The Washington times., 1909-05-01
THE NEW BUILDING REGULA-
TIONS MUST REGULATE.

A commission to revise, edit, and re-
arrange the building regulations of the
District of Columbia was created by
the District Commissioners three years
ago. That act was largely the fruit
Of activity on the part of this news
paper. 1t did not come too soon, Tor
not only were the regulations OF that
day scattered, contradictory, and OBJ
scure, but they were in substance anti
Guated.
Not less than wear ago the first
section of this special report was trans
mitted to the District Commissioners.
At brief intervals. since. the other sec
tions have been submitted. With
amendments many of them more than
questionable in the judgment of this
newspaper-these sections have been
adopted one by one. The last has now
been approved. But there has not been
at any time any copies of any section
which could be examined by any two
builders, or any copy of certain sec
tIons which, could be examined by any
one bailder, with confidence that what
he read was the law under which he
must work.
The news now is that the whole re-
port is to be published. This newspaper
does not imagine from what has been
printed of the sections, one by one, that
the new regulations will be abreast OF
those in force of the most progressive
cities of the world. But it does be-
lieve that they viii be far and away
better than those in force three years
ago and the best the special commits
sion could hope to have sustained by
the board of District Commissioners as
mot extreme" So much has been
gained and The Times rejoices that it
did what it could 10 further the gain
But the work must not stop here
The Commissioners owe it to them
selves, as to the house-owners and rent
ers of the District, to see that these
regulations shall regulate. In other
words. the new code must not be
amended save in the face of clear and
general need.
Many an investor has gone to the
District building, under the old rules,
obtained a concession that amounted to
a virtual supercession of certain sec
tions of the law, and come away to
laugh in his sleeve. There must be no
more of that. Neither can there be
any amendment of the regulations
without full inquiry, a hearing from
all classes interested. and-most i'm
portant of alI-abundant notice. The
answer may be made that this has al
ways been done. All right. The i'm
portant thing now is that it shall be
done today and in the future. The
new regulations should be amended
only at stated periods, not oftener than
twice a year
Finally, the Commissioners should
give particular attention TO that pro-
vision of the report which provided that
the office of the Inspector of Buildings
should be made self-supporting. They
have approved and had enacted into
law sliding scale of charges for the
supervision Of buildings according to
the work required of the inspectors
force. But the reform has been side
tracked at that way station. The fees
now 20 into the treasury of the Dis
trict, to be allotted to the office of the
inspector, or to the skimming of the
scum from the surface of the James
Creek Canal, or to whatever other use
Congress may determine.
The money is paid for inspection and
supervision. 1t can best be spent for
that purpose. When it is so spent it
will become less difficult to oItain
from Congress approval for the en-
ployment Of as many men-within the
income Of the offiee-as the inspector
shall require for the genuine protection
of those who construct and tenant
buildings within the District of Column
bia