Evening star., 1939-09-19

JOHN M.
other agencies in the F. w. A., 1t is
building better America.
Next let me speak of the Pub
| lie Buildings Administration. This
branch of the Federal Works Agency
is responsible for the design, con-
struction and decoration of nearly
all buildings to be used by the Fed
eral Government. We might use
post office as an example of how
project is initiated and carried
through. There are more post offices
built by the Public Buildings Ad-
ministration than any other type of
structure.
What factors determine whether
a new post Office will be built in a
certain community? According to
Post Office Department regulations,
post office must be doing a gross
business of $4,000 year to warrant
building. The need for a post
office is disclosed through surveys
made by the regional Post Office De-
partment inspector. If he decides
that such and such a town needs a
new building, the project is included
in list recommended to Congress
by the proper congressional COM
mittee.
If Congress authorizes the ex-
penditure, the Public Buildings Ad-
ministration advertises for a build
ing site. Investigations determine
whether the post Office building will
need to include Office space for other
Federal functions-such as Federal
courts, Bureau of Customs, Navy Re-
cruiting Bureau, Department of Ag-
riculture, etc. Designs and estimates
are prepared by the administrator
architects and engineers. Competi-
tive bids are called for from inter-
ested contractors. The Board of
Award, made up of Public Buildings
Administration division chiefs, rec
ommends the award of the contract.
Art Decoration Competition.
There is also a fine arts phase to
the work of the Public Buildings Ad-
ministration. Approximately l per
cent of the total appropriation for
a given building is set aside for the
art decoration of that building. Con-
tracts for the art works are let on
the basis of a regional competition
| The artists are selected by compe-
| tition, solely on the basis of ability.
This phase of the activities of the
Public Building Administration is
conducted by the Section of Fine
Arts.
This brings me to the biggest
(spare) job-providing agency in
F. w. A-the Work Projects Ad-
ministration. I have already spoken
of some of the work done by the
w. P. A., on roads and bridges, and
on school construction and repairs.
AS a matter of fact, the w. P. A.
does almost every kind of work that
is needed by our communities-just
list of its different kinds of prof.
ects would fill many pages. 1t is
primarily means of providing en-
ployment for the needy unemployed
whenever and wherever it may be
required. And this work is done on
whatever kind of public projects are
most needed by our communities. 1t
is not limited to construction work,
but includes projects which give
employment to white-collar workers
of almost every kind.
The w. P. A. is operating in prac-
tically every town, county and
neighborhood in the land. And
w. P. A. projects range from build
ing municipal aquarium to con-
Quoting classes for illiterates-from
building a sewer system to beautlfy-
ing a public park. Everybody knows
something about w. P. A. But how
much do you know about how w. P.
A. operates? How do projects origi-
nate? Who starts the ball rolling?
What goes on in order for anywhere
one and a half to three million peo-
pie to be given jobs paving roads
and building swimming pools and
so on?
Local Sponsor Required.
To see how the machinery works,
let's take construction project.
Such a project must originate with
a local sponsor. This sponsor must
be some unit of local government
saw the local school board or the
citv engineers office. And the prof.
ect must involve work on public
property.
Suppose that responsible officials
of the city of Tampa, Fla, submit a
project for the construction Of an
airport. These officials must have
made complete engineering survey.
The application, containing this en-
gineering data, is reviewed by the
engineering department of the State
w. P. A. Then it goes to the CHIEF
regional engineer. He forwards 1t to
Washington for final review. The
Civil Aeronautics Authority clears 1t
if it conforms with national plan.
Finally, when presidential approval
is obtained, the project is eligible Tor
operation.
Before the project is approved it
must be shown that the relief rolls
contain a sufficient number of work.
ers qualified for work on such prof.
ect. And the sponsor must be ready
to furnish due proportion of funds
to cover the costs of materials,
equipment and supervision. Federal
funds must be used primarily for
wages, and only small portion OF
them can be spent for materials and
other non-labor costs.
This procedure may sound COM
plicated. But routine has been
established and the wheels work
smoothly and fast. The days Of
"leaf-raking" are over. A project
must be sound before it gets by.