Omaha daily bee., 1910-02-09
Some Things You Want to Know
Meeting of Clay Workers.

Pittsburg will have five conventions this
week. all OF which win be in the interest
of the manufacture OF clay products. The
National Brick Manufacturers association
will meet in It's twenty-fourth annual con-
v%netion: the National Clay Machine-makers
association Will hold It's seventeenth annual
meeting; the American Ceramic society will
come together for its twelfth annual ses-
sion; the National Paving Brick Manu-
facturers will gather for their fifth annual
conference, and the National Clay Products
association. the latest recruit to organised
activities, will meet in It's second annual
convention. Between the five organizations,
when maintain fraternal relations, little
will be left uncovered In the clay manu-
featuring world. Every phase Of the sub
ject will be discussed.
First and foremost In the minds OF the
brick makers is the problem OF keeping
brick in the foreground OF public favor.
The growing popularity OF concrete has
been exerting an adverse Influence on the
demand for brick, and the use Of asphalt
and wood paving-blocks for street paving
has been no less hurtful to the brick bust
ness. SO serious has the situation become
that the brick makers were forced to adopt
- NhbNtbh VI bubAtttNS III NV VI bAASht
nor have they let It rest there-they are
using their publicity against concrete.
The trade Journals of the clay Industry
are bold in their fight against concrete.
When a concrete bridge c~ollapses, as hap
pened at Peoria, Illinois, some months ago,
pictures of the collapse are published, with
such inscriptions as sacred to the memory
of defective concrete" When the wall Of
a house In course OF construction falls and
kills someone, as happened in Washington
a year or so ago, Illustrations OF the danl-
aged mouse are shown under such inscrip-
tons as stained with human blood -"
When sewer gas destroys a section Of con-
crete sewer, as happened in a Wisconsin
town, the camera tells the tale of The
Failure OF Concrete In Sewer Construction"
When a piece Of asphalt pavement gives
out for one reason or another. pictures of
The Shortcomings OF Asphalt" are used
In the trade papers. When a Baltimore
fire or a San Francisco earthquake makes
. record against concrete construction the
brlck-maker writes a story Of the inef-
ficiency of concrete and perpetrates a pun
by heading 1t Some Concrete Facts"
But not all Of the campaign is devoted
to attacking other building materials; n
proper effort being made to promote brick.
W ~ NNS AtN III AIaNA oN
Indianapolis was opened many pictures of
it were published in the trade journals,
with the comment that though the drivers
were benumbed by cold the track had
proved itself the fastest in the world.
Pictures OF brick castles that were built
hundreds OF years ago are published to
show the durability of brick. Prizes were
offered for we'll designed brick houses and
a book Of these designs has now been
published. Every b~rickmaker is urged to
seld a book OF these designs to the pros
pective builder in the hope that he will
decide that his building material shall be
brick. The claim IL made that a house
costing $4,000 as a frame house will cost
I$10,750 II made of concrete and S1l, 900 IL
built with brick.
The waning popularity Of brick for con.
struction purposes is attributed by the
~brickmaker more to the high wages de-
manded by the bricklayer than to any
other cause. An effort is being made &c
evolve a plan which will eliminate the hoo
carrier. and It Is said that this ancient
and honorable son Of toll will soon have
his place taken by a hoisting machine and
fountain troweL
The American Ceramic society is tht
broadcast organization Of the five which
will meet In Pittsburg. The average per
son thinks tina ceramic is the science
, Of china painting and ornamental pottery
and lie is warranted in this conclusion be
cause everywhere that fashionable societ!
is to be found one encounters a Kerami
. Klub. made up Of china painters and ad
mirers OF hand-painted and ornamentet
, ware. But the American Ceramic societ!
: protests against this limited use Of tn
g word, and asserts that instead OF beinI
merely the unuseful science OF fancy chin
and pottery. ceramics includes the making
OF all kinds Of ware from s~ilicates. Whethe
It be an ugly brick worth less than
d sirgle penny, a beautiful terra Gotta desig
G worth hundreds Of dollars, or a magniflcen
vase worth thousands, they are all pre-
duced through the scier ce of ceramics.
: This society thinks there is not enoug
research going on for the ~upbuilding of II
science. II believes there is yet many or
%portunities for profitable research, and
aiming to stimulate such Investigations O
promise to increase the usefulness c
ceramics. For generations the trade secrs
was guarded carefully. but under the labor
of the American Ceramic society tn
barrier TO progress that resulted from tn
guarding OF these secrets has been broke
down. and now the whole ceramic worl
depends upon universal up-to-date method
rather than Individual secrecy to keep
ARREST the tide of competition.
One sometimes reads Of the finding