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Show Put in New Claim for Merits Of Rammed Earth Buildings By BAUKHAGE News Analyst and Commentator. V.'NU News Service, 1G1G Eye Street N. W., Washington, D. C. WASHINGTON. Is there a solution solu-tion of the low-cost housing problem as simple as the dirt under our feet? Have we been overlooking ; a bet, which Pliny said the Romans were overlooking, in j the first century : A . D . and to which most people peo-ple have shut their eyes ever since? Anthony F. Merrill says so r good or better a dwelling than most of the so-called defense homes, so widely used during the war, for $3,000. And there are already modest mod-est cottages in a number of places which cost little more than a thousand thou-sand dollars for two members of a family to build. Solons Have Good Laugh on Selves When Bob Hope or Henry Morgan or even Senator Claghorn pokes fun at congressmen, that's supposed to be humorous. It's always open season on politicians in this country where people riddle their public officials of-ficials with gagd instead of guns. But it is not generally realized that legislators like to laugh, too even when the laugh's on them. And at least one of tnem enjoys congressional congres-sional jokes so much he's written a 350-page book about them. Compiling the congressional Joe Miller may seem a far cry from steering policies of the senate judiciary judi-ciary committee, but Senator Wiley has been working on the humorous project since 1939 when he first was elected to the United States senate. Last year he got around to sending send-ing a letter to all his colleagues in the house and senate, asking them their favorite jokes. He was deluged del-uged with stories good, bad and corny; and most of them jokes on or about congress and congressmen. All of which inspired the title of his book, "The Laugh's With Congress." Con-gress." Under the title "The Women God Bless 'em," he relates how in tha and so does a Baukhage convincing job of proving the contention in nis book "The Rammed Earth House," which I have just read. It seems incredible! incredi-ble! It didn't seem incredible to Pliny who heatedly proclaimed that the Romans had, in Africa and Spain, "walls of earth." They are "moulded rather than built," Pliny explains, "by enclosing enclos-ing earth within a frame of boards, constructed on either side. These walls will last for centuries, are proof against rain, wind and fire, and are- superior in solidity to any cement. ce-ment. Even at this day (more than a century after Hannibal) Spain still holds watch-towers that were erected erect-ed by HannibaL" The idea of houses of earth is not incredible to Clinton P. Anderson, .i-VS s. n 1 " - - - " 1 ' , , ' i h v, ,V r, ' The old and new In rammed earth bouses. Top panel shows modern mod-ern structure at Claremont, Calif. Bottom shows church at Sumter, S. C, which has stood through more than a century and weathered several hurricanes and an earthquake. secretary of agriculture, who has written the preface to the book. "If Tony Merrill and his rammed-earth rammed-earth builders want either my blessing bless-ing or my cooperation," says the secretary, "they may be assured of them both." Rammed-earth, according to Merrill, Mer-rill, is a term describing "both the material and the process of wall building by which earth is tamped into the shape of a wall or building block. In essence, a compressed block or section of earth will, when tamped, assume the shape of the form into which it is pressed and, when the moisture dries out, harden into a permanent shape suitable for use as a building material.' The reasons set forth by Merrill as to why, if this method of building is so good it has not been widely adopted, are logical: One there's no money in it, except the money saved by the builder. Two contrary con-trary to the impression among sellers sell-ers of building materials, Merrill insists in-sists it would help rather than hurt their business. The man who builds a rammed-earth house can't afford any other kind. And he has to buy everything floor, roofing, plumbing everything in fact except the walls, which are free except for the cost of the forms and the tamping. Merrill's thesis is that anyone willing to acquire the rudimentary knowledge of building, can build a rammed-earth house himself with three bedrooms, spacious living, dining and cooking facilities and all plumbing and heating equipment for less than $5,000. He can ouild as closing and very literally hot sessions ses-sions of the 79th congress, the then Sergeant-at-Arms Wall Doxey ruled twice within three weeks that, although al-though women in slacks could be permitted in senate galleries, women wom-en in shorts would be inimical to the dignity of the senate and were to be barred from the gallery. All of which moved Sen. Richard Russell of Georgia to remark: "In hot weather, I am sometimes envious that I cannot wear shorts myself. Mr. Doxey is supposed to be an authority on what creates confusion con-fusion in the senate, but personally, I have no objection to shorts." (If this had been printed in the record there would have been "laughter" after that one.) Another story claimed as the favorite fa-vorite of former Sen. Guy Gillette of Iowa and Arkansas', young Sen. William Fulbright is a true one. As Senator Gillette tells it, his colored maid had noticed that the senator, then a representative, had his picture pic-ture in the paper. Underneath was a caption to the effect that he might be nominated for the upper chamber. cham-ber. "Is a senatuh higher than a representative?" the maid wanted to know. "Yes," Gillette told her, "they are so considered because a senator represents an entire state and a representative represents a district of a state." The maid's next question was: "Well, is there anything lower than a congressman?" congress-man?" Gillette is said to have been forced to imply that there was indeed in-deed nothing lower than a congressman! |