Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-10-26
Army and NavyNeWs

DDS in vogue. 1t has so far stan
Of the twenty mine varieties formerly
In use nine now suffice. "
| Inc director said that rough es-
Innate Of the value of the military
property Of all kinds now in posses
sion OF the War Department was So
bOo.000.000, and that an inventory of
all Its items was nearly completed;
not by his division. but that he was
interested In it, because he held that
every dollar Of the departments
money must be accounted for and that
! a dollar invested in a monkey wrench
was still dollar in which his divi-
sion had an interest. Through this
| following of property into the hands
OF contractors the division had re-
| covered $4,000 in New York and
$625.000 in Boston.
Following this plan the division had
introduced new system Of property
accounting in the Army. Its princi-
pie Is that supply officers are charged
with all the property they receive
credited with their transfers and
finance division auditors settle their
accounts on the field and settle them
promptly without the delay of a wear
or more which the pre-war method
entailed.
The system of the consolidated paw
| division has the Endorsement OF the
Secretary of the Treasury. to whom
all the pay checks go; of the insnec-
u IN 'r..l OF the Army for it's pro
lection to government funds. and OF
the c.iiclency board for its thorough
EeSs ard economy.
committee members expressed their
appsoval or thereasons given by Gen.
!, LORD for every delay with which anv
or the supply bureaus had charged
the finance division.
x * * X
Up to the time the armistice was
signed there was not in the War De-
! partment a COM
Army Real Estate plete record of
nivis;or the real estate
which it owned.
Neither was there record of the
titles by which the department held
the property Neither was there anv
dennite method for the acuuirement
ny the department of real estate by
lease or by purchase. Each supply bu-
reau was supposed to keep record
/ OF the property. which it had acquired
ana on buying it. the Office of the
Juoge advocate general had. LAWYER
iashion. the title examined. The
methods of buying were primitive the
usuai way being for a board of Army
oincers, not as rule trained or ex-
perlenced in 80 purchase of real es-
tate, 10 conduct the transaction. buy
ing at the best bargain 1t could make
Win the owner or several owners Of
the piots TO be acquired or If the
price were too large, institutinv con-
domination proceedings
vr IN the war emergency. with the
ri
camps and environments. the War De-
partment made some bargains that
nave proved to be extremely extrava-
giant. although without the SUGGESTION
OF improper motives on the part OF the
owners or the officers acting for the
department. Camp sites were leased
NJ an annual rental almost equal to
the purchase price. One property was
leased at a rental of 100000 a wear.
the rentals to apply to an agreed pur-
proved TO be dear at any price above
$500. 900.
The trouble was that these pu--
chases were made in utter disregard
OK the principles OF real estate opera
tons. for that business, like every
other great operation. rests upon Ger
tain basic principles. To meet this sit
uation. although not until about the
time the armistice was signed. the
director Of purchase. storage and traf-
HS iiiSttutco ulVtS1On known as the
real estate division, with Hubert F.
Woods. trained real estate man, as
Its director, and Col. Preston Davie, in
Civil life a lawyer as his adviser, to
inventory all real estate held by the
department, to conduct all leases and
and sales and purchases thereafter, to
'"~-rfic apDrajsals of prop
erty and to so conduct these transac-
way owners should re-
celve FAR and even values for their
property. but that the government,
too, should have fair deal.
The. method it employs to secure
real estate. which the department de-
sires to acquire Is simplicity ITSELF
what any good buyer would do. 1t
takes steps to ascertain the value of
valuations. comprising the valua-
ton of the property in question with
that of nearby lands. 1t has its own
expert appraisers examine the prop
erty, and il any doubt remains, it has
expert local appraisers value 1t. Rep
take UP negotiations directly with in
dividual owners. and. If they can make
a deal at the appraised price. close
then and there. If they cannot. they
take advantage of the governments
privilege Of taking over the property
and institute condemnation proceed
ings. Armed with authority for this
action they exercise 1t sparingly, lest
they do an injustice to an owner, but
nevertheless they have found 1t to be
a potent weapon in their hands to pro-
tect the government against attempts
at imposition or hold up.
This division has had nothing to do
with either the purchase or sale of
camp and cantonment sites, that duty.
for some reason, having been lodged
with the construction division of the
Army.
y X X
Brig. Gen. Mitchell of the division
of military aeronautics recently gave
a summary of
The Cross-Continent the effect in
Air Test. ~ strn,.na
transcontinental test. The airline dis
lance covered sNvas more than 5000
miles at a rate exceeding 100 miles an
| hour. The distance covered is as far
as from New York to Constantinople
IS S~<>S ~
M.N