Masonry Magazine January 1978 Page.31
THE WISDOM OF BIG BROTHER, V
by
Richard L. Lesher
President
Chamber of Commerce
of the United States
The man whose chef is not a chef and whose bodyguard is not a bodyguard, from the Department where goals are not quotas, now tells us that he isn't Big Brother, we are. Health, Education and Welfare Secretary Califano explains it like this: "It's like smoking. We're not the Big Brother in smoking. The people that have to quit smoking are the people that smoke. They're the Big Brother." Readers who are still confused are authorized to reread their copies of Orwell's 1984.
How's Your Navy?
The Environmental Protection Agency wanted to know why the State of Iowa has no criteria for the discharge of pollutants into the ocean. A State official explained: Iowa doesn't adjoin an ocean, and hasn't for the last two million years or so.
A Sweetener It Wasn't
Last spring, the Food and Drug Administration finally got around to rejecting a petition from a Massachusetts company seeking permission to market a new low-calorie sweetener. The company has been out of business since 1975.
'He Wasn't There Again Today..."
The Interior Department is placing limitations on the economic growth of America's fastest-growing major city-Houston-because of a toad that no one has even seen in the past 10 years. Five major land areas in and around Houston have been designated as "critical habitats" solely because of the possibility that the rare and elusive Houston Toad might live there. Consequently, landowners-primarily housing developers are severely restricted in what they can do with their own property, lest they harm the mysterious critter. Will the government compensate them for their loss? No. Under the Endangered Species Act, the government has no acquisition authority.
Books
"Business and Preservation" by
Raynor M. Warner, Sibyl McCormac
Graff and Ranne P. Warner, with
Sandi Weiss. 295 pp.: illustrated; indexed; glossary. Soft cover, $14.00; hard cover $22.00. Inform, 25 Broad St., New York, N.Y. 10004.
This impressive new work deals with the involvement of business in the conservation of buildings and neighborhoods. The book graphically depicts what is being done, in dramatic fashion, by many of the nation's leading corporations to recycle buildings and revitalize entire communities. Of special usefulness are the glossary of architectural and construction terms and the extensive index contained in the work.
More than 70 case studies are presented and profusely illustrated with photos and drawings. One study in particular describes the recent restoration and expansion of the historic and opulent Hotel Utah in the heart of Salt Lake City.
Opened in 1911, the gleaming white glazed brick and terra cotta facade boasts many decorative embellishments such as festoons, lions' heads and medallions, all made of terra cotta. Even for a master mason, the installation of the terra cotta was a monumental undertaking. Earl Child (MCAA), whose firm was the mason contractor on the project, described it as "The biggest challenge I've ever had in the masonry business!" And, as Business and Preservation points out, "There was not a craftsman on the job who wasn't challenged." (Earl Child's highly acclaimed work was featured as the cover story in the March, 1977 issue of Masonry.)
Numerous other outstanding masonry projects are also detailed in the book. For the architect and engineer as well as the builder and mason contractor, Business and Preservation is a thought-inspiring, word-and-picture collection of eminent architectural masterpieces that were truly worth saving. It also is an invaluable and entertaining addition to the library of any designer or constructor.
BCEA Issues Directory
A new Directory and Guide has been released by the Building Construction Employers Association of Chicago, Inc. The 700-page book contains the agreements between management groups and 26 different trade unions as well as all Joint Conference Board decisions from 1913 through 1977.
Names, addresses and phone listings of general and subcontractors in the construction industry are part of the new work. There are similar listings for contractor associations, trade unions and apprenticeship programs. Non-BCEA members can obtain a copy by sending $25.00 to: BCEA, Suite 1342, 228 N. LaSalle St., Chicago, II. 60601.
Stone Catalog Available
The 1978 edition of the informative Stone Catalog published by the Building Stone Institute is available to architects and engineers at no cost. The book is divided into sections of the various types of stone: bluestone, granite, limestone, marble, obsidian, quartzite, sandstone, slate, and specialty stones. It also has a section on anchors/systems.
Only one catalog will be sent to an architectural or engineering firm, and the request for a catalog must be made on the firm's letterhead or business card. The request should be sent to the Building Stone Institute, 420 Lexington Ave., New York, N.Y. 10017.