formation on such subjects as labor turnover in relation to housing, management of housing schemes, dormitories for women workers, local opinions on Government housing, private enterprises for industrial housing, local housing shortages or surpluses, rent profiteering, local building material situations, etc. About 250 press clippings relating to industrial housing from all over the United States have been examined by the library each week and from these all of importance selected and sent daily as received to the proper persons on the corporation staff. From 10 to 40 press clippings daily have been so "routed." Local newspapers in places seeking Government appropriations have sometimes "let the cat out of the bag," and in one particular case a clipping sent by the reference library to the War Department representative in the Housing Corporation held up an appropriation of a quarter of a million dollars which he was on the point of recommending. A very large number of clippings have been sent to the Division of Surveys and Statistics, where these have been noted and communicated, when necessary, to field representatives.

The current periodical press has also been covered by the reference library for the benefit of the Housing Corporation. Forty well-known technical and general magazines have been regularly followed by the consulting librarian and digests of important articles sent to officials of the corporation according to their "standing orders." Thus in six months items from at least 350 issues of magazines have been at the disposal of the corporation.

By means of a weekly circular the library has kept all members of the corporation staff informed of important acquisitions; and the Library has also maintained a bulletin board where important press clippings and progress photographs of corporation housing projects have been posted daily. Complete files of these progress photographs are kept in binders for instant consultation in the library.

A good part of the ordinary work of the library has consisted in giving satisfactory answers to such questions as the following actual inquiries: Who is the owner of the West Virginia Water & Electric Co.? What is the address of the American Radiator Co. ? What is the ton-mile cost of motor-truck transportation? How much did Great Britain appropriate for war housing? How many counties in the United States? What, if any, hydroelectric plants, especially in connection with nitrate plants, are actually under construction by the United States Government?

The library has had about 75 users daily, not including those to whom clippings and publications have been "routed" and digests sent out. About 150 clippings and a dozen magazines have been routed weekly, and an average of 85 digests of 40 different articles in the current periodical press sent out during the month to members of the Housing Corporation staff.

JAMES FORD,

Manager Homes Registration and
Information Division.

Reports of sections prepared by Dr. E. L. Schaub, Dr. A. O. Norton, and Miss Theodora Kimball.

PREORGANIZATION ACTIVITIES.

On November 12, 1917, Mr. Otto M. Eidlitz, of the Council of National Defense, was appointed a committee of one to deal with the various Government departments having housing problems to be solved. About this time Hon. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, requested Mr. Eidlitz to have an investigation made at Erie, Pa., for the purpose of determining the best steps to be taken to improve quickly the transportation facilities of that city. The Navy Department had been notified. by the General Electric Co. that unless better service could be provided for its employees it would be impossible to man their shops sufficiently to produce turbines in time for the large fleet of destroyers which had been recently authorized by Congress. The situation was regarded by the Navy Department as most serious and requiring immediate relief, irrespective of any obstacles which might have to be

overcome.

On February 2, 1918, Mr. Phillip Hiss, acting for Mr. Eidlitz, who was out of the city, took up the request of Mr. Roosevelt and asked Mr. William A. Mellen to go at once to Erie, make a survey of the transportation situation in that city and report to Mr. Eidlitz. Mr. Mellen therefore went to Erie and on February 8 submitted his report. After the report had been considered by Mr. Eidlitz and his associates, it was decided to have a conference in the city of Washington, to which there should be invited the mayor, or any other officials of the city of Erie; officials of the Buffalo & Lake Erie Traction Co., operating the local transportation lines; and representatives of various civic and commercial bodies, such as the manufacturers' association, chamber of commerce, and real estate association. The report as submitted was fully upheld by those present at this conference, and it was agreed that the recommendations contained therein should at the earliest possible moment be carried out. Following this conference a committee of five conferred with Secretary Roosevelt, who gave his approval of the plans outlined, indicating also that the Navy Department would fur

nish financial assistance to the Traction Company for the work called for.

Later in February, Capt. Willard, then commandant of the Washington Navy Yard, requested that better service be provided to and from that plant for the transportation of workmen. Secretary Roosevelt then suggested to Mr. Eidlitz that he arrange with Mr. Mellen to make a survey at this point for the purpose of recommending some form of relief. A thorough study of this situation was made and the result was stated in a report dated March 2, 1918. Upon the completion of this report, Secretary Roosevelt then asked that Mr. Mellen be sent to Erie, Pa., for the purpose of carrying out the recommendations contained in his report of February 8. Mr. Mellen having previously arranged with Mr. Eidlitz to affiliate himself with the Transportation Division of the proposed Bureau of Industrial Housing and Transportation, was temporarily released to accept an appointment as supervising engineer in the United States Navy and take charge of Erie transportation matters, with the understanding that the Navy Department should arrange as soon as possible to have some one else take over these duties. Accordingly, Mr. John H. Mills, then connected with the Public Utilities Commission of the District of Columbia, was appointed supervising engineer to act as assistant in this work, and later to take charge of it, but to continue to report to Mr. Mellen, as requested by Rear Admiral Rousseau of the Navy Department.

On March 11 the work at Erie was taken up. The city council was referred to in regard to new franchises needed for the Buffalo & Lake Erie Traction Co., and other proposed plans for the betterment of service in that city. All steps taken were regarded as war measures, as it was felt that there was not sufficient time to be hampered by practices which in peace times would have caused several months of delay. During the week of March 11 practically all of the material needed for the track extensions was purchased and actual construction was started the first of the following week. Construction progressed very rapidly from that time until the completion of all work early in the summer.

PURPOSE OF AID TO TRANSPORTATION,

Prior to the entrance of this country into the war, enormous munition plants had sprung up in localities which before the outbreak of the European strife had had but a normal expansion. The location of plants in these districts seriously overtaxed all utilities, especially local transportation systems, and it was found that as soon as houses located near the plants working on war contracts were fully occupied, it became necessary to provide transportation for workers living at remote points. The local transportation systems almost invariably failed to furnish an adequate service. This poor transportation, combined with undesirable housing conditions, caused discontent among the operatives and a labor turnover so high as to make it impossible for many war industries to fulfill their contracts.

Early in 1918 this condition became very serious in cities like Bridgeport, Conn., and Erie, Pa. Those responsible for the creation of the Bureau of Industrial Housing and Transportation clearly saw a close relationship between housing and transportation. In cities where there was no available housing, and where immediate relief was desirable, it was necessary to utilize existing transportation systems to convey workers to distant points where vacant houses were to be had.

It was seen that in certain localities transportation would solve the housing problem. This could be brought about by making communities where there were vacant houses in abundance available to employees in congested industrial centers through improved transportation facilities. It was also anticipated that improvements to local transportation systems in communities where intensive war manufacturing was being carried on would materially add to the speeding up of the work.

The Transportation Division of the United States Housing Corporation was therefore organized for the purpose of improving present and creating new transportation facilities for war industrial workers, in accordance with specific provisions of the act of Congress dated May 16, 1918, authorizing the President to provide housing for war needs. That transportation supervision might properly be administered, ample provisions were made in the act for equipping, managing, maintaining, purchasing, leasing, constructing, requisitioning, or acquiring by condemnation such transportation lines as might be necessary to provide adequate transportation facilities for industrial employees engaged in war work.

ORGANIZATION.

The Transportation Division was established on May 1, 1918, with Maj. Gardner F. Wells as manager.

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In order to handle the various transportation problems effectively, the work was divided among districts. All projects in New England, New York, and New Jersey were handled through a branch office in New York City in charge of Mr. J. Peyton Clark. This district office was organized in June, 1918, and its force consisted of a manager, two stenographers, and one accountant. The investigation staff comprised two engineers and during the busiest period two additional engineers, one of whom was loaned to the bureau by the General Electric Co. and the other by the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co. Mr. Edward S. Harkness, of the Southern Pacific and Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroads, was appointed by Mr. Eidlitz as chief adviser in railway matters to the New York division. In this capacity Mr. Harkness was in close touch with all railway activities, and many important conferences resulting in marked progress were held in his office.

Projects in the Middle West were handled through the Chicago office of A. L. Drum & Co., consulting engineers, with whom a contract was made by which this corporation received the benefit of their large and well-trained organization. This company also handled our affairs in eastern Pennsylvania through their Philadelphia office.

As the War and Navy Departments had vast interests in the Hampton Roads district, many of which were seriously affected by poor transportation conditions, it proved desirable to appoint a district manager of transportation to handle problems in that district. For this position the services of Mr. H. A. Nicholl, general manager of the Union Traction Co. of Indiana, were secured. Mr. Nicholl finished his duties there on January 1, 1919. Projects in other localities were generally handled directly from the Washington office.

Both in the New York and Washington offices much assistance was given by large electrical manufacturing companies, who made it possible for this bureau to borrow some of their best engineers. These men, experts in their various specialties, served the bureau in a very patriotic manner and for a small portion of their usual compensation.

GENERAL POLICY.

Only transportation problems referred to the bureau by the War and Navy Departments were considered by this division. Many requests for assistance came from transportation companies, but unless some direct benefit was to be derived by the above departments of the Government they did not receive consideration.

After preliminary investigations were conducted by other branches of the bureau or by engineers of this division, the findings of their investigations were discussed in a conference with the staff of the bureau. Should the staff be of the opinion that transportation relief was needed in any locality, or should they think it desirable to have transportation engineers more definitely determine the existing conditions before taking further action, this division. would in such case have its engineers make a close study of the situation. If this study indicated the necessity of improving transportation facilities, the staff generally recommended that negotiations be started with the local operating company for the purpose of assisting them in the solution of their problem. Altogether, transportation investigations were made in 82 cities.

SCOPE OF WORK.

The principal work of the division has covered the following:

(a) Rearrangement of steam and electric railway schedules.

(b) Installation of special steam and electric train service for war workers.

(c) Financing necessary electric railway extensions and additions.

Where there was complete housing saturation already existing or secured through the efforts of the Homes Registration Service, as above described, there were still within reasonable distances from the industrial community in question, other communities. offering housing vacancies which were made available. by providing adequate transportation. It was often found to be cheaper and quicker to provide transportation to such adjoining communities than to build new houses. It was the function of the Transportation Division of the corporation to secure such facilities after a careful study of the possibilities of each community. The problem was met in various ways: by special train, trolley, or boat service, timed to the schedules of the war factories, and by the simple rearrangement of schedules. In some instances the Transportation Division put and held 8,000 workers in touch with their jobs.

REARRANGEMENT OF STEAM AND ELECTRIC RAILWAY SCHEDULES.

In accordance with recommendations made to the regional director of the railroads under Federal control and through the cooperation of the United States Railroad Administration, war workers were benefitted in many localities by the rearrangement of schedules

and the institution of extra stops on steam railways. Benefits also were derived by rearranging schedules on electric railways.

INSTALLATION OF SPECIAL STEAM AND ELECTRIC TRAIN SERVICE FOR WAR WORKERS.

In addition, however, to readjusting schedules for existing service and to giving aid in the form of loans, negotiations were entered into with both steam railroads and trolley systems to supply additional service to meet the needs suddenly created by the presence of large numbers of war workers. For instance, arrangements were made to have two trains run from Perth Amboy to Asbury Park, where a considerable number of vacant houses had been found and listed by the Homes Registration Division. About 2,000 workers commuted every day from Asbury Park and Long Branch to Perth Amboy-employees of the copper industries of Perth Amboy and of important shell-loading plants of the Ordnance Department. The special war workers' rate established by the United States Railroad Administration for the round trip was 42 cents (later increased to 45 and 49 cents), but in order to induce the workers to take advantage of these facilities and to make this 60-mile trip, the corporation arranged to sell tickets for the round trip at 30 cents, absorbing the differential.

A ferryboat was chartered to take care of the Staten Island industries working for the Navy, and practically the entire ferryboat system of Hampton Roads was taken over by the Housing Corporation, new ferryboats bought, and arrangements made to increase docking facilities so as to relieve the acute congestion in this district.

In the Chicago district five trains were put on and schedules arranged. Some of the roads had never carried passengers, but arranged to do so without cost to the Government and with very material results to the steel industries in the neighboring steel towns.

Through the efforts of the division, 21 special steam trains, to provide transportation for war workers, were installed in various parts of the country, as shown in the following list:

The Railroad Administration established an especially low tariff for these workers and in some instances the Housing Corporation granted a still lower rate, absorbing the incidental differentials. By this arrangement a large amount of vacant housing was made available. At least 8,000 people were cared for in this manner at a cost of not over $275,000 to the division, based on this service being in operation for one year. This is at the rate of approximately $35 per man per year.

The experience of the Housing Corporation shows that the average cost of housing a war worker in a dormitory, completely equipped and furnished with cafeteria, etc., may amount to $550, while the cost of housing workers in homes built especially for them may range from $3,500 to $5,500 per house, the assumption being that the average number of workers occupying each house will be two. On this basis it will readily be seen that through transportation improvements millions of dollars of investment have been saved.

FINANCING NECESSARY RAILWAY EXTENSIONS
AND ADDITIONS.

In many instances it was reported by either the War or Navy Department that electric railway service in connection with war industries was entirely inadequate. In every case a careful investigation. and study of conditions was conducted, recommendations were made, and estimates of the cost were compiled for necessary improvements.

When it was determined that new and additional transportation facilities were required, plans or recommendations therefor were presented to the companies with the request that measures be taken immediately to acquire or install the necessary extensions, additions, or betterments. These recommendations usually involved an expenditure for their

accomplishment. In every case the companies

pleaded that they were unable to finance the cost of the work at a reasonable rate of interest. They also objected to making expenditures at the time because of the abnormal cost of labor and material and the fact that the operation of these extensions and additions was unprofitable. It was also held by them that the service was for rush-hour periods only and that those periods were the most costly to operate. In spite of the foregoing, however, they invariably agreed, from patriotic motives, to carry out the Housing Corporation's recommendations with its assistance and under its supervision.

When it was decided what improvements should be carried out, contracts were entered into with the

local transportation companies whereby the Housing Corporation financed the undertaking on a 5 per cent interest basis. In most instances the Government is to bear the excess war cost, this to be determined in the following manner:

An appraisal of the additions and extensions is to be made on a date fixed by the Housing Corporation within a period of from one to three years after the declaration of peace, to determine in all cases the cost of reproduction. In a few exceptional cases the appraisers are to decide how much depreciation shall be borne by the company. The difference between this appraisal and the actual cost of the work is termed the excess war cost, and this difference is to be borne by the Government. Where funds have been advanced, the companies have been required to furnish proper security by lien, mortgage, or pledging of securities, or guaranty of another and responsible corporation. The amount as determined by the appraisers is in substantially all cases to be returned to the Government in five equal annual installments, the first installment being due one year after the date of the appraisal.1

In accordance with the above the Government, through the Housing Corporation, contracted to advance about $7,000,000 to various traction companies.2

After a contract was entered into between a transportation company and this bureau, involving the expenditure of funds for any improvements, aside from the purchase of rolling stock, a copy of our method of procedure was sent to the company.3

GENERAL STATISTICAL STATEMENT.

The total appropriations for the Transportation Division originally amounted to $15,000,000. As soon as the armistice was signed, the amount was cut down to approximately $7,200,000, and by June 30, 1919, was reduced to $6,017,343.38, approximately. Contracts with electric railways (Table 1)......... $5, 834, 241. 47 For operating steam trains, etc., 14 months... Transportation Division administration expenses and overhead, 14 months..

Total, approximately.....

111, 473. 97

71, 627. 94 6,017, 343. 38

Immediately following the signing of the armistice, changes in the Transportation Division became necessary. The personnel was considerably reduced from time to time, until the number employed on December

1 A copy of the contract will be found on page 360.
A segregation of this amount is shown on page 129.
For instructions to company, see page 120.

NOTE. The present status of contracts entered into by the United States Housing Corporation with the transportation companies is shown on page 129. The various transportation problems investigated by this division as of June 30, 1919, are shown on page 120.