fAAR 2 7 1933

COMMERCIAL

STANDARDS

, vV^

,v\ V' ^MONTHLY

A Review of Progress in

Commercial Standardisation and Simplification

I’hotoKraphiMl l>y 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. 9 March, 1933

For sale by the Superinten Jcnt of Documents, W'ashington, D, C. $1.00 annually ($1.60 lorcign i ; single copy, 1 0 cents
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

ROY D. CHAPIN, 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 pradlice cooperates with industrial and commercial groups to reduce wa^te, usually through

eliminating unnecessary variety of product, method, or

practice. Its fundfion is to bring together all parties inter- ested in a projedt 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 request for written acceptance of the adtion taken. When the volume

of acceptances is sufficient to indicate initial success, the

Department of Commerce 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 commodity or adlivity in which it will reduce

wadle. The division stands ready to render

service in developing and making effedlive 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 condtrudtion 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 fluctuation from

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

objective of making buildings more useful through proper

location with respeCt to other Structures, 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

/>5 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 activities 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 activities 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 directories of governmental and

nongovernmental teSting laboratories and the Directory 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 ProduCts.” 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 inter- changeability, 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 WASHINGTON, D. C., MARCH, 1933 Number 9

SUBJECT ANALYSIS

building and housing

Page

Aids to the construction industry 207

Architects group guided by shingle standards 213

Hardware for metal doors 209

Open web steel joists 200

Standard colors and finishes for cast stone 204

The architect’s viewpoint on specifications 198

ELECTRICAL

General Electric Co. certificate-of-test plan 197 News in brief 216

Quality improvement program for electrical appliances. _ 212

METALS, WOOD, AND PAPER

Apple wraps 198

Architects group guided by shingle standards 213

Hardware for metal doors 209

News in brief 216

Open web steel joists 200

Wheelbarrows 200

Wooden butter tubs 206

MISCELLANEOUS

Bewildered buyers beg for standards 210 Bureau of Standards’ information service 203

MISCELLANEOUS.—Continued Page

Scope of standardization 205 Use of specifications by county agencies 201 GROUP ACTIVITIES American Standards Association' 215

Federal specifications 215

Marking campaign for leather goods 197 Meeting of the cotton associations of the world to consider the approval of universal cotton standards 194 Method for knock tests of fuels approved 197 News in brief 216

PUBLICATIONS

Apple wraps 198 Bureau circular on inks 211 Wooden butter tubs 206

QUALITY MARKS AND LABELS

General Electric Co. certificate-of-test plan 197

Quality improvement program for electrical appliances.. 212

TEXTILES

A new kind of textile specification 195

Specifications and labels for textiles 199 “When you buy sheets” 214

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 trip is organized at 2.15 p. m.

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 airplane view of the ensemble and a brief statement of typical dis- coveries and inventions which have been notable, basic contributions to radio, aviation, and other

modern arts and industries.

161994—33 1 193
Meeting of the Cotton Associations of the

World to Consider the Approval of

Universal Cotton Standards

Copies of the Universal Cotton Standards for use by the United States

Department ofAgriculture and the arbitration appeal committees of the prin^

cipal cotton associations of the world will be offered for approval at a biennial

meeting of representatives of the world cotton industry scheduled to be

held in Washington on March 13. Nine European cotton associations, the

United States Department of Agriculture, and the American cotton industry

will have representatives at the meeting which is provided for in agreements

between the Secretary of Agriculture and the European cotton associations.

The Japanese associations will be represented by invitation of the Department of Agriculture.

The Universal Cotton Standards were adopted in 1923, and biennial

meetings have been held since then for the purpose of approving copies of

the ^andards. Under the Universal Standards agreements, the European

cotton associations have adopted the official cotton ^andards of the United

States for American Upland cotton, known also as the Universal Standards,

as the basis of all their contracts for the purchase and sale of American

cotton in which grades are specified.

The following organisations are parties to the agreements: Centro

Algodonero de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Bremer Baumwollborse,

Bremen, Germany; Marche de cotton a Gand, Ghent, Belgium; Syndicat

du Commerce des Cotons au Havre, Havre, France; The Liverpool Cotton

Association (Ltd.), Liverpool, England; The Manchester Cotton Association

(Ltd.), Manchester, England; Associasione Italiana FasciSla degli InduSlriali

Cotonieri, Milan, Italy; Vereeniging voor den Katoenhandel te Rotterdam,

Rotterdam, Holland; Federation of j,MaSler Cotton Spinners’ Association,

England. The Japanese associations to be represented are the Japan Cotton

Spinners’ Association and the Japan Cotton Merchants’ Union. The American cotton industry will be represented through the leading associations of

growers, merchants, and manufadturers.

W. D. Appel, chief of the textile section, will represent the Bureau of

Standards.

194
l^rARCH. ]933 COMMEBCIAL STANDAEDS MONTHLY 195

A NEW KIND OF TEXTILE SPECIFICATION

Bureau of Standards Official Outlines Suggestions for Preparation of Consumer’s Specification for Sheets

By Waeeen E. Emley, Bureau of Standards

Several billion dollars a year are spent by the people

of the United States for textiles. The responsibility

for the wise expenditure of nearly all of this money

rests upon the individual housewives. This vast buying power is rapidly becoming organized in such

groups as the General Federation of Women’s Clubs.

Modern technological developments and high-pressure salesmanship are making it increasingly difficult for women to identify true quality in the things presented to them for purchase.

It is obviously impractical for the individual con- sumer to have her purchases tested. The testing

would usually cost more than the value of the goods,

and a thorough examination necessarily involves

destruction of the article tested. Most women are quite

cognizant of the dangers

lurking in the modern

advertisement. While the

statements are literally

true, and there is no

apparent intention to deceive, nevertheless, deception does result from the overemphasis of properties

which are of minor importance, or even irrelevant. A

recent survey of hosiery advertisements, conducted by

Miss Eosamond C. Cook, of the University of Cincinnati, showed that information about the appearance

of hosiery is all that a prospective purchaser can

except to get from this source. Experience is generally relied upon as the most

nearly infallible guide in the selection of materffils.

But modern technological developments are rapidly

undermining this. When the first American rayon

appeared in 1901, the entire lack of experience with

this material was recognized, and it was accepted on

a “ try it and see ” basis. It was found to be faulty

in many respects—^too lustrous, not elastic, too good a conductor of heat. Delustered rayon is now a fa- miliar article. Hollow filament rayon is a poorer

conductor of heat than the former type, and quite

recently an elastic rayon has been developed in

Germany. The wrinkleability of cotton has prevented

its use for many purposes for which it might otherwise have been selected. A British inventor has

recently found out how to impregnate the cotton

fiber with a synthetic resin, so that the fabric made

therefrom will not wrinkle so easily. Artificial wool

from Italy lias been on the market for some time.

The Japanese have learned how to dissolve real silk,

force the solution through rayon spinnerettes, and

regenerate the silk. These examples are probably

sufficient to bring home the fact that experience, if not valueless, is fast becoming so.

- Brand names are probably the safest criteria for

judging present-day qualities, but they have their

drawbacks. Obviously, a nationally organized group

of consumers would not care to indorse specific brands.

The value of a brand rests exclusively upon the established reputation of the manufacturer. This makes

it difficult for new but deserving manufacturers to get

a foothold in the business and offers a constant temptation for those whose reputations are established to trade upon that fact. For all of these reasons there has grown up an in- sistent consumer demand tliat manufacturers label

their goods showing the details of construction. This

demand has been met by opposition by manufacturers.

It is the purpose of this article to explain why this

opposition occurs and how it can be overcome—to suggest a method of labeling which should meet with

the hearty cooperation of

reputable manufacturers.

The following paragraphs, quoted from

Standardization of Consumers’ Goods, b}'- Dr.

Jessie V. Coles of the

University of Missouri, is an excellent criterion for

judging the value of the

labels which have been

suggested

In the field of consumers’ goods, standardization may be

described as the process of making available in commonly

understood terms such information concerning characteristics of goods as will permit their identification and comparison in the market.

Let us examine the Federal specification for sheets

and see how a present-day specification is built. Let

us first go back a generation or two to the days when

there were no specifications. Assume that Smith and

Jones are two rival sheet manufacturers, each making

a good article and doing a good business. One day

Smith’s salesmen come in off the road and say, “ Mr.

Smith, Jones’s sheets must be better than ours. He is taking our customers away from us, and the reason

isn’t wholly one of price.” Smith immediately buys some of Jones’s sheets and sends them to the laboratory to find out all that can be learned about how

those sheets were made. He also hires one of Jones’s foremen to tell him things which the laboratory can

not find out. From these two sources Smith finally

learns all about the kind of cotton Jones used, how

the yarn was spun, and how many threads per inch

the weaver should put in the warp and filling, and,

finally, as a check, what the weight and the breaking

strength of the finished fabric should be. Smith is then able to write a specification for Jones’s sheet with

the certainty that a sheet made to meet the specification Avould be exactly like the one Jones was making.

Many manufacturers had similar experiences. Commercial testing laboratories built up improved equipment and skilled operators to test all kinds of textiles

for what may be regarded as the four fundamental

characteristics—fiber content, weight, tensile strength,

and thread count.

This article is based on a talk given before

the board of directors of the General Federation

of Women’s Clubs. The need and value of consumer specification instead of manufacturer’s specifications for the use of the con- sumer are discussed. Suggestions are given for

preparing a consumer’s specification for sheets.
196 COMMEECIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1933

Finally the large consumer entered the picture.

Let us assume that the textiles committee of the Federal Specifications Board undertook to write a specification for sheets. The first logical move would be to get from the industry descriptions of the test methods

already in use. In these they would find general

agreement. Both manufacturers and independent

laboratories had built up cpfite complete and creditable methods for testing sheets for the four characteristics enumerated above. The committee would then

get from the Government departments, which buy

sheets, samples which were known by experience to be

satisfactory, and test them, using the established methods. Based on these data, numerical limits would be

lilaced in the specification. Let us examine the results. To meet this specification, the sheet must be made

of cotton, yet linen sheets and silk sheets are on the

market and are considered by many women to be

better than cotton sheets. The specification calls for a thread count of not less than 74 in the warp and 66 in the filling. It is true that too low a thread count might indicate a sleazy

material. But Avhat woman can say that a sheet having a thread count of 73 by 65 may not answer her

purpose even better than the one called for by the

specification ? The specification says that the weight shall be not

less than 4.6 ounces per square yard. Such a sheet is satisfactory for Army camps. Federal prisons, and

like uses, but is obviously too heavy for general household purposes.

The specification requires a breaking strength of 70

pounds in the warp and 70 pounds in the filling.

These figures are evidently based on the test data re- ferred to above. They bear no relation to the stresses which may be put upon a sheet, nor is there any

known relation between breaking strength and durability. The new percale sheet, preferred by many

women, will not meet this strength requirement.

The above criticism must not be taken as adverse to the Federal specification. It is intended to emphasize

the fact that this specification is merely a description

of the particular sheet which the Government wants

to buy and is not a standard of quality in the sense that such a standard can be used as a basis for comparison of value.

Now suppose it were decided to use this specification

as a basis for labeling. One might label sheets “ guaranteed to meet Federal specification No. DDD-S281 ”

; but it is immediately evident that that won’t

do, because the sheet called for by this specification

is too heavy for general household use. This fact

suggests that it would be better to put the figures

themselves on the label—that each sheet would be

guaranteed by the manufacturer to have the thread

count, tensile strength, and weight as shown on its label. It is to this kind of a proposition that the manufacturer objects.

His objections are based on five reasons, the first two of which are the most frequently quoted and are of the least importance. They are, (1) putting a

label on each sheet is a nuisance and adds to the cost, for which the consumer must eventually pay, and (2)

such a label would make the manufacturer legally

liable for any mistakes whidrunight be made in his

factory, and no factory can turn out a perfect product

all the time. The other three reasons are really important. Tavo of them are that such a label violates

tAvo of the principles set forth in the statement quoted

from Miss Coles.

She states that the information given on the label should be given in commonly understood terms. The

great mass of women Avho buy sheets have not had a

special education in textile nomenclature. To them,

the figures indicating the thread count, tensile

strength, and weight must be utterly unintelligible,

and the manufacturer objects to putting on the label a lot of information which he knows, in the vast majority of cases, Avill serve no useful purpose.

Miss Coles says that the information given on the

labels should be such that the buyer can use it as a

basis for the identification and comparison of the

articles. Thread count, tensile strength, and weight

sei'A^e admirably as basis for identification, but fail completely as a basis for comparison of quality. Suppose, for example, one is called upon to choose between

tAvo sheets, which, the label says, are exactly alike in every particular except thread count and price. The

sheet with the higher count is the higher priced. It obviously avouIcI be—it is made of finer yarn, which

costs more to spin. But the consumer is interested in the difference in Amine—not the difference in cost. And there is no information on the label which will

enable her to judge which sheet is the better value.

The manufacturer, therefore, rightly objects to putting on the label a lot of information, which, cAmn to those who can understand it, will be valueless, or per- haps even misleading when it is used as a basis for

comparing his product Avith that of his competitor.

The fifth reason is a corollaiy to the fourth. If a sheet is labeled according to the present ideas, the

manufacturer is thereby restrained from any attempt

to improA'e the quality of his product and must adhere

to a strict routine. He knoAvs that if he makes any

changes whatsoever, the information on the label will

tell his customers that the new sheet is different from

the standard, but will not enable them to judge

whether the new sheet is better or worse than the

standard.

It seems obvious that such objections are valid. The

Avay to meet them is to put on the label information of the kind demanded b^^ Miss Coles. To do so

requires, first of all, the writing of an entire new set of textile specifications, setting form not a description of how the article can be identified but rather a standard of quality which can be used to compare

the article with a competing article. The properties of sheets may be discussed along

three general lines—appearance, suitability, and durability. Under appearance may be included Avhiteness,

draping quality, and perhaps opacity or sheerness.

Under suitability may be included size, weight, and

Avarmth. The properties of the sheet after laundering,

using the standard laundry procedure, should also be

considered with particular reference to changes in

color, draping quality, and dimensions. Of such

terms as these, a complete specification for a sheet can

be made. But to do so requires the guidance of an

organized group of women who are used to buying

sheets and who are familiar with their behavior in

service.

If such a specification for sheets Avere prepai’ed the

manufacturers’ objections to labeling would largely
MARCH, 1933 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 197

disappear. The label might read, “ Guaranteed by

the manufacturer to meet the requirements of the

G. F. W. C. specification for quality sheets.” This

would be readily intelligible to every buyer of sheets. And it would form a logical basis of comparison, because, with the specification built along the lines in- dicated, any sheet which does not meet the requirements is obviously an inferior article. In conclusion, the following 5-point program is offered for consideration

1. Select some one article in the textile field on which to begin the work of preparing specifications.

2. Appoint a small committee to write a specification for this one article.

3. Have the committee rec[uest the cooperation of

the Bureau of Standards in the preparation of the

specification. In this connection it is emphasized that

the initiative must be taken by the organized consumers and that they must retain sole authorshixD of the specification. The bureau can act in an advisory capacity

only.

4. When the specification has been completed it may

be presented to the bureau with the request that it be

considered for adoption as a commercial standard.

This will result in having the specification carefully

scrutinized by the entire industry and provide opportunity for manufacturers to register any objections

they may have. When adoj)ted, the commercial standard would be promulgated by the Department of

Commerce, giving full credit to the authors.

5.

Request the bureau to work out with the committee the details of the wording for the label. At

this stage the manufacturers, having already accepted

the commercial standard, could have no valid reason

for objecting to the label. There is an urgent necessity for prompt action.

Manufacturers and department stores have already

seen the value of the new type of specifications, and

are installing new testing equipment to measure those

properties of textiles in which the consumer is really

interested. This will surely result in the stressing of

those i^roperties which the stores are equipped to measure, to the neglect of other properties which may

be of greater importance.

The guiding hand of the consumer is needed, and

needed now.

MARKING CAMPAIGN FOR LEATHER GOODS

The Tanners’ Council of America is joining the

manufacturers of luggage and other leather goods in a cooperative effort to bring about a better

marking of their products for the guidance

of the purchaser. The

proposed plan provides

for the definite and unmistakable labeling of

leather goods made from top grain /cowhide or top

grain seal as distinguished from the same species of

leather when made of the underneath split portions.

The type of labels to be used are herewith depicted.

The iiromoters of this plan for better merchandising set forth three objects which they hope to

attain, namely, (1) to protect purchasers and

stimulate their confidence

in leather goods, (2) to eliminate unfair competition caused by camouflaged and misbranded merchandise, (3) to promote the sale of better-gTade merchandise.

THIS ARTICLE IS'^^/^CX)VERED WITH TOP GRAIN COWHIDE

^ LICENSEE NO OQOQ J

GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. CERTIFICATE-OFTEST PLAN

In many of the formal specifications on materials

issued b}^ the General Electric Co. provision is made

for the acceptance of material upon the basis of certified results of tests made by the shipper. The certificate-of-test plan was extended in 1932 to include

the purchases of material under this plan whenever

the company deems the plan applicable.

According to the notification of the general extension of the plan, when called upon to do so shippers

must make all of the tests Avhich may be necessary

to demonstrate that the material shipped meets the

stated requirements for that material, whether these

be included in formal specifications or in adidce from

the purchasing department describing the material

and its requirements.

When the purchase order carries the notation

“ Certificate of test required,” no material will be

accepted by the company until certificates showing

the results in accordance with the requirements and

containing all information necessary to connect the

test results and shipment have been received by the

company’s testing laboratory. The company I’eserves the right to make check tests and to make claim for

rejection and replacement of material which fails under such check tests.

METHOD FOR KNOCK TESTS OF FUELS

APPROVED

The outstanding action taken at the recent meeting

of the American Society for Testing Materials committee on petroleum products and lubricants was the

unanimous approval, subject to confirmation by letter ballot, of the Method for Determination of Knock

Characteristics of Motor Fuels.

This is the method now Icnown as the C. F. R.

motor method and which is expected to become an ASTM tentatiA’e standard prior to April 1, 1933.

Most motor fuels are given a somewhat lower octane

number by the new method than that obtained by the

old one, the difference being due largely to operating

at a higher engine speed.
198 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1933 THE ARCHITECT’S VIEWPOINT ON SPECIFICATIONS

By Walter W. Crapo^

Specifications have been defined as documents that

describe work shown on accompanying drawings and

that prescribe certain contractual relations, qualities

of materials and workmanship, and methods of obtaining results, which can not be indicated clearly on

the drawings or reasonably be inferred from them.

It has also been said that specifications are necessary

for regular and appropriate conduct of the business

of all who are interested in any construction project.

Preparation of proper specifications for a clear understanding of the nature of work to be done or of materials or devices to be furnished under contract, is as necessary for such purpose as are drawings. The

importance of specifications is increasing as work embraced by them becomes more complex, by reason of

advances in methods of construction and because of

the greater variety of materials available for use. They are in fact essentially fundamental documents.

Arbitrary, unfair, or unnecessarily severe specifications, give a bad impression of the architect and

usually involve either a refusal to bid or additions in

price to offset unwarranted ti’eatment that may rea- sonably be expected. Useless, ambiguous, indeterminate, and indefinite requirements involve uncertainties. They also cause addition of sums by bidders

for self-protection. Additions so made always greatly exceed those which result from definite and exact requirements. While specifications should be so pre- pared as to explain the drawings, and the drawings

so made as to explain the specifications, each incomplete without the other, a careful line of demarcation

should be drawn between what is covered by specifications and by drawings.

Duplication of requirements, except when wisely

done, usually confuses and, therefore, weakens intent.

Language must not have a double meaning. Where

a subject is described in general and also in particular, care must be exercised to see that ideas duplicated

are identical. Unnecessary requirements, like unreasonable requirements, are often ambiguous and uncertain as to what is actually wanted and what will actually be demanded.

Specifications should be so written as to promote

competition to an extent logical with the character

of work for which they are prepared. However, the

architect must know relative merits and characteristics, as well as market prices, of materials and devices that are available for use and most desirable for

his project. He must so word his specifications that

competition will be restricted to relatively similar

products of equal quality and that are equally appropriate for the purpose employed. When competition

is not so restricted there is no limit to profitable possibilities from the viewpoint of the contractor and no

restriction as to undesirable probabilities from the

viewpoint of the architect.

Perhaps the best yardstick for measuring economy

and successful construction is that specification which

generally permits use of only materials and devices

Abstract of paper read before the Chicago Architects Club : member

Childs & Smith, architects.

of well-recognized standard makes and brands, having full guarantee of the producer behind them. Notwithstanding the saying that products which are well

advertised are the products which become standard, it is true that no product can long remain standard unless supported by satisfactory service. Failure of any

product to fulfill what is claimed for it, regardless of

cause, is certain to react against it and nullify its reputation as a standard.

Dangers of misuse of advertised products, with re- sulting reaction against the architect who specifies

them, are very great. To prevent this hazard to his

integrity the architect must adopt a policy of specifying and accepting, as far as possible, only such products as have amply demonstrated under use or performance that they will give satisfactory results, and

must also require guaranties from contractors that

products accepted under specifications will meet all the demands thereof. Such guaranties should include

provisions for the removal of any product failing to meet the demands of specifications within a stipulated

period, for the replacement with a product which will

meet said demands, and for the restoration of the

building to as good condition—as a result of said re- moval and replacement—as that in which it was before removal was made.

However, it is wrong to specify anything with

respect to a product for which a guaranty is required

that is clearly implied by, or not in tune with, provisions of the guaranty. It is also unreasonable to re- quire of the contractor, under a guaranty, that which

is not in his power to accomplish. Loosely drawn re- quirements place the architect in the hands of the

contractor, to avoid claims for extra compensation.

Specifications, like contracts, are enforcible only when

clear beyond the possibility of misunderstanding.

With resumption of the building business, it is rea- sonable to assume that competition between contractors

will be keener than ever, that payment of extras not

originated by clients will be extremely difficult to obtain, and that, because of this situation, the architect more than ever before must produce specifications

which are tightly drawn and “ tailored ” to fit each

job.

APPLE WRAPS

The Commercial Standard for Apple Wraps was

released under date of February 10, 1933, to the ac- ceptors of this standard who include the various

manufacturers of the commodity, together with practically all of the larger apple-packing organizations

in the Pacific Northwest.

The commercial standard describes both dry and

oiled paper apple wraps, the latter being necessary in

the prevention of a disease which occurs in cold

storage which is known as “ apple scald.”

Copies of this standard designated “Apple Wraps,

Commercial Standard CS44—32,” are available from

the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., at 5 cents per copy.
MARCH, 1933 COMMERCIAL STAKDARDS MONTHLY 199

SPECIFICATIONS AND LABELS FOR TEXTILES

Textile Buying for the Informed Home Maker Would Be Aided by System of Labeling

By Ruth O’Brien ^

No home maker is considered wholly successful to- day unless she is a wise and discriminating buyer.

Her ability to bake good bread and sew a fine seam may still be desirable accomplishments, but in manj^

homes both the bread and the seam are likely to be

purchased ready-made. Her problem is to select the

best product obtainable for the money she has to spend. This is no easy matter, especially when she

is trying to buy satisfactory clothing and other textile

materials.

The extension service of the United States Department of Agriculture and the home-economics teachers

of the country have attempted for many years to furnish so-called household tests by which the home

maker could judge quality in textiles. She has been

told to moisten a small spot of material in order to discover whether it is linen or cotton, to burn a few

yarns so as to determine how much wool it contains

and to do many similar things which are supposed

to tell her just what she is buying.

At best, these methods are makeshifts. At one time

they may have had some value, but that time has

largely passed. To-day the cotton and linen or the

cotton and wool are likely to be so mixed in the same

yarn that the amount of each can only be determined

by a textile specialist with laboratory facilities. New

fabric finishes are being developed and applied to all kinds of materials, so that their quality is not easily

recognized. More confusing still is the fact that the

market is flooded with so many similar materials, differing in price but so nearly identical in appearance,

that the ordinary household buyer can not make an

intelligent choice between them. The result is that

the home maker with even the best intentions and

training is forced to buy largely by guess. This is also true of most buyers for retail stores. Unless they have laboratories at their disposal, a facil- ity now available to only a small percentage, they are

at as great a loss as are the women. In fact, in the

majority of cases they have less Icnowledge of the

subject than the college or extension-trained home

maker and, in addition, do not have the opportunity

of watching the performance of the merchandise

under actual wearing conditions.

The Bureau of Home Economics, United States

Department of Agriculture, has recognized the difficulty for some time and has become interested in the

possibility of setting up specifications for the more

staple materials, so that the home maker can select the one best suited to her purpose within the price

range she is able to pay. Grading systems involving

quality specifications are used by producers and dis- tributors of some commodities, such as meats, poidtry,

fruits, and vegetables. Standards for grade and

stajile of raw cotton have been set up by the United

States Department of Agriculture and are, serving

a useful purpose in the trade. In fact, most ivholesale buying is done to-day on the basis of some kind

1 Chief, division of textiles and clothing. Bureau of Home Economics,

U. S. Department of Agriculture.

of grades specifications. These are chiefly the result

of demand on the part of the buyers, and are based on studies which have shown the type of specifications that would best describe each particular commodity. Much of this has been done by the Department of Agriculture. The Bureau of Home Economics suggests not only that these grades be brought into use in the retail market, so that the consumer can

benefit directly by them, but also that appropriate

grades and standards be extended to other household

commodities, such as textiles. The question naturally arises as to what textile

specifications would be most useful to the mass of con- sumers. In many cases this can not be answered until

studies are made to determine the particular fabric

characteristics of vital importance from the consumer’s viewpoint. Often this will involve fundamental

research as to the effect of differences in construction

upon the usefulness of the fabric. A large gap now

exists between the technical information in regard to fabric manufacture and the practical information of

value in everyday living. This will have to be bridged

before any real help can be given the household buyer.

It is this type of research upon which the Bureau of

Home Economics is making a beginning. For example, a study has been completed of the kinds of wear shown by bed sheets when used under hotel conditions

and an investigation is now under way in cooperation

with the Bureau of Agricidtural Economics on the rel- ative wearing qualities of sheets made with different

grades of cotton of the same staple length.

There are, however, many construction details now

in general use among manufacturers which would be

helpful to consumers even if they would not completely solve the difficulty. From the manufacturer’s

lioint of view, this would involve printing the information on a label on the fabric. On the part of the consumer it would in some cases involve learning the

meaning of a few simple terms now used chiefly by

textile experts.

For instance, sheeting manufacturers specify the

weight per square yard of the sheeting. This tells the

total weight of fiber and finishing material and is often useful in comparing sheets of different prices.

Sizing is the term used for the starch and other finish- ing material present in cotton fabrics. A small

amount must be put on the warp yarns of every fabric so that they will not break when chaffed during

the weaving process. Additional sizing is added to the finished fabric to make it appear smooth and at- tractive to the buyer. In extreme cases such large

amounts may be used as to make the sheet or other

fabric appear heavier and firmer than it is, and the

purchaser is misled. When the sheet is washed most

of this finishing material is removed and the excessively sized fabric shows up as it really is, a very

coarse, loosely woven piece of material. It would be

a relatively simple and very valuable practice to tell on a label the percentage of sizing in sheets and other

fabrics in which this is important. “ Pure finish ” is
200 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1933

a term sometimes used to indicate that a minimum

amount of sizing has been used.

The yarn count gives the number of the yarn and

shows whether tine or coarse yanis have been used.

The number of twists per inch in the yarn gives a numerical measure of whether it is very loosely or very tightly twisted. This is important because a yarn may be so loosely twisted that it pulls apart

easily and does not wear. The number of threads

per inch warp-wise and filling-wise is a measure of

how closely woven the material is. Of course, durability is one of the qualities chiefly

desired in many fabrics and unfortunately there is as yet no standard method of determining this quickly.

The nearest approach to such a test is the breaking

strength of the material, often spoken of as the tensile strength. Although this is not necessarily an

accurate measure of wearing quality, it is often some

indication.

While in general, thread count, yarn count, twist

count, weight per square yard, and tensile strength tell most of the construction story concerning a fabric, cases and often additional information is needed.

Take the case of blankets. These items are all important in determining quality in these articles,

but information about weight and tensile strength are

especially useful. Two all-wool blankets may be the same size and of very similar construction but differ

markedly in the amount of wool contained in each.

This, of course, influences the heat-retaining properties and is of great significance when the matter of

getting one’s money’s worth is considered. The tensile strength tells hoAV strong the material is. In the

case of blankets containing both cotton and wool, the

percentage of each fiber present is of great importance

to the purchaser. Under the present merchandising

practice a mixed blanket is at best labeled “ part

wool,” and this may mean anything from 95 per cent wool to one wool yarn in the selvage. The percentage

could be easily designated on a label and the buyer

thus told exactly what she is buying.

But certainly heat conductivity is the most important

property of blankets. They are supposedly bought to keep people warm. Two things enter this property.

One is how readily heat will be conducted away from

a warm body through the blanket when the air outside

is still. The other is how much will be lost; if it is used

where there is a draft or when a breeze is blowing, as

is so often the case in outdoor sleeping. A blanket

may be very warm in still air, but so permeable to breezes that it is not warm under other conditions.

“Air permeabilitj"” and “ heat conductivity ” of fabrics are common terms with textile specialists and methods of determining these qualities are well worked out. A purchaser Avho could, by looking at the labels, compare the kind of fiber, the tensile strength, the weight,

air permeability, and heat conductivity of two

blankets of equal size would have a logical basis for

selection.

In fact, every commodity could and should be la- beled with such factual information. It would require no more ink or paper than is now used up in “ sales- pressure ” superlatives that really tell the purchaser

nothing. Wouldn’t it be fine if window shades carried

labels that told what kind of fabric they were made of

and their actual resistance to cracking? No vague,

general claims, but statements as to exactly what kind

of cleaning they will withstand and how many times a

piece can be folded back and forth without cracking.

That would give a real basis for choosing one rather

than another. Towels coidd certainly be selected better if their construction details were given on the la- bel and if such physical properties as the amount of

Avater they would absorb and their tensile strength

Avere emphasized rather than their glossy hems and

other more superficial beauties.

Buying by specification would not mean that every

purchaser would be able to buy the best on the market.

Pocketbooks all have limits. But it Avould mean that

every purchaser would know exactly what she is buying and could more wisely decide what is the best se- lection for her, taking all things into consideration.

WHEELBARROWS

The majority of producers of AvheelbarroAvs who

have accepted simplified practice recommendation

R105-32 have expressed their intention to extend

their present methods of identifying the simplified

lines b^^ including statements in catalogues and other

trade literature.

The wheelbarrow recommendation, which was proIDOsed and developed by the industry, has been instrumental in reducing the number of styles of this

commodity from 125 to 27, or approximately 78 per

cent. A inunber of national associations representing

users of simplified commodities have for some time

strongly urged that this policy be adopted by manufacturers Avho have accepted the various simplified

practice recommendations. The general adoption of

the identification plan should assist the Avheelbarrow

industry in maintaining close adherence to the Avaste- elimination program. Cooperation by distributors,

buyers, and others will greatly increase the benefits

and economies possible throu^hr'simplified practice.

When the simplified lines are so identified in trade

literature their selection can be made without diffi- cult}q and much waste now incurred in checking files and auxiliary records for these data is eliminated.

The identification plan, as applying to simplified

practice recommendations, is described and illustrated

in a mimeographed report, coj)ies of which may be

had on request to the diAUsion of simplified practice.

Bureau of Standards.

OPEN WEB STEEL JOISTS

Simplified practice recommendation R94-30, cover- ing open web steel joists, has been reaffirmed, without

change, by the standing committee of the industry.

This recommendation, Avhich was proposed and deAnloped by the industry, is concerned only with joists

between 8 and 16 inches in depth and not longer than

21 times their depth, and specifies properties and al- loAvable loads in pounds per linear foot. In formulating this simplified list of definite depth dimensions it Avas necessary to include designations, stresses, resist- ing moments in inch-pounds, and maximum and reac- tion in pounds.
MARCH, 1933 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 201

USE OF SPECIFICATIONS BY COUNTY AGENCIES

Few of the County Governments Utilize Completely the Specification Methods of Purchasing

By Spencer H. Reed, Buremi of Standards

While the majoritj' of States and over 200 cities of

the United States employ purchasing methods which

compare favorabl}^ ivith the best modern practices of

private business, the governments of the 3,072 counties

of the countiy, aside from notable exceptions, adhere

to procurement methods which are many }Tars old. Although each county is free within certain limits

to determine how it shall conduct its own business

transactions, count)^ government is regulated by

State law in practically all States, and county purchasing officers are for the most part established under

general permissive statutes. We find, for example,

that the general law of New York is supplemented by

special laws which prescribe a definite purchasing

organization for each of certain counties. A county

in Oklahoma reports that the last State legislature

placed the purchasing power upon each officer and

holds him fully responsible for his expenditures. In

certain counties of Minnesota, Indiana, and other

States centralized purchasing has been established bit

by bit in the form of special laws.

If we add to such purchasing variations already

named those which inherently flow from county governments widely divergent in character and needs, it is at once clear why there are such marked differences

displayed in the procurement methods even in adjoining counties of the same State. In order to secure as much data as possible upon

county purchasing and to bring up to date its earlier

published material on the subject, the Bureau of

Standards recently requested the treasurers of the more than 3.000 counties to furnish the names and

titles of the officials responsible for making purchases

in their respective counties. Examination of the 1,700

replies receiA^ed from as many different counties of the

United States conclusively indicates the marked pre- dominance of a decentralized system of purchasing in county government.

When the treasurers indicated that there was more

or less centralization in purchasing, a questionnaire

relative to coimty procurement methods was addressed

to the individual holding the office of, or equivalent

to that of, purchasing agent. Replies were received

from 422 counties, representing every State in the

Union but Delaware. Nevada, NeAv Hampshire, and

Rhode Island.

The survey shows that frequently the list of count}’

purchasers is as long as the list of county officials, and more often than not the official buys without writ- ten specifications, edequate test, or careful planning.

In many counties the official board, functioning as a unit, at times independently, but generally in conjunction with the county engineer and school superintendent, is reported as procuring the necessary supplies

and equipment for the county. Often the board

authorizes the heads of departments and institutions

to make ordinary purchases for their respecti^’e units.

More frequently, however, the board assigns to one of

its own members, or other county official, such as the

county clerk, the county auditor, or the county reJ 01904—33 2

corder, the task of buying on a part-time basis in con- nection with his regular work.

Delegation of authority by the board, especially in

populous counties Avhere the material wants are extensive, occasionally takes the form of a purchasing committee or a regularly organized purchasing bureau.

Purchases in the counties of a few States are made bj' or under the authorit.y of the county judge; while

in other counties purchasing is done by the various

county officials under the authority of the county court,

which usually consists of three judges. Subdivisions

corresponding to counties in other States are called

parishes in Louisiana, the buying for which is generally done by or under the authority of the police juries.

Centralized purchasing, generally defined as the

delegation to a single office of the authority to purchase supplies, materials, and equipment needed for

use by all the several branches of govermnent, occurs

in very few counties of the United States—probably

not more than 100, largel}'^ in California, North Carolina, and New York. Many examples of centralized

county purchasing are to found in California, where

the State has passed laws permitting its counties to adopt the county-manager plan of goA^ernment and

to establish centralized purchasing. Questionnaires

returned from this State show that at least 13 of its 57 counties haA’e centralized purchasing departments,

all but 2 of which purchase for every office of the

county.

Practically all counties employing a centralized

purchasing system appear to maintain a complete and

efficient organization for buying, often comparable to that found in representative industries. The purchasing agent buys all supplies (schools and other

institutions excepted in some counties, but not all),

generally according to specification and after considtation Avith the using departments. Further, county

laboratories are maintained or commercial or university laboratories made use of for testing purposes.

Tlie survey shows that pronounced savdngs are often

effected through the adoption of such centralized

purchasing.

The county-manager ^jlaii of operation mentioned

in connection Avith California has also been adopted

in Albermarle, Arlington, and AVashington Counties,

A^a. A modification of this plan, possessing many of

its essential features, has been in use in Alamance.

Cleveland, DaA’idson, Guilford, and Robeson Counties, N. C.; and in Augusta, Fairfax, and PittsylA’ania Counties, Aha. ProjAOsed changes in county

goA’ernments, usually inA'olving the introduction of

the county-manager plan, IniA’c been given consideration in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana.

loAva, Kansas, Mississippi, Missonri, North Dakota,

Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, and South Carolina. In

Califoimia. loAva. Maine, Alaryland, Alontana. Noav

Hampshix’e, Nexv Mexico. Noi'th Carolina, North

Dakota, Oklahoma, Sonth Dakota. Virginia, and

AAA'oming the State constitutions permit the counties

to adopt such a form of govenunent as the county-
202 COMMEBCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1933 manager plan, whereas in other States enabling acts by the legislatures would be required.

If the definition of centralized purchasing already

given is modified so as to read “ the delegation to a single office of the authority to purchase supplies, materials, and equiinnent needed for use by all the sev- eral branches of government, except highways, schools,

hospitals, and eleemosynary institutions,” the counties reporting such a system, plus those having fully

centralized purchasing, will be found in practically

every State of the Union and will exceed 300. Purchasing in the county actually begins when the

using agency notifies the buying agency of its needs.

While such notification may, and probably often does

take the form of a mere verbal request, the orthodox

way is through the written requisition. After the

requisition has been approved, naturally the next

thing is to let the public know what material or service is required. This is done in various ways—most

commonly" through the direct request for quotations.

While all purchases involving an expenditure of several hundred dollars must generally be submitted to

bid, purchases of a lesser value are often handled di- rectly bj' the board or other authorized county official. The ultimate responsibility for approving invoices for

payment in counties is usually a function of the

county board.

Obviously, in order to make an intelligent bid, the

bidder should be fully informed as to what he will be

expected to furnish. Such details are generally predicated upon certain standards established by Federal,

State, and local governments and by various societies and associations. Of course all commodities used by

a government can not be standardized, but many can

be and are, with a resultant reduction in cost and an improved delivery service for the ]>urchaser. It is a significant fact that approximately 75 per

cent of the 422 counties replying to the qiiestionnaire

I’eported the use of specifications. In more than 34

per cent of tire counties either the county engineer,

highway commissioner, or superintendent of road

construction, as his title may be, drafts the specifications, chiefly for roads, bridges, sea walls, and other

similar construction work. The specifications are generally subject to the approval of the county administrative body. In many counties purchases for the

highwaj^ department are procured under State highway department specifications.

Purchasing agents prepare specifications for general supplies and equipment in 23 per cent of the

counties reporting. The county board, or officials designated by it, drafts the required specifications in

17 per cent of the reporting counties. In a number

of counties specifications are drafted by the various

department heads and in others b}" technical officers consulting the using department. Frequently the

combined efforts of the county engineer, county

chemist, lawj'er, purchasing agent, and user are employed. In some counties various qualified experts

are used in drawing specifications for particidar lines. More than 22 per cent of the reporting counties consult the using departments of—the government con- cerning their specification needs.

Approximately 46 per cent of the 422 counties furnishing data purchase on standard specifications of

national technical societies and trade associations, 32

per cent on specifications prepared by their own government, 17 per cent on Federal Government specifications, and 16 per cent on trade brands. It should,

of course, be borne in mind that certain counties in- dicated the use of two, three, or even all of the methods referred to, depending upon the nature of the

commodity procured.

Comparatively few counties of the United States reported the maintenance by their own government

of laboratories for testing, or the employment of commercial, university, or other laboratories for such purposes. Of the 149 counties, representing 34 States, re- porting the use of laboratories for testing commodities purchased by the county, 4 use their own county

laboratory; 83 use university or college laboratories;

46, their State laboratory; and 10, other laboratories.

One, Eiverside County, Calif., uses commercial. State,

and local laboratories. Eleven use commercial and

university laboratories; 10, State and university lab- oratories; 7, State and commercial laboratories; 7, university and other laboratories; 2, commercial, university, and other laboratories; and 1, Federal, State,

commercial, and university laboratories.

Although deliveries to counties are usually ex- amined by more or less rule-of-thumb methods, leav- ing much to be desired, there are many exceptions. It was found that 126 reporting counties employ in- spectors of one kind or another, many of whom arc reported to be highlj^ trained. Of course the purchases made by some counties are not large enough

to justify the employment of skilled inspectors. In

such cases the various receiving agencies examine and

pass upon incoming supplies.

Only 20 counties reported the use of performance

tests, and more of these were counties with a centralized purchasing system. An occasional county

with a decentralized system reported the use of trained

inspectors and tests. At least 14 of the counties of

California resort to inspection and tests in their purchasing.

While the list of progressive county organizations

making use of centralized purchasing as a means of

effective service to the residents and taxpayers of the

county is not a long one, it is quite impressive so far

as savings made over decentralized methods is concerned. Reported savings from 53 counties of 22

States range anyAvhere from 5 to 50 per cent, with the

average for the group at about 22 per cent. Quite a number of counties reported a saving of 25 per cent or greater on the purchase of their school supplies

through centralized buying.

Naturally there are limits to the feasability and effi- ciency of a completely centralized purchasing system

in sparsely settled counties. For them it might well

be an expensive luxury, except in the purchase of the more commonly used materials. The solution to their

problem ma}^ lie in count}' consolidation, already con- sidered by 64 counties of 20 States, or in cooperative

purchasing, whereby two or more adjacent counties

I would pool their needs and purchase on joint contracts.
MARCH, 193?, COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 203

BUREAU OF STANDARDS’ INFORMATION SERVICE

General Public Kept Informed of Progress at Bureau Through Interviews, Articles in the Press, and

Visits to the Laboratories

By Hugh G. Boutell, Bureau of Standards

The general public is showing a growing interest in the work of the National Government. This is as it should be, for the Government exists to serve the peo-

])le and they have a right to know how their money

is being spent. It is important that funds be expended

so as to yield the maximum service. The returns ren- dered by some branches of the Government are quite

obvious to every one. Other branches are technical

or scientific in character and not so easily appreciated

by the layman; as, for example, the work of the Bureau of Standards.

The general public is kept informed of the work

in progress at the bureau’s laboratories through cor- respondence, telephone conversations, personal interviews, distribution of official publications—including

the monthlj^ Journal of Eesearch, Technical News

Bulletin, and Commercial Standards Monthly—articles in magazines, and releases to the newspapers.

Jlist as an interpreter must have a good knowledge of

two languages, so is it necessary that the personnel

of the bureau’s information section know the language

of the scientist and engineer and the everyday language of the lay public. The interpreter must not be

content with literal translations. He must convert one idiom into another if the meaning is to be understood. This is one of the most difficult tasks per- formed by the information section. To write about

scientific matters in popular language and to make

statements intelligible and accurate is no easy task. Then, too, the average man has only a limited time

to devote to the reading of accounts of scientific work.

Press releases and popular articles must be brief, and

in striving for brevity there is danger of omitting some essential point. Great care must be used in

checking the popular statement with the original material. Scientific men are necessaidly cautious and do

not wish to approve a statement which is not absolutely correct. This does not always go hand in hand

with news value and human interest. Photographs taken in the bureau’s laboratories are an excellent means for informing the public about the

work. A few photographs are furnished by the

bureau’s photographer, but most of those appearing

in the illustrated sections of the newspapers are made

by the press services. In arranging tor photographs,

the inherent modesty of scientific men becomes evi- dent. They almost invariably object to posing with

their apparatus. Yet the press photographer insists on this, and probably with reason, for a picture of

laboratory equipment with no one operating it is certainly “ dead.” Then, too, everyone likes to see the man who does the job, and is generally surprised

to find that he looks like any other human being.

A great number of telephone inquiries are received

each day. Questions on the general work of the bureau are answered directly, while those concerning

special subjects arc referred to the proper division or

section or in some cases to other branches of the Government. This routing of telephone calls requires an

intimate knowledge of the bureau’s organization and

of the work in progress. There are 68 specialized

sections in the bureau and some 500 research and

standardization projects always under way, so that

to keep in touch with all of them is no small task. There is nothing more exasperating to the person making a call than to be referred to three or four different

offices before reaching the proper party. This condition the information section tries to avoid, though

occasionally mistakes are made, particularly if the in- quirer fails to state accurately what he wishes to know.

The number of nontechnical visitors to the bureau

has increased tremendously during the last two or three years. At certain seasons, as in the spring, the

number of sightseers taxes the limited resources available. The bureau is housed in 19 buildings on a site of over 56 acres and to inspect even a few of the

laboratories takes considerable time. It has been nec- essary to set aside a definite time (2.15 in the after- noon) for the start of a tour of the bureau. This trip

is made every day except on Saturdays, Sundays, and

holidays. Each member of the section’s staff' goes

around at least once a week, and this undoubtedly

helps in keeping the staff in touch with the work

being done at the bureau.

Callers, other than general visitors, range all the

way from inventors of perpetual-motion machines to high officials of large industrial concerns and distinguished foreign diplomats and scientists. Naturally,

each case requires a quick sizing up and special treat- ment. Always it is the desire to help the visitor as much as possible and to put him in touch with the

proper member of the bureau’s staff. The inventors

are sometimes troublesome. They do not want real

help, because that may mean disagreeing with them.

They ask for and sometimes demand the bureau’s

indorsement of their ideas. Pointing out to them that

their invention is contrary to well-known natural laws

merely convinces them, perhajis, of the stupidity of all Government employees and the}^ generally leave with

the remark that they will be forced to sell their invention to some foreign power. In spite of all this, they

have their use, for they help to enliven what might

have been a dull day.

The distribution of the ollicial stock of the bureau’s

publications is a very important task. About 200 of

tliese papers, in many different series, are published

each year. A certain definite procedure, involvingseveral distinct steps in which the author of the paper

cooperates with the information section, is followed in

ail cases. The official editions of the bureau’s iiublica- tions are strictly limited, and care must be used to distribute the few available copies to those who have

actual need for them. In general, this distribution is limited to Government departments, public libraries,

and experts who have cooperated in the work with

which the paper deals or who are engaged in similar

investigations in other laboratories. A mailing list made up of important libraries in this country and

abroad is maintained. Keeping this list up to date

and arranging, with the help of the bureau’s librai-y.
204 OOMMEKCIAL STANDAEDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1933

for exchange of publications is a part of the routine

work. The distribution of the catalogue of over 2,500

publications which have been issued by the bureau is an important duty.

The Technical News Bulletin of the bureau is based

upon the reports made each month by the division

chiefs to the director, and it also contains some items

specially written in the divisions and in this section.

The items include records of progress of work in the

laboratories, important conferences which have been

held at the bureau, and reviews of publications. In

addition to these special abstracts of publications a

list is included of all papers by members of the bureau’s staff which have appeared during the month in

the bureau’s series and in outside journals. The

STANDARD COLORS AND FINISHES FOR CAST

STONE

Reference samples (approximately 4% by by 1 inch) showing the proposed standard colors and fin- ishes for cast stone are now available to established

manufacturers of this commodit}^ from the Cast Stone

Institute. Each reference sample will be accompanied by frdl information as to the composition, in- cluding small samples of aggregate, cement, and color

used in it. The reference samples are duplicates of

the 14 original proposed standard samples selected

in June, 1932, from an exhibit of 104 unidentified samples submitted by 31 manufacturers, both members

and nonmembers of the in.stitute. One-half of each

original sample was maintained at the Bureau of

Standards and one-half was sent to the Cast Stone

Institute to be duplicated in the laboratory of the

Portland Cement Association.

The reference samples are not intended to limit the

range of colors and finishes in which cast stone shall

be produced. Their function is to provide a simple

and effective means of specifying the colors and fin- ishes which they represent. Standard samples repre- senting other colors and finishes may be adopted as the demand arises. In furnishing manufacturers with reference samples, together with information as to their ingi’edients,

size of aggregate, etc., -the institute does not consider

that it is disclosing data supplied by any manufacturer, since with two exceptions this information was

not available on the original samples. The institute

does not know how the original samples were made.

It does, however, furnish general information as to how the reference samples were produced with no

obligation on the part of manufacturers to use the same materials and methods in making their own cast stone to match the samples.

It should be clearly understood that the samples

and formulas furnished by the institute are intended

only as guides to manufacturers in matching the color

and finish of the original samples. They are not to be considered as representing the “ ideal ” cast stone

in the sense of being the most ])erfect and most desirable cast stone that can be made. Experienced

manufacturers may be able to make improvements in

the formulas which will produce cast stone of higher

physical quality and greater durability. All cast stone used on Government buildings must conform to the requirements of Federal specification SS-S-721

Technical News Bulletin is useful to those who have

only a general concern in the work or. who wish to purchase occasional publications dealing with their

particular interests. Another method by which the public is kept in- formed of the publications releasecl by the bureau is through announcement leaflets which are sent without

charge to a large mailing list. These are issued once

a month and give the series, number, title, and price, as well as a short abstract, of all new publications.

An earnest effort is being made to keep the public

informed of what goes on at the Bureau of Standards.

The work required involves some difficulties, but it appears to have met a real need with a fair degree of

success.

Complete sets of reference samples have been placed

in the following Federal construction departments at Washington

:

Department of Commerce, Bureau of Standards

(master samples).

Treasury Department, Supervising Architect’s

Office. Nav}’ Dejjartment, Bureau of Yards and Docks.

War Department, Con.struction Division, Office of

Quartermaster General.

Department of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs.

Veterans’ Administration.

Genuine interest and alDpro^ al of the reference

sample method as a means of specif5dng cast stone on

public work with assurance of getting a satisfactory

product, were expi’essed informally by the heads of

the construction departments, designers, and chief

specification writers of the above offices. As rapidly as additional sets of reference samples

can be luade they will be placed in State and municipal

construction departments.

A geographical list of manufacturers will be made

up as quickly as possible by the assistant secretary

of the Cast Stone Institute showing sources from

which cast stone matching the proposed standard

samples is available. This list will be distributed to Federal, State, and municipal construction departments, private architects, and general contractors. If the standard sample plan is found, after reasonable trial, to provide a satisfactory method for specifying colors and finishes for cast stone, a general con- ference of all interests of the industry, iramely, producers and users, will be held to consider it as a basis

for the establishment of a commercial standard.

The Cast Stone Institute plans to carry on an aggressive campaigu for the strict enforcement of the

proposed standard sample specifications and will offer

its inspection and testing services to architects and

construction agencies specifying cast stone according

to standard samples. An arbitration committee consisting of five members has been appointed to make

final decision in the settlement of misunderstandings

or disputes arising from claims concerning off-color or finish samples or shipments.

Further information concerning the standardization

program or manufacturers’ reference samples may he

had from the division of trade standards. Bureau of

Standards, Washington, D. C., or from C. G. Walker,

assistant secretary. Cast Stone Institute. 33 West

Grand Avenue, Chicago, 111.
MARCH, 1933 COMMERCIAL STAKDARDS MONTHLY 205

SCOPE OF STANDARDIZATION

Advances in Craftsmanship Made Permanent Through Standardization

r>y H. D. Hxjbbaed, Bureau of Stcnulards

Tliis century has seen few things as signiticant as the rise of standardization as a method of human progress. It has, to a scarcely realized extent, taken hold

of the details of our industrial regime. Its immediate aims are so well known as to suggest a brief re- view of its wider aspects.

Modern knowledge is classified by standard sys- tems in which minute subdivisions are given code

numbers. This makes possible modern bibliographies,

libraries, and card indexes into which flow vast vol- umes of data oriented by code number. This standardization harvests discovery, classifying and making

it available, speeding up its utilization.

Our epoch is a

“ machine age.” A book embodies

knowledge; a machine embodies skill standardized,

energized to do a service in a standard Avay. In “ mass

production ” standardization is the basis, framework,

and method of the machine process, for all machine

dimensions and process characteristics are measured

for service.

Human activities are based on time schedules, Avith

times allotted for food, Avork, rest, and play. Trains on schedule time carry people to meet countless appointments and duties. The floAv of raw materials

and power is scheduled to produce for industry the

staples in the quantities and at the times and places

to meet the measured demands. Business engages to supply at each set time and place the things called

for, to fit the measured supply to the measured need.

Time measurements to-day are taking account of

the latest findings of astronometry, which is so precise

that a change of 40 seconds in 80 years has been measured. For small time intervals the oscillation of a quartz crystal at constant temperature is used to standardize radio-frequency (Avaves per second) and

inversely to ineasAU'e time, giving a time scale subdivisible into hundred-millionths of a second or less. Any radiation frequently emitted by an atom is thus

like the ticking of an atomatic clock, the oscillation

nmchanism of which causes hundreds of trillions of

Avaves per second. The accurate standardization of

these frequencies—some of Avhich, like those of the

iron atom, have thousands of distinctive rates—is the

basis of spectroscopy, Avhich has created a neAV astron- omy, a new chemistry, and a neAv physics.

Standardization is the modern Avay of making

permanent each advance. It assures that never again

shall there be a

“ lost art,” for arts and crafts are run by measured records or standards. We begin to normalize even the skill of the craftsman in motion

studies. Mare}^ and Gilbreth, studying motions, have

given us an art for portraying skilled fingers in vital operations of industry. Time and trajectory of such

motions are embodied in time-scaled Avire models for

study. The photoc3^clochronograph and high-speed cameras record the ensemble permitting the analysis

(jf each detail. Man’s mental response is gaged. We knoAV how fast a person should respond to stimuli through eye, ear, tongue, nose, or touch. 'Fhe strength of each muscle

is measurable by dynamometers. Each detail of

physical life is subjected to aiudysis, measurement,

record. Normal magnitudes of plij^sical and mental

behavior are deduced from thousands of individual

measurements, and these standard norms become bases

of reference for diagnosis, prognosis, and prescriptive

r%ime.

Standards of measurement multiply. They give

the net Avork of measures to which all standardization

is referred. Standards, exact and constant, are beingsupplied to all nations. The requisite science for precise measurement is being steadily developed. Units

are devised to standardize the measured data of matter and energy.

Position on the earth is being standardized by using

a single zero for longitude, one for latitude, and one

for altitude—mean sea level. These three bases, Iioav- ever, formerly gave variable results. After decades of

measurements by a chain of observers around the

Avorld, AA'-e noAV standardize the variation-of-latitudo

measurement by numerical data, graphs, and formulas.

KnoAving hoAV the pole of the earth’s rotation Avanders

around its pole of figure, Ave stabilize our coordinates

of position, Avhile the variation of mean sea level is still a problem of precise geodesy.

Standard A^alues of physical aspects of matter and

energy are called “ constants.” They are basic for

processes in industry and experiment in science. They

comprise melting points, heats of combustion

mechanical equivalents of heat, light, and electric energy; hardness of metals; densities of materials,

their strength, yield point, and elastic limits; the

characteristics of radiation, the quantum, the A^elocitj'

of light, and countless other magnitudes Avhich are Avrought into controls to guide experiment and production. The ice and steam points fix and bound the

fundamental interval of temperature from Avhich the

temperature scale extends doAvnward to absolute zero, upward to the temperatures of the stars. These extensions are fixed b}'- reference points, freezing points,

boiling points, or the ionizing temperatures of ele- ments. They gage and make usable those aspects and

potencies Avhich inhere in the nature of things. In

their totality physical constants are the precise quantitative description of nature and its phenomena.

Vast numbers of such data are p)rinted in engineering

handbooks and enter into the design of structures everyAvhere.

The need for uniform usage leads to accepting the

best known value as standard for computation, ex- periment, design, or secondaiy standardization.

Atomic AA’cights experimentally determined are re- vieAved by an international commission on atomic constants and its decisions fix the standard atomic Aveights

for chemistr}'.

Sucli quantitative data or constants ai'c often in the form of an equation, a nomogram, or a graphic

curve AAdiich sums up Avhole sei'ies of quantitative data, even replacing tables. The standard or characteristic curve, such as the hysteresis loop or the stress strain
206 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1933

diagram, is signilicant and ail'ords a standard means

of studying cycles of variation. Examples are the

steam engine indicator diagram and time-pressure

curves for the high-powered gun or the human heart

Such curves are studied in the diagnosis of defective

operation. They are standards related to physical

constants.

Initially man devised new utilities to meet his needs.

An arrow-head was made. Its design and the method

of making it were preserved, reused, bequeathed as priceless craftsmanship—standardized for a standard

need. Man first took nature, doubtless, as given

selecting what he found at hand to serve his need.

Even to-day survives a feeling that the user must take

industrial products as given, selecting what he finds

to fill his needs. A new note is a persistent insistence

that the use must fix the standard. This is an en- gineering ideal, for it meets a need by specific design,

creating a product suited to the need.

Standardization begins to pervade all human activity. The beaten path is the standardized path, beaten

smooth by footsteps which stabilize their own standards as the river cuts the channel which guides its flow. Human action, too, beats its trails into habits-

standard reactance with its economy of time and

energy and its skill stored in neutral arcs and auto- matic responses. Language is a standard vehicle for

the commerce of ideas for which the alphabet gives

standard symbols. Words are standard symbols of

standard concepts.

Symbols are basic tools of thought and communication. They must be reasonably standard and of

single-valued meaning. They are used in formulas,

graphs, and equations as shorthand for important

basic quantities. The use of graphic symbols for

functioning parts of a radio set-up is an example of an

ideographic language. The standard graphic symbols

in a radio hook-up diagram are self-explanatory al- most without any text. Altogether symbols now multiplying in great numbers and being standardized for

countless uses, constitute the universal graphic vocabulary of a fast developing ideographic language, of

which the standard symbols of music and mathematics

already in world-wide use are brilliant examples.

The scope of standardization comprises (1) standardization of basic tools of thought and expression

words or terms, abbreviations, symbols, definitions,

and the interpretations and conditions governing theii' use; (2) standardization of dimension, size, form, and

the magnitudes of pertinent characteristics and properties of matter and energy; (3) standardization of

correlated dimensional interrelations, such as pre- ferred numbers, staple series of size or grades, allow- ances and tolerances, or other seriation of serviceability factors which constitute standard practice or process. The coordination of the machine process calls for staples of standard size, design, and material, and

set time, place, and quantities to be delivered. These

insure the smooth functioning and economy of production and transportation. An equally standard

system of devices for utilizing such staples must be

provided. However, rigid standardization does not hold back innovations, so strong is the feeling that

standardization should imjily, if not the ideal, at least the best feasible. Modern standardization provides that a specification shall be reviewed and revised to keep pace with progress both in science and industry and in the user’s ideals of satisfying service. This minimizes the lag

in using new discovery—a real problem of human

progress. With the tendency for standardization to expand

its scope to comprise every controllable thing comes

the parallel movement to measure each need so that a standard can be gaged to satisfy accurately such need,

as we measure the foot to supply the well-fitting shoe.

This tendency, despite the simplification of varieties

for the same need, may increase the total by providing more specialized satisfactions of more unit needs. The

use of diverse surgical instruments specialized for a vast variety of operations is an example.

The factor analysis essential to standardization of

process stimulates the development of measured controls. These may be so accurate that high quality

becomes automatic, uniform, never failing. Such

analj^sis is a first step in turning over handicraft to the automatic machine. As the essential motions are derived from the analysis and the measured controls

devised, skill becomes incorporable in mechanism

;

from which stage the automatic machine is but a step.

The number of items to be standardized is so vast

that no wholly centralized standardization service is practicable. Everywhere all interests concerned

with each item are busily experimenting in the laboratory; observing service, its flaws and successes; measuring needs to be met; or creating new standards.

Doubtless every user, by approval, criticism, report,

or suggestion, aids in standardizing the products he

uses. The Bureau of Standards at Washington is our key

institution for standards and standardization. Its scope as given by Congress has a breadth commensurate with the modern conception of measurement

and standardization. Its findings are based on accurate measurements and sound scientific principles. As

such they are impersonal, hence unbiased and dependable. Its value to the Nation has been immeasurable

in those intangible values on which our material civili- zation rests, while the more measurable aspects of its work has paid its cost and returned to the nation

tangible values many times its cost. The scope of standardization is clearly enlarging

and its key position in industrial and scientific progress entitles it to the fullest possible cooperation of all concerned. Standardization is more than the act of

bringing the user and the maker together in a clear

understanding on the quality of service. Its aim is also to satisfy the user’s needs with increasing effi- ciency and economy. It conserves all gains achieved

while serving, as the vehicle for further advance.

WOODEN BUTTER TUBS

Simplified practice recommendation R135-32, cover- ing wooden butter tubs, is now available in printed

form and may be obtained from the Superintendent of

Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington,

D. C., for 5 cents each.

This simplification program, which was proposed

and developed by the industry, relates to the dimensions for the inside diameters of the top and bottom,

tlie vertical depth, and the outside length of stave for

the 10, 33, and 63 to 64 pound tubs.
MARCH, 1933 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 207

AIDS TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

The Laboratories of the Bureau of Standards Help to Improve Materials for the Construction Industry

By Henkt D. Hubbard, Bureau of Standards

Most of the specialized scientific and technical sec- tions of the Bureau of Standards are concerned in some way with tests and researches on building materials and appliances or with construction practice.

Researches on materials range from the pure physics

and chemistry of structural materials to the mechanics

of stress and strain, from service tests of paints to the concrete foundations of a ski’scraper. Materials of

construction have in interest as subject matter for entei'iirise. They form an epic of industry'—stone cut from the hills, clay dug from the soil, metals scooped

from mines, lime blasted from the mountains, wood

hewn from the forests, gravel deposited by glaciers,

sand pulverized bi- the

sea. Nature seems to conspire to produce vast

stores of structural materials for man’s use in building his habitation.

Interesting and important, also, are the struc- tures reared of these materials—sk^^scrapers with

frames of steel, dams of

concrete, highways of

broken rock and cement,

bridges of steel wire or metal beams. The processes

which fit materials for their uses also have their interest. For man}^ years the Department of Commerce

through its I3ureau of Standards has gained much new

data on how construction materials behave—results of exiieriments and tests measuring their quality for

Goveniment use. This information provides a basis

for drafting and keeping Federal specifications cur- rent and to add to the technique of using largely for

governmental purposes.

Important materials and problems are constantly

under investigation—Portland cement, paints and

other protective coatings, concrete, clay iDroducts, lime,

glass, metals and metallic structural elements, roofing

materials, and so on. The functions of structural

matei’ials are many—load bearing, wear resistance,

Aveather endurance, fire resistance, lightning protection, wind resistance, noise reduction, corrosion pre- vention, preservation from decaj^ or other deterioration, decoration, light transmission, thermal insulation, carrying capacity. Such functions serve the

occupants of structures. A single material may serve

several such functions. To eA’aluatc a material for

its functional seiudce in a structure specifications and

tests arc designed. These give maker, dealer, and

user a clear mutual understanding of tlic specified

measurements which determine behaA'ior or qnaity for

structural service. Specifications describe the acceptable measurements of the pertinent properties Avhich serve the functions desired. Many materials ai'o te.sted in the laboratory and in service. Laboratory

tests must be correlated AAuth actual service if tiu' results arc to predict potential utility in Avorks of

construction.

Research on structural materials at the Bureau of

Standards is, in general, devoted to problems of an

entire industry and not to such as industry can handle

as well or better alone. Some demand ample research

facilities and staff to duplicate which Avould be wasteful for private industries. Others call for attack by

pure sciences—physics and chemistry—rather than

merely by technologists. Others are such as the

bureau is especially fitted for, involving methods of

measurement to gain quantitative control of processes—a control which invariably will reproduce a high qualitj^ once attained b}'^ prescription of the

measured conditions which first produced such qualit}’.

Structural materials

must be safe. They may

carry loads that tend to crush. Tests at the bu- reau furnish in adA^ance

reliable data for construction engineers in planning

the safe and satisfactory

design of Government

structures. Building materials and materials used

in construction of other

kinds are the basis of

great industries. Their annual cost to the Nation and

the loss from misuse justifA" Congress in proA'iding for

iiiA’estigative researches by the GoA'ernment on struc- tural materials to secure the needed information to improve them or the processes which make them, or

to aid in their efficient utilization. The properties

of materials are, after all, the real objects of purchase,

sale, and use. The bureau’s experimental researches

determine these properties, by service tests or tests under simulated service conditions. The results per- mit intelligent planning of construction.

Among the hundreds of bureau publications of con- cern to construction there have been 33 on brick and

its problems, 34 on concrete, 31 on cement, 11 on

columns, 16 on floors, 20 on fire tests and prevention,

17 on holloAv building tile, 25 on structural metals, 54 on paint and paint materials, 12 on sound proofing,

and 9 on waterproofing. Many give the first results of researches at the Bureau of Standards. Published

results enter building practice to add efficienc}'’ and

economy to construction.

A basic publication is “ Physical Properties of iSIa- lerials ” (ClOl). This giA-es the strength and related

properties compressiA’e, tensile, shearing strengths;

ductility; modulus of elasticity; and other related

pi'operties of certain engineering materials, coA'cring

iron, carbon steels, allo,y steels, Avire and Avire rope,

semisteel, aluminum, copper, and miscellaneous materials. It gi\TS also the ]n’operties of metals at elevated temperatures, their fatigue and impact propei'ties and the effect of heat tieatmeut and cold-working. In this, other testing laboratories, manufacturing

concerns, eimineering olHces, and technical societies

and institutions joined. TAventy-seA'en definitions ot

This is the third of a series of articles b}' iMr. Hubbard, assistant to the Acting Director of the

Bureau of Standards, outlining the Avork of the

bureau as it concerns the construction industry.

These articles will coA'er research, testing, simplified practice recommendations, commercial

standards, and the certification and labelingplan.
208 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1933

terms pertinent to the various properties are given,

together with a discussion of the nomenclature of

copper alloys; Correspondence disclosed the fact that

such a compilation was greatly needed.

The advent of corrosion resisting chromium-nickel

alloys, the advent of high-strength steels, and the

demonstration of the economic and effectiveness of

modern welding methods are examples of new subjects, almost revolutionary in their application to construction work, which demand accurate up-to-date

numerical and quantitative information.

Another publication, “ The Testing of Materials ’’ (C45), was prepared for business and industrial

groups from the user’s iioint of view in a fairly popular style for the nontechnical reader. The subjects

discussed are classes of materials, properties of materials and their determination, the measure of quality,

specifications or standards of quality, improvement of

specifications, and the several aspects of each class of

materials in some detail. Strnctural materials include

clay products, wood, metals, lime, cement plasters and

stucco, paints, bituminous roofing.

A separate publication (MGS), entitled “ Purchasing

Commodities by Weight or Measure,” gives many use- ful hints affecting the measuring and weighing of

materials.

“Materials for tlie Household” (CTO) describes

common structural and other materials to stimulate

interest in and give data on household materials, ex- plaining their nature and their desirable properties,

to aid in their intelligent selection and promote their

effective use and preservation. For each material this

jniblication discusses the following aspects : Composition, definition, sources, properties, uses, tests, preservation, hints as to choice and use, and references to the literature for all who desire further study. In- troductory sections treat of the uses of materials, se- lecting household materials, standards of quality for

household materials, properties of materials, make-up

of household materials. The 259 pages of this document make a useful reference book.

It will be recalled that the clay-prodnets laboratory

of the Bureau of Standards demonstrated experimentally methods of blending and treating American clays

for use in duplicating the performance of certain foreign clays. The working of clays was studied to es- tablish a basis for the development of specifications

for cla}^s and clay products. The early publication

“ The Technical Control of the Colloidal Matter in Clays ” was a liasic scientific ])aper describing research

showing that as the colloids in cla}^ largely fix its plasticity the control of such colloids is a means to perfect the quality for specific purposes.

In these researches it was found possible 1)}^ suit- able blending and chemical and heat treatment to produce clays of certain desired qualities. This dissipated

the fiction that only imported clays are suitable for

certain uses. As a result of experiments and demonstrations, some previously useless clay banks became of

potential value to the clay industry. They also threw

light on preheating, burning time, temperature, mechanical working, chemical treatment, and other technical controls of clay products technology. For example, overplastic clays which -ordinarily clieck and

crack Avould l)cliave normally after suitalffe prelieating.

Although brick is an ancient structural material,

modern science has much to say on its production and

use, its behavior, and service characteristics. The bu- reau has conducted many researches on brick as a material of construction. These have included tests of

bricks from 250 plants scattered throughout the

United States. Measurements were made of water

absorptions, strengths in compression, bending and

tension, and resistance to freezing and thawing ex- posure. A portable machine was devised to measure

the transverse strength of brick.

The cause and cure of scum and efflorescence on face- brick walls were studied. Experiments disclosed the

importance during burning of such variables as temperature, humidit3L concentration of sulphur dioxide

and other gases upon the soluble salt formation. The

composition of the scum and methods for its mitigation were ascertained and published.

The uses of brick were also studied. Brick masonr}’

piers 30 inches square and 10 feet high and walls 6 feet long and 9 feet high were tested in compression to determine the load-carridng capacity of brick masoni’A"

composed of different kinds of bricks, mortars, bondings, and workmanship. Two hundred and twentj^ of

such large specimens were crushed to destruction in

these investigations. Other specimens of brick

masonry were subjected to fire tests. The bureau’s

program of investigations of the structural properties

of brick masonri" has probably never been surpassed.

In studies of the structural stability of hollow-tile

walls, over 100 large masonry specimens Avere tested

to determine the compressive and transverse strengths

of holloAv-tile Avails. These experiments shoAved that

using the same tile, the nature of the mortar joint

materiallj^ affected the compressiA’e strength of the

walls, the strengths depending upon the strength of

the mortar and the proportion of the tile giA’en a bedding b}" the mortar. Resistance to fire exposure

Avas studied in an elaborate iiiA’estigation Avhich

inclnded the testing of more than 200 specimens of

holloAV-tile masonry, including 70 Avails similar in size to a full partition Avail of a building. Although the

fire resistance was affected somewdiat by the t5qDe of

clay used in the manufacture of the units, the design

of the units and kind of mortar and Avorkmanship

used in the construction of the masonry had greater

effects upon the resistance to fire exposure. The value

of holloAV tile in combination—hollow-tile and reinforced-concrete floors—Avas studied by testing beams,

slabs, and full-size floor structures under load.

Marble, on account of its texture and the great

variet}^ of colorings, is a material that ma}’ be used for

interior decoration Avitli lieautifid and artistic results. It is therefore deserving of ])roper care and preservation. The bnreau has published A Studv of Problems Relating to the Maintenance of Interior Marble

(T350). This pai)er giA*es formulas for the removal

of various stains that maA^ occur on marble surfaces.

Various methods for the maintenance and preservation

of interior marble are discussed and described. Particular attention is given to sconring materials and

their proper nse. Limestone is prohablv the most Avideh" used stone for building construction in the United States at the

pi'esent time. A bureau publication PliA'sical Prop-
MARCH, 1933 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 209

erties of the Principal Commercial Limestone Used

for Building Construction in the United States

(T349) gives data on the physical properties of this

material. In addition, new information is given on

the causes of discolorations of limestone masonry and

the relative staining qualities of limestone are discussed. The nature, causes, and effects of efflorescence on limestone masonry are considered. The results of

a comprehensive study of the results of weathering of

limestone are given. The principal deposits of lime- stone used for obtaining this material for building

construction are briefly described.

HARDWARE FOR METAL DOORS

Commercial Standard for Template Hardware Has Been Revised, Effective January 1, 1933

The development of hollow metal doors set in metal

frames for reducing fire hazards has now reached the

stage where they are no longer unusual or novel, but

are rather the normal expected equipment for the

modern office building.

One of the major problems which has been the cause

of much perturbation in the industry is the matter

of application of locks, hinges, and other items of

builders’ hardware, largely because these items can

not be applied by the old familiar methods which are common in the case of wood doors and trim. Of

course, it is not practicable to mortise hollow metal

doors or metal frames on the job so that they will re- ceive locks and hinges. Although it is quite possible

to drill and tap small holes on the job for the fastening screws, it is much more convenient to have this

work also done at the factory.

It was the natural custom in the early days to

select the same locks and the same hinges normally

used with wood doors and to require that they be drilled

to template. Each manufacturer developed his own

template for each type and size of lock and hinge.

Before the bucks, jambs, or metal doors could be fabricated it was necessary to know not only what com- pany was to furnish the hardivare but also Avhat in- dividual items were to be used. With this knowledge

in hand the metal door manufacturer obtained from

the hardware manufacturer drawings indicating the

templates for the items selected, and not until then

could the production of the metal doors and jambs

be completed.

According to custom, builders’ hardware was one of

tlie last items to be selected for a given project, as it is not applied until the building is in the last stages of

completion.

Since the masonry woi'k could not proceed until the

bucks were set in place, and the bucks could not be

manufactured until the hardware was selected, delays

Avere the natural result, and no one seemed to be cli- rectly responsible. The architect criticized the holloAv

metal door manufacture]-. The hollow metal door

manufacturer claimed that the harclAvare manufacturer had not supplied templates, and the hardAvare

manufacturer blamed the architect for not having

selected the hardware.

.Although in 1924 the volume of template hardAvart'

business was not sufficient to Avarrant a complete

redesign of locks in order that they might -assemble

in standard mortises, a fcAv years’ experience Avith the difficulties mentioned above led the tAVO groui)s

of manufacturers in 1928 to embark upon a^ program

of national standardization of templates for hinges,

C3dinder lock fronts and strikes, and their corresponding mortises. After a prolonged and concerted effort,

details of these standard templates were accepted by

both industries and published under the title “ Builders’ Template Hardware, Commercial Standard CS9-29 ” issued by the United States Department of Commerce.

The standard templates thus established provide a complete line of full mortise hinges ; a limited line of

half-surface, half-mortise, and full-surface hinges;

and a line of cylinder locks with the functions usually

required for corridor doors, communicating office doors, and closet doors, or, in other words, the items

in greatest demand. This makes it possible to produce the bucks and jambs and the hollow metal doors

immediately after letting the contract without knowledge as to which make and catalogue number of locks or hinges are to be supplied.

After four j^ears of use it was found advisable to

revise the standard in some minor details and this re- vision has been accepted by the producers, distributors,

and users, becoming effective January 1, 1933.

Printed pamphlets embodying this revision will be

aA^ailable in due course from the Superintendent of

Documents, Government Printing Office, AVashington,

D. C., under the title “ Builders’ Template Hardware,

Commercial Standard CS9-33.”

Letters from both manufacturing groups indicate

that the difficulties imposed by nonstandard templates

have not yet been completely eliminated on account

of the all too frequent practice of requiring in specifications merely that the hardware be “ drilled to template.” This permits the hardware manufacturer to supply hardware to his own templates, which he is inclined to do on occasion, rather than to standard

templates, possibly in order to cut corners on the

quality of the hardAvare furnished or to work off' stocks of hardAvare manufactured for Avood doors.

If the architects will specify that “hardAvare for

metal doors and trim shall be drilled to standard temj)late, CS9-33,” the requirement Avill be immediately

understood in the trade. The template standards Avill become a part of the contract and the competition Avill be on a more comparable and fairer basis. Production

of metal doors and trim Avill be facilitated, installation

delay’s AA'ill be avoided, and there Avill be adequate

provision for easy replacement after the building is turned over to the OAvner. Since the jiarts Avhich have

been standardized are not noi-inally exposed to vieAv,

all of these benefits can be obtained Avithout any sacrifice or limitation on selection of design or on architectural treatment.
210 COMMEBCIAL STANDAEDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1933 BEWILDERED BUYERS BEG FOR STANDARDS

By I. J. Fatkchild, Bureau of Standards

The mails are constantly bringing to the Bureau

of Standards, to the Better Business Bureaus, and to trade associations, letters from bewildered buyers,

harassed merchants, and anxious manufacturers asking

for standards, specifications, and buying guides which

will sift the wheat from the deceptive chaff in modern

merchandise.

It happens occasionally that industries are awakened

to the necessity of establishing commercial standards

by complaints from individual users. The following

will serve as an example of a complaint sent to the

Department of Commerce by a club member in the

State of New York, which reads as follows

:

I am here on my vacation, but my regular profession is closely associated with commercial and civic associations.

I have just been through

another unhappy experience

which has led to this inquiry. In its dealings with trade

associations has the department ever made representations to the national trade body of the shirt manufacturers calling for a change

in their universal policy of

selling shirts at one size which invariably shrink to a size that is not at all what the customer desired? Without attempting to more than state the well-known problem in these few words, I would welcome any

advice you can place in my hands as to moves made by the department to correct this practice.

Although not a direct result of the above letter, it was doubtless complaints of a similar nature which

lead the National Association of Shirt Manufacturers

to propose a commercial standard covering measure- ments and minimum shrinkage requirements for the

various common sizes of men’s shirts. Sometimes it is the dealer who complains. The

following is taken from a letter from a store in

Arizona

:

It is the dealer who must tussle with this situation, and the

public who are not familiar with the various markings don’t get what they want. Another pi-actice which is brought very forcibly to the

retailer and which is an out and out steal is in the conversion

of grey goods at the dye works. When we buy 8 ounce 29-inch and 10 ounce 36-inch khaki, we get about 7 ounce 27-inch and 9 ounce 34-inch, and in some

instances the weight is still less, yet we have to sell this can- vas as full weight.

If we order a bale of canvas, say 8/29, 800 yards (400

pounds) from the jobber, to be sent to the dye works to be

converted into khaki, we will receive from the dye works 800 yards 27-inch material weighting 7 ounces, a shortage of from

44 to 60 pounds in weight.

In dyeing this canvas it is sti’etched to the limit decreasing

the width about 2 inches. Mineral dye used should add some

weight, but I am told that the loss in yardage makes up this difference, yet the canvas loses an ounce (per yard) in weight.

This surplus in ends is retained by the dye works and

that is why they have job lots of canvas for sale. Now, if it is necessary to stretch this canvas, why not mark

it at its actual weight and give the merchant all the canvas he

has paid for? The foregoing remarks apply to the situation prior

to the establishment of the Commercial Standard for

Cotton Fabric Tents, TarpaulinsT^nd Covers, CS28-

32, which requires that all tents, tarpaulins, and covers, whether waterproofed or not, shall be marked to show the weight of the grey goods in ounces per

square yard. Formerly they were marked in ounces

per linear yard in a wide range of widths and the

weight in ounces might indicate either the grey weight

or the waterproofed weight, which left the buyer with no means of deciphering the confused marldng.

The following quotes in part a letter from a Better

Business Bureau:

One of our affiliated # * * tells us that there is con- siderable confusion in retail hosiery advertising due to the

fact that there seem to be no standards for the various

weights of hosiery. As you undoubtedly know, hosiery is designated as service weight, semiservice weight, chiffon,

etc., but there seems to be no

clear understanding as to just

what each term signifies. For example, hosiery desig- nated as “ service weight ” by

one manufacturer might be of the type which another manufacturer considered “semiservice,” and this has created a situation where those terms have become, to some extent, meaningless to the public.

A number of such letters could be cited, as well as countless others which are not quite so specific on the

causes of failure, but which reflect a conviction on the

jDart of the signer that the buyer should be provided

with real data which will permit him to recognize

the substandard items, known in trade vernacular as

“ dreck,” schlag,” “ borax,” “ brummagen,” and so on. Contrary to a prevalent impression, the Bureau of

Standards has no arbitrary authority to initiate or promulgate commercial standards, but it does assist groups who approach it voluntarily for assistance in

the establishment and promulgation of standards as a basis for buying or selling manufactured products.

Any organized group or individual company may re- quest cooperation of the Bureau of Standards in the

establishment of a commercial standard. It is not

necessary that the request come from an association or other trade organization, although experience in- dicates that standards sponsored by such organizations are more likely to be finally accepted than those

proposed by single companies.

Industries which have a strong central organization

.sometimes find it jiossible to control to a certain extent some essential elements of their relations with

the buying public. Individuals who have charge of

making awards under competitive bids have doubtless

observed evidence of such control. Those groups

which can muster sufficient cooperative control of marketing policies are seldom found among the ranks of

those who request the establishment of commercial

standards.

According to my observation only those industries

which find themselves in difficulty through demoralization of grades or qualities, skimp cutting, misrepresentation, or which face a general loss of reputation are'likely to go to such lengths. They feel that

something really drastic should be done, that control

This is the third of a series of articles by

Mr. Fairchild, chief, division of trade standards, Bureau of Standards, searching into the

Avhys and wherefores of commercial standards. This one is an answer to the questions

“Who Requests Them ?” and “ How Are They

Produced ?”
MARCH, 1933 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 211

of conditions has passed out of their hands, and that

they must put into the hands of the buyer a weapon

which may be used against any producers who make

unwarranted claims about the quality of their products

or misrepresent them in such a way as to be detrimental to the entire industry. I have observed that

few industries take such a step until they feel compelled to do so by the force of circumstances.

By means of a commercial standard, these groups

take the consumer into partnership (for selfish reasons, to be sure) in order that the consumer may hel]>

police the industry, but the net result is a tremendous

advantage to the consumer which he has not possessed

previously, namely, a nationally accepted basis for di- rect comparison of prices and a definite justification

for the rejection of substandard goods.

HOW ARE COMMERCIAL STANDARDS PRODUCED ? Generally speaking some producer or consumer group submits a tentative specification and requests

the cooperation of the Bureau of Standards in establishing a commercial standard. The records of the

division of specifications are examined for other specifications covering the same commodity, and copies of

such specifications, if any, are obtained. Interested

technical laboratories of the Federal Government are then consulted for suggestions in order that the proposed specification may not be out of line with the

trends of thought or the latest research developments on the subject. A preliminary conference of interested producers is arranged to determine whether the

proposed standard can be made to represent the composite views of the producer groups and whether it can be adjusted so as to form a satisfactory basis for

guaranteeing quality to prospective customers.

With this accomplished, a general conference of

producers, distributors, and users is then called for

further adjustment of the standard in order that it may be made acceptable alike to all who sell or buy the

commodity. After the standard is adjusted to meet

the approval of the general conference and to satisfy

substantiated criticism which may have been submitted in writing, it is then circulated by the Bureau

of Standards to all producers and to representative

distributors and users for written acceptance. The

acceptance form states that the undersigned accepts

the standard as his standard of practice in the production, distribution, or use, as the case may be, of that

particular items, and that he will use such effort as may be appropriate to secure additional adherence

whenever the opportunity offers. Following acceptance by a satisfactory majority of

production by volume and in the absence of active

opjiosition, the commercial standard is then published

by the Department of Commerce. Copies are sent to

all acceptors and copies are made available at a nominal price through the Superintendent of Documents,

Washington, D. C. A standing committee of representative producers,

distributors, and users is appointed for the purpose

of initiating suggestions and sifting recommended re- visions in order that the standard may be adjusted

from time to time to keep it abreast of progress in the industry.

In this connection the question is often asked, “ Do

commercial standards permit advance in new design

or do they tend to stifle initiative?” Some instances

have been observed where industries in their zeal to correct present evils have recommended standards

which seem to leave little room for modification or improvement, and in such instances the group has

been warned against too strict a limitation of the

process of manufacture or standardization of details

which might better be left open. Generally speaking, however, the producer groups are sufficiently farsighted to guard against any difficulties in that

direction.

Rear Admiral George H. Rock, who recently re- tired from active service in the Navy, put the matter

very clearly in a letter dated September 23, 1932, to the American Standards Association in which he said,

“ I do not believe it has been found that xoromulgation

of a reasonable workable standard has unduly limited

any engineer in the advancement of his art. When

engineers have the frame of mind that a standard,

because it is once published, is the final word in human

accomplishments along that particular line, it should

be time to change the engineers.”

The appointment of standing committees was ar- ranged to provide an easy means of revising commercial standards and more especially to give a small

committee the definite responsibility of seeing to it that standards are revised as needed.

It will be clear from the above that the Federal

Government makes no attempt to initiate commercial

standards, neither does it undertake to impress its views upon the industry, but, on the contrary, its function is to serve as a coordinator to safeguard the

integrity of the process and see that all who are di- rectly concerned have an equal opportunity to present

their views. The commercial standard is produced

by voluntary cooperation and serves to clarify the un- derstanding between buyer and seller on the more important attributes of a manufactured commodity.

BUREAU CIRCULAR ON INKS

A publication of the Bureau of Standards of considerable general interest which has just been issued

is designated as Circular C400 on Inks. This circular

in part replaces an older publication, C95, and is an enlargement of a mimeographed letter Circular

LC-331 prepared by the bureau in 1932 and which has

had a wide distribution.

The present circular outlines briefly the history of

iron gallotannate writing inks, gives formulas for three

kinds of them, and has something to say about the

aging of writing and the restoration of faded writing.

This is followed by short discussions of several other

kinds of inks, including colored writing inks, drawing, stamp pad, recording, and other varieties. Printing inks and others that depend upon pigments foi- their color and special properties are in a class by

themselves. They are discussed in the circular, but no formulas for them are given. The metliods of

testing provided for in the specifications under which

the Federal Government purchases inks are described

and an appendix contains sections on weights and

measures, equipment for making ink in the home, and

on dyes suitable for a variety of inks. A brief bibli- ography is included.

Copies of the circular may be obtained from the

Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing

Office, Washington, D. C., at 10 cents each.
212 COMMEECIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1933 QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM FOR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES

Program of Association of Edison Illuminating Companies Has Raised Efficiency of Products

By Preston S. Miixeb*

In 1929 some of the electric light and jDOwer companies inaugurated the quality improvement program

of the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies. The action was taken because of dissatisfaction

due to the large number of unsatisfactory electrical

appliances which were finding their way into the market and because of the concern as to the growing cost of servicing consumer equipment. The association

designated an aiDpliance committee, consisting of leading central station executives, with a subcommittee of

technical and commercial men, to afford detail guid2

* 1*33

ance and designated electrical testing laboratories as

its technical agent to do the necessary testing and

related work.

In the early stages of the work, surveys have been

made of every known brand of certain types of cus- tomer electrical equipment, with more highly developed and thorough testing than has ever before

been undertaken in such work. Laboratory tests and

practical service experiments have been utilized in an effort to evaluate the performance qualities, the

result being expressed as an “ appraisal.” The value

so appraised includes all the principal features of

service worth, such as effectiveness, durability, convenience, safety, and so on. In general, it has been

1 President, Electrical Testing Laboratories ; secretary. Association

of Edison Illuminating Companies, EightietiuStreet and East End Avenue, New York, N. Y.

found among the less costly types of equipment which

were fii'st investigated that there is no reasonable re- lationship between value and price. In each price

class the better brands have been found to be superior

to the poorer brands of higher price classes. A representative picture of such findings appears in the

accompanying chart, which is not based upon specific

data and does not apply to any particular type of

equipment, but rather is intended to afford an indication of the relationship of value to price found in over-the-counter electrical merchandise as a whole.

Mdienever deficiency,

weakness, or inferiority of any kind has

been disclosed by tests in any product, the

matter has been taken

up confidentially with

the producer who has

been urged to make

the needed corrections.

Test results thus laid

before producers have

rarely encountered any

challenge. With ver}^

few exceptions, either

with or without in- vestigation, they have

been accepted by the

producers. A recent count showed that

there have been 380

separate transactions,

in which reports of

inferiority of product were laid before the

producers. It is not

possible accurately to determine the results in all cases. Not in- frequently producers

have been unwilling to admit inferiority of their

products, but have quietly proceeded to make correc- tions of which the testing organization has knoAvn

nothing until the improved product was found upon

the market. In other cases producers have frankly

worked with the testing organization, improving

products Avhere the need was found to exist and

affording the testing organization the satisfaction of

feeling that its work has been constructive. Approximatel}^ the results in these 380 transactions are thought to be as follows

:

In 114 cases some improvement has been effected. In 136 cases the product criticized has been withdraivn from the market.

Cases still under negotiation, 130. Just how much influence the quality improvement program has had in bringing about this result
MARCH, 1933 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 213

it is impracticable to know with certainty. For examiile, in more than one case a producer has reported

that he had reached the same conclusion about his

product as had the testing organization, and had

reached it simultaneously. The foregoing summary,

however, is the best estimate which the testing organization has been able to make of the results in this

direction. The procedure is not standardized. It has

been found necessary to be guided by circumstances,

adapting the procedure as may be required. Two different procedures are here described for illustration.

Heater cords. —The most thoroughgoing and critical study of heater cords which has ever been made led

to the conclusion that the customary method of constructing heater cords Avas not of a nature to impart

maximum durability, which is a leading requirement

for such products. So, although it was contrary to approved practice, electrical testing laboratories felt

it necessary to draw up a prescription for construction

of heater cords. After some time this prescription

received the indorsement of the principal electrical

manufacturers in this field. Copies were then dis- tributed to all known manufacturers of heater cords,

Avith the result that there are noAV aA^ailable on the

market heater cords Avhich have several times the

durability of most of those which were on the market

three 5^ears ago. The products of most of the leading

manufacturers in this field have been greatly improved through this quality improA^ement work. The

improA'ement has involved no increase in the price of

these products, but has groAvn out of greater

intelligence in design.

Electric space heaters.

Domestic electric service is shown by records to be remarkably free from hazard.

Statements that serious hazards are prevalent are untrue and are likely to be made for commercial rather

than safety reasons. Of the very few fatalities Avhich

have occurred in domestic service, a considerable per- centage have been occasioned by electric space heaters

in bathrooms. These have been attributable to inadequate electrical insulation in such equipment. A sur- vey was therefore made by Electrical Testing Laboratories of every known brand of electric space heater,

and in each case where tests disclosed electrical insulation to be inadequate, the findings were laid before

the producer who was urged to correct the design in

order to increase the safety of his product. Such cor- rection has been made in a number of products and is pending in others.

In this short paper there is no opportunity to describe several other procedures Avhich have been fol- lowed. Methods have differed, but the objective has

been the same, namely, to improve the quality of

electrical equipment offered for sale to the public.

When tests of all brands of a particular type of

equipment are completed, the results are reported

privately to the electric light and poAver companies

which support this work and enter into their purchasing decisions to any degree that they desire. Reports

are supplied also to the producers, giving them, not

for publication, but for engineering guidance, data to shoAV hoAV their products compare in quality with the

average of all products and with the best and poorest

products on the market. This places the manufacturer in a position to know just Avhere he needs to

effect improvement if his product is to be among the

leaders in quality. Throughout, the purpose is to make available to the manufacturer information that

will show any deficiencies in his product, but to avoid

conveying information that Avill tell him how to make

corrections.

The latest development in this program, inaugurated last autumn, is the preparation of purchase

specifications for electrical equipment and provision

for certifying to the supporting electric light and

power companies, and possibly to others who may

support the activity, those brands which comply with

the specifications. Where really superior equipment

can be obtained without undue cost, these specifications call for superior equipment. Where such is not

the case, specifications call for two grades of equipment, respectively, “ acceptable ” and “ superior.’’

The acceptable grade is safe and serviceable, repre- senting the minimum quality that from the point of

view of utility companies ought to be offered to the

public.

Through this quality improvement program and

the specification-test-certification development it is hoj)ed to inject higher ideals of quality into the elec- trical appliance market, to insure better rewards for

those Avho attain to such ideals, and to improve the

satisfaction to be derived from electric service. All

of these things are attainable without increasing price

and sometimes with the accompaniment of decreased

price. For it is to be observed that the same designing skill and competency which result in making products better are likely to result as well in making products less costly.

The motives of the electric light and power companies in inaugurating and supporting this program

are obvious. Their business will prosper best if their

customers experience complete satisfaction in the use

of electrical appliances. They have grasped an opportunity and perhaps have discharged a moral responsibility. Nevertheless I can not conclude this article Avithout expressing the indebtedness of the electrical

industry and of the public to the electric light and

poAver companies who through these means are endeavoring to improve electric service.

ARCHITECTS GROUP GUIDED BY SHINGLE

STANDARDS

At a meeting of the Westchester (N. Y.) Society'

of Architects the commercial standard for red cedar

shingles CS31-31, and the laying recommendations

therein were made the basis of a resolution to broaden

the possible use of high-grade Avood shingles.

This resolution suggests that the building codes

should be so amended as to provide for the use as roof covering, on properly separated residences and

assessory structures outside of fii'e limits, of edge

grain Avood shingles of a thickness knoAvn as 5/2 or

greater, Avhen such shingles conform to the quality

requirements of commercial standard CS31—31 of the

Bureau of Standards, United States Department of

Commerce, and are so identified, and Avhen tliey are

laid in accordance Avith recommendations therein.
214 commercial standards monthly MARCH, 1933

“ WHEN YOU BUY SHEETS ” ^

Standardization Committee of American Home Economics Association Issues Leaflet to Aid Consumer

in Making Purchases

Be sure you know the size of the bed before buying

the sheet. A sheet that is too small to be tucked in

well under the mattress is a poor investment. Lengths

of sheets are given in terms of lengfli before hemming.

For a standard mattress 74 inches long and 5 inches

thick a 108-inch sheet, after allowing 10 inches for

hems and shrinkage, will give a 7-inch tuck-in at the

top and bottom. A 99-inch sheet allows only 2 or 3

inches for a tuck-in if used with this size mattress. This is too little to hold the sheet firm in place.

Many sheets shrink from 6 to 8 inches in length.

Practically all shrink somewhat, but one which has

been unduly stretched in manufacture will shrink more. It is sometimes possible to detect excessive

stretching by the pulled or distorted appearance of some of the yarns. Unbleached sheets shrink more

than bleached ones. Sheets which are always ironed

from selvage to selvage gradually increase in width

and decrease in length.

Price is not a reliable guide to quality. Neither are

superlative adjectives of advertisements and salesmen.

Although there is much to be learned about the best

ways to construct sheeting, it is recognized that thread

count, tensile strength, sizing, and weight are significant factors in determining its durability.

Thread count. —The number of yarns to the inch

will indicate the relative fineness and closeness of the weave. In a recent study of 109 sheets they were found to vary from a sleazy one of 54 warp or lengthwise yarns and 47 filling or crosswise yarns to one of

very fine, closely woven yarns with 109 yarns in the

warp and 97 in the filling. The average number of

warp or lengthwise yarns in the 109 sheets was 73,

while the average number of filling or crosswise yarns was 62. Tensile strength. —The tensile strength of both the

warp and the filling of a sheet is an important index

of its wear value because it is the measure of the pull

the fabric will stand before it breaks. Usually the

tensile strength of the warp is slightly higher than

that of the filling, but it is well if there is not too much difference between the two. Otherwise, one set of yarns will tend to break or tear before the others

begin to weaken. Tests on 109 different sheets showed

them to vary from one of low quality, which would resist a pull of only 27 pounds on the warp and 21

pounds on the filling threads, to one which would resist a pull of 68 pounds on Avarp and 69 pounds on

filling. The aA^erage tensile strength of the warp of

the 109 sheets was 53 pounds and of the filling 50

pounds. At least one retail store has set 50 pounds

as the minimum tensile strength for both the warp

and filling of all the sheets it handles.

Sizing.—In order to improve the appearance of a

loosely woven, poor quality of sheeting, manufacturers

sometimes add a sizing of starch, china clay, or other

1 “ When You Buy Sheets,” a consumer purchasing leaflet prepared

by the committee on standardization of consumers’ goods of the American Home Economics Association, 620 3IiUs Building, Washington,

D. C. : copies are obtainable direct at prices approximately equivalent

to postage. “ Buying Biankets,” another of the series, appeared in the December, 1932, Commercial Standards Monthly.

substance. This may make the material seem heavy

and give it a smooth finish. However, the sizing

Avashes out in laundering, so that a heavily sized

sheeting becomes sleazy and fuzzy in appearance. Excessive sizing can be recognized by holding the cloth over a dark surface and rubbing it vigorously between

the two hands. The sizing will fall out as a fine powder on the dark surface. Since it serves only to deceive the customer and adds nothing to the value of

the sheeting, ask the percentage of sizing present and

choose sheeting with little or none. Weight.— weight of a sheet is important and

often explains differences in price. It usually varies

from about 3^ to 5% ounces per square yard of sheeting. The choice is somewhat a matter of personal

preference. Heavy sheets wear longer, do not wrinkle

as much, and therefore are more comfortable to sleep on and give a more tailored appearance to the bed

than do light weight ones. But they cost more both

to buy and launder and are heavier to handle. A good

middle-of-the-road rule is : Never buy a sheet so light

in weight that it is sleazy nor so heavy that it is cumbersome. In a heavily sized sheet, the weight may

be misleading, as it will include sizing as well as cot- ton. Unbleached sheets are often heavier when new

because they contain natural impurities which are re- moved later by laundering.

The yarn. —The best yarns are regular in diameter,

contain few short fibers, and have their fibers mixed

uniformly and arranged as nearly parallel as possible.

Examine the yarns before buying the sheet. When

sheeting is being purchased by the yard, ravel out a few yarns and observe their strength; untwist them

and note the average length of the fibers used. A very

loosely twisted yarn does not wear well. The fiber lengths of American-grown cotton vary from approximately % to 114 inches. The best sheets contain cot- ton at least 1 inch in length. Yarns made of short

fibers are not as durable, and the fabric has a more

fuzzy appearance and soils more quickly than when

long fibers have been used.

Flaws in the fabric. —Poor construction means thick

and thin places in the same cloth, puckers, improperly

laced warp and filling, imperfect selvages, broken,

split, or missing yarns, and knots. All such flaws

have a direct bearing on the life of the material. A

“ first ” is a sheet practically free from flaws. A

“ second ” is a sheet which is imperfect in some re- spect. What is called a “ first ” and what is called a

“ second ” depends on the standards set up by the

manufacturer. It is possible that the wear value of

a “ second ” may be practically identical with that of

a “ first ” ; it depends on the nature of the imperfection. Before buying a sheet which is sold as a “ sec- ond ” find out why it has been so classified and judge

for yourself whether or not the wear value is impaired

by the flaws. The selvages. —The selvages are often the weakest

parts of a sheet and break long before the rest of the

fabric shows signs of wear. It pays to examine the

selvages carefully. Buy a sheet with a strong, well-
]^IARCH, 1933 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 215

made selvage. See that all the yarns are fastened

securely into a good, firm edge. The taped selvage is being used on many sheets as an extra precaution.

~Wearing qualities.—How long should a sheet last?

The answer depends upon its construction and the

care it receives. In a wearing test on some mediumweight sheets in which they were washed after each

night of use, one group had lost only 40 per cent of

their strength after being washed 125 times and it was

only after 200 times that they could be considered worn out. They were used and washed 170 times before a single break occurred. Good care lengthens the

life of any sheet. Exposed ends of wires on the bed

springs and broken or rough edges on bedsteads often

catch and tear the bedding. Strong bleaches and washing aids used in laundering gradually weaken a fabric. When selvages are not ironed out straight, they

tend to fold back in hard creases along which the

yarns eventually break. Sheets should be torn and

not cut into sheet lengths. If cut, the sheets are often

crooked after laundering and the hems uneven and

drawn. Make sure you get torn sheets. The hems

should be even, folded on the thread of the fabric,

sewed neatly with strong thread, and preferably closed

at the ends. The ends of the sewing threads should

be securely fastened.

Until a satisfactory grading system is worked out,

the committee recommends that labels be attached to sheeting and sheets stating

1. Minimum tensile strength of warp and filling.

2. Minimum thread count of warp and filling.

3. Maximum percentage of sizing in the fabric.

4. Weight in ounces per square yard of fabric. For sheets the following should be added

5. The width and length (before hemming).

6. Whether they are “ firsts ” or “ seconds.”

AMERICAN STANDARDS ASSOCIATION

Current developments of the following standardization jirojects under the auspices and procedures of the

American Standards Association have been reported

by that association

Shaft couplings.—The American standard for shaft

couplings, integrally forged flange type for hydroelectric units, has been published by the American

Society of Mechanical Engineers, sponsor for the

project.

Safety code for paper and pulp mills.—A revised

draft of the Safety Code for Paper and Pulp Mills

has been forwarded to members of the sectional committee for their consideration prior to the holding of

a meeting of the committee within the next few weeks.

This proposed revision is the first revision of the code

since it was approved as an American standard in

1925, and it is planned to incorporate many suggestions for improvement which have been submitted by

the paper and pulp mills section of the National

Safety Council, the sponsor for this safety code.

Spur gear tooth form.—The new American standard on spur gear tooth form covering 14%° composite

system, 14%° full depth involute system, 20° full depth

involute system, and 20° stub involute system, has been

published by the American Society of Mechanical

Engineers. The American Gear Manufacturers Association and the American Society of Mechanical

Engineers are sponsors for the project under the procedure of the Ainerican Standards Association.

School lighting.—The new standards of school lighting, recently approved by the American Standards

Association, have been published by the Illuminating

Engineering Society. The standards were prepared

under the joint sponsorship of the Illuminating

Engineering Society and the American Institute of

Architects.

FEDERAL SPECIFICATIONS

Thirty-one specifications were acted on by the Federal Specifications Board during the month of February. Of this number, 14 proposed specifications and

17 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 desig- nation Specifications proposed Old F. S. B. No.

Folders, pressboard, file size Cards, guide (card size) Cards, guide, calendered (file size) Cards, guided pressboard (file size) Cards, index, chemical wood

Cards, index, 50 per cent rag Cards, index, 100 per cent rag, for permanent records RR-G-661 Gratings, steel (flooring, landings, steps, etc.), shore and

marine use (except for naval vessels) Casters for wood chairs Pads, stamp

Pins, oflBcel Tables, ofiBce, steel Bleaching material (chlorinating agents) Panelboards, automatic, circuit-breaker tvpe

Specifications for revision T-T-901a Twine, hemp

HH-C-571a Cork, granulated, insulating HH-C-581 Woven cotton fabric, asphalt-saturated 294 HH-F-241 Felt, coal-tar-saturated (for) roofing and waterproofing... 81 SS-A-701 Asphalt primer 87 SS-C-151 Bituminous plastic cement 380 SS-R-451 Asphalt roof coating, brushing consistency 424 SS-A-693 Asphalt (for) mineral-surfaced roofing, waterproofing. and damp proofing, and unsurfaced built-up roofing... 84,85,88 R-P-381 Coal-tar pitch (for) mineral-surfaced roofing, and waterproofing, and damp proofing 80,83 HH-F-191 Felt, asphalt-saturated (for) flashings, and roofiaig and

waterproofing. 86, 295 SS-R-501 Roofing, asphalt-prepared 214 SS-R-511 Roofing, prepared, asphalt and asbestos, mineral-surfaced 423 SS-E-521 Roofing and shingles, asphalt prepared, mineral-sur296 SS-S-791 Surfacing materials for bituminous built-up roofing 82 ZZ-M-81 Matting, rubber (for use around electrical apparatus or

circuits not eice^ing 3,000 volts to ground) 414 GGG-R-791 Rules 419

L/ Ly U~571

8

Cork, compressed (cork board)
216 commercial standards monthly MARfa.

NEWS IN BRIEF

The Polish Standardization Committee has recently

published, for general comment and criticism, proposed standards for escutcheons ; interior door locks

;

sjunbols for the most important phj^sical units ; bolts,

nuts, screws, studs, and taps; wrench openings and

clearances; twist drills; lathe dogs, straight and bent

tails; and wheels, star, and lever type handles.

With 43 State legislatures meeting this year and

25 giving consideration to uniform traffic measures,

it is expected that further progress will be made in

1933 toward complete uniformity in motor-vehicle

regulation throughout the Nation, according to in- formation made public by the National Conference of

Street and Highway Safety. Thirty-four States have

made the Uniform Vehicle Code or parts of it State

law.

An international electrical exhibition wdll be held

from April 15 to 24, 1933, at The Hague, Netherlands.

All electrical appliances shown are subject to approval

of a special commission to prevent exposition of unI'eliable material. The show will be held in cooperation with the Municipal Electric Works of The Hague

and is largely designed to encoi\rage use of current- consuming equipment for home and industry.

A bottling company at Boston makes use of a photocell installation to count the crates of filled bottles as they go out to the shipping room. This conveyor,

however, has a transfer from one belt to another, and

as the boxes make the change the}" are tipped first one way, then in the reverse direction. The resulting

interruption of light between boxes passing over the

peak at the transfer point provides just the place for

installing the photocell beam and so an accurate count is made.

Governor Pinchot, of Pennsylvania, has appointed

a commission on fire-fighting standards to inquire particularly into the matter of standardizing fire-hydrant

and fire-hose couplings and “ to present such general

conclusions pertinent to the prevention of fires as may

be reached by the commission during the course of its investigations.” The commission is requested to rec- ommend what legislation, if any, is desirable to bring

about standardization, “ having in mind the impoverished treasuries of many of the smaller fire companies in boroughs and townships.”

Thirty engineers of radio manufacturers held an important meeting recently at Detroit on the development of automotive radio. The conference Avas di- rected by the chairman of the Radio Manufacturers’

Association standards committee. Special work Avas accomplished on B poAver supplies of various types and

work begun on standardized instruction for ignition

suppression. A subcommittee was appointed to pre- pare specifications on the measurement of sensitivity

in automobile receivers. Other subcommittees will co- operate with the automotive engineers’ wire committee on the subject of connecting cables for radio re- ceivers and work on standard instructions for ignition

suppression methods, including""aTstandard “ suppressor kit ” and instructions for car antenna installation.

There is no accepted bacteriological standard for

natural bathing waters. Much depends upon the source of the bacteria found. For example, inv^esti- gations made by the NeAV Jersey State Department of

Health along the New Jersey coast, traced the sewage

to the bathing Avaters and found B. coli content to the extent of 100 per cm This demonstrates the need

of chlorination.

The officials of a New York newspaper had the

problem of detecting, before their papers Avere printed,

Avhether the ink would show through enough to dis- turb the reader. This problem was solved by the development of an opacity meter using a photronic cell, a microammeter, and an ordinary 100-watt lamp.

With this equipment they have already classified over 500 samples of newsprint.

Local rules supplementing a minimum national code

are ineAutable and proper, said George Andrea, of Milwaukee, in an address before the annual meeting of the

National Electrical Contractors Association “ but for

the benefit of the public and the industry as a whole,

studies should be undertaken to assemble these additional rules, classify them, and thus make it possible to obtain some degree of uniformity throughout the country with respect to these appendixes.

The American Public Health Association announces

a new edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and SeAvage, prepared in cooperation with the American Water Works Association.

The previous edition of this book is dated 1925. In

the new edition, the seventh, many important additions and changes occur. For example, the section

dealing with the method for the treatment of total hardness has been extensiA^ely reA"ised, and many

other methods of analysis that are not yet recom- mended as standard procedure, but which may be of

use, are presented in abstract, with references.

The Commission of Chemical Technology, a division

of the Polish Standardization Committee, has ap- proved those parts of the proposed standard for anthracite coal Avhich deal with calorimetric determination of heat of combustion and heat value, determination of moisture content, and determination of ash. The commission is now engaged on other sections of

the proposed standard relating to volatile matter,

sampling, and coke. At the request of the PolishDantzig Refinery Association it has also begun work

on specifications for edible fats and oils.

Leading asiihalt companies of the United Kingdom

have recently formed a trade association and propose

to make all asphalt resources jointly available to members in an effort to assure a product of specified

characteristics. The organization, known as the

Natural Asphalt MineoAvners and Manufacturers’

Council, also plans to standardize the manufacture

and application of asphalt for building construction.

Problems of the members concerning raw materials,

technical equipment, research, and executive practice, are to be handled by the association.

o
SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL, AND COMMERCIAL

PERIODICAL PUBLICATIONS ISSUED BY

THE BUREAU OF STANDARDS

BUREAU OF STANDARDS

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH

The new Journal describes the bureau’s re- search results in science and technology. The

union of science and its applications in one

journal shortens the lag between discovery

and application.

All engaged in industry and commerce should

have available for current use and permanent

reference the Bureau of Standards Journal of

Research.

Early in its firil year the Journal developed a

li^t of paid subscribers double the anticipated

maximum.

This Journal is full of interest to executives

and technicians controlling industries and

commercial enterprises. It enables them bet- ter to promote efficiency by determining the

scientific measured controls of process through

experimental and theoretical research.

Issued monthly

Subscription price, $3 per year

COMMERCIAL STANDARDS

MONTHLY

This new governmental periodical is a review

of progress in commercial simplification and

Standardization. It is the only journal of its kind. It covers the national movement ini- tiated by President Hoover for the redudfion

of needless sizes and varieties of producfts and

the promotion of voluntary commercial

Standardization by induStry.

The Secretary of Commerce in the firSt issue

of this new journal said: “Certain Standards,

such as those used for weights and measures,

* * * have been fixed by legislative ena(ftment. Mandatory Standards of this character, however, are few in number when compared with the large and Steadily growing

volume of Standards developed by induStry

and commerce and voluntarily maintained.

* * * The acftivities of the Commercial

Standardization Group of the Bureau of

Standards are concerned with Standards

adopted by voluntary agreement.’’

Subscription price, $1 per year

TECHNICAL NEWS BULLETIN

The Bureau of Standards periodical with a WAR RECORD! Started during the dark

days of 1917 to keep the Army and Navy and

other branches of the Government informed

of progress in scientific war research at the

bureau. Upon urgent requeSt this publication was continued and expanded to serve the

Government, science, and induStry.

The TECHNICAL NEWS BULLETIN will

keep you informed of current progress in the

scientific and technical work of the bureau’s

laboratories, and gives each month a liSt of

the publications of the bureau. A complete

cross index is published with the December

issue.

You can not afford to be without the TECHNICAL NEWS BULLETIN. Every article IS short and to the point. The busieSt executive can afford the time to read it. Issued monthly

Subscription price, 25 cents per year

STANDARDS YEARBOOK

FOR 1932

The new Standards Yearbook for 1932 is the

sixth annual issue of a publication devoted

to the great and growing field of iHandardization in its broad aspetfts. It gives a summary

of progress.

Standardization is a world-wide movement.

It covers all industries. It is part of the application of scientific methods to induStry. Its achievements are of intereSt and concern to business men and manufacfturers as well as to engineers. To the technician it is full of

example of methods and results of suggeStive

and Stimulating value. To business men it discloses trends which deeply concern their

intereSt.

NOW READY Price, $1 ORDER AT ONCE

‘‘Standardization is becoming cm aspcdl oj all ivelU ordered aiflivity rather t/icm cm incidental

activity supplemental to others.”

To obtain regularly the above-described monthly Periodicals send your order, with remittance, addressed: Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. Foreign prices (countries other

than the United States and its possessions, Canada, Mexico, Newfoundland, Cuba, and Republic of Panama) are: Journal, $3.50; Bulletin, $0.40; Monthly, $1 .25; Yearbook, $1 .25
THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

ROY D. CHAPIN, 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. Dcfoartment of Commerce, June 10. 1929.

AERONAUTICS BRANCH, Clarence M. Y^oung, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics. 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, William M. Steuaht, 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, jiublic debt, and taxation, including financial statistics of local governments, every 10 years; annual compilation of financial statistics of State and munici]ial governments.

Comjiilation of statistics of marriage, divorce, births, deaths,

and jienal and other institutions annually, and of death rates in

cities and automobile accidents weekly.

Compilation quarterly or monthlj' 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 oiienings for American products in foreign countries, through commercial attaches, trade commissioners, and

consular officers, and its distribution through weekly Commerce

Rejiorts, 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 bipyers

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 iirocesses of domestic trade and commerce. BUREAU OF STANDARDS, Lyman ,J. 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 projierties 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

coojieration 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 inijiroved niethads in the production

and use of minerals.

BUREAU OF MINES—Continued.

Testing of Government fuels and management of the Govern- ment Fuel Y'ard 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 ]iut>lications. BUREAU OF FISHERIES, Henry O’Malley, 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 develo]mient

of commercial fisheries and agriculture; study of fishery methods,

imjirovements 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 I.ists, 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 surve3^s; magnetic

survej^s; tide and current observations; and seismological investigations. Publication of results through charts, coast jiilots, 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, enti\v 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 insiiection 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 ins]iection laws. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. Thomas E. Robertson,

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 LTnited 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 weeklv Official Gazette, showing the patents and trade-marks issued.

U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: l?23