable heaters thar The owner. con
tractor, and stove man have given him
So thoughtful man who has been rent
81 all his life E-a5 sought cut for his opin-
ION On the subject.
We'll, I have had d good deal OF expe-
rienee with stoves and heaters IN my
time said the man II reply 10 . cues
ton from the reporter i think that
very poor class OF heaters is put into
houses. It does net seem TO NE that
there has been the progress in this line
Of effort which Is shown in almost every
other part % house building and furnish
ing We are using practically the sama
stoves and furnaces. pat in in the same
Way that we did twenty-five years ago
7 am not sure that those Of a quarter Of
q century ago were not better than those
in use now They have introduced new
CRATES. new methods Of dumping them,
and q few notions here and there. The
stoves now have a little nickle that the
oId-fashjCRed ones did not. but fer real
service the Iatrobe and other stoves in
use we're about the same as now. In 9th
aE words there has been no real economy
IN the way Of heating Five tons of coal
do not go whit further today than they
did in 1873, aud coal costs more ton
than ii did then
Some Regulation Seeded.
There IS good and bad heating appa-
houses Many times it IS question Of
care. Il Is not everyone, especially Ia
u servant. who understands getting the
most heat out Of d stove OF furnace. The
plan of putting the heat pipes up chin
ney Is all wrong No house can b.. ade-
quately heated in that way The chin
Dey IS a hue TO carry the heat out at the
top. and il viii DO so in spite OF the iron
stopper in the chimney above the regis
ters- There ought TO be 4 regulation for
bidding this, just as there is a regulation
against putting up inside pipes too near
The wood The place for the hot air
pipes Is in the walls and not in the chin
ney. The chimney was a smoke carrier
until the dishonest builders OF d few
years back began TO use il as a means 10
evadv The regulation relative to inside
lues.
Why should there not be such a reCtG-
Iation2 The authorities Tag down rules
about the walls 50 that they may not
tumble down on uHsusDecSing tenants
heads They prescribe rules about venti-
latiOn. height Of rooms plumbing, etc.
All good in their way. since they are in
tended 10 protect the health OF the Occu-
pant Bat the regulations stop short in
not prescribing that some restriction
shall be placed upon the hea ting arrange
nents so that the tenant may be protect
I'd from pneumonia and kindred ailments
when the stoves and furnaces viii not
heat their rooms. I know OF many per