r deflections which invariably occur in Nature at points of
support. These changes of level, or slope, or both, actually alter very
considerably the stresses as usually computed, and, in all rigorous
design work, should be considered.

On the whole, the speaker believes that the author has put himself in
the class with most iconoclasts, in that he has overshot his mark. There
seems to be a very important point, however, on which he has touched,
namely, the lack of care exercised by most designers with regard to
those items which most nearly correspond with the so-called "details" of
structural steel work, and are fully as important in reinforced
concrete as in steel. It is comparatively a small matter to proportion a
simple reinforced concrete beam at its intersection to resist a given
moment, but the carrying out of that item of the work is only a start on
the long road which should lead through the consideration of every
detail, not the least important of which are such items as most of the
sixteen points raised by the author.

The author has done the profession a great service by raising these
questions, and, while full concurrence is not had with him in all
points, still the speaker desires to express his hearty thanks for
starting what is hoped will be a complete discussion of the really vital
matter of detailing reinforced concrete design work.

ALBIN H. BEYER, ESQ.--Mr. Goodrich has brought out very clearly the
efficiency of vertical stirrups. As Mr. Godfrey states that explanations
of how stirrups act are conspicuous in the literature of reinforced
concrete by their absence, the speaker will try to explain their action
in a reinforced concrete beam.

It is well known that the internal static conditions in reinforced
concrete beams change to some extent with the intensity of the direct or
normal stresses in the steel and concrete. In order to bring out his
point, the speaker will trace, in such a beam, the changes in the
internal static conditions due to increasing vertical loads.

[Illustration: FIG. 8.]

Let Fig. 8 represent a beam reinforced by horizontal steel rods of such
diameter that there is no possibility of failure from lack of adhesion
of the concrete to the steel. The beam is subjected to the vertical
loads, [Sigma] _P_. For low unit stresses in the concrete, the neutral
surface, _n n_, is approximately in the middle of the beam. Gradually
increase the loads, [Sigma] _P_, until the steel reach