294





RECORD   AND   GUIDE





a\erage of 2.035 bricks were laid per day per man.

Although this was manifestly a test case and in all
probahilit}- the crew had previously been informed that
a study of its efficiency was to be made, the facts de-
velnpcd do not portray an isolated instance of what a
decade or so ago would have been considered locally
as normal bricklaying efficiency. According to records
and reports in the possession of the San Francisco In¬
dustrial Association, numerous actual cases are cited
which show that the efficiency of the average building
trades mechanic is rapidly and consistently increasing
under   the   American   Plan.

TestimoHA- of three of the most reliable contractors
in San Francisco shows that in 1921 the average pro¬
duction on plain walls was approximately 1,700 bricks
per day per man, which was about fifteen per cent, less
than the recognized standard of 2,000 bricks per day
per man in pre-war times. In San Francisco this grati¬
fying increase in the skill and production not only of
bricklayers but of men in all crafts identified with the
construction industry, is directly traceable to the abro¬
gation of the rules and regulations designed to limit
output by curtailing efficiency which prevailed prior
to the adoption of the American Plan.

Undoubtedly local contractors will be somen-hat
disheartened when they compare the results of the
recent San Francisco study of bricklaj'ing efficiency
with the rate of production they are now getting on
Metropolitan projects. Although building trade
mechanics in this district now command the highest
wages ever paid in this country, the general efficiency
of building craftsmen as a whole is far below normal
and only slightly improved since the war period when
efficienc}-  reached  its  lowest ebb.

On the authority of se\eral reliable and experienced
contractors bricklayers in New York City are at the
present time not averaging 1,000 bricks per day per
man on straight walls. According to many builders
the average is nearer 800 than 1,000.    This is npt the





September 2, 1922

production limit by any means, as there are authentic
cases where in Brooklyn and the Bronx, on speculative
apartment-house operations, mechanics have laid as
high as 1,500 bricks per day and sometimes more, and
have maintained this rate of production for protracted
periods. The secret of the relatively-high rate of effi¬
ciency on these jobs, however, was found in the bonus
wages offered b}' speculative builders in order to rush
their operations to completion for the autumn renting
season.

.\ decidedly different condition prevails on commer¬
cial and public work. On local building projects, except
those of a purely speculative character, only the recog¬
nized union scale is offered by contractors. On these
jobs the contractors admit, sorrowfully perhaps, that
they average less than 1,000 bricks per day per man,
but several have been told that this production could
be materially increased upon the payment of a bonus
above the scale.

During the past year or so building material costs
have been substantially reduced from their war-time
peaks. Construction costs have not relatively de¬
creased, however, because of the inefficiency of labor
and its exceedingly high cost. A very important part
of the total cost of a building project is now charged
to labor and until this cost is lowered, first by wage
scales in closer relation to material prices, and second,
by increased efficiency of mechanics, construction costs
will continue at unreasonably high levels.

There are some things about the American Plan
as it is practiced in San Francisco that are not fully
understood and some which will not harmonize with
the ideas of local organized building labor groups and
the contractors' organization, but if under this plan
the efficiency of mechanics is improved to the extent
shown 1)}- the recent study in San Francisco there must
be something in it that might well be considered by
local contracting interests which earnestly desire a
stabilized industry.





Gives Principal Reason Why Budget Making Is Inefficient





STEWWRT  BROWNE,  President  of  the  United Real  Estate
Owners'  .\ssociation. discussing the  1923 budget,  the  depart¬
mental estimates for which are being received by the Secretary
of the Board of Estimate, said:

"The 1923 budget will be at least $360,000,000 as against $350,-
000,000 for 1922. In this connection it should not be forgotten
that the budget is not in any way tied up with and limited
to the 2 per cent, constitutional tax rate which latter only
refers to the tax levy. Budget making is defective because
the aggregate amount is passed at a time when the Board of
Estimate has no knowledge what the aggregate assessed valua¬
tions of realty made in the same year will be, nor what the ag¬
gregate credits to the General Fund will be, so that the expendi¬
tures are fixed before knowing what the income will be.
Therefore there is always subsequent manipulation and 'kiting'





to ma'ce the two balance. This condition of affairs is due to
charter defects and it is to be hoped that before another year
comes round the charter will be amended so as to provide for
proper budget making. The greatest defect in budget making
is that those who vote the budget vote for larger appropriations
than are necessary solely from vote-getting necessities. The
budget would be very much smaller if the appropriations v^ere
left to the municipal civil service heads who have the super¬
vision of the budget making but who are usually over-ruled
by  their  'elected  superiors.'

"The only saving grace in budget ma'<ing is that the members
of the Board of Estimate object to an increase in the tax rate
especially in election years, but unfortunately this is generally
saved by increasing the assessed valuations of realty and by
budget manipulation."





Course in Commercial Geology at New York University





A COURSE in commercial geology, the first of its kind ever
introduced into a university, has been announced by the
School of Commerce of New York University. The course
will be given by Dr. Ernest R. Lillcy. Sc.D., and is dc^isned espe¬
cially to teach present and prospective builders, contractors and pur¬
chasing agents how to know the materials with which they have to
deal.  The basic mineral materials used in industry, including iron and





steel, copper, tin and the minor metals, gold, silver and platinum, and
the different kinds of building stone, lime, cement and brick, will
be discussed. There will also be lectures on coal, oil and the fer¬
tilizer industry. These lectures will discuss methods of exploitation
and conservation, including mining and preparation for market, and
relation between market prices and production costs. It is expected
a large number of students will take this course.