JUL 8 1933

COMMERCIAL

STANDARDS

MONTHLY

cy*

A Review of Progress in

"Commercial Standardization and Simplification

Pbotographcd by Army Air Corps AIRPLANE VIEW OF BUREAU OF STANDARDS (LOOKING SOUTH)

ISSUED BY THE BUREAU OF STANDARDS OF THE UNITED

STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A.

Vol. 9, No. 12 June 1933

For sale by the Supicrintendent ,of Documents, Washington, D. C. $1.00 annually ($1.60 foreign); single copy, 10 cents
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

DANIEL C. ROPER, Secretary

BUREAU OF STANDARDS

LYMAN J. BRIGGS, Acting Director

COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY, S. F. Tillman, Editor

The Commercial Standardization Group

A. S. McAllister, Assistant Director

DIVISION OF SIMPLIFIED PRACTICE

Edwin W. Ely

The division of simplified pracftice cooperates with industrial and commercial groups to reduce wa^le , usually through

eliminating unnecessary variety of producfb, method, or

pracflice. Its function is to bring together all parties interested in a projetft of this charadter, and to coordinate their

work in developing a simplified pradtice recommendation.

Such work includes surveys of current pradtice, formulation of a simplified pradtice program, and presentation of

that program for adtion by a general conference representing

all interests. The division then transmits to all concerned

a full report of the general conference, with a requedl for written acceptance of the adtion taken. When the volume

of acceptances is sufficient to indicate initial success, the

Department ofCommerce indorses the program and publishes

the recommendation. The division thereafter cooperates

with a standing committee appointed by the industry concerned, in condudting periodic surveys to determine the

degree of adherence, to maintain and extend support of the

recommendation, and to secure data for reaffirmation or

revision. Simplified pradtice may be applied to any com- modity or adtivity in which it will reduce

waile. The division dlands ready to render

service in developing and making effedtive any application of simplified pradtice which

will reduce wadte, stabilize business, or extend commerce.

BUILDING AND HOUSING DIVISION

J. S. Taylor

The division of building and housing,

formed in 1921, cooperates with business,

technical, and professional groups in furthering conitrudtion adtivities. It works to modernize building codes and to encourage improved standards for the quality of building conStrudtion, and the practical application of the lateSt development in design and use of building materials.

It encourages home ownership through the development

of an enlarged. Steadier, more intelligent, and more discriminating demand for dwellings—the largeSt single class of

buildings which the construction industries provide.

The division also cooperates with other governmental

agencies and with many private business and professional

groups in efforts to distribute building activity more evenly

throughout the year and to secure less fludtuation from

year to year. The work on city planning and zoning has the broad

objetftive of making buildings more useful through proper

location with respeSt to other Strudtures, Stabilizing of land

values and property uses, well coordinated thoroughfare

systems, and well laid out public works.

STANDARDIZATION

..IS.. A CONTINUING PROCESS

ITS AIM IS NOT FIXITY OR STAGNATION

..BUT.. TO ADD SERVICEABILITY

AS OFTEN AS THE

POTENTIAL GAIN

MAKES IT WORTH WHILE

DIVISION OF SPECIFICATIONS

A. S. McAllister

The duties of the division of specifications are to promote

and facilitate the use and unification of specifications. In doing so it carries on adtivities involving cooperation with

technical societies; trade associations; Federal, State, and

municipal Government specifications making and using

agencies; producers, distributors, and consumers; and teSting

and research laboratories. It ascertains the standardization

and specifications promoting adtivities of the associations and societies, and brings to their attention the work being

done by the commercial Standardization group. It brings the

Federal specifications and commercial Standards to the atten- tion of the maximum number of producers and users of commodities complying with these Standards and specifications.

It compiles and distributes liSts of sources of supply of materials guaranteed to comply with the Standards and specifi- cations. It shows both buyers and sellers the benefits from

handling nationally specified, certified, and labeled commodities. The division prepares diretftories of governmental and

nongovernmental teSting laboratories and theDiredtory of

Specifications, and is working on an encyclopedia of specifications, the firSt two volumes of which

have been issued, namely, “Standards and

Specifications in the Wood-Using Industries”

and “Standards and Specifications for Nonmetallic Minerals and their Producfls.” It also

aids in preparing the Standards Yearbook.

DIVISION OF TRADE STANDARDS

I. J. Fairchild

The division of trade Standards, on requeSt,

assists industrial and commercial groups in

the voluntary establishment of Standards

covering grades, quality, dimensional interchangeability, or other acceptance criteria as a national

basis for marketing manufactured commodities.

The detail criteria are selected or determined voluntarily

by interested buyers or sellers, without any Government

dictation or domination, and adjuSted at a general confer- ence of producers, distributors, and users so as to represent

the composite views of all branches. The division functions

chiefly as a neutral agency to see that all interested elements

are given full opportunity to be heard and satisfied; to

solicit and record acceptances; and to publish and promulgate

the Standard when a satisfactory majority of acceptances is obtained and provided there is no aCtive opposition.

Industries are encouraged to apply self-certifying labels to products meeting the commercial Standard requirements, as a means of protecting the consumer and the scrupulous seller from misrepresentation or unfair methods of marketing.

Provision is made for regular revision of the Standard

through the appointment of a Standing committee to consider periodically any necessity for revision of the Standard,

in order that it may be kept constantly compatible with

progress in the induStry.

Address BUREAU OF STANDARDS, Washington, D.C., for further information
COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY

A Review of Progress in

Commercial Standardization and Simplification

Volume 9 AVASHINGTON, D.C., JUNE 1933 Number 12

SUBJECT

BUILDING AND HOUSING

Page

Acid in library air 282

Aids to the construction industry 277

Concrete building units 280

Copper wire nails : 271 Grading rules for face brick ’ 284

Home renovizing campaign started in Washington 287

New letter circulars 271 Recommended minimum requirements for small-dwelling construction 285

Steel reinforcing spirals 281

Steel roofing 287

Vitrified paving brick 287

Wrought-iron and wrought-steel j)ipe 286

FOOD STANDARDIZATION

Barley grades revised 272

Labels for canned fruit and vegetables 286

New food definitions proposed 286 Proposed changes in food and drugs act 276

Sizes of canned peas 275

Value of Federal food standards 281 GLASS, METAL, AND WOOD

Commercial laundry machinery 271 Copper wire nails 1 271 Cupola refractories 288

Glass containers 279

Milling cutters 268

Mineral aggregate production screens 281

Present trends toward grade marking of lumber 269

Steel roofing 287

Tapered roller bearings 283

Textile machinery parts 286

Wire-rope terminal attachments 284

Wrought-iron and wrought-steel pipe

GROUP ACTIVITIES American Standards Association 283

Bureau’s exhibit at “A Century of Progress Exposition” 282

Hydraulic-laboratory research 287

New Federal specifications 282

AVeights and measures conference postponed 266

INTERNATIONAL AND FOREIGN

Labels for canned fruit and vegetables 286

Simplification of electric lamps for railway signaling 285

ANALYSIS

INTERNATIONAL AND FOREIGN—Continued Pa"e Standardization briefs 288 Use of labels in Sweden 279

AAhre-rope terminal attachments 284

PAPER

Acid in library air 282

Basic sheet sizes of paper 286

Tce-cream molds and cartons 275

Paper cones and tubes 268

Salt packages 285

Simplified invoice forms 272 Standardized forms for compensation claims 284

PUBLICATIONS

Coated abrasive products 279 Commercial laundrj- machinery 271 Concrete building units 280 Grinding wheels 288

New letter circulars 271 Paper cones and tubes 268

Paving brick 288

Recommended minimum requirements for small-dwelling construction 285

Steel reinforcing spirals 281 Wrought-iron and wrought-steel pipe 286

QUALITY MARKS AND LABELS

Labels for canned fruit and vegetables 286

Present trends toward grade marking of lumber 269

Proposed changes in food and drugs act 276

Protection of buyers against false claims 280

Standardization for economy in public-schools purchasing 273

The textile-shrinkage problem 267 Use of labels in Sweden 279

Value of Federal food standards 281 Wool and part-wool blankets 284

TEXTILES

Cotton duck 280

Hospital mattresses and pillows 279

Mechanical “hand” developed to “feel” cloth 285

Paper cones and tubes 268

Textile machinery parts 286

Wool and part-wool blankets 284

AN INVITATION TO VISIT THE BUREAU OF STANDARDS

A cordial invitation is extended to all interested in scientific progress to visit the laboratories of

the Bureau of Standards when in Washington. A personally conducted tx’ip is organized at 2: 15 p.in.

daily except on holidays. Special trips for groups may be arranged at other times by writing to the

Bureau in advance. The Bureau’s illustrated Visitor’s Manual may be had for the asking. This lists the work in progress and gives an air]jlane view of the emsemble and a brief statement of tyiiical dis- coveries and inventions which have been notable, basic contributions to radio, aviation, and other

modem arts and industries.

177007—33 1 265
V/eights and Measures Conference

Postponed

Announcement is made by F. S. Holbrook, secretary of the National

Conference on Weights and Measures, that the meeting of the conference

which it had been hoped would be held in Washington, D.C., in June of

this year, has been canceled. This adlion has been decided upon by the

executive committee of the conference, which was polled on this que^ion

la^t month; ballots were received from a majority of the committee membership and the vote was unanimous for postponement. The committee

felt that no other course was pradticable in view of the continuance of the

abnormal economic conditions which in 1932’dic5fated the cancellation of

that year’s meeting.

Commenting on this decision, Mr. Holbrook said: “Much as I regret

the necessity for this adtion, I concur heartily in the decision of the executive

committee. If a meeting were to be attempted in 1933 I am convinced

that it would not be up to the Standard of former meetings of the national

conference, because large numbers of those who would, under normal

conditions, be present would find it impossible to be in attendance this year;

in my opinion it would be unwise to hold a meeting with an attendance

which would not be representative.”

Mr. Holbrook Slated that there were a number of important matters

awaiting the consideration of the national conference. In this relation a State weights and measures official has offered some suggestions for interim

adlion pending the resumption by the conference of its regular schedule

of meetings. These suggestions are being Studied in the hope that some

temporrary solution may be worked out. “In the meantime”, Mr. Holbrook said, “it is hoped that State and local

weights and measures officials will freely avail themselves of such services

as the Bureau of Standards can render. We are anxious to keep in touch

with the officials and to keep informed as to the problems which are arising

in the various sedtions of the country. In many such cases we may be able

to make condlrudtive suggestions or furnish information leading toward

a solution of the problems in question. We hope that officials will write

us at any time when it is believed that we can be of assistance to them.”

266
JUNE 1933 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 2G7

THE TEXTILE-SHRINKAGE PROBLEM

What the Consumer Wants to Know and How the Government Can Aid, Outlined by Bureau of Standards’

Textile Specialist

By William D. Alpel^

Tlie Government is a large consumer of textiles. Numerous Federal specifications for textiles contain

retiuirements limiting the shrinkage of the items cov- ered by them. The Government is brought into inti- mate contact with the viewpoint of the industry as well as of the user and the laundrymen in the development of these specifications, since the knowledge and

advice of everyone concerned is solicited before the

specifications are jn'ornulgated.

It has experience with the subject in testing deliveries for conformance with the specifications. Further, the Government is concerned with shrinkage as an interpreter of that very important, though inarticulate, individual—the consumer—who may be you,

or me, or nearly anyone in the country. The Bureau

of Standards has given special consideration to the

problems of the general public.

The Second Conference on Textile Shrinkage,

Vvdiich proposes the solution of the shrinkage problem

through cooperation among textile manufacturers, dis- tributors, retailers, u-sei's, and laundrymen. is evidence

of the common interest in the problem. The Federal

Government can be expected to give every help possible, for it has always favored the voluntary establishment of a common understanding between buyer and

seller on the attributes of commodities in trade.

From the background of my personal contact with

the shrinkage problem in the several phases of the

work mentioned, I propose to give you a picture of the

problem as I see it and to venture suggestions for its solution that may prove of help.

The shrinkage problem is not how to produce fabrics

which will launder without shrinking, for that has

been and is being done. Rather, it is to provide means whereby the purchaser of a fabric, garment, or other made-up article can be certain that it Avill launder without objectionable shrinkage. The problem is

1. To be able to determine in advance of its use how much the fabric, garment, or other made-up article will shrink.

2. To know the permis.sible shi'inkagc for the in- tended use.

;b To be able to guarantee to the user (hat the

material will meet this requirement.

If these things can be accomplished, then insofai- as sln-inkage is concerned business will be freed from

unfair competition and consumer confidence will be

established.

In order to know how much textiles will shrink in laundering, samples niu.st he tested either in actual

laundering or in a laboratory te.st which will produce

the same amount of shrinkage as actual laundering.

A suilable test has been deveioped for cotton textiles,

and there should be no difficulty in dcvelojiing one for

* Chief, Textile Section. Bureau of Standards Taper prepared at the

request of the Textile Section. New York Board of 'I’rade. Inc. for jiresentation at the .Second Conference on Textile Shrinkage at the

.\rkwright Club in New York on May 16.

other textiles when needed. The standard method

for cotton textiles was developed by the research committee of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists, through the efforts of a subcommittee working under Howard D. Clayton. It has

been found satisfactory and adopted not only by that

association but also by the Textiles Committee of the

American Society for Testing Materials and by the

Federal Specifications Board. Thus a common basis

for expressing the shrinkage of cotton textiles is now

available. This test was possible because the laundry

procedure had previousl}^ been standardized b}" the

Laundryowners’ National Association. It has been

shoAvn to give results comparable to those obtained in

this procedure.

Through technical studies in the mills and testing

laboratories there has also been laid a background of

information which is prerequisite to the solution of

the shrinkage problem. The conditions of manufacture which result in a product that will shrink are known. The relative importance of the factors in

laundering—the Avater, detergents, temperature, and

mechanical action—has been studied and is a matter

of record. It is coming to be general knoAvledge that

the dimensions of thoroughly shrunk cloth are not immutable. The}' mf y be expected to fluctuate in

successiA^e launderings, depending iqion the Avay in

AA'hich the cloth is dried and the Avay in Avhich it is ironed. This fact is basic to the problem. Cloth does

not have permanently fixed dimensions even Avhen

thoroughly shrunk.

The second part of the problem, the permissible

shrinkage for different uses, is a question to be an- swered by the user. To demand that all textiles be

completely shrunk is clearly not to the user’s interest,

for he woidd be obliged to pay for special processing

to obtain this even AA’hen the particular use did not justify it. For example, sheets may be made larger than

the minimum suitable dimensions Avithout inconvenience to the user, in order that their dimensions may

not fall beloAv those dimensions on laundering. But a garment Avhich is too large may ho as unsatisfactory

as one Avhich is too small. Therefore, the actual re- quirements for the various uses need to be determined.

The third ]iart of the shrinkage iiroblem is to be

able to guarantee to the user tliat the textile Avill meet the requirements of the intended use. Several

ways may be considered, all, of conr.se, involving the, use of a lahel.

If, as indicated above, tlu're is a place, not only

for materials that will not shrink in laundering but

for mateidals Avhieh Avill shrink to diffei’ent degrees,

then it is ap[)ai'ent (hat a label bearing the term

“ ])reshrunk even Avhen it can be takem literally,

docs not entii'cly meet the needs of the consniiun-. Other objections to the use of a label of this type

Avill be evident from the discussion Avhich folloAvs. Brand names on labels are probably the safest means of identilieat ion of textih's ofl'ei-ed at the pres-
268 COMMEKCIAL STA^^DAKDS AIONTHLY lUNE l'.J3y

ent time because they place the responsibility on the

manufacturer holding the brand and cover all characteristics of the cloth including shrinkage. Their

weakness is that they are not measuring devices, and

they provide no recourse for the consumer. They

only identif3A The value of a brand rests exclusively upon the established reputation of the manufac-,

turer, and there is a constant temptation for those

whose reputations are established to trade upon that

fact or to meet competing prices by lowering quality. It is difficult for small but deserving manufacturers to obtain a foothold in the business, and the consumer can distinguish between the qualities of

brands in many cases only after costly and lengthy

experience.

As a result of his experience with the methods of

identifying qualities just enumerated there has grown

up an insistent consumer demand that manufacturers

label their goods Avith detailed quantitative information, that the thread coimt, weight, tensile strength,

shrinkage in laundering, etc., be placed on the label. This demand has been opposed by the manufacturers.

They point out that this label is not only a nuisance

Avhich will inevitably add to the cost of the article to the consumer but that much of the information

called for is valueless, or even misleading, Avhen used

as a basis for comparing the values of competing

products. Thread count, strength, and Aveight serve

as a basis for judging the difference in cost of two

competing products to the manufacturers, but the consumer is interested in the A^alue to him, not in the

cost of production.

Noav any limitation placed on the shrinkage of textiles is clearly a consumer requirement. It would

seem, therefore, that he would be greatly benefited if fabrics were labeled to show the amount they would

shrink in laundering. It must be remembered, hoAVever, that shrinkage is only one consumer requirement.

The user of textiles is never concerned with just one

feature of the article he buys. The firm buying cloth

to be made into shirts and the man buying a shirt are not concerned alone with the shrinkage in laundering. They have in mind, unconsciously perhaps, a certain combination of properties relating to the ap- pearance, suitability, and durability of the article, in fact a specification for it. There are, of course, as many such specifications as there are uses for cloth. HoAvever, these specifications haA^e not been rediiced to quantitative terms and

consequently detailed information on the label can- not be translated into comparath^e value or serviceability. Indeed, the expert would be at a loss to knoAv, for example, Avhich blanket of two offered at the same price is the better value Avhen, according to the label, one has greater warmth and strength but

the other has someAvhat less weight and will shrink

less. It appears obvious, then, that the manufacturers’ objections to including a list of detail attributes on labels are A^alid. The problem can be solved by writing consumer

specifications for textiles setting forth the essential

characteristics for specific uses. The label Avould

then refer to one of these specifications. The label

for sheets, let us say, might then read, “ Guaranteed

by the Co. to meet the requirements of the NeAv

York Board of Trade, specification no for quality sheets.” The manufacturers’ objections would

then largely disappear, for this label Avould be readil}?’

intelligible to eA^ery buyer and Avould enable him to make intelligent price comparisons. With the specification developed along the lines indicated, any article not meeting the specification Avould obviously be an inferior article. The more backing tliat could be gAen a specification

of this kind the greater would be consumer confi- dence in it. If desired, the specification could be q>re- sented to the Bureau of Standards for national consideration as a commercial standard. Then, provided no serious objections cleA^eloped in the formal consideration of the specification by the groups concerned,

and following adjustment and acceptance by a satis- factory majority, it would be promulgated b}^ the

Dejjartment of Commerce giAung the authors full credit. This service of the Ilureau of Standards is already knoAvn and understood by most of you and

needs no further explanation here. In conclusion, the following points may be emphasized: (1) The shrinkage problem requires the Avhole- hearted cooperation of the groups represented here

(2) the standard method of test for shrinkage is the

first step in its solution; (3) the actual shrinkage re- quirements of cloth, garments, and other made-up articles for the A^arious uses should be determined; (4)

in considering methods of labeling, it should be re- membered that shrinkage is but one of the consumer

requirements for textiles and if data concerning eA^ery

essential characteristic are put on the label the diffi- culties of eA"er3nne concerned will he increased; and

(5) the active and cordial cooperation of the Bureau

of Standards in the development of standards for

shrinkage i.« available on request.

MILLING CUTTERS

A proposed reAusion of simplified practice recom- mendation R36 covering milling cutters has been

mailed b_y the Bureau of Standards to all interests

in the industry for their consideration and Avritten

approval.

The revised recommendation, which Avas drafted

by the industry’s standing committee, effects a reduction in the number of stock sizes and A^arieties of

milling cutters shoAvn in the preAdous schedule.

It will become effective 1 month after the Bureau’s

formal letter announcing that this schedule has receiA^ed the required degree of acceptance.

PAPER CONES AND TUBES

Simplified practice recommendation R143-33, cover- ing paper cones and tubes (for textile winding), is noAV available in printed form, and copies can be

obtained from the Superintendent of Documents,

Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., for

5 cents each.

This simplification program, Avhich Avas proposed

and developed by the industrj'', is concerned with the

length, inside diameter, Aveight per thousand, and

color of paper cones and parallel tubes. These cones and tubes are used for Avinding textile materials, such

as warp and knitting yarns, silk, rayon, hosiery yarns,

tire cord, thread packages, and wire-insulating yarns.
•TUNE 1933 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 269

PRESENT TRENDS TOWARD GRADE MARKING OF LUMBER

Through Grade Marking of Lumber Consumer Receives Certified Standard Quality

By George A. Cooper, Bureau of Standards

Grade marking of commodities is not a new thing.

Grade marking of commodities is new in the comparative sense of extensive application. Grade

marking today (1933 and the past few years) has

been a necessity due to a “ consumer’s market ” and the

public demand for a tangible guarantee of quality.

This is true of lumber.

For decades, lumber has been grade marked in many other countries where the merchandising of

lumber products has been carried on efficientl}L The

greater portion of standard saivinills in Europe is grade marking its products and has been doing so for a century or more. It was not until after the

World War that some American lumber associations

instituted for their members the grade marking of

lumber, supported by association inspection for the

domestic market. Before that time American lumber exporters had grade-marked products destined foi' foreign consumption.

The problem of simplifying sizes, nomenclature,

grades, and trade practices has been before the lumber

industry for many years, and it has long been recognized that, even though cut from different species,

lumber of similar characteristics and intended for

similar purposes could be produced, merchandised,

and applied in accordance with fixed standards. In

the past many have urged that the wide variation in regional practices as to size, grading, and names re- acted to the disadvantage of the user, retailer, wholesaler, manufacturer, and indeed, all groups interested

in lumber, and that sane standardization offered

promise of increased economy, more profitable and

stable business, and markedly better service.

The constructive advance to solution may be dated

from the convention of the American Lumber Congress in 1919, when an organized program was

adopted looking to the simplification of lumber-grading standards, greater uniformity in the basis of similar grades of competing species, and the standardization of sizes of yard and factory lumber. A sound

basis was at hand in the work of the Forest Products Laboratory of the United States Department of

Agriculture, which had been studying, investigating,

and urging national lumber standardization for many

years. Progress, though continuous, was somewhat

slow during 1920 and 1921, but early in 1922 the Secretary of Commerce responded to the request of tin', industiy with suggestions for hastening results and

an offer of cooperation in activities along definite

lines. These were to be specifically directed to realiz- ing the proposals for simplification and standardization and to development of more adequate quality

guarantees to the lumber-using public.

The grade marking of lumber logically started witli producers of refined lumber items. Thus, maple and

oak flooring have been grade marked for many years. In the softwood field the Southern Pine Association was the first association to take up the system ; later the Northern Hemlock & Hardwood Manufacturers'

Association, the West Coast Lumbermen’s Association,

the Arkansas Soft Pine Bureau, and other organizations have adopted the grade-marking system.

It is hoped that grade marking will become a universal practice in view of the position taken by the

National Lumber Manufacturers’ Association. In

January 1928 this organization decided to institute a combined trade- and grade-marking system for its members. Under this plan each piece of lumber produced in accordance with American Lumber Standards is provided with a regional association or species

grade mark indicating its quality and source. The

national association symbol is included on properly

seasoned lumber and on structural timbers.

The association, furthermore, planned to protect

the consumers of such grade-marked lumber by means

of a definite financial guaranty of the correctness of

the grades as marked on lumber sold by its members.

The association agrees to pay at once any claims

which, upon reinspection, have been sustained, thus re- lieving the customer of the necessity of dealing with

the individual producers, who are often located longdistances from the points of consumption. These

grade marks are applied to lumber manufactured and

graded in accordance with American Lumber Standards, Simplified Practice Recommendation R16-29.

Softwood Lumber, developed by industry. The details of this plan, including the creation of an asso- ciation symbol or trade-mark, have been worked out. The importance of this step in promoting universal

grade marking of lumber is readily apparent.

It is obvious that the Government departments and

establishments are large users of lumber. For ex- ample, the “ General Specifications for Inspection of

Material ” covering “ Lumber and Timber ” used by

the Navy Department include these requirements : Unless otherwise specified, lumber or timber required to be in accordance with the rules of a commercial lumber association will be accepted when each piece bears

the association grade mark and the “ national tree mark ”, or on the certificate of grading issued by the

association whose rules are being emplo3^ed as to kind,

grade, and measurement, in lieu of Nav}^ Department

inspection. * * * The War Department is also a large user of lumber.

Its attitude on grade-marked lumber can best be ex- plained by reading sections of a letter written on December 10, 1927, by the Assistant Secretaiy of War

to the National Committee on Wood Utilization.

The War Department is much interested in your lumber

grad-marking campaign, because we realize that lumber conscientiously marked represents an important step toward

the standardization of lumber manufacture. It is evident

that grade-marked lumber offers an added protection to the consumer and lessens the necessity for rigid inspection. In case of an emergency tliis practice should expedite the fdliug of our requirements at a time when time is at a premium.

The War Department, therefore, endorses this grade-marking movement.

It will be noted that the above letter bears the date

December 10, 1927. In order to make assurance

doubl}' sure, the War Department was asked for its
270 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY JUNE 1933

])resent opinion of grade-marked lumber and its pres- ent requirements. In a letter dated March 17, 1933,

from the Office of the Quartermaster General, we are informed that:

In regard to specifications for new construction, United

States Army buildings, it is the present practice to call for dimension lumber and boarding to be grade marked by a recognized lumber association or, in lieu of grade marking,

lequire a certificate of grade from such association. The statements which follow are based on a report

of the subcommittee on the grade marking of lumber

of the National Committee on Wood Utilization.

Advantages to the comwner.—Just as the customer

who buys silver with a “ sterling ” mark knows that

he is receiving the proiier fineness of silver, so will

the purchaser of conscientiously grade-marked lumber

know that he is getting a certified standard quality.

Undoubtedly many consumers of grade-marked lumber will find that a less expensive grade of lumber

will do for many purposes where a more expensive

grade had previously been used—the result of custom

handed down from times when lumber was cheaper

and more plentiful. Many architects and contractors have testified that they have always specified or or- dered no. 1 common where lower grades would have

served the purpose equally well. It was the uncertainty as to receiving the grade specified that made

them demand better quality than was actually needed

for their purpose. The difference in price between

the various grades may be 30 to 60 percent, and even more in some instances. Intelligent specification of

grades naturally depends on a knowledge of defects

permissible in each grade, and grade marks will aid consumers in obtaininji a better understanding of

lumber grades.

Grade viarhing as a factor in wood utilization.

Tlie grade marking of lumber is also of the utmost

importance in an intelligent utilization of forest products. Virgin timber is gradually disappearing, and

it is evident that the Nation must ultimately depend

on second-growth timber of smaller dimensions. In

fact, today more second-growth timber than virgin

growth is being used. This naturally means a de- crease in the production of high-grade lumber, yet

in the face of this condition the demand for higher

grades is at present much stronger than for the lower

grades. Consequently, the lumber mills find difficulty

in making an even distribution of the manufacturing

cost over all grades produced, and large quantities

of common lumber are wasted because under present

conditions there is no market.

It is evident that this waste can only be recovered

by charging higher jn’ices for high-grade lumber.

By grade marking a better demand for “ common ” will result, and a stabilization of lumber prices and

production will follow which will benefit the producers, distributors, and consumers. Greater utiliza- tion of timber will help to make reforestation commercially feasible. It is of the utmost importance

that there be a clear understanding of the fact that

reforestation will not be possible until a larger per- centage of the tree is marketed.

Expert grading necessai'y.—-The grading of lumber

is not based upon laboratory analysis but is governed by the presence or absence of defects, such as knots, checks, and decay. There are no two pieces

of wood identical in a])pearance, and grading rules

can only sjiecify the maximum number of defects al- lowed in each grade, leaving it to the expert grader

to apply those rules in the light of common sense and long practical experience. The distinguishing

mark indicating the grade of each piece should be

applied by the grader at tlie sawmill. At any rate, misunderstandings and loss of time, money, and good

will have been some of the results of failure of pro- ducers to grade mark their lumber.

Grade marking huilds Grade-marked

lumber carries the assurance of the producer that each

piece is of the quality indicated. Mistakes will occur,

as in any other business, but the mill which intends to develop a market for grade-marked lumber will make

right what is wrong without quibbling. The con- sumers know this. They would not buy grade-marked

lumber unless they were definitely given this assurance. Inspection at the consuming point will be simplified by grade marking and greater confidence will

be established between producer and consumer. It should also be borne in mind that distributors have

often in the past been blamed for poor quality of lumber, while with grade-marked stocks this resjionsibility

would rest with the sawmills.

It is not only between consumers, distributoi’s, and

producers that disputes and misunderstandings in re- gard to lumber have come about. Contractors and

builders have often been unjustly criticized by architects and home owners for supplying lumber below the

specified grade. The builders and contractors may

have ordered the lumber in accordance with the architect’s specifications but received a lower grade than

called for. The presence of grade marks will provide

the necessary basis for the settling of a dispute of this

kind in a satisfactory manner; in fact, there would bj

few if any disputes of this nature under general grademarking practice.

Lumber standards.—It is not only in regard to species and grades that the consumers are subjected

to confusion. Prior to the establishment of the

American Lumber Standards, Simplified Practice

Recommendation R16-29 by the industry under the

auspices of the Bureau of Standards, as many as seven

different thicknesses, all sold as 2-inch lumber, were

on the market. The consumers of lumber produced in

accordance with American Lumber Standards are protected at the present time, but unless a grade mark

tells him, the buyer cannot know without actually

measuring each piece whether the lumber is made to American standards, as it is impossible to ascertain

this at a glance. For this reason the National Lumber Manufacturers Association has instituted a marking system whereby lumber produced by association

members in accordance with American Lumber Standards will be so grade marked. The grade marking

of lumber to indicate conformity with American Lumber Standards is therefore a very important project.

If generally carried out, the consumer of grademarked lumber will receive a triple protection,

namely, assurance as to kind, quality, and standard

of dimensions.

Grade marking for ’'certified houses.’’’’—The financing of home building is an important activity, and

financing companies are naturally interested in the

question of materials used. Home owners desiring

to resell their jiroperty must satisfy tlie prospective

purchaser of the quality of the materials used in the
JUNE 1933 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 271

construction of the house. This matter has been fully

ajipreciatecl by suppliers of other materials. House

specifications, therefore, usually contain definite re- quirements as to the quality of plumbing fixtures, elec- tric wiring, roofing, and many other items, but diffi- culty has been experienced in regard to satisfying the

lirospective house owner that lumber of specified

grades has been furnished on account of the absence

of grade marks. Certain grades of structural timber

have certain stress values and strength limitations,

therefore to use these grades safely and intelligently

their correctness must be assured by experts.

When grade-marked lumber is purchased, it would,

for instance, be possible to state that first grade

“ maple ” or “ white oak flooring ” of clear grade had

been used, instead of merely saying “ hardwood floor- ing ”, which term is very indefinite, because there are

several hundred kinds of hardwoods in the United

States, many of which are not suitable for flooring

purposes. That such definite grade and species specifications would have an important influence on the

value of the property is evident.

Protection against unfair competition.—Consumerl,

should also remember that when asking for bids on

grade-marked lumber they place dealers on a fair

competitive basis, because it would not be possible to secure an order and then without detection substitute

one grade for another. This would not result in any

interference with legitimate competition. Grade

marks protect the honest builder and contractor against unfair practices by people who take advantage

of the consumers’ ignorance of lumber species and

grades.

Promotes standardization.— is often found, particularly by industrial consumers, that lumber produced in certain districts possesses qualities which are

especially desirable for certain purposes. This applies particularly in regard to the texture of wood.

Grade marks will aid consumers in the selection of

siDecialty stocks, and much trouble and unnecessary

work will be eliminated, because the stock can be identified by the grade marks. This aids the distributor

and producer in developing a steady demand and

stable production. Were the lumber not branded, the

chances are that the producer would never know that

his lumber is specially suitable for a particular purpose. Consequently, it might be turned to other uses where it is less valuable and therefore brings lower

prices—needless loss of profit to all concerned. In

order to retain trade, both producer and distributor

would make special efforts to satisfy their customers

and, as in all cases involving the elimination of waste,

the consumer would receive his part of the economy

effected.

COMMERCIAL LAUNDRY MACHINERY

Four simplified practice I’ecommendations on commercial laundry machinery (RR139-32 for extractors ; R140-32, for ironers ; RlIl-32, for tumblers ; and

R142-32 for washers) are now available in printed

form. They provide a list of standard sizes and types

of machines which should cover all normal requirements of the users. The recommendations are the result of a survey

made by the Laundry Machinery Manufacturers Association, in cooperation with the division of simplified

practice of the Bureau of Standards. Prior to the

drafting of these recommendations, practically all the

laundry machinery was produced on a custom-made

basis, there being no recognized standard sizes in the

industry. The manufacturers, appreciating the benefits of simplification and desiring to establish their in- dustry on a more economical basis, decided to eliminate

a great many of the sizes and types which had been

made in the past and to limit their production to such

sizes and types as represented the bulk of the demand.

The recommendations were very favorably received

by the commercial laundries throughout the country

and were formally approved by the Laundryowners

National Association of the United States and Canada,

which represents more than 2,000 such laundries.

Recently the Laundry Equijiment and Supplies

Committee of the Federal Specifications Board, meeting to revise the Federal specifications for laundry

equipment, took cognizance of these recommendations.

In the future the sizes and types of machines included

in the Federal siDecifications will conform to those

listed in the simplified practice recommendations.

Co])ies of these recommendations, which were pro-

]K)sed and formulated by the industry, can be obtained

from the Superintendent of Documents, Government

Printing Office, Wasiungton, D.C., for 5 cents each.

COPPER WIRE NAILS

A proposed simplified practice recommendation

covering copper wire nails has been mailed to all in- terests in the industry by the Division of Simplified

Practice of the Bureau of Standards, for their con- sideration and written approval.

This recommendation, which was proposed and for- mulated by representatives of the industry, is con- cerned with the length designation of common copper

wire nails and copper wire slating nails, together with

the gage and the decimal equivalent thereof in inches.

NEW LETTER CIRCULARS

Announcement of the availability of five new let- ter circulars, in mimeographed form, has just been

made by the Bureau of Standards. These circulars

expedite answers to numerous inquiries on a given

subject, and they are issued on specific request to those

persons having a special interest in the respective

subject matter. Requests for the circulars listed below should be addressed to the Bureau of Standards,

Washington, D.C.

LC368. Routine testing of lubricants and liquid

fuels. This letter circular describes why it is not feasible at the present time for the Bureau of Standards

to make routine tests on lubricants and liquid fuels

for the general public.

LC369. Survey of city planning and related laws

in 1932. LC370. Regional jilanning commissions or organizations in the United States. LC3T1. City planning commissions in the United

States. LC3T2. Use of flexible steel gages in gaging the

mesh of gill nets.
272 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY JUNE 1933 SIMPLIFIED INVOICE FORMS

By Frank C. Woodroite'

Approximately 18 j^ears ago tlie office auditor

said, “ How can you hold me responsible for the cor- rectness of the books with the neAv-fangled loose-leaf

system you have installed? ” This statement ma}^ ajipear to the reader as a smart

opening paragraph to secure his attention. Nevertheless, it is absolutely true. Compare the business office of today with that of 25

years or even 15 years ago. Do jmu recall the high

bookkeepers’ desks with the back-breaking, tiring high

stool; small individual light casting shadows on your

books; dirty inliwell which the office boy neglected

to Avash out on Monday morning, picking up your pen

to Avrite only to find that due to a hair on the point

a blot was made on your

book; or the lead of your

pencil broken and a scurry to find a penknife

to sharpen it; the inconA^enience of many bound

l)Ooks, especially the oldfashioned ledger Avith the

accounts continued on many different pages far apart because they proved

bigger than Avas exjjected and insufficient pages Avere allowed for their continuance.

Now turn to the picture of today—splendidly

lighted offices Avith the light eA^enly distributed; flat- top desks and convenient, restful chairs; the bookkeeping machine that gives you the desired results

Avith a minimum of effort, giving 5mu in one operation

what at one time took a full half dozen or more; the

fountain pen; the automatic lead pencil, ever ready

for instant use. And yet, to mention one item onlj% very little or

1)0 advantage has been taken of the improvement and

simplification in invoices over the past years. We still adhere to the old invoice perhaps 5 inches

Avide by 3 inches long or it might be 7 inches by 15

inches. We attempt to place all these varying sizes on a file or in a cabinet. What is the result when

Ave atteinjit to find one? This old-fashioned invoice

form in its many sizes contains information in any

corner where it is convenient to place it and eventually we find that the most important and really neces- saiy information is often not given any space at all, Avith the result that the invoice clerk spends his time

not in agreeable productive labor but by far the great

portion of it scanning each different invoice to en- deavor to obtain the information he requires.

Why should the invoice form—one of the most important and much used forms in the office—lag behind

in progress? Why not consider the same progress

in your office forms as in your office equipment and

methods ? Ask the office manager or invoice clerk what he

thinks about the simplified invoice. He Avill immediately tell you why he should liaA^e adopted it long

before. In the beginning, like the auditor, Ave did not

progress Avith the time and now cannot see hoAV Ave ever

^ Chairman, simplification committee, Natiojial Association of Pur- chasing Agents.

carried on business with the old, inconvenient,

incomplete, illegible form.

The simplified invoice comes in three sizes—7, 11,

and 14 inches long by 8% inches wide.

Compare a file of these invoices Avith a file of the

old ones. It has a definite zoning for the required

information, enabling you to secure the desired information at a glance. It even has a zone already printed

Avith the necessary headings, enabling the recipient,

with a minimum of effort, to properly certify the

invoice for payment and allocation to proper department or heading for cost accounting.

“ But ”, you may say, “ I know nothing about this

invoice ; I had nothing to do with its make-up. Hoav

do I know it is going to be applicable to my especial requirements? ” But it has been made

up by you in that the de- velopment of this iiiAmice has been Avorked out bA' the cooperation and col- laboration of representatives of hundreds of industries throughout the continent,in different lines of business. Approved and sponsored, amongst other associations, by the American

Railway Association, division 6, purchasing and stores

the National Association of Purchasing Agents, Inc.

Autographic Register Manufacturers’ Association:

National Association of Builders’ Exchange; United

Tyjjothetae of America ; and a score of other equally

large associations, and endorsed by the Division of

Simplified Practice of the Bureau of Standards.

It is noAv being u.sed by several thousand com2 )anies

in Canada and the United States.

BARLEY GRADES REVISED

The Secretary of Agriculture has issued an order

under the Grain Standards Act revising the standards

for barley so as to define and provide grades for

“ Blighted ” barley, and amending the definition for

" Sound ” barley and the grade requirements for

“ Sample grade ” barley.

The purpose of this action, Avhich is effective July

21, 1933, is to make grades conform to users’ requirements and to facilitate equitable grading of coun- try-run barley.

The practical effect of the order Avill be this : In the

inspection and grading of barley, kernels damaged

or materially discolored by blight or mold are not

to be regarded as sound kernals; the straight, uncjualified grades, that is, “ No. 1 Barley ”, “ Special No.

2 Barley ”, etc., may contain as much as 2 percent (by

Aveight) of such blighted kernels; when the barley

contains 2.1 to 5 percent, inclusive, of .such blighted

kernels, the Avord “ Blighted ” will be added to the

grade designation, that is, “No. 1 Barley, Blighted

“Special No. 2 Barley, Blighted”, etc.; and when

more thn 5 percent of the kernels are blighted the, grade “ Sample grade ” Avill be assigned to the lot.

Detailed information regarding the simplified invoice form, including a list of the ac- ceptors, may be obtained from the Division of

Simplified Practice, Bureau of Standards.
fUNli) i;)33 COMMEKCIAL STAKDAKDS MONTHLY

STANDARDIZATION FOR ECONOMY IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS PURCHASING

Professor of Government Urges Centralized Buying on Recognized Specifications As a Measure of

Intelligent Economy

By Russell Foebes ^

It is of course unnecessary for me to remind you

that we are in the midst of a financial crisis in the

administration of the public schools. IVe are con- fronted with a situation and not a theory. The members of the National Association of Public School

Business Officials are in the thick of the fight to bal- ance school budgets, and, despite their best efforts,

many have been waging a losing battle. In several

sections of the countiw the situation is so critical that the school year has been curtailed, essential school

services have been eliminated, or schools have been

entire!}’ closed. In this crisis, the members of this as- sociation have as their outstanding functions to in- sure from the school-tax dollar, Avhether gold-standard or otherwise, the greatest possible returns in educational services. It is my purpose to ask your serious consideration

of the coordination of school purchases Avith the purchases of other governments as a means for increasing the mileage of the tax dollar Avhich goes for supplies. materials, and equipment. I need not defend

the idea of centralized purchasing. Most large publicschool systems have adopted it. Their purchasing

officials haA’e demonstrated that the supplies, materials, and equipment for all the units of a school sys- tem can be bought more economically and more effi- ciently through one office than by each unit separately.

It is my thesis that the present crisis makes imperatiA'e the further extension of centralized purchasing

through pooling of the schools’ requirements Avith

those of the city and county governments in the in- terests of reduced material costs. A feAV years ago this Avould haA’e been only a pretty

theory, lacking the proof of experience. Today Ave may examine the results of a 2-year demonstration of

coordinated purchasing in Cincinnati, Ohio. This

successful experience was briefly described by Charles

E. Lex, Jr., in the February 1933 issue of The American School Board Journal. The results and methods

have now been more fully summarized by the Cincinnati Bureau of Governmental Research in a recent

report, upon Avhicli my remarks are largely based.

CooT'dinatcd purchasing began in Cincinnati in June 1931 Avith a coal contract for the city, the .schools,

and Hamilton County. At that time the purchasingagents and other administrative officials of these government units had co<)])erated in the adoption of a standard coal specification. Bids Avere then asked on

the coal requirements of the three governmental units,

totaling 100,000 tons. The bids Avere opened and

read on the same day and hour by all three jmrchasing offices. A gro.ss saving of $1 jier ton, or a total of $100,000, Avas made under the prices paid the. ]>re- ceding year. After making allowance for the decline

in market prices, it Avas agreed that a net .siiving of at

^Professor of government iind director of the division of rcsenrch in public administration. New York University; address delivered at the twenty-second annual convention of the National Association of Public School Business Officials, Pittsburgh, Pa., on May 18. 177907—33 2

least $50,000 could be credited to the bulk-purchasing

method.

Previous to this experiment, the Cincinnati Bureau

of Governmental Research had conducted in 1930 a survey of the financial and accounting methods of the

board of education and in its report had recom- mended a reAdsed purchasing procedure, modeled

after the system used by the city. To carry out these

recommendations the board of education then appointed the city purchasing agent to act as its buyer

also. AVhile sei'A’ing as joint purchasing agent this

official persuaded the city and the school board to adopt standard specifications for a number of the

commodities Avhich they use in common and to issue

a number of joint contracts for their combined needs.

After having installed a new purchasing system and

after having giA’en a brief but successful demonstration of the advantages of coordinated purchasing,

this official resumed his full-time duties as city purchasing agent, and the board of education appointed

a trained buyer who had purchased for a large cor- poration in the city.

About this time (early in 1932) there Avas formed

a committee on coordination and cooperation composed of the city manager, the president of the board

of education, and the president of the board of county

commissioners. One of the first acts of this committee was the creation of the coordinating committee of purchasing agents, consisting of the city

purchasing agent, the county purchasing agent, the

business manager, and commissioner of supplies of the

board of education, and the purchasing agent of the

University of Cincinnati, Avhich is supported by public funds. A member of the research staff' of the Cincinnati Bureau of Governmental Research serA^es as secretary of the committee.

At is first meeting, held on March 15, 1932, the

committee decided that price inquiries sent out by all the governmental units should be circulated among

the members of the committee as a means for determining Avhat articles being regularly purchased Avere common to the needs of all units and therefore subject to coordination. The committee then decided that

its Avork program should center around the following

six activities:

1. Preparation of standard specifications lor commodities used in quantity by two or more of the governmental units.

2. Study of contractual services necessary to tAvo or more of the governmental units.

3. Legal ])roblems involved.

4. Financial arrangements.

5. rioint storage facilities for bulk materials.

(1. The necessary Avorking organization to conduct

coordinated ]nirchasing.

The committee meets Aveekly, oi- oftenei- if necessai-y.

rotating among the ollices of the members. Minutes

of each meeting are kei>t by the .-<ecretai-y and ai’C read
274 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY JUNE 1033

and approved or amended at the next meeting. All

questions involving major policies are referred for

decision to the committee on coordination and cooperation composed, as explained above, of the administrative heads of the several governmental units.

The problems of coordinated purchasing are in many

ways identical with the problems of establishing centralized purchasing, with which you are familiar. Of

first importance is the task of standardization and

the adoption of standard specifications. Before the

advantages of bulk buying can be realized, it is neces- sary to secure the agreement of the cooperating government units to the use of the minimum number of

qualities and sizes of commodities and to the description of such standards in written specifications; a similar step is necessaiw to centralized purchasing for

the different units within a school system.

In Cincinnati the coordinating committee of purchasing agents followed the usual procedure. By con- ference it was decided that the sizes of fioor brushes

for example, coidd be reduced from 8 to 4. Specifications describing the sizes and qualities of these four

standards ivere then formulated and agreed upon. It was found that the city used three grades of gasoline

for trucks, passenger cars, and fire apparatus. The

county surve^mr purchased on a different specification, and the other county departments bought ethjd

gasoline from various dealers. The joint specification, as agreed upon, provided for three grades of gasoline

suitable to the requirements of all the government

units. Joint standards and specifications have been

adopted for 85 different commodities, including coal,

canned foods, electric-light bulbs, carbon paper, and

soap. The laboratories of the University of Cincinnati have been of great aid in testing samples as a basis for the adoption of written specifications.

In determining the time to buy as well as the quantity to be bought, the decision is arrived at in confer- ence by the coordinating committee—a procedure

which gives the public the benefit of the combined

judgment of the committee on probable market trends.

In Cincinnati, as elsewhere, the law requires that purchases over a certain maximum amount shall be advertised and the award shall be made on a contract

after sealed bids are opened in public. Standard

forms of advertisement, bid, and contract have been

devised and adopted. Bids are requested on the total quantities needed by all the government units on each

item included in the advertisement. Bids are opened,

tabulated, and studied by the entire committee before an award is made. Joint contracts are now in effect for 34 commodities, including coal, gasoline, lubricating oil, tea and coffee, meats, canned foods, automobile

and truck tires, X-ray films, and electric-light bulbs.

In making the award, each government unit enters

into a separate contract, using the standard form.

If the amount of the expenditure for each government unit is below the maximum fixed by law, the

jiurchase is made on the open market. One member

of the committee is usually delegated to handle the

transaction in behalf of the group. Invitations for

bids are sent to prospective vendors and notice of the

pending purchase is posted on a bulletin board in

each of the purchasing offices. Awards are determined by the entire committee, although each member

issues his own separate order on the standard form at the unit price quoted for the totaUrequirements.

Many miscellaneous items cannot be covered by a

definite-quantit}^ contract, because the needs cannot

be accurately determined in advance. To prevent the

waste of purchasing such items in small lots at retail prices, the committee enters into verbal agreements

with the vendors. Inquiries are sent out asking for

bids on the estimated total requirements, for delivery

in small lots as needed throughout a definite future

period.

After prices have been obtained on the basis of

standard specifications, the award is made by the committee and an informal agreement, in the form of a

letter, is sent to the lucky bidder by the purchasing

agent of each Government unit. Each Government

unit thereafter, during the period of the agreement,

calls for deliveiy in the quantity needed, but receives an invoice at the unit price stated in the agreement

for the total requirements of all the Government units.

The verbal agreement usually contains a clause protecting the purchaser against advances in market

prices, but allowing the benefit of any price decline

during the period covered. More than 50 A^erbal agreements are now in effect, covering such commodities as window glass, soap and soap powders, drinking cups, pipe and pipe fittings, stapling machines,

fuses, ladders, white lead, carbon paper, and typewriter ribbons. By the use of verbal agreements, the

several Government units are spared the necessity of

tieing up funds for a long period because no fixed

amount is encumbered until the order for delivery on

the agreement is issued. The cost of purchasing is reduced, since the volume of work and tire expense of

securing bids on many small orders is eliminated.

Furthermore, the benefit of wholesale buying is real- ized even though the commodities are delivered in

retail lots. The responsibility for inspecting deliveries rests upon each GoA'ernment unit. Since the quality re- quired and the method of testing are in most cases

definitely set forth in the specification, very few dis- agreements over the acceptability of the deliveries

have thus far arisen. Wherever the commodity being

purchased is not adaptable to scientific test of a deliv- ery, samples are received with bids and the sample

submitted b}?^ the lucky bidder is retained for comparison with the delivery. When samples submitted

with bids are tested jirior to the award, the expense of

the test is shared by the different Government units in

proportion to their interest in the order or contract. The cost of testing samples of deliveries is borne entirely by each receiving unit. For testing samples

submitted witli bids and sanqfies of deliveries, the

facilities of the University of Cincinnati are used

wherever possible. In other cases commercial testing

laboratories are emploj^ed.

The storing of commodities after delivery and before

use is also carried on independently by each Government unit. The board of education maintains a large

storehouse for servicing the entire school system. The

city, the county, and the university have several small storerooms. Food and clothing issued in publicwelfare work by Hamilton County are purchased for

the most jiart through the coordinating committee

and are stored in a separate county warehouse.

First of all it should be emphasized that the schools,

under this plan of coordinated purchasing, retain that

financial autonomy which they have secured after pro-
JUNE 1933 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 275

tracted struggle. There is no pooling of funds used

in expenditures for supplies, materials, and equipment

;

only the buying power is pooled to secure the advantage of lower unit prices. The contracts and orders

are awarded, the deliveries are called for and accepted

or rejected, and the commodities are stored and controlled, separately from the other Government units.

The identity of the school purchasing office remains

intact. It continues to exercise full authority for the

purchase of those commodities which are peculiar to school use. But experience has shown that the Cincinnati schools use, in common with other Government

units, nearly 100 staple articles which constitute the

bulk of their expenditures in dollars and cents. In the second place, coordinated purchasing has

created a better relationship between the purchasing

officials and the vendors. Since' awards are based on

the judgment of the committee and since complaints

are heard before the whole committee, the individual

jjurchasing agents have been spared most of the criti- cism so often levelled against them by disgruntled

vendors claiming irregularity and favoritism in the

award of orders and contracts. By adopting standard

specifications and standard forms and procedure, the

committee has" clarified and simplified the responsibility of the bidder.

Thirdly, competition has been increased because of

the larger quantities involved. This has encouraged

vendors in the belief that all are accorded equal and

fair treatment. By combining their individual rec- ords, the coordinating committee has built up a complete list of vendors and all are asked to bid. Thus

the entire jiotential market is canvassed.

Because of the fluctuations in market prices since

coordinated purchasing was undertaken, it is difficult to compile an accurate list of savings. However, on

the contract for electric-light bulbs, representing the

combined needs of the city, the county, and the

schools, an additional discount of 3 percent was se- cured, although each government unit had previously

secured the usual wholesale terms. On a contract for

canned foods totaling almost $23,000, a saving of

$4,700 was secured b}" joint purchase. Those who

have been intimately associated with the project esti- mate that coordinated purchasing has effected average

savings ranging from 5 to 10 percent.

In further explanation, it must be pointed out that

each of the four governmental units concerned has a most efficient purchasing system. The savings therefore cannot be ascribed to improvement in technique.

The economies must be ascribed to the tangible factor

of lowered prices through increased buying power.

In The American School Board Journal for Jul}^

1931 H. W. Schmidt states that more than $100,000,000

is spent annually for school supplies, materials, and

equipment. Prices, it is true, have declined and econ- omy programs have decreased the school purchases in the past 2 years ; on the other hand, school populations

have increased, so that the public-school s}^stems of

this country probably still spend approximately

$100,000,000 for commodities per year. Manifestly,

any method which will reduce unit costs of material

without impairment of school efficiency Avill provide

aid and comfort to the impoverished taxpayers whilst

safeguarding the education of their children.

But you say that the political factor is an imponderable one; that the cities and the counties are too

politicall}'" minded to cooperate on a scientific and

open-and-aboveboard bu}dng program. It is my contention that what has been done in Cincinnati can be

done in other cities. The public-school system, being

dearer to the hearts of our countr3^men, in some cities can take the initiative and, with popular backing from

taxpayers’ associations, research bureaus, and parentteachers’ associations, can force the other government

units to raise their buying methods to the level of

school efficiency. Improved methods of purchasing

which would be a luxuiy to one small government

unit, can be made to pay when applied to the purchasing problems of all the government units in a community. Boards of education and public-school

business officials can render a real service to the cause

of constructive economy in government by insisting

that the buying power of all agencies spending public

funds shall be pooled in the interests of the taxpayei-s’

pocketbook whence comes our help.

Coordinated purchasing does not, let me repeat,

involve a surrender of financial antonomy by the

schools. It means merely that the school system, now

often a small buyer, can become a big buyer of those

commodities which it uses in common with other Government units. A crisis like this demands a serious

reappraisal of time-honored methods. New methods

must be adojAed even though the^^ may appear at

first sight to be bitter pills to swallow. Do the in- dividual Government units dare to keep on rowing

their own little boats in the present stormy seas with

the reefs and shoals of bankruptcy already in sight on many shores?

ICE-CREAM MOLDS AND CARTONS

Simplified practice recommendations R120-31, cov- ering ice-cream-brick molds and cartons, has been

reaffirmed, without change, by the industrju

This recommendation, which was proposed and developed by the industr}q is concerned with the dimensions for the 2-gallon mold, and machine-filled pint

and quart ice-cream cartons. It has been in effect since January 1, 1931.

SIZES OF CANNED PEAS

The required degree of written acceptance has been

accorded simplified practice recommendation R149-33,

covering sieve (screen) sizes of canned peas, and it ma}^ be considered effective as of iMay 1. 1933, ac- cording to formal announcement b}'^ the Bureau of

Standards.

This recommendation, which was projjosed and

formulated b}" the industiw, lists the screen oi)ening

sizes to be used in separating peas into three size groups, designated, respective!}", as small, medium,

and large.

The new “ small ” size combines the old size nos. 1 and 2 in both the Alaska type and sweet varieties of

peas. The “ medium ” size replaces the old size no. 3 of the Alaska tyj)e and the comhined size nos. 3 and 4

of the sweet A'arieties. d'lie coml)ined old siz(> nos. 4

and 5 of the Alaska type and nos. o and () of tlie sweet

varieties are designated as " largt' " in tin* new

schedule.
27G COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY JUNE 1933 PROPOSED CHANGES IN FOOD AND DRUGS ACT

Conference Discusses Better Protection of Public Against False Claims

Progress toward pi'otection of the public against

false advertising of foods and drugs, through revision of the Pure Food and Drugs Act, was made during the recently held conference of I'epresentatives

of the two trades involved and of the press and

radio, which carry the advertisements, ivith officials of the United States Department of Agriculture to present their views on proposals to strengthen the act. Suggestions ranged from opposition to any essential change in the act to proposals to empower the

Federal Food and Drug Administration to impose

lieavy penalities for false advertising and to enjoin

the use of such methods.

Representatives of the food trade met with the Federal officials concerned and expressed general approval of suggestions for regulation by the Food and

Drug Administration of false advertisements of foods

and of other proposals to strengthen the act, according to statements made by tracle delegates after the

conference. The Department of Agriculture itself re- frained from jiresenting any suggestions at the conference, preferring to hear the views of the trade

before beginning the draft of a revised act. The attitude of the Department of Agriculture, as expressed by the Assistant Secretary of Agriculture,

Rexford G. Tugwell, is that the Food and Drugs Act

“ is generall}^ admitted to be inadequate at present for

the protection of consumers. The opinions of various

groups directly or indirectly interested ”, he said, “ will, we expect, expedite the production of a draft that will

be most practicable and that will, at the same time, ac- complish the degree of consumer protection Ave Avant.” W. G. Campbell, Chief of the P^ood and Drug Administration, for years has advocated extension of his

organization’s poAver to include advertisements of

foods and drugs, as Avell as the labels on the packages,

as provided in the present laAv. He pointed out that

false and deceptive statements have largely been

driven off the labels on these products, but that this

Avork has been nullified in large part by the fact that

deceptive advertising continues and the ]mblic is prone

to accept these advertisements Avithout checking to see

if the labels are in accord Avith the publicized claims.

Mr. Campbell has expressed his personal disapproval of a system of censorship over advertisements,

preferring that when a doubtful adA^ertisement is submitted to a publishing medium there should be a voluntary submission of the matter to his organization

for determining whether the claims in the advertisement are false or not, but no compulsory submission.

His plan would operate by penalties against the false advertisers. The general sentiment in the conference

Avas against any compulsory submission of advertisements to the Food and Drugs Administration in ad- vance of iDublication. Sentiment in the food trades,

however, Avas for amendment of the laAv to jarohibit false advertising, and for heavier penalties than are now provided for subsequent Adolations of the act. Suggested penalties for violation of the jn-ojADserl proliilhtion of false advertising included fines and the

i.ssuance of a form of injmictionjigainst the ii.se of the

off'ending advertisment. Opposition Avas expressed to

seizure of the product falsely advertised, as long as the label on it is in accord with the act. The opinion prevailed rather generally that tlie jmblisher and the radio station broadcasting any false adA^ertising should not be made jointly liable Avith the

advertiser, as had previouslj^ been suggested by some.

It Avas felt also that the administration of the proposed advertisement clauses should be “ constructive

that is, that the advertiser should be given opportunity

to change his methods to comply Avith the act where

he may have transgressed inadvertently. Elimination of the “ distinctive-name ” provision of the pres- ent act was advocated. This provision takes out of

the operation of the present law any product which

has a distinctive name of its own, ancl is not called

by the name of any of the generally recognized foods.

The Food and Drugs Administration feels that the

provision has handicapped its work.

Prohibition of deceptively shaped and slack-filled

bottles and packages also Avas faAmred by most of the

food delegates. This type of receptacle often is used

to cleceiA^e the customer into the belief that he is re- ceiAung more for his mone}^ than is actually the case. Another projmsal Avas for establishment of defini- tions and standards of purity but not of quality of

foods. This Avould prevent achdteration, such as the

addition of cheap foodstuffs to those higher priced,

to increase the bulk at Ioav cost. One delegate propo.sed that the Food and Drug Administration be empoAvered to issue standards of quality for foods, in general, much as such standards already are issued

for canned foods under the McNary-Mapes amendment to the Food and Drugs Act. Under this amendment foods Avhich fail to measure up to standards of

tenderness, ripeness, or other factors are required to he labeled as substandard foods. The details of agree- ment or disagreement of the delegates on specific prolAosals Avere not made public in most cases. In the field of drugs, suggestions were made that the

labels on all drugs be required to bear the full formula

of the contents of the receptacle. Inclusion of provisions in the amendment to prohibit the use of in- jurious ingredients in cosmetics Avas suggested by a

delegate. Another proposal was that all testimonials

and opinions on the value of the drugs must be signed.

Opposition was expressed to proposals to license manufacturers of drugs, except in the case of producers of

biologicals, arsenicals, and similar products. Probably the outstanding suggestioji Avith resjject to drugs

Avas one that the United States Pharmacopoeia standards ancl the National Formulary be abandoned and

that a Government commission be set up to prescribe

the drug standards.

A suggestion Avas made also that foods naturally

containing harmful ingredients be prohibited, in addition to the present jirohibition against foods in whicli

harmful ingredients have been added. The confer- ence in general ojAposed the Avriting of standards for

food and drug products into the laAv. The .sentiment

for standards took the form of sup])ort for administrative standards, Avliich Avould he inore easily subject

to change Avhen revision appeared desirable.
TUNE 1933 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 277

AIDS TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Adaptability of Metals for Various Uses

J!y Henky D. IIuiiBAui), Biu-eaw of ,Standards

Metals form an important group of structural materials and deserve corresponding attention in research

and testing. Practically every division of the Bureau

of Standards has problems of direct concern in the

utilization of metals, and practically every Government department and industry profits by its research on the fundamentals of the properties and uses of

metals.

Some 460 printed publications report the results of

the bureau’s researches involving metals and alloys.

The bureau, however, contains a division devoted entirely to metallurg}^ equipped with a staff, apparatus,

and facilities for purifying metals, for making alloys

and castings, for mechanically working metal by

rolling, drawing, and

swaging and for studying

their behavior under vari- ous service conditions and

measuringtheir properties.

The Bureau published a source work ‘‘Aluminum

and Its Light Alloys ” (C76) —a timel}^ publication which played a part

in promoting the effective use of these light construction materials. Typical specifications current at tlie time are given, as well as a

classified bibliography. It may be recalled that the

metallurgical section of the Bureau suggested that

duralumin be coated with a film of aluminum as a preservative, and experience has proven this effec- tive in commercial practice where it is now firmly

established.

Such processes as casting, forging, rolling, drawing, soldering, and welding have been investigated.

Based on bureau work of the past two years, a practical method has been published for the use of foundry

workers in determining the running properties of

metal under conditions met with in casting. The

research on the machinability of metals is a continuation of a study of the effect of machining on the properties of metal, to ascertain any deleterious effects of

machining conditions. The program of metals re- search is formulated in the light of advice of a public

spirited committee of experts, as a result of which a fundamental program is developed and the unit re- seai’ches attacked in the light of the bureau’s facilities and the relative urgency of the problems. With

the cooperation of all divisions of the Bureau, this

program is extended and applied to highly sjjecialized

fields. One division measures the expansion of metals with

high precision. The methods of measuring expansion

have been successfully applied to .such diver.se fields as

tlie flaking of metal enameled ware and tlie casting of

gold inlays for dental restoi’ations. Anotlier division

studies the magnetic and electrical ])ro])erties of

metals—their resi.stance, magnetic jx'rmeability, conductivity. .Viiothei’ (letermiiies melting and boiling

points of metals, in part to establish fixed i^oints on

the International Temperature Scale on which the

melting point of gold is an important point.

The Optics Division is engaged, in part, in the study

of radiation properties of metals—reflection, absorption, transmission, and especiall}'^ the selective characteristics useful in minimizing or increasing the

absorption and reflection. The fact that metals are poor radiators led to such practical conclusions as tlie use of nonmetallic paint on household radiators, the

use of metal paints on the inside of metal attic roofs

or the outside of steam piqies to avoid heat loss. The Division of Chemistry has many problems

involving metals—the development of new and

i m p rove d methods of

analysis, the actual anal3'sis and certification of

composition of standard

samples, the development

of metal electrodeposition

and its remarkable application of chromium to the extension of service

life of printing plates and

the bright parts of struc- tural metal equipment, such as plumbing fixtiires. The Division of Chemistry also cooperates on the

chemistry of metals with the entire system of research on this subject.

It is most interesting that the presence of impurities

in commercial tin constituted a hazard to life and

property, that the chemical measurement of such impurities was at first impracticable for the small

amounts in which they existed. Optics came to the

rescue and the measurements of the wave lengths of

light characteristic of these impurities (lead and zinc)

in tin otfered a means of safeguarding the melting

point of the ]nire tin used as safety plugs to prevent

explosions in boilers. Chemical analyses now perform

the same service.

When ordinary chemical analyses of “ abnormal ”

steels (steels Avhich resisted perfect case hardening)

failed to show anj^ relation between chemical composition and behavior, spectroscopic methods disclosed

that the presence of more than one one-hundredth of

1 percent of aluminum (as alumina) was one of the

characteristics of many of the so-called abnormal

steels. The Division of Engineering iNIechanics studies the

fatigue of duralumin and other materials; the effi- ciency of autogenous welding (a live subject in view of

the recent rise in the use of welding to unite metal

structural elements) ; the methods of design and fail- ure of columns, girders, beam-s, and other built-up

structures, d'he Division ol' C’eramics studies the n*- fractories which line metal furnaces, the glazing of

metals which had a notable application in the research

which helped to mitigate the fish scaling of metal

enam(‘lc(l wai'<*. d'hrongh tin* Division ot Building and

This is the fifth of a series of articles by Mr.

Hubbard, Assistant to the Acting Director of

the Bureau of Standards, outlining the work

of the Bureau as it concerns the construction

industr3A These articles Avill cover research,

testing, simplified practice recommendations,

commercial standards, and the certification

and labeling plan.
278 commercial standards monthly JUNE 1<)33

Housing, studies are made ol‘ the uses of metals in

structures, retail prices of building materials, the minimum requirements for building codes for dwellings.

Two encyclopediac volumes have been compiled of

technical specifications for metals and metal products

for tJie use of purchasing ageiicies, both public and

private. Under the auspices of two divisions, trade

standards and simplification projects for metal products are developed by industry and promulgated by

the Bureau of Standards.

In the Division of Metallurgy proper, however, the

metal research is not incidental but primary. Active

research projects relate to the atomic structure of the

crystals in metals, to the properties of metals and their

('ffective utilization, to the processing of metals by heat

treatment, to the causes of failure by corrosion, fatigue, wear, and exposure to elevated temperatures, and to many other pertinent aspects of the use of metals.

Several samples will show the fundamental nature

of such work. The Bureau’s laboratory and field re- search on fissures in rails showed them to be a most

serious cause of rail failures and that a controlled

rate of cooling of the rail after rolling would minimize

tlie production of fissures. A practical method for

measuring the flowing properties of molten metal in

the mold was devised and published, a method which

will doubtless replace the hit-or-miss methods hitherto

ni use. The cause of blistering on enamels on cast iron was studied and found to be due to a thin skin on the

iron which readily oxidizes, forming carbon monoxide

and dioxide which causes the blistering. The cure was found to be sand blasting, preheating, or adding

agents to the molten metal to produce more graphitic

carbon.

A typical structural problem Avas the unexpected

sudden failure of heat treated bridge-cable wire which

had been carefully galvanized. It Avas shoAvn in fa- tigue tests that the pressure of hot-dipped galvanized

coatings on steel decreases the endurance limit by as much as 40 percent while electroplated zinc coatings

have no effect. To duplicate service conditions of

bridge-cable Avire a device AA'as developed to produce a pulsating tension during the test simulating service

conditions.

Study of surface films of corroded metal are in

progress in vieAv of a belief that the corrosion film of

metal determines largely the rate of corrosion. Exposure tests are being made in various climates and

studies of the resulting films on the metal are in progress. By means of extensive exposure tests of galvanized materials it has been found that marine exposure of such materials is very much less severe than

certain inland industrial atmospheres.

A major line of work of the Bureau of Standards’

engineering mechanics laboratory is to study the

mechanical properties and design of structural metals,

parts, and assemblies, such as columns, beams, girders,

and bridges. The Hudson River Bridge, with a span

of 3.500 feet, double that of any iirevious bridge,

called for dependable official tests Avhich were made

for the Port of Ncav York Authority. Scale models

of the toAver sections were tested as columns in the

10.000,000-pound capacity compression testing machine of the Bureau. The specimens Avere 24 feet long, with approximately one fourth the cross-sec- tional area of the actual toAver section. Similar tests of a section of the Philadelphiar-Camden Bridge

showed a strength equal to that contemplated in the

design plus the factor of safety allowed.

The Bureau researches on metals as structural materials cover a program of research carefully formulated

and frequently revised on the advice of a large group

of metal technicians. Scarcely an aspect exists Avhicli has not received experimental attention from the

Bureau, from foundry sands to structural members

of giant bridges.

On request of the foundry industry, the Bureau

cooperated in formulating a standard color code for

marking foundry patterns to indicate to the molder

by a distinctive color the functional action to be taken on each part of the pattern. The commercial standard

is now in effect, having been accepted by 450 firms and

associations Avho indicated in Avriting that the standard system will become their standard practice.. In

cooperation Avith the American Foundrymen’s Association the Bureau developed methods for testing foundry

sands, Avhich put the specification and purchase of

sand on a rational basis. Since the structure and properties of a hardened

steel are dependent on the critical rate of quenching

and upon the cooling quality of the quenching liquid,

the Bureau undertook an experimental research on the

coolants and the cooling curves Avhich they might be

expected to give.

A ncAv field for metallurgical research was entered

by the Bureau in a cooperatiA^e investigation Avith the

technical societies coA^ering the properties of metals

intended for service at high temperatures, such as oil- cracking stills, steam superheaters, etc. The strength of welded joints is an important industrial subject. The recent movement toward the quiet

effective Avelding method to replace riveting machines

with its machine-gun chatter made it essential that the

resulting strength and behavior of welded joints be

investigated. Since the finished joint cannot be tested

to destruction and usually not practicably by X-ray

methods, the best recourse is to qualify the welders

themselves. Experts of the Bureau believe that this can readily be done by testing specimens of the welding

Avork of each applicant. They recommend that such

qualification to be placed in the hands of educational

institutions, especially in the technical departments.

Among the important contributions to construction

technology are strain gages, several new types of which

have been devised and constructed at the bureau. By

means of these gages the deformations under stress during construction are measured. Thus, they permit

comparison between computed and actual strains in structures and thus check up the accuracy of technical

design and the data upon which such design is based.

Among metal constructions investigated by the bureau, are screws, metal lath, Avire rope, metal roofing

and flooring, welded joints, and many others. A re- search Avas made on “ 10,000 wood screws ” from 12

different makers tested under axial load for holding

power when inserted in 7 kinds of Avood. For example

roughness rather than fine finish was found desirable

and, again, in a choice betAveen two adequate screws

the longer sci’ew and the smaller diameter are to be

preferred. The entire system of screAV threads worked

out by the National Screw Thread Commission is noAv

a functional activit}^ of the Bureau of Standards. The

standards have been published thus promoting uniformity and simplicity in screAV sizes and dimensions.
JUNE 1933 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 279

Another research developed important facts on

thread-locking devices which are given in a report entitled “ The Relation of Torque to Tension for Thread

Locking Devices ”(RP386) . This gives the static loads and the corresponding torsional resistance to unscrewing nuts, with and without locking devices.

Twenty-four firms cooperated by furnishing samples

of their devices for test, and the results are available

to the industry and the public.

Metal coatings protect against deterioration by

wear, weathering, and chemical action. The Bureau’s

system for increasing the service life of paper-moneyprinting plates by a coating of chromium of one five- thousandth of an inch, electroplated on the base metal,

resulted in a gain of 400 percent. Studies at the

Bureau of zinc-coated wire showed a decrease in

indurance of hot-dipiied galvanized ivire while

electroplated wire was not alfected. As part of the program of special committees of

technical societies, the Bureau is cooperating in zinccoated steel products—sheet, Avire, and hardAvare in

various parts of the country and observing the relatiA'e behavior. A study is being made of the elfectiA’e protection of the surface film of corroded metal in con- nection Avith the corrosion resistance of the metal base. Researches Avere made on lead-coated steel, nickelplated plumbing fixtures, chromium-plated metals,

brass- and bronze-plated liardAvare, cadmium-coated

steel. A research on tlie scam corrosion of copper

roofing .showed among other things that heating in soldering contributes to the degree and extent of the

corrosion. To prevent corrosion of roofing copper,

the Bureau found that the simple device of a strij) of

Avood betAveen the flashing and the roof suitably

placed would retard corrosion, a service life of 50 years

or more being predicted as against 20 heretofore.

In a cooperative research Avith the American

Electroplaters Society and the American Society

of Testing Materials, the Bureau of Standards has

a program invoh’ing 7,000 sheet metal s])ecimens ex- posed to the weather in Avidely ditt'erent atmospheric

conditions.

Metals of unprecedented purity are produced and

the properties of alloys of such anetals are studied.

In one research, in cooperation Avith the Xon-Ferrous

Ingot Metal Institute, it was found that 600 copperbase alloy compositions were in use Avhich might

possibly be reduced to 20 classes, each of a standard

prescribed composition. The significant properties of

the metals cast in A'arious Avays are measured Avith the

object of finding the optimum number of typical compositions and of deA’eloping standard specifications.

As part of the stud}’ of duralumin for airship construction. standard strips supported on air jets without

other physical contact Avere subjected to 200,000,000 or more alternate bending cycles, since sendee in air- ships sulijected the metal to alternating stresses of

this order corresponding to 40 years of air flight.

GLASS CONTAINERS

Simplified practice recommendation R148-32, cov- ering glass containers for cottage cheese and sour cream, has been accorded the required degree of Avrit- ten approval by the industry and may noAv be considei’ed as in effect. This recommendation, Avhich Avas proposed and developed by the industry, is concerned Avith the base

diameter, height of bottle, height of finish, cap-seat

diameter, and oA’er-all diameter of finish or roll of

bottles, the capacities of Avhich are 8-, 12-, and 16-

fluid ounces. USE OF LABELS IN SWEDEN

The Standards Commission of Sweden is considering the question of ado])ting a registered mark,

Avhich firms manufacturing goods according to SAvedish Standard Specifications Avould be ])ennitted to use on their 2 >i’oducts. To obtain permission to use lids stamp or laljel, a manufacturer Avould have to give strong guai’autees

that the goods in question comjAly in eA’ery respect

Avith the standard sijecification issued. By reserving

the right to take occasional samples in the open market, the Standards Commission could control the use of the label, as any proA'ed abuse Avould make the

erring firm liable to damages and deprivation of the

right to continue the use of the mark.

Trade-marks are AA’idely uscnl in SAvedeu. These

marks, hoAA'e\’cr, haA’e no reference to the quality of

goods but onh’ seiwe to identify the ])roducts of the

various makers. The good reputation of a manufacturer Avill automatically attaeh to any products carry- ing his trade-marks.

HOSPITAL MATTRESSES AND PILLOWS

The American Llospital Association has drafted

tentatiA'e specifications for hospital and institutional

mattx’esses and pilloAvs, as proposed commercial standards for these commodities.

The tentative specification for mattresses covers 4

types and 2 grades of all-hair and inner-spring hair

mattresses. Requirements are given for all materials

entering into construction, as Avell as for AA’orkmanship, sizes, and Aveights. PilloAvs are to be made of a specified grade of ticking filled Avith hair or goose

feathei’s conforming to definite reiiuircments of quality

and cleanliness.

These tentative s])ecifications haA'c been circulated

among approximately 500 manufacturers from AA'hom

(he lios]jitals customaril}’ ])urchase mattresses and pilloAvs. It is thought that this list well represents the

entire countiy. Any manufacturer. hoAvewer, Avho

has not received copies of the ttuitativc specifications

for comment may obtain them by writing to the

Buivaii of Standards.

COATED ABRASIVE PRODUCTS

Sim])lilied pi'acticc' recommendation RiS!)-32. cover- ing coated abrasive products, as revised by the standing committee of the industry, is now a\ailable in ])rinted form, accoi'ding to formal announcement

made by the Ihin'au of Standards.

Copies of this simplification progi’am. which is con- cerned Avith the size, backing, and coating of various

kinds of coated abrasive, jiroducts. t-an lie obtained

fi'oiu the Superintendent (d' 1 focuiiKMits, ( lOA’ei’imumt

Ihdnting Oflice, Washington, D.C., foi’ 5 cents each.
280 commekcial standaeds monthly JUNE 193J PROTECTION OF BUYERS AGAINST FALSE CLAIMS

Information of Sale of Goods Effected Through Misrepresentation Submitted to Federal Trade

Commission Will Cause Investigation

By William E. ITumphkey, Member Federal Trade Commission

AVliat can a buyer do when lie discovers he has

bought a product which fails to live up to the claims

made for it? If the article has not fulfilled the promises of advertising, labels, circulars, letters, or any other printed

matter distributed in interstate commerce, or within

the District of Columbia, the buyer has a right to ask

the aid of the Federal Trade Commission. A letter to the Commission explaining just Avhat has happened

will set the Goi^ernment machinery in motion. The

Commission has the power to enjoin all unfair methods of competition in interstate trade or in the Nation’s Capital.

Thousands of cases of dishonest advertising are handled by the Commission. Eidicnlous healing

claims are made for all sorts of medicinal preparations. Cheap imitations of Avell-knoAvn food brands

are packed in containers resembling poimlar articles. Manufacturing ” companies have been found in some

cases merely to be small offices Avith no manufacturing

equipment. Use of the Avord “ manufacturing ” in

the name of a sales concern is a popular method of

stimulating confidence in the liuver that tlie ai'ticie

is produced by a large and responsible organization

Avhich is likely to stand by its customers and replace

faulty goods. It also creates the impression that the

middleman’s profit is avoided.

Hosiery labeled “ silk and rayon ” has been found

to contain only a feAV silk threads Avoven in the top

of the stocking.

“ Buy three shirts and get a fourth free ”, said an

advertisement. In this case the price actuall}! was

based on four shirts, and the free shirt was in no

sense a gift. This is considered unfair competition.

The hiAv Avhich created the Federal Trade Commission makes this declaration : “ That unfair methods

of comiietition in commerce are hereby declared

unlawful.”

The buyer Avho has been victimized by deceptive

claims should give the facts to the Commission. His

case Avill be turned over to the chief examiner of the

Commission for an inA^estigation and report. If it is found from this immstigation that the laAv has been

violated, correctiA-e action aauII be taken. In many

cases the Commission Avill permit the ofi'ender to sign

a statement of facts covering the methods he used

and alloAV liim to agree not to continue such practices.

By this means the purpose of the hiAv to prohibit unfair competition is carried out. It is described as a stipulation, and is signed voluntarily by the producer.

The stipulation effectively stops the illegal practice

at once and involves little expense to the Grovernment.

If the producer challenges the statement of facts

brought out by the Commission’s inquiry, or if it is decided not to permit a stipulation, the Commission

may issue a comi)laint and hand doAvn an order declaring that the producer is using unfair methods.

Then if the order is violated the Commission can take

it to a United States Court of Appeals. If the court

affirms the order, the producer Avill be guilty of con- tempt of court if he continues the unfair methods.

The aA’erage cost of such a stipulation to the Government is less than $5 ; the average cost of complaint

and trial of a case is $2,500.

Standing as a guardian of the buver, the Commission has clriA'en from the markets large numbers of

fraudident products.

Tlie largest number of oifeuders are purveyors of

.so-called iiatent medicines, cosmetics, fat reducers,

hair restorers, and hair dyes. In this phase of its Avork the Commission has protected the public by ex- posing, eliminating, and restraining the fakirs,

imposters, and others that have preyed on the ills, sufferings, credulity, and vanity of humanity to the

tune of more than $500,000,000 jier year. More than

16,000,000,000 copies of daily. Aveekly, and monthly

periodicals are printed and circulated eA'ery year, and

every copy carries advertising matter intended to in- duce the readers to buy some article of commerce. Approximately $1,000,000,000 is ]iaid publishers an- nually by adA-erti.sers. Tlie Comniissmn, Avith the help

of ueAA'spaiiers and magazines since their conference of

November 12, 1928, has reduced fraudulent advertising more than half.

COTTON DUCK

Simplified practice recommendation R27, coA^ering cotton duck, has been reaffirmed, Avithont change, by

the standing committee of the industry.

This recommendation, Avhich is concerned Avith the

stock varieties of sail and Avide cluck, has been instrumental in effecting a reduction in the number of

Avidths of this commodity from 400 to 90, or approximately 80 percent.

CONCRETE BUILDING UNITS

The reAused simplified practice recommendation

R82-02, coA'ering concrete building units, is noAV available in jirinted form. Copies can be obtained from the

Superintendent of Documents, GoA'ernment Printing

Ofiice, AA^ashington, D.C., for 5 cents each.

In the current schedule, AA'hich Avas revised by the

standing committee of the industiy, the length di- mension for three items Avas changed from the nominal dimension of 12 inches to the actual dimension

of 11% inches; the maximum ]iermissible A’ariation

for block and tile, over and under the given dimensions, Avas placed at % inch; and in the case of concrete brick, it Avas decided to folloAV the tolerances

prescribed by the American Society for Testing Materials in connection with clay and sand lime brick

masonry units, so that the tolerances of concrete brick

Avill be tV inch in height, % inch in Avidth, and % inch

in length.
JUNE 1933 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 281

VALUE OF FEDERAL FOOD STANDARDS

Quality Standards in Retail Trade Suggested As Guide in Selecting Food Products

How can Federal standards for food products be

used by the housewife in her dail}'’ marketing?

Homemakers who are interested in the efficient and

economical management of their households have

heard of quality grades.” They wonder, naturalh'.

just how these grades are indicated for the consumer and how far they, the housewives, can apply them.

Price is not necessarily an indication of quality. A

more certain guide in the daily trips to the food markets is desirable.

Quality standards have been worked out for a great

many kinds of foods by the Bureau of Agricultural

Economics of the United States Department of Agriculture. These grades or standards were originally

established for the producer and shipper rather than

the housewife who buys at retail. In most cases, the

marks, names, or other indications of grade are ex- pressed so as to guide the wholesalers and people

who buy in wholesale quantities, like cafeteria, hotel,

iind institution managers. To the customer in the retail store many of these designations are meaningless

;

usually they do not even appear on the crate or basket

from which the retail purchase is taken.

The housewife has to deal with man}'' kinds of foods

and with several qualities of most kinds. To some

extent she has learned to associate quality with a brand or trade name, and recently slie has become

aware of the importance of reading the statements of

weight and lawfulness on the labels of packaged and

canned goods. PTtilization of the quality grade does

not mean that all the lesser grades will be passed over and only the choicer qualities sold. On the contrary,

for many purposes the fancy grades are too expensive

and a medium or even low grade will do.

Official quality grades might be placed in three

fairly well-defined groups with respect to the con- sumer’s ability to use them.

The first grouji includes those foods which have

grade designations easily recognized by the housewife.

In this group there is a stamp, a tag, a certificate, or some other indication of grade that can be seen and

readily understood. The second group includes foods

that are sold by quality grades at wholesale, particularly fruits and vegetables, but not so easily identified

by the retail customer. Canned farm jiroducts comjirise the third group. The labels on the cans must

bear truthful statements, but at present they give little information about the quality grades of the contents. Beef, turkey during the holida}' season, eggs, butter,

and cheese are in the first group. Canned chicken and

chicken products might be roughly included, since

those put up by a number of fiians now bear a label denoting wholesomeness, if not quality grade. This

is now true of some dressed rabbits.

Turkeys have been marked by grade during the holiday season for the past 5 years. A tag or band on

the leg is sometimes used. This year the Governmentgraded turkeys will be shipped to dealers in crates or

barrels marked by quality designation, but the individual buyer will have to take the dealer’s word for

what she is getting. If enougli liousewives ask in advance for Government-graded turkeys, dealers will

be more inclined to carry them, past experience has

shown. Other ways of indicating the grades of eggs,

butter, and cheese are used.

The Bureau of Agricultural Economics has worked

out standards for practically all fruits and vegetables,

and each year a larger quantity is sold under these

grades. The more the housewives acquaint themselves

with these names and ask for them, the more the

service will be extended to benefit them. Dealers will

stock with goods of the grade desired, and possibly

make more effort to retain the identifying marks on

containers to show their customers. In the third group of products (the canned goods)

the housekeeper has an indirect way of finding out

what grades she is getting. The Bureau of Agricultural Economics suggests that if she is a large buj^er

she might buy and com])are several cans of the same

article put up under different brand names and satisfy

herself as to which brand gives her the quality she

is interested in at the price she wishes to pay. She

could score each brand on a basis of the quality factors

enumerated in the Federal standards.

MINERAL AGGREGATE PRODUCTION

SCREENS

Simplified practice recommendation R147-33, cov- ering wire diameters for mineral aggregate production

.screens, has been accorded the required degree of writ- ten approval by the industry and may now be con- sidered as in effect. This recommendation, which was

proposed and formulated by the industry, covers the

diameter (in inches) of light, standard light, standard heavy, and heavy wire used for specified widths

of clear openings in screens for producing mineral

aggregates.

It is expected that the simplified schedule will be

instrumental in effecting a reduction of approximately To percent in the number of wire diameters

now in use.

STEEL REINFORCING SPIRALS

The revised simplified practice recommendation

R53-32, covering steel reinforcing spirals, is now in print, and copies can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office. Washington, D.C., for 5 cents each.

The original recommendation was drafted by the

industry and made effective in 192G. It reduced the

then existing variety of rod diameters to four.

In the present program, as revised by the standing

committee of the industry, these diameters have been

retained, and there are also shown the corresponding

cross-sectional areas. To facilitate the use of the rec- ommendation by specifiers of spiral reinforcement, the

revised edition contains a table showing the application of the sizes of reinforcing spirals to all normal

column core diametei’S with one-fourth-inch intervals

of vertical sjiacing between successive turns.
282 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY JUNE 1933 ACID IN LIBRARY AIR

In experimental tests recently completed by the

Bureau of Standards it Avas found that air passing

into libraries can be readily cleansed of acid gases. Since preA'ious Avork at the Bureau of Standards

liad shown that air polluted Avith acid fumes re- sulting from combustion of fuels is a deteriorant of

papers stored in libraries, an experimental study

AAuis made at a Washington library of means of re- moA’ing the acid. This can be accomplished, or course, only where air conditioning is practiced. In such

treatment the air is Avashed Avith AA^ater, and by adding sufficient sodium compounds to the Avash water to maintain a fixed alkalinity, complete removal of acid

from library air containing as much as 0.42 parts

sulphur dioxide per 1,000,000 was effected. Without

alkaline treatment, the Avash water removed practically no acid from the air. An added advantage of the use of the alkaline

Avash water is that it retards corrosion of the con- ditioning equipment. This is important because in

absence of such treatments the acid in the air of

highly polluted areas has necessitated large replacements of conditioning equipment within less than a

year’s use. The alkaline treatment is simple and the

cost of it is negligible.

BUREAU’S EXHIBIT AT “A CENTURY OF

PROGRESS EXPOSITION”

The work of the Bureau of Standards Avill be shown

visitors to “A Century of Progress ExiJosition,” Chicago’s World Fair of 1933, in the form of striking

exhibits and publications.

The exposition offers a liberal education in the exhibits of science in their application to industry and

in the world trends of creation of products and buying interests. It offers an immense fund of useful

general information in the world show of art and art products and of manufactures and methods in all lines. The commercial-standardization activities of the

Bureau will be shoAvn in the form of posters outlining the benehts received by consumers from adoption

of simplified practice recommendations, commercial

standards, and the application of qualitj^-identifying

labels on commodities. Among the Bureau’s exhibits are the following:

Model of wind tunnel.—The Avind-tunnel exhibit

illustrates the application of wind tunnels to the meas- urement of the air resistance of automobiles. The

present-day conA^entional model uses about 11 horsepower to overcome the resistance of the air at 50 miles

per hour, as compared Avith about 16 horsepower for a car of a decade ago. It is, however, easily possible

to reduce the horsepoAver to overcome air resistance

at 50 miles per hour to about 4 horsepower. A model

giving that performance and a model of a conventional

car are placed side by side in the exhibition wind tunnel, which may be operated to sIioav the order of magnitude of the relative resistance.

Precision gage Mocks. —Precision gage blocks are blocks of hardened steel having tAvo opposite surfaces

plane, parallel, and a precise distance apart. They

are used in technical laboratories and in shops as reference standaixls of lengtli Ixm-checking measuring

instruments and limit gages of various types, and as distance pieces for precise mechanical AVork. Blocks

intended for reference standards for precision Avork

of high accuracy have their gaging surface plane and

parallel to Avithin 0.000002 inch, and their lengths

accurate to ±0.000003 inch per inch of length or fraction thereof. The flatness of the gaging surfaces

permits them to be brought into such accurate contact

that by bringing together tAvo or more blocks, a single

gage Avhose length is the sum of the component blocks

is formed. Thus, Avith this set of 34 blocks ranging

in length from 0.1 inch to 4 inches, dimensions from

0.3 inch to 10 inches may be obtained in increments

of 0.00025 inch.

Steel-testing machine.—During recent years testing

machines have been more and more extensively used

by both the manufacturers and users of engineering

materials. The increasing use of metals having high

strength makes it necessary to test the strength of

materials to prove that they have the required strength

and other properties. The use of unsuitable material

might cause failure of the machine or structure and

endanger life and property. The testing machine is invaluable when developing a new alloy or other

material because it allows the strength and other

properties to be determined in the laboratory. If

testing machines were not available, it would be nec- essary to use the material in actual structures and

determine its suitability from experience with the

structure—a long, dangerous, and expensive procedure. There is little doubt that the testing machine

has played a very important part in the great improA^ement in materials which has taken place in the

past 25 3^ears. Without it the art of fusion Avoiding

for high-jAressure piping, the use of high-strength steel for bolted flanges in pipes, automobiles, and other applications, too numerous to mention, would have made

little progress. NEW FEDERAL SPECIFICATIONS

Eleven specifications were acted on by the Federal

Specifications Board during May. Of this number

6 proposed specifications and 5 revisions have been

sent out for official comment and criticism.

Copies of these specifications are available in mimeographed form, and further information can be obtained from the Federal Specifications Board, Bureau

of Standards, Washington, D.C.

New designation

Specifications Old

F.S.B. No.

FF-S-91

Z-C-571a

PROPOSED

Brick, clay, sewer

Forks, hay and manure

Grinders, bench, hand-power,

Unions, brass or bronze, 250-pound , . . Mineral or rock wool, pipe covering and cement

Steel, corrosion-resisting; castings .. Tools, blacksmiths' and horseshoers’ REVISIONS

Screws, machine (including screws, set) 548 EE-M-lOla

JJ-H-571 527 379

489

509

TT-I-535

AVAA^-P-431a_... AVAV-P-501 0GG-D-671-...

Inks, drawing, waterproof, colored - Pipe, steel, welded and seamless (black and zinc-coated).

Pipe-fittings, cast-iron (threaded)

Drills, hand, with hollow handle . . -
JUNE 1933 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 283

AMERICAN STANDARDS ASSOCIATION

CuiTent developments of the following standanlization projects under the auspices and procedures of

the American Standards Association liave been re- [)orted by that association:

Putty. —Acting upon the suggestion of the Federal Specifications Board, tlie Standards Council of

the American Standards Association has decided to invite the American Society for Testing Materials to assume sponsorship for putty in place of the Federal Specifications Board.

Coal. —A new subcommittee on the application of

scientific classification of coal has been appointed by

the chairman of the technical committee on use classi- fication, a subdivision of the sectional committee on

classification of coal. The new subcommittee will act as a correlating committee to harmonize the scientific classification of coal as prepared by the technical

committee on scientific classification with the practical use classification of coal as worked out by the

technical committee on use classification. The American Society for Testing Materials is sponsor for the

project on classification of coals. Hosiery lengths. —In compliance with the request

of the general conference of the industry the Bureau

of Standards submitted to the American Standards

Association the commercial standard for hosiery

lengths for approval as American standard. This

commercial standard has been developed in cooperation with the National Association of Hoisery and

Underwear Manufacturers through committees and

conferences in which representatives of manufacturers, distributors, and consumers participated. On

April 18, 1933, acceptance had been received from 6 associations, 6 departments of the Federal Government, and 289 companies engaged in manufacturing

and distributing hoisery. The standard provides

methods of measurement and also specifies the lengths

of hosiery, together with tolerances, for the guidance

of producers, distributors, and consumers. The vari- ous types of hosiery covered include ladies full-fashioned, seamless, and ribbed cotton hose, men’s, boys’,

children’s, and infants’ hosiery of various types.

Gyi)SU7n standards. —The American Society for

Testing Materials has submitted the following five specifications for gypsum and gypsum plasters for approval as American standards under the proprietary

sponsorship method: Gypsum, calcined gypsum, gypsum plasters, gypsum molding plasters, and gypsum

pottery plaster.

These specifications were developed by the A.S.T.M.

Committee on Gypsum during the peiiod of active

study extending over several years prior to 1930. An

examination of standards in the field of gypsum and

gypsum plasters indicates that these particular specifications are either the only standards for these commodities or, in those cases where other standards have

been found, it has been noted that technical requirements are practically identical with those given in the

A.S.T.M. specifications. All of these standards are

in use in industry and are currently in demand.

The specifications covering gypsum are u.sed in the

manufacture of ])ortland cement, plate, glass, wall

]fiasters, structural products, and pottei'y. 'fliey are

also ai)[)licable when gypsum is to be used as feililizei-.

'I'he s])ecitication for gyjisum plaslei's has an extensive.

use in building construction, and this specification, as well as the specifications for gypsum and calcined

gypsum, is referred to in building codes and ordi- nances on plastering. The specifications for gypsum

molding ])laster cover its use in ornamental woiln

such as interior embellishments and coniices on walls

and ceilings; also for stall work, plastei' casts, etc. Gypsum pottery plaster is primarily used in the manufacture of molds of intricate design and outline such

as used in the shaping of clay, terra cotta, and ceramic

forms.

TAPERED ROLLER BEARINGS

A revised draft of simplified practice recommendation RG7, covering tapered roller bearing's, which was preijared by the standing committee of the in- dustry, has been mailed to all interests in the in- dustry by the Division of Simplified Practice of the

Bureau of Standards.

In addition to bringing the simplified practice rec- ommendation into accord with the revised standard

of the Society of Automotive Engineers for tapered

roller bearings, the proposed revision covers sizes up

to 12-inch bore, together with certain steep angle

bearings for naval and general use. At a meeting held in December 1931 the ball and

roller bearing clivision of the standards committee of

the Society of Automotive Engineers voted unanimously to recommend cancelation of the taperedroller-bearing standards of the 1931 SAE. handbook

and the substitution of a newly proposed schedule in

the 1932 edition. This revised standard was formally

adopted by the standards committee at its anual meeting on January 25, 1932. In view of this action on

the part of the Society of Automotive Engineers, the

standing committee in charge of simplified practice

recommendation RG7 submitted the proposed revised

draft of that simplification.

The original draft of the simplification was pre- pared and adopted on Eebruary 3, 1927, by a general

conference representative of all interests concerned.

It was subsequent!}^ accepted by associations and in- dividual producers, distributors, and users repre- senting more than 80 per cent of the total annual

output, and was ])romulgated by the United States Depax'tment of Commerce.

In transmitting the revised recommendation, the

acting chairman of the standing committee having

charge of the schedule, E. Wooler, chief engineer of

the Timken Roller Bearing Co., made the following

explanation

:

The extended sizes in the niedium series uy to II inches and in the heavy series up to 12 inches were carefully worked

out to our present-day knowledge, but they are not ready

yet for standardization. However, their recommendation as

simplitied pi'actice should assist considerably in making these hearings adaptable as a standard in the future. We already

have a considerable number of large-bore bearings and they

will become as complicated as the original list of small bearings uidess some such stei)S as the simplitied-practice scheim> be ailopted. The steei)-aTigle li.«t is a selection of bearings in even increments from ^1 -inch up to 2-inch bore, which include

all the large production series in this type, although tlu‘ number of other steeieangle bearings is not so large as Ihe con- ventional bearings.

d'lu' revised schedule is (o be ell'eetive one moiilli after a imoimcemenl b\' tin* Ihirt'au of Standards that the re<|iiired d(‘gree of support lias becui reeonh'd.
284 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY JUNE 1933 WIRE-ROPE TERMINAL ATTACHMENTS

For some time past there has been in effect in

England a comjirehensive series of British standard

specifications for wire ropes for use in various sec- tions of the engineering industry.

Safety in lifting not only necessitates the use of

a good quality of wire rope, but, if satisfactory life and useful service are to be obtained, it is essential

that suitable and reliable terminal fittings should be

used, and that the rope be comiected to them in an

efficient manner. In view of the importance of the

subject, a committee was appointed by the British

Standards Institution to consider the preparation of

suitable standards for wire-rope terminal attachments.

Four new specifications constitute the initial work

of the committee, namely, no. 461—1932, dealing with

Bordeaux connections; no. 462—1932, dealing with

bulldog grips ; no. 463—1932, sockets ; and no. 464

1932, dealing with thimbles. The question of dimensions presented no small task and in certain instances

essential dimensions only, such as are necessary to provide suitable fittings of adequate strength which

are interchangeable where necessary, have been specified. Where strength is the sole consideration, minimum dimensions have been given. In this way manufacturers are able to adapt their individual patterns

to iinjirove designs, and future developments will not

be hampered.

STANDARDIZED FORMS FOR COMPENSATION

CLAIMS

Efforts are now being made by the National Council on Compensation Insurance, through its members and

their representatives, to have adopted for use in all States five forms to be used in connection with the re- porting and administration of claims. The forms,

which have been approved by the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions take care of all general types of claims and

replace more than 400 forms now used.

A preliminary survey conducted some time ago by

a committee representing six members of the National

Council on Compensation Insurance revealed an out- standing multiplicity of claim forms. In the 38 States

in which the companies write workmen’s compensation

the more than 400 forms were found to contain all manner of variations. Forms used for correspondence

purposes in different States varied in both the nature

and number of questions asked. After reducing the

claims to five general types, the committee of the National Council on Compensation Insurance and the

committee on forms of the International Association

of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions

drafted their jiroposed forms, which were approved

by the international body in a resolution adopted at

its convention.

Advantages which will be gained by the use of a standardized claim form are: {a) The economic

advantage to the carriers through materially reduced

printing, handling, and storage costs; (b) increased

expedition and efficiency in handling the various

claim reports (this advantage will accrue not only

to the insurance carriers, both in their home offices and in their branch offices Avhere employees handle

claims covering several States, buCulso to employers

as well, particularly where such employers are en- gaged in business in more than one State) ; (c) the

use of uniform forms should result in a more prompt

and complete reporting of accidents with resulting

economies in claim costs. The National Council on Compensation Insurance

has circularized its members, explaining the program

and requesting that the field representatives in the

several States cooperate with the national council

and the committee in their attempt to secure the

adoption of these forms.

GRADING RULES FOR FACE BRICK

Face brick has joined the growing list of building

materials which are being sold under grading rules

that protect both the buyer and the seller. Standard grading rules to be used as a basis for

the sale of face brick have just been adopted by the

American Face Brick Association. Four classifica- tions are given in the rules, namely, uniform shade,

mingled shade, substandard, and cull. All first-quality brick are placed in the first two classifications,

which have stringent requirements as to dimensional

variations, chippage, color, and warpage.

The rules as adopted are based upon the simplified

sizes of brick adopted in 1923 as simplified practice

recommendation R7. At the time a size of 8 by 3yg

by 2% inches was made standard for smooth-face

brick, while a size of 8 by 3% by 2% inches was made

standard for rough-textured face brick. It was rec- ognized then, as now, that it is impossible to manufacture brick conforming exactly to these sizes, but no

limitations as to the A^ariation in sizes Avere worked

out. The new rules cover this point thoroughly.

WOOL AND PART-WOOL BLANKETS

The recommended supplement to Commercial Standard CS. 39-32, Wool and Part-Wool Blankets; on the

relatiA^e size of type for use in advertising avooI and

jiart-Avool blankets was circulated to the industry for

acceptance on April 26, 1933.

This supplement has the approval of the standing

committee, and this action is taken at their request.

The recommendation, if accepted, will be included

as paragraph 7 of the Commercial Standard.

The supplement reads as follows:

In advertising part-wool blankets where the “ wool ” or the words “ part avooI ” are used in any form, the phrase “ Not

Less Than Percent Wool” shall, as a general rule, be

shown in the same size, style and legibility of type as the words “ part wool ” and shall follow immediately after the words “ part wool ”, or be set up within three consecutive

lines in the following order and relative position

Part Wool

BLANKETS

Not Less Than Percent Wool

except in the following instances: () AVhen the words “part wool” are shown in larger

than 18-point type, the phrase “ Not Less Than Percent

AVool ” shall in no case be shown in less than 18-point type, and in no case in less than one third the type size of the phrase “ part avooI ”. () When the Avords “part wool” are shown in smaller than 18-point type, the phrase “ Not Less Than Percent

AA^ool ” shall always be in not less than the same size and set

I in the same style as the words “ part wool
JUNE 193o commeecial staetdards monthly 285

MECHANICAL “HAND” DEVELOPED TO

“FEEL” CLOTH

The “ handle ” or “ feel ” and the “ drape ” of fabrics arc of importance to the user of textiles; for example,

in clothing and home furnishing, as well as to the

textile designer, and to the textile- finishing mill which

must produce fabrics having a given “ handle ” or drape.”

They are psychological qualities which are com- monly expressed onl}" in the vaguest terms. Two in- struments have been developed recently in the textile

section of the Bureau of Standards for the evaluation of certain of the physical attributes of cloth that

affect the sensations which contribute to “ handle ” and

“ drape.” One is called the flexometer, the other the

compressometer.

The flexometer provides a means for measuring

the flexural attributes of cloth, paper, sheet rubber,

and similar materials. A pair of test specimens of

standard dimensions are mounted in opposite angles

formed by 2 vertical intersecting plates, 1 of which is fixed and the other movable on a spindle. The work

done in folding the specimens to various angles between the plates, the work recovered when they are allowed to unfold, and the work lost are determined.

These quantities are a measure, res])ectively, of flex- ural work, flexural resilience, and flexural hysteresis

of the specimens. They are related to the stiffness and creasability of the cloth. The compressometer provides a means for measuring the compressional attributes of cloth and similar

materials. With it, the thickness can be measured

under a known pressure, which can be increased or decreased gradually and continuouslj’. Thus the

thickness under a given pressure and the change in

thickness under either increasing or decreasing pres- sure can be determined. The compressibility and

compressional resilience of the material are computed

from these data. These attributes are related to soft- ness or hardness and springiness as discerned by

squeezing the cloth between the fingers.

Description of the flexometer and the conipressometer, together with data illustrative of the results obtained with these instruments, appeared in the May

and June issues, respectively, of the Bureau of Standards Journal of Research.

RECOMMENDED MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

FOR SMALL DWELLING CONSTRUCTION

In their search for sound and economical construction home builders Avill find much of interest in a report of the Bureau of Standards entitled “ Recommended Minimum Requirements for Small Dwelling

Consti’uction.”

The primary purpose of this report, which is a revision of similar suggested requirements issued several years ago, is to provide suggested minimum re- quirements that may be followed by local building

officials and committees in connection with redrafting

their building codes. The revised report goes further,

however, in providing supplementary information

helpful to the building official in carrying out his

duties and also to the prospective home builder who

wants to get a well built house. The results of experience, research, and developments in construction

methods and materials have all been taken into consideration in preparing the new suggested require- ments. Numerous illustrations help to give an idea of what

constitutes good and poor practice, while such hems

as allowable thicknesses of masomu'^ walls, proper bracing of frame buildings, and provision for adequate

fireproofing serve to illustrate the nature of subjects

covered. An appendix is a prominent feature of the

report.

The report deals onh’ with construction of dwellings intended for occupancy bj^ 1 and 2 families. At

the time the original report was drafted, 1921, there was a great scarcitj^ of dwellings throughout the countiy, especially the small 1- and 2-family type. While

this situation is not so pressing at this time there is, nevertheless, an enhanced interest in sound and

economical construction owing to the growing conviction that home ownership is of deep significance

to the welfare of the countrj^

So strongly has this conviction been impressed upon

responsible civic leaders that more than 3,000 of them

recently came to Washington for the purpose of eval- uating aAuiilable facts about liome ownership and

stimulating greater opportunities for its fulfillment.

This gatherings—the President’s Conference on Home

Building and Home OAvnefship—emphasizecl the importance of sound building regulations.

SIMPLIFICATION OF ELECTRIC LAMPS FOR

RAILWAY SIGNALING

The fourth, and perhaps the most important, of

the series of British standard specifications dealing

with electric railway-signaling equipment has been

issued by ithe British, Standards Institution. The new publication concerns electric lamps.

The number of types of signaling devices employing lamps is so large that it is not surprising that

a large variety of lamps, differing in voltage Avatt- age, size, and shape of bulb and filament, should be

in use, state the announcement of the British Standards Institution. As a result of numerous tests a committee appointed by the institution has been able

to naiTOAV down the series to a comparatiA'^ely small

I'ange of lam2DS designed to meet eA’ery jAossible signaling requirement.

The specification contains clauses deiining tests on

the lamjDs and dealing Avith the suitability of the vari- ous lamps for i^articular signalling purposes. Then

folloAV the schedules giving the rating, dimensions,

efficiency, and life of the lamps. A feature of pai'-

ticular interest is the inclusion of an appendix sIioav- ing, in graphic form, the relation betAveen the volt- age, life, and efficiency of the lamps.

SALT PACKAGES

'Ihe standing committee of the industry has re- atlirmed, Avithout change, siiu])lili('d i)racticc rccommondatioii R20, coA^ering salt pafkages.

This simplification j)rogram, Avhich was 2jro])o.s(‘d and formulated by the indu.stry, is concerned Avith capacities, in pounds, of the various types of containers.
286 COMMErxCIAL STAI^DARDS AIOXTHLY •TUNE 1033 WROUGHT-IRON AND WROUGHT-STEEL PIPE

The revised simplified practice recommendation

R5T-32, covering wrong'ht-iron and wrought-steel

])ipe, valves, and fittings, is now available in printed

form, and copies can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office,

Washington, D.C., for 5 cents each.

The revision, as proposed and formulated by the

industry, eliminates the 314-inch nominal inside diameter pipe from table 3, “ Double extra-strong ” pipe,

which was included in the original recommendation.

This simplification program has been instrumental

in reducing the number of stock sizes of pipe from

62 to 48, and in effecting a corresponding reduction in

the variety of sizes of valves and fittings.

NEW FOOD DEFINITIONS PROPOSED

The advisability of adopting new definitions and

standards for molasses and several egg products is under consideration by the United States Food Standards Committee.

The products involved are New Orleans molasses,

table molasses, cooking molasses, liquid whole eggs, mixed eggs, frozen egg, dried egg, egg yolk, frozen

egg yolk, and dried egg yolk.

Copies of the proposed definitions can be obtained

from W. S. Frisbie, chairman. United States Food

Standards Committee, Food and Drug Administration, AVashington, D.C. The committee invites criti- cisms and suggestions from food officials, consumers,

and the trade.

TEXTILE-MACHINERY PARTS

A general conference of manufacturers, distributors,

and users was held in New York, in the rooms of the

Association of Cotton Textile Merchants, 40 AA^orth

Street, on June 2, to develop simplified practice rec- ommendations for items used in the textile industry.

The agenda for the conference, issued by the Division of Simplified Practice of the Bureau of Standards, in cooperation with the simplified practice committee of manufacturers, covered hole sizes for taper

tubes for filling cop Avindei’s, and for bobbins for fill- ing cop winders, and basic dimensions for wooden

cones for warping and knitting yarns.

The conference was the second of a series to be held

in connection with a general pi'ogi'am of simplification

of textile-machinery jiarts. The first was held in June

1032, and resulted in the adoption of a program for

paper cones and tubes, which has been since issued as simplified ])ractice recommendation R143-33.

The need for simplification in the machinery field of the textile industry was suggested to the Division

of Simplified Practice by E. F. Parks, works manager and chief engineer of the Universal AA^^inding

Co., Providence, R.I. In requesting the division to coo])erate in this work, he summarized the situation

as follows

To date we Iiave nmirnfaclnred Ui8 disLiuct types of spindles with 1,000 varying sizes and, in so doing, naturally our inanufacturiug costs and inventory are inllated. Unless some standards are established, the list will ever be in- creasing. New industries now have—no-tabulations of stand- ards to order equipment from and the older textile industries most trequently order their new machines equipped with

spindles “ same as last " or “ with spindles to fit bobbin or tube as per sample herewith

The “ same-as-last ” customers might easily pick some stand- ard spindle, if such were tabulated, that could be used equally

well, and the “sample herewith ” is usually picked at random

and generally only varies from what might have easily been standard had no error been made in its maniifacture or hail

it been made to conform to some standard bobbin, quill, or tube. From our records of some 36 years, we have prepared our own lists and drawings of what we consider standard, particularly with reference to the hole size. These standards

are called for on approximately 80 percent of our orders,

and on the remaining 20 percent they are special. On one machine alone, we have 80 standard style spindles with 200

different sizes, and in the special spindles we have 74 styles

with 1,016 varied sizes. We naturally would not expect the industry to standardize according to our records alone, but

believe it will meet nearly the list which other manufacturers

would desire to standardize upon also. In response to this request, the Division of Simplified Practice arranged a meeting of manufacturers

and other interested organizations, to consider Mr.

Parks’ suggestion and to take whatever action was

considered necessary to insure definite results. It Avas the unanimous opinion of those attending this meeting

that there existed a need for detTloping sound simplification programs for A^arious items, such as spindles, bobbins, spools, paper cones and tubes, and

similar parts.

Simplified practice committees aatit appointed to I'epresent different groups in the industry, and it is the programs of these committees which are noAv being brought u)t for final action by all concerned.

It is jffanned to hold general conferences to consider

other items, as rapidly as the committees complete

their tentative plans.

LABELS FOR CANNED FRUIT AND

VEGETABLES

Regulations under the Canadian Meat and Canned

Foods Act affecting the marking on fruit and A-egetable containers and packages and the standards of

quality for specified fruits and vegetables liave been

amended by order in council, according to a report

receiATd from Assistant Commercial Attache at OttaAva. The changes lequire indications on labels of the

presence of preservatives, color, glucose, or other substitute for sugar, the net weight of contents on non- standard containers, size of containers on ends of

boxes or cases and declaration of standard of quality,

Avhere sucli ])roducts have been standardized, and prescribe amended or neAv standards of quality for canned

corn, peas, lima beaus, carrots and beets, grapefruit,

clierries, and fruits for salad.

BASIC SHEET SIZES OF PAPER

Simplified practice recommendation R22-33, cov- ering paper (basic sheet sizes), lias been accorded the

required degree of Avritten apiiroval by the industry,

and may be considered effective as of June 15, 1933. Ten sheet sizes Avere added to this revised simplification lArogram b}^ the standing committee of the in- dustry. Specific headings for the A^arious sections of

the recommendation also have been included by the

committee.
JUNE 1933 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 287

VITRIFIED PAVING BRICK

Simplified practice recommendation Rl-32, coveringvitrified paving brick, has been reaffirmed, without

change, for another year by the standing committee

of the industry.

A survey of the 1932 production of vitrified paving

brick revealed that 81.5 percent of the total shipments

conformed to the six sizes listed in the simplified

practice recommendation.

HOME-RENOVIZING CAMPAIGN STARTED IN

WASHINGTON

Expenditures reaching $5,000,000 for labor and materials by local property owners during the next 6

months is the goal set by a committee of business and

civic leaders now actively sponsoring the Renovize

Washington Campaign, according to the Home Modernizing Committee of the Bureau of Standards.

The first announcements of the drive include a contest for choosing the best plans for completely modernizing and equipping a dilapidated house more than 60

years of age. Practically every building trade will be

utilized in the public demonstration of home remodeling in connection with the day-to-day modernizing of

this old structure with local housing experts in attend- ance to answer home owners’ questions. In order to make provisions for immediate financing, leadingfinancial institutions are represented on the local committee, and the District Bankers’ Association has made

available a special credit pool to further facilitate the

making of needed loans to home owners. According to current reports received by the Home

Modernizing Committee of the Bureau of Standards,

this local campaign represents another link in a national chain of similar organized property improvement drives conducted in cities throughout the country

to stimulate local employment and business and stabilize home values. Of these campaigns the most out- standing to date is the Renovize Philadelphia Campaign, of which the local organization estimates that

$14,000,000 of the total expenditure by projierty owners of $21,000,000 will go directly to labor and furnish approximately 1 month’s Avork for 138,000 men. A responsible writer recently stated that “ There

are millions of residences in the United States of an average age of betAveen 13 and 15 years. Hundreds

of thousands are much older in the East, some run- ning to a century or two.”

A community, by making carefully jdanucd rej)airs

in accordance Avith good designs, raises its real-estate values, and advances the commonwealth through such

improA’ements. Chambers of commerce, leadingnewspapers, ciA'ic organizations and clubs have joined

in canqiaigns to encourage citizens to improA-e their

properties. Of great importance is the circumstance

that banks in many cities haA’e announced their Avill- ingne.ss to lend liberally to finance imjiroA’cments.

Bankers generally knoAv that a feAV humired dollars

spent in modernizing a house materially adds to tlu' Aalue of the projicrty. The marketability of tlu> property is increased and the Avhole tone of the neighborhood raised. The banker knoAvs that his security

is greater when improvements are made.

The AdAdsoiw Home Modernizing Committee of the

Bureau of Standards is coihposed of 17 housing experts, serving in a A'oluntary capacitAL through the

Bureau’s diAusion of building and housing. Details

of plans used in successful home-modernizing and

community-improA’ement campaigns in various cities,

including reports on expenditures, an operating manual outlining local campaign organization, and in- formation of interest to individual home owners, may

be secured from the committee on request.

HYDRAULIC-LABORATORY RESEARCH

As the result of a proposal made by Dr. Schaffernak,

of Austria, at the World PoAA'er Conference at Berlin

in 1930, that “ an organization be established for the

purpose of interchanging, in the field of hydraulic

engineering, the results of laboratory research and of

observations of natural conditions corresponding

thereto ”, the American committee of the conference

asked the Bureau of Standards to serve as the ex- change agency for the United States. The object of the proposed organization is to afford

promptly to all the hydraulic laboratories throughout

the world information as to the nature of the researcli

which each is undertaking, thus permitting a closer coordination of the Avork. Results will be interchanged long before the final reports are published,

and useless duplication of efi'ort Avill be preA^ented.

The first step in organizing this service nationall}^

in the United States Avas to compile and distribute

to the hydraulic laboratories in this country a report

coA’ering the activities of the-e laboratories. As a result of the prompt cooperation of the individual

laboratories, it was possible for the Bureau of Standards to issue on April 1, 1933, its first report of this

kind, a mimeographed bulletin entitled, “ Current

Hydraulic Laboratoiy Research in the United States.” The current number gives a history of the undertaking and lists researches in progress in a large number of laboratories. These researches are reported

uniformly under nine heads, which giA’e the princi]ial facts needed by anyone interested in looking up the

details of these projects. The second report Avill be

issued on July 1, and succeeding numbers will appear

quarterly.

In addition to the above service, the Bureau of

Standai-ds Avill compile and issue annually a description of the hydraulic laboratories in the United States,

their e(|uipment and facilities for research, insofar as the heads of the laboratories Avill furnish the necessary

infoi-ination. Idiose desiring com[)lete information as to this new

service should communicate Avilli the Director. Bureau

of Standards, AVashington. D.C.

STEEL ROOFING

I'he standing committee of the industry in charge

of simplified practice recommendations R28-29 and

RT8-28, covering sheet steel, and .iron and steel roofing, i-espectively. has recommcmU'd that the existing

schednles he ri'allirmed Avithout change.

The sheet -steel recommendation is concerned A\ilh

the various gages of galvanized flat, one-])ass c<»ld- rolled box-annealed, and blue-annealed sheets. Style and form, Avidth. length, gage, and Aveight of

galvanized or ])ainted roofing are contained in the iron

and steel roofing sinqilified schedule.
288 commeecial standards monthly JUNE 1933 GRINDING WHEELS

Simplified practice recommendation R-to-32 (foui'th

edition) coverin'^ grinding Avheels, as revised by the

standing committee of the industry, is now in print,

and copies can be obtained from the Superintendent

of Documents, Government Printing Office, Wasliington, D.C., for 5 cents each.

A large majority of all the grinding wheels used in

this country fall within the nine types, the dimensions

of which are set up by this recommendation. There

is also included a standard nomenclature for various

classes of work found in the grinding industry.

CUPOLA REFRACTORIES

A simplified practice recommendation covering

cupola refractories has been mailed to all interests in the industry by the Bureau of Standards for their consideration and written acceptance.

This recommendation, which was proposed and

formulated by the industry, provides a simplified list of sizes for cupola blocks, i- and 2-hole tap-out blocks,

and slag-hole blocks.

The simplified schedule will be effective on an- nouncement by the Bureau that the required degree

of acceptance has been received.

PAVING BRICK

The printed copies of the revised simplified practice recommendation Rl-32, covering vitrified pavingbrick (eighth edition), are now available, and can

be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents,

Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., for

0 cents each.

The 1932 revision, described in the current publication, has been recently reaffirmed for another year

by the industry’s standing committee.

This simplified practice recommendation, which was

proposed and formulated by the industry, has been in- strumental in reducing the number of A^arieties of vit- rified paving brick from 66 to 6, or approximately 91 percent.

STANDARDIZATION BRIEFS

Aii'idane fuel made from coal is to be used by one

of the British lunne-defense air squadrons. The British Miuistry of Air has contracted for a year’s siq^ply

of the new peti-ol made from coal.

The galvanizing tests contained in several British

specifications dealing with steel Avire, steel-AAure ropes, and aluminum overhead poAver-transmission concluc- tors (specifications nos. 163, 182, 183, 181, 215, 236. 237, 300, 302, 330, and 336) haA'e been superseded b}’

the test described in British Standard Specification

“ Testing of the Zinc Coating on Galvanized Wires ”, according to information received from the British

Standards Institution. 28, Victoria Street, London,

SW. 1.

The use of “ Avired Avireless " as a substitute for

standard radio receiAung sets as used in the United

States is gaining considerable momentum under conditions existing in seA-eral European countries. This

system of radiobroadcast reception is used extensively

in Holland, Belgium. SAAdtzerland. the United Kingdom, and other Eui'opean countries. ‘‘Wired AvireIc'ss ” is a system of broadcast reception requiring the

direct transmission of radio programs by wire from

a central receiver or broadcasting station into the

homes of subscribers. The service is sometimes supplied oA'er the regular telephone Avires but in such a manner as to permit the usual telephone service.

The subscriber to the “ AVired Avireless ” service is furnished a loud speaker of special design which is plugged into an outlet provided for that purpose.

Most systems provide tAvo or more programs by duplicating the Aviring outlets.

Standardization and safety in plant, corrosion, fire prevention and control Avill feature the World Petro- leum Congress, to be held at the Imperial College of

Science and Technology, South Kensingion, London,

England, July 19 to 25, 1933. The congress is or- ganized by the Institution of Petroleum Technologists.
STANDARDS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR

METALS AND METAL PRODUCTS

Compiled by the Bureau of Standards, United States Department of Commerce

Bound in green buckram, 10 chapters

Adequate index, 1,300 pages 7% by B0% inches

This volume of the Encyclopedia Series contains the standards and specifications for metals and

metal products prepared by over 80 nationally recognized organizations authorized to speak for industry or for the Federal Government as a whole.

In this volume are reproduced the substance

and form of all available nationally recognized

specifications for such commodities as are embraced within the numerical classification designations 600 to 699 in the national directory

of commodity specifications. This great mass

of material is so presented as to make it readily

available for use by those interested in all the

nationally recognized specifications on iron and

steel and nonferrous metals.

OUTLINE OF CONTENTS

Class No. Commodities

600-609. Iron and steel. 610-619. Iron and steel manufactures.

620-629. Ferro-alloying ores, metals, and metal

manufactures.

630-639. Aluminum, antimony, bismuth, cad- mium, and cobalt. 640-649. Copper, brass, and bronze. 650-659. Lead, mercury, and nickel. 660-669. Precious metals, metal jewelry, and

plated ware. 670-679. Clocks, watches, and dials. 680-689. Tin and zinc. 690-699. Miscellaneous ores, metals, alloys, and

metal manufactures.

Includes:

1. Either in full or by suitable abstract, tabulation, or cross reference, over 1,600 nationally

recognized standards and specifications, covering both ferrous and nonferrous metals and their

manufacture, except machinery, vehicles, and electrical supplies.

2. Methods of testing, chemical analyses, metallic coatings, and heat treatment of metals in considerable detail.

3. Over 1,100 illustrations to illuminate the text.

4. Some 2,000 cross references to demonstrate the close relationship existing among

the specifications assigned to the metals.

5. A wealth of information that would otherwise occupy many additional pages of

text is condensed into tables. There are 1,700 such tables.

6. An extended index of approximately 3,500 items containing all references to any metallic commodity referred to in these 1,600 specifications, so that comparisons

may readily be made between the specification requirements of the various specification-producing organizations.

7. A list of technical societies, trade associations, and other organizations issuing

standards and specifications for metals and metal products, together with names and

addresses of their secretaries or other officers, to indicate proper sources for information

as to possible revisions or supplemental data.

Price $3

Compiled by Bureau of Standards

Miscellaneous Publication No. 120

Buckram bound For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

DANIEL C. ROPER, Secretary of Commerce

“ * * * this Department * * * is devoted solely to aiding and fostering the development of higher standards of living and comfort of our people * * * its ideals are clear: That by cooperation and not by compulsion it should seek to assist in maintaining and giving the impulse of progress to commerce and industry in a nation whose successful economic life underlies advancement in every other field." —President Hoover, at the laying of the corner stone of the new building

of the U. S. Defiartment of Commerce, June 10, 1929.

AERONAUTICS BRANCH,

Establishment of civil airways and maintenance of aids to air navigation; inspection and registration of aircraft and licensing

of pilots; enforcement of air traffic rules; investigation of acci- dents; encouragement of municipal airports; fostering of air commerce; scientific research in aeronautics; and dissemination of information relating to commercial aeronautics. (Some

of these functions are performed by special divisions of the Lighthouse Service, the Bureau of Standards, and the Coast and Geodetic Survey.)

BUREAU OF THE CENSUS, W. L. Austin, Director. Taking censuses of population, mines, and quarries, water

transportation, and religious bodies every 10 years; censuses of agriculture and electrical public utilities every 5 years; and a

census of manufactures every 2 years. Compilation of statistics of wealth, public debt, and taxation, including financial statistics of local governments, every 10 years; annual compilation of

financial statistics of State and municipal governments.

Compilation of statistics of marriage, divorce, births, deaths,

and penal and other institutions annually, and of death rates in

cities and automobile accidents weekly.

Compilation quarterly or monthly of statistics on cotton, wool, leather, and other industries; annually of forest products.

BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE,

F. M. Feiker, Director. The collection of timely information concerning world market

conditions and openings for American products in foreign countries, through commercial attaches, trade commissioners, and

consular officers, and its distribution through weekly Commerce

Reports, bulletins, confidential circulars, the news and trade

press, the monthly Survey of Current Business, and district and

cooperative offices in 65 cities. The maintenance of commodity,

technical, and regional divisions to afford special service to American exporters and manufacturers. The compilation and distribution of lists of possible buyers

and agents for American products in all parts of the world and

publication of weekly lists of specific sales opportunities abroad. The publicity of statistics on imports and exports. The study of the processes of domestic trade and commerce. BUREAU OF STANDARDS, Lyman .1. Briggs, Acting Director. Custody, development, and construction of standards of measurement, quality, performance, or practice; comparison of standards used by scientific or other institutions; determination

of physical constants and properties of materials; researches and tests on materials and processes; and publication of scientific and technical bulletins reporting results of researches and

fundamental technical data. Collection and dissemination of information concerning

building codes and the planning and construction of houses. Establishment of simplified commercial practices through

cooperation with business organizations in order to reduce the wastes resulting from excessive variety in commodities.

BUREAU OF MINES, Scott Turner, Director. Technical investigations in the mining, preparation, and

utilization of minerals, including the study of mine hazards and

safety methods and of improved methods in the production

and use of minerals. ^

BUREAU OF MINES—Continued.

Testing of Government fuels and management of the Govern- ment Fuel Yard at Washington.

Research on helium and operation of plants producing it. Studies in the economics and marketing of minerals and col- lection of statistics on mineral resources and mine accidents. The dissemination of results of technical and economic

researches in bulletins, technical papers, mineral resources series, miners’ circulars, and miscellaneous publications.

BUREAU OF FISHERIES, Frank T. Bell, Commissioner.

The propagation and distribution of food fish and shellfish, in order to prevent the depletion of the fisheries; investigations

to promote conservation of fishery resources; the development

of commercial fisheries and agriculture; study of fishery methods,

improvements in merchandising, and collection of fishery statistics; administration of Alaska fisheries and fur seals; and the

protection of sponges off the coast of Florida. BUREAU OF LIGHTHOUSES, George R. Putnam,

Commissioner.

Maintenance of lighthouses and other aids to water navigation. Establishment and maintenance of aids to navigation

along civil airways. Publication of Light Lists, Buoy Lists, and

Notices to Mariners. COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY, R. S. Patton, Director. Survey of the coasts of the United States and publication of charts for the navigation of the adjacent waters, including

Alaska, the Philippine Islands, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin

Islands, and the Canal Zone; interior control surveys; magnetic

surveys; tide and current observations; and seismological investigations. Publication of results through charts, coast pilots, tide tables, current tables, and special publications.

BUREAU OF NAVIGATION AND STEAMBOAT INSPECTION, Arthur J. Tyrer and Dickerson N. Hoover,

Assistant Directors. Superintendence of commercial marine and merchant seamen.

Construction and administration of navigation laws covering

documentation, ship mortgage act, entry and clearance, move- ment of vessels, welfare of seamen, admeasurement, load line, adjudication of fines, collection of fees, tonnage tax, etc. Compilation of Federal statistics of tonnage and merchant seamen. The inspection of merchant vessels, including boilers, hulls, and life-saving equipment, licensing of officers of vessels, certi- fication of able seamen and lifeboatmen, and the investigation

of violations of steamboat inspection laws. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE, Conway P. Coe,

Commissioner.

The granting of patents and the registration of trade-marks,

prints, and labels after technical examination and judicial

proceedings.

Maintenance of library with public search room, containing

copies of foreign and United States patents and trade-marks. Recording bills of sale, assignments, etc., relating to patents

and trade-marks. Furnishing copies of records pertaining to patents. Publication of the weekly Official Gazette, showing the patents and trade-marks issued.

U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 19SS

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