Evening star., 1922-11-26
BY BEN McKELwAY.
HHE man who makes two blades
of grass grow where one grew
before should be willing to

TIME man who makes two blades
| of grass grow where one grew
before should be willing to
/ share the plaudits Of the null
| titude with the gentleman who dis
two always have been necessary, FOR
both of them are benefactors in
large and generous degree to human
kind. Working on this theory. Mr.
Hoover's justly famed division or
| simplified practices is rapidly get
| ting down to brass tacss and its ac-
| complishments~s so far indicate a fu-
ture full Of glowing possibilities.
! Tackled on a wall SO that all who
! enter the little Office which houses
the division may see, read and pom
der, is a simple chart. Charts around
the Department Of Commerce as a
rule are about as plentiful and unin-
| teresting as locusts after a seventeen n
, year absence. But this one Is short
and sweet and condenses long story.
1t reads something like this:
SIMPLIFIED PRACTICE
DECREASES INCREASES.
Production Cost Stability Of Empoly-
| Selling Expenses ment
Misunders sta ndings PrOmptness OF Deilv-
'n cludins ra i initial M sc- Foreign Commerce
cessory and mainte- Quality OF Product
nance cOstsl Front 10 ffouucer,
J Distributor and User
The story Of the Brick.
Quite a large order-but you prob
ably have heard the story before OF
the lowly paving brick. Paving brick
used to be manufactured in sixty-sfx
varieties and types. That probably
doesn't convey much to one whose ac-
quaintance with paving brick has been
limited to riding, or walking over them.
But the division of simplified practice
got busy and found that 80 per cent
of the paving brick used was manu-
, factured in eleven sizes. The remain
ing 20 per cent was made in an as
Sortment Of fifty-five different styles.
Paving brick manufacturers. their IN
! terest aroused in this enlightening dis.
covery, got busy in their turn ana
found ito would be cheaper all around
| tnote chart above) to enter into an
agreement to ccnfine paving brick
hereafter to these eleven sizes. They
| tried it, and after time found four
of these sizes were still unnecessary,
SO they cut their sizes and patterns
II
| ty-siX sizes and varieties are being
manufactured today.
Take again. the case of the bed. the
mattress and the bed spring. Did you
ever stop to think how many varieties.
shapes and assortmentS of iron beds
you have experienced? Unless you
happen to be a travelling salesman
making one-night stands in rural ter
ritory, you may be surprised to find
what was revealed to the division of
cir nj discovered
that no less than forty sizes of iron
beds. with their usual equipment of
mattress and springs. are manufac-
tured and thrust on the market. In
the four-foot wide bed alone there
were found twenty-odd sizes. To make
long story short. the iron bed has
been standardized. and is now to be
made in only one length and four
widths-six feet long: four feet six
inches, four feet, three feet three
inches and three feet wide. The man
who is siX-feet-six can take his choice
hereafter of curling up. sleeping or
the floor or getting a bed made to
> order.
Eighty. styles Of Laths.
Just now the division of simplitied
practice is preparing to entertain a
conference here next month Of metal
lath manufacturers. A metal lath,
used for construction, is simply the
old-fashioned wooden lath made out
of metal They come in eighty differ
ent weights and sizes now. The man.
ufacturers hope to make them here.
after in eight or ten sizes. Closely
, following the lath conference there
will be one on hardware. to consider
!; the standardization of axes. hatchets
! saws, files, pocketkniveS and scissors
a Ea ocl.
, / of making food containers along one
/, or two patterns instead of half hun
dred.
While the. manufacturers are gath.
ering here ia Washington TO stand
, ardiZe their commodities. committees
; of other manufacturers are taking
. surveys in their various products to
; determine how and where they car
!, cut useless production. One is work
ing on paints and varnish. endeavor-
> inauseating colors. Another hopes to
. standardize the fittings and trim.
: mings that go into the manufacture
of boats. Still another would reduce
the thousand and one models Of tires
spark plugs, batteries. ball bearings
and other such accessories which are
/. the bane of unfortunate automobile
) owners.
May standardize July Fourth.
Il While the Army and Navy have
,, agreed that twelve is a sufficient
{ number of sizes for the American
flag. manufacturers of bunting are
turning out between 25o and 500 diff.
ferent sizes. A glance at a Fourth OF
, July crowd on Pennsylvania avenue
: is convincing argument in this re-
spect A committee of flag manufac.
. turers is now busy rounding up ali
the manufacturers in an agreemen,