Evening star., 1922-09-11
Col. Keller, However, Virtual
iy Admits He Will Make
No Changes Here.
DECLINES TO DISCUSS
FIGURES FROM STATES
Head of Budget Decides Act of
Congress Is Unnecessary to
Deliver Material.

j..
the bureau of the budget, announced
today that he would turn over to the
District engineer department any
road-building equipment in the pos
session of the federal government II
that office would supply the proper
authorities with a list Of material
needed No charge would be made for
the machinery.
Whether or not the District engi-
neer department would inaugurate
such a plan was a very doubtful
question today. following statement
av Col. Charles Keller, Engineer
Commissioner, that practically all
done by private contractors.
He virtually admitted that he would
not make a change. and declined to
discuss figures which showed that sew
eral western states had saved money
in road building by using machinery
given them by the federal government
under an act passed by Congress. par
ticularly designed to promote the con-
structiOn of good roads.
Lord Decides Quickly.
When Gen. Lords attention was
called by representative of The Star
to the fact that large quantities of
road building equipment lie idle in
Army depots. while the District is un-
able to realize a badly needed road
building program for lack of funds, he
called into conference number of
his executive assistants.
AS a result, Gen. Lord announced
that he would be glad to let the Dis
trict engineers have any road build
ing machine in the possession Of the
government upon request. Previous
to this decision it was thought an act
of Congress would be necessary be-
fore the District could share in the
distribution OF the War Departments S
done since shortly after the war. Con-
gress omitted the District from par
ticipation. If necessary. Gen. Lord
said he could d.arrange~ta,s shaxa- turned
back to the War Department some OF
the machinery taken over for distri-
button to the states, and then have
the War Department lend IT to the
District authorities for the construc-
tion of roads here.
An investigation today disclosed the
presence of the following material in
places hereinafter named:
Rock crushers. at Schenectady, N.
Y; road rollers. at Jeffersonville,
Ind: cement and concrete mixers, at
Port Newark, n. j.; screens, bins,
picks. shovels, wheel barrows and
hundreds of thousands of small tools,
at New Cumberland, Pa; air compress
sors. air jack hammers. 100000
pounds of tar and pitch. at New Cum
berland, Pa; 1000 Mack trucks, all
brand new, at Camp Holabird, near
Baltimore. Md. There are also mil
lions of pounds of explosives at
Edgewood arsenal, Md. All can be
obtained for the use of building roads
in states, according to officials of the
road building bureau of the Depart
ment of Agriculture. These, they
say, represent only part of the road
building equipment obtainable.
Cost Per Square Yard.
Figures on the cost of building a
square yard of road here. obtained
giDeer, show that labor represents 13
per cent of the cost The Star, in it's
Sunday issue, placed this cost at 12h
per cent. slight difference. The
Stars statement regarding the per
centage of cement represented in road
cannot supply. was about the same as
that given today by engineers at the
District building.
Col. Keller said today that even il
government machinery were used, he
doubted whether the saving would be
appreciable.
1t is interesting to note. however,
about a year ago the Ohio state
roads authorities contemplated build
ing a forty-mile stretch between CO.
lumbus and Cleveland. They required
s249.oO0 worth of machinery. OF this
ment, without charge. $230.O00 worth
and had to spend only $4,000 for
small tools the War Department had
been unable to spare.
Since Congress passed the law au-
thorizing the government to give the
various states road building equip
ment, there have been but few
changes from the plan Of having pri-
vate contractors build the roads. The
only difference is that the state sup
plies the machinery and the con-
tractor makes a proportionate deduc-
supplies the crushed rock, gravel and
sand. so that the contractors charge
is only for the labor and actual lay
ing of the road.
1t was declared today by a COM
petent authority that there was no
not be adopted for Washington, and
thus save both the city and the gov
ernment the large sums heretofore
spent by having to use privately
owned machinery. The contractor
must naturally figure the use Of his
machines into the price. Not only
would this be saved, they point out.
but also the charge for, crushed rock
and sand, all Of which could be obtain
ed by the District government at lit
tie cost, it is stated. These elements
were ali figured out by prominent en-
eineers to represent AZ per cent of
the cost of laying a modern road,
which could be saved by using the ma
chinery now said by authoritative
government officials to be lying idle In
the Army depots.
FAvoRS USE ON D. C.. ROADS.
Senator Jones of Washington. a
member of the District committee and
also a member of the subcommittee
on appropriations which handles Dis
trict appropriations, said today that
he thought there was every reason