Evening star., 1903-12-18
TILE OR CONCRETE?
Mr.. Fitzpatrick Replies to His
Recent Critics.
DEFENDS HISsPOSITION
FIRST-CLASS CONCRETE GOOD,
BUT HEAVY GND COSTLY.
Inspection Of Tile Work Easier and
More Reliable-Good Work
More Likely.
DEFENDS HISsPOsITION


that our beautiful city was not without lis
firetraps, too. 1 had no thought OF precip-
itating a discussion, acrimonious or other
wise. and certainly more or less technical
In it's nature, though 1 might have sur
missed some one would feel duty bound
''to jump on me-" as our juveniles term It.
But in reading over my Star today-JcU
know all good Washingtonians get their
Star wherever they may bel noted an
other editorial and two lengthy disseriI-
items upon concrete construction by Capt.
Sewell and Mr.. Ashford.
1t appears that must have written some
sort of an indictment and these two val
liant defenders of the weak, and use the
term weak advisedly, jumped into the
breach and made an admirable, though
forlorn, plea for the defendant, ana l.
suppose it is UP to me to write a sort OF
sur-rebuttal. If that Is the proper legal
term.
Poor Cinder Concrete Worse Than Wood
1 wish to again commend The Stars last
editorial and l take exception to only one
point and that is where you say mat
"even poor cinder concrete is better than
wood" People get away from wood
firetrap, but they are often gulled INTO
concrete one, and stay there with absolute
confidence
confidence and sometimes, the people are
destroyed
Capt. Sewelrs last paragraph lays down
the rule of conduct for the non-techicdl
press. According to him 1t should alo"
the conflicting interests, tile vs. concrete,
to fight 1t out and limit itself to teachlns
the people to not be in hurry about puilu-
ing and insist upon good lnspectloii' o.
&c. All very good and very true Out whth
any special kind of construction is so motor
iously bad so manifestly unsOund, as 10
be a constant menace to the public, then'
contend, that the press should condemn ~
and so vociferously that the authorizes
would have to take steps, as 1t were, 10
mitigate the nuisance. For the press 10
saw nothing would be criminal negligence
a dereliction of its duty.
The CAPTAIN tells us much about concrete.
The greater part of what he says IS most
excellent and theoretically true. He be-
lieves in concrete, so do and L have used
a great deal of it in my time, put III lts
proper place. 1t is most Valuapie coiil-
pound and l have no quarrel with 1t, even
In floor construction, If ii Ire promptly oohe;
Use steel beams in reasonable spaclngs ana
fill In the intervals with a hrSt-class CON
crete, and you have a good moor a"iuly
heavy, however; a good fire resistant, out
not a particularly good non-conductor OF
heat to your steel members Then, too 1t
Is expensive.
"Almost as Good"
Now, then what Is called concrete con-
struction," and what l rail against to the
fullest capacity of a pretty fair pair or
lungs, is not at all what described above,
and what 1 agree with the captain In call
ing good concrete construction. The new
tangled stuff is foisted upon us, not as
something equally as good as a tile or
brick narrow span, but as something al
most as good, and great deal cheaper;
treacherous stretching of wire or of twist
ed bars or other slight supports-there are
twenty so-called systemS-across great
spans of fifteen, twenty and even thirty
feet, bedding this in two or three inches
of more or less questionable concrete and
dumping in lot of cinders and truck on
top and calling The whole concrete floor
fit for human beings to live upon! Verify,
a crime against humanity.
True, as the captain says, in this new
construction collapses frequently occur be-
fore the building is done and paid for and
occupied by tenants. And in that he sees
an advantage. But Is 1t not rather heart
less of him? Surely his military training
has not hardened him into looking upon the
lives of the rank and file, the common men,
the laborers, as of no account We read
of case after case of concrete colapSes
killing one or two or ten poor fellows and
Are they not to be consdered2 Here are
two clippings from a Pittsburg paper that 1
just read before the captains harangue.
One tells of collapse at Trenton, N j.,
struction, killing one poor fellow; and an
other collapse Of a handsome ten-story
apartment house in Pittsburg. killing one
man and just missing 25O others.
Inspection.
Theoretically the captain Is right about
the inspection of concrete buildings being
all that is necessary, but practically he is
wrong. To properly inspect them you
would have to have a superintendent over
every blessed workman For the slightest
slip in mixing, in tamping, in any part of
it imperils the whole. The wire or bars In
ninety cases out Of hundred are bound to
sag and be exposed on the bottom side of
the concrete, there to be twisted galley
west by any incipient fire or to rust away
by exposure-for the generally poor plaster
ing of an apartment house Is poor protec-
ton indeed So at best, with fire or natural
deterioration, the stuff, even If it STAYS up
during erection. Is not good for much over
ten years, If that.
With tile it is different; the units are so
small and the spans so narrow that really
1t requires extraordinary poor workman
ship to endanger 1t. The standard is such
and inspection SO easy-for IL a tile Is had
1t is easily noted-that the veriest tyro at
superintendent can get most excellent
work. BY the way, In spite of the captains
dogmatic statements that tile will not stand
nre and water, l can take him To q nIant
where the kilns are opened the moment the
fire is extinguished, and water is thrown
In to cool off the tile and without anv in
furious effect. "
And If he thinks concrete, the sloppv.
Wlde-span stuff, l mean, is SO good why
dld he not use 1t in the printing office and
why does not the government use IT more
extensively? why was not The Star built
of 1t. and the "Willard?' and why don't
people generally use 1t when they want a
really first-class building?
Apartment Houses.
was almost forgetting Brother Ash
ford. If he says all the apartment houses
are all right. then surely does he make the
city party to anything that may happen;
he puts the official stamp Of approval on all
that has gone before. 1t Is simply impos-
sible for him. with the force at his dis
posal. to inspect everything that is done,
and 1t is silly to say he does He means
well, Is undoubtedly a splendid executive
and all that, but l hardly think, judging
from his letter to The Star that either his
technical training or his experience with
buildings would justify us in accepting MS
dictum as authority upon the fine questions
OF concrete tests, &C. I am no bird of Ill
omen crying "too-hoot, too-hoo," but a
sense of justice to my fellow citizens not
my partisanship, compels me to reiterate
The Stars warning, Look to your fire.
traps!' Z. A. FITZPATRICK,