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Entered at the Post-Office at Boston as second-class matter. A Design for a Memorial Bridge across the Potomac River, Additional: Appellate Court-house, New York, N. Y. — House COMMUNICATION: Real Estate Improvements and Recalcitrant Owners. NOTES AND CLIPPINGS. 75 76 77 77 79 80 No. 1302. practice and the formalities of the public service do not go well together, it may be advisable to see whether the latter may not need modification instead of the former. HE excellent scheme for the construction of pipe galleries in connection with the New York Rapid-Transit tunnel has been abandoned, in consequence of an unfortunate complication. It would seem that the Rapid-Transit Commission, although it understood the advantages of the pipe subway, was not authorized by its constitution to construct such a subway, and only hoped to be able to secure it for the citizens indirectly, by making it a part of the underground railway scheme. Its plans were made accordingly, but the contractor for the work, whose contract was, necessarily, only for the con73 struction that the Commission was authorized to carry out, found it impracticable to include the pipe subway in the tunnel work without a large extra expense, which the Commission was not authorized to incur, and which he was not himself under any obligation to bear. Considering the immense value to the city of such a subway, it is most unfortunate that the opportunity for constructing it cheaply should be lost. The Comptroller, who ought to be a good judge, estimates that the future value of the pipe gallery, in view of the saving of cost to gas, steam, electrical and other companies, and to the city itself, of tearing up and replacing pavements, would be greater than the value of the Rapid-Transit tunnel itself. If this is true, as is altogether probable, it can hardly be long before some way will be found of building them, either with public or private money. If the necessary concession could be obtained on reasonable terms, and without the preliminary expenditure of vast sums in bribery, the construction of pipe galleries in large cities would offer a very attractive investment to capital. The cost of building them could be ascertained with great precision, and, as, after their construction, all telegraph, telephone, electric-light, pneumatic-clock, burglar and fire alarm, steam and power companies would be compelled to use them, by an ordinance prohibiting interference with the pavement of streets containing them, it would be easy to fix beforehand a fair and permanent rental for its use by pipes and wires, and in this way to make sure of the present income to be derived from it. this were made reasonably satisfactory, the assurance of its steady increase and the certainty that, apart from legislative interference, no business could be safer than that of maintaining and extending such a plant, would, as we believe, draw into the investment an almost unlimited amount of money. The main preliminary question is really that of a cheap and efficient system of construction for such a conduit. Naturally, where rapid transit tunnels are to be built, a pipe subway is easily connected with them; but this is an exceptional case, and it is the pipe conduit pure and simple, high enough for repairers to pass easily, wide enough to contain all the pipes and wires that will ever use it, inexpensive in construction, strong and durable, which is now imperatively needed in all large American cities; and the person who devises such a structure will hardly have to wait long for his reward. HE Annual Report of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department speaks of the results of the new system of procuring designs for public buildings through competition among architects as being extremely satisfactory, both artistically and practically; but he does not fiud, according to newspaper reports, that the direction and supervision of the actual work of construction go on so well under private architects as on the old system. He therefore thinks that, while the present method of obtaining designs in competition should be continued, it might be well to limit the work of the successful competitor to the furnishing of drawings and specifitions, leaving the actual execution to be carried out by the Department. H N opinion of this kind from so competent a person as Mr. Taylor will undoubtedly receive, both from the profession and the Government, the serious consideration that it deserves. That private architects are likely to find themselves unpleasantly hampered by the formalities and restrictions necessarily connected with Government work is probably true; and it is also likely to be true that the Government officials, accustomed to have the exercise of their discretion strictly limited by law, find an unwarrantable license in the habits of unofficial architects; but it should not be forgotten that an important consideration in the change by which private architects were admitted to employment on public work was the fact that public buildings, under the old system, have cost, as a rule, at least twice as much as they would have cost if built by private architects for private parties. Mr. Taylor does not say, and, probably, could not tell with certainty, whether an important economy has yet been realized in this way; but, reasoning from known facts, it is fair to assume that, with all their imperfections in matters of propriety and routine, private architects will be able to do as well for the public as they are coustantly doing for private owners. Meanwhile, it should be remembered that the prompt decision, and disregard of etiquette and precedent, which, perhaps, alarm the official mind in the case of private architects, are essential to the successful and economical prosecution of their duties. The old story of the Detroit Commandant who could not call the town fire-engines when his barracks took fire, because the law obliged him to advertise for bids for every form of service, extinguishing fires. included, illustrates a system which is totally opposed to economy and efficiency in building operations, however useful it may be in other matters. Any delay in giving a necessary order, or in enforcing obedience to it, means, in building operations, greatly increased expense; and if the habits of private THE If HE course of the iron-market has been a little puzzling for a week or two. Since the election, many plans for construction, the consideration of which had been temporarily postponed, have been taken up again, and the demand for iron in this country is likely to be good for some time to come. So far, prices of structural iron have not materially advanced, the mills appearing to have taken the sensible resolution to sell their product at such rates as their customers can pay, rather than to have it left on their hands in consequence of an unreasonable advance. Abroad, prices have remained substantially unchanged. Although pig-iron and coal have rather advanced, structural metal is little in demand. In Germany, the entire product of the blast-furnaces is engaged until the beginning of 1902, yet the manufacturers of wrought-iron and steel find difficulty in disposing of their goods. In Belgium, a similar condition of affairs prevails, and the Belgian mills are trying to find customers in France, by offering structural metal, delivered in Paris, with freight and duties paid, at seveneighths of the price of French iron. If Germany should imitate the example of Belgium, which is not unlikely, prices may fall still further, in France as well as in England, where |