Evening star., 1942-02-01

board are expected 10 move 10 Cnl-
cago.
The Employees Compensation
Board, with 500 workers, also was
originally listed for transfer to Chi
cago. The Chicago switch was aban-
doned later, and Cleveland was con-
sidered for a time. Due to reports
of q housing shortage in Cleveland,
an important defense production
area, New York was finally selected.
Space has been obtained In an
Office building on Madison avenue,
and the transfer will be made about
the middle of February. Approx
mateiy two thirds Of the employees
of the board are expected to move
to New York.
Three Interior Agencies to Move.
The Budget Bureau ordered three
Department Of Interior agencies to
Chicago. These were the Fish and
Wildlife Service, the National Park
Service and the once Of Indian
Affairs. No date has been fixed for
the transfers to Chicago, which now
seems uncertain. The three agencies
have a total of about 900 employees
in Washington.
New York and Chicago seem to
have more housing accommodations
available than other cities on the
decentralization list. According to
data submitted to the DecentraliSa-
ton Service by municipal officials,
,re mn yocorf onorfpnenfc
in New York between 57th and
10th streets.
The u Federal agencies affected
by the December decentralization
order occupy approximately 1,700,-
600 square feet of Office space. In
the case of the larger units, there
seems to have been some difficulty
in finding in other cities sufficient
space to house, under one roof, the
transferred unit.
With the exception of New York,
living costs in other cities seem
to be lower than in the District,
according to figures OF the Bureau
Of Labor Statistics.
Basis Of Estimates.
The bureau prepares estimates OF
the intercity differences in living
costs every three months. These
estimates are made through revis-
ing the standard budget prepared
by the w. P. A. in 1895, covering
the needs of a hypothetical family
of four, consisting of moderately
active man who wears overalls at
work, his wife, boy age l3, and
a girl age 8. w. P. A. computed
the cost Of this budget for SO cities,
and the Bureau of Labor Statistics
keeps the figures reasonably up to
date on the basis OF reported
changes in retail prices IN various
cities.
With Washington as 100, the
bureau computes the indexes OF the
cost of living in the larger cltles
every quarter. The latest estimate
covers costs on September IS. Here
are the indexes for the cities that
figure in decentralization discus
sions: Baltimore, 90.9; Chicago, 9s7;
Cleveland, 95.5; New York, 1908;
Philadelphia, 9O4: Pittsburgh, 937;
Richmond, 9O.4, and st. Louis, 94.5.
Since September, living costs
throughout the country have con-
tinued their upward movement. with
rises particularly sharp in many
defense areas. The bureau will issue
in about two weeks a new estimate
of intercity differences in living
costs, based on changes IN retail
prices reported through December.
In relation to the Washington base,
no great relative changes are ex-
pected.
Fred E. Taylor, real estate man
from Portland. Greg, who served as
consultant for the United States
Housing Corp. during the First
World War, heads the Office Of de-
centralization of the Public Build
ings Administration. Mr.. Taylor
was president of the National As
sociation of Real Estate Boards in
1920, and in 1889 represented the
association at the international
Conference on Housing and Town.
planning at Stockholm, Sweden.
Three Principal Units.
The office has three principal units.
The first makes arrangements for
office space for Federal agencies
transferred to other cities. This
is headed by Kenneth Keyes of
Miami, vice president Of the south
eastern region of the National As
ISOLATION of Real Estate Boards.
The second unit deals with the
housing problems faced by trans
ferred Government personnel. With
| the cooperation of local real estate
boards and civic organizations, it