Evening star., 1921-05-07
SENATE INQUIRY MAY TAKE UP
COST OF BUILDING D. C. SCHOOLS
Committee Lays Plans for Investigation to
Determine If There Has Been COL
lusion to Force Up Prices.

The Capper school investigating
committee today is laying its plans
costs of building in the District Of
Columbia, to determine whether there
has been collusion among contractors
or among building material men to
force high prices and maintain them.
The Engineer Commissioner of the
District, Col. Kutz, was closely ques-
toned by members of the committee
at the hearing yesterday afternoon In
the Senate District committee room
school buildings here and in other
cities and bids received for school
construction.
May Call Contractors.
At the request of Senator King OF
Utah, Col. Kutz gave the names OF
several contractors whom the COM
mittee might call to obtain further
information. among them being G. u
Wire. w. f. Mooney and George f.
Wine. The Engineer Commissioner
said that he had found no evidence OF
collusion among the contractors to
keep up prices. He said that the bids
submitted varied widely. But Sen.
ator King insisted in other cities IL
had been found that building material
men and contractors had adopted tao
tics which divided the work amone
them and at the same time kept
prices high. submitting widely diner
ent bids.
The next meeting Of the Capper
committee probably will be Monday
afternoon at o'clock.
Bids Drop 33 Per Cent.
The fact was brought out at the
hearing yesterday that bids Tor
dropped about 33 per cent from June
of last year to February OF this
year. The Engineer Commissioners
said that an estimate for an eight,
room school building last June hao
been $21s.o 900, and for similar build
ing ns,i in :, Febc1ary Ee ooo the bid had been
'rhe profiteering of the builders
must have been tremendous" de.
clared Senator King. IT am against
appropriating a dollar for any OF
these buildings here until we get 1uii
building material, labor. ETC."
Senator King suggested that even
now costs of building here are about
double what they were before the
war, and Col. kutz admitted this was
probably true.
VIII Figure Out COST.
The Engineer Commissioner prom
ised to have the municipal architects
office figure out the cost OF a school
building in terms of material and
labor, at the request Of Senator Jones
of Washington. In this way. 1t is
believed, it will be possible to get
line of actual costs and determine
profits to the contractor.
Col Kutz told the committee that ne
was confident, after investigation.
that the District was getting school
buildings constructed at less cost
than a number of other cities and
that the District has gotten its mon
ey's worth in the past.
He said that If there had been any
collusion. it may have been In the
dealers in building materials, but
that he knew of none. Col. Kutz
promised to furnish the committee
with information regarding wages
Lricklayers. plumbers and other
workers now and before the war.
and the costs Of materials purchased.
Sees Smaller Profit Margin.
Col. Kutz told the committee that
he believed that the contractors in
the District work on a smaller mar
gin of profits than they do in some
other places. He said that building
was quite active here now and that
school buildings there were seven or
eight bidders, as compared with only
three submitting bids last year.
Senator King asked whether the
open shop or closed shop was the
rule in the building trades here. Col
Kutz replied that the majority of the
employers confine themselves to
union labor, but that there are one or
two large operators who do not en-
ploy union men. So far as the Dis
trict government Is concerned, how
ever. it may maintain an open shop.
May Cut Classroom Size.
Col. Kutz was asked If there was
could be cut. He said that he did
not believe in doing away with fire.
proof floors to reduce the cost or in
making the halls smaller. as has been
tried in other cities. He suggested,
however, that a reduction might be
made in costs by reducing the size Of
classrooms SO as to make their max
imum seating capacity forty-two in
stead Of forty-eight. This, he said,
would be in conformity with the
Ideas Of the board of education, which
desires to keep the classes down to
forty or less.
Discussing the heating plants, Col.
Kutz said that he favored the indirect
heating system. though they cost
more than furnaces. Senator King
observed that the men who install the
heating plants must be making tre-
mendous profits, judging from the
costs.
Col. Kutz told the committee that
he had personally visited some Of the
schools and knew Of the overcrowded
conditions existing today and the
need Of new school buildings.
Covers Pressing Need.
IT am convinced" said Col. Kutz.
that the needs are greater than can
be covered by the two-million-d dol
lar emergency program. But this
program covers the most pressing
needs"
Senator King called attention to an
item in the program of $4,000 for
the purchase of a site for branch
Of the free Public Library. Col
Kutz said that IL this site could be
obtained. a branch library could be
obtained, a branch library could be
erected in the southeast section,
where it is much needed, and that q
gift Of $4,000 to erect the branch
library was available If the site were
provided. He said he thought that
this represented real educational
need.
1--WE think that there should be
six or seven branch libraries in
stead of only one, in Takoma Park
so the people won't have to travel
four or five miles to get a book"
Col KutZ told the committee that