Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-06-26

gregate. however. there has been a
net gain in noteworthy achievement.
That there. is a growing apprecia-
ton for good architecture. however, is
indicated by the tremendous amount
of space given in the daily press
to this subject, as evidenced by The
Stars better homes property in dis
cussions in civic and social bodies, and
particularly in the better class of
magazines and other periodicals of
especial interest to the women of the
country.
Education Is Broader.
There has never been a time when
travel and education have been so uni
versal as at present. Today educa-
ton no longer consists of merely read
ing. writing. arithmetic and a few
kindred subjects. 1t comprehends
real knowledge of music, literature
and art and other advanced subjects.
Facilities for travel are now so ade-
quate that we find journeying to Eu.
rope people who before the great
war dreamed of but never hoped to
make such a trip. Each year thou
sands of people cross the Atlantic
merely for the excitement and nov
city of II. But no matter how lacking
IN taste "A man is, he cannot help alb
sorbinS something of an appreciation
of architecture, and in fact of all the
arts. While visiting the centers of Eu-
ropean culture. But. in their desire
to see new fields, Americans do not
cont1ne their pilgrimageS to voyages
across the seas. The moderate ex-
pense necessary for railroad Journey
ana the facility of the automobile
make 1t possible for him to cover
Of h
little cost either of money or time.
Such travel broadens, to some extent
at least, even the most undiscrimi-
natlng. Add 10 this the effect of the
radlo and of the motion picture, both
OF winch are capable of and do bring
10 us much of beauty and worth. and
we can hardly fail to conclude that
we nave reached the point in our ma
tlonal development where we are
READY TO appreciate and welcome the
real better home"
Three Things Essential.
1hree essential considerations are
lhIluued IN the answer to What is
q oetter nome The problem must
oe regarded from three points of view
anu III us solution these three ele-
mehts must be harmonized, else the
solution Is not true The three angles
from which the problem must be
viewed are those of the architect. the
engineer and the home owner. The
Ilrst viewpoint comprehends the arts
TIC treatment, the second structural
practice and safety, and the third.
comfort and utility
TO many minds. and perhaps not
unnaturally. the last is the most i'm.
portant consideration. The reason for
this q
ana ease of living. Our civilization
has developed and become complex
until 1t has reached point where
we no longer are able, for lack of
time, to manage our domestic affairs
as they were managed by former gen.
erations. Women have been emanci-
pated socially as we'll as politically:
their interests have become broader
and more varied. Business and in
dustry have become SO highly organ
lied and so intensive that men cannot
give TO the maintenance and operation
of the home the time their grand
fathers and their fathers gave. 1t
becomes increasingly necessary, there
fore, that the modern home shall
function so as to provide ma Ximum
of comfort with a minimum Of effort.
The second element of our problem,
the building of a. home from the
viewpoint or the engineer, involves, IN
itself, three most. important consid-
erations: safety, durability and econ
omy. 1t is not necessary to support
the contention that all three are nee
essary. Every one admits 1t.
Houses Made to Look at
The consideration Of the problem
from the view point of the architect,
the purely artistic viewpoint, is evil
dence Of the eternal search for beau
ty, the desire for which is a part Of
the spiritual makeup of every human
being. Many people still retain the
old idea that houses were made to
live in and not to look at. That be-
lief has been proven fallaciouS. Early
in the evolution of man this seeking
for artistic expression was manifest.
Our first knowledge of this longing
comes from the remains of paintings
left by the cave dWeller on the walls
Of his rock cavern.
With the beginning of real civili-
zation, however. we find a sharp de-
cline in home-b building. All architec-
tural effort was spent on monumental
| work, beautiful temples, elaborate
public buildings and gorgeous me-
MORALS to emperors and kings. Even
during the dark ages when civiliza-
| ton was at it's lowest ebb we find
the marvellous Gothic style developed
by those who would glorify religion
and the church.
If we are to achieve the ultimate,