Evening star., 1937-03-06
BUILDING COUNCILS
MOVEMENT BEGUN
68 Chapters of A. !. A. Will
Sponsor Formation of
Hundreds.

A movement to organize building
councils in hundreds Of communities
throughout the country has been
started by the Committee on Con-
struction Industry Relations of the
American Institute Of Architects
headed by William Stanley Parker Of
Boston. Sixty-eight chapters Of the
institute functioning in regional
centers will sponsor the undertaking,
which seeks to substitute voluntary
action for Government coercion"
and by the correction of abuses raise
the industry to q new level"
In a declaration of aims sent to
each chapter, William Orr Ludlow OF
New York. vice chairman of the
committee in charge Of industry CO.
operation, asserts that "a determined
effort should be made by all engaged
in building to correct the abuses from
which the industry has SO long suf-
fered"
Better practice in the construction
industry will come only with better
ethics" according to the declaration.
Unfair competition, hidden commits
sions. bid peddling and internal dis
sensions in labor hurt the public and
every man engaged in building, from
owner to laborer.
Fair Play. Honesty Disresarded.
Law codes and regulations by Gov
ernment reach some abuses. but the
real trouble lies in the disregard by
many OF fair play and honest work.
Most cities should revise their anti
uuated building laws. There should
be laws making mandatory the super
vision Of all building operations by
qualified architects or engineers. Un-
safe building should be dealt with like
other crimes.
But laws merely restrain the worst
offenders Any lasting Improvement
of conditions must come through the
voluntary agreement OF those engaged
in building to observe the fundamen.
tails Of fair business.
"Coercive regulation Of industry by
government has been tried, but CO.
ercion OF that kind does not 50 well
with the American spirit. Laws OF
that sort will not be obeyed and in
the end fall Of their own weight.
Government assistance Is a possi-
bility. but in the main the construction
industry must run its own affairs. It
must formulate its own principles Of
fair competition and must put IN
practice voluntary regulations which
will be respected by those who believe
that reputation is an asset.
Few Councils Now Exist.
ITO accomplish the needed reforms
the construction industry must be
more thoroughly organized. few
construction councils and building
congresses now exist. and the Con-
struction League Of the United States
is composed of many national industry
groups, but every community should
have its own construction organization.
where all the elements Of the In
dustry-architects. contractors, sub
contractors, material dealers and
labor-can come together on COM
mon ground for the common purpose
of formulating in code Of ethics the
principles Of what all believe to be
fair practice. These principles should
then be embodied In code Of practice.
Such codes cannot and should not
be made compulsory. but should be
statements Of what reputable men will
live up to, and there are plenty OF
reputable men in the building industry
who, If they will stand together on q
common ground of fair practice and
seek the support Of organized public
opinion, can raise the entire industry
to a new level.
The Huddleston ,lan, the Detroit
plan, the Nashville plan and some
other codes to prevent bid peddlins.
chiselins and other unethical prac-
tices have in the past been formu-
lated, but have had only limited Sue
cess, partly because Of the incorpora-
ton Of details 50 precise that the
codes do not command general agree
ment and partly because of lack of
proper industry agreement and Or
Eanization to make the codes effective.
Practices Are Varied.
although countrywide agreement
as to general principles of fair dealing
is possible, local conditions are SO
diverse that what is feasible in one
section of the country Is not feasible
practice in another section. Therefore
it would seem necessary to have local
codes Of practice drawn by local con-
struction organizations and upheld by
local sentiment and local agreement"
The declaration contained the fol-
lowing summary of purposes:
Let the construction industry take
the responsibility of running its own
affairs.
Let every community set up its
own construction industry organiza-
ton. comprising all Of the elements Of
the industry.
Let 1t be the first duty Of such
organizations to agree on principles
and draw up code Of ethics and q
code of practice
Let every man In the industry
realize that he will succeed in the
same measure as the industry sue.
ceeds. and the industry will succeed
in so far as its practice Is built on
honesty and fair dealing"
Members Of the institutes Com.
mittee on Construction Industry Re.
lations, besides Mr. Parker and Mr..
Ludlow, are Samuel r. Bishop Of New
York, who Is vice chairman In charge
Of health and safety: Theodore I. Coe
of Washington and Sullivan w. Jones
of New York. Every chapter Of the
institute has appointed q representa-
tive to work with the committee.