Editorial 
House&Garden 
Vol. II. JANUARY, 1902. No. 1. 
1 Price: 
United States, Canada or Mexico, $5.00 per annum in 
advance ; elsewhere in the Postal Union, $6.00. 
Single Numbers, 50 cents. 
Address : 
HOUSE AND GARDEN, 
1222 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Penna. 
Copyrighted, S(?Ol, by The Architectural Publishing Company. 
Entered at the Philadelphia Post Office as Second Class Mail Matter , 
June , iqoi. 
T he selection of an architect for the pro¬ 
posed new building ends another period 
in the history of the Pennsylvania State Cap¬ 
itol. The decision is neither a satisfaction 
nor a surprise. It could not have been other¬ 
wise in the face of events occurring since the 
old building was destroyed by fire five years 
ago. To say that all efforts to obtain a design 
for a new building have been marked by 
incompetence and ignorance, is to use chari¬ 
table terms. Every move on the part of the 
authorities at Harrisburg has been insincere, 
and has revealed no less a contempt for the 
sane advice of professional architects than an 
indifference to their art. Attacks were made 
by architectural societies against the first com¬ 
petition held in 1898. The changes urged for 
the program were just demands. If they had 
been recognized architects could have offered 
their services with self-respect. But these 
voices were ignored by the Pennsylvania 
politicians; and the honest aspect of the 
competition disappearing, the T-Square Club 
and the local chapters of the American Insti¬ 
tute of Architects declared it unprofessional 
for any architect to enter the competition. 
The mistakes of four years ago were easy 
to avoid repeating when last July four million 
dollars was appropriated for a new Capitol 
building. The sum was ample and a knowl¬ 
edge of the proper conduct of an archi¬ 
tectural competition could not have been 
wanting. But these availed nothing toward 
honesty and straightforwardness in obtaining 
suitable designs. No program was given 
out, only an advertising notice in a few 
newspapers. There was no authoritative 
source of information insuring equal data 
to all competitors, nor was there any assur¬ 
ance that the architect of the best design 
would be chosen the architect of the build¬ 
ing. No jury of professional knowledge 
was to give the decision, and only two 
weeks before the competition closed was it 
announced that Prof. William R. Ware 
would be the Commission’s adviser. The 
competition closed on November qoth and 
there were but eight designs submitted. 
Thus an event which should have called forth 
a general response from architects was so 
maladministered as to meet with indifference 
and disdain. Since political jobbery had 
been certified at the outset protests against 
the Commission’s perfunctory forms were 
mild and casual. The matter is now closed 
and ground is soon to be broken for the new 
building. 
The great fault of such mismanagement is 
that it invites not skill but incapacity. The 
taint of ill-faith in the terms of the pro¬ 
ceedings has certainly deprived society of 
the best thought of one of its organic 
parts—a profession pledged to the improve¬ 
ment of common objects and the esthetic 
advancement of our lives. An ignoring 
of the function and capacity of such a 
profession is an indifference to public wel¬ 
fare. The limiting of competitions is at 
best a shutting out of much individual 
ability; but the expense of paying many 
competitors makes it necessary. When a 
public work is to be executed the same ob¬ 
stacle may arise but in a less formidable shape. 
At all events it is inexcusable that the over¬ 
tures of authorities should have no semblance 
of fairness, shoidd be such that no conscien¬ 
tious architect could honestly answer to them. 
Architects have framed programs for com¬ 
petitions ideally just to themselves and to 
others and they have tried to have them 
generally recognized. Though their plea 
was vain at Harrisburg, it is to be hoped that 
competitions in the future may be real com¬ 
petitions; that they shall attract the sum 
total of special ability existing whenever they 
take place. 
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