The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1933-02-15
Our Government
How It Operates
BUREAU OF STANDARDS
By William Bruckars

"A N ELDERLY guide at the Smith I
= sonian Institution, the wonder |
of wonders and storehouse of the |
Interesting. was asked by a tourist /
on an occasion what the purpose of I
the institution was His reply epito- /
mixed the place in these words: at !
shows what people have DONE"
am indebted to him, therefore, I
for the thought that the bureau Of !;
standards shows what people are!
doing. And there can be no more
accurate description. albeit: to state
fully its meaning and to comprehend
it's scope it must be expanded and
expanded until ones mental proc
esses grow foggy.
Some years ago. a friend of mine
who has devoted many years to the
public service as an expert In the
bureau Of standards, invited me to
ride in his car to my destination
at another point in the city. Upon.
entering his automobile / was sur
prised to flnd a veritable battery OF
taxicab meters operating in the ton
neau OF the machine. His explana-
tion Of their presence may be used
to illustrate the type Of work per.
formed by the bureau:
I'VE never have known whether
taxi meters are accurate. In other
| words, we have been unable to say
positively whether persons hiring
| taxicabs are cheated by the ma
| chimes that register the fare. By in
stalling these meters and using this
car normally, we get a test of them
under all sorts Of conditions Of op.
Grafton. The speedometer on the
car Is tested regularly so that we
can check against 1t. We win know
in about two months whether any
or all OF these meters give the pub
lie square deal.''
Such is one phase of the work
done at the bureau OF standards
and all of 1t has it's end and aim,
| the making of this a better world
in which to live. Its accomplish
ments in this direction are endless,
! because those scientists are tireless
] in their pursuit of knowledge.
It will be impossible in a brief
space TO set out even a small por.
ton or outline of the work done In
the bureau. a place that to my hum
Bile mind contains more thrills than
ever have been concentrated under
one roof anywhere else In the world
But when one recalls that by per
sistent effort bureau experts have
persuaded scores of commercial
lines to do away with countless
styles and types of products and to
concentrate on standardized designs,
al ms means Of reducing the cost
Ito the consumer, some idea Is given
~ the dollars and cents value OF
the work accomplished. Take for
example, bolts and nuts. One can
buy them anywhere in tllis land and
lie he calls for a certain type, that
TYPE win be supplied whether 1t is
manufactured in the city of Pitts
burgh or San Francisco.
Experiments have been carried on
Fat the bureau for years respecting
the best methods of heating homes
and the best methods for steam pro-
duction, always with the view Of
economical operation in view.
| A chemistry division operates one
of the great laboratories OF the
country, testing, testing, testing.
Thousands of chemicals that reach
t4le public, ready for economical
use and prepared to meet the every,
| day needs of one unskilled In han
ding delicate instruments. are bet.
4 ter today because the scientists of
| the bureau Of standards devoted
many months to experimentation.
| Development of the airplane has
brought with II many and varied
problems. The bureau has set about
solving them. Some of them are me-
chanical, purely; others deal with
natural forces. That explains why
there Is a gigantic wind tunnel in
operation at the bureau. Air Is
forced through at every speed and
ut every angle and against propellers
| operated with certain horsepower
| behind them. The calculations ar
| rived at enable engineers to know
what weaknesses to avoid in plane
construction.
And so It Is, too, with tests made
or such commonplace things as cleo
trio light bulbs. They are actually
burned out. Tests are made with
filaments OF every known substance
used for that purpose. and combina-
tions OF substances are tried. Man.
ufacturers have the direct benefit
OF these experiments, OF course. but
the ultimate consumer gains event.
uaIly through lower prices on quail
ity products
| Almost constant experiments are
carried on at the bureau with ma.
terials used for dyes. dyes for cloth,
colors for paints, for inside and out.
side decorative purposes. for metals
etc. The fastness must Be known
| the condition under which they viii
fade are developed eonelusively q
they fade at all. and means OF cor.
rectIng that weakness are looked
for. The scientists experiment wifi
the cloth or the metal or wood, OF