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December 17, igio. RECORD AND GUIDE 1035 avoid the use of sand entirely. For the aggregate he would select very small par¬ ticles, one-eighth inch in diameter. No more water should be used than would barely provide for troweling, and see that no flour is con'tained in the crushed stone. The recipe for a dustless fioor w^as a coat¬ ing of boiled linseed oil. A wash made from the silicate of soda would do the same thing. Jerome B, Landfield, of the Hotchkiss Lock Metal Form Company, Binghamton, discussed "New Methods in Sidewalk, Curb and Gutter Construction." He said the secret of a good sidewalk is putting the top coat on fairly stiff. The Committee on Roadways, Sidewalks and Floors reported through C. W. Boyn¬ ton of Chicago, who stated that they were not yet ready to make definite recommen¬ dations. At Tuesday's several sessions the prin¬ cipal papers were: 10.30 o'clock a. m.—"A Test of tlie Flat Slab Floor of a Reinforced Concrete Building," A. R, Lord. University of IlUaoie, Urbaua, 111. "A Tentative Analysis of the Reinforced Con¬ crete Flat Slab," Arthur N. Talbot, Uaiversity of Illinois, Urbana, 111. "Discussion of Flat Reiuforced Concrete Plates," Angus E. MacMillau, Boston, Mass. ".Analysis ot Results of Load Tests on Paueig ot Reinforced Concrete Buildings," Emile G. Perrot, Philadelpliia, Pa. 3 o'clock p. m.—"Some Methods of Measure¬ ment of Concrete Constructiou,'' Robert A. Cummings, Pittsburg, Pa. Report of the Committee on Reinforced Con¬ crete and Building Laws, Alfred K. Liudau, chairman. Specifications for the Design and Construction of Reinforced Concrete Buildings, Hungarian Society of Arcliitects and Engineers, Budapest, Hungarj'. Rules Concerning Uuiform Nomenclature for the Binding Materials of the Various Mortars, Hungarian Society of Architects aud Engineers, Budapest. Hungary. "The Human Element iu Concrete Construc¬ tion," Harry Franklin Porter, Kansas City, Mo. S o'clock p- m.—Annual Address by the Pres¬ ident, Richard L. Humphrey, Philadelphia, Pa. "The National Fire Protection Aseociation and Its Work," William H. Merrill, Chicago, HI. "Some Thermal Properties of Concrete," Charles L. Norton, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Mass. "Some Special Uses of Coucrete in Coal Min¬ ing Operalions," George S. Rice, U, S, Bureau of Mines. Pittsburg, Pa. "The Tavlor Coal Breaker," R. D- Richard- sou, Coal Mining Department, Delaware, Lacka¬ wanna Sc Weeteru Railroad, Scranton, Pa, At Wednesday morning's meeting the secretary of the Concrete Products' Asso¬ ciation of the State of New Jersey, spoke of the benefits to be derived through State organizations. They could not only foster trade but also improve the building laws, adjust differences between members, es¬ tablish credit and institute protective fea¬ tures. Second Vice-President Daniels read the report of the Executive Board. It showed over one thousand members, and ex¬ plained that the Cement Products Exhibi¬ tion Company's connection with the As¬ sociation is purely a commercial one. The Board hoped that the deficit between an¬ nual income and expenses would be wiped out next year, and that it would not be necessary to ask again for special con¬ tributions. On the recommendation of Cloyd M. Chapman, of Westinghouse, Church, Kerr & Co., the Executive Board was asked to arrange for the organizartiion of a sec¬ tional committee on Concrete Specifica¬ tions. Thomas M. Vinton presented the report of tbe Nominating Committee on officers for the ensuing year, as noted above. Papers were read as follows: Use of Reinforced Concrete for Storage Bins, by Jaraes Macdonald, President Mac¬ donald Engineering Co., Chicago. III. Effect of Electrolysis on Metal Imbedded in Concrete, by Cloyd M. Chapman, Engineer in charge, Westinghouse, Church, Kerr & Co., New York, N". Y. Au Incident oE Value of Concrete in Re¬ ducing the Cost of Insurance, by Emile G. Perrot. Architect, Philadelphia, Pa. Report of the Committee on Insurance Wra. H. Ham, Chairman. President Humphrey, speaking to the writer, said this convention was the larg¬ est he had ever known of in the cement industry, but that on account of the many attractions of the city members are at¬ tending only such parts of the convention proceedings as they are most interested in. In almost any other city the sessions would be more generally attended, but even here the attendance has averaged two hundred for each meeting. Mr. Humphrey further said that the papers read were of a very high order, techni¬ cally considered, and when published in the official proceedings would constitute a collection of priceless value to the in¬ dustry. On Wednesday evening in the conven¬ tion hall a paper was read by Seth A, Moulton of Portland, Me., on "Some Con¬ struction Problems in the Azi-'5cohoes Concrete Dam," which was illustrated with tire stereopticon. H. M. Cryder of St. Louis discussed the "Preparation and Handling of Concrete," and G. L. Pren¬ tiss, vice-president of the Parsons Man¬ ufacturing Company of this city delivered an illustrated lecture on the "Use of Com¬ pressed Air in the Handling of Mortar and Concrete." The principal items in the program for Thursday _and Friday were these: THURSDAY. DEC. 15. 9 a. m.—Meeting of the Section on Speci¬ fications for Cement Products. Discussion on the Manufacture, Curing, Cost, etc., of Cement Hollow Building Blocks, Architec¬ tural Concrete Blocks, Fence Posts. Drain Tile and Pipe. 10.-30 a. m.—Report of the Committee ou Specifications'for Cement Products. P. S. Hudson, Chairman, (a) Proposed Standard Specifications for Architectural Concrete Blocks. (b) Proposed Standard Specifica.- tions for Plain Concrete Drain Tile. S p. m.—Reception and banquet. FRIDAY. DEC. IG. 9 a. m.—Meeting of Section on Treatment of Concrete Surfaces. Topical discussion on the artistic treatment of concrete sur¬ faces of various kinds. 10.30 a. m.—Report of Committee on Ex¬ terior Treatment on Concrete Surfaces. L. . C. Wason, Chairman. "Comparative Cost and Maintenance of Varioua Types of Building Construction."— J. P. H. Perry. Turner Construction Co., New York, N. Y. 8 p. m.—"The Hudson Memorial Bridge." —Wra. H. Burr, Professor of Civil Engineer¬ ing, Columbia University, New York, N. Y. "The Use of Reinforced Concrete for Hos¬ pitals and Similar Structures."—R. A. Mc¬ Cullough. Chief Engineer for Raymond F. Almirall, New York, N. Y. "Advantages of Reinforced Concrete for Farm Buildings,"—Alfred Hopkins. Archi¬ tect, New York, N. Y. Silenl Toast to.Maxwell. At the banyuet of the National Associ¬ ation of Cement Users at the Hotel Astor on Thursday evening, a silent toast was drank to the memory of J. Rogers Max- well- Dr. Karl Bittner, from Vienna, delivered an address in German on "Internationa! Technical Co-Operation," which was trans¬ lated by the President of the Association, Prof. Richard L. Humphrey. Songs were sung from a text-boolt especially com¬ piled. The number present was 360. Robert W. Lesley, of Philadelphia, vice- president of the American Society for Testing Materials, was the toastmaster. The president of the Board of Aldermen, John Purroy Mitchel. responded to the toast "New York City and Concrete." "Concrete and Better Housing for the Poor" was the theme assigned to Robt. W. de Forest, president of the Art Commis¬ sion. John Carrere, of Carrere & Hast¬ ings, spoke of the "Architect and Con¬ crete." Benjamin B. Traitel, president of the Building Trades Employers' Associ¬ ation responded to the toast "The Build¬ ing Interests of the City." Charles Batell Loomis and John R. Morron, president of the Atlas Portland Cement Company, were the concluding speakers. Tlie Presiilent's Annual Address, The President of the National Associ¬ ation of Cement Users, Richard L. Hum¬ phrey, in his annual address at the con¬ vention on Tuesday evening, discussed the important matter of conflagration haz¬ ards in the large cities of this country, briefiy touching upon the striking statis¬ tics covering these losses; calling atten¬ tion to the fact that the fire in San Fran¬ cisco resulted in a loss greater than the total profits of all insurance companies for the previous twenty years. Also called attention to the fact that a conflagration of the type that visited Baltimore and San Francisco on the lower end of Manhattan Island, south of 1-ith st, would produce a loss which would bankrupt all the insur¬ ance companies of this country. The speaker stated that these enormous direct losses by fire, together with the annual tax made necessary through the mainten¬ ance of flre protection service, an in¬ creased supply of water, in many cases a high pressure service, were entirely pre¬ ventable. Besides the enormous drain of our nat¬ ural resources whicii was required to replace the structures tlius destroyed was a field of conservation that should re¬ ceive as much attention as the conserva¬ tion of our coal, timber and other natural supplies. It is immaterial in what form these natural supplies were destroyed; w-hether as a raw material or a finished product; the result was the same—a loss in the total of these resources. The speaker was of the opinion that while the enormous per capita losses in this country were largely the result of the use of timber and other infiammable materials, nevertheless it was also largely the result of public indifference, which ivas only aroused after a great catastrophe such as have visited this country all too frequently within the last few years. He believed that the story told by great con¬ flagrations such as the Chicago, Balti¬ more and San Francisco fires could not be too often repeated, and that every one interested in this subject should contin¬ ually drive this lesson home, to the end that the public could be so educated and aroused to action that Jaws be enacted and remedies applied to effectively pre¬ vent such losses. The speaker, by means of a stereopticon, illustrated common fallacies in the method of fireproofing, showing the utter worth- lessness of much of the material which is commonly used for such purposes, and in¬ dicated the types of construction which did really offer the maximum of resistance to flre. The question of exposures was discussed and the necessity of confining the fire to the point of origin in the building, and of preventing the spread of fire to the ad¬ jacent building, through the use of proper fire barriers was clearly shown, and the behavior of buildings thus protected was also illustrated. The question of fire tests of single panels of a floor system, which is made use of, was discussed, and it was pointed out that this, while furnishing informa¬ tion of value, did not furnish the infor¬ mation which was really necessary since the expansion of a large area of the floor of the building, during a fire of great in¬ tensity and heat, would cause an expan¬ sion which would exert an enormous force on the structure, since the free expansion of the floor slab and other members was resisted by the surrounding material; it was the study of this expansion that was desirable in determining the value of va¬ rious flreproofing materials and systems of fireproofing. The speaker also touched upon the necessity of dividing up the floor area by means of fire walls, so that the fire could be confined to the point of origin, and its spread throughout the structure prevent¬ ed. The numerous detailed methods of protecting girders, columns and other parts of a structure from fire were clearly shown, and the defects in most of these methods pointed out.