Palisadian. [volume] (Cliffside Park, N.J.) 1906-current, 1915-02-13

sue of THE Palisadian" regarding
the appointment of Ernest Sibley as
architect for the new high school to be
built at Grantwood was calculated tc
leave wrong impression in the
minds of those who are not &C
quainted with the actual facts in the
premises. The Board of Education
voted in favor Of Mr.. Sibley because
of that gentleman's well-known hon
esty and abilities, and because the
question of competition has become d
hackneyed one, and also for reason
that competition brings in all OF the
undesirable elements that are not
wanted if communities are to get
the best net results in public service
There was every effort made to throw
this new school into the melee of COM
petition, but after duly considering
all of the points connected with the
situation, and looking into the things
that had been done to prejudice the
board in it's elaboration, the decision
was arrived at as the one most con
ducive to the borough's interests. II
did not have to center upon Mr.. Sib-
ley, but it did so because he has beer
weighed i'm every scale Of criticism
and found possessed Of the right ele
ments, not only as an architect, but
also as man. Mr.. Sibley has never
sought political pull at any time, but
has relied upon the merit of his work
it's individuality, and his always cling
ing fidelity to truth in dealing with
those problems he has met as an ar
chitect. In plain language, this
means that Mr.. Sibley has been dis
inclined to favor any scheme, which,
while it might be readily made into
a favorable channel for his own prof
it's, he has stood aloof from all en-
tangling alliances. He has gone
along in his own way, preferring to
allow his record to stand, as built
upon the stone foundation of honesty
than to be connected with anything
that would smack of questionable
methods, or of politics.
One of the strange things devel-
oped at the meeting Of the Board
last week was the presence of Hugh
Roberts, Secretary of the New Jer-
sey Chapter of the American 1nsti-
tue of Architects. 1t was because
Mr.. Roberts spoke in favor of an
open competition on the new high
school that Messrs. Conway and Hir-
schiller did not vote, preferring to
have the matter come up before a
full board, when they would have fav-
ored Mr.. Sibley. George S. Drew, OF
Grantwood, is State Architect fol-
New Jersey, and is also President OF
the New Jersey Chapter of the
American Institute of Architects. In
a recent article published in the New
Jersey State Journal of Architecture
he wrote: "The Institutes Code OF
1913-1914 contains this expression:
The Institute, therefore, as a first
step, put itself squarely on record as
opposed to competitions on the ground
that they are uncertain in their re-
suits and wasteful of time and money
70 &c Of hn hat
competitions are in the main of nc
advantage to the owner. 1t there
fore recommends that, except in cases
where competition is unavoidable, ar
architect be employed by direct Sc
lection upon the sole basis of his fit
ness for the work. Competitions are
at best slow and expensive method
of choosing an architect
1t would be interesting to know
in this connection what influence
brought Mr.. Roberts before the board
as his knowledge of professional eth
les would have made him hesitate tt
come on such a mission, if he hat
known the exact conditions, for HI
took occasion during his talk, tt
praise very highly the Cliffsid'
School, saying he did not know wh'
the architect was but advised tn!
the Board to visit some of the schools
in other places and see how favorabl!
their school compared with them.
Few men in New Jersey have bull
more or better schools than Mr.. Sib
ley, and wherever he has been callet
on for plans, they have been highl!