Los Angeles herald., 1907-03-23
BRICK MEN WAR
AGAINST CONCRETE
WANT BOTH MATERIALS ON AN
EQUAL BASIS
Clay Dealers Argue That Millions In
vested In Los Angeles Inter-
ests Should Be Con.
sldered

That the brick VS.. concrete war will
be reopened in the council next week
is evident from typewriter arguments
which were circulated yesterday in the
city hall.
The brick men are loading their bat
teries for the first fire.
Recent legislation growing out of
reports of experts who helped draft the
building ordinances has started the
ball rolling
The circulars which were handed out
to councilmen yesterday were as fol-
liws:
THE ordinance which was passed by
your honorable council some two weeks
ago reducing the thickness of concrete
walls from eight to five inches is now
In the hands of your committee for
report.
For the benefit of your committee
some of whom were not members of
the council at the time Of the passage
of the reinforced concrete ordinance,
we have this to say and ask that you
consider thoughtfully our statements:
AT the time the reinforced concrete
law was up for passage there was a
bitter struggle between the local brick
interests and the representatives of the
foreign concrete interests, as to GER
tain rules which the new ordinance
should prescribe for reinforced concrete
buildings.
"In all it was a matter of over eight
months wrangling, the brick men in
sisting that as all government and
authentic tests of brick and concrete
proved conclusively that brick were
as good in strength and better in fire.
proof qualities than concrete, walls
constructed of concrete should be of
the same thickness as those of brick.
Sorry at Defeat
I'VE are sorry to say that our claims
for recognition did not seem to have
sufficient weight with the then city
council, and the brick men, whose
every dollar is spent locally building
up home industry, and who employ
over 1900 men whose money is also
spent here, lost out to the cement in
terests, thereby sending every dollar
which is paid for cement and which
would have been spent here for brick,
out of the city.
The law as passed stated that con-
crete walls for certain classes of
buildings should be eight inches in
thickness; the law for brick buildings
VAS, and at this time is, for the same
kind of buildings. seventeen inches.
Not satisfied with their manifest
victory over the brick men, to whom
the ordinance meant great loss OF
business, as we could not compete
against an eight-inch concrete wall
with a seventeen-inch wall of brick,
now comes along some one interested
ir cement and asks that these same
walls of concrete be put down to five
inches.
"Where will it stop?
IF there is any preference given at
all by the honorable body which legis-
lates for our city surely it should be
to local industries.
However, de do not ask for any
preferences; all we want is a square
deal, and in the near future the brick
interests will ask the council to either
increase the thickness of concrete walls
10 that of brick, or be fair in the mat
ter and reduce the thickness of brick
walls to that of concrete.
1--WE feel sure that your honorable
body, who have the interests of local
industries at heart as well as those
of the city, will look very carefully into
this matter before pronouncing judg-
ment.
You must remember that we have
millions invested in a legitimate enter
prise which tends to the upbuilding
of our glorious city, and the mere re-
quest of some interests to whose bene-
fit it would be to injure our business
should be seriously considered before
final action is taken"
J. II, Marks, secretary of the Brick
Construction association, is foremost in
the brick mems movement.