Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-23

WHICH LlAd S&&8So DANGEROUSLY IA 1NV-
vembcr turned upward again In Decem-
Der and the retail merchants, to whom
the Christmas buying season 10 the most
important Of the whole year, watched
the merchandise disappear from their
counters just aS II stocks were still sell
ing In Wall Street at inflated values.
The second part of the program was
to enlist the cooperation of the States
| the counties, the cities and towns, per-
haps the most important of spending
agencies, and to impress upon governors
and mayors and commissioners the vital
necessity of not permitting their own
building programs to undergo any re-
ceSSion. Here again the experience Of
| 1921 proved of inestimable value. In
the intervening eight years there had
been a quickening appreciation Of the
So-called Hoover plan" to spread our
public works over q long term Of years.
Perhaps without realizing 1t, many OF
these governmental agencies had been
doing that by the adoption Of the
budget system and the application Of
the pay-as-you-go policy for normal
times, reServing the bond issues for
States Pledged Support.
Consequently, the governors, acting
as clearing houses for all the subdiv1-
sionS of government In their States,
were able to promise the President In q
vary short time that they would do
their share. Their estimates, when tab
ulated, showed that another $500 000,-
900 would be poured into Government
construction during 1930-another spur
to general business. It was not possible,
of course, for these agencies of Gov
eminent to start everything at once
Very wisely we do not bestow on our
public officers the privileges Of the die
tator, which are enjoyed by men in
private industry. Therefore 1t was
necessary to wait for Legislatures and
boards of aldermen and town councils
to act, Just as In Washington it was
necessary to wait for Congress to act
before carrying out the Federal Gov
ernment's not inconsiderable contrtbu-
ton to the building program.
But the governors and other officials
could contribute TO the speeding up"
Of the program. Where projects were
languishtng for trivial reasons 1t was
possible to cut red tape and call for
immediate bids, or unite a legal knot
here and there, or prod an architect or
construction superintendent into celer-
ity. Road building, rapidly becoming
one Of our major governmental acttvi-
ties with the er-increasing importance
bilitieS for this speeding-up process.
States and cities and towns discovered
that there were stretches Of mild
weather even in the dead Of Winter
when projects could be undertaken. By
themselves small repair jobs seem plea
yune, hardly worth bothering about But
multiply them In a score of States or
In q thousand municipalities and they
are an appreciable contribution to the
sterilization which is our goal.
To illustrate the importance Of even
the smallest construction job, DR.. Cries
told his Chicago audience of a few
weeks ago Of an investigation he made
recently Of q moderate-sized school
house In the Middle West. He traced
back every bit of material that had
gone into that building. and he found
that 40 of the 20 States had con-
tributed something. In addition prac.
tically every class I railroad in the
United States had some share in the
transportation. Here again we glimpse
the seven-league boots in which the
construction dollar travels once we
send 1t on its journey.
Team Play Wen Demonstrated.
Rarely has there been such splendid
team play among the governmental
agencies Of America as during this VIM
ter. From ell parts OF the country there
have come to washington reports Of
State and regional conferences to con-
slider the problem which President Hoo
yer called so forcibly to public attention
in November. Philadelphia, for example,
launched an intensive drive for Winter
building, both In the form Of new con-
struction and in repairs and better
ments, with city officials, the construc-
ton industry and organized labor CO.
operating to the fullest extent. An air.
plane view of the city during the late
weeks Of Winter discloSeS the steel skel-
etons of many new structures breaking
the skyline. The newspapers, the trade
associations, the women's clubs all
pitched in to keep the movement in
full swing, and finally clergymen in all
the churches appealed to their congre-
cations to create as much work as pos
sfble to relieve unemployment during
the cold weather. It is out Of COM
munity organization of this type that
the best results come. know that
many other cities have tackled the
problem in the same way. mention
Philadelphia, not to single it out for
greater praise, but because happen to
be familiar with what happened there.
Toward the latter part of the Winter
I have heard some whispered complaints
eminent itself in carrying through its
own extensive program. Private indus
try, having responded 50 splendidly to
the Presidents call, has wondered why
there is no visible evidence Of unusual
activity in Federal projects. In many
cities are huge holes In the ground
awaiting the foundations of new post
offices, and in many Of these holes dur
ing the cold months there has been no
sign Of progress.
Federal Processes Involved.
II It Is fair to ask why Uncle Sam
takes an Internationally long time to
get started, it Is also fair to explain
that Uncle Sans processes are neces-
sarily more involved than those OF the
manufacturer who needs q new build
ing, The manufacturer calls IN his
board Of directors or his executive stan
and the outlines Of the plan can be ar
rived at In q single afternoon. The
architect and the building contractor
can be engaged almost as speedily.
The Federal Government does not
operate that way, and 1t Is eminently
hitting that it should not. Construction
programs, although devised by the ex.
ecuttve branch of the Government, must
have the approval of Congress, repre-
sentine the people, who eventually must
nav the bills. Thus the authorization
for o new post ONCE IN q large city Is
process involving many steps. And 1t is
q process subject to change at all times,
due to the whims Of the people most
Immediately affected. have in mind a
project for q new Federal building in
one Of our largest cities. The need for
such q building has been apparent
many years, but delay occurred while
the community itself was trying to de-.
eide whether to rebuild on the present
site or In q different locality.
Eventually the present site was agreed
upon. Then the original authorization
of money went through Congress. The
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