The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-08-05
OLD AND NEW BUILDINGS,

AAVy oAO hCoAAhA o"eJ S@fN
torn awav--one of the Oldest and
finest buildings in Memphis, and The
Commercial Appeal expresses its re-
greet at the seeming OF alleged neces-
atty OF the act. 1t thinks 1t great
pity that the old house could not have
remained standing as an object lesson
to modern builders and architects.
THE truly beautiful and useful build
ings." II says. ARE those built before
the war. or after these plans"
The Commercial Appeal IL correct in
Of the old-time houses of the South.
Some of them yet stand as monuments
to the care and skill of the builders.
but they are fast disappearing along
with those who owned or occupied
them. Pretty soon one of these hand
some and substantial relics of the past
will be q rare object In most parts of
the South.
In no kind of buildings ia this diff
ference more apparent than 1t is in
those built of wood. In both country
and city we occasionally see houses of
wood that were erected half q century
or more ago. but which now stand as
solidly and perfect in appearance as
they were when the old men and wo-
men OF the present day were little
children. AS our Memphis contempt
rary says. they are object lessons to
the present generation.
There are two controlling reasons
for the greater excellence of the frame
buildings Of the past over those of the
present: one Is unavoidable. but the
other is not. The first lies in the diff
Guilty of obtaining first-class material
at the present time. In the old days
a man who wanted to build a perma-
nent home had choice of all the tim
and use only the best. The pine for
ests of the South were then standing
as nature formed them. and one who
wanted to build a good house selected
timber that would last a life time.
1t is quite different now. as all know
who have anything to do with lumber
or building. In some sections there
may still be found a little first-class
yellow pine. but It is scarce. The
great pine regions have been cut over
time and again until II is difficult to
find any really good pine timber at all.
The natural consequences is that
buildings exercted OF second or third
class lumber cannot in the nature of
things be Of much duration. They
decay and go to pieces because the ma
terial is faulty. and we know of no
help for 1t.
But there is a reason besides this.
and in this case the fault lies with
those who build houses as well as
with those who have them built. 1t
may be expressed in two words: hur-
ry and economy. In the old days
neither the owner nor the builder was
in hurry to get the house done. Be
sides selecting the best material for
every post of the house the lumber
was thoroughly dried before using.
Then the carpenters took their time
and each detail OF construction was
neither stinginess in material or time
nor hurry In construction.
1t Is not so In most cases now. Start
ing out with the disadvantage of in
terror material. for which they have to
pay two or three times the price they
paid for good lumber fifty years ago,
house builders these days seem to go
on the idea that every day spent in
building a house Is so much time vast
ed. They do not ask how well the
work will be done. but how soon. As
result of this hurry we see timber
and lumber used before 1t is half dry,
and the work done in such hurry
that 1t is Impossible for 1t TO be we'll
done. The perfectly natural result is
that the buildings cannot have much
durability, and this is why We see
houses of hftv or seventv-five years
Of age that are in better condition
than those built less than ten years
ago.
Az The Commercial Appeal says. 1t
seems almost a sacrilege to tear these
old-time houses away. for they are not
only reminders but object lessons
They remind US of past OF glorious
------.t.. "a 49,. an, ,,n ..,haf mas