Evening star., 1902-08-09
The Brick Industry.

while Washington is in no sense man
ufacturing city, the greater portion Of the
brick used as building material in the
District of Columbia is manufactured here
or in the immediate vicinity" observed Mr..
Theodore L. Holbrook. the president of the
Standard Brick Company and the new
Washington Brick Company. LAS brick
weigh much and SO bulky, nothing
but the higher grades can be transported
any distance at the prices obtained in this
market for such material. New people not
connected with the trade realize the diff
ference in size of the local product as COM
pared to that produced and used in cities
to the north of us, those manufactured in
this market being at least one-sixth larger
than the Baltimore, Philadelphia, New
York or Boston size brick.
Some seventeen firms. companies and
individuals are engaged in producing COM
mon brick for this market, and one eXclu-
sively in the manufacture of high-grade
brick of various colors who finds market
for about two-thirds Of the product out
side the District of Columbia. Many tens
of thousands of dollars are invested in the
manufacture of brick here, and immense
sums are paid out annually for labor and
fuel by these manufacturers, who have
to purchase, approximately, one-half ton
of coal for each thousand brick they pro-
duce.
The Total Yearly Output.
ut is estimated that the seventeen man.
ufacturers of common brick produced and
sold in 1901 "A, 600 600 brick; that those yards
have maximum capacity of about 1SO,-
100000, while this market has never used
to exceed 120OOO.OOO in any year. The es-
timated consumption of brick during the
year 1902 is S0,OOO,O0O, an excess of 600000
over last year.
LAS rule the purchasers of brick are
the master bricklayerS. They subcontract
for work through the master carpenters,
who are in almost every instance the prin-
cipal contractors and the persons to whom
the contra citing bricklayer looks for his
money. Whether the brick manufactu
obtains pay for his material depends upon
the responsibility, life and integrity of the
master brichayer, and very often whether
he has contracted for a sufficient price to
do the work, and whether he obtains his
money from the principal contractor.
THE contracting bricklayer has first, to
pay his mechanics and laborers, who will
not work unless paid weekly; and next, to
pay his own living expenses and then for
his material. The master bricklayer must
make no mistakes in estimating the work
he agrees to do or fail to collect his money
from the principal contractor. In the event
he is not paid the contract price agreed
upon, the law gives him the right to file a
lien for his claim upon the property he has
done the work on, which must eventually
be paid unless the property owner can
show that he has paid the principal con-
tractor the amount of his contract price
the property being liable only to lien for
the unpaid balance of the contract price
Organization for Protection.
"a number of attempts have been made
by the brick manufacturers to protect
themselves for the brick sold and obtain
their money for them agreed. Something
over twenty-five years ago all the brick
manufacturers of Washington formed an
association and established a blacklist for
customers who did not pay. That associa-
ton. for various reasons, could not sustain
itself, and fell to pieces. About ten years
ago all but two came together and estab-
lished brickmakers' exchange for self
protection. &c, but alse for various reasons
that effort proved to be failure
Some four years since most of the larger
manufacturers. finding it impossible to
make any money from the fact that all
had such long list of bad debts, and that
while forced to pay cash for the manufac-
ture of brick they had no security for brick
sold except the personal responsibility of
the contracting bricklayers and in the
event of death were forced to await a set
tiement of their estates, if they had any,
agreed to sell all their brick through a