EXCHANGE 
 
EXCHANGE 
 APR 14 t9 
 
 THE BUREAU OF SUPPLIES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF WATER SUPPLY 
 GAS AND ELECTRICITY 
 
 NEW YORK CITY 
 
 By ELIHU CUNYNGHAM CHURCH 
 
 A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment 
 
 of the requirements for the Degree 
 
 of Doctor of Philosophy in the 
 
 Faculty of Pure Science, 
 
 Columbia University 
 
 NOVEMBER, 1913 
 
THE BUREAU OF SUPPLIES 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 PLAN AND SCOPE. 
 
 The work of the Bureau of Supplies and its relation to the rest of the 
 
 organization 7 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION. 
 
 The analysis of the work into its separate functions, and the develop- 
 ment of a system of procedure to carry it into effect . 21 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 PURCHASING. 
 
 Details concerning the preparation of contracts for work or materials, 
 and the Rules for purchasing supplies in order to obtain the right 
 materials in proper quantities at the lowest price 31 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 INSPECTION. 
 The inspection of Supplies 58 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 STORAGE AND ISSUE. 
 
 Fixing Stock Limits Care of Supplies Equipment of Storerooms 
 Rules for Storekeepers Issues Loans and Transfers of Supplies 
 Subsidiary Stores 63 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS. 
 
 Information required for proper accounting control The collection of 
 
 data and the preparation of charts and diagrams 91 
 
 5 
 
 282323 
 
IN 
 PURCHASING 
 
 By Centralization of buying. 
 
 By Using standard forms. 
 
 By Preparing new specifications. 
 
 By Standardizing requirements. 
 
 By Purchasing standard materials. 
 
 By Obtaining large competition. 
 
 By Buying large quantities at one time. 
 
 By Receiving bids on different 
 
 classifications separately. 
 
 By Reducing costs of delivery. 
 
 By Promptness in awarding contracts. 
 
 By Anew Follow -up -system insuring 
 
 prompt delivery. 
 
 By Quick payment of bills. 
 
 By 
 
 By 
 
 Systematizing the work. 
 Immediate inspection after goods 
 
 are delivered. 
 
 Reporting results of inspections at once. 
 Sending out rejection notices promptjy. 
 following- up replacements. 
 
 Building and equipping storehouses 
 Introducing a storekeeping system. 
 Taking the first inventory ever taken 
 of the supplies of the department 
 Caring for supplies properly. 
 Issuing supplies only on requisition 
 Efficient use of storage space. 
 Introducing effective records 
 
 By Concentration of office personnel 
 By Assigning definite duties to each 
 
 employee. 
 By Training the men in work thereby 
 
 increasing their efficiency- 
 By Pooling" the services of the clerks 
 
 stenographers and messengers. 
 By Organizing the work according to 
 
 functions. 
 By Training up"Under- study's" thus 
 
 eliminating the"lndispensableman': 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 SCOPE AND DUTIES 
 
 The work of the Bureau of Supplies and its relation to the rest 
 
 of the organization. 
 
 When first formed, the Supply Bureau of the Department of Water 
 Supply, Gas and Electricity was really a mere purchasing division doing a 
 sort of commission house business, with no voice concerning the maintenance 
 of stock, the quantity or quality of supplies bought, their inspection, storage, 
 issue or accounting. 
 
 Realizing that this was wrong because it violated many fundamental 
 rules of business management, an endeavor has been made to formulate the 
 basic principles involved and then proceed accordingly. It is particularly 
 necessary to consider these matters now that there is so much loose talk in 
 favor of a central purchasing agency for the entire city. 
 
 First, it is essential to fix and determine the scope and duties of the 
 Supply Bureau and its relation to the rest of the Department, that friction 
 and conflicts of authority be prevented and that the work of the Department 
 as a whole be done in an orderly and proper manner by those best capable 
 of handling it. For instance, it should be settled where the functions of the 
 Bureau using the supplies should best end and those of the Bureau doing the 
 purchasing begin. To carry the inquiry further who under varying condi- 
 tions should originate requisitions for supplies and who should be permitted 
 to amend or veto such requisitions? Previously, the other bureaus using 
 supplies arbitrarily fixed their own stock limits, specified what they wanted, 
 and then when the goods were delivered to them direct by the dealer who got 
 the order, they often inspected them and assumed control over them till used. 
 
 It is assumed that the Department has or should have a definite program 
 regarding all new work, improvements, standards of maintenance, and stand- 
 ards of operation, which will absolutely govern all its actions. 
 
 The establishment of such a program is a " staff " problem that should 
 be developed and formulated by experts. It is based on the conditions to 
 -be met, the work to be done, and the funds available; and, having been 
 
adopted, it .shoa"! .^hape the activities of the Department for years to come. 
 An absolute change in expected conditions, or unforeseen emergencies, are 
 the only things that should effect any alteration in such a prearranged plan, 
 for a carefully considered policy of this sort gives stability to a department 
 and enables all work undertaken in accordance with its terms to be done 
 under the most favorable conditions. 
 
 Such foresightedness on the part of all would lead to co-operation and 
 team play between the different departments, and do away with present 
 conditions under which one branch of the City's government puts down a 
 pavement and another straight away comes along and rips it up to build a 
 >cwer or lay a water pipe. 
 
 The preparation of the contracts necessary to carry out this " policy," 
 and the purchase of the required supplies are " line " duties. The scope of 
 these duties is fixed by the " staff " policy, for no official would prepare a 
 contract for which there were no funds provided, and no one would be per- 
 mitted to veto a requisition for supplies when it was understood that it had 
 been prepared in strict accordance with established standards and was for 
 quantities which long study had shown to be absolutely necessary. 
 
 The sum total of Supply Bureau efficiency is ordinarily assumed to have 
 been secured when 
 
 1. The Bureau itself is run economically. 
 
 2. The most reasonable prices are obtained for all articles pur- 
 
 chased. 
 
 3. The articles called for and paid for are the ones delivered. 
 
 All these conditions may obtain and yet the service be poor, and the 
 annual supply bills exorbitant unless the Bureau of Supplies sees that : 
 
 1. The supplies ordered and bought are really necessary. 
 
 2. The supplies specified and bought are those best suited to the 
 
 use to which they are to be put. 
 
 3. The precise quantity needed is ordered. 
 
 4. Purchases are made in accordance with a definite plan and 
 
 under most favorable market conditions. 
 
 5. The amount of money invested in supplies is kept at a mini- 
 
 mum. 
 0. All supplies are properly stored and issued. 
 
 7. Supplies are only put to the use intended. 
 
 8. Supplies are used efficiently and economically. 
 
 9. Supplies are kept in service till they are worn out, or changed 
 
 conditions require the substitution of a more efficient or 
 economical article. 
 
 10. All burdensome and foolish restrictions and conditions are 
 removed from the bidding requirements and the speci- 
 fications. 
 
 8 
 
1. All supplies ordered and bought should be really necessary. 
 
 There may be a great many reasons why proposed expenditure is not 
 necessary. Perhaps there is a great surplus of identical stock in some store- 
 room which is available, yet not used because there is no inventory to show 
 its existence, or no system of stores control to ascertain the fact before going 
 into the market for more. 
 
 It is for this reason that the Bureau of Supplies should have charge of 
 all goods in storage, that it should be responsible for the inventory and that 
 it should maintain a system of stores control. 
 
 2. All supplies specified and bought should be those best suited to the 
 
 use to which they are to be put. 
 
 It frequently happens that large sums are wasted by calling for mate- 
 rials far too expensive and of too high a grade for the purpose intended. 
 Again, it sometimes happens that poor material is bought because it is cheap, 
 whereas a better and more costly article would have rendered proportion- 
 ately far more service. 
 
 To obviate this, the Bureau of Supplies has set up standards and 
 written specifications so that the most suitable supplies may be bought and 
 the same article used for the same purpose throughout the entire Department. 
 
 3. The precise quantity needed should be ordered. 
 
 When a man leads a hand-to-mouth existence, continually ordering small 
 quantities of material, he puts the purchasing division to a lot of expense, as 
 it costs nearly as much to handle a small order as a large one. The cost of 
 delivery is away out of proportion to the size of the shipment and the neces- 
 sity for inspecting each lot increases inspection costs. 
 
 On the other hand, when told to do a piece of work most men " get on 
 the safe side " and order far more material than close figuring would show 
 to be necessary. This is particularly true where the machinery of purchas- 
 ing is cumbersome. A man hates the bother of making out another order for 
 additional stock. If more material has to be purdhased and there is much 
 red tape he may have to wait a long time, and the job will 'be delayed. 
 
 Quantities should be checked and men held responsible for extravagant 
 requisitions. Before the Bureau of Supplies was created it had often hap- 
 pened that great over stocks were purchased because the individual ordering 
 did not understand conditions. Interest on investment, depreciation and 
 other losses made this an expensive way to do business.* 
 
 4. Purchases should be made in accordance with a definite plan and 
 
 under most favorable market conditions. 
 
 It frequently happens that a half dozen requisitions to purchase some 
 standard material are sent in one at a time during the course of the year as 
 
 * One instance recently came to light where a sufficient quantity of a certain un- 
 important commodity had been bought to last the entire Department for twenty years 
 at the present rate of consumption. 
 
the various projects develop on which the material is wanted. Ordering- 
 supplies in this manner is unsatisfactory. It greatly increases the office 
 expense for purchasing, it prevents the combination of similar requisitions 
 in order to obtain wholesale prices, and the fact that immediate delivery is 
 generally demanded makes it impossible to wait for favorable markets before 
 buying. 
 
 One improvement is that a large proportion of the supplies now bought 
 are ordered in advance and instead of being delivered direct to the consumer, 
 are consigned to the nearest storehouse, where they are inspected and stored 
 and later delivered from stock as called for on requisition. In this case the 
 stores act as distributing depots. 
 
 On the other hand, if the Bureau of Supplies could stop doing business 
 on a " commission house basis," much further good would result. The Chief 
 of the Bureau should be consulted in conference by the other bureaus and 
 should be thoroughly informed concerning all proposed undertakings a 
 policy which has been strongly advocated. He would no longer wait till 
 notified of the immediate need of materials before purchasing them, but 
 would anticipate the future requirements of the department and prepare a 
 material budget to supply them. 
 
 It would then be the duty of the Bureau of Supplies to keep in its store- 
 rooms a stock of various standard goods which it could issue immediately on 
 requisition. The storerooms would then fulfill their proper function by being 
 real collection or storage depots. 
 
 5. The amount of money invested in material should be kept at a 
 minimum. 
 
 Fixing the limits of stock to be carried is most important and is treated 
 in detail in the chapter on Storage and Issue. It is pertinent to indicate 
 here while discussing the relations of the Bureau of Supplies to the rest of 
 the Department, that in order to know the proper amount of stock to keep 
 on hand, the Chief of the Bureau of Supplies should be in close touch with 
 the work of the Department as a whole, and with the details of that 
 " program " so often before referred to, which is supposed to regulate all 
 activities. He should know of all new work and all contemplated improve- 
 ments a sufficient time in advance to purchase the required supplies in a 
 favorable market, and to have them delivered, inspected and ready when 
 needed. He should be informed concerning the amount and nature of mate- 
 rials necessary to be kept in reserve at certain points for various emergencies. 
 He should be fully posted regarding the stores required for current operating 
 purposes, and any changes in " policy " which will affect the same. 
 
 I "sing these facts in connection with the data on the time required to 
 obtain or replenish stock by purchase or transfer makes it easy to calculate 
 the minimum quantities of stock to be kept in storage. 
 
 The question of the proper amounts of emergency equipment, spare 
 parts, tools, implements and current supplies to be maintained by the opera- 
 
 10 
 
GROWTH OF THE STORES SYSTEM UNDER THE BUREAU 
 
 OF SUPPLIES. 
 
 19! I 
 
 isoo.ooo 
 
 1912 
 
 1913 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 1- 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 ~3 
 
 i 
 
 s 
 
 s 
 
 1 
 
 S 
 
 - 
 
 _0 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 _> 
 
 a 
 
 0. 
 
 ^ 
 
 S 
 
 | 
 
 * 
 
 5 
 
 m 
 
 I 
 
 0) 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 FF 
 
 
 
 
 
 $ 
 
 U 
 
 >0 
 
 ,0 
 
 DC 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 56^ 
 
 5tr 
 
 se 
 
 
 >ip 
 
 o N 
 
 ar 
 
 d. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 7-1 
 
 ; c 
 
 
 
 rr 
 
 
 
 
 
 , 
 
 <K 
 
 50 
 
 ,0 
 
 oc 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i4o 
 
 7 5tr 
 
 S e1 
 
 
 >ip 
 
 e\ 
 
 ar 
 
 ! l 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4' 
 
 ? ,c 
 
 
 
 D 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^0 
 
 rth 
 
 p 
 
 )rtla 
 
 id 
 
 A 
 
 e, 
 
 to 
 
 re. 
 
 ? 1 
 
 $ 
 
 8, 
 
 obq 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3i 
 
 >0 
 
 ,0 
 
 DC 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 -R- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 W 
 
 25 
 
 is 
 
 v Bt 
 
 ighl 
 
 orl, 
 
 St 
 
 )H 
 
 5S 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 rt( 
 
 ^ 
 
 E 
 
 Y 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 iL 
 
 U 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 4^ 
 
 ,c 
 
 
 
 D 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3C 
 
 )0 
 
 ,0 
 
 DC 
 
 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 7 
 
 ft 
 
 T 
 
 o 
 
 r. 
 
 K 
 
 
 A 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 -t 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 *R 
 
 A 
 
 N* 
 
 5F 
 
 ER 
 
 R 
 
 iC 
 
 ) 
 
 T 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 B 
 
 JF 
 
 *E 
 
 A 
 
 J 
 
 
 
 
 51 
 
 P 
 
 3 L 
 
 IE 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 3c 
 
 w 
 
 an 
 
 \ji 
 
 > 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 >0 
 
 ,0 
 
 oc 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 P 
 
 P 
 
 5' 
 
 <a 
 
 re 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2C 
 
 )0 
 
 ,0 
 
 0( 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 >0 
 
 
 
 oc 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 F 
 
 LSf 
 
 ir 
 
 q 
 
 
 
 tc 
 
 re 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 \ 
 
 J 
 
 ,c 
 
 >0 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1C 
 
 )0 
 
 ,0 
 
 oc 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 D 
 
 IS' 
 
 fcv 
 
 jr '2 
 
 
 
 'S 
 
 re 
 
 e i 
 
 51 
 
 ores, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
 50, 
 
 0( 
 
 )C 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 >o 
 
 
 
 DC 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 R 
 
 id 
 
 3 e 
 
 w 
 
 5C 
 
 d 
 
 
 s 
 
 '0 
 
 es. 
 
 i 
 
 ^ 
 
 a 
 
 01 
 
 )C 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Har 
 
 e 
 
 m 
 
 
 0' 
 
 9fh 
 
 Si 
 
 re 
 
 et 
 
 ) 
 
 SI 
 
 or 
 
 J5 
 
 
 
 
 ! 
 
 9> ( 
 
 jqo 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
ting divisions is most important though apparently it has not yet been stand- 
 ardized.* 
 
 C. Materials should be properly stored and issued. 
 
 It has always been considered a grave error in organization to place the 
 control of materials and supplies (in large quantities) in the hands of the 
 men who use them. The Bureau of Supplies has insisted that it should store 
 all materials and supplies prior to issue, under the care of responsible men 
 especially detailed to that work. With this end in view, it has always 
 assumed charge of storage points whenever permitted to do so and the 
 accompanying chart graphically shows the growth of its responsibilities in 
 this direction. The . economy in consumption and diminution of waste 
 effected by this control has -been remarkable. 
 
 The previous improper methods of storage and accounting for supplies 
 have become apparent as the various storage points have been placed under 
 the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Supplies.f 
 
 Rules for the care and storage of supplies after issue from stores and 
 while in the hands of the ultimate consumers, should be prepared and 
 enforced. 
 
 7. Supplies should be put only to the use intended. 
 
 This is a matter only partially within the control of the Bureau of 
 Supplies. Purchasing Agents can assure themselves that goods bought are 
 suitable for the requirements, and storekeepers can report when goods 
 requisitioned out of stores are not suited to the ostensible use to which they 
 are to 'be put, as stated on the order. They can also prevent deterioration in 
 stock and loss from theft which certainly do not come under the head of 
 '* use intended." Beyond that they cannot go, though branding and marking 
 stock is perhaps a further safeguard. 
 
 There should be inspectors, operating along the lines of the Inspector 
 Generals Department of the regular army, whose duty it should be to investi- 
 gate and see that stores once issued are put to 1 the proper use. 
 
 8. Supplies should be used efficiently and economically. 
 
 No matter how careful and saving the Bureau of Supplies may be in 
 the matter of purchase, inspection, storage and issue of supplies, if the men 
 
 * The Navy Department specifies the amount of ammunition for the various 
 guns to be carried by the warships of the different classes just, for instance, as it defi- 
 nitely states the number of launches, whaleboats, cutters and so forth to be carried 
 by each type of ship and then further goes into detail regarding the number of oars 
 and other articles of equipment, such as masts, sails, tiller, and compass, that each 
 of the small boats must have. In this manner the exact quantity of stores and equip- 
 ment for every pumping station, repair company or other point under the control of 
 this Department should be established. 
 
 t In one case, cement in bags had been stored on the earth floor of a barn cellar, 
 where it had been flooded and destroyed ; in another case rubber goods had been 
 placed next to steam pipes and ruined; again, hydrants were stored in a pipe yard 
 so that they filled with water. This was discovered just before the first hard frost of 
 the season otherwise they would have burst. 
 
 12 
 
using the material use it inefficiently or waste fully it will soon give out and 
 have to be replaced, with the result that the cost of supplies to the Depart- 
 ment (and thus to the taxpayer) will be high. 
 
 Again we have a condition beyond the jurisdiction of the Bureau of 
 Supplies as now organized, yet vitally affecting the amount of supplies which 
 have to t>e bought.* 
 
 9. Supplies should be kept in service till they are worn out, or changed 
 
 conditions require the substitution of a more efficient or more 
 economical article. 
 
 Loss is often incurred by premature replacement of materials. To the 
 cost of the new article must be added the cost of the replacement plus the 
 remaining value of the article replaced, which can seldom be used elsewhere. 
 
 10. All useless, burdensome and foolish restrictions and conditions 
 
 should be removed from the bidding requirements and the 
 specifications. 
 
 The City's business should be made as attractive to possible bidders as 
 is that of any of the great private corporations. On the contrary, doing 
 business with the City is now fraught with many needless annoyances and 
 restrictions. Many of the conditions so imposed cause the contractor actual 
 expense, while others merely introduce elements of uncertainty and possible 
 loss against which he must protect himself by increasing his bid proportion- 
 ately. All such obstructions, whether actual or potential, are ever present 
 handicaps to proper economy. 
 
 Some of these conditions are imposed by law ; others are the result of 
 bad purchasing methods, improperly worded specifications, inefficient office 
 procedure or conduct of employees. 
 
 It is foolish to imagine that the lowest possible prices have been obtained 
 merely because the letting was public, bids being taken, and the award made 
 to the lowest 'bidder ; for many may not have ibid who otherwise would have 
 been glad to put in a price, and others who did bid might have bid lower. 
 
 A detailed study of these matters will be found in the chapter on 
 Purchasing. 
 
 Board of Survey. 
 
 The disposition to be made of excess stores or equipment and obsolete 
 or damaged material constitutes the one remaining point where the activities 
 
 * As an example of this point, how is money to be saved by the best of coal 
 specifications, by payment on the B. T. U. basis (for the heat the coal can give, not for 
 its weight), by well advertised competitive bidding, and by careful weighing, inspection 
 and analysis of coal delivered, if the coal so bought is wastefully burned under the 
 boilers? If coal is badly stoked so that much of its gases go up the chimney uncon- 
 sumed as smoke, if a stack temperature twice what it should be indicates that the 
 blowers are rushing the gases through the boilers and away to waste, before the 
 boilers have had a chance properly to abstract the heat from them, or yet again, if 
 an analysis of the ashes shows a great amount of unburned carbon, all savings in 
 purchasing will be neutralized. 
 
 13 
 
of the Bureau of Supplies are so closely related to those of other 'branches 
 of the Department that friction has often resulted. 
 
 This work can best be done by a Board of Survey, consisting of an 
 official of the Bureau of Supplies, and a " staff " engineer. They should 
 periodically inspect and survey all stores, equipment, engine spare parts or 
 other supplies owned by the Department for the purpose. 
 
 1. Of condemning (and ordering to be sold) all 
 
 (a) obsolete material 
 
 (b) damaged material not fit to be repaired. 
 
 2. Of ascertaining whether such material as may be damaged or worn 
 is worth repairing, and, if worth repairing, directing that said work be done. 
 
 Method of Financing the Work. 
 
 The work of the Department, particularly the letting of contracts and 
 the purchasing of supplies is very much hindered by the way funds are 
 appropriated. First there is a segregated budget, later an apparently 
 unlimited transfer of funds is permitted. 
 
 NEW WORK RECOMMENDED. 
 
 The preparation of a Material Budget. 
 
 The organization of a Systematic Inspection of Departmental Supplies by a 
 
 Board of Survey. 
 
 Separate treatment for issues of Consumable and Non-consumable materials. 
 The adoption of a Cheaper Distributing System. 
 Auto-trucks for deliveries from Storerooms. 
 Investigation and Study of Supply Prices. 
 Method to Prevent Unbalanced Bidding in Contracts, as is now done on 
 
 Open Orders. 
 Completion of Storeroom at Ridgewood and at Other Points. 
 
 14 
 
PHOTO. 1. OLD STOREROOM AT 179TII STREET PUMPIXd STATION IN USE 
 PRIOR TO ESTABLISHMENT OF BUREAU OF SUPPLIES. 
 
PHOTO. 2. NEW STOREROOM AT 179TH STREET THE FIRST OF THE NEW 
 
 GENERAL STOREROOMS EQUIPPED AND OPERATED BY THE 
 
 BUREAU OF SUPPLIES. 
 
o 
 
 c 
 
 E 
 
 Cfl W 
 
 W -* 
 
 J3 
 
 o 
 
 ^ -si 
 
 w I * 
 
 ^ & 
 
 K 5 
 
 Q 3 
 
 S 
 1 
 
 I I 
 
 I 
 
AV 
 
 STORES 
 RECORDS. 
 
 Statistics, 
 
 CT/riPERATION\{ nventories ' 
 OF STORE ROOMS\Reports. 
 
 AND YARDS. 
 
 Storage Issue 
 
 and Distribution 
 
 of Supplies. 
 
 \ 
 
 INSPECTION 
 
 OF SUPPLIES. 
 Acceptance, 
 
 HE DUT1C 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CHIEF 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BUREAU OF 
 SUPPLIES 
 
 INVOLV 
 
 COI 
 
 DUTIES. 
 
 PERFECTION or OR6ANIM1 
 Special Repo 
 
 Methods of/ ROUTINE 
 Operation/ DUTIES. 
 
 Assignment of Employees 
 to Stations & Work, Corres 
 dence, Reports, Approval 
 of Requisitions for Supplies. 
 
 D 
 
 menfs. 
 
 SUPER- 
 VISION 
 of 
 
 Letting Open 
 arket Orders 
 
 STUDY OF PRICES. 
 Study of Market 
 Conditions, / en 
 Preparation of / ^ 
 Standard / r\ 
 Specificationy -^ 
 
 VISION V 
 
 of 
 
 Letting 
 Contracts. 
 
 SUPER- 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION 
 
 The analysis of the work into its separate functions, and the 
 development of a system of procedure to carry it into effect. 
 
 Several things require attention when taking hold of a new problem. 
 First, the nature of the work must be investigated and the general 
 question settled concerning what is to be done. Then the details of the 
 plan for carrying these ideals into execution must be formulated that is 
 Organization. The doing of the work according to such plans is Admin- 
 istration or Operation. 
 
 It should be clearly understood that the study of the situation, the 
 planning of the work, and the organization of the Bureau of Supplies was 
 a constructive problem ; whereas the operation of the Bureau in accordance 
 with the principles thus formulated is a routine or administrative matter. 
 
 Conditions Governing the Reorganization. 
 
 The first problem in the organization of the Bureau of Supplies con- 
 cerned the internal affairs of the Bureau itself, the object being to system- 
 atize and direct the work so that it might be done correctly at the least cost. 
 The Bureau of Supplies purchases, inspects, stores and issues all materials 
 used by the Department and lets all contracts for work done and services 
 rendered, thus dealing with the most vital functions of a going concern 
 whose operation could be neither stopped nor delayed. All changes had to 
 be so made that they would not interfere with the work. The pumping 
 stations had to have coal and oil even though the specifications for coal and 
 oil were not perfected ; nor would the lack of a general stores control system 
 have excused withholding supplies from a pumping station simply because 
 the need for them had not been investigated. 
 
 Another element which complicated the situation was the fact that the 
 time for carrying the reform into effect was limited, so it was necessary first 
 to remedy those matters which involved the largest expenditures or the 
 greatest amount of waste. 
 
 21 
 
FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION CHART, BUREAU OF 
 
 SUPPLIES. 
 
 All requisitions originating in the various Bureaus of 
 the Department for the purchase of supplies for 
 services, and for construction, maintenance or repair 
 work involving both Ihe furnishing of materials and 
 the rendering of services, are forwarded to the Bureau 
 of Supplies that prices for the same may be obtained 
 and the order or contract therefor duly placed. 
 
 All supplies, whether obtained by contract or on 
 open order are at once inspected by the 
 
 Bureau of Supplies . 
 Construction, maintenance and repair work is 
 
 usually inspected by the Bureau for which 
 
 the work is done, 
 
 This division is responsible for the physical control 
 of supplies in storage . All supplies delivered to 
 store rooms are inspected , storea and issued . 
 An inventory of stock is kept. Repairs are made. 
 Scrap is sorted and worthless materials are sold. 
 Materials are transferred from one storeroom or 
 storeyard to another as the needs of the 
 Department may require. The storerooms act 
 as distributing centers, and local deliveries 
 are made by automobile trucks. 
 
Functional Organization. 
 
 The work was mapped out, the various duties being classed according 
 to their nature into Purchasing, Inspecting and Storage and Issue of supplies. 
 A diagram of the organization was prepared and the duties of the per- 
 sonnel assigned in accordance with these functions. 
 
 Standardization of Procedure. 
 
 Conditions and procedure were next standardized so that work was no 
 longer done in a haphazard manner or left to chance. 
 
 All steps in every activity of the Bureau were studied and instructions 
 were prepared showing : 
 
 What work was to be done. 
 How the work was to be done. 
 Where the work was to be done. 
 When the work was to be done. 
 Who was to do it. 
 
 These standard practice instructions systematized and simplified the 
 routine of the office so that it could be carried on by the fewest possible 
 number of employees and in the least time. To instruct employees con- 
 cerning what they have to do, and how they are to do it, not only prevents 
 conflicts of authority, but fixes responsibility and shows whether or not the 
 work is being attended to. 
 
 The routine has been made as simple and as flexible as possible. The 
 magnitude of the business makes it impossible for the men at the head to 
 keep familiar with all details ; subordinate officials are trained to assume 
 responsibilities within their grasp. Though the line of authority is strictly 
 maintained and orders are given in accordance therewith, all employees are 
 expected to co-operate and furnish information and assistance to one another 
 whenever possible. 
 
 The philosophy of the arrangement has been : 
 
 First To standardize the routine work so that it becomes practically 
 
 automatic. 
 Second To place responsibility for details with men having sufficient 
 
 time and first hand knowledge of the facts to pass upon them. 
 Third To release the men, who by reason of experience, knowledge 
 
 and skill, are at the top of the Bureau, from functional activity so 
 
 that they are free for the larger creative and administrative 
 
 duties. 
 
 At the beginning of the present administration, the departmental units 
 in the various boroughs obtained prices for supplies separately, and in 
 order to obtain greater efficiency, this work was concentrated in one central 
 office. This resulted in a slight reduction in the force, tending to unify the 
 
 23 
 
ORGANIZATION OF PERSONNEL, BUREAU OF SUPPLIES. 
 
organization and give better control. The values of centralization, how- 
 ever, were not alone brought about by locating all employees doing similar 
 work in one office ; the main advantage lay in the opportunity to improve 
 upon the old methods in which requests for purchase of supplies were 
 prepared in the various boroughs without knowledge of standards or of 
 stock possibly on hand elsewhere ; and in which these individual requisitions 
 were handled separately, and consequently uneconomically. 
 
 The concentration of goods on hand was next undertaken and store- 
 rooms were fitted up at central locations where supplies could be con- 
 veniently delivered, promptly inspected and properly stored, issued and 
 accounted for. 
 
 Training the Employees. 
 
 Training the employees was next undertaken. It is all very well to 
 study conditions and develop the most scientific and efficient procedure, yet 
 without the intelligent co-operation of the men required to carry it out, 
 progress will be slow. They must be instructed in their duties they must 
 have explained to them in detail what is expected to be done and how and 
 when and where and by whom. They must be " coached " with the same 
 care and thoroughness that is used with the members of a professional ball 
 team, a college crew, or the detail working of a coast defense gun. It calls 
 for much persistency, for old habits must be broken before new ones can be 
 acquired, and the men must be tried at this and at that to see where they 
 best fit in, as a man can only do his best work when adjusted to the organi- 
 zation. Alas, some men do not appear to be much good anywhere. Mili- 
 tary discipline is very necessary but most difficult to obtain where the man 
 in charge lacks the power of the " bounce." 
 
 It is necessary that there be no " indispensable men." Such ones are 
 the most dangerous units in any organization, for sooner or later they are 
 taken sick or die, or get a better position elsewhere, and the work suffers 
 since they were " indispensable," and there is no one prepared to take 
 their place. There should be one or more men regularly trained as " under- 
 study " for every position. 
 
 Only the most incompetent object to this policy after it is explained 
 that the " indispensable " man stands in his own light as regards pro- 
 motion and advancement, for with no one fitted to take his place he must 
 perforce be left in it, and some other man given the coveted vacancy 
 higher up, when such occurs. 
 
 Besides making the force adaptable, such training tends to make a 
 man do his own particular duties better and more intelligently since he 
 sees their relation to the work as a whole. It gives him interest and it 
 enables him to suggest improvements of value where other branches of the 
 work touch his. 
 
 Furthermore, careful observation of the men during the periods when 
 they are being trained and "-tried-out " in the different positions affords 
 
 25 
 
BUSINESS PROCEDURE, BUREAU OF SUPPLIES. 
 Main Steps Between Receipt of Requisition and Delivery of Goods. 
 
 Open Order 
 Branch 
 
 Inspection 
 Division 
 
 Direct 
 Deliveries 
 
 Stores 
 Division 
 
 Bureau of 
 WaterRcgister 
 
 
 Bureau of 
 WaterSupply 
 
 
 Bureau of 
 Gas&Oectricity 
 
 
 Bureau of 
 Audit & Account 
 
 Bureau of 
 Water Register 
 
 
 Bureau of 
 Water Supply 
 
 
 Bureau of 
 Gas&Electricity 
 
 
 Bureau of 
 Audit & Account 
 
excellent opportunities to study their capacities and abilities and to finally 
 assign them where they will be most effective. 
 
 Improved Conditions. 
 
 The old conditions under which the office work was carried on were 
 most unsatisfactory. The clerks faced a low railing which separated them 
 from the space where the public came to make inquiries and transact busi- 
 ness. This resulted in constant interruption of the work. The office 
 arrangements were shifted, one of the changes being that the desks were 
 turned away from the public and faced toward the wall. Further to save 
 the time of the higher paid clerks, all telephone calls and all personal in- 
 quiries of individuals were first answered by a boy who found out what 
 was wanted; and in the majority of cases was able to attend to it himself 
 without interrupting the other men. 
 
 Wherever roll top desks were found, flat top desks were substituted, 
 and four-legged cane-bottom chairs took the place of the swivel and padded 
 variety. 
 
 The space allotted to the storage of goods was fitted up to best serve 
 the -purpose. Bins were especially designed and were built to hold the par- 
 ticular kind and quantity of goods to go in them. 
 
 System and standardization has been extended to all devices used for 
 keeping the office records ; and the new forms, ledgers and cards that have 
 been introduced are a vast improvement over the miscellaneous collection of 
 papers which they superseded. 
 
 It is clear that all business must keep records of its activities and 
 transactions, but beyond that point ideas are often vague or at variance. 
 The nature, extent and character of the statistics best suited to the problems 
 in hand have received much study. So truly do " circumstances alter cases " 
 that any attempt to take the forms and blanks of some railroad or other 
 corporation and graft them bodily upon a different business is foolish. 
 It is as if the Republic of Hayti should solemnly adopt the Revised Statutes 
 of the United States and enact them as the law of their land, expecting in 
 consequence immediately to enjoy a similar government. Improvements 
 are not accomplished that way. Even with the best of systems, specially 
 designed to meet the needs of any business, the personalities of the men 
 in charge are the governing factors. 
 
 A great deal of the work has been pioneering, for there is but little 
 information available to guide in formulating the philosophy underlying 
 such an undertaking. Still less is there to guide one when it comes to the 
 carrying of it out. Many a promising experiment gave unsatisfactory results. 
 But then the Chinese Navy is the only one that never has any accidents 
 for it never goes to sea. Mistakes often occurred, as was to be expected 
 where new methods of doing business were being developed, but the same 
 mistake seldom occurred twice. 
 
 27 
 
There is much general misunderstanding con- 
 cerning city purchasing methods. Section 419 
 of the Charter says : 
 
 " Whenever any work is necessary to 
 be done to complete or perfect a par- 
 ticular job, or any supply is needful 
 for any particular purpose, which work 
 and job is to be undertaken or supply 
 furnished for The City of New York, 
 and the several parts of the said work 
 or supply shall, together, involve the ex- 
 penditure of more than one thousand 
 dollars, the same shall be by contract, 
 under such regulations concerning it as 
 shall be established by ordinance or 
 resolution of the board of aldermen, ex- 
 cepting . . ." 
 
 The respective procedure for both Contracts 
 and Open Orders is illustrated on Chart opposite. 
 It is instantly seen that the letting of a contract 
 is a complicated matter, as the papers must be 
 referred to many different officials and passed 
 upon by them. The aggregate time thus con- 
 sumed is great, therefore contracts cannot be 
 used to purchase supplies needed immediately or 
 to do work which is urgent. This is one of the 
 reasons that open market orders are of necessity 
 so frequently resorted to. 
 
PROCEDURE CHART. 
 
 I BORO. ENGINEER. [ 
 
 I 
 
 (DRCOHMISSIOHa| 
 I 
 
 IDEP.CH.F.NG'R.}- 
 
 OPEN ORDER PROCEDURE 
 
 INVITATIONS TO Bio SENT OUT 
 Bios OPENED AND TABULATED 
 To AUDITOR FOB RECORD. 
 ORDERS TYPEWRITTEN 
 
 ORDER SIGNED ev DEPUTY &Acnw Com. 
 CONTRACTOR NOTIFIED TO PROCEED 
 
 GOODS ISSUED TO ORIGINATING BUREAU. 
 
 THESE RECORDS SHOW 
 WHETHER 
 
 THERE is ANY IN STOCK ? 
 THERE is ANY ORDERED? 
 THERE is ANY SPECIFICATION? 
 THE QUANTITY is CORRECT ? 
 THE QUALITY is SUITABLE? 
 
 CONTRACT PROCEDURE 
 
 DRAFT TO CORPORATION COUNSEL. 
 DRAFT TO CITY RECORD FOR PRINTING. 
 PROOF TO ORIGINATING BUREAU. 
 PROOF TO CORPORATION COUNSEL. 
 PROOF RETURNED FOR FINAL PRINTING. 
 PRINTED CONTRACTS TO ORIGINATING BORCAU 
 To COMPT. FOR REPORT TO BTD. OF ESTIMATE. 
 PRINTED CONTRACT TO CORP. COUNSEL. 
 ADVERTISEMENT TO CITY RECORD. 
 BIDS OPENED AND TABULATED. 
 MEMO. OF Bios TO ORIGINATING BUREAU. 
 MEMO. OF BIDS TO COMM. FOR APPROVAL. 
 MEMO. & Low BID TO AUDIT BUREAU. 
 NOTICE OF AWARD TO SUCCESSFUL BIDDER. 
 COMPTROLLER NOTIFIED TO RCTURN DEPOSITS. 
 Low BID. ETC,TO COMPT. FOR SURETIES. 
 CONTRACTOR NOTIFIED TO SIGN CONTRACTS. 
 CONT. TOSuRETIES FOR SIGNATURE. 
 CONTRACT SiftNED BY COMMISSIONER 
 CONTRACT CERTIFIED BY COMPTROLLER. 
 CONTRACTOR NOTIFIED TO PROCEED. 
 
 GOODS DELIVERED. 
 
 1 1 ACTIVITIES NOT UNDCRTHE BUREAU orSuppues 
 
 HH WORK DONE By THE BUREAU or SUPPLIES. 
 
TIME REQUIRED TO LET A CONTRACT. 
 Aggregate 188 Days. 
 
 Auditing Bureau -4- Days. 
 
 Sureties- 4- Days. 1 
 
 Contractor - 5 Days: 
 
 Notices of A ward. etc. - 2 Days. 
 Bureau of Supp//es - 2 Days. 
 Commissioner - / Day. 
 
 ADVERTISING 
 16 Days 
 
 FINANCE 
 
 DEPARTMENT 
 
 52 Days 
 
 Report to Board of Estimate , 
 Approval of Sureties, 
 Certification of Contract, etc 
 
 LAW 
 DEPARTMENT 
 
 22 Days 
 on legality 
 
 ORIGINATING 
 BUREAU 
 
 PRINTING 
 43 Days 
 
 37 Days 
 
 Correcting froof. 
 
 Appro wry forrrts, 
 Report on bids 
 rece/red. 
 efc. 
 
 Prepanny proof, 
 Mating a/ferotions, 
 Pr/ntmg final contracts, 
 
 dec. 
 
 This chart is based on a study of twenty different contracts and gives the average amount of 
 time taken by the various steps of the present procedure from the receipt of the draft of the contract 
 (plans, specifications, etc.) by the Bureau of Supplies to the notice to the contractor to begin work. 
 
 The Bureau of Supplies has been able to expedite the work in many instances by filing duplicate 
 copies of certain papers with two or more officials simultaneously. This saving averaged sixteen 
 day*, thereby reducing the average total time to one hundred and seventy-two days. 
 
 Some contracts, such as those for the purchase of coal and other supplies, are made up on a 
 blank form of standard contract, whereby certain of the preliminary steps of the contract procedure 
 become unnecessary. In consequence they may be and are let in much less time. 
 
UNIVERSITY 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 PURCHASING 
 
 Details concerning the preparation of contracts for work or materi- 
 als and the Rules for purchasing supplies in order to obtain 
 the right materials in proper quantities at the lowest price. 
 
 The Bureau of Supplies lets all contracts for the purchase of material, 
 and for the doing of work and the rendering of services. When the present 
 reorganization began two years ago, its share in these activities was much 
 restricted, in fact it merely acted as agent for the other Bureaus, and bought 
 what it was told to 'buy ; or contracted for what it was told to contract for, 
 in a purely mechanical way. It was assumed that all work ordered was 
 really required and that all supplies requisitioned were necessary and were 
 correct as regarded quality, quantity and suitability for the use intended. 
 Furthermore, it was taken for granted that the specifications furnished the 
 Bureau of Supplies not only described the work to be done or the material 
 to be furnished in a proper manner, but that they were so worded that the 
 work could be done economically and the supplies furnished at rock bottom 
 prices. This was not so. 
 
 The cost of construction and the time it takes not only depend on the 
 extent and nature of the undertaking, but are largely affected by the condi- 
 tions under which the work is to be done, and the specifications governing 
 it. Every large contract raises the question whether it is better to let the 
 work as a whole or in parts. If the former method is adopted, the subse- 
 quent work of the department is simplified because there is 'but one party to 
 do business with, and responsibility is easily placed. On the other hand, 
 when the work is let in parts, competition is extended, as many bids will be 
 received from individuals or firms unable to undertake the entire project, yet 
 able and desirous of bidding on part of it. 
 
 Another most important question concerns the advisability of taking 
 bids on the 'basis of a lump sum for the whole work, or requiring the bidder 
 to state the unit prices for which he will do given quantities of work, as so 
 much per cubic yard of rock excavation, or per cubic yard of concrete, or 
 per square yard of street paving. The former method involves the question 
 of extras, the latter generally results in unbalanced bidding, unless steps are 
 especially taken to prevent it. 
 
 These and many other matters of like nature are questions of policy 
 directly affecting the cost of construction. 
 
 31 
 
Specifications, too, play their part in affecting prices. The general 
 clauses (those which describe the work, fix the times of commencing and 
 finishing it, set forth the terms of payment, define the contractor's duties and 
 his liabilities, state the manner in which plans shall be interpreted or disputes 
 settled, and appoint the conditions governing the conduct, maintenance and 
 completion or abandonment of the contract), are no less important than 
 those special clauses which supplement the maps and drawings and indicate 
 in detail the quality of the materials to be used or the methods to be 
 employed. 
 
 All this, however, has not fallen within the province of the Bureau of 
 Supplies, either to praise or blame. Time was limited, and the activities 
 of the purchasing division have been concentrated on that no less interesting 
 problem of developing a correct buying policy a " Philosophy of Purchas- 
 ing Supplies," if you please and then putting it into effect. 
 
 " Philosophy of Purchasing Supplies."* 
 
 Two questions present themselves to every man who would introduce 
 new and efficient methods in any 'branch of business. 
 
 The first matter to be determined is : 
 
 What work is to be done? 
 and the second: 
 
 How is it to be done ? 
 
 It took much study to ascertain and formulate the fundamental prin- 
 ciples of correct purchasing which are the answer to the first question, but 
 once determined they proved to be quite simple. They may foe concisely 
 stated thus : Get the right materials in correct quantities at the lowest price. 
 
 These ideals have been the foundation on which the new purchasing 
 methods of this Department have been built. They involve much more than 
 the mere filling of such requisitions as are sent in; the lowest price being 
 assumed to have been secured because the bidding was competitive. Such 
 procedure is merely doing a commission house business. When a requisition 
 is filled according to its terms there is no assurance that the goods called for 
 are those best suited for the purpose for which they are to be used, that the 
 quantities called for are reasonable, or, finally, that the articles ordered are 
 so specified that standard prices can be obtained. 
 
 The answer to the second question, " How is the work to be done ?" is 
 found in the detailed matters of policy that have been developed and the 
 rules and regulations that have been written down to carry them into effect. 
 These methods of procedure will be considered in the order in which they 
 relate to the purchasing sequence of right materials, correct quantities and 
 lowest price. 
 
 *This was the title of a paper presented by the author at the Thirty-second 
 Annual Convention x>f the American Water Works Assn. at Louisville, Ky. 
 
 32 
 
RIGHT MATERIALS. 
 
 The duty of always purchasing the " right materials " is the most im- 
 portant and difficult that confronts the purchasing agent. The right material 
 does not necessarily mean the best grade of stock in the market, neither does 
 it mean the cheapest that will suffice for the purpose. White pine is better 
 than spruce, yet white pine is not the " right material " with which to build 
 temporary shelves ; engines can be run with a cheap oil, yet a cheap oil 
 is not the " right material " with which to lubricate expensive engines, for 
 the extra cost of repairs to the engines will offset a thousand times the 
 saving in the cost of the oil. 
 
 The " right material " is the material most suitable to the purpose 
 for which it is intended and containing the greatest units of value 
 (service) per unit of cost. 
 
 This is a very approximate definition and requires careful explanation. 
 Goods to be suitable must not always be merely reliable under ordinary con- 
 ditions, they must often be dependable under special conditions. A hose 
 which might burst would be perfectly satisfactory for flushing the streets, 
 but it would not do for fire service. 
 
 The term "units of value" (service) must needs be amplified. One 
 often hears the expression : " It costs a little more, but it will wear twice 
 as long." The " wear " represents the units of service. 
 
 One oil is cheaper than another, yet perhaps it takes twice as much of 
 it to accomplish the same result. One grade of coal is cheaper per ton than 
 another, yet the freight cost of the inferior fuel is the same as on the better 
 one, while the possible necessity of requiring a blower to burn it, and the 
 cost of the extra fire room force for stoking and handling clinker and ash 
 sometimes make the cheap fuel an expensive economy. 
 
 Also it generally does not pay to expend good labor on poor material. 
 The cost of carpenter work on poor lumber is as great as on good stock. 
 People often fail to consider the small part the value of the materials in a 
 finished article bear to the larger costs of labor, overhead, etc., required. to 
 produce it. 
 
 Not only must the cost of the supply itself be taken into account; the 
 cost of placing the supply in operation is also a factor of the situation. It 
 is easy to realize that some materials might be of such poor quality that, 
 even if they were to be obtained for nothing, one could not afford to use 
 them, because the cost of frequent replacements would outweigh the saving 
 in price on the article replaced. 
 
 Standardization of Materials. 
 
 It has therefore been one of the first and most important duties of the 
 Bureau of Supplies to determine the various grades or qualities of materials 
 which will be furnished for specific purposes. 
 
 33 
 
This work should be done more extensively, and with the hearty con- 
 sent, advice and co-operation of the other Bureaus concerned. 
 
 Multiplicity of styles and types of stock is a costly nuisance and a 
 serious disadvantage. It necessitates unproductive investments in stock, it 
 increases costs of storage and supervision, and leads to mistakes, confusion, 
 and loss of time in making issues. A list containing all the various items 
 regularly requisitioned, and in current demand, should be prepared. 
 These items should be considered with regard to their cost, nature, com- 
 position, wearing power, keeping qualities, and the conditions under which 
 they are to be used. The prevailing practice at the present time consists in 
 having the man who is going to use supplies make out an order for the 
 quantity and quality that he wants. This order is forwarded through various 
 officials in his Bureau and is finally passed on to the Bureau of Supplies for 
 them to make the purchase. Such procedure is all wrong. 
 
 In the first place such methods often result in men in the class of 
 laborers being the ones who ultimately settle on the quality of materials 
 ordered. Contrary to prevailing opinion, workmen who use materials them- 
 selves seldom order what is best suited to their conditions. They are 
 particularly open to influence by salesmen or agents and generally order by 
 some trade name, with very little idea of the article's real merit or those of 
 its competitors. The preparation of specifications for supplies is a " staff " 
 matter, requiring the thought and attention of high grade men. The careful 
 measurements of the testing laboratory and the precise and exact experiments 
 of the chemical laboratory should be the guide to the writer of specifications 
 rather than the (generally biased) opinion of some subordinate official in 
 the operating department. The shape and size of shovel best suited to certain 
 coal, the proper type wheelbarrow for moving ashes, the most durable variety 
 of broom, should all be determined by the tests of experts. And what is 
 more, these tests should be made and these questions ascertained. The 
 " right material " should be selected in every instance and its use made 
 mandatory. Even the fittings and equipments should be standardized. 
 
 It is of prime importance to have all equipment of similar nature inter- 
 changeable. If this were done, the number of spare parts necessary to main- 
 tain an adequate reserve would be comparatively few. If stations are 
 equipped with valves and fittings of different sizes and dimensions (distance 
 between faces of the flanges, etc.), similar special stock made only by the 
 same manufacturer will ever after be requisitioned for all replacements ar 
 such points, on the ground that goods of another make having different sizes 
 could not well be used. This stifles competition.* 
 
 The standardization of supplies has many other important features 
 
 * In this particular the adoption of standards for the Department such as those 
 recently agreed upon by the Master Steam Fitters' Association, the American Society 
 of Mechanical Engineers and the Heating and Ventilating Engineers in the " U. S. 
 Standard Schedule Requirements "would effect a great simplification and improve- 
 ment over existing conditions. 
 
 34 
 
besides having experts determine what material is best to use for any given 
 purpose.* 
 
 The standardization of supplies simplifies the work of the man ordering 
 supplies, as it merely becomes necessary for him to refer to the number of a 
 specification instead of preparing a long written description (often accom- 
 panied by drawings) of what he wants every time he wants it. 
 
 Standardization of supplies reduces the office wqrk of the Purchasing 
 Division and should enable the same number of clerks to transact more 
 business in less time. 
 
 Standardization of supplies is of great value in reducing costs inasmuch 
 as it permits the combination of various requisitions for the same material 
 and the purchase of the lot at one time at wholesale rates.f 
 
 Standardization of supplies reduces the labor connected with making 
 inspections and expedites such work. 
 
 Standardization of supplies permits great improvement to be made in 
 the storekeeping system. It means less money invested in stock, less stock 
 to 'be stored and looked after, and less paper work in connection with stores 
 records, inventories and reports. The stock on hand moves faster and there 
 is less loss from depreciation, or of stock becoming obsolete.;): 
 
 In the absence of such standardization, there is a tendency to order the 
 highest grade obtainable when the goods are not to be paid for by the man 
 doing the ordering. This habit of ordering goods of far higher grade than 
 
 * Men ordering material often have very hazy ideas concerning what they want, 
 as letters on file in the Bureau of Supplies will show. The following are extracts 
 from letters written to get adequate information on which to make purchases : 
 
 " SIR I notice among the articles called for by you are six 25- foot lengths 
 2 T /^-inch hose. Please state whether the hose required is water, steam or 
 suction hose, also what specifications are to be used." 
 
 "SiR In order to prevent further misunderstanding, it is desirable that 
 quantity and quality of articles to be delivered should be definitely stated. Your 
 requisition calls for 5 rolls of two-ply tar paper, without stating the number of 
 feet or yards in each roll; it also calls for one keg of roofing cement without 
 stating the number of pounds said keg is to contain. These are merely cited 
 as instances." 
 
 "SiR Under the heading of Metals and Alloys, sheet brass is ordered and 
 its thickness is stated to be of a certain gauge. There is no universally accepted 
 standard gauge, and therefore, the engineer should state whether he desires 
 Birmingham or Brown & Sharp gauge. We buy sheet brass by the pound, so 
 it is necessary to know the weights of the sheets as well as their size for bid- 
 ding purposes. Information should also be furnished as to whether soft, hard 
 or spring brass is desired. Roofing tin is called for, but no specifications have 
 been submitted ; nor have we any. It is necessary that the number of tins to the 
 box, the size and quality be ment : oned * * *." 
 
 t Ordinarily, every man running an engine has some favorite boiler compound 
 which he has always ordered. Though many stations drew feed water from the same 
 source, their various requisitions were different and could not be combined. When the 
 water was analyzed bv one of the Department's chemists and the proper compound for 
 that water determined, the various requisitions could be combined and a large amount 
 of the proper material for all the stations purchased at one time. 
 
 $ Stock should be ordered with an eye to its greatest usefulness. Thus spiral and 
 coil packing should be used as far as possible in preference to ring packing, for 
 " i/ -inch spiral" will perhaps fit a dozen different piston rods of various diameters 
 carrying a ^-inch packing space, and as packing is a supply that deteriorates the 
 spiral and coil packing will be in constant demand and none will be left on the shelves. 
 
 35 
 
is warranted by the use to which they are to be put is often traceable to the 
 fact that men seem to feel that it relieves them from responsibility for any 
 possible failure of the article when in service. Generally, however, it is 
 plain extravagance.* Whatever its cause, it is an expensive habit, and the 
 present method of the Bureau of Supplies is (except in rare cases) to fill 
 all requisitions with articles of standard commercial grades and to enable 
 this to be done the pew forms of requisitions require a statement of the 
 specific use to which the articles are to be put.f 
 
 Another tendency of men who write requisitions for which they do not 
 pay out of their own pockets, is to prepare some special design that suits 
 their fancy;): rather than order standard ready-made articles. Men seem 
 particularly prone to do this, especially if they can call on the services of a 
 departmental carpenter to carry their plans into effect. 
 
 If requisitions for unusual materials or for articles of special design 
 can be eliminated, and standard materials for the same purpose purchased 
 in their place, a large saving in cost can generally be effected. 
 
 There are many circumstances when materials of even the highest 
 quality are none too good, particularly so where the cost of replacement is 
 high compared to the cost of the article; or where any failure on the part 
 of the material in service might result in serious consequences. This not 
 alone refers to accidents resulting from defective materials (often the result 
 of poor inspection), but to those conditions where reliability is of the very 
 utmost importance. Supplies purchased for the high pressure fire service 
 may be taken as examples. Everything connected with the system must be 
 of such excellence that the pumps can be depended on to operate without 
 hitch whenever needed for as long a period as necessary. Similarly steam- 
 ship engineers not only demand supplies of the first quality, but at the end 
 of every run they overhaul their engines and equipment and replace many an 
 article capable of giving still further service, in order that the possible neces- 
 sity of stopping to make repairs at sea may be reduced to a minimum. 
 
 * Extract from a report to the Commissioner : 
 
 " SIR The original requisition included a number of pieces of expensive 
 furniture and required close scrutiny. I objected to the large sum required 
 
 for new desks to be used at. and substituted desks from the 
 
 Finance Department, which cost us nothing and which were moved and put 
 in perfect order for $16 each. Similar furniture new would have cost about 
 $60 apiece." 
 
 t Men order hand-picked waste when machine-picked is in every way as suitable 
 for the purpose for which it is to be used. (A requisition was received for some white 
 pine for shelving, " 26-inch by 3-inch by 16-feet long." The man drawing the requisition 
 failed to consider that 16-foot planks are selected stock and correspondingly expensive. 
 In this case the purchasing division altered the requisition and bought the material by 
 the board foot, in which case it was delivered in assorted lengths of 12, 14 and 16 
 feet, which are every bit as good for cutting up for shelving.) 
 
 t The following extract is taken from a report on a requisition for furniture, 
 drawing tables, etc.: "Another item to which I objected was a 'plan case,' to be 
 made in accordance with elaborate specifications at a cost of $175. A standard case 
 made by - - & - - Co. ($51.50) and serving every purpose was finally sub- 
 stituted by Mr. - . (This means much quicker delivery than could be obtained 
 were a complicated piece of furniture made to order)." 
 
 36 
 
ANALYSIS OF ANNUAL CONTRACT EXPENDITURE. 
 
 4 4,000,000 
 
 3,000,000 
 
 2,000,000 
 
 1.000,000 -5 
 
 500,000 
 
 100,000 
 
Specifications. 
 
 Specifications are the description of work to be done or supplies to be 
 furnished. They are the contractor's guide in preparing his bid or estimate 
 and they set forth and govern the relations of the contracting parties after 
 they have entered into their mutual agreements. The first requirements of a 
 good specification are that it should be precise, definite and comprehensive. 
 
 Nothing should be left to the imagination in the writing of specifica- 
 tions. If the man desiring an article purchased or a piece of work done 
 knows what he wants, let him describe it in straight, clean-cut, unmistakable 
 langague. This takes more time, but it is worth it. Adjectives and adverbs 
 are particularly objectionable. To say that work must be done " properly " 
 or " suitably " or in a " workmanlike manner " does not really mean anything 
 because what one man will consider " proper " or " suitable " another holds 
 to be quite the contrary. Such expressions cause great uncertainty, they 
 develop confusion, misunderstanding, hard feelings and delay, and they 
 contain such opportunities for unfairness and graft that they should not be 
 tolerated. The clause that work must be done or supplies delivered " to the 
 satisfaction of the engineer or inspector " causes every prudent contractor to 
 bid high in self defense. 
 
 Everywhere it would appear that many men charged with the carrying- 
 out of important projects give most of their attention to matters of design 
 and are vague or indefinite when it comes to describing the way the work 
 is to be carried on or those relations and responsibilities between the con- 
 tracting parties which so greatly affect the costs of the work. Either they 
 do not know their own minds or if they do, they are so slipshod or neglectful 
 that they do not give the contractor who is to bid on the work any clear idea 
 of what is expected of him, so that he can figure closely. If honest, he 
 protects himself with a large allowance in his bid for " contingencies," which 
 ultimately is paid for by those for whom the work is done. 
 
 The careful scrutiny of specifications sent to the Bureau of Supplies, 
 aided by the co-operation of many who prepare requisitions, has worked 
 wonders in effecting improvements. A few examples of former specifica- 
 tions may be of interest. 
 
 The following are extracts from a report (14 September, 1911) to 
 Commissioner Thompson on a contract for " Cutting grass, weeds, brush, 
 etc.," criticizing the " loose " manner in which specifications were drawn. 
 
 " As an example, I refer you to paragraph 2. 
 
 "* * * 'Quality of Work: All work shall be done in 
 a thorough ' farmer-like ' manner ; the cutting shall be as close 
 to the surface of the ground as possible.' 
 
 " What is a ' farmer-like ' manner? And how close to the sur- 
 face of the ground is it possible to cut ? The answer to these 
 questions is like that to the old query: 'How long is a stick?' 
 * * * ' It all depends/ 
 
 38 
 
" I maintain, Sir, that adjectives have but a small place in a 
 specification, where precision and definiteness of ideas are most to be 
 desired. Vague language results in certain misunderstanding and 
 annoyance, probable delay and possible law suits. 
 
 " Another sentence reads : 
 
 " ' Sanitary precautions shall at all times be satisfactory to the 
 Engineer, to the Department of Health of the City of New York, 
 and to the State Board of Health ; and the contractor shall promptly 
 and fully comply with all orders and regulations relating to this 
 matter/ 
 
 " The contractor may well wonder by whom the orders he is to 
 receive are to be given and what he is to do in case of a conflict of 
 opinion on the part of the learned authorities above named." 
 
 Standardization of Specifications. 
 
 The Charter of the City of New York has a provision which states : 
 
 " No patented article shall be advertised for, contracted for, or 
 purchased, except under such circumstances that there can be a fair 
 and reasonable opportunity for competition." 
 
 Most purchasing agents in municipalities and in the government serv- 
 ice are bound by similar conditions. Therefore, in mentioning the article 
 desired, it has been customary to add the phrase, " or equal." The question 
 now arises as to what the quality really is. Because the article delivered 
 is different from the article called for it does not signify that it is not 
 equal to it; " equality " does not mean "similarity"; it may be different 
 and superior, in which case it must be accepted. It may be different and 
 yet equal, in which case it must also be accepted; or, peradventure, it 
 may be different and inferior, in which case it ought to be rejected. 
 
 When supplies are needed now the requisitions do not call for any 
 particular firm's product, and add " or equal," but particular qualifications 
 are called for instead, and bids are taken in accordance with such specifica- 
 tions. 
 
 The question of determining whether the quality of goods delivered 
 is up to that called for is oftentimes more than the ordinary inspector can 
 answer, and it sometimes puzzles even the experts. For instance, it re- 
 cently became necessary to purchase certain recording pressure gauges, and 
 the engineer requisitioning the gauges said that he wanted X's (naming a 
 well-known maker) " or equal." Representatives of the principal firms 
 making such articles were requested to state the chief points of a high-grade 
 recording pressure gauge, which would determine whether the article offered 
 was equal to what was wanted. They were practically given the opportunity 
 of writing the specifications under which the department would purchase 
 their product, but it was particularly pointed out to them that, as they 
 were all reputable manufacturers .handling high-grade articles, they had to 
 
 39 
 
ask a fair price for them; hence if they made the specifications too easy 
 it would permit an unscrupulous dealer to furnish an inferior article at a 
 price below any figure which they could afford to quote. 
 
 The difficulty which these men found in describing their product was 
 most interesting. It was finally suggested that the four points to be con- 
 sidered were: Materials of construction, details of construction, workman- 
 ship and accessories. In fact, almost any desired class of article can be 
 closely described when one states what it is made of, how it is made, and 
 the details of its construction. 
 
 It is necessary to be specific. Thus, in describing certain parts of 
 these gauges it was specified that they must be made of " non-corrosive 
 metal " ; whereupon, I further specified the metals that would be con- 
 sidered non-corrosive. Some water meters were recently requested, and the 
 officer drawing the requisition stated that " they must be accurate." " Ac- 
 curate " is a comparative term, and would have led to possible bickering and 
 controversy, so, instead, it was definitely stated what percentage of error 
 would be allowed. 
 
 The purchasing agent who deals solely with high-grade salesmen rep- 
 resenting established business houses with jealously regarded reputations, 
 knows nothing of the trials and tribulations of the man who must receive 
 tenders from anyone who chooses to put in a bid. One time when the 
 Bureau advertised for " boxes of matches " without stating the number each 
 box should contain, the low bidder attempted to deliver little boxes similar 
 to the kind cigar stores pass out with every purchase of a box of cigarettes. 
 In another instance a man delivered feather dusters which averaged about 
 seven feathers each and gravely contended that he was within his rights as 
 the number of feathers had not been specified. 
 
 Conferences with Manufacturers. 
 
 The ordinary salesman knows nothing of the factory conditions where 
 his goods are produced, nor is he acquainted with the technique of pro- 
 duction to an extent which enables him to tell how any change in specifica- 
 tions will affect costs. Many purchasing agents have but a clerical training, 
 with no testing laboratory experience, and have no adequate idea of the 
 conditions under which the goods they purchase are to be used. The sales- 
 man and the purchasing agent meet on the old ground of mutual suspicion, 
 and discuss prices and discounts. 
 
 The most satisfactory thing to do is to get the production engineer and 
 the factory superintendent to meet the engineer who is to use the product. 
 The producer shows how certain customary requirements increase cost with- 
 out corresponding increase in efficiency.* The man using the materials 
 
 * The Department had been in the habit of calling for "bone filtered oil" for its 
 engines. Now, bone filtered oil looks better in the oil cups yet it costs more and gives 
 no better lubrication. Its abandonment was suggested by an oil manufacturer. 
 
 40 
 
tells of the difficulties he has encountered, and often finds he has not been 
 calling for the proper material, nor using it correctly. Both sides profit 
 from such meetings. The Bureau of Supplies has recently rewritten its 
 specifications for lubricants, after such conferences, in which many of the 
 principal oil firms in the country were represented. As an example, where 
 before we had but one specification for cylinder oil three were prepared, 
 one for pressures below 100 pounds without superheat, one for pressures 
 above 100 pounds without superheat, and one for superheat conditions. 
 Not only were the requirements of the product specified, but the manner 
 of testing was made clear and definite. 
 
 Purchasing by Samples. 
 
 Much purchasing is done by showing a sample of what is wanted 
 rather than by writing a specification. This method is most often used 
 when it is desired to match a piece of furniture or a piece of hardware or 
 for some similar purpose. Aside from these circumstances, it has no excuse 
 except when one is purchasing articles of such trivial value that they do not 
 warrant the cost of preparing a written description of what is wanted. Pur- 
 chasing by sample is analogous to the custom of ordering a certain make of 
 goods " or equal." The objections to this way of doing business have just 
 been pointed out in a previous paragraph. It is generally infinitely better 
 to state clearly what is wanted, what it is to be made of and how. 
 
 A classic example of what sometimes happens when a sample is used 
 was unearthed during the reorganization of the purchasing division. A 
 certain old piece of worn-out hose kept in a storeroom some distance away 
 had for years been referred to as the sample of what should be furnished. 
 Of course it was understood that the goods to be furnished were to be new, 
 yet the sample was not easily accessible and when a prospective bidder did 
 see it, he had no way of determining the number of the ply (it had couplings 
 on each end) and neither he nor the Department could make any claim 
 regarding that point nor the quality of the canvas, the composition of the 
 rubber or the pressure it should stand. 
 
 Specifying Details vs. Calling for Results. 
 
 It often happens that what men desire is results and that they con- 
 cern themselves but little, if at all, with the way they are produced. 
 
 Specifications based on this principle state what is wanted and leave the 
 rest to the ingenuity of the contractor. It often happens that a clever man, 
 left to his own devices, will develop most novel and economical ways of 
 achieving a desired result, and will be able to underbid all competitors. 
 However, when this way is adopted, there should be no interference with 
 the methods employed to bring about the results. Do one of two things. 
 Either tell the contractor what you want in the way of a result, or else 
 
 41 
 
state in detail the way the work is to be done, and then abide by the con- 
 sequences. Nothing is more unfair than to describe in detail the par- 
 ticular methods to be followed in doing a piece of work and then require a 
 warranty as to the result.* 
 
 Purchasing Goods on Trial. 
 
 Goods could be purchased on the basis of their satisfactory perform- 
 ance in actual use.f The idea is that specifications are merely a device to 
 enable the purchaser to predict the probable value of his purchase, and 
 since what he wants is results, it would be well to take articles, put them in 
 service and try them out. If they gave satisfaction, pay for them. If they 
 did not, reject them and return them to the maker. In this case it would be 
 necessary to state what performance would be regarded as meeting require- 
 ments. However, this plan is only capable of limited application. Many 
 supplies might not be needed at once, others would require a life time to test 
 out, and men want their money as soon after delivery of their wares as 
 possible. The purpose of specifications is therefore not alone to set up 
 standards regarding the kind, size and excellence of the product desired, 
 but in the majority of cases it is to enable the department to say in advance 
 with a fair degree of certainty whether or not goods will probably render 
 satisfactory service, so that payments can be made promptly. 
 
 Revision of Specifications. 
 
 It generally happens that the men who purchase supplies do not come 
 in contact with them when in use and have no information concerning the 
 value and the wearing qualities of the goods they buy. The closeset relations 
 should exist between the purchasing and the operating divisions, and specifi- 
 
 * The makers of steel rails have told the railroads that they will produce a rail 
 of a given composition in a prescribed way, or they will roll a rail in accordance with 
 their own notions of what's what, and guarantee it to render a certain service; but 
 they will not attempt to follow the railroad's specifications and then guarantee the 
 result. 
 
 fit has been suggested by the Bureau of Supplies that the difficulty the Depart- 
 ment has had in getting a satisfactory specification for rubber valves for the pumps 
 might be obviated by this method. The chemical and other laboratory tests for pump 
 valves are difficult and often unsatisfactory in detecting substitutes. Controversies 
 arise. Some makers claim that our specifications call for an article which is costly 
 but not necessarily better than many others. 
 
 What is really wanted is a valve to meet certain severe service conditions. Labor- 
 atory tests are a device resorted to to indicate the probable action of the valve when 
 used. Therefore why not do away with all laboratory tests and call on manufacturers 
 to state a price at which they will keep certain pumps properly supplied with valves 
 for a given period say six months? If a maker has half the faith in his product that 
 he claims to have, he should not object to entering into such an agreement. 
 
 A somewhat similar form of contract has been made for lubricating certain of 
 our engines and pumps on the " output basis." The contractors (always some oil 
 company) supply all oil necessary and are paid so much per thousand revolutions of 
 the engines. The theory is that they will prefer to supply a small quantity of some 
 high grade oil rather than the larger quantity that would be necessary were in- 
 ferior grades furnished. It becomes to the contractor's advantage to furnish good 
 material. 
 
 42 
 
o 
 o 
 o 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 Horse & Wagon (Hire. Core, Etc.) 
 
 Meters, Water ( New. Setting. Repairs.) 
 
 Labor & Materials ( Improvements, Mains, etc) 
 
 Machinery Repairs to Machinery 
 
 Motor Ve hides (Hire,Core t Ftepoirs. Supplies) j 
 
 Operation Doyis &Fornum Engines j 
 
 Street Repairs 
 
 Tools & Equipment 
 
 Fuel Cool & Wood I 
 
 Equipment 
 
 Pipes & Fittings 
 
 New Equipment (Plant) 
 
 Furniture 
 
 Services, Professional 
 
 Building Materials 
 
 Laboratory Supplies 
 
 Illumination & Power 
 
 Office Supplies (ice. Towels. Etc.) 
 
 Hardware 
 
 Electricol Supplies 
 
 Lubricants 
 
 Blue & Litha Prints 
 
 Metals 
 
 Maintaining Lamps 
 
 Castings 
 
 Caulking Materials lYarn. Pig Lead; 
 
 Hydrants 
 
 Packing 
 
 Clothing 
 
 Paints 
 
 Expressage 
 
 Pitometer Supplies 
 
 Driving Wells 
 
 Plant Supplies 
 
 Fountain Repairs 
 
 Cotton Waste 
 
 Printing ft Multigraphing 
 
 ANALYSIS 
 
 OF ANNUAL 
 
 OPEN ORDER EXPENDITURE 
 
 Rubber Valves 
 
 Photographic Supplies 
 
 Miscellaneous 
 
cations should be continually amended to include improvements and to ex- 
 clude materials which do not give satisfaction. 
 
 Many valuable suggestions would be furnished by a Board of Survey 
 (see page 13) passing on all old equipment and deciding whether damaged 
 material is worth repairing or should be scrapped, and whether material 
 alleged to be inefficient should be discarded. The Board would thus obtain 
 information concerning the way different supplies and materials act when 
 in service and what ultimately renders them unfit for further use. Such 
 notes would be of great assistance to the purchasing division. 
 
 CORRECT QUANTITY. 
 
 The problem of purchasing the right quantity of supplies at a time is 
 complex and depends for its solution on data all of which the Bureau of 
 Supplies has so far been unable to gather. The principles governing the 
 matter are here formulated that there may be a clear idea of the infor- 
 mation required, and the ways to go about getting and using it. 
 
 1st. There must be records showing the total quantity and nature 
 of all stock on hand. 
 
 It was found that many requisitions for supplies were based on the 
 orders of previous years, irrespective of whether such material had been 
 used, and without considering that conditions and requirements often 
 changed in the meanwhile. 
 
 Inventory. 
 
 " A complete inventory of the property of the department under the 
 jurisdiction of the Bureau of Supplies has been undertaken and completed. 
 It is incomprehensible that the matter was never attended to before. As a 
 result of this inventory, complete control of stores may be obtained in the 
 near future. 
 
 " A record of the goods stored in each of the central storerooms is kept 
 on a card system at that point. This is changed from day to day as goods 
 are received or issued, so it is always up to date. A similar record, using 
 ledgers, is kept in the central, or stores control office. It, too, is always kept 
 posted by means of the reports of " stores received " and " stores issued " 
 sent in from the various storerooms at the close of each day's work. I re- 
 gard the successful working out of this control as one of the most im- 
 portant achievements of my administration of the Bureau of Supplies, for, 
 as I pointed out in my last annual report : " When this is completed, it will 
 prevent the purchase of material of which we already have sufficient in 
 stock, and it will facilitate the transfer of surplus material from one bor- 
 ough to another to meet any sudden emergency or other demand."* 
 
 * Extract from the 1912 Annual Report to the Commissioner by the Author. 
 
 44 
 
2nd. A material budget should be prepared containing the annual 
 amount of all staple supplies used by the department. This data should 
 be ultimately extended to give the average monthly consumption of 
 each item. 
 
 The Bureau of Supplies might collect such information from the records 
 of material issued from stores and material purchased for direct delivery to 
 consumer. This would be a left handed way of proceeding, however, for 
 many issues are not used immediately but are held in local storerooms (be- 
 yond the present jurisdiction of the Bureau of Supplies) for subsequent use. 
 The proper study of the question should begin with an investigation con- 
 ducted by " staff " experts of all points under the department where supplies 
 are used,* for the purpose of determining the nature of the work done and 
 whether or not the supplies consumed are excessive, normal, or economical, 
 compared to the results obtained. Incidentally, this would be a most in- 
 teresting feature of an " efficiency survey " of the activities of the whole 
 department. 
 
 By adding together the amounts of material thus found to be necessary, 
 one would arrive at a very good budget for material needed for current 
 operation. 
 
 3rd. The amount of material needed to meet the plans for new 
 work, repairs, renewals, and so forth (wherever the same are to be pur- 
 chased by the Department) should be carefully calculated when the 
 said undertakings are decided upon, and the Supply Bureau immediately 
 informed. 
 
 As practically all work of this nature is presumed to be done in ac- 
 cordance with a definite program, the information bearing on the supplies 
 can be furnished months in advance of the day they are needed. 
 
 Knowing approximately the total amounts of the various supplies 
 needed, the amount of them to get at any one time can be determined by 
 considering each item separately. 
 
 While there are many advantages in purchasing in wholesale quantities, 
 there are, on the other hand, certain disadvantages which should be taken 
 into account. 
 
 Reasons for Purchasing Large Quantities at One Time Are: 
 
 1. To take advantage of wholesale rates. 
 
 2. To have orders sufficiently large to tempt manufacturers to bid 
 
 direct and thus cut out middlemen's profits. 
 
 3. To profit by the proportionate lower cost of delivering large quan- 
 
 tities of goods at one time. 
 
 * This investigation should be made in connection with the work of establishing 
 standards of equipment and grades of material as recommended on page 34 of this 
 report. 
 
 45 
 
4. To secure sufficient stock at times when prices are low to last over 
 
 until low prices again occur. 
 
 5. To reduce the cost of the purchasing division by having a few large 
 
 orders to attend to rather than a lot of small ones. 
 
 6. To reduce the cost of inspections by decreasing their number. 
 
 Disadvantages of Buying a Large Quantity of Any Material at One Time. 
 
 1. Room is required to store goods; space is valuable. 
 
 2. Supervision required over goods in storage which costs money. 
 
 3. Interest on money tied up in unproductive materials. 
 
 4. Insurance and taxes. 
 
 5. Deterioration of stock. 
 
 The results should not be guessed at ; they should be carefully figured out. 
 
 LOW PRICE. 
 
 Every endeavor has been made to make all purchases at the lowest 
 price possible. The subject of price has been investigated from the stand- 
 point of the bidder (the man who quotes the price), and obstructions have 
 been removed and conditions arranged so that business may be transacted 
 with the utmost economy. 
 
 Quarterly Contracts. 
 
 An endeavor has been made to eliminate the " middleman " wherever 
 possible and to deal direct with the maker of the goods. In order to interest 
 manufacturers and get them to bid, it is necessary to purchase fairly large 
 quantities at a time. Previous to the present administration of the Bureau 
 of Supplies, goods were purchased immediately upon receipt of the requisi- 
 tions requesting them, and irrespective of the smallness of the quantity 
 called for. This meant purchasing from supply houses in small quantities 
 at irregular intervals and at high retail prices. To remedy this, the prin- 
 ciple was adopted of purchasing supplies on quarterly contract requisitions 
 for supplies needed for a considerable period of time being sent in in 
 advance. 
 
 This greatly increased the quantity of the various materials to be ob- 
 tained at one time. Furthermore, requisitions by different men for similar 
 supplies were then combined in an endeavor to tempt manufacturers to bid 
 direct. It is very advantageous to do business after this fashion with the 
 makers of goods. It reduces delay, it lessens possible misunderstanding, it 
 centers responsibility, it saves middlemen's profits and results in low unit 
 cost of delivery. 
 
 Combination of Requisitions. 
 
 The attempted combination of all requisitions for materials to be used 
 for like purpose at various points throughout the department, in order to 
 
 46 
 
purchase the whole amount at one time at wholesale prices, first showed 
 the imperative necessity for standardizing the current supplies. Not only 
 is there great difference in the nature and quality of supplies ordered by 
 different men for identical purposes, but it often takes careful scrutiny 
 to recognize the relationship between various requisitions for the same 
 material. For instance, one man will order rope, specifying its diameter; 
 another man wants rope of a certain circumference, a third wants rope which 
 will weigh so much per lineal foot. Yet, as a matter of fact, they all want 
 the same size rope, and have only described it in different ways. 
 
 Moreover to carry out this policy of letting contracts quarterly orders 
 were issued throughout the department during the fall of 1911 that requisi- 
 tions be immediately prepared for such supplies as would be needed during 
 a three months' period, and then sent to the Bureau of Supplies, that the 
 same might be contracted for as soon after January 1 next as possible. 
 Delay followed delay. Lacking a material budget, many officials were unable 
 to make out requisitions which were either accurate or adequate. Many 
 requisitions described what was wanted so meagerly or unsatisfactorily that 
 they had to be sent back for correction. The idea of quarterly contracts 
 was good but the foundation work necessary to make it a success in the 
 Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity had not been laid at that 
 time. The work of standardizing supplies, determining stock limits, and 
 preparing a material budget which is now being undertaken by the Bureau 
 of Supplies must first be completed. These things must be attended to as 
 soon as possible, for the near future will demand the adoption of all sound 
 and economical methods in the public business. 
 
 Bidding for Different Classifications Separately. 
 
 Due consideration is now given to the fact that manufacturers and 
 large dealers handle goods of but a single kind. Therefore, it is necessary, 
 in order to get them to bid, to get bids separately on goods handled by the 
 different trades. 
 
 This applies not alone to the large quarterly contracts, but is given due 
 consideration in those small (open market) orders which the city permits 
 for expenditures up to $1,000, and which are made necessary by various 
 emergencies that may arise from time to time. A recent requisition for a 
 particular job was received which called for approximately $500 worth of 
 valves and pipe fittings, a box of candles and 10 pounds of white lead. Had 
 bids been requested on these items combined, responses would only have been 
 received from the various supply houses, whereas, the order for pipes and 
 fittings was sufficiently large to attract the principal dealers. Candles, which 
 are plumbers' supplies, and white lead, which is regarded as a painter's 
 .supply, would have prevented them from bidding. 
 
 47 
 
D9Q 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 T3 C 
 
 2 8 
 
 AON 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^3 
 
 c >, 
 
 ^ 
 
 'PO 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 j? 
 
 dag 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 e 
 
 v 
 
 -fciy 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 IU . <^- 
 
 H ^i n r 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 g 2 
 
 U c/J 
 
 9 , unr 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 S 8 
 
 i % 
 
 
 
 | 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 js j: 
 4-> *-< 
 
 > J( fy 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 s s 
 
 *O rt C 
 
 MS^ 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 K S |* 
 
 E '^j 
 
 
 5? 
 
 
 
 1, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 O o _ p 
 
 H -uep 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 to >, S | 
 
 Q C *S S o 
 
 *39Q 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 W bo c 2 
 
 AON 
 
 
 
 
 
 | 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 S | ! g s 1 81 
 
 'fO 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ; <u "^ s: ^ -rj 
 
 tJjg >-|T3 hJ*^-^- 
 
 dag 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 QS o *J| 
 
 *& n V 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ ^ ^ "H < - 
 
 C/)QO S 5 Q^4^ 
 
 CO 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^8^ 8 803 
 wo^oS o u ^ 
 
 ^ aunp 
 
 frl f 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Q g M S 
 
 0^ w ' M <u w ' S c 
 
 o ty 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 /->^(U 55+3 ZJ^o. 
 
 21*11 air 
 
 g udy 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 w^=^,= ^S 
 
 'JPIAJ 
 
 
 tvl 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^g-? rt ? 
 5^c^^ ^S8 
 
 w *<1 9 J 
 
 
 U) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i . I ^ -a - s 
 
 g ^ 
 
 g -uep 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 - . ^ '- 1 -' 
 
 < '33Q 
 
 
 
 
 1, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 "" 4> +J 2 
 
 PM p" s *H v5 
 OH t be 
 
 a -AON 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 - S u- 
 
 2 '.PO 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 u "2 w o S 
 ^ O w ^ ? 
 
 1 'A 9S 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 o & i -si 
 
 6ny 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 g I =1 
 .a b u <n 
 
 A|np 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 3 ? ^ ^ 
 
 ^> CX - - c 
 
 aunp 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 bo c J* i 
 
 Xew 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 >> t0 *"* ,_ 
 
 a '^ 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 c 5 ^>. 
 
 -jtft 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 S 1 ."2 u 
 
 '^ 9 d 
 
 
 9} 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 *; m ? 
 
 w j. 
 
 uep 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 I 
 
 oooooooooo 
 
 2SS 000 2 00 
 o o> CD r^<ot~cocvj 
 
E 
 O 
 
 CO 
 
 X 
 
 w 
 
 Q 
 
 
 O 
 
 2 
 W 
 d. 
 O 
 
 H 
 W 
 
 >H 
 H 
 
 2 
 t) 
 O 
 
 < 
 
 39Q 
 AO N 
 
 |n r 
 
 UBf 
 AO N 
 
 ior 
 
 unf 
 
 Xey\ 
 udy 
 
 AON 
 
 d9g 
 
 -unp 
 
 'uep 
 
 
 05 
 
 s S 
 
 o -s c 
 
 rt C x> 
 t- U. CX 
 en cu en 
 
 *5-b 
 
 o S 
 
 
 O cO 
 
 M 
 
 CO D "*"* 
 
 "5L.S S 
 
 cu - ^J 
 
 J3 E 2 
 ^06 
 
 ill 
 
 . cu u, 
 
Relative Advantages and Disadvantages of Purchasing Supplies by 
 " Totals " and by " Items." 
 
 The principles governing the question of purchasing supplies are unlike 
 those concerning the letting of contracts for work to be done, since " un- 
 balanced bidding" can not exist where the quantity of material bought is 
 the same as that bid on. 
 
 As stated before, supply contracts should be so drawn that goods in 
 different groups or divisions, as determined by manufacturing specialization 
 or trade usage, may be bid on separately; for if orders are drawn to con- 
 tain goods of different classifications the bidders will be " middlemen " and 
 '* commission merchants," not the makers of the wares nor the regular 
 dealers in the various subdivisions in which supplies are customarily bought 
 and sold. 
 
 These " middlemen " besides adding their profits to the manufacturer's 
 price, thus increasing the cost of the article, are, as a rule, irresponsible 
 parties with whom it is most unsatisfactory to do business. 
 
 Having settled the point that goods should be contracted for by their 
 respective classifications, the question arises : Is it more advantageous to 
 the department for it to purchase supplies of a given character by " totals " 
 or by " items." The matter must be regarded from various aspects. 
 
 As regards price two cases may arise: 
 
 First Where a dealer knows that the entire order will be given to the 
 man making the lowest " total " bid he quotes a wholesale price on the 
 whole order. 
 
 Second On the contrary, if the order is to be let by " items," any one 
 dealer may obtain but a single item. Facing this possibility, no sane man 
 makes his bid on each individual item a pro rata of his estimate of the 
 wholesale price at which he could supply the entire quantity of goods. 
 Instead, he bids a retail price on each item because he cannot safely do other- 
 wise. The result is that the cost to the Department is the sum of the lowest 
 retail prices bid on the various items. 
 
 I have devised the following method as best solving the difficulty : 
 
 Require the bids to be both by " items " and by " totals " in which case 
 the bidder indicates what he will supply anyone of the items for separately 
 and also the wholesale price at which he will furnish them all. 
 
 Then if any of the total bids are less than the sum of the lowest in 
 dividual bids on all the items (as they probably will be), the contract will be 
 awarded to the maker of said lowest total bid otherwise the orders will be 
 given to the lowest individual bidders on each of the separate items. 
 
 The advantages of purchasing supplies by " totals," under the various 
 classifications are : 
 
 1. The responsibility concerning the quality of the work and the time 
 of completion is centered and easily placed. 
 
 50 
 
2. The work of the Bureau of. Supplies, of the Bureau of Audit and 
 Accounts, and of the departmental inspectors is simplified as they only have 
 one party to deal with. 
 
 The advantages of purchasing supplies by items are : 
 
 1. It is sometimes advisable to purchase in small quantities in order to 
 satisfy local supply houses who are incapable of handling the whole order, 
 but are desirous of having a" chance at part of it. 
 
 2. With only one or two large dealers in the field it is occasionally 
 well to award orders by items in order to develop the small dealer and 
 promote a healthy competition. 
 
 If the awards are made by items, the best firms, wholesalers and manu- 
 facturers frequently will not bid, as the orders are too small, making the cost 
 of handling such orders more than the profit, as may be seen by the follow- 
 ing figures : 
 
 Orders for tools issued recently on a public letting : 92 orders issued, 
 total, $706.06, average per order, $7.63. Number of orders for amounts 
 less than $5.00 65. Number of orders for amounts less than $1.00 23. 
 
 It is impossible for bidders when making their bids to estimate properly 
 the delivery charges, because they do not now know in advance whether a 
 delivery will amount to $1 or $100, or whether the material to be delivered 
 will be a small package or a truck-load or a car-load. 
 
 Furthermore, the cost and trouble which firms are at present put to in 
 preparing certified checks is more than business under this condition is 
 worth. 
 
 If the successful bidders are to be those quoting the lowest price 
 for individual items, many firms would prefer not to do business with the 
 City, because the City is considered by them a consumer, and they fear 
 making their very best prices to a consumer, as it would expose their methods 
 of doing business to their competitors. Suppose a firm should be in a 
 position to make a particularly good price on an article, because they could 
 purchase the merchandise very cheaply, or because they have the mer- 
 chandise on hand, they would not give the City the benefit of this low price 
 unless the furnishing of this article would carry with it other business. 
 
 At present the largest and best firms are not particularly anxious for 
 City business, even in large orders, because of the old reputation for delay in 
 getting payments, the difficulty, nay impossibility of making adjustments in 
 price to cover slight irregularities in quantity or quality, the possibility of 
 rejection by the Finance Department necessitating replacement and rede- 
 livery ; all of which go to make the handling of this business both expensive 
 and uncertain. Furthermore, the security checks deposited by low bidders 
 are retained till delivery is completed, and if an order given is very small, 
 as frequently occurs when awarding by item, the security check may be 
 larger than the order received. This produces an unbusinesslike condition, 
 
 51 
 
as it necessitates the use of more money for a period of possibly ninety days 
 than the actual gross amount of the business obtained. 
 
 It is impossible to estimate the cost to the City of awarding the small 
 orders by items, as it greatly increases the num/ber of orders ; and when the 
 number of hands through which these orders, accompanying vouchers and 
 checks, pass in this and the Finance Department is considered, the increased 
 work can hardly be imagined. 
 
 The delay in the splitting up of the business by items is also a material 
 factor.* This delay, of course, is due to the great amount of labor necessary 
 for canvassing the bids, settling the tie bids, and the general work necessary 
 in the case. This dela\ not only seriously affects and retards the work of 
 the Department, 'but also makes it very difficult for the successful bidders to 
 accept such orders, because of the possible changes in price and other con- 
 ditions which may take place in the interval between submitting a bid and 
 receiving an award. Every endeavor is now being made to reduce this to as 
 short a time as possible and great progress has been made. 
 
 The following will illustrate the attitude of (bidders toward the matter. 
 In a certain bid for drafting material which was opened in this office, there 
 were five bidders tied for five items. When the representatives of these 
 firms met in this office to settle as to who should receive these awards, they 
 unanimously decided to draw lots, the lucky man to get all the items on 
 which they were tied. This proved, as they all stated on this occasion, that 
 they did not care much about items individually but preferred to have all 
 or nothing. 
 
 Large Competition. 
 
 It is recognized that one of the elements most likely to secure low prices 
 is an active competition between rival dealers. To secure this, the names of 
 possible bidders are listed under the heading of the particular class of goods 
 in which they specialize. Before making purchases, all parties making the 
 goods in question are notified of the fact by letter and they are invited to 
 bid. This policy of publicity has been very successful and has been much 
 appreciated by all who do business with the department. It has resulted in 
 interesting and securing bids from many who have not previously made any 
 attempt to secure City work, and it shows to all men that the contracts of the 
 department are awarded without favor and to any party qualified to do the 
 work or supply the materials called for. 
 
 Purchasing Standard Materials. 
 
 The saving in price due to the purchase of standard materials has already 
 been referred to under the heading of standardizing specifications. While 
 the exact amount of this saving cannot always be calculated, it is known 
 to be very great. 
 
 * The orders on the public letting bids which were opened on June 2d, 5th and 
 7th. 1912, were issued on July 18th, 19th and 20th, or a month and a half after the 
 bids were received* i 
 
 52 
 
How Definite Requirements Affect Prices.* 
 
 It is a noticeable fact that where the specifications are indefinite, the 
 difference between the lowest and the highest bids is very great, but where 
 the requirements to be met are clear and precise, all the prices are about the 
 same. 
 
 Reducing Delivery Charges. 
 
 Since the cost of delivering supplies is included in the bid, the depart- 
 ment immediately profits by any steps which can be taken to reduce this item. 
 
 The two main savings have been affected by : 
 
 1. Purchasing large quantities at one time. 
 
 2. Reducing the number of delivery points. 
 
 1. Up to a certain point, the larger the quantity delivered the less the 
 unit charge for crating, shipping, billing, etc., becomes. It frequently costs 
 a manufacturer about as much to deliver a small order as it does to deliver 
 a large one while the office expense is about the same in either case.* 
 
 2. A great saving has been effected by having supplies delivered in 
 quantity at some central storehouse. Subsequent delivery of small quan- 
 tities to widely scattered and often inaccessible points being made by the 
 department itself with auto truck. Where this is done, the bid price, 
 chargeable to delivery, becomes very small. 
 
 Promptness in Awarding Contracts. 
 
 All bids are publicly opened and read. However, where the letting 
 is large and involves a great number of items, it often takes quite a bit of 
 time to tabulate all the prices. The work is expedited so that the low bidders 
 may be notified and awards made as soon as possible, for delay in this respect 
 might cause loss and inconvenience to bidders due to changes in prices and 
 market conditions in the interval. 
 
 Prompt Payment of Bills. 
 
 Delay in paying bills does more to discredit a department with con- 
 tractors, to discourage many of the best firms from competing for city 
 business and to cause those who do bid to bid high in self defense, than 
 almost any of the other iniquities of lax and inefficient administration. 
 
 On the other hand, a reputation for fairness and promptness in meeting 
 all obligations can only result from a carefully thought out business pro- 
 
 * It has been a habit when purchasing oil, etc., to state that " deliveries to be made 
 as needed." This affects prices as it costs more to be continually delivering small lots 
 than it does to make one delivery of the entire quantity. Furthermore, this require- 
 ment is so indefinite that no contractor could estimate his delivery charges with any 
 degree of accuracy. Under it he might be called on to deliver a barrel at a time. 
 Again, each delivery means a separate inspection and analysis cost the Department 
 about $10 each. 
 
 53 
 
cedure where system rules and all work goes forward systematically with- 
 out halts and delays. 
 
 Prompt payment of bills requires prompt inspections and a method of 
 despatching which will convey these reports to the auditor in the shortest 
 possible time so that he may pass the bills and forward them to the Comp- 
 troller for payment. 
 
 The remarkable results achieved by the present administration are out- 
 lined in the chapter on Inspecting. 
 
 Square Deal, No " Hold-Up." 
 
 Another consideration which has been persistently worked for, is to 
 systematize all procedure so that honesty and fair dealing do not depend 
 on the personalities of the men now in office or of those likely to come into 
 office at some future time, but that the laws laid down for carrying on the 
 work are such that there can be no opportunity for unfairness or discrim- 
 ination toward any one doing business with the Bureau of Supplies. All 
 of the chapters of this report contain detailed descriptions of what has 
 been done in this respect. 
 
 Witness the purchase of goods under such definite requirements, that 
 no matter who gets the order he will have to do the work properly: the 
 elimination of adjectives and adverbs, and such clauses as " work-to-be-done- 
 in-a-suitable manner," or " to-the-satisfaction-of-somebody-or-other." from 
 specifications ; the publicity given to all lettings, and the notices thereof sent 
 broadcast to all possible bidders; the immediate inspection of goods upon 
 their delivery, the right appeal on any rejection, the privilege of a re- 
 inspection by a different inspector when goods have been rejected ; the oppor- 
 tunity of being present when one's own goods, or the goods of any com- 
 petitor are being inspected, or analyzed and tested in the laboratory. 
 
 The "pigeon-hole" is the lair of graft. Any business which does not 
 keep all matters constantly on the move, and does not have adequate rec- 
 ords to show the progress thereof and to indicate if affairs are sidetracked, 
 and if so by whom, is wrong in principle and in practice. 
 
 When a man can " pigeon-hole " papers and then wait until the people 
 interested come along and get him to take them out again, that man- 
 well, if he isn't built of the right stuff, he may be subjected to temptation. 
 
 Cost Data. 
 
 A knowledge of costs and values of materials is of vital importance to 
 the Chief of a Bureau who employs scientific methods to obtain low prices. 
 
 A start at the collection, tabulation, and study of such data has been 
 undertaken by the present administration of the Bureau. 
 
 It has been noticed that many of the present methods of purchasing are 
 fundamentally wrong, inasmuch as they call for prices for supplies where 
 the price bid must include several different and unrelated factors. 
 
 54 
 
For example : In purchasing hydrants the Engineering Bureau has been 
 in the habit of estimating the number that would be required at the various 
 points during some long period and then bids were requested on this basis 
 delivery to be made from time to time. Sometimes these estimates of 
 the relative number of hydrants required at the various points are incorrect 
 and it then becomes necessary to take hydrants immediately upon their 
 delivery at some yard and cart them to some other yard far distant. This 
 is expensive. 
 
 When hydrants are contracted for, delivery to be made at different 
 yards during a staled period, the bids should state a price for the hydrants 
 F. O. B. at the foundry and then separate delivery charges to the different 
 yards of the Department. For the purpose of comparing and canvassing 
 bids, the relative number to be delivered at each point will be assumed. 
 This is subject to change, however. Contractors will be directed to deliver 
 their goods at the yard where they are needed, and actual payment therefor 
 will be on the basis of the F. O. B. cost of the article plus the bid price for 
 delivery to the point in question. 
 
 It can be easily seen that under the old conditions no definite analysis 
 of costs could be made, for it was impossible to tell what proportion of the 
 total price bid was for the hydrants and what was for the delivery. When 
 the price of goods and the costs of delivery are stated separately as sug- 
 gested, one can chart all seasonal and annual changes in the actual cost of 
 goods, and one can further grasp the expense to the department where 
 conditions made deliveries expensive. It is on such data that improvements 
 can be made. 
 
 
 Undesirable Bidders Should Be Eliminated. 
 
 Since all purchases are advertised in advance and anyone not in actual 
 default on a previous contract is permitted by law to put in a bid, it fre- 
 quently happens that the low bidder is some irresponsible party, of a type 
 or reputation such that the purchasing agent of a railroad or other large 
 corporation would absolutely refuse to do business with him. They are 
 the kind of men who " do business on a shoe string/' who have their " office 
 in their hat," or at best rent desk room somewhere, and whose name does 
 not appear in the telephone book. They often stand equally willing to 
 bid on supplies, to write you a life insurance policy, to rent you a piece of 
 property or to sell you a book. 
 
 When an order is awarded them, they go out and peddle it around in 
 the hopes of getting someone else to furnish the supplies or do the work 
 at their figure and give them a small commission for their pains. 
 
 Another equally undesirable variety is the irresponsible individuals or 
 firms who bid low apparently hoping to get the order and then unload a 
 poor grade of goods on the city. The goods are inspected and rejected, 
 considerable time elapses, the rejected material is replaced, the replacement 
 
 55 
 
is inspected and in turn rejected, and so it continues while the men need- 
 ing the material have to wait and wait and w-a-i-t, and the interests of the 
 city suffer in consequence.* 
 
 To eliminate this undesirable element, all bidders should be required to 
 present such satisfactory evidence of .their financial standing, experience, 
 shop facilities or business connections that it is evident that they are qualified 
 to receive the order and execute it according to its terms within the allow- 
 able time limit. 
 
 Routine, Supplies and Equipment, t 
 
 There are certain classes of supplies, of which it is necessary to pur- 
 chase large quantities year after year. Under these circumstances there is a 
 tendency to adopt a departmental design. For instance, a city determines to 
 have its own special hydrant. Drawings are made, detailed specifications 
 are prepared, and manufacturers requested to bid in accordance therewith. 
 What is the result? Whereas before many independent manufacturers had 
 bid, they now hold off, for the cost of a new pattern in accordance with the 
 special City design must be reckoned ; also, it is a (bothersome matter. The 
 firm getting the first contract has a substantial advantage in subsequent con- 
 tracts, for, having the patterns on special machinery needed, they can under- 
 bid all other competitors. The City pays the difference. For this it has the 
 advantage of the fewer spare parts needed to be kept on hand, but loses such 
 advantage as may be obtained 'by getting the latest commercial article with 
 its up-to-date improvements. Special departmental designs tend to become 
 obsolete, and, unless the City owns its patterns and furnishes them gratis to 
 the successful bidder, such special designs are expensive luxuries. In fact, it 
 is a wise maxim to " let the seller design the goods." 
 
 The purchase of equipment or new machinery introduces additional 
 problems. There is a tendency at the present time to purchase machinery 
 for which there is no justification on the score of economy or efficiency. An 
 automatic ash-handling device, a patented stoker, or other labor-saving 
 machine may be economical, but because it is economical in one situation 
 does not mean that its purchase is warranted under all conditions. The 
 purchase of equipment, whether in a municipality or in the government 
 service, should receive the same careful attention and care as is accorded by 
 a private enterprise. Whereas the City's equipment is purchased out of 
 corporate stock, revenue, or tax levy, the economic consideration of the 
 problem should be that taken by the private corporations, where, to obtain 
 money, bonds must be sold and interest paid thereon. 
 
 * The City has the right where rejected material is not replaced within the five 
 days allowed, to purchase what was specified in the open market and charge the cost 
 thereof against the delinquent contractor. Often this is not a feasible remedy, because 
 the goods must be specially made, a process requiring considerable time. 
 
 I This paragraph is an extract from a paper by the author, which was read 
 at the first meeting of the Efficiency Society, held in New York City March 18 and 
 
 56 
 
The depreciation of the equipment must also he estimated, and the 
 probable cost of repairs carefully ascertained. The cost of operation must 
 also 'be included in the calculation. The automatic ash-handling machine 
 dispenses with the services of several laborers, but requires the attention of a 
 machinist. The device also requires power for its operation. If electric 
 current is used, it must be paid for; if steam from one's own boilers is used, 
 coal must be bought and burned to generate it. Furthermore, the fire 
 insurance rate on the new equipment should also be given consideration. 
 
 If the estimated saving simply equals the interest on the invest- 
 ment, plus depreciation, plus repairs, plus cost of operation, plus fire in- 
 surance, we have an " even break/' and the purchase is not justified. The 
 difficulty in estimating these various costs makes it advisable never to pur- 
 chase any new equipment unless the probable saving, plus 20 per cent, per 
 annum on the original cost, is equal to or greater than the above-mentioned 
 items. This is not properly a matter which comes within the duties of the 
 purchasing department, but should be investigated by the staff division of the 
 Engineering Bureau before making any requisition. 
 
 57 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 INSPECTION OF SUPPLIES 
 
 Purpose Methods followed Reports. The inspection of work- 
 manship and material embraced in construction contracts 
 is attended to by the particular bureau for whom such 
 work is being done. 
 
 The purpose of inspection is to make sure that the quantity and quality 
 of goods delivered correspond with what was called for. 
 
 In the days before there was a storekeeping system and when practically 
 all supplies were delivered direct to the men who were going to use them, 
 these men themselves, in many instances, made whatever inspection was 
 attempted. Strange to say, it was hard to overcome this way of doing 
 things, for some argued that no one knew better what he wanted than the 
 man who ordered the goods, therefore no one was better fitted to inspect 
 them. Needless to say, " what the man wanted " is not the criterion to use 
 in passing on supplies. Men often have very vague ideas concerning what 
 they want, and many requests for material are indefinite, while others are 
 actually self contradictory. The point to be settled is whether or not the 
 Department is getting exactly what was described by the specifications. 
 
 When the work of inspection was done by many men, different ideas 
 existed regarding the interpretation of specifications, and goods that one 
 man would accept, another woul<l reject. In order that the same standards 
 might prevail everywhere throughout the Department, the only employees* 
 now allowed to pass on goods are the trained storekeepers who inspect all 
 -applies delivered at storerooms, and the inspectors who travel around and 
 check up the direct deliveries. 
 
 The standardization of specifications has made all this work much 
 simpler and easier. Take for example the perplexing problem that in times 
 past confronted an inspector when looking over a complicated piece of 
 mechanism at some out-of-the-way pumping station, and reference to the 
 order under which it was purchased informed him that it was to be X's or 
 " equal thereto." It has been pointed out under the head of " Specification," 
 that making a decision regarding such a matter is most difficult, 
 
 * Certain supplies, such as pipe, special castings, etc., are often inspected at the 
 point of manufacture by representatives of the Bureau which will use the goods. 
 
 58 
 
especially when the goods offered are at all similar in grade to those men- 
 tioned as a standard. Seldom was there any sample of the " standard " avail- 
 able with which to make comparisons, and even if there were, how was an 
 inspector, not himself a technical man, to weigh the relative points of excel- 
 lence of one or the other? Such determinations might well puzzle experts 
 in tjie particular line involved, for it must be clearly kept in mind that 
 " equality " does not imply " similarity." 
 
 There is a rule in the City service to the effect no agreement can be 
 entered into whereby goods not up to specifications can be accepted and a 
 suitable reduction made in the price. The goods delivered must be exactly 
 those called for. It often happens that goods are not either in whole or in 
 part, precisely in accordance with the specifications, though for all practical 
 purposes, equally suitable for the use to which they are to be put. When 
 this happens in commercial practice, an agreement would be quickly arrived 
 at between the buyer and the seller, the shipment would be accepted and a 
 proper deduction made in the bill. The City cannot do this. 
 
 On the other hand, where there is some slight shortage in quantity, the 
 goods are accepted and a pro rata reduction made in the payment. 
 
 Long and uncertain periods used to elapse between the delivery of 
 goods and a report of their inspection reaching the auditor. 'Since no goods 
 can be paid for till they have been accepted ; and quick payment of bills is 
 one of the ideals now being striven for, every effort is made to expedite the 
 work of inspection in order to attract bidders and stimulate competition. 
 
 A procedure has been developed for doing this work systematically and 
 with the least likelihood of error or delay. 
 
 Storekeepers place all incoming goods in an " inspection cage " where 
 they remain till unpacked and checked for size, quantity and quality. If the 
 determination of quality requires an analysis, a sample is sent to the labora- 
 tory. Satisfactory material is at once put into stock and rejected material 
 is packed up for return shipment and put in a separate room by itself and 
 a report sent to the central office. All this is generally done the same day 
 the goods are received. 
 
 The new policy of having practically all goods delivered at store houses 
 has simplified and expedited the inspection problem to a remarkable degree. 
 However, there are times when it is best to deliver supplies direct to the 
 point where they are to be used (lumber, cement, etc.). This is particu- 
 larly true at present as the new delivery system has not yet been put in 
 operation. All such delivery points are supplied with addressed postals on 
 which the men receiving goods are directed to immediately notify the central 
 office of their arrival. 
 
 These cards are sorted by a clerk who checks off the deliveries on the 
 Record of Purchases. The cards are then turned over to the inspectors to 
 show them what points to go to. Formerly there was no system in making 
 inspections, inspectors going hither and thither, in a most obliging but ineffi- 
 cient way. Now certain territories are covered on certain specified days. 
 
 59 
 
For instance, all points in the Croton Watershed reporting stores received 
 are visited on Mondays, Manhattan Borough points on Tuesdays, Brooklyn 
 on Wednesdays, and so forth. This program is adhered to as closely as 
 circumstances will permit. As the cycle is completed within the week, the 
 maximum time that can elapse between the arrival and the inspection of any 
 duly reported direct delivery is seven days, while the average interval is* but 
 three and a half. 
 
 Quite a change from the days when dealers stormed into the office 
 to know why goods delivered weeks before had not 'been paid for, and had 
 to be told it was because no one had been around to inspect them! The 
 average time which it used to take to make a report on material is estimated 
 to have been a matter of weeks. It is now but a few days on all ship- 
 ments not requiring a laboratory analysis. No wonder in the old days 
 engineers who had permitted themselves to get short of stock used materials 
 before they were tested, and suspicious contractors hinted at favoritism. 
 
 The old and the new channels taken in reporting inspections are as 
 shown on opposite page. 
 
 Reports on Inspections. 
 
 The result of the inspection is noted on the Record of Purchases, and 
 the Bureau for whom the goods were purchased notified of the result. 
 
 If the goods are satisfactory the bills are certified and forwarded to the 
 Auditor. If the goods do not meet the specifications a letter is written to the 
 contractor stating in detail where the requirements had not been complied 
 with, and he is directed to remove the rejected material and replace with 
 proper goods. The articles to be replaced are entered on a Record of 
 Replacement and treated as though they were new orders. 
 
 When rejections are objected to, the contractor is given a hearing, a 
 re-inspection (by another inspector) is accorded him if requested, and no 
 pains are spared to show him that the goods failed to pass on their merits. 
 
 Charge for Re-inspections. 
 
 The Department has been put to expense by reason of making re-inspec- 
 tions of rejected materials and inspections of goods replacing those previously 
 rejected. To cut this down as far as possible, a clause is inserted in all 
 specifications to the effect that a charge of ten dollars will be deducted from 
 the bill for any re-analysis of a rejected material (except in the rare instance 
 that the previous analysis was wrong) and for each and every analysis 
 required to be made of " replacements." 
 
 It is hoped thereby to discourage the habit in dealers of challenging 
 every rejection " on general principles " and that other most reprehensible 
 custom of first delivering poor goods or a poor sample in the apparent hopes 
 that it will " slip through." 
 
 60 
 
w 
 
 
 Q 
 W 
 O 
 
 o 
 
 X 
 
 - 
 
 Contractor 
 
 f 
 
 
 Auditor 
 
 OLD PROCEDURE. 
 
 j 
 
 I s 
 
 
 fll 
 
 Contractor 
 
 
 k 
 
 tj 
 
 
 Auditor 
 
 
 1 
 
 t 
 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 STORAGE AND ISSUE 
 
 Fixing Stock Limits Care of Supplies Equipment of Store- 
 rooms Rules for Storekeepers Issues Loans and Transfers 
 of Supplies Subsidiary Stores. 
 
 \\hy have any storerooms at all? That appears to be a rather radical 
 question, yet it is a perfectly fair one to ask. This Department got along 
 without them for years. Many other large corporations do likewise. It is 
 admitted that many a storeroom is of little value, some even constituting a 
 very positive drain upon the resources of the organizations which maintain 
 them. Therefore, why have storerooms? Why not have the dealers who 
 furnish supplies deliver them all direct to the consumers as required? 
 
 In order to answer these questions and determine what type of store- 
 room, if any, best suits a given condition, it will be necessary to analyze 
 the storage problem and fix its advantages and its limitations. 
 
 Since the price of many articles fluctuates greatly during the course 
 of a year, it should be a purchasing policy to " stock up " at the time when 
 goods may be bought most cheaply. A storeroom in which such supplies 
 are kept till wanted may be likened to a " storage reservoir " in a water- 
 shed where the abundance of the spring rains are collected and held till the 
 period of summer drought. 
 
 Furthermore, up to a certain point, lower prices are obtained by the 
 purchase of large quantities at one time; but the limit of wholesale buying 
 is fixed by the fact that keeping stock involves loss through : 
 
 Interest on money tied up in unproductive materials. 
 
 Insurance and taxes. 
 
 Deterioration. 
 
 Cost -of excess storage space. 
 
 Cost of Supervision. 
 
 These conditions therefore determine the maximum quantities of cur- 
 rent supplies which can be profitably stored. 
 
 63 
 
On the other hand it takes time to obtain or replenish stock by pur- 
 chase, so sufficient supplies for current consumption must be carried in 
 order to tide over the interval required to get more. 
 
 Again, it is much cheaper for a dealer or manufacturer to ship a large 
 consignment to a single conveniently located storeroom (for subsequent 
 local distribution by the department) than it would be to box and deliver 
 the same supplies in various small quantities at numerous different points. 
 All delivery charges are included in the bid prices and are thus ultimately, 
 though indirectly, paid by the City. 
 
 A central storeroom serving a large number of consumers acts as an 
 " equalizing reservoir." Its stock is available to meet their varying require- 
 ments, and this makes it unnecessary to keep large quantities of material at 
 local points, for it is much easier to estimate the collective needs of a large 
 number of isolated stations than it is to determine their individual require- 
 ments. 
 
 Similarly, emergency equipment held in reserve at a central point is 
 more available than it would be if divided up pro rata among many local 
 stations. 
 
 The most economical system is the one which renders prompt and 
 adequate service with the minimum amount of money tide up in stock. 
 
 Not only do economical purchasing methods, low delivery charges, 
 prompt inspections, the maintenance of adequate emergency reserves, and 
 the ability to most efficiently supply the current demands of many different 
 consumers, all require the accumulation and storage of stock at central 
 points, but, furthermore, experience has shown that such materials should 
 be exclusively under the control of the Bureau of Supplies. It is now con- 
 ceded to be a grave error in organization to place the control of materials 
 and supplies in the hands of the men who are to use them. The storage and 
 issue of supplies have therefore been put upon an entirely new basis dur- 
 ing the past two years. 
 
 The policy has now been adopted of concentrating the storage of the 
 supplies of the department in especially equipped storerooms and then plac- 
 ing the care and operation of the same in the hands of trained men. These 
 storekeepers receive, inspect, store and issue supplies; they keep accurate 
 records concerning the goods entrusted to them; and they report directly 
 to the Chief of the Bureau of Supplies. It is at last recognized as incon- 
 sistent to keep accounts of money with great accuracy and then when the 
 money is invested in stores to pay no attention whether they are used or 
 wasted. 
 
 With one man from the Bureau of Supplies in charge of these storage 
 points responsibility is finally definitely located. Even if this arrangement 
 had increased the number of men required to handle stores which, by the 
 way, does not appear to have been the case the economy in consumption 
 
 64 
 
and the diminution of waste which the direct control has effected, has far 
 more than offset any such increases.* 
 
 Differences, due to the strict enforcement of the rules regulating the 
 distribution of supplies, are always to be anticipated when an orderly system 
 takes the place of old and slip-shod (less efficient) methods. In this case 
 they were easily adjusted as they arose. 
 
 The two main accomplishments of the Bureau of Supplies in the field 
 of Storage and Issue have been in proper " storekeeping " and effective 
 " accounting-control.'' The fundamental principles thereof have been formu- 
 lated and the details by which these principles could best be adapted to the 
 peculiar conditions of the department have been studied and standard prac- 
 tice instructions prepared to carry them into effect. 
 
 Storekeepers. 
 
 Having decided that the men in control of supplies should not be those 
 who were to use them, it became necessary to organize a staff of store- 
 keepers. An endeavor was made to obtain men with special aptitude for 
 this work. As the men were appointed they were assigned to the 179th 
 Street Storeroom. This was the first central storeroom to be put in opera- 
 tion and it was utilized as a training school for all the new men. When they 
 
 * As additional points were turned over to the Bureau of Supplies, the 
 previous conditions continued to reveal themselves. Disorder and confusion 
 were everywhere. 
 
 Most of the buildings used for the storage and handling of supplies were 
 in bad repair and unsuited to the purpose. 
 
 Stores were kept in a large number of different places and were not 
 conveniently located. 
 
 Responsibility for the care of supplies was not centered on any individual. 
 There were no inventories. In many instances men were permitted to remove 
 supplies without making any record of what they had taken. 
 
 No proper bins or shelves were provided for many classes of stores and 
 supplies. 
 
 Stock was seldom separated into those articles frequently called for, and 
 those seldom required. 
 
 Stores which had been received and had not yet been inspected were 
 placed in the same room with goods which had already passed inspection. 
 
 Notices of rejection were not sent out systematically. 
 
 Goods which had been inspected and rejected were not marked in any 
 distinctive manner to indicate the fact nor were they separated from regular 
 stock. 
 
 Supplies were poorly taken care of in many instances. 
 
 Much engine packing had been allowed to deteriorate ; some had been stored 
 near heat and dried out other had been left exposed to dirt and grit and could 
 not be used. Wire inserted packing was found which had been folded and 
 split. 
 
 Rubber mats had been folded and split by other weights being put on 
 them. 
 
 Asbestos pipe covering had been stored horizontally, so the upper layers 
 had crushed the lower. 
 
 Cement (in bags) had been stored under leaky roofs and in cellars, where 
 it was ruined by water. 
 
 At one point the men from an adjoining pumping station took their noon- 
 day smoke reclining on the bales of cotton waste. 
 
 At another point bales of cotton waste and barrels of kerosene were kept 
 in the same room. 
 
 Much equipment was left in the open where it rapidly deteriorated. 
 
 65 
 
q 
 
 aj 
 
 * 2 
 
 H o 
 
 W 3 
 
 a 
 
 H 2 
 
 ^ s 
 
 
 
 S I 
 
 o 
 
 I f 
 
 M 
 
 > 2 
 
 en 
 
 Ci '^-i 
 
 O 
 
 S 1 
 
 H S 
 
had learned the details of the new system, and had become familiar with 
 the stock, the methods of storing it and the preparation of the various 
 reports, they were then detailed to some of the new storerooms which have 
 since been put in operation. These men were next transferred from one 
 storage point to another so that they became familiar with them all. Store- 
 keepers thus can be assigned to any station to meet any emergency or press 
 of extra work, and instead of being unacquainted with their surroundings, 
 they are thoroughly familiar with the place, the stock and the work to be 
 done. 
 
 Storerooms. 
 
 Many storekeeping systems require the location of the central store- 
 r< nuns close by the shops where the materials are to be used or repaired. As 
 the water department does not use stock for manufacturing purposes, and 
 as but little repair work is done, the conditions governing the locations of 
 <>ur storerooms were convenience for delivery and facilities for distribution 
 to the pumping stations and repair companies to be served. 
 
 Having selected a location for a storeroom, it became necessary to fit 
 it up for the work. Many of the old buildings previously used for sup- 
 plies were so unsuited for the purpose that they have been replaced or 
 abandoned and others taken in their stead. One of the essentials for proper 
 care of materials is space. Cramped quarters are a very great handicap 
 to efficiency, for there must be plenty of room for expansion of stock, for 
 facility in handling it and also to permit of proper storage, such as the 
 separation of materials on the basis of kind, size and frequency of demand. 
 
 The design of the old bins was poor. 
 
 1. The bins were too high. 
 
 \Yall bins only should be built to a height requiring step ladders 
 to reach the upper shelves. Where step ladders are used the running 
 or " trolley " type is to be preferred. 
 
 F.\ en where liiirh wall bins might be used, it is generally preferable 
 to use a low bin on the main floor and then put in a gallery to carry 
 a -ecnnd tier of bins. 
 
 2. The bins had vertical fronts which : 
 
 Xarnnvs the aisle space. 
 I b ) Makes dark interiors. 
 
 i < ) 1 lad upper shelves so deep that it was difficult to reach stock 
 far back on such shelves. 
 
 .\ The added depth of the shelves below the four- foot level was very 
 inconvenient. 
 
 (a) It liold> a man away from the upper shelves. 
 ( /> ) It restrict- the aisle spare. 
 ( (*") It makes the lower bins dark. 
 
 72 
 
PHOTO. 11. OLD STORAGE BINS AT RTDGEWOOD. 
 
 The bins were too high. The vertical fronts wasted space. The shelf at the four-foot level was 
 inconvenient. The lower bins were so deep that it was impossible to reach stock at the back. 
 The stereotyped design of shelving not suited to the stock. The use of front boards was 
 objectionable, as it was impossible to keep the shelves clean. 
 
4. The lower bins were so deep that it was impossible to reach small 
 stock at the back. 
 
 5. Where all bins had the same stereotyped design of shelving they did 
 not lend themselves to the various kinds of goods carried in stock. 
 
 <. The construction of the old bins was such that the height of shelves 
 and the width between vertical partitions could not be readily changed to 
 accommodate the different sizes of goods carried. 
 
 7: The universal use of front boards was objectionable. 
 
 (a) They made it practically impossible to keep the shelves clean. 
 
 (b) They were inconvenient and restricted storage space where 
 the length of the article to be stored exceeded the depth of the shelf. 
 
 (f) They made it hard to get at the goods behind on the upper 
 shelves. 
 
 (d) While sometimes permissible in lower bins where loose stuff 
 (nuts, bolts, etc.) were kept, front boards \vere bad for "package " 
 stores and tools. 
 
 The new bins have all 'been built with sloping fronts. 
 
 1. These bins are of such height that a man standing on the floor can 
 ra-ily handle stock placed on top. 
 
 2. The advantages of sloping bins are : 
 
 (a] They give better light to the interior of the bins. 
 
 (b) They are more accessible as they can be climbed like a ladder, 
 (f) They give more alley space. 
 
 (d) Upper shelves usually have small package goods kept on 
 them. These goods have no great depth and do not require a deep 
 shelf. With a sloping bin having shallow upper shelves, these goods 
 are more easily inspected and are more accessible. 
 
 (e) Weights are often kept at the front edge of the shelf. With 
 a vertical bin this tends to tip the bin forward. With a sloping bin, 
 the weights are kept nearer the back of the bin, and gravity tends to 
 hold the bin in place. 
 
 Stores Procedure Inspections. 
 
 When goods are delivered by a manufacturer or dealer at a department 
 >!nreroom, they are put in a separate room or cage and kept there till they are 
 inspected. Except in rare instances of some special or unusual supply, the 
 inspections are made by the storekeeper himself the day the goods are re- 
 ceived. To enable him to do this work, he is furnished with a copy of the 
 order <n which the material was purchased and he is supplied with the latest 
 specifications. If in doubt concerning the acceptance or rejection of any 
 nipplk-s he notifies the central office to send an inspector to pass on it. When 
 goods require an analysis to determine their quality, the storekeeper imme- 
 diately -ends a sample to the laboratory for test. 
 
 74 
 
PHOTO. 12. NEW DISTRIBUTING STOREHOUSE RIDGEWOOD. 
 (Just completed. Stock now being moved in.) 
 
 Low bins on main floor. Gallery carries second tier of bins. Bins have sloping front. Individual 
 bins designed for the stock they will carry. No front boards used, insuring order and 
 cleanliness. Adjustable partitions and shelves. 
 
\Yhen materials are rejected, no distinguishing mark is put upon them 
 to prevent their being mistaken and issued as good stock, for such mark 
 might prevent the contractor who supplied the goods from selling them to 
 someone else later. Instead, it is found to be best to take all rejected mate- 
 rials out of the inspection cage and place them in a room by themselves. 
 
 \Yhen goods are accepted, they should be marked with the name of the 
 department (stencil or brand) and then duly entered into stock. 
 
 There is now much second-hand material returned to stock by the 
 operating divisions. This material should be passed upon by a Board of 
 Survey (page 13). Good material should be put into stock, damaged mate- 
 rial worth repairing* should be repaired at once and then put into stock, 
 worthless material should be scrapped and disposed of at the first opportunity. 
 
 Storage. 
 
 Printed instructions have been issued to storekeepers for the purpose 
 of standardizing the best practice for the care of the stock and the transac- 
 tion of business. The following are examples : 
 
 Rule 1. Storekeepers shall report for duty at their assigned sta- 
 tions at 8 A. M. and remain till 5 P. M. unless otherwise ordered. 
 Saturday the closing hour will be 1 P. M. Storerooms will be closed 
 on Sundays and legal holidays. 
 
 Rule 2. The first duty of every storekeeper shall be to properly 
 care for the stock entrusted to him. 
 
 Rule 3. Storerooms must be kept locked, and no one admitted 
 unless accompanied by storekeeper. 
 
 Rule 4. Every endeavor must be taken to protect stock from 
 damage by improper storage, by weather or by fire. 
 Rubber goods must be kept away from heat. 
 Rubber boots and coats must be unpacked and hung up. 
 Packing must be kept from damage by heat, grit, dirt, etc. 
 Cement must be kept away from all moisture. 
 Lumber must be protected from the weather. 
 The exposed surfaces of valves, fittings, hydrants, etc., should 
 be protected where they are kept in the open, and all bright or 
 machine surfaces (threads, valves, etc.) should be adequately pro- 
 tected by coatings of oil, white lead or machinery slush. 
 
 Fire extinguishers must be kept filled and properly tagged. 
 Buckets of sand must be kept near the door in all rooms where 
 oils, gasoline, etc., are stored. 
 
 * Standard practice instructions concerning the care and storage of second-hand 
 fittings which it is proposed to use again state : " Fittings should be put in repair as 
 soon as possible after they arrive at the yard and before they are returned to stock. 
 They should be cleaned of scale and rust (possibly by sand blast or by the use of wire 
 brushes) ; they should then be painted and all ' bright ' or bearing surfaces protected 
 by oil or white lead." 
 
 76 
 
No accumulations of rubbish, excelsior or wrapping paper 
 shall be allowed in any storeroom. 
 
 All oil rags or waste must be kept in a covered metal con- 
 tainer when not in use. 
 
 Xo smoking shall be allowed in storerooms. 
 
 Rule 5. Storerooms must be kept clean and in perfect order 
 at all times. 
 
 No stock or materials shall be left lying around. 
 No goods shall be allowed to block the aisles. 
 
 Rule 6. All stock delivered to stores must be unpacked and in- 
 spected at once. If the nature of the material requires an analysis, a 
 sample must be sent to the laboratory. If the storekeeper is not 
 familiar with any such stock he must notify the Chief of the Bureau 
 and an inspector will be sent to pass upon it. 
 
 Rule 7. As soon as goods are inspected the result must be 
 reported to the Chief of the Bureau. 
 
 (a) If the goods are accepted they will be marked with the 
 name of the department and at once entered into stock. The stock 
 cards will be altered and the quantity entered upon the " Stores 
 Received " Sheet. The bills will be marked O.K. and forwarded 
 to the central office. 
 
 (b) If goods are rejected they will be removed to the 
 " rejected material " room and the fact reported to the Chief of 
 the Bureau of Supplies on the regular form. 
 
 Rule 8. All goods of like character shall be stored together. 
 
 In the pipe yards where supplies and spare parts are carried 
 boards will be constructed for each type of hydrant and valve. 
 On each board will be tacked the various parts constituting the 
 mechanism of said hydrant or valve. Over each part will be sten- 
 cilled a number, which will correspond to the number of the bin 
 containing the stock of the parts in question. 
 
 This will do away with the necessity for a man looking through 
 a large number of cubby-holes for the piece he wants, " pawing " 
 over a quantity of stock in the process. Instead, before he goes 
 to the bin he will identify the piece he requires by looking on the 
 stock board. 
 
 Store Cards Perpetual Inventories. 
 
 A card is made out for every class and size of stock. These store cards, 
 besides describing the articles, give their location in the storeroom, their 
 unit price, and the dates and amounts of all receipts and issues. They thus 
 constitute a " perpetual inventory " and show at all times the quantity and 
 value of the stock. 
 
 77 
 
Inventory. 
 
 The Bureau of Supplies started the first inventory ever taken of the 
 supplies of the Department. The count of the stock in the main storerooms 
 was the first authoritative list giving the nature, amount and location of the 
 stock owned. The card index above referred to acts as a perpetual inven- 
 tory. It is planned, however, regularly to count all stock in storerooms at 
 least twice a year. This will be a check and will show all the small mis- 
 takes which have crept into the card record. But few discrepancies are an 
 indication of the efficiency of the storekeepers, although they do occur even 
 with the greatest care; the " shorts and overs " so found are taken care of 
 on adjustment blanks. 
 
 Consumable and Non-consumable Supplies Compared. 
 
 Supplies should be divided into two classes ; consumable and non-con- 
 sumable. Fuel, oils, waste, packing, paint, and lumber are examples of the 
 first class; whereas tools, implements, harness, rubber boots, belong to the 
 second group. It should be arranged as soon as possible that none of the 
 " non-consumable " supplies be issued till those they are to replace have been 
 turned in. Thus a man does not get a new saw until he returns the old 
 one and shows that it has been worn out. He does not get a new pair of 
 rubber boots until he returns the old ones and is able to demonstrate that 
 they have rendered the most service that was in them. This not only gives 
 the purchasing division an opportunity to inspect the goods after use and 
 ascertain what service they gave, but it prevents departmental property being 
 used for personal purposes or sold for profit, or so carelessly guarded and 
 protected after issue that it is either lost or stolen. 
 
 Issues. 
 
 When material has been returned to stock it is to be re-issued before 
 regular stock. To prevent loss from depreciation, all other supplies should 
 be issued in rotation, for when stores are given out in the order in which 
 they are received, no old material is left on the back of the shelf to deterio- 
 rate and subsequently be thrown out. 
 
 The difference between a central storeroom, which is part of a general 
 stores system, and a local stock room, should be clearly understood. To be 
 effective the stores system should be a wholesale proposition. Continual 
 application to storekeepers for a bit of this or that is bad business for many 
 reasons. 
 
 1st. Every time a man goes to stores for stock it takes his time 
 going and returning. A continual running back and forth is not only 
 wasteful of time, but indicates that the employee is so poorly versed 
 in the work he has to do or is so careless, that he does not keep suffi- 
 cient stock close at hand. 
 
 78 
 
MONEY VALUE OF STOCK AT STORAGE POINTS UNDER 
 THE BUREAU OF SUPPLIES. 
 
 160,000 
 150,000 
 140,000 
 130,000 
 120,000 
 110,000 
 100,000 
 90,000 
 60,000 
 70,000 
 
 - 60,000 
 
 50,000 
 
 - 40,000 
 
 30,000 
 20,000 
 
2d. Every time a storekeeper is called on to fill a requisition 
 a certain amount of his time is consumed, not only in getting the 
 goods off the shelf, but in altering his stock card and making out the 
 " stores issued " report for the Central Office. Time thus taken 
 would otherwise have been spent in caring for the stock on hand. 
 
 3d. Every time an article is issued from a storeroom a corre- 
 sponding change has to be made in the ledgers in the stores control 
 office. The fact must also appear on all records affecting materials 
 issued from stores and received by employees. Annual and quarterly 
 reports of stock issued are now largely composed of a multitude of 
 small items of this sort. The extra amount of bookkeeping which 
 this entails is beyond measure and entirely unnecessary. 
 
 Local Stock Rooms. 
 
 Local stock rooms should contain such supplies and materials as are in 
 current demand and there should be sufficient quantities to last a month. 
 The man having the key to this room is generally the man using the goods. 
 He gets a quantity of goods at the first of the month, which is supposed to 
 suffice till the next supply arrives. As he needs a bit of waste, a piece of 
 packing, a plank or a handful of nails he takes them. All that is necessary 
 to account for small local stock issues is to subtract what is left at the end 
 of the month from what was on hand at the beginning. To this should be 
 added any emergency supplies or other " direct deliveries." On the other 
 hand, to figure local consumption day by day is often a waste of time. It 
 bothers the poor man who uses the material. It makes work for a lot of 
 clerks at the central office which costs in salaries, and it is of little use in 
 promoting economy or efficiency. 
 
 Storekeepers are furnished with the names of those authorized to draw 
 supplies, also the locations of all subsidiary stock rooms to be supplied. No 
 storekeeper can draw a requisition on himself for supplies. All stock in 
 storerooms is held in trust for the division out of whose funds it was pur- 
 chased. If a storekeeper wants mops, brooms or other implements for 
 carrying on his work they must be purchased for him and charged up to 
 appropriations especially allowed for that purpose. 
 
 All material going out of storerooms is not issued for consumption. 
 Some is loaned and some is transferred to other storerooms to be issued by 
 them. 
 
 Loans. 
 
 It frequently happens that the work of the city can be expedited by 
 loaning a few lengths of pipe, a valve or some other equipment to a con- 
 tractor who has a city contract but whose work is held up because he is 
 unable to get supplies from his foundry. The material thus loaned is re- 
 placed by the contractor with similar stock at the earliest moment. 
 
 80 
 
Transfers. 
 
 Transfers are something to be reduced to a minimum. They are costly 
 and indicate an incorrect distribution of supplies in the first instance. Maxi- 
 mum and minimum stock limits will do away with this. They are necessary, 
 however, to meet emergencies. 
 
 Regarding transfer of supplies from one borough to another: At the 
 beginning of the present administration there was no record at any central 
 point of the supplies to be found in any one of the five boroughs ; conse- 
 quently transfers from one point to another could not be made except by 
 communicating with the different yards to see from which one the desired 
 material could be obtained. Under the new system there is a record in the 
 stores control office giving the supplies in all the central storerooms, and by 
 consulting such record the transfers can easily be made. 
 
 Distribution. 
 
 The practice of having manufacturers and dealers make direct deliveries 
 to local consumers should be stopped except in cases of emergency. All 
 material* purchased on Open Order or Contract should be delivered at the 
 central storeroom supplying the point to which the supplies are ultimately 
 going. The supplies should be unpacked and inspected by the storekeeper, 
 and then recrated by him and forwarded to their destination by depart- 
 mental auto truck. 
 
 Definite steps should be taken to provide adequate facilities for making 
 deliveries of supplies from storerooms to points of consumption. A truck 
 should be assigned to the different storerooms on certain days each week to 
 make these local deliveries. The trucks used for this purpose would also 
 serve to get men and supplies to any place where they might be needed to 
 meet an emergency. Considering the long distances to be covered in this 
 service, the auto truck is ideal. Among its advantages as contrasted with 
 horse-drawn vehicles are : 
 
 1. Better speed in reaching emergency points. 
 
 2. Greater carrying capacity for both men and material. 
 
 3. Less space for storage both of vehicle and motor at the yards. 
 
 4. The convenience of having power-driven windlasses on the 
 track, particularly for unloading and lowering into trenches. 
 
 5. Superior economy, because no expense is incurred when the 
 truck is not in use. 
 
 6. Diminished number of men needed as hostlers, for equal or 
 greater capacity as compared with horses. 
 
 7. No delay from prostration of horses in summer heat. 
 
 8. Less interference in winter from snow in streets. 
 
 * Except coal, lumber, heavy castings large shipments of cement and material of 
 like nature which is bulky and expensive to load and unload. 
 
 82 
 
CHART SHOWING DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM OF SUPPLIES 
 FROM GENERAL STORES TO ULTIMATE CONSUMERS. 
 
 
 Eat* 
 IfcwYork 
 
 North 
 
 Portland 
 
 H" 
 
 w 
 
 PMiJ 
 
 Wnt 
 N 
 
 4HO 
 
 x 
 
 \ 
 
 -a 
 
 
 1 
 
 CD 
 
 d 
 
 
 / 
 
 CD 
 
 
 CD 
 
 d 
 
 
 d] 
 
 CD 
 
 CD 
 
 CD 
 
 d 
 
 
 d] 
 
 CD 
 
 CD 
 
 -a 
 
 -d 
 
 
 -en 
 
 CD 
 
 CD 
 
 -a 
 
 d 
 
 
 CD 
 
 CD 
 
 CD 
 
 -CD 
 
 Z 
 
 
 CD 
 
 CD 
 
 CD 
 
 -a 
 
 -d 
 
 
 CD 
 
 CD 
 
 CD 
 
 
 CD 
 
 CD 
 
 CD 
 
 
 CD 
 
 CD 
 
 CD 
 
 
 CD 
 
 CD 
 
 CD 
 
 
 CD 
 
 CD 
 
 CD 
 
9. The service zone of the truck is very much greater, therefore 
 fewer trucks are needed. 
 
 10. A superior sanitary cleanliness at the yards. 
 
 Stock Limits. 
 
 It has 'been pointed out that, whereas an oversupply of stock in store- 
 house is a needless expense, an inadequate one is fatal to the efficient carry- 
 ing on of the work of the department, and it becomes an absolute menace 
 when the reserves get so low that there is not sufficient material on hand to 
 meet the demands of any emergency. 
 
 The problem of fixing stock limits should begin with the consumers. 
 To do away with unnecessary or excessive local reserves, the following lists 
 should be made for each point (repair company, pumping stations, etc.) 
 where supplies are used: 
 
 (a) Emergency equipment. 
 
 (b) Engine spare parts. 
 
 (c) Tools and implements. 
 
 . (d) Current supplies and equipment required per month for op- 
 eration and maintenance. 
 
 An inspection of each point should be made and it should be seen to 
 that all the above articles are on hand. 
 
 All surplus tools, all over-equipment and all equipment not available 
 for the engines in use at the stations where it is stored, should be immediately 
 returned to the central stores. 
 
 Some stations were carrying supplies and equipment (gaskets, packing, 
 spare parts, etc.), for apparatus and pumps no longer in use, and in other 
 cases, supplies were carried for machines which had long since been removed 
 to some other station or sold for junk.* 
 
 All supplies left for use must be in good condition and available for 
 immediate service. 
 
 All supplies and equipment left at local points should be branded or 
 otherwise suitably marked to indicate that it is departmental property. 
 
 A classified inventory of all such supplies should be prepared and fur- 
 nished to the man in charge of the station. Thereafter he should be held 
 responsible for their safekeeping. At the end of each month he should 
 submit a list of stores used which should be checked against the inventory 
 and the deliveries and will be used in computing operating costs. 
 
 Supplies constituting emergency equipment should 'be gathered together 
 in one room. They should be sorted, classified, and so arranged that they 
 can be obtained instantly when needed. 
 
 * One storekeeper reported that surplus stock sent to his storeroom from local 
 pumping stations contained 566% pounds of packing (worth about $500) which did 
 not fit any equipment in the Borough where it was found. 
 
 84 
 
8 s 
 
 5 |g 
 
 a S-a 
 
 O .2 
 
 1 
 
 1 2 
 
 W r- 1 
 
 P ^S 
 
 ,5 
 
 o rt 
 
* I 
 
 O .6 
 
 W G 
 
 1 
 
 w 
 
 P T3 
 
 J C 
 
 o rt 
 
 I "O 
 
 I w 
 
 "^ 2 
 
 ' o 
 
 H S 
 
C 
 
 < ' 
 
 w ' 
 
 g I 
 
 w : 
 
 K s 
 
 = i 
 
All engine spare parts should be gone over to see that they are in proper 
 condition and steps should be taken to keep them so. (Bright surfaces 
 should be coated with " machinery slush," bearing surfaces protected, etc.) 
 
 All tools needed at the stations should be arranged on boards conveniently 
 located about the plant. Under the hooks on which the various tools are 
 hung when not in use, should be painted in red the outline of the tool. Thus 
 a glance at any tool-board would suffice to show what tools are in use or 
 missing. 
 
 Implements should have stenciled on them the place where they belong. 
 Thus wheelbarrows may be marked " boiler-room," ladders marked " paint- 
 shop," tools marked " Wagon No. 1." This prevents misplacement and 
 puts a check on indiscriminate borrowing. 
 
 Current equipment should be kept by itself. Its storage, arrangement, 
 inspection and issue should be governed by special rules. 
 
 Stock Limits in Central Stores. 
 
 Next, having decided what consumers should be supplied from any 
 given central storeroom, the sum total of their monthly requirements should 
 give the average monthly business of that storeroom. Using this as a basis 
 it will be a comparatively simple matter to determine the proper amounts 
 of each of the various items to keep on hand. To this must be added such 
 accumulations of stock as are made from time for new work, alterations or 
 other improvements. 
 
 Combining the annual requirements of the central or distributing store- 
 rooms will give the needs of the department for standard supplies for a 
 year. This total is the basis for a Supply Budget on which the yearly re- 
 quest for funds can be estimated and defended. The fluctuations in the 
 demand for supplies will indicate the proper purchasing policy to be put in 
 force. 
 
 A constant endeavor is being made to substitute a proper routine for 
 the present haphazard way of drawing stock from storerooms. Requisitions 
 are continually coming in for waste, packing or pig lead, generally accom- 
 panied by a note to the effect that the sender is all out of that particular 
 article and must have some at once. The Bureau of Supplies does not have 
 the ordering of material in the first instance ; it often happens therefore that 
 the central storeroom itself is all out of the material so urgently needed.* 
 
 It is this condition of affairs that leads to so much material being pur- 
 chased direct by the various Bureaus marked " Confirming Verbal Order " 
 " For Emergency." 
 
 The proper solution of the difficulty would be to have all men who use 
 supplies take count of their local stock at the first of each month, and make 
 
 * To prevent this a letter is sent every week to the different Borough Engineers, 
 giving a list of articles which have been called for at storerooms and which are 
 completely out of stock. An asterisk indicates items previously reported as being out. 
 To this list is added another of items, the stock of which appears to be far too low. 
 
out a requisition on stores for such articles as will be required to carry them 
 through the month. This would develop forehandedness and would result 
 in orders for additional stock being sent to storerooms in advance of the time 
 when it is urgently needed. 
 
 Conclusions. 
 
 The method of permitting the Supply Bureau only to purchase supplies 
 when and in quantities specified by other bureaus has been tried and found 
 wanting. It is a question which has been the greater the foolish ordering 
 and purchasing of material not needed, or the urgent demands on the store- 
 houses for materials which certain officials have failed to provide. 
 
 The probable requirements of all consumers for current supplies hav- 
 ing been determined, the Bureau of Supplies should be directed to purchase 
 the same, and to keep the central storerooms at all times so stocked with 
 standard supplies that current requisitions can be filled on sight. 
 
 Naturally, materials for special purposes must be ordered in advance 
 by the parties requiring them. 
 
 Much of the foregoing cannot now be carried out because the true func- 
 tion of a Bureau of Supplies has not yet been fully realized and the 
 Bureau's authority extended to include this service. 
 
 To obtain the best advantage of a proper storekeeping system, the Chief 
 of the Bureau should be in close touch with all the activities and aims of the 
 Department, and his Bureau should not merely purchase, inspect, store and 
 issue supplies, properly and economically, but it should see that a proper 
 stock of current requisites and of emergency supplies are always on hand 
 and that articles purchased are necessary and are those best suited for the 
 purpose to which they are to be put. It should further ascertain that the 
 supplies are actually used as intended, and finally when they have ceased 
 to be of service should see that they are surrendered to it for salvage or 
 sale as scrap. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 RECORDS AND STATISTICS 
 
 Information required for proper accounting control The collec- 
 tion of data and the preparation of charts and diagrams.* 
 
 In the Bureau of Supplies, as in all business, it is necessary to keep 
 records and prepare statistics the nature and extent of these records 
 and the character and use to be made of these statistics vary, however, 
 with every undertaking. For that reason it is impracticable to impose the 
 records of one business upon another unless both are identical in all 
 respects. 
 
 The various functional activities of the Bureau purchasing, inspect- 
 ing, storage and issue were carefully considered in order to ascertain 
 what information was necessary for honest and efficient administration. 
 It was next determined how this information was to be obtained, and 
 the use to be made of it. 
 
 Purchasing Records. 
 
 Requisitions for the purchase of goods used to be made on a variety 
 of blanks, on odd pieces of paper and even by word of mouth. In place 
 of all this, two regular forms were substituted, one for open orders and 
 one for contracts. When filled out they show what is wanted and the 
 estimated cost, where it is to be delivered, the use to which it is to be 
 put, the date it will be needed, and a statement signed by the man 
 ordering the goods and certified to by his bureau superiors that the 
 materials so ordered are for the use of the City and are necessary. 
 These requisitions are then investigated to see 
 
 First If the goods can be supplied from stock on hand in 
 
 storerooms. 
 
 Second If there is any already ordered. 
 Third If the quantity appears to be correct. 
 Fourth If the quality appears to be right for the use intended. 
 Fifth If there is a department specification for the goods, and 
 
 if not, whether the requisition clearly describes what is 
 
 wanted. 
 
 * Many of the new forms were designed with the aid and assistance of the Bureau 
 of Municipal Research, New York City. 
 
 91 
 
The determination of these matters called for a perpetual inventory 
 of goods on hand, so that was arranged for under the storage records. 
 
 Forms were then prepared which greatly facilitated the work of 
 making the purchases; and a ledger was started to show the state of 
 forwardness of any contract, whether with the Corporation Counsel or 
 with the Comptroller, or with the " City Record " for printing. Its 
 records of the dates when papers were sent and when returned furnished 
 the data for that most interesting and instructive diagram (page 30 ), 
 which accounts for the time taken in letting a contract. 
 
 The purchasing records also show 
 
 What has been bought. 
 For whom it was bought, and 
 The cost. 
 
 Inspection Records. 
 
 A ledger was recently begun to show whether goods ordered have been 
 delivered, if so, whether they have been inspected, and if inspected, the 
 result. If goods are rejected, the contractor is notified, the date of replace- 
 ment noted, the time required to reinspect recorded, and whether the goods 
 passed or failed to pass. All these facts are put down and used as required, 
 to follow up orders and receive prompt deliveries, to expedite inspections 
 and check up the work. 
 
 Storage and Issue Records. 
 
 The establishment of a proper stores control is to be reckoned among 
 the most important achievements of the past two years and a half. 
 
 The storerooms have records showing 
 
 What goods were received, and 
 
 From whom received. 
 
 What goods were issued and 
 
 To whom issued; also 
 
 The amount of stock on hand. 
 
 The reports of goods received and issued from storehouses sent 
 daily to the central office, together with duplicates of all invoices, 
 requisitions on stores, transfers, loans, and so forth, make possible a 
 system of accounting where the control ledgers at headquarters can exer- 
 cise the most perfect check on the accounts kept at the storehouses. 
 
 The present system insures the Auditor of the fact that all bills 
 presented to him for payment are only for goods actually delivered, 
 inspected and passed. 
 
 Finally, the present records show, day by day, the quantity and 
 value of all stores under the charge of the Bureau of Supplies. 
 
 92 
 
Statistics. 
 
 The activities of the Bureau have been chartered and are being 
 investigated by the aid of diagrams. Matters of organization, lines of 
 responsibility and the various steps necessary to transact the business of 
 the Bureau are made clear and easily understandable by means of draw- 
 ings. It is truly remarkable the way complicated masses of figures take 
 shape and assume their true significance when plotted to scale. Examples 
 of this work are to be found in the many plates illustrating the text of 
 the previous chapters. 
 
 ANALYSIS OF ANNUAL TRANSPORTATION EXPENSES. 
 1912 Total, $107,495.68. 
 
 93 
 
/2 *"' - - 
 M: 
 
Elihu Cunyngham Church was born in New York City on 19th 
 August, 1881. He successfully completed the four-year course at the 
 Horace Mann ,High School, entering Columbia University the follow- 
 ing year, where he was graduated with the degree of Civil Engineer 
 (C. E.) in 1904. The next three years were spent in engineering work. 
 In the Fall of 1907 he returned to the University as " Assistant " in 
 Civil Engineering. The following Spring he was appointed " Lec- 
 turer " in Civil Engineering a position which he held for two years. 
 Since then he has been Secretary of the Department of Water Supply, 
 Gas and Electricity, New York City. 
 
 He has been in complete charge of the installation and administra- 
 tion of a Central Bureau of Supplies, and has directed and had per- 
 sonal charge of the letting of all contracts, and the purchasing, storing 
 and issuing of all material- used by the Department (approximate 
 annual expenditure supervised is fifteen million dollars). He has 
 standardized specifications, introduced new methods of accounting and 
 stores control, built, equipped and operated large central distributing 
 storerooms, and has developed and systematized a branch of work pre- 
 viously done in a haphazard manner or left to chance. 
 
 He has lectured on the subject before many technical societies, 
 including The Efficiency Society, The American Water Works Asso- 
 ciation, The New England Water Works Association, and the students 
 in Engineering at Columbia University. Articles concerning his work 
 have been published in all the leading engineering papers in the 
 country. 
 
 Mr. Church received the degree of Master of Arts (A. M.) from 
 Columbia University in 1909. 
 

 
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY