El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-02-08
MEETING OF CLAY
WORKERS.
VIGOROUS CAMPAIGN AGAINST CONCRETE

HITTSBURG will have five conven-
~ lions this week. all of which will
- be in the interest of the manu-
facture of clay products The Nationals
Brick Manufacturers association VIII
meet in its oath annual convention; the
National Clay Machinemakers' associ-
alton Will hold its nth annual meeting;
the American Ceramic society will come
together for it's 18th annual session; the
National Paving Brick Manufacturers
will gather for their fifth annual con-
ference; and the National Clay Products
association, the latest recruit 10 organ
lied activities. will meet in its second
annual convention Between the five or
CARNATIONS, which maintain fraternal
relations little will be left uncovered
in the clay manufacturing world. Every
phase of the subject will be discussed.
Try TO Keep Brick in Favor.
First and foremost in the minds of the
brickmakers is the problem Of keeping
brick in the foreground of public Ia
vor The growing popularity of con
crete has been eXerting an adverse IN
fluence 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 business. So ser1-
Gus has the situation become that the
brickmakerS were forced TO adopt a
campaign of publicity in favor of brick;
nor have they let it rest there-they are
using their publicity against concrete
The trade journals of the clay indus
try are bold in their fight against con-
crete When concrete bridge collapses,
as happened at Peoria. ILL.,, some months
ago. pictures of the collapse are publish
ed, with such inscriptions as sacred 10
the memory of defective concrete When
the wall of a house in course of con-
structiOn falls and kills someone, as
happened in Washington a year or so
ago, illustrations of the damaged house
are shown under such inscriptions as
Stained with human blood"
When sewer gas destroys a section OF
concrete sewer. as happened IN WIS
consin town the camera tells the tale
Of The Failure of Concrete in Sewer
Construction" When piece OF asphalt
pavement gives out for one reason or
another. pictures of THE Shortcomings
of Asphalt are used in the trade pa
pers. When a Baltimore fire or San
Francisco earthquake makes record
against concrete construction, the brlcK-
maker writes a story OF the ineff1ciency
of concrete and perpetrates a pun by
heading it Some Concrete Facts
Durability of Brick.
But not all of the campaign is de-
voted to attacking other building ma
terials: a proper effort being made 10
promote brick. When the new brick au-
COmODlle track dI WIS OPNA-
ed 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 durabf-
ity of brick.
Prizes were offered for well designed
brick houses and a book of these de-
signs has now been published. Every
brickmaker is urged to send book
of these designs, TO the prospective build
er in the hope that he will decide that
his building material shall be brick
The claim is made that a house costing
$4,000 as a frame house, will cost $1O,-
$50 if made of concrete and $1,000 II
Quilt with brick.
The waning popularity of brick for
construction purposes is attributed by
the brickmaker more to the high wages
demanded by the bricklayer than TO any
other cause. An effort is being made
10 evolve a plan which Will eliminate
the hod carrier, and 1t is said that this
ancient and honorable son of toll will
soon have his place taken by hosting
machine and fountain trowel-
Ceramic Society.
The American Ceramic society is the
broadeSt organization of the five which
will meet in Pittsburg. The average per-
son thinks that ceramics Is the science OF
china painting and ornamental pottery.
and he is warranted in this conclusion
because everywhere that fashionable
society is to be found one encounters
Keramic Klub, made up Of china paint
ers and admirers of hand painted and
ornamented ware.
But the American Ceramic society pro-
tests against this limited use of the
word. and asserts that instead of be-
ing merely the unuseful science of fancy
china and pottery ceramics includes
the making of all kinds of ware from
silicates. Whether Il be an ugly brick
worth less than single penny. a beau
tiful terra Gotta deSign worth hundreds
of dollars, or a magnificent vase worth
thousands. they are all produced through
the science of ceramics.
Anxious for Research.
This society thinks there is not
enough research going on for the up
building of its science. 1t believes there
are yet many opportunities for profitable
research, and is aiming TO stimulate
such Investigations as promise to in
crease the usefulness of ceramics. For
generations the trade secret was guard
ed carefully. but under the labOrs of the
American Ceramic society the barrier to
progress that resulted from the guarding
of these secrets has been broken down.
and now the whole ceramic world de-
ponds upon universal uptodate methods
rather than individual secrecy to keep
it abreast the tide of competition.
One sometimes reads of the finding Of
toadS encaSed in solid stone. 1t is a