1 per cent on the cost of utilities involved, amounting to about $2,500 on a 200-house development and increasing to about $4,500 on a 1,000-house development, in addition to which the project engineer received actual cost for his assistants, traveling expenses, and such obvious expense as could be readily checked by the Fiscal Division.

ENGINEERING COOPERATION.

The United States Housing Corporation has had the cooperation of the ablest sanitary and municipal engineers in this country, who willingly laid aside all other work to do the Government war-time service at fees far below their usual charges.

These local project engineers have thrown in their local organization, prepared plans, specifications, and estimates in their own offices, and have brought to difficult negotiations their wide experience in municipal matters. Each firm has had to provide on this work from 2 to 25 or 30 assistants, assigned to work only for such time as actually needed, and in all probability between 600 and 700 engineers and assistants. have been locally employed with the approval of the division. During construction field forces were required and assigned to the work of actual construction, who reported to the Construction Division. Over 500 sheets of plans and designs were made by the local project engineers and checked and approved by the division.

CHOICE OF SITES.

This division cooperated with other divisions in making investigations in connection with the selection. of local sites for housing developments. This matter, almost always difficult to determine, was handled by a committee consisting of engineer, architect, realtor, and town planner, and in each case all sites offered or suggested were carefully canvassed, their development cost estimated, and the selection made on the basis of actual desirability regardless of all private interests. A complete report of these investigations was made and filed for every case investigated.

CRITICISM OF MUNICIPAL ASSESSMENTS.

During the investigations of the Engineering Division a glaring lack of uniformity was noted in the methods used by municipalities in levying special assessments for improvements. Scarcely any two cities use the same method, and in many cases different methods were in use in the same city. The amounts levied against the abutting property also varied all the way from 0 to 100 per cent, in some cases working a great injustice on the property and in others on the city at large. The procedure generally is irregular, inconsistent, and illogical, and if a uniform method of assessment could be drawn up and proposed by some central body we believe it would be. of general usefulness.

CONSOLIDATION OF DIVISIONS.

Early in the summer of 1919 the projects of the corporation were so far developed that it was found. advisable in the process of reducing the personnel in the central bureau to have the Engineering Division add to their own duties the work formerly done by the Architectural and Construction Divisions. Since this consolidation this division has had charge of all construction matters, such as supervising contractors in the field, negotiating with bidders, preparing and approving contracts, determining changes or modifications in contracts, materials, or methods, approving claims of contractors, inspecting construction work, etc. All architectural work, such as designing, estimating, inspection, and supervising, has also come under the direction of this division.

CONCLUSION.

The Engineering Division realized from the first the great benefit that would be derived from the team work of technical experts, each one intimate with some particular phase of housing development, and the value of such cooperation has been impressively brought out by experience.

A particularly commendable feature was the second investigating committee, composed of an expert real estate buyer, an experienced architect, engineer, and town planner. These four elements of the greatest importance were present in selecting the site and determining on the necessities of the ordinary town or city, and backed up by the transportation, industrial, and social investigators the resulting conclusions were always valuable, avoiding by the combined experience most of the mistakes ordinarily made in the location, design, and construction of the city.

In the same way the cooperation of a designing committee, composed of architect, engineer, and town planner, backed by their respective expert staff in the bureau, enabled intricate problems to be easily and readily solved.

The Engineering Division made very little change as to methods or plans after the first draft of operations was determined upon. The division staff was composed of highly trained and experienced experts in their particular lines of work, and the set of instructions for investigation, design, and construction were so carefully drawn that there was little need of change. So far as we know no similar set of instructions has been issued, and they have been in great demand from all over the country by engineers and technical journals for the new ideas and information which they contained. JOHN W. ALVORD,

Chief Engineer, April 1, 1918, to January 31, 1919.
LE ROY K. SHERMAN,
Chief Engineer, February 1, 1919, to March 1, 1919.
CHARLES P. CHASE,
Chief Engineer, March 1, 1919, to

and State councils were then submitted to the United States Housing Corporation for final investigation and rejection or recommendation to the non-war-construction section, and upon this recommendation a Federal license was issued. The possession of this license so issued enabled the builder to purchase restricted materials and secure transportation assistance.

This new arrangement with the Council of National Defense provided a representative in every county in the United States, and while making it possible to restrict or prohibit absolutely any building that did not directly contribute toward winning the war, also made it possible to encourage the building of homes for industrial workers on a broader and far more effective scale wherever homes were really urgently needed.

VOLUME OF RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION UNDER FEDERAL LICENSE.

The response of private capital to the solicitation of the United States Housing Corporation to build homes was commensurate with the public response to every other emergency appeal, and up to the time that the armistice was signed, when all restrictions were removed, the United States Housing Corporation had directly issued or approved to the non-war-construction section for issuance Federal licenses to build approximately 13,552 houses at a cost of $43,000,000. It had further issued licenses for other types of residential buildings, such as Young Men's Christian Associations, Young Women's Christian Associations, apartments, barracks, etc., accommodating 2,100 persons and costing approximately $2,500,000. VALUE OF COORDINATED PRIVATE HOME-BUILDING.

The signing of the armistice and the removal of restrictions occurred before the cooperative effort of the Council of National Defense, the non-war-construction section of the War Industries Board, and the United States Housing Corporation had begun to develop its full potentialities. It is safe to say, however, from the results that were obtained that the housing shortage existing in many communities throughout the United States could and would have been very appreciably reduced through properly supported and encouraged private effort.

It is believed that the method developed as a wartime measure of handling community housing through the creation of a local home-building bureau or com mittee that will study and promote the solution of the collective needs of the community rather than trust to individual initiative, is a suggestion that may well be adopted during peace times in communities where housing shortages exist. Great advantages accrue to the community and the individual in the handling of such problems in a broad way with centralized control and with the advice and guidance of such

expert counsel as a general committee or corporation can obtain.

MATERIALS INFORMATION BRANCH.

ORGANIZATION AND PURPOSE.

In the latter part of May, 1918, with activities of the Requirements Division constantly on the increase and with the beginning of actual construction in sight, two outstanding matters made it necessary to add another branch to the division. These were, first, the difficulty of determining in advance of the completion of drawings and specifications whether the various requirements as to materials for buildings and other utilities and equipment could be complied with due to the ever-increasing restrictions being placed upon their production, manufacture, and transportation by the War Industries Board; second, the steady flow of men representing all the industries concerned with supplying these materials who called to press the merits of their respective materials and the claims of their localities and to explain the methods of application to each requirement.

CONFERENCES WITH WAR INDUSTRIES BOARD.

To meet this situation and to furnish the Requirements Division with a representative who could attend all meetings of the Building Materials Division of the War Industries Board the materials information branch was created.

This Building Materials Division of the War Industries Board rapidly created war service committees in all the industries and even before their formal organization representatives of all of the building materials. industries were called into conference with the board to establish the following:

First. The availability of materials in each locality. Second. To what extent their future production would be curtailed by rulings of the Fuel Administration.

Third. To what extent the present supply would be restricted by congestion in traffic and regulations of the Railroad Administration.

From this time on meetings were constantly being held at the War Industries Board, which were attended by the chief of the materials information branch; by Maj. Schuyler, as representative of the Construction Division of the United States Housing Corporation; and by other representatives of this corporation especially interested in the subjects treated, such as mechanical, sanitary, and electrical engineering. The results of these meetings were reported to each division of this corporation concerned in any way with the recommendations or rulings.

STANDARDS FOR CONSTRUCTION.

It soon became evident at these meetings that in order to allocate materials equitably throughout the

industries and to secure at the same time uniformity in prices to the Government it would be necessary to standardize the kind, size, and methods of assembling these various materials. To this end a large proportion of the meetings held at the Building Materials Division of the War Industries Board resulted in the formation of standards for use by all constructing branches of the Government, whose representatives were always present in addition to those of the United States Housing Corporation. These standards pertain to millwork, lighting fixtures, hardware, composition roofing, plaster and wall board, and a great many other materials, equipment, and appliances, an account of which will be found in the report of the Building Materials Division of the War Industries Board now in the press.

At meetings where standards were established which might affect human health, safety, and comfort, as, for instance, in the illumination of interiors and exteriors of buildings, the heating and ventilating of buildings, public utilities, and other matters, such as the possible use of weather stripping to conserve fuel, etc., there were always present representatives of the various professional, technical and commercial organizations interested, as well as representatives of the industries furnishing the material requirements. Separate reports on the meetings of the most importance were prepared by the writer and later by Maj. Schuyler and were transmitted to the general manager and to all others in this corporation interested. A typical example of such reports is that on heating and sanitation. During all of this period, and up until the signing of the armistice, the chief of this section was called upon by representatives of all the industries and by the architects of the various projects of this corporation with whom he held interviews in regard to the prospective use of materials in each locality.

FIRE PREVENTION AND PROTECTION.

Another important activity of this section was to attempt to coordinate the works of all divisions in this corporation with respect to fire prevention and protection. The chief of this section, together with Mr. H. S. Atterbury, who was engaged to assist him, and with Mr. Robert E. Andrews, fire prevention engineer, was finally consulted with respect to all matters of safety, both in construction work and in the equipment of buildings as they became completed. These activities led to the appointment of a fire marshal for housing projects. (See p. 295.)

RESTRICTIONS IN USE OF METAL.

Naturally, as a result of this contact with outside industries and with all divisions of this corporation, the chief of this branch was called upon to furnish information in other directions and soon began to act as the representative of the Operating Division of the

United States Housing Corporation. He therefore attended regular meetings of the hardware and hand tools section and kept in contact with the Wood Products Division and many other divisions of the War Industries Board, which controlled the production of beds, crockery, and other household equipments. Shortly after this, or beginning with the month of September, the acute shortage of metals in the manufacture of munitions caused a still further restriction in the use of all materials where metal was involved and this resulted in many rulings vitally affecting sanitation, heating, and other equipment within buildings and the utilities outside of buildings. Illustrations of these are given by means of exhibits, as follows:1

September 25. Letter to all architects on conservation.

September 27. Resolution for the conservation of metal.

October 1. Letter to architects on conservation of paint.

November 5. Standards for hot-air heating. Addenda to standard specifications for plumbing.

ESTIMATING BRANCH.

FUNCTION.

The estimating branch of the United States Housing Corporation functioned as a part of the Requirements Division. It cooperated with the Construction Division in the matter of making preliminary estimates of a project, checking unit costs and tenders as presented by contractors bidding upon a project, making out material lists for direct purchase by the Housing Corporation, checking contractors' material bills, reviewing and checking all change orders, and, in general, keeping in close touch with the projects. It acted in more or less of an advisory capacity in all matters relating to costs of anticipated changes of other matters vitally affecting the cost of the work.

METHOD OF WORK.

Upon the authorization of a project, preliminary plans were given to the estimating section, from which an approximate estimate of the cost was made by cubing each type of building. Contemplated construction was thus compared with work already authorized. As to unit and total costs, architects revised their plans where necessary to keep the cost within the limits of funds allowable for the project. This cube estimate was then revised, and from it the fee to be allowed the contractor for the execution of the work was determined.

From the final plans as sent to the contractors for competitive bids, the estimating branch made a complete estimate of the cost based on detailed quantity surveys, tabulating the totals of labor and material

1 See pp. 197-199,