Evening star., 1939-01-14
Defense Program
Seen Affecting
Construction
Architect Institute
Aide Forecasts 1889
As Active Year

AJuS TOteSuStS l1S1
As Active Year
The national defense program
may redirect activity from one Sec
ton of the construction industry tt
another, according to William Stan.
ley Parker Of Boston. chairman OF
the Committee on Industrial Rela-
tions of the American Institute OF
Architects.
ut would be highly unfortunate
II any sudden def1ation in Federally
financed construction activity oc-
Cured" says Mr.. Parker, who is In
agreement with the views recently
expressed by Mariner S. Eccles,
chairman OF the Board of Governors
OF the Federal Reserve System. "The
future stability of our total national
income will largely depend on the
steadiness with which our public
expenditures are administered. The
Federal policy may well be a flexible
one increasing or decreasing mod
erately in confederation to the
fluctuations Of private enterprise.
municipalities should adopt q
policy of steady or stabilized ex-
penditures which is consistent with
their permitted method of financ-
ing and their statutory debt limita-
tions. Such a policy, recently pro-
posed by the Massachusetts State
Planning Board, constitutes a new
element in public spending plans" p"
Active Year Forecast.
The year 1899 should be more &C
tive in the building field than 1898,
Mr.. Parker feels. Subsequent
years should continue to improve
If public officials adopt wise policies
IN the development of public ex-
penditures and If private enterprises
can to some extent base their policies
on their community of interest
rather than on separate individual
pocket nerves. There appears to
be less reason to assume that pri-
vate enterprises can do this than
that public officials can play their
part effectively in the total econ
omy. 1t is worth hoping for, how
ever.
Last year, the effect of the new
Federal program had a definite
tendency to provide employment
for architects. The separate con-
tracts are fairly substantial in their
amount, but they will benefit a very
small percentage of the profession.
The benefit will be gratefully re-
ceived even if there be a little
grousing over the extra routine
burdens involved in Public Works
Administration procedure.
Architects may reasonably COM
plain in those cases where the Pub
lie Works Administration regional
officers make it practically neccs-
sary to eliminate from their speci-
fcations the standard American In
stitute OF Architects General Con-
dltlons. These conditions have been
developed over period o. more
than 20 years, five editions grad
ually developing perfected form.
Their elimination, where insisted
upon, throws away all the benefits
OF this long experience, making the
work Of architects and builders
more difficult and uncertain. The
sole gain is some questionable SIM
plf1cation of the work of the re-
gional officers. The net result is
q distinct loss and an unreasonable
burden on the construction indus
try"
Cooperation Promoted.
Industry relations in the small
house field may be Importantly af-
fected by the decision of the in
stitute to develop a program of
national cooperation, involving ar
chitects, material producers and
loa2lng agencies, for the PURPOSE of
impre>tng the character of design,
construction. and finance of small
hoo,ses, Mr.. Parker adds. I'm no
held OF construction is cooperation
to this end more to be desired" he
asserts.
Large scale rental housing, pri-
vately financed, is one year nearer
than 1t was a year ago. Just how
near 1t actually is remains to be
seen. The Metropolitan Life In
surance Co. is blazing the new trail
which the Buhl Foundation started
at Chatham Village a few years ago
with encouraging results. A real
estate operator recently was heard
to express interest in this type of
operation providing the underlying
market conditions become somewhat
more favorable. He naturally agreed
that the crux of the problem lay in
securing the equity financing.
Last year also saw the final ap-
proval by insurance underwriters of
q new form of fire insurance for
buildings in the course of construc-
ton proposed by the institute and
the Associated General Contractors
OF America. This form permits cov-
erage by a single policy taken out at
the commencement of the work and
based upon the completed value with
properly adjusted premium. It
eliminates the routine burden and
the risk involved in the older
monthly reporting form, and rep
resents distinct advance. The new
form is now available in New Eng
land, New Jersey, the District of
Columbia, Pennsylvania, Delaware.
Maryland and the State of New
York"