Evening journal., 1914-07-01

IN TINS architectural bectlOn Which 1
is laid before the public while includ- /
ing the work Of a well-Snown firm of |
architects, it is desired 70 say something !
about the profession at large. It is the /
hope and aim to lay before the public |
some slight explanation of the work |
of the architectural profession as (
body, not only in Wilmington but !
throughout the country.
There is no great satisfaction in
profession as a body, feeling that it is
misunderstood. The architectural pro-
fession is not misunderstood, it is sim |
ply not understood by enough people. |
Any profession that requires touch |
ing on the commercial side of life is
bound to be thought of merely rs u
business profession of buying and sell
ing of material and not services.
Ninety-nine per cent. of the time all
an architect has to sell are his brains
and his service. Il takes years of
training and years of close application
" tQuiD HMNotiI AOI lnt bdAt VI q oNNAo7
factory service He is frequently at
the disadvantage of not being able to
concretely show by physical evidence
that service has been performed.
set Of blue prints are not simply a set
of blue prints so far as the amount of
work involved is concerned, but they
can only be produced when they are
properly studied and they entail
an enormous amount of thought,
work and knowledge which is
not in evidence in the final work. 1t is
this work. thought and Knowledge that
the architect sells and not merely set
of blue prints which are the concrete
evidence of his effort.
An architect, like a consulting engi-
neer, may sell purely consulting ser
vice where no drawings whatever are
entailed and then his work falls into
the plane of service that is sold by the
doctor or the lawyer. He is being paid
lor his knowledge of building affairs.
The architectural profession, like. all
professions, is injured, and in the minds
of some irreparably, by the layman's
own wrong choice of an architect. I'm
fortunately in Delaware architects are
not licensed by law. This makes it pos
sibIe so that anyone can be an architect
and any one can practice architecture
and style himself an architect, whether
he has had the necessary preparation in
academic training and practical knowl-
edge or not. This of course per-
mits of the layman, who under
stands only that an architect is
what he claims TO be, to employ
the services of people who are nomi-
nally architects and yet in the broader
sense are not entitled to the full con-
fdence Of person having large sums
of money 10 invest, either commercially
or for their private homes. There is no
desire to stigmatize any one in the pro-
fession, but so long as the law does not
protect the layman by putting restric-
tions on those who practice architec-
ture. then the layman is still apt to
meet the pitfalls that are placed IN his
way by irresponsible people and the
profession finally suffers by reason Of
them.
Many States afford a protection to
their citizens by having the architect,
as do the optometrist, dentist. doctor
and lawyer, pass examinations of the
State Board giving evidence of at least
nominal training in their profession
The State supervision of a serious pro-
fession is right and just for when men
are permitted to ignorantly design and
so ieopardize the lives of citizens
without restraint, conditions should be
revised The doctor is entrusted with
the life of his patient by law; the lives
Of many arc entrusted to an architect
when he designs a building. Careless
ness or ineficiency on his part may be
the means of manning or killing inno-
cent persons, but the law at present in
the case of the architect takes no
thought of this danger.
Building departments are supposed to
protect the public against this diff
Guilty, but in a city like Wilmington
where hundreds of thousands of dollars
worth Of building is authorized every
year, with more to come, it would re-
quire the operation Of a much heavier
department of engineers than thai
y which is now so efficiently exercising
the duties Of building inspection. By
this It is not meant to convey tha