1920-10-33

prehensive organization was necessary to provide a medium that could speak for the engineering and allied technical professions on matters of common concern to them. The Committee also decided, which dec sion was concurred in by the official representative of Engineering Council and the members of the Committee who also representatives on Engineering Council, that “If desired. Engineering Council can be moulded into this organization by making it more democratic and founding it on direct representation of all engineers, rather than by appointment as at present.” It was agreed that engineering Council is at present not properly constituted to carry on efficiently the work which it has undertaken; its organization is from the top downward, rather than from the bottom upward, which the Committee deemed desirable if a thoroughly representative and efficient organization was to he established. It has been admitted by Engineering Council and it was so pointed out to the members of the Joint Conference Committee that Engineering Council has been handicapped from the begimrng in regard to funds for its operations, in freedom of action on the matters that came before it, by reason of the necessity for reference to the Member-Societies and to the United Engineering Society, and the great difficulty in electing additional member-societies. The annual contributions of the Member-Societies never exceeded $22,000; wh'ch amount was wholly inadequate for meeting the demands for service which Council has been desirous of rendering. Notwithstanding these difficulties, Engineering Council, has been able to accomplish a great deal as was pomted out by the Joint Conference Committee in Bulletin No. 3, and particularly has it been successful in its work of developing among its Member-Societies the habit of united effort in matters of common concern to the engineer and the allied technical professions. Engineering Council may be said to be a success and considering the conditions under which it has operated, to be a commendable success. It is evident, however, that to fulfill the real functions of comprehensive body to represent the engineering profession that there are basic defects in the organization of Engineering Council, and these are not remedial through : ts reorganization. Engineering Council has six Member-Societies. At the Organizing Conference in Washington, 71 societies were represented with an aggregate membersh:p of over 80 per cent of that represented by 110 societies that were invited. The action of the Organizing Conference in creating The Federated American Engineering Societies and its governing board. American Engineering Council, was unanimous. This action has received the unanimous approval and support of Engineering Council. The affirmative consideration that is being accorded the invitation to become members of The Federated American Engineering Societies, assures that American Engineering Council will have a far greater number of member-societies at As initial meeting in November than Engineering Council, based on its present rate of growth, could possibly have had at the end of many years. The work of Engineering Council is not to be abandoned but is to be carried on and extended under a more comprehensive program made possible by the more representative American Engineering Council. The deficiencies of Engineering Council are not in the quality of the work that it has accomplished, but rather have been due to its organic limitations and to the fact that it is not sufficiently representative of the local, state and regional organizations and affiliations. The Organiz/ng Conference in Washington laid the foundation for a more democratic organization in which the local, state, regional engineering and allied technical organ 1 zations, and affiliations, will be represented, and have a real voice in its management. The Organizing Conference in its wisdom recognized the success and limitations of Engineering Council and has evolved an organization, in which all of these successes will he utilized and broader opportunity afforded for more effective work on half of the engineering and allied technical professions. New Bridge Engineer for South Carolina. Charles H. Moorefield, South Carolina highway engineer has announced that the commission had engaged a specialist for steel and concrete bridge work for South Carolina, this work having assumed tin' proportions for an engineer of this kind. The new engineer will devote his time largely to bridge projects on the Santee,Wateree and Pee Dee rivers and other structure that will come under the state highway commission. At present the engineer is connected with other work and until he has officially notified his present employer of his acceptance of the South Carolina job, his name will not be announced. He has already taiken the position of bridge engineer in the Palmetto state and only a few days will elapse before his official acceptance will be announced. He is expected to report September 15. Opportunities for American Engineers. American c : vil engineers, railroad contractors, Bridge builders, manufacturers of locomotives and all kinds of railroad rolling stock, would be welcome with open arms in Serbia today, at probably whatever terms America is willing to offer, in the opiir’on 21 THE CONCRETE AGE October, 1920.

of American Red Cross officials who have been working in that country. Serbia proper is bisected by a main trunk line that was not even “two streaks of rust” when the armistice was signed in 1918. At that time every ra'lroad bridge from Belgrade to Ghevgelli had been destroyed by the retreating German-Austrian army. Today all of these bridges have been repaired in a way, yet every repair job is of the most temporary character. Piling and timber cut in the mountains have been used to support the trucks over which the light ’ocomotives and lightly loaded trains are forced to creep at a snail’s pace. Obviously, the whole of Serbia must be equipped before long with substantial bridgework as well as miles of track and hundreds of locomotives, fre : ght and passenger cars. Common railroad station talk has it that American engineers will soon take over Serb railways on a forty year contract, agreeing to build up-to-date roadbeds and put in sufficient locomotives to haul the country’s commerce. It is no wonder that American-Serbs are agitating the entrance of American engineering genius into their mother country. All of them have travelled over the main American trunk lines. They have experienced the sensation of riding sixty miles an hour in comfortable coaches and arriving at their destinations on time, while in Serbia for the past three years they having been riding in box car trains that are hours late. For a journey that would take about nine hours in the United States, Serbian trains now require forty-eight hours and even then don’t get in on time. American Red Cross workers in Serbia have been greatly handicapped by the present traffic situation of that country. The transport tieup delayed the American Red Cross relief trains uncounted hours and in many instances these supplies arrived at their destination days late. Mercantile and Industrial Buildings of Concrete Portland Cement Association. BUSINESS executives confronted with the necessity of choosing a type of building that will best meet the needs of their industry consider every factor likely to affect the desirability of the proposed structure. Such features as fire-safeness and.consequent low insurance, freedom from maintenance and depreciation, adaptability, speed of construction regardkos of season, permanence, and sanitation are desirable factors. Each must be considered from the standpoint of its proper relative importance, although to many of them no definite money value can be given. Nevertheless, all are susceptible of being capitalized. Today the merits and economies of mercantile and industrial building are judged largely in the cost accounting department. The annual balance sheets will show that first cost of a (Structure is only one item and not necessarily of first importance. It is ultimate cost that will test and prove economy. Ultimate economy dictates the choice of that type of construction on which freedom from depreciation and maintenance, low insurance and favorable influence on production will, by comparison with some other type of construction, in a short time, more than compensate for any probable additional first cost. Employes' welfare must be considered. Buildrings which are sanitary, light, well ventilated and hence provide healthful quarters for workers, are certain to contribute to profits because of the contentment developed among the workers and the consequent reduction of labor turnover. A sense of security is felt by owners, operating officials and employes in the knowledge that the building which houses them and their industry is proof against destruction by fire, tornado and earthquake. It is worth money for owners and employes alike to know that none of these visitations can suddenly wipe out the industry on which they are dependent, with the resulting loss of time, money, patronage and prestige that may have taken years of endeavor to build up. Attainment of these desirable ends is certain to favorably ijnfluenee financing and credits. Permanent, fireproof buildings are also of distinct advertising value to their owners. With concrete buildings, these desirable ends are secured in the fullest measure. A comparison of the initial cost of fireproof buildings Avill almost invariably show the low cost of the concrete [structure. In many cases concrete buildings designed for heavy floor loads have been built for less than any other practicable type would have cost. Speaking of conditions in 1916, Arthur R. Lord, a consulting engineer of Chicago, said, in 22 Octobek, 1920. THE’ CONCRETE AGE

articles published ill the Cement World for September and October, 1916: “Under normal market prices of materials, mill construction runs about f> per cent cheaper than flat. slab. Where lumber is cheap, the difference will be greater and, on the other hand, in certain cases flat slab construction has actually been built for the same first cost as mill construction.” In the articles by Mr. Lord referred to, bui’dings of various types an* placed in the following order as to fire cost, beginning with the lowest in cost: Mill construction. Concrete flat slab. Concrete beam and slab. Structural steel, fireproofed. Since 1916, however, marked chan gets have taken place in the materials and labor market, but the net result has been rather to reduce the difference in cost between mill construction and reinforced concrete instead of to increase ijt. A modem concrete mercantile or industrial building of a certain size and type, built to serve a specific purpose, may, for example, cost- $200,000. A similar building equally modern in appointments, of the same size, built to serve the same purpose, but of another type of construction, may cost $lBO,OOO. At first glance the intending builder might be tempted to favor the seemingly cheaper building, but when it can be shown that the first mentioned type costs several cents less per square foot of floor area, per annum, for interest, depreciation, insurance, repairs and all other annual charges than the building of lower initial cost, the difference in first cost loses its importance. Fortified with these facts, the industrial executive can hardly avoid adopting that type of construction for his buildings which will place his concern on the most profitable economic basis through the elimination of all avoidable annual charges. It is not possible to anticipate every event that may delay the construction of a building. Fabrication and shipment of necessary materials may be interfered with, labor conditions may change so as to vitally affect progress and cost of construction. Thorough organization takes precautions to reduce many of these possible happenings to a minimum; nevertheless, the unforeseen frequently happens. If the intending builder has chosen concrete construction, many of these contingencies are eliminated or reduced to a minimum. Much of the necessary material required for concrete construction is usually near at hand. The structural parts of a concrete building are built in place. Distant ishops and uncertain transportation need not be depended upon for their completion and delivery. Materials arrive in bulk and do not require special equipment for transportation; in fact, transportation is not a large item because the bulk of materials Is usually near at hand. Motor trucks may do most of the hauling. Most of the labor required is of the less highly specialized kind. It can usually be obtained near where the building is going on. Practically al'l materials may be ordered as soon as preliminary requirements have been decided upon, thus disposing of any uncertainty as to the materials market. Equipment necessary to erect concrete buildings is of the simplest sort. There are no heavy structural members to be handled. Floors and columns are cast simultaneously and possibility of ace : dent is reduced to a minimum. An estimate of the first cost of a concrete building can be made with an unusual degree of accuracy. The owner thus secures the benefit of a minimum charge for contingencies in the contractor’s bid or the benefit of low cost in a cost-plus contract. One of the first things a business executive wants to know is how long it will take to build. Desire to immediately increase production, desire to meet an existing demand, desire to get invested capital earning money at the earliest possible moment have placed a new T value, a premium, on speedy construction. The comparative simplicity of concrete construction and the availability of needed materials are reasons why concrete buildings may be quickly erected. An estimate of the value of speedy construction from the standpoint of earlier occupancy and operation of newly-organized business may easily bo made. To be conservative assume that two months may be saved pi time of construction by using concrete. This will make possible a two months’ earlier occupancy of the building and a like active operation of the invested capital which would thereby be able to earn its interest during a period that would otherwise be a. total loss. This shortening of tin* period of pre-occupancy idleness and the hastening of the end of the early development period is directly creditable to the greater speed of construction possible with concrete. The quicker turnover of the capital invested in construction equipment should also be taken into consideration. A saving of two months in each construction season means a considerably greater construction capacity without increase in crew or equipment. Total loss by fire is unlikely to an industry housed in a concrete building. Contents may of course be damaged or destroyed, but records of big fires have shown that, even when such contents are of highly inflammable character, the injury sustained by concrete buildings is smaller and their salvage value higher than for buildings of any other type. In the case of total destruction of contents, the concrete of the building seldom suffers more than minor injury, if any. 23 T HE’ CONC R E T E AOE October, 1920.

On a building subject to deterioration, maintenance and depreciation increase from year to year— in other words, no matter how carefully or systematically maintenance may be performed, the building can never be made as when new. Maintenance of those parts of a structure which can be replaced may be carried on indefinitely, but many of the most vital parts of a building are practically inaccessible, therefore do not permit easy replacement. Nor can such parts always be reached with treatments or coatings that would tend to prolong their useful life. It is therefore impracticable to maintain indefinitely buildings whose vital parts are subject to rust or rot. Concrete grows stronger with age. Many city building departments recognize thin by allowing greater loads to be placed on a concrete building several years old than would be permitted when the building was new. Because of their ability to resist the usual destructive agencies, concrete buildings require but little maintenance, and for all practical purposes are permanent. They do not require painting, there are no joints to be pointed up, no wornout or rotting structural parts to be removed and replaced, no sagging or warping of floors or floor beams. Concrete floors will wear indefinitely and their smooth, dense surface is easy to clean and keep clean. Germicidal or other cleansing solutions may be used on them without fear of injury. Concrete floors i(n a concrete building maintain their original level. Machinery mounted on them stays in adjustment longer, shafting keeps in line. The efficiency of concrete buildings therefore does not grosv less with time, while in a building subject to deterioration there is the inevitable reduction in operating efficiency. In comparing the economy of various types of buildings, maintenance may be taken as an average of 1 per cent per year of the cost of the building. When th'js charge is capitalized at 6 per cent it is seen that over $l6 more per $lOO original cost could be spent for a maintenance-free concrete building than for one of depreciable type. Yearly maintenance, however, must be considered separate from gradual depreciation which, after a term of years, the structure unfit for use, regardless of the maintenance done on it. As concrete buildings are now designed they have great reserve strength. The unit stresses used in designing them are very much below the stresses to which concrete may safely be subjected. Any well-built concrete structure may be used for light manufacturing purposes or for an industry requiring operation of rapidly-moving machinery. Non-inflammable occupancy may change to inflammable occupancy, a mercantile building to a warehouse, a warehouse to a manufacturing plant, and vice versa. If the changes in environment are so radical as to preclude the profitable use of the building in its original location, it may be moved, provided its construction is such as to withstand the racking effects of moving without injury. Concrete buildings being monolithic possess the greatest possible rigidity. When necessary such buildings can be moved with the assurance that they will suffer no serious damage in the process. The expense of moving will be minimum since the great strength and monolithic nature of the structure permits moving it with greatest facility. Recently a three-story reinforced concrete building in Detroit used as an office building by the Hyatt Roller Bearing Co. was moved 450 feet, the full length of a city block and across street car tracks, while the office force carried on its work as usual. This work was done by the L. P. Friestedt Co. of Chicago at a cost of only 20 per cent of the original cost of the building. As the concrete building which can be moved does not suffer any ill effects from moving, its value as a usable structure is preserved and may actually even increase in the new location. Concrete buildings, therefore, are the type most likely to escape obsolescence. Concrete buildings possess many qualities that make them most adaptable to practically any occupancy. It is difficult to express in dollars and cents the value of certain qualities inherent in a concrete building. It is evident that buildings in which people work should be sanitary. Sickness, poor health and generally low vitality of employes affect in a vital way their efficiency and therefore the efficiency of the business or industry. Concrete construction affords the utmost sanitation. Monolithic floors, columns and beams provide no recesses where filth may lodge. The dense, smooth surface of concrete is non-absorbent; cleansing solutions may be applied in any quantity to maintain surface cleanliness and concrete floors will protect lower stories from water damage. There are no interwall or intrefloor spaces where rodents may lodge or nest hidden spaces inviting the accumulation of vermin, rubbish and filth to propagate disease germs. Wlrle industrial buildings are primarily designed to serve in the best possible manner a certain definite use, they may. nevertheless, be made architecturally attractive at small expense. This will greatly improvel their appearance. Ornament may easily be added in the form of concrete cornices, balustrades and raised or depressed panels. Proper attention given to the selection of aggregates, leading to special exterior finish, will result in pleasing effects. Stucco in considerate range of color may also be used as a surface finish. Warmth and dryness are Dualities desirable in all buildings. These may easily be obtained in a 24 October, 1920. THE CONCRET E AG E

concrete building. In general, warmth and dryness depend on insulation. Even without the aid of insulating materials, concrete is a poor conductor of heat, and when used either with insulating membranes or by providing dead a)r spaces in walls possesses ideal insulating qualities. Both of these methods of securing insulation are easily carried out with concrete. The usual inside finish of furring, lathing and plaster furnishes the necessary insulation to prevent condensation of moisture on the walls and provides added resistance to the passage of heat or cold. No moisture passes through dense, well-built concrete. Concrete buildings are easy to keep warm in cold weather and comfortably cool in warm weather. An exceptional degree of security against loss of life from tornado, earthquake and explosions is provided by the practically indestruct’ble monolithic concrete structure. Many cases are on record where concrete buildings have successfully withstood the effect of these destructive forces. The San Francisco earthquake and fire, the Baltimore fire, the munition ship explosion in Halifax Harbor, the Fergus Falls (Minn.) tornado, earthquake In San Domingo and Guatemala, and numerous other similar examples testify to the great resistance of concrete buildings against destruction or serious damage by the forces of Nature. Life and property are truly conserved by such structures. Their occupants have the assurance at all times that they are enjoying the highest measure of protection against personal injury and loss. Concrete and Cement Plants. Demopolis, Ala. —Gulf States Portland Cement Co.; reported to erect $2,000,000 plant addition; daily capacity 2500 bbls., increasing cement output to 3500 bb’A Charleston, S. C.—Carolina Portland Cement Co., Joseph S. Hanahan, Secy., 1 Broad St.; increased capital to $2,000,000. Blacksburg. S. C—N. W. Hardin, Mayor; interested in organization $1,000,000 company; build Portland cement plant. Regland, Ala.—Geo. E. Nicholson of N: cholson Construction, Co., Commerce! Bldg., Kansas Cfjty, Mo.; organize company to mfre. Portland cement; overhauling plant; develop stone quarry 5 mi. from quarry; instating crusher; proposes daily production 3000 bbls. cement. Chattanooga, Tenn. —Signal Mountain Portland Cement Co., Geo. P. Deicikmann, Mgr., Demopoh's, Ala.; build plant with daily capacity 3000 bids, cement and increase to 5000; purchased site at foot Signal Mountain, 5 mi. from Chattanooga; purchase include 600 acres limestone land; contracted for coal from nearby coal mines. Birmingham, Ala.—Lehigh Portland Cement Co. has secured 400-acre site at Tarrant City, in suburbs of Birmingham, and will erect cement plant; tract has large deposits of limestone and dolonite; initial unit of plant w 11 have capacity of 1,000,000 barrels, and other units will be built from time to time; cost of plant, $3,000,000. Construction will begin at an early date. Birmingham, Ala.—Marquette Cement Mfg. Co., Chicago, contemplates erecting cement plant in the Birmingham district; situation investigated by John (I Barker, assistant to the president of the company who has secured, it is reported, options on several desirable sites. Foreign Trade Opportunities. Where addresses are omitted they may be obtained from the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Washington, 1). C., and at the branch offices of the Bureau, 315 Custom House, New York. N. Y.; 629 Federal Building, Chicago, 111., and Association of Commerce Building, New Orleans, La., and 310 Custom House, San Francisco, Cal. For convenience in filing, please use seperate letter sheet for each trade opportunity request. 33391.—A commission agent in POLAND desires to secure an agency for the sale of machinery, heating plants, plumbing supplies, castliron /articles, cement, erences. 33448.—The municipal board of a city in AUSTRALIA desires to purchase cast-iron pipe, 4 to 12 inches; steel tubes, Va-inch to 4 inches, for water service; and 10,000 barrels of Portland cement. A copy of the conditions of contract and schedule of quantities and prices was forwarded and may be examined at the Bureau or its district office. (Refer to file No. 13103.) Quotations should be given c. i. f. and e. Austrailian port. Payment to be in pounds sterling against receipt of merchandise. 33548.—A commercial agent with branch offices and agencies throughout the NEAR EAST desires to secure the representation of firms for the sale of structural iron, builders’ and other hardware, References. Important Industrial Consolidation The Austin Machinery Corporat‘oll of Chicago and New York lias announced the consolidation of the F. C. Austin Machinery Co., Inc.; the Linderman Steel & Macine Co., the F. C. Austin Drainage Excavator Co., the Toledo Bridge & Crane Co., the Municipal Enginering & Contracing Co., and other large manufacturers of kindred lines with plants at Toledo, 0.; Muskegon, Mich.; Winthrop Harbor, 111., and Woodstock, Ont. It is further stated that the combined energy and capacity of these organizations ” 'll be devoted to mass production of a complete line n-in-* i"d pomrAo mixing machinery to 25 TH E CONC R E T E AG E October, 1920.