Evening star., 1927-10-13
UNION MAY OPPOSE
WORK ON EMBASSY
Labor Officials Plan Protest
to Britt, on Award
ing Contract.

| Announcement was made at the
British embassy today that the low
bid for construction OF the monu-
mental now home OF the embassy, to
| be erected on commanding site on
/ Massachusetts, avenue near ODserva-
| tory Circle, had been submitted to the
British government by Harry Ward
man. With final plans for the edifice
approved and an appropriation of APP
proximately $700,000 provided for the
project, the contract for the building
was expected to be made in the near
! future
At the same time it was learned
| here that formal protest against
| the award of the contract to con-
tractor not employing union labor
entirely was being formulated by
| trade union officials.
Union Scale Guaranteed.
This expected action by the union
officials follows adoption tof similar
protest against the employment of
non-union labor on the new embassy
project which was made during the
| past week by the American Fedora
ton of Labor at it's forty-seventh an
nual convention at Los Angeles,
Calf.
The protest of the union labor Off
cials, it was indicated by j. NJ. Bolts.
president of the Washington Building
Trades Council, which initiated the
protest, would be made despite the
fact that the bid of the Wardman
Construction Co provided that the
existing union scale of wages here
would be paid
Secretaries of the British embassy.
however, stated this morning that no
AL Sx, Atxn OF. M Af
bassy was to be expected and pointed
out that the bid was in accordance
with the general practice in England
of payment of the union scale of
wages.
When informed of the decision of
the labor organization to protest
against the award of the embassy con-
tract to his concern because of its
use of non-union labor, Mr.. Wardman
declined to comment except to say
that in compliance of the English
practice he had submitted his bid on
the basis of payment of the regular
union labor wages.
The position taken by Mr.. Bolts was
that the employment of non-union
labor was injurious to the standards
of union workmen. The fact that the
Wardman bid on this particular
project, 1t was pointed out, WAS III
accordance with the regular union
scale was no guarantee that other
projects would be on the same plan,
he said.
The plans for the British embassy,
drawn by Sir Edwin Lutyens, British
government architect, with the CO.
operation of Frederick Brooke. Wash
ington architect. have now been ap-
proved and the appropriation of about
10000 pounds, approximately $780,
900, made for the project. While it
was intended last Winter that the
building should be started about June
of this year, revision of the plans de-
layed the project until the present
time.
Wardman Bought Present Site.
Mr. Wardman, who is native OF
England, purchased the property of
the present British embassy. on Con.
necticut avenue at N street, and he
was the owner of the property OH
Massachusetts, avenue which was Sc
lected for the new embassy home.
The new embassy will be an elabo-
rate building of the Queen Anne style
of architecture, two stories high and
having a high pitched Dutch type of
roof. 1t is to contain spacious quar-
ters for the Ambassador and his staff
and adequate chancery quarters. Plans
for the building won high praise from
the Fine Arts Commission here.