Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1907-08-28
CONCRETE HAZARDOUS.
Special Building Laws and Inspectors
said TO be Required.

Washington, ID. c., Aug. 2S-The In
ternatlonal Society of Building In
sp1ctors through its executive officer.
Architect Fitzpatrick, has long urged
the necessity of special legislation on
this important matter, and the num-
erous cases of fatal and destructive
collapses of reinforced concrete build
lngs, even while under construction,
would seem to substantiate the argu-
nlent he makes in favor of such legis-
latiVe action. These collapses have
aroused feeling OF positive alarm
even in the best informed and most
conservative construction circles. The
subject has been thoroughly discussed
in the technical press and now the
United States government Is taking u
hand.
Speaking of this particular work, Mr..
Fitzpatrick says: while the society
distinctly recognizes the popularity, inn
portance and adaptablllity OF reinforced
concrete construction, II nevertheless
rs impelled to warn people that this
class of work should only be entrust-
ed to the most skillful hands. The So
ciety Is making every possible effort to
Induce cities to appoint special inspec-
tors of concrete and TO otherwise pro-
tect the people from the indiscrimin-
ate use. by incompetent persons, of re-
inforced concrete, which 1t looks upon
as stu being in somewhat problem
attic stage"
Correborating this, the United States
government, through its geological sur
NeY experts, has issued warning to
the people In n widely scattered report
sent out 10 the press. In part the re-
port states that the recent collapse
OF number OF reinforced concrete
buildings, with loss of life and several
hundred thousand dollars. has brought
forcibly to the attention OF construc-
non material experts the need OF an
Immediate revision OF the building
regulations OF the great cities of the
country II Is declared that inatten-
ton 10 this new material on the part
Of ohlcinls OF municipalities and the
h1pha2ard manner In which Il Is being
handled by some contractors has led
TO a most serious problem and Will
result In more disasters unless there
Is remedy az once
The government expert declares that
the danger OF collapse Of concrete
structures exists IN nearly every i'm
portant city OF the united States.
II have examined carefully nearly
every one Of the buildings that have
collapsed In the past year. saws this
expert, and IN every Instance the fan
OF the structure has been due to care
lessness In construction | am salts
fled that the same errors are being
repeated and that further oollapses
win surely come unless the officials OF
the cities take the question In hand
now. This danger of careless con-
atruction confronts nearly every city
Of the country, and II Is a miracle 10
me that more concrete buildings have
not collapsed, In order to meet this
problem squarely, every city should re-
wise It's building laws IN such man
ner that either the owner or the con-
tractor OF a concrete building shall
be compelled to employ competent in
spector whose duty Il shall be 10 fol-
low every detail OF the construction
from the beginning OF the fundation
TO the completion OF tho roof"