James A. Miller CD- Bro.
135 South Clinton Street, Chicago, 111.
MANUFACTURERS:
Fire Retarding Wire Gtass Windows
Sheet Metcvl Frames and Sash Skylights, Tile, Slate and Metal Roofing
Weather Vanes, Lightning Rods, Church Crosses, Flag-poles, etc
Erection and Repairs. Send for Catalogues.
Thomas W. Jones, 180 Front Street
NEW YORK.
“THE LIBRARY OF
CONGRESS ”
20 Plates, folio. Price, $5.00.
The American Architect, Publishers,
New York and Boston.
Mineral Wool
FIRE, SOUND and VERMIN PROOF INSULATOR.
Samples and Circulars Free. U. S. Mineral Wool Co.,
143 Liberty Street,
NEW YORK.
BUTCHER’S
BOSTON POLISH
Is the best finish made for FLOORS, Interior Woodwork and Furniture
Not brittle; will neither scratch nor deface, like shellac or varnish. Is not soft and sticky, like beeswax. Pefectly transparent,preservingthe natural color and beauty of the wood. Without doubt the most economical and satisfactory Polish known for Hardwood Floors.
For Sale by Dealers in Paints, Hardware and House-Furnishings.
Send for our FREE BOOKLET, telling of the many advantages of BUTCHER’S BOSTON POLISH.
The Butcher Polish Co.,356 Atlantic Ave.,Boston, Mass. Our No. 3 Reviver
is a superior finish for kitchen and piazza floors
Mention The American Architect and Building News
his fellows. What he was doing the rest of the time was a mystery—for a while. The boy selected a piece of tin, long and narrow, and hammered at it for some time, finally getting it into rounded shape, like a small section of stove pipe. Then he soldered the edges at the side and laid it down while he helped drive another nail. In his next period of leisure he hunted up a piece of tin which he cut into a circle; this he placed on the end of the stove-pipe affair and hammered away furiously. The soldering iron came into play again. By this time the plumbers were getting interested, and they got on either side of the apprentice as he punched two holes in the pipe and inserted a piece of wire. At this point the uncertainty as to the object in view ended, for the apprentice held out his hand, received a coin from one of the others, and climbed down the ladder. It was easy, after that; the three were very thirsty, and had neglected to bring a “growler.” Five minutes later they were taking turns satisfying their thirst.—N. Y. Evening Post.
Vast California Water-Power Project. —A project to take up the water of Feather River, in Northern California, and carry it through tunnels and aqueducts until 400,- 000 horsepower has been developed, or enough to supply all the towns of the Sacramento Valley, Oakland, Alameda and Berkeley with electric power, is to be financed by a $50,000,0.00 corporation organized by I. Brown Wilson & Co., of New York and San Francisco.
The corporation is backed by F. H. Ray, Edwin Hawley and A. C. Bedford, all prominent in New York City. Similar enterprises will extend through Oregon and Washington, for which $100,000,000 is to- be set aside.—N. Y. Tribune.
Just where is the Umbrella?—One purpose is amusingly set forth and illustrated by a paragraph in The Spectator of September 9 on page 339. There is “an old tale of the architect. of the famous temple of Clion-in, Kyoto. When the temple was built he found it so alarmingly perfect that he was inspired with misgivings, remembering the proverb-: ’‘Fulness is the beginning of waning.’ So he purposely stuck his umbrella between the inner shafts of the front eaves, where it remains to this day as a saving defect.”—Notes and Queries.
Workmen’s Homes and the Suppression of Strikes.—Consul Harris, of Chemnitz, whose recent reports on homes of workingmen in Germany and England attracted. wide attention, writes the following letter in reply to a criticism on those reports:
“An American critic of my recent report on the homes of workingmen in Germany and England, said that the only class of homes which deserved any attention in the United States, as far as the working people are concerned, were those which would yield a reasonable interest on the sums invested, in addition to fixed charges, etc. I his may or may not be true. The experience in Austria, however, where the average manufacturer furnishes dwellings and fuel to his workmen free of charge,, has been to minimize the number of strikes. I am satisfied that this has also been the experience at Port Sunlight and Bournville village, in England, where the rents are practically fixed at rates which pay only for maintenance, taxes, and repairs, as well as at Essen, where the Krupp enterprises yield about 2 per cent, on the investment. It stands to reason that if a manufacturer
could eliminate the danger of strikes from his yearly programme he would soon make good any extra expense he was put to in order to place good dwellings at the disposal of his workmen, either for a nominal, rate of interest on the money invested, or even free of charge. This Utopian state of affairs, however, will not come to pass, and as long as human nature is so constituted as it is, labor troubles will always exist in some form or other. Experience has shown, however, in Germany, as perhaps elsewhere, that the more a manufacturer learns to differentiate between a man and a machine,, the more is he likely to reduce the danger of strikes.
“In a country like our own, where so much money is being given by philanthropists to charity, education and other enterprises, it would seem that great schemes of housing working people might be a subject worthy of consideration. Experience has shown thus far that the average attempts to lessen the danger of labor troubles have been but superficial methods applied for the purpose of securing momentary alleviation after strikes have commenced, rather than seeking for something which will tend to remove the cause. The chances are, however, that good treatment and a well-directed philanthropy toward securing suitable homes for working people will in the long run form the most potent antidotes against the desire to strike. Strikes, generally speaking, are no longer local in their influence. They cast their shadows all over the world, and each and every one teaches its own lesson.
“I had an opportunity recently to discuss the question of workingmen’s homes and strikes with a gentleman who owns a large mill which gives employment to several hundred men. He is a member of the organized syndicate of manufacturers for
135 South Clinton Street, Chicago, 111.
MANUFACTURERS:
Fire Retarding Wire Gtass Windows
Sheet Metcvl Frames and Sash Skylights, Tile, Slate and Metal Roofing
Weather Vanes, Lightning Rods, Church Crosses, Flag-poles, etc
Erection and Repairs. Send for Catalogues.
Thomas W. Jones, 180 Front Street
NEW YORK.
“THE LIBRARY OF
CONGRESS ”
20 Plates, folio. Price, $5.00.
The American Architect, Publishers,
New York and Boston.
Mineral Wool
FIRE, SOUND and VERMIN PROOF INSULATOR.
Samples and Circulars Free. U. S. Mineral Wool Co.,
143 Liberty Street,
NEW YORK.
BUTCHER’S
BOSTON POLISH
Is the best finish made for FLOORS, Interior Woodwork and Furniture
Not brittle; will neither scratch nor deface, like shellac or varnish. Is not soft and sticky, like beeswax. Pefectly transparent,preservingthe natural color and beauty of the wood. Without doubt the most economical and satisfactory Polish known for Hardwood Floors.
For Sale by Dealers in Paints, Hardware and House-Furnishings.
Send for our FREE BOOKLET, telling of the many advantages of BUTCHER’S BOSTON POLISH.
The Butcher Polish Co.,356 Atlantic Ave.,Boston, Mass. Our No. 3 Reviver
is a superior finish for kitchen and piazza floors
Mention The American Architect and Building News
his fellows. What he was doing the rest of the time was a mystery—for a while. The boy selected a piece of tin, long and narrow, and hammered at it for some time, finally getting it into rounded shape, like a small section of stove pipe. Then he soldered the edges at the side and laid it down while he helped drive another nail. In his next period of leisure he hunted up a piece of tin which he cut into a circle; this he placed on the end of the stove-pipe affair and hammered away furiously. The soldering iron came into play again. By this time the plumbers were getting interested, and they got on either side of the apprentice as he punched two holes in the pipe and inserted a piece of wire. At this point the uncertainty as to the object in view ended, for the apprentice held out his hand, received a coin from one of the others, and climbed down the ladder. It was easy, after that; the three were very thirsty, and had neglected to bring a “growler.” Five minutes later they were taking turns satisfying their thirst.—N. Y. Evening Post.
Vast California Water-Power Project. —A project to take up the water of Feather River, in Northern California, and carry it through tunnels and aqueducts until 400,- 000 horsepower has been developed, or enough to supply all the towns of the Sacramento Valley, Oakland, Alameda and Berkeley with electric power, is to be financed by a $50,000,0.00 corporation organized by I. Brown Wilson & Co., of New York and San Francisco.
The corporation is backed by F. H. Ray, Edwin Hawley and A. C. Bedford, all prominent in New York City. Similar enterprises will extend through Oregon and Washington, for which $100,000,000 is to- be set aside.—N. Y. Tribune.
Just where is the Umbrella?—One purpose is amusingly set forth and illustrated by a paragraph in The Spectator of September 9 on page 339. There is “an old tale of the architect. of the famous temple of Clion-in, Kyoto. When the temple was built he found it so alarmingly perfect that he was inspired with misgivings, remembering the proverb-: ’‘Fulness is the beginning of waning.’ So he purposely stuck his umbrella between the inner shafts of the front eaves, where it remains to this day as a saving defect.”—Notes and Queries.
Workmen’s Homes and the Suppression of Strikes.—Consul Harris, of Chemnitz, whose recent reports on homes of workingmen in Germany and England attracted. wide attention, writes the following letter in reply to a criticism on those reports:
“An American critic of my recent report on the homes of workingmen in Germany and England, said that the only class of homes which deserved any attention in the United States, as far as the working people are concerned, were those which would yield a reasonable interest on the sums invested, in addition to fixed charges, etc. I his may or may not be true. The experience in Austria, however, where the average manufacturer furnishes dwellings and fuel to his workmen free of charge,, has been to minimize the number of strikes. I am satisfied that this has also been the experience at Port Sunlight and Bournville village, in England, where the rents are practically fixed at rates which pay only for maintenance, taxes, and repairs, as well as at Essen, where the Krupp enterprises yield about 2 per cent, on the investment. It stands to reason that if a manufacturer
could eliminate the danger of strikes from his yearly programme he would soon make good any extra expense he was put to in order to place good dwellings at the disposal of his workmen, either for a nominal, rate of interest on the money invested, or even free of charge. This Utopian state of affairs, however, will not come to pass, and as long as human nature is so constituted as it is, labor troubles will always exist in some form or other. Experience has shown, however, in Germany, as perhaps elsewhere, that the more a manufacturer learns to differentiate between a man and a machine,, the more is he likely to reduce the danger of strikes.
“In a country like our own, where so much money is being given by philanthropists to charity, education and other enterprises, it would seem that great schemes of housing working people might be a subject worthy of consideration. Experience has shown thus far that the average attempts to lessen the danger of labor troubles have been but superficial methods applied for the purpose of securing momentary alleviation after strikes have commenced, rather than seeking for something which will tend to remove the cause. The chances are, however, that good treatment and a well-directed philanthropy toward securing suitable homes for working people will in the long run form the most potent antidotes against the desire to strike. Strikes, generally speaking, are no longer local in their influence. They cast their shadows all over the world, and each and every one teaches its own lesson.
“I had an opportunity recently to discuss the question of workingmen’s homes and strikes with a gentleman who owns a large mill which gives employment to several hundred men. He is a member of the organized syndicate of manufacturers for