Evening star., 1937-12-04

It just does not add up.
Somebody, somewhere, ought to be
paying us Americans a good weekly wage
for undergoing whatever inconvenience
there may be to living
The United States Bureau Of Stand
ards has been in operation for thirty
years 1t will celebrate its theoretical
thirtieth birthday Monday and Tues
day. Now not a year has gone by that
the physicists OF the bureau have not
discovered a variety of things that have
saved the American people millions and
even billions. The aggregate of the saw
ings during this third Of century make
the astronomical deficits of the National
Government small change.
And yet, somehow or other, the bills
come around the first of every month.
How many millions did you save
today?" is bromide joke among Bu-
reau of Standards physicists and chem
lists. What becomes of all those millions?
But when one thinks it over little the
paradox begins to solve itself. These
savings have been put into q gigantic
trust fund for the future of man. And
every one Of us actually is getting the
daily dividends on this fund in the forms
of thousands of things that enrich our
lives. We can have for q few pennies
hundreds Of commodities and experiences
that the richest man in the world thirty
years ago couldn't have bought with all
his millions. And today the poorest
tramp wouldn't take as gift the rattle
trap automobile for which the late An
drew Carnegie paid thousands, and
which, he gave willing testimonial, must
represent about the limit of perfection
in land transportation.
Bureau of Standards researches, in COL
laboration with those of automotive engi-
neers in industry, have resulted in the
savings OF untold millions in the con-
struction Of automobiles. What has be-
come OF all these millions? They have
been invested In hundreds of thousands
upon hundreds Of thousands of new and
better automobiles, pleasure, health,
longer lives-in some instances, of course
shorter and faster lives also-and alto
gether an added richness of existence of
inestimable value. These savings are
entered on the account book of every
American. Money, after all, is only q
medium OF exchange. It is the things to
be exchanged that constitute true wealth.
And in this respect every one of us has
vastly more, in a certain segment of hu.
man wealth, than Mr.. Carnegie in his
widest dreams ever could have hoped to
have. A good part of it might be con-
verted into cash saving, if folks were
willing to live that way.
BY and large, these Bureau of Stand
ards researches, extending into almost
every phase Of the machine age ciyiliza-
ton in which We live, have given all of
us vastly more to spend-a great CATCH
all OF wealth not contained in bank vaults
or underground fortresses, but open for
anybody to dip in and take a handful
whenever he needs it.
Few more glorious roles have been
played in history than that of this Gov
ernment bureau. Actually, 1t is learned
from the historical sketch prepared by
DR.. H. D. Hubbard of the bureau staff.
1t was started with staff of fourteen in
1901, = sort of nondescript group at the
time. In 1904, when its staff had in
creased to >fifty-two, itimoved out in the
woods to its present location At Connec-
ticut avenue and Van Ness street and the
tribulations which the scientists suffered
from the depredations Of chiggers around
the place constitute one OF the bureaus
legends But by 1907 it was ready to 70,
its buildings in order, its men making
progress on fundamental researches
which since then have changed the face
of the world. Then it made It's first
appearance before the public and had its
drst birthday party. A sort Of leap year