Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: [v. 95, no. 2461: Articles]: May 15, 1915

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REAL ESTATE AND %) BUILDERS NEW YORK, MAY 15, 1915 iliiiliiiiii iilliliiilM^^^^^^^^^^^ THE NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION MEETING Convention Held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, at the Hotel Astor—Many Important Topics Discussed ■l!|!iillllllillllillliilliillM^ i:i:||lilll1lillllllill!l1lli1lliii{1lllllll A T the Hotel Astor, Broadway and '^*' 45th street, last Tuesday, Wednes¬ day aud Thursday, was held the Nine¬ teenth Annual Meeting of the National Fire Protection Association. The asso¬ ciation comprises about 130 organiza¬ tions, which are actively engaged in the protection of life and property from conflagration. The ballroom, on the eighth floor of the hotel was crowded to capacity when Robert D. Kohn. pres¬ ident of the association, called the meet¬ ing to order, and after the usual routine l)nsiness, reports were read from many of thc affiliated organizations, which commended the work of the association. Election of Officers. On Thursday, just before the meeting was adjourned, the following were elect¬ ed officers for the ensuing year: Charles R. Meek, of New York, president; Louis Wiederhold, Jr., of Philadelphia, Pa., first vice-president; D. Everett Waid, of New York, second vice-president; Franklin H. Wentworth, of Boston, Mass., secretary and treasurer; also the following members of the executive committee, to serve three years: H. W. Forster, of Philadelphia; E. B. Hatch, of Chicago, 111.; H. O. Lacount, of Bos¬ ton, Mass.; A. M. Schoen, of Atlanta, Ga.. and Mason R. Strong, of New York. F. J. T. Stewart, of New York, was elected chairman of the executive com¬ mittee and the following three mem¬ bers are added to the nominating com¬ mittee, class of 1916: W. H. Merrill, of Chicago, 111.; Gorham Dana, of Boston. Mass.. and Richard L. Humphrey, of Philadelphia, Pa. The President's Address. In his opening address, Mr. Kohn said, in part: "The purpose of our association is defined in our Articles of Association as follows: 'To promote the science and improve the methods of fire protec¬ tion and prevention; to obtain aud cir¬ culate information on these subjects and to secure the co-operation of its mem¬ bers in establishing proper safeguards against loss of life and property by fire.' What has been accomplished by our energetic committees in this direc¬ tion will be brought to your attention in detail by these committees during the sessions of this association of the next three days. No one who hears these reports or reads this mass of technical material will fail to realize the devoted service which has been rendered our cause during the year. The members who have thus given of their time and their knowledge have not worked toward a selfish end. In the best sense they have been in the service of our country, for they have helped to build up the solid foundation on which our country's legislation to reduce the fire hazard must in the future be l)ased if it is to be based on expert, not on ama¬ teur opinion. They have served their country as the citizens of a democracy can best serve it—by ofifering the best of themselves for the good of all. They offer it and trust to convincing others through the wisdom inherent in the of¬ ferings, not through force. In this CHARLES E. MEEK. sense, we, the workers in this effort toward the protection of life and prop¬ erty, are soldiers enlisted iu a fight against an enemy, fire. Let us hope that more and more the technically qualified citizens of this country may join in this and other ways to further by construc¬ tive means the ends of right and wis¬ dom, and that we may be spared from any desire to attain just ends by means of violence and destruction. * * * Official Interest Growing. "It is fair to ourselves to take stock of the evidence of growing official in¬ terest in the work of the National Fire Protection Association. The officers of your association have been able to co¬ operate for the first time during this year to a limited extent with certain departments of the government in the establishment of standards of safe con¬ struction. This co-operation will in my opinion be much advanced if we can present our standards in graphic form. A plan to this effect has the general en¬ dorsement of your executive committee. "We are convinced that the publication of diagrams illustrative of forms of con¬ struction that reduce the hazard from fire to life and property will encourage their adoption after due trial as safety standards by the national and state gov¬ ernments. They would then be distri¬ buted throughout the country to any one interested. Citizens in far-away places, completely out of touch with fire prevention experts, would then be ad¬ vised most easily as to the proper con¬ struction of chimneys, the proper en¬ closures of elevator shafts; thc safe construction of staircases and other exits; of roofs, of cellars, of hatchways, etc. We have during the last year re¬ ceived many assurances from dift'ercnl government departments that such a se¬ ries of standard sheets would be of in¬ valuable assistance. Their publication would be a great step forward in the cause of conservation," Franklin H. Wentworth, the secretary and treasurer, said iu his report: "The status of our membership as of April 30 is as follows: Active members. 126, a gain of 5; associate members, 2,595. a gain of 84; honorary members. 4, a gain of 1; total, 2,725, a gain of 90. As in previous years, our resignations have been met and exceeded by new adhe¬ sions so that the records show an un¬ broken gain for the past five years. "By all odds the association's most important publication of the year was tbe inspection manual. Field Practice, the entire first edition of which, aggre¬ gating 3,000 copies, has already been sold. Its olhcial adoption by the New York Board of Fire Underwriters aud its genera] use by the inspectors of the New York City Fire Prevention Bureau, place the seal of the largest American city upon its value, and inspire the hope that it will continue rapidly to gain in favor and become the standard fire in¬ spection manual for all fire departments and inspection bureaus in the United States and Canada. Mr. Wentworth's Report. "The demand for speakers on fire pre¬ vention is also becoming nation wide. The growing habit of cities to institute 'clean-up week.' with its accompanying- public meetings, is rapidly multiplying this demand. Although motion pictures are an admirable feature of such meet¬ ings, a good speaker is necessary. The following members of the associa¬ tion served in the delivery of lectures and addresses: Gorham Dana. Powell Evans. Joseph O. Hammitt, E. M. Un¬ derwood. H. W. Forster, W. H. Mer¬ rill, J. Tremblay, John Kenlon, W. O. Teague, John A. O'Keefe, Ira G. Hoag- land"". Ralph Sweetland, J. A. Robinson. Benjamin Richards, John C. McDon¬ nell, Thomas R. Weddell, F. R. Mor- garidge, Charles E. Meek, Rudolph P. Miller, Edward R. Hardy, Alcide Chausse, Gilbert A. Pevey. Robert Ad¬ amson. H. M. Wilson. R. H. Newbern, Lew R. Palmer. E. P. Heaton. H. C. Henley. O. B. Ryon. Lewis T. Bryant, John R. Freeman. Robert D. Kohn, F. M. Griswold. William Guerin. F. E. Cabot and Frank E. Henderson." One of the pleasant features of the convention was the luncheon on Wed¬ nesday that had been arranged by New York Chanter, of which Rudolph P. Mil¬ ler, ex-Supt. of Buildings, is president. The company was large, filling the grand ballroom comfortably. The honor guests were the Acting Mayor. Plon. George McAneny; Fire Commis¬ sioner Adamson, Chief Kenlon. ex-Pres¬ ident Phillips and Secretary Wentworth of the N. F. P. A.; Messrs, Stewart and Anderson of the Board of Fire Under¬ writers. ex-Supt. Milller and Allan Rob¬ inson of the Allied Real Estate Inter¬ ests. President Robert D. Kohn acted as toastmaster. The speakers were the .■\cting Mayor, the Fire Commissioner and Messrs Robinson and Wentworth, and the general subject of discussion was "Fire Prevention and the Business Man." The Acting Mayor extended the wel¬ come of the City of New York and made