The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 24, 1906, Page 3

BY BARTON W. CURRIE. | A great of theory wri ded volume and with the r ek has been in connection of the fire-flattened In the hours of following the 3 ever befell a reat city, splendid boasts and prom- | Altogether there was| theory, view and! the practical side g (what was actually | red for), except nporary construc- t sight of. of debris of sco. mmediately that ise, yval gutted the structures shacks of in- With city eet in idential of up iron does not anize hope. of galva the year, and at the rate which contracts | are pouring in may overreach that| total | Now when it is considered that these | operations relate only to permanent | buildings of the most modern and fire- | e o rebuilders are|proof type it is time for the alarm- ts for millions of dol- ists to still their bleating over the| permanent structures are erection of so many temporary struc- week 1 armies of | tures. When the mists vanish from —~spcaca organized armies of their gloomy vision they may see (and ers ar who have been trained ithout dreaming) the new San Frah- s ckle vast building en-|cisco rising in monolithic piles of con- ed here from crete, towering office buildings of steel and brick, new mansions on Nob Hill, | beautiful shops of every type of ap- proved fireproof and substantially | earthquake-proof construction; tower- ing modern hotels, with palm gardens | Amer he Thompso: nk B. Gil had contrac- | rrett Com- nd the Fuller staffs of en- thei & weeks making expert|and onyx corridors; in fact a greater, | : the situation: interviewing|solider and more beautiful San Fran- | ¥ owners and advising them on|cisco than crowned the hills of the es of b ngs for the new Golden Gate before the days of the fire It should be a matter of human in- | terest as well as vital local interest to | know how these great building or- genizations can cenduct operations of t for | palace building over night. I use the 3 p and | metaphorical “overnight” advisedly, for maste a en who will come here| great structures are erected with such t dle the tasks assigned to|amazing rapidity in modern times that when we see them complete and buzz- rgani of Frank B. Gil-{ing with a swarm of the industrious New 1d Boston. who is|the imagination loses sight of the in- t of the Underwr Engi- | termediary processes, carrying vividly two impressions—one of the vacant arex and the other of the splendid fin- e gigantic under- | ished product. — S o il :flfl‘r‘/‘:“ Beginning a few years ago it wa s rk within three dave apier|S¢eR that the contracting business, in el lays after|order to accomplish wonders in speed d bas a forcel work, had to be organized o o tematic basis to put it in - | other industrial enterprises. But as no two buildings are exactly alike and conditions of work never the same the problem of systematizing such an organization presented many complexi- ties Of course, the first thing to consider any sort of commercial enterprise the demand. Now it was self-evi- ient that whether the times'are good or bad there is always a demand for iildings that can be put up quickly. s is true of stores, factories, office ldings or awellings. sually there a great deal of delay in reaching decislon to build. Take the case of San Francisco and the delay that has been caused by the dishonesty of some insurance companies and the hesitancy of others. Therefore once t delay overcome and a decision reached the hief object is to build quickly In the case of the organization I am referring to when it was decided to ! establish it on a systematic basis va- | is System experts were at first con- ted and the matter discussed at length. But the theories of these ex- | perts would not work out on practical | |lines. The need was for an organiza- t, while a unit itself. could be t up into working units capable of being hurled at any part of the coun- | on a moment’s notice. This unit | ad to be trained to the minute in its ies from the engineer down to the derrick rigger or foreman of brick- layers. Under the old system it was the cus- tom to send a superintendent out on the job, who organized his own work. g staff and taught his staff officers - several lessons. But in this very teaching there was the delay it was sought to avoid. Regulars of both rank and file were needed. Finally, then, a | in office force aried k was and Z 100thly and cer- ! | foreman | considered a far better system | corrected | what was called a | the offices each clerk got a copy of the AT SAN ~-FRANCISCO SUNDAY = T NP3 CALL I ) - process was evolved by which this could be accomplished, so that when- ever a job is contracted for in San Francisco a company of trained regu- lars in the organization's building army is marshaled from all over the | United States, which, upon its arrival here, is ready to begin work on jump. As these men are taken off other con- tracts, in establishing the system it was necessary to devise a scheme by which their withdrawal should cause no shock to the organization on that particular job. This was accomplished in this wa Before the system was finally re- duced to a rule of action every man in the organization was asked, from the general manager and chief con- sulting engineer down to the office boy in ‘the executive headquarters, or the of bricklayers in the field, to write a story of exactly the way he did his work when he did it the the way he should. The idea was toadopt| rules by which the work could be done the same way every time. This was than doing the work by individual effort, even if they were the efforts of gen- iuses, for genius only shines in spots, where as method gives a steady, de- pendable light. / When all these divers stories had been writtéen down they were edited and into comprehensive working Then they were printed into “‘system book.” In rules. “system book,” from which he could learn how every other clerk was ex- pected to do his work under the sys- tem, and also how the chief of that particular department was expected to do his work. It was made incumbent upon the members of the organization in their different departments to know their “gystem books” by heart. so that when they were promoted they would need no term of coaching to fit them for the office. It also followed that when they were transferred to another cit they would be able to enter into a per. fectly trained organization in five min- utes’ time, the same method of work being pursued in every branch office. It became possible in this way to take a highly trained staff out of the executive departments of different cities without in any aay injuring those departments, and necessitating only the hiring of new under clerks, who began their elementary lessons in the system. At first the heads of departments thought that if they gave up all the knowledge they had gained by expe- rience, those under them would be raised to their level of knowledge and experience, with the general result of lower priced labor. But the advan- tages gained soon overcame the objec- tions. Their work was made much easier for them, as no oral instructions were necessary. Whenever a clerk was in doubt about his method of work he had only to consult his “system book.” Then as big contracts cropped up in | other cities the opportunity of promo- tion increased. Some of the men realized that they were only duplicate parts of a big ma- chine that worked the same way every | time, and objected that there was no latitude for their genius. Then cash prizes were offered for suggestions to improve the system or extend the busi- ness. Suggestion blanks were issued Ito every ome of the thousands employ- ed, and those who sent in the best sug- | gestions were rewarded in money, thereby winning recognition for their cleverness and getting in line for.pro- motion. This same system was carried out in the engineering and purchasing depart- ments. It was also extended to the va- rious “field” jobs, no matter how differ- ent they all were in their character. For the superintendent and down to the man who mixed the mortar system | rules were framed and enforced. Men | who could not read, write or speak English were trained in their small parts of the-system. Many of the su- Lrerlntendems on big jobs have served heir time as carpenters and bricklay- ers. Gilbreth, who is an engineer and still a young man, served his time as bricklayer, and rose up step by step the entire grade of the builder's craft. | Though many of his superintendents | began as he dld, others started as en- gineers in tge field or timekeepers. Two have cqme into his organization as college professors. Assistants on every job conducted by the organization know just what the duties are of the men higher up. Fore- men of bricklayers have sub-foremen who in a moment could step into their | places and do their work, or be rushed | off by telegram a thousand miles to be- | come foremen on a new job. | Men laying bricks on the righthand of a wall are the working foremen of that wall, men working in the middle are the next in rank and the brick- layer on the left the third in command. In the absence of any one the other can step into his shoes of authority. Al of these men have their “system books,” | which acquaint them with the duties of the men over them, and they also re- { ceive cash prizes for good suggestions. All suggestions, criticisms and “knocks” are edited and taken officlal notice .of, and definite rules | to cover everything, so that the respon- sibility for the slightest error can be | placed. Every job is kept in daily touch with | the home office by means of careful re- | port systems that cover every phase of | the work, including labor, machinery and material. By this means the various forces at work may be shifted and reg- ulated to meet the ever-changing con | ditions, and delays caused by lack of men or supplies are eliminated, Should a hjteh occur by“some accident some- where along the line the point of ob- struction may be quickly located and conditions rectified. If, for instance, a | superintendent should fail to order cer- {tain tools, and the men and material | should be provided, the lack would be noted on the daily reports and the su- perintendent’s attention called to the matter. perintendent should make an erroneous | report, the responsibility for the c sequent delay would be placed on and not on the purchasing department. | The knowledge that this blame may be | placed serves as a powerful incentive for erroriess work, and errorless work means speed. Speed is the keynote of the entire organization. | Bodies of men who handle big jobs |like building cities in the forest or twenty-five-mile canals in Louisiana | great manufacturing plants that cover eight acres of ground in eight month |can be summoned hundreds or thous {ands of miles by telegram. These men | who got telegrams from Gilbreth call established | On the other hand, if the su- | ing them to San Francisco dropped their work on the borders of Maine, in the swamps of Louisana, in Brooklyn -and New York, in Boston and Sioux City, in Montreai, Canada, in Seattle, Wash., and in dozens, of other States. If summoned to a speed work job they jumped freights to make railroad con- nections, Though they leave these dif- ferent contracts by the hundreds, their places will be immediately filled and the work go on without a halt. This is made possible by the system. Un- trained foremen fill in the vacancies and in their turn become skilled and trained in the system. The same thing applies even to the young women stenographers who have been schooled in the system, and who will come thousands of miles to San Franciscp, ready to take their places in the splendidly trained office force and become duplicate parts of the machine in which many residents of this city wildl be employed and trained. i The fact that a force of this kind will be drawn to San Francisco does not mean that no local labor will be employed. With many million dollars’ worth of contracts it will be necessary to levy a small army from the local members of the building crafts. Merély ‘lhe machine is furnished, and the fuel must be provided to keep it going as well as turning new duplicate parts to be used in perfecting other machines. Gradually these other machines can be made from the different parts avail- able on the various jobs tWat get under way in this city. There is not a moment's delay in getting an undertaking contracted for going. The first man to arrive, whether or not he is the superintendent as- signed to that job, opens the plans sent on by the firm. If he has been sent |down from Seattle or Montreal and his | boss is coming from Louisanan he takes charge until the superintendent or the man immediately over him ar- rives. In this way much can be accom- plished while the superintendent as- jsigned to the job is whizzing over the rails to the Pacific Coast, for when he gets here his engine will be oiled and fired. The first man to arrive immediately gets in touch with the home office. The | home office will have set many wheels |in motion beforehand. Supplies will | have been rushed to the contract point. The construction department makes out a list of the materials and plant needed and ships them by the carload. Tt will be by the trainload in the case of San Francisco. The purchasing department, | which maintains a list of prices of deal- ers throughout the country, orders ma- terials to be sent from the nearest | point, thus economizing time and trans- | portation charges. Laber, for the same purposes of ‘economy, is partially en- gaged locally and partly from what is known as the “white list” of former mploy In this “white list” is kept a record | of the names and addresses of all the {men who have worked well under the system, and they are given the prefer- ence. Brick walls can be erected at | the rate of a story a day by this or-| | ganization. Patent adjustable scaffolds | |on which the bricklayers work are| | jacked up to keep pace with the prog- | swamps or designing and constructing | ress of their labors, thereby obviating | | the usual delay in bending or lifting or | !climbing from one platform te another. | | Narrow-gauge roads erring supplies quickly. When the | ‘value has been proved in | leading engineeri | { | | | magnitude of this system that San| Francisco will soon see in operation is realized it is net to be wondered at that an. entire town could be planned, made and delivered in less time than is consumed in the manufacture of a single automobile. All order books, time and account books kept to show the progress of each job are in quadruple manifold. One copy goes to the home office, one to the local office, one to the owner, the fdurth remains in the hands of the superintendent of construction. In this way the owner can keep in touch with every mechanical, financial and commercial event on the job. Two college professors are connected with the Gllbreth organization in an advisory and supervisory capacity. They are Charles L. Norton of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, | where he is professor of heat measure- | ments, and Lewis J. Johnson of the| division of engineering of Harvard| University. These eminent engineers | will come to San Francisco to lend their expert knowledge in the con-| struction of reinforced concrete. Pro-| fessor Johnson was in charge of the design and construction of the Har-| vard stadium, the great grandstand | that seats 40,000 p eople, and one of the | most extensive pieces of reinforced| concrete work ever undertaken. These college professors are very valuable in another way to the organ- | ization. They both keep lists of the! brightest students in their universities, and upon their graduation recommend | them for employment, naming the . branches in which they have been most | proficient. In one way the construction organ- | ization maintains a sort of college of| instruction Of its own. .very week| tnere are lectures and lantern slide ex- | hibitions conducted by its engineers. | Mr. Johnson and Mr. Norton lecture on | re-enforced concrete and its develop-' ment as a building material. They keep abreast of the bhest practice in this country and in Europe, and in their talks illustrate and discuss the great engineering undertakings of the world. Other engineers who lecture | the members of the organization on | other branches of engineering are J. W. Buzzell, J. W. Mair and E. P. Goodrich. Whenever a young engineer is taken into such an organization he is started | at the bottom to learn- the field system, | | that is if he is best adapted for outside work. Others enter the office and either | lose their identity in the system or win promotion to the top. San Francisco is rapidly recognizing the value of reinforced concrete as a material that is absolutely fire-proof and of Gibraltan strength as a resist- ant to temblor shocks. Heretofore the influance of the brick manufacturers mainly has kept reinforced concrete out of San Francisco. ' But its splendid the few scat- tered examples there were in Northern | California with the result that many million dollats® worth of contracts have | been let for concrete construction | within the past few weeks. This in- cludes two great concrete warehouses to cost $500,000 each and half a dozen | big office buildings, not to mention al score of smaller structures. For several years this material has been undergoing elaborate tests in the ng universities in the country. When made properly rein. | 1 it the whereas the fic ramifi press, ry scient P these buil Copernicus. By rancisco were not going to d rebuild Charles W. Morse. Man starts on the supposition that ot this earth is a globe simply because 3 sett m with their forces Copernicus said he could explain erks bef. scars of the flames ' phenomena easier that way than any erased. They would not be here other, but Copernicus also said that his ng up g = for their tools theory “was not to be taken as abso- machine providing little | Jute truth.” i mmunities ks for their regi- Suppose we acc the Copernican ! ents « ! contractors could | system just for an argument. Then | handle and many of the the sun must be stationary and the arger enterprises if there | ear: must revolve on its own axis were sc: once every twenty-four hours in order build to produce day and night. Now, the| truction operati un, which is 1,000,000 times larger| within sight the loc han our little earth, keeps the earth i ould no more tackle the job |in position” while it Is turning on its| w outside assistance than our axis about 1000 miles per hour and | regular army could undertake a war o while it is going round the sun| with Germany without levying another at a terrible rate of about 1,000,000 | miles per day by attraction of gravita- | tion. Now, let us ask Copernicus or| Newton where was the carth and what | the course we are pursuing, and if we jondly, that the ship in sailing out to,to the water's edge, and the water can continue our course as stated above we must come around to the same point from which we started. does not prove that the earth is not a globe, it does show how, by going east or west, vou will come around to the starting point on a level plain. The Copernican system teaches, sec- | a glass the hull can be seen again down | globe. While this | sea goes out of sight by going down round the curve of the water, and they give us as proof that the hull disap- pears from our sight first. Now, the facts of the case are against them, | wholly disappeared from our view, with ! for when the hull has | be seen splashing up against her sides, | | which is positive proof that the ship | | did not go down to disappear; further- | more, when the hull has disappeared | ’ from our sight the ship has not reached H the horizon, which is only one of Ihe; many proofs that the earth is not B\ ADO§-TFO-POUR: - | | | i ,trinkets he is éxpected to bring back | !ettached to his collar and is sent safely | ton future to | was it doing before the sun or moon prepare kings is one was created? For the earth is older among other operations, bullt a | than the sun. H. Parkes, 1. R. A, the Maine wilderness in eight |8 F. L. D. confirms the.statement in Members of this organization | Genesis, first chapter, that our earth| we to the unpeopled timber land on | is older than the sun, on page 169 of snowshoes with a e-foot fall under | his work, “Unfinished Worlds,” pub- foot. Th arch, 19 These | jished in London, 188S. puilders about on the drifts Now, if the earth is three days older, “Panhandle Jack” is to visit San b g their camp on the Snow |than the sun, and if we call each of | Francisco very soon. This bit of. in- t those days a thousand years long to| formation has been communicated to in eight monthe they had turned a|suit those who cherish that belief, | the local officials of the Santa Fe Com- 1se forest into manufacturing | what was the earth doing all that time | pany from the general offices in Chi- °n and had harnefsed Spragues Falls with nothing to rest upon and nothing | nish light and power for factories | to hold it up while it was whirling. at cago, accompanied by a suggestion that any attention shown the visitor during 1d other buildings. Their task, which | the rate that some would like to have|a Short stay here will be fully appre- was done before last December, in-|us believe? This shows one of the in-|ciated by rallroad men in the East. luded ailways and = macadamized | consistencies of the Copernican svstem.| “Panhandle Jack” s a rather cele- cottages, private residences, | If the Copernican system Is correct brated foxterrier, which, as a pet of . hotel, block of stores, | then Genesis is a myth. Christ says storehouses, railway |that the stars shall fall from heaven.|ored traveler on the roads east of the freight termi , ground wood, pulp. |If this means that they shall fall upon Missouri River. The dog's run princi- sulphite and paper mills, a concrete | the earth, let me ask how could it be pally of late has been between Cincin- dam 2000 feet long and steam, water | possible when there are so many of [ nati, Logansport and Chicago, with and electric power plants. Spragues |them that are much larger than the headquarters at the Midway Point. It Falls is now on the map—an American | earth, according to the Copernican 8ys- |is with an idea of further gratifying town of 4000 population. [tem? If the Copernican system is €or- |the dog’s apparent ambition to travel These arc the sort of builders that |rect then Christ was only a child of his | that its friends amons the rallrosd preth is rushing to San Francisco. times and not the creator of all things. men in the East have planned a trip around the world. That is why “Pan- in a circle over and above the earth, | "¢ WOrld alone. with the so-called morth pole or north | A 1&g will be attached to Jack's coliar center, as we call it, as the center of {4nd a letter. written on parchment, will that circle. igh’e the itinerary the bearer is to Now, if we were standing at the |travel. north center we would see that all lines | I'rom Chicago Jack will take the e fire. The Body building is to cost| radiating from that point would be |Sania Fe for San Francisco, touring about $200,000. | south: then at right angles’ with those | With 2n express messenger. At San Some idea of the actual rebullding |radiating lines would be east and west. |Francisco one of the Pacific Mail stea situation may be obtained In the state- | Now, In traveling around the earth |crs will afford the traveler pussage " this one organization is pre- | from anv given poini going east or ! Honolulu and Japan, thence to the Phil- e $30,000,000° worth | west, so long as we keep at right angl>s | ippines and Hongkong. At the latles Francisco within a | with those radisting lines, we know 'port a steamer will take the dox ‘o had hardly got his bearings in here The Copernican system teaches, he contracted to erect a haif ! first, that the sun is stationary and that He et ; million dollar warehouse for Timothy 1. Hopkins, the local capitalist, on the | i rorth side of Townsend street, be- | tween Sixth and Seventh: an eight-| story re-enforced concrete office build- | ing for the Boyd estate at Drumm ahd | California streets, amd three re- | | | orced concrete buildings for Henry Sontag, who lost six structures in P ! ment that paring to undertak e. building ir San EBastern railroad men, has been a fav- |, { back home. | Reading, Pa.. claims the distinction of ‘ Panhandle Jack's” nativity. The dog {had a happy home until one day he. | wandered down to the railroad depot land an engineer took a liking to hlm} |and gave him a ride on his engine. “Jack” landed in Cincinati, where friends were made around the Union | | depot. Finally Harry Ganter, a fireman, | took Jgelt with him to Richmond. The | ‘dog found that city too tame for him jand bummed a retura trip to Cincinnati 1on a freight. Jack made the trip back ' and forth a few times and finally took | g | the wrong train, landing in Columbus, i Ohio. Finally the dog reached Chicago, | and, taking a liking to lll:e place, es- = LS | tablished a regular run between that | Calcutta, and then Jack wiil venew dciol o5 'kl Ciliolonath, vis Rbchmond sad quaintance with the steam cars (rom Logansport. the metropolis of India to Bombay. Al Jack likes to run along the top of steamer will take him through the Red | freight trains. and, not having to ope- Sea via the Suez Canal 1o Port id. rate on fixed schedules, when he finds a ack” will bay the moon on the deck | trip growing monotonous sometimes | of a Mediterranean steamer as far as|leayes at a way station and takes an- Naples, and then Austria, Germany and |other train back without completing France will be visited by rail. The plan | the run. is to have the dog placed aboara u| Four or five months, railway officials steamer in Bordeaux, go thence to En» [ believe, will be sufficient for the round- land. sailing for home from Liverpool | the-globe trip, if “Jack” keeps in good | to New York, where Pennsylvania rail- | health. Letters have been sent ahead road people will see that he has all the| by the railway officials to officials of comforts of a returncd truvel, gets other roads, asking their co-operation through the Custom-house with 'thn’m making the experiment. B > : i s [Elongated Cigar ls,: Latest Fad. Perhaps you have noticed in San Francisco an occasional gentleman smoking a long, thin, aristocratic-look- ing cigar. These elongated specimens are the very latest thing in cigar styles. Those first ones you saw were brought by some New Yorker adrift from home and | kin, or by some Westerner who had been East and filled his pockets with | the latest. Now, however, the dealers in San Francisco are up with the fashions fur- theér east, and the long smoke may be had at any of the higher class tobac- conists. So pronounced is this novelty that it is said one has cven been seen | in Chicago. These cigars resemble a lead pencil in size and shape, and the longer and thinner they are the more nearly they | pproach the real thing in cigar fash- i If it were not for their length and color one would almost call them cigarettes, so small is the body of the most extreme of the new “lead-pencil” cigars, 7~ Whether not the quality of these | new smoke:{‘ree! with the old adage that “good goods come in small pack- ! ages” is a mooted question among local | tobaccon!sts. There however, in the smoker's attitude. As | a rule the man who smokes holds to | is . no mistake, | | the belief that to a certain limit, at | least, the smailer the cigar the better the tobacco. He believes there mygt | be some of the milk of human sympathy in the soul even of a cigar-maker, -mll that the reduction in size is brought about chiefly by sealing off the cabbage leaves, et cetera, that tradition says form the outer covering of a large, fat | cigar—and not infrequently the in‘ards, too. This belief has made brands of sm; cigars popular before the lead-pe: size came in, but never so decidedly as the present rage. For, in this instance, to the size is added the undeniable quality of “style.” Note the first man | you see with one of the new cigars in | his mouth and compare him with some neighbor who still clings to the short, stubby kind that have ordinarily been passed out. Note, also, that there are | usually other disinguishing marks | about the smoker of the long, lean| cigar. He is likely to be neat in his personal apeparance, to be rather well | kept and well groorfed. Probably his | hat or shoes or tie will show, also, i entire get-up, from the haberdasher's standpoint, will be quite the elegant thing. So the lead-pencil cigar travels in fine company, whatever its other faults and fallings, or virtues, may be. forced concrete has proved its . value not only under laboratory tests, but lso in the Baltimore and Sioux' | conflagrations. It also came out of recent practically = unblem-~ ished. §4 As the new San Francisco will have so many of its buildings of tI mono- lithic type of construction a b.r’t‘-&m- tion of the manner in which the Ater- fal is made should be of interest’. present time. The concrete is crushed stone, sand and cement in proportions that require accuracy when to be used for th erstructure of a building. The. forcement consists mainly of that also require great eng skill in their placing. . - This class of construction’ as well g8 Class A steel and brick buildings, such as The Call building, would makei‘a city absolutely fire-proof and © - temblor af through an earthquake such as that’ April 18 with scarcely a scar. oo In order to illustrate more what herculean tasks such o tions can undertake when th time is limited in months, I will lain in more detail the building of a'éfty~in Maine, which created a considerable sensation in engineering cire nd stands as an example of American in- dustrial achievement. - Early in the spring of last’yedr a contract was undertaken for the bujld ing of an entire paper manufacturing town in- the heart of a Maine (forest. This site was chosen by the paper’eém- pany because at this point land’ was cheap, water-power could be from a river and the forests could fur- nish raw material. These natural forces had to be harnessed, and has- nessed quickly. The greatest econemy to be effected was that of speed.in converting an unproductive inte" a money-making area. The paper cem- pany demanded certain specific require- ments for turning out its praducts, and set specified dates. On these dates the builders’ organization undertook # | to fulfill its agreement. The contract was large. It provided for an entire industrial community— factories, mills, machine shops, freight | and passenger términals, stores, homes, | a railroad and a 2000-foot dam of con- crete. Its cost ran well into seven fig- ures. Within eight months a territory was to be converted from a wild forest into a productive industrial community of 4000 in line for listment on the Gov- ernment maps. In brief, an entire town was to be “made to order” with a | that before the day of business omd zation and specialized systems ‘would have been impessible. The day the contract was signed the machinery of the builders’ organiza- tion was set in motion. Like & huge magic hand the force of this organiza- tion applied itself to the building of this town. to be lifted only by its com- pletion. Within a total period of eight months this town was to be conceived, planned, built and delivered. The work was begun in April; it was ce ted last December and the city was deliv- ered to the owners. 5 The first step was the appointment of a general superintendent to direct the work. Under his supervision profes- sional and unskilled labor was from the “white list,” the nature -of which I have explained. Then thé va- rious facters in the building of $he town were organized into departmiemts. The second step was to send the ad- vance guard to the site of the proposed town. The site was covered With a nine-foot depth of spow. Upon this the advance guard erected bunkhouses for twenty-five men to follow—houses that rested on selid grouud only with the spring thaws. These men built ac- commedations for a hundred. and the hundred for a thousand. Each' group* reached the spot at just the itime to involve the least loss. Each man ar- rived to find his quarters, toals and work ready for instant use: . Foot by foot the town rose from the cleared timber land. and on theslist of October the roofs were oh the build- ings as agreed. In December the job was done. It was not able meém or good material or special maehinery that accomplished this achievenfent. It was organization—an organization thaz utilized to their utmost the advantag/s at its disposal, an organization which devoted its united effort to ome pur- pose and attained * That purpese was speed. San Francisco camnot be rebuilt im elght months, but it ean and will be rebuilt with a rapidity that before th days of great building organizations would have been impossible. These great organizations that are marshal- ing their forces to the coast realize that they are called w to preépare for such splendid and rapid building operations as the world never wit- nessed before. They know that Im their work they will be raising monu- ments to themselves and thafiby their speed they will gain world-wide repu- tations. The bunkhouses for the h’.- dreds are going up nmon;rt.h,u‘ now and the hundreds will pi for the thousands who are comiug. . The tools and materials are coming-as fast as the railroads and steamship : com- panies ecan handle them. The re- sources of the world are being drawn upon as well as the resources of thip country for the cement that San Fran- cisco will need alone in the ture of conerete for the ings that will make tho gdteway of the Pacific a man-made Gibraitar. The Gilbreth, Fuller and Starrett organizations m-fi forces to Baltimore while were being cleared. They bling their armies here debris stjli piled high. Ball a greater and more beautiful to- day than she was before the fire. These big companies knew it would be so, and they know it will Be se with the future of this city. PR Speaking of the future of n-»b'g cisco from the builder's point of view, Gilbreth said: % “I have noticed in the newspa that Professor Omori, the geologist and carthquake-tamer, says that there will be no more temblors in San Francisco for many decades to come. Whether ke is right or not, if we have plenty of such builldings as the Call building. the Flood the Mint, the Postoffice and many ofh- ers, not forgetting the e Museum at Stanford University. . people of this city have not the slight- est occasion for alarm for the future. “If the rebuilding is done homestly, without scamp work. or the f material such as cem.nl'-i X oncrete, no investor need Jut- ting all his money in San rn.e:q so far as earthquakes are “The fire conditions are no_ from what they are in other cities. cept In regard to water supply, can readily be remedied. “That San Francisco wiil than ever is evidenced in number of contracts for - buildings that have been let the past week. There might a little backwardness at the tuis has been overcome. is surer and the way cl no doubt but that the few ok that may appear at present in of large bullding enterprises rapidly swept away. “San Francisco has the grit, some late fad of fashion, or maybe his termination and the resources. | every natural advantage for possessed by any met world. She simply can’t be but will rise up mightier than ever.