Evening star., 1929-12-01

retailer back to the wage Garner.
Every public works dollar in circulat-
ing Is times year moves through five
of these series. So each 500 of public
wages becomes in the course of thSS
year 5000 worth of retail purchases.
This is the economic theory. Tell it to
any one who says there is no use adding
a picayune building or two to your
public construction program.
It took only an extra straw or two
to break the back of the we'll known
camel. In the same way it takes only
an extra building or two in every town
to break the back of a business reac-
ton. Each public works dollar ex-
pended now on good and necessary
work in your town is a vote for ma
tional stability and regular employ
ment.
Outlines Procedure.
How go about It? Form a committee
to visit public officials and ask what
public work they expect to do. The
committee may well be composed Of
members of your business, fraternal or
workers organizations. Your first OBJ
jective is to get work started this Win
ter which would not start until Spring.
CLASSIFY the information you receive as
follows:
A. Contracts possible to be let before
March
B. Contracts possible to be let soon
after March if the effort and general
cooperation are enough.
c. Time dependent upon overcoming
obstacles or upon legislative action.
D. Uncontrollable, dependent upon
progress in other work.
In making this classification you will
learn that certain obstacles are in the
rtin
instance, some legislative body has not
decided something. The particular
streets may not have been chosen where
sewers are to be constructed, water
pipes placed or paving laid. Or build
ing plans may not be ready. Yet you
may be able to speed these UP.
You may find that Winter work is
checked by the calendar. Custom looks
at the calendar rather than at the.
weather. We know that the weather
does not always go by the calen-
dar. There are plenty of days dur
ing the Winter that are good working
days. President HcoverS committee on
seasonal operation in the construction
industries says:
weather Bureau reports for 10 years
snow that between November l and
March 81 there were on the average
only "a working days when the tempera-
ture fell below the freezing point on pre-
cipitation occurred between 7 am, and
s pm. in Chicago and Boston. In New
York there were 81 days. In st. Louis,
81 days. So 40 per cent to 49 per cent
OF the working days during the worst
calendar period were free Of frost and
precipitation"
There are many days in which the
weather Bureau will give assurances of
no frost for "a or 48 hours. Where
there is will there is way.
Short Circuit FormaIities.
Legal formalities may be incomplete.
For instance, a bond issue has not yet
oeen voted on or has not yet been ad-
VertlSed for sale. You may find that
bids on proposed work have not vet
oeen asked for. The contract may not
yet nave been formally let to the sue
cesstul bidder. All of these formalities
take time, but the time may be short
circuited.
For instance, a contractor will sone-
times begin work before his contract
mas been legally granted If he knows
that he is the lowest bidder Bids may
De asked for, subject to future appro-
prlatlons, even before the money is
available.
(Copyright, 1927