Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1920-02-13
Picturesquely Mismanaged Ad.
junct Of Old War Regime
Slated to Disappear.
WAS STRIKING LESSON IN
INEFFICIENT MANAGEMENT
Proposed to Replace System With
New Department of Pub
lie Works.

Washington, Feb 10-The Public
Buildings Committee of the Senate
has favorably reported a bill propos-
ing the adjustment of the United
States Housing Corporation and au-
thorizing the Secretary Of the Treas
ury to dispose of property acquired by
it.
Speaking of this proposition, Rep
resentative c. F. Reavis, of the House
committee investigating expenditures
in the War Department had the fol-
lowing comment to make: During the
war it was thought necessary to or
ganize Housing Corporation for the
purpose of furnishing homes for war
workers. Notwithstanding we had a
supervising architect of the Treasury
and dozens of architectural experts, the
Housing Corporation under the pres
ent plan of the government, instead
of utilizing the services of those in
the employ of the government, found
it necessary to have an architect of
their own. Consequently this corpor-
alton employed an architect who had
attached to his position large per-
onnel at cost of great many thou
sands of dollars. This architect de-
signed the buildings which were adj
mittedly for temporary purposes and
were intended as temporary struc-
lures.
Notwithstanding their temporary
character and flimsy construction the
cost of these buildings ran up into
$1,000 a room. II there had been a
Department of Public Works which
had within it all government archi-
tects, the Housing Corporation could
have Immediately applied to the de-
partment for this expert service and
many thousands of dollars would have
been saved in that one item alone.
~ want to reiterate that the great
difficulty under present conditions is
that we have been working for bu-
reaus and departments and no one
working for the government. There
is intense rivalry between the bureaus
com petition between them both for
labor and material which operates
greatly to the nations disadvantage.
"The houses that were built for the
labor al the navy yard were not only
designed by an architect in private
life but the furniture which went in
- them was especially designed fur
niture, and after the furniture was
installed it was sold for a mere pit
tance and another character of furn-
iture eventually placed in the houses.
The government is now offering the
entire establishment for sale, which
of course will be sold at a ruinous
price, and not a single employee of
the government has ever occupied any
of the buildings.
"These are things that are caus-
ing some of us to advocate Depart
ment OF Public Works. This crimi-
nal waste and extravaganza would be
avoided if we had such department
with a specialized organization to do
all the technical work for the govern
ment, rather than a dozen separate
and independent organizations all
competing with each other and
each doing the technical work of a
department. A Standardization Of
government contracts and specifica-
lions and the simplification of speci-
fications for material, machinery, ETC.,
and the elimination of many useless
grades, types and sizes would result
in the saving of hundreds of thou
sands Of dollars every year"
n