Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: [v. 97, no. 2498: Articles]: January 29, 1916

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REAL . ESTATE NEW YORK, JANUARY 29, 1916 BUILDING TRADES CONVENTION AND DINNER Proceedings of the State Association of Builders— Annual Dinner of the City Builders a Fine Occasion THE twentieth annual convention of the New York State Association of Builders was held in the rooms of the Building Trades Employers' Association, 30-34 West 33d street, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. The sessions were well attended, nearly one hundred delegates, representing eighteen cities, answering Secretary Carter's roll-call. The Tuesday morning session was de¬ voted to a meeting of the Executive Committee, which was followed by in¬ formal luncheons for the renewal of old friendships and the forming of new ones. The afternoon session was opened with an address of welcome by William Craw¬ ford, president of the Building Trades Employers' Association. President Nor¬ man of the State Association responded in behalf of the visiting delegates and the convention then settled down to a routine of roll-call, minutes, and reports of officers and committees. The address of the afternoon was scheduled to be made by H. L. Lewman, president of the National Association of Builders' Exchanges, but he was unable to attend on account of a serious fire which took place at his plant in Louis¬ ville. He forwarded his address, however, and it was delivered by I. H. Scates, Commissioner of the National Associa¬ tion of Builders' Exchanges. Mr. Lew- man's address was on "The New Stand¬ ard Form of Contract" and was listened to with much interest by all present. Following this-, convention committees were appointed, after which adjournment was taken till Wednesday morning at 10 a. m. Work of the Legislative Committee. On Wednesday morning the conven¬ tion listened with interest to an address by Ernest F. Eidlitz, counsel of the association, supplemental to his official report and relative to the legal aspect of the legislative work and the neces¬ sity for active participation in the forrna- tion of the laws affecting the building industry. Mr. Eidlitz said in part: "Statutes are made by the Legislature and are quite different from that slow normal growth of consistent and re¬ lated principles of the common law. In many instances they have no intimate re¬ lation to the general body of the law, but express radical reforms not even de¬ sired by the great body of the people. "Under our system of government, laws passed by the Legislature must be applied by the courts, irrespective of the consenuences. The courts cannot dis¬ regard statutes because they do not ap¬ prove of them. Courts cannot legislate; that is the province of the Legislature. "It is important for the building in¬ dustry that an association of this char¬ acter shall make every effort to influence the Legislature to enact laws which ade¬ quately protect you in the conduct of your business and which do not inequit¬ ably interfere with your interests. "The following I should give as some of the principal reasons for improper legislation, having legislation affecting the building industry in mind. "First. Bills do not happen. They are initiated and drafted by some interest for a selfish purpose and frequently in dis¬ regard of the rights of others affected thereby. "Again, the interests behind the bill. iC. G. NORMAN, Retiring President New York State Association ot Builders. make every effort to procure its passage, whereas sometimes there is no opposi¬ tion, due to lack of knowledge or inter¬ est on the part of those adversely af¬ fected, and many times the opposition is badly organized and ineffective. "Another reason is the lack of requi¬ site expert knowledge on the part of the legislators. They also are in ignorance of the conditions affected by the bill aiid do not appreciate the results which will ensue. The legislators have not suf¬ ficient time to devote to the study of the bills, so as to inform themselves of the merits or demerits of the same. There are from two to three thousand bills introduced each session. Log Rolling at Albany. "The system of log rolling also plays an important nart. This is voting orpush- ing a bill, in which a legislator is not interested and not in accordance with the e.xercise of his own judgment but at the request of another legislator, who in turn uses his influence, in behalf of some measure in which the former is inter¬ ested. These reasons suggest the remedy for obviating detrimental legislation. "The machinery must be provided to examine every bill introduced in the Leg¬ islature and to select those affecting your industry. Those selected must be care¬ fully studied and analyzed to determine their real intent and application. There must be then somebody to consider the bill from its legal and practical aspect and to decide whether and in what re¬ spect it affects the industry favorably or unfavorably, and if the latter whether and how it should be amended. "The views and arguments must then be presented to the legislators and must be backed by the weight of a thorough oi'ganization to properly impress them with the extent of the opposition or ap¬ proval and the importance and number affected. Opportunity is given by the Legislature and the Governor to all iii- terested to present their views and it is in the formation of the statute that an organization like this may influence leg¬ islation. While it is possible to repeal a statute at some succeeding session, such a task is much more difficult. "This is the work done by your Legis¬ lative Committee. Of the effectiveness of their work I leave you to judge. That re¬ sult represents many hours of conscien¬ tious and at times tedious labor on the part of the members of your committee. I am confident of your appreciation of tlieir efforts. The Association's Growth. "It must also be a source of gre.at gratification to you to see the growth of this organization. I was not present at its birth. I think you were about one year old when I first met you—at that time only a handful of earnest, energetic men. I remember appearing before the Cities Committee of the Senate and be¬ ing asked what the New York State As¬ sociation of Builders was and how did I spell its name. I think they now know how to spell its name and you have left no doubt in their mind as to who you are. "I trust you will grow stronger and stronger each year and that with a fur¬ ther realization of your powers, the fields of your activity will be increased and your influence will manifest itself more and more in the improvement of the building industry." In Mr. Eidlitz's official report a resume of bills introduced in the State Legisla¬ ture during the last year was given. Robert L. Christie, chairman of the Legislative Committee, gave statistics of the work of the committee in the last five years and showed what benefit had been derived from its labors, and how the building trade as a whole has been pro¬ tected from vicious legislation. I. H. Scates, followed with an address on the work done by the National Asso¬ ciation. He made a strong plea for co¬ operation between the National and State bodies and demonstrated why such co¬ operation should exist and the benefits to be derived from it. After this talk came the report of the Nominating Committee and the election of officers for the ensuing year. The of¬ ficers elected were: M. E. Gregory of Corning, President; E, A. Keeler of Al¬ bany, First Vice-President; G. C. Schier- er of Buffalo, Second Vice-President; James M, Carter of Buffalo, Secretary- Treasurer, and Ernest F. Eidlitz of New York, Counsel. These officers were later installed. The convention proper closed with a luncheon for the delegates, for which the State Association was the host. Building Trades Employers' Dinner. At the Biltmore on Wednesday even¬ ing the delegates to the State conven¬ tion were guests at the annual dinner of the Building Trades Employers' Associa¬ tion. This social function always brings together the leading builders, material manufacturers and dealers, architects and structural engineers. The seating capac¬ ity of the main floor of the great ball- .room was tested to its full capacity. Six hundred or more were seated at no less than seventy-six tables. The guests were Messrs. J. P. Carlm, James Rilev Gordon, Francis N. How¬ land, Richard M. Hunt, H. L. Lewman, president of the National Association of Builders' Exchanges; Alfred Ludwig, John J. Murphy, R. J. Moorehead, J. W.