Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-11

Ia 81 NI which will be in the inter-
lW kgSall est of the manufacture of
I'm ~ clay products. The National
lEAzg1@A9l Brick Manufacturers associ-
alton will meet in it's twentyfo fourth
annual convention; the National Clay
Machine Makers's association will hold
its seventeenth annual meeting; the
American Ceramic society will come
together for its twelfth annual session;
the National Paving Brick Manufacture
ers will gather for their fifth annual
conference and the National Clay Pro-
ducts association, the latest recruit to
organized activities, will meet in its
second annual convention. Between the
five organizations, which maintain fra
ternal relations, little will be left un-
covered in the clay manufacturing
world. Every phase of the subject
will be discussed.
First and foremost in the minds of
the brick makers is the problem of
| keeping brick in the foreground of pub
lie 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 business So
serious has the situation become that
the brick makers were forced to adopt
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 a concrete bridge col
lapses, as happened in Peoria, Ill, some
months ago, pictures of the collapse
are published with such Inscriptions
as Sacred to the Memory of Defect
i've Concrete" When the wall of a
house in course of construction falls
and kills someone, as happened in
Washington a year or SO ago, illustra-
tions of the damaged house are shown
under such inscriptions as "Stained
with Human Blood" When sewer gas
destroys section of a concrete sewer,
as happened in Wisconsin town, the
camera tells the tale of 1.-The Failure
of Concrete in Sewer Construction" "
When a piece of asphalt pavement
gives out for one reason or another
pictures of 1.-THE Shortcomings of AS
phalt" are used in the trade papers.
When a Baltimore fire or a San Fran
cisco earthquake makes record
against concrete construction. the
brick maker writes a story of the in
efficiency of concrete and perpetrates
pun by heading it "Some Concrete
Facts"
But not all of the campaign is de-
voted to attacking other building ma
terials, a proper effort being made to
promote brick. When the new brick
automobile track at Indianapolis was
opened many pictures of it were pub
lished 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 pun
lished to show the durability of brick
Prizes were offered for well designed
brick houses, and a book of these de-
signs has now been published. Every
brick maker is urged to send book
of these designs t. the prospective
builder in the hope that he will de-
eide that his building material shall be
brick. The claim is made that a
house costing $4,000 as frame house
will cost $10,750 if made OF concrete
and 81, 900 if built with brick.
The waning popularity of brick fol-
construction purposes is attributed by
the brick maker more to the mgr
wages demanded by the bricklayei
than to any other cause. An eftort Is
being made to evolve plan Whlch VIII
eliminate the hodcarrier, and it is salo
toll will soon have his place taken
bv hosting machine and fountain
trowel.
The American Ceramic society is the
broadest organization of the five Whlch
will meet in Pittsburg. The average
nerson thinks that ceramics Is the
Science of china painting and orna,
mental pottery, and he is Warranteo
in this conclusion, because every
where that fashionable society is 10 pe
found one encounters a Keramic Klub,
nade nm of chint. painters and admir-
ers of hand-painted and ornamenteo
ware Put the American Ceramic So
cietv protests against this limited use
of the word, and asserts that lnssteao
of beine merely the unuseful sclence
of fancy china and pottery, ceramics
includes the making of all xmas OF
ware from silicates. whether II pc an
ugly brick worth less than sIlsle
nenny. a beautiful terra Gotta design
ptwartb hundreds of dollars, or mag
nificent vase worth thousands, they
are ali produced through the science
of ceramics.
This society inks there is moi
enough research going on for the up
building of it's science. 1t peileNes
there are yet many opportunities loi
profitable research, and is aiming -
Stimulate such Investigations as prom
ise 10 increase the usefulness OF cera-
MICS For generations the trade Sc
cret was guarded 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, anu now
the whole ceramic world depends upon
universal up-to-date methods ratneI