were placed under the Construction Division, and the camp quartermaster, acting for the Construction Division, directed the operation and maintenance of utilities, and the officer in charge of utilities reported to him.

On August 6, 1918, under General Order No. 72, the utilities officer became a staff officer of the camp commander. He was appointed by the officer in charge of the Construction Division from officers assigned to the Construction Division for that purpose. He assumed the duties previously performed by post or camp quartermasters and such other duties as the camp commander might assign to him, including all duties not specifically assigned to the subdepot quartermaster.

The duties of the camp quartermaster were assigned to a subdepot quartermaster, who was made assistant to the depot quartermaster of the general supply depot. The subdepot quartermaster's duties were to receive, care for, and issue the Quartermaster Corps supplies, pay troops, make such other disbursements as may be necessary, issue bills of lading and transportation requests, and to have charge of the reservation and reclamation service at the camp."

The utilities were operated entirely by enlisted men. The plan varied somewhat for the National Army, National Guard, and embarkation camps. On August 12, 1918, charts were issued showing the organizations at the different camps. The corresponding personnel is given in the following table, showing that the greatest number was needed at camps where the barracks buildings were heated by steam.

The commissioned personnel for the foregoing organizations was practically the same for each, except that one captain was added at each cantonment having a central heating plant and placed in charge of the heating section, and consisted of

Major (utilities officer).

Captains (section chiefs).

First lieutenants (executive officers)..

Second lieutenants (in charge of service orders)..

Total.....

4

11

The enlisted personnel for the National Army cantonments without central heating was typical also of the camps. It included noncommissioned officers who were supply, exchange, or mess

sergeants, or mechanics, such as master electricians, building foremen, plumbers, and stationary engineers, and privates who were carpenter helpers, plumber helpers, ice handlers, firemen, room orderlies, pipe fitters, fire department reserves, etc., and consisted of—

The Board of Review finds the organization, personnel, and operating performance of the maintenance and repair division to be efficient and that its record of results accomplished renders expedient a considerable enlargement of its activities.

SECTION 32.

FIELD ORGANIZATION.

MANUAL FOR CONSTRUCTING QUARTERMASTERS.

The Manual for the Guidance of Constructing Quartermasters and Field Auditors has become a large volume. It is divided into a number of sections, designated by letters, which are as follows:

Much of the general organization section consists of an explanation of the organization at Washington. The accounting sections were prepared by the accounting division for the guidance of field auditors. They give detailed and comprehensive instructions as to organization needed for the field staff and its duties; also regulations for accounting of funds and property. As their titles show, the other sections have to do with control, management, and supervising of projects.

In order to avoid loss of time from delays in shipment or transportation, the constructing quartermaster was authorized to purchase emergency materials from local stock. The material bought from local stock was limited to 10 per cent of the total requirements. Such purchases were discouraged, as they almost invariably caused criticism, because the costs were higher than those secured through Government purchase.

The purchasing done by the procurement division in Washington was not like that of ordinary commercial business. Under the terms of the standard contract for emergency work the contractor was to buy all material. For this reason procurement in Washington consisted of allotting the material, fixing the price, and forwarding instructions to the contractor in the field to purchase the material at prices and from parties designated by the Washington office.

CHECKING OF MATERIALS FOR QUANTITY AND QUALITY.

On the project was maintained a materials department, in charge of the field auditor under the supervision of the chief materials clerk. The principal duties of this department were grouped under four subdivisions, as follows:

Purchase order branch, in charge of order clerk. Duties-checking prices
and recording orders.

Receiving and stores branch, in charge of chief receiving clerk. Duties-check-
ing quantities received and supervising stores.
Inspection branch, in charge of chief inspector. Duties-inspecting quality.
Invoice branch, in charge of invoice clerk. Duties-recording and checking
invoices and maintaining statistical records of expendable materials.

The manual directed the contractor not to duplicate the functions of checking the quantity and quality of materials, equipment, etc., received. Ordinarily, Government inspectors checked quantity and quality of materials received.

Question has arisen as to which department should handle the checking and inspecting of material. Decision between the constructing quartermaster and the field auditor is not important as the inspection had to be made by experts and it seems of little moment in which office the inspection was placed. However, as it is clearly

the duty of the auditor to handle invoices, check extensions and compare them with the original orders, it seems logical to give the field auditor all the work. Decision between the contractor and Government forces for handling such work is more difficult. The contractors contend that as they purchase the material, and are responsible for shortages, checking by a third party, the Government, greatly delays and increases the difficulty of settlement with the vendors. However, as the Government system requires that all material be checked and certified by Government agents, the foregoing procedure would require a duplication of forces and increase expense. The board is therefore of the opinion that the checking of material for quantity and quality is rightly placed in charge of the field auditor.

TIME KEEPING.

The method of employment, rate of wages, classification of employees, time keeping, and checking is described in detail in the manual. The field auditor is instructed to furnish to the chief timekeeper a copy of the schedule of wages approved by the constructing quartermaster and it is the duty of the chief time inspector to see that the approved schedule of wages is maintained.

As to whether the time keeping should be done by the contractor and wholly or partially checked by Government forces, or whether the time keeping should be done entirely by the Government forces is a much disputed question. Both systems have been used successfully in the work of the Construction Division. Where the contractor had sufficient clerical forces and was experienced in handling large numbers of men, he succeeded. In other cases it was necessary for the field auditor to take over the actual time keeping and making of pay rolls. The question apparently is largely one of personality and experience. Some of the contractors contend that this function rightly belongs to them as they are directly responsible to the workmen for mistakes and adjustments of wages. However, as, in the foregoing case, the auditor is responsible for the correctness of the time and pay rolls, he would have to largely duplicate the work of the contractor in order to properly check the time keeping in the field and the making of pay rolls.

The board is of the opinion that, in general, the time should be kept and the pay rolls made by the field auditor and that he should supervise the payments in the field.

TYPICAL ORGANIZATION.

The constructing quartermaster, appointed by the Chief of the Construction Division, was usually an Army officer of a rank not lower than major. He was the executive manager on each project

and was responsible for speed, economy, and financial accountability. Under him were the following:

(1) Field auditor in charge of accounts, materials, rentals, time keeping, and commissary.

(2) Supervising engineer in charge of water, sewers, roads, building, plumbing, heating, and electric work.

(3) Staff assistant constructing officer in charge of procurement, property accountability, fire, police, and sanitation.

(4) Office manager in charge of stenographic work, clerical work, and files.

SECTION 33.

CONTRACTORS' ORGANIZATIONS.

The organizations used by contractors on later projects were often more complicated than those used on the original cantonments and camps. They varied in detail according to the construction methods adopted by different contractors, but the general organization features were similar. A typical organization plan, that for the Brooklyn Army supply base, was as follows:

The field organization was headed by an executive manager under whom were

1. Construction office, divided into six sections.

2. Accounting department, divided into seven sections.

3. Purchasing department, divided into four sections.

4. Subcontract work, divided into six sections.

5. Buildings, streets, and underground, divided into ten sections.

CONTRACTORS' INVESTMENT.

The Government officials who drafted the emergency contract realized that many of the large undertakings would be of a size requiring capital in excess of the resources of many desirable contractors. In order to avoid delays arising from this cause it was thought necessary to aid the contractors by arranging for their use of Government funds. This was difficult because Government regulations require a proper accounting of money expended before reimbursement. The only feasible way to accomplish the desired end was for the Government to make prompt payment of money due the contractor, particularly of pay-roll accounts. The laws for payment of workers are not uniform in the various States. In some States weekly payments in cash are required. Some contractors' pay rolls totaled $500,000 per week.

Cases arose during the early construction work where, due to misunderstanding or lack of cooperation between contractors and constructing quartermasters or field auditors, the contractor's funds