were left to the judgment or convenience of the mechanics of the shop,
yet in many reinforced concrete designs but little more thought is given
to the connections and continuity of the steel than if it were an
unimportant element of the structure. Such examples, as illustrated by
the retaining wall in Fig. 2, are common, the reinforcing bars of the
counterfort being simply hooked by a 4-in. U-bend around those of the
floor and wall slabs, and penetrating the latter only from 8 to 12 in.
The writer can cite an example which is still worse--that of a T-wall,
16 ft. high, in which the vertical reinforcement of the wall slab
consisted of 3/4-in. bars, spaced 6 in. apart. The wall slab was 8 in.
thick at the top and only 10 in. at the bottom, yet the 3/4-in. vertical
bars penetrated the floor slab only 8 in., and were simply hooked around
its lower horizontal bars by 4-in. U-bends. Amazing as it may appear,
this structure was designed by an engineer who is well versed in the
theories of reinforced concrete design. These are only two examples from
a long list which might be cited to illustrate the carelessness often
exhibited by engineers in detailing reinforced concrete structures.

In reinforced concrete work the detailer has often felt the need of some
simple and efficient means of attaching one bar to another, but, in its
absence, it is inexcusable that he should resort to such makeshifts as
are commonly used. A simple U-hook on the end of a bar will develop only
a small part of the strength of the bar, and, of course, should not be
relied on where the depth of penetration is inadequate; and, because of
the necessity of efficient anchorage of the reinforcing bars where one
member of a structure unites with another, it is believed that in some
instances economy might be subserved by the use of shop shapes and shop
connections in steel, instead of the ordinary reinforcing bars. Such
cases are comparatively few, however, for the material in common use is
readily adapted to the design, in the ordinary engineering structure,