iews of the American writers to which we referred
last month. He says: "The reverence with which we have been taught to
regard old work has misled us into a slavish worship of precedent, and
an abject craving for authority by which to shape our own work. Close
imitation of old work has been regarded as the only safe course,
deceptive imitation of it the highest measure of success."...

"Above all it should be the student's object to discover the principles
of design by which the successive styles were governed, and in tracing
their history he should trace the influence of circumstance and
accident, which modify the current art of the day.... The history of
architecture, and the development of style out of style, should never be
taught without incessant reference to the constructional methods which
were employed, and which played the principal part in the changes
resulting from their employment."

* * * * *

Apropos of the perennial discussion of the question of professional
ethics which from time to time comes into prominence in the meetings of
the American Institute of Architects the following may be of interest.
It is appended to the card of a certain architect which is published as
an advertisement in a local paper and reads: "Any kind of architectural
work promptly attended to and satisfaction guaranteed."

In the resolutions recently adopted by the Boston Society of Architects
concerning professional ethics it was maintained that architects should
not advertise. The advertisement above may savor somewhat of its
surroundings (above it a hair renewer is advertised and below it
penny-royal pills) and suggest too much the "shoes tapped while you
wait" order of advertising, but we fail to see why architects should be
restrained from advertising if there are any benefits to be derived
from it. And for our part we think that there are few architects whose
business or practice might not be improved by judicious advertising. It
is easy to lay down an arbitrary dictum and say that no professional man
shall advertise, but what argument can apply to architects in this
respect that does not equally apply to civil engineers and to landscape
architects? And no one objects to the advertisements of the latter. The
publication of architects' designs in the professional journals is in
many cases advertising, pure and simple, but is not on this account to
be condemned. The truth of the matter is that