Evening star., 1933-06-10

as a direct OutgrOWth OF the aQm
sion in the form of the So, 300, ,000,C
gram.
When the President affixes his sig
nature to the huge public works bill
releasing the vast sum OF money int
the channels of the construction in
dustry. and thus revitalizing all trade
the Nations building and planning in
terests expect to be prepared to &c
ahead.
Already a Joint Nationwide survey
of needed public works is under way
by the American Institute of Archi-
tects, the Construction League and the
Associated General Contractors, This
study, f..iowing the plan of a canvas
made ~ the state of Ohio, is intended
to ascertain the construction needs OF
eveiy section of the country.
Appeals to Architects.
The architects Of the country,
through the American Institute OF Ar
shitects, are being called on to grasp
the opportunity that is knocking at our
door for the first time in our his
tory" Ernest j. Russell of st. Louis,
president of the institute, has sent an
appeal to 81 chapters of the organiza-
tion to aid in this endeavcr.
Indorsing the plan, Robert D. Kch0,
president Of the Construction League.
points out that "the selection of pubic
works in our country has been left to
chance 1t is about time we got to
work on a saner policy. This is surely
a good beginning. Some time or other
the same theory will be applied to prl-
vate construction as WELL
A. c. Tozzer, president of the As
sociated General Contractors, declared,
in urging the contractors of the Ma
ton to support the plan, that the
problem of what to build and where to
build it must be met in a definite, busi-
nesslike way.
In his appeal to the architects, Mr..
Russell said:
when President Roosevelt signs the
national industrial recovery act great
activities will be started almost imne-
diately What part will the construc-
ton industry take in this tremendous
program? It will have to act and 1t
should do so voluntarily.
Presidents Powers Broad.
''The powers granted the President
under the act are broad and thef' Is
no doubt that he will exercise tr EN-
as quickly as possible The consttuc
ton industry should be in a position
to give authoritative information as to
construction needs throughout tbs en-
tire country, and should have the an
plete list of items that will affect every
branch of the industry. Ohio has eom-
pleted a survey that might well serve
as model fer every other State.
THE Federal Employment Stabiliza-
ton Board has complete information
as to the needs of the Federal Gov
eminent for the next 10 years, but
States and their political subdivisions
are sadly lacking in information of
this character Steps should be taken
Immediately to gather accurate infor-
mation as TO needs If an intelligent
program of construction is to be for
mulated.
THE Governors of a number of
States have already taken the initia-
tive by appointing committees or COM
missions that are expected to Coop
crate with the Federal Government.
Engineers to Get Busy.
THE National Committee for Trade
Recovery has been active in a number
of localities and has this information
in an advanced stage. The American
Society of Civil Engineers has called
upon its local sections to get busy, and
the Associated General Contractors
have notified their local chapters in
t'The members of the American In
Stitute of Architects are now called
upon not only to cooperate with these
other agencies, but. are also requested
to bring the matter to the attention
of State officials and point out to them
the desirability of being able to present
to the Federal Government an intelli-
gent and we'll considered list of needs
along construction lines.
''The States that are already prepared
will undoubtedly receive the first bene-
fits under the new act, and the other
States will be recognized as soon as
they can demonstrate that they have
q thorough grasp of their own particu-
lar problems"
"As long as the Government is about
TO spend vast sums of money on useful
works" Mr. Kohn writes in the Archi-
ectural Forum, I'VE ought to help to
put the whole program on a new basis.
There should be no delay in choosing
things that are ready to go ahead at
once. The thoroughgoing survey that
has been made in Ohio is a splendid
example of how to begin. For the
present our problem is mainly con-
cerned with public improvements, hous-
ing and slum clearance. This try-out
on public works will teach us much
ITdt we ne6Q 10 learn.
Urges State Commissions.
Mr.. Tozzer urged every man in the
construction industry to use his infiu-
ence in having the governor Of each
State appoint q commission similar to
the one appointed in Ohio, and to CO.
operate to the fullest in carrying out
whatever program is adopted.
While programs of short and long
term planning have been discussed and
worked over" he said, truly small have
been the results achieved when one
considers the problem as a whole. To
my mird Ohio has been particularly
efficient in the way this problem has
been approached. Their committee has
succeeded in securing the enthusiastic
cooperation of all the existing agencies
OF the State and county governments
and within a relatively short time. has
been able to spot and analyze in detail