The Washington herald., 1908-06-14

The Washington correspondent OF the
Clayworker, commenting upon the re-
cent tragedy In this city caused by the
collapse of concrete work In the upper
story, takes the ground that much of the
cheapness Of concrete construction is
only problematic. and more often the re-
suit of cheap methods of handling the
material than Of the inherently less cost
Of cement construction. The following IS
from the advance sheets of that publica-
ton.
Not only is the conduct Of re-enforced
concrete under fire quite prOblemntic. but
there are inherent troubles and possibili-
ties in that mode OF construction that
make II dangerous to handle and an ab-
solutely uncertain quantity. and. there
fore, not desirable material to use in
building.
The sole reason for its use by any one
IS on the basis Of its being cheaper than
standard construction, of brick and steel
and tile Now. then. TO make It cheaper
than that standard it has TO be cheaply
done. inferior materials used. and these
mixed and put in place by cheap. un-
skilled labor.
Makes Undesirable CheRpness.
That means "cheapness" in a very
undesirable sense Of the term. 1t is small
wonder, therefore, that so many col
lapses Of buildings. built by that system.
have occurred IN this country. The ap-
paIling long list OF such collapses has
had one more item added to It within
the last twenty-four hours.
An apartment house In Washington
was the scene of this most recent illus
tration Of the dangers OF concrete con-
structiOn. Two men were killed and a
number seriously injured and some thirty
families who were contemplating soon
moving into the building. are thanking
their good stars that the collapse oc-
CURED when u did
similar Disasters Elsewhere.
The press Of the country has had to
tell the same story twenty times in the
past few years. This is exactly similar
to what occurred at Elyria, Ohio; Mine
ola. Long Island; Rochester, n. Y, and
Long Beach. Cal
70 IS this sort OF thing that caused
the Engineering News. the leading jour
nal of the world In its class. 10 eXclaim:
"CoreiessneSs. incompetence. and un-
scrupulous sklnning appear 10 have
about reached the limit In REINFORCED
concrete construction. Two failures Of
large buildings under construction, oc-
curing within a fortnight OF each other,
both OF which had their harvest Of dead.
SIS "a serious blemlsh on the record OF
re-enforced concrete. 4 radical reform Is
imperative. The gray Of our concrete
structure IS already too much stained
with blood. Shall we allow that stain
90 spread and grow still darker?'
The principal newspapers In Washing
ton seem 20 lay the chief blame for the
occurrence upon the building department.
The real blame. however, may be traced
stll higher Up. Building departments
can only do that which they are author
tied 90 DO by law and can only Inspect
as thoroughly as their too often limited
force, allowed by law, will permit. The
fact that n city gives permission 10 build
in certain way, and stamps such plans
with its approval. makes IL. not TO a
degree, but completely. responsible tu
the citizens for that building. Il should
provide a sufficlency Of inspection 10 in
sure that that building will be carried
on IN accordance with rs approval Or
the city who do not exercise skill and
care in construction.
Suggests Suits Against City.
A few suits for damages against a
city entered by parties suffering by rea-
son Of such collapses would quickly es-
tablish its responsibility vis-a-vis its
citizens The taxpayer has no interest
in how a man may elect 20 erect his
building or how destructible II may be
II It does not interfere with or endan-
ger other people and property. The mo-
ment Il does. then the public has a real
interest IN that building and that inter-
est must be safeguarded by the au-
thoritles.
II, as this last collapse proves Il IS
almost impossible for cities to give ade-
QuGte inspection 10 every building that
goes up. then II has the right to and
should bar dangerous and experimental
models Of construction. The city has
responsibilities in other directions that
Il meets and has laws passed 10 pro-
tect its people.
With saloons for instance-they have
TO be run in an orderly, decent manner
or the license is taken away from them;
and then there are districts In which
saloon Is not permitted under any cir
cumstanCes. Why not use the same
judgment and apply the same remedies
10 our building troubles? II lies with
us citizens 10 see that these things are
done properly. Our lawmakers and au-
thorities are supposed to act under our
instructions rs indicated at the polls
II Is up 70" US, and now Is the time TO
express our views, our desires, and give
our orders 10 the lawmakers.
Dental Treatment I'm German Schools
Consul Z. Theophilus Liefeld makes the
following report on the results OF the
public dental service established In the
city schools Of Freiburg. Germany. on
April 2 1907: Up 20 the end Of 1907, on
thirty-seven different days when exam
nations we're made. 2f7S children were
treated. The number OF extractions was
S.6S9 Filings 1921. new teeth put I'm 1O2.
and roots treated g. The number Of ex-
fractions must gradually decrease and
the filings increase before the real OBJ
Ject OF this dental clinic will have been
attained OF the children examined, only
two I'm every 1000 had ever before been
treated by a dentist, hence the condition
OF the mouths Of the children was de-
ploTabe