Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

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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'