The orean Lae wowpieced a rat in zwei sodalization in the mannfasore di winne mit Ihas been the bureau's Wiley for many jan min of standard stock parts that *** et emmerily be nudes and 11 & saving in ext. Likewise, it stone go of has been manatured in order to procenegattity of parts and a make it possible vo mambadante parte in large quai-coagency, that will wtaly the exaring winters of math criance. A system of valdun Vexus ui maite fis has been in use for a period of 2004 20 years. The National Screw Thread Commiss a standards for wrew toreads have been adopted and as funds are made available, new manydacturing gaze embodying these standards are being substituted for the old standards. OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY The Navy Department Specifications Board meets at frequent periods and its duties are to make recommendations 2 to standardize as far as practicable the form of Navy Department specifications, (b) to unify as far as practicable specifications for material used in common by two or more bureaus, and (e) to expedite action on all matters concerning issues or reissue of Navy Department specifications. The board consists of the technical aide to the secretary as senior member, one officer each from the Bureaus of Aeronautics, Construction and Repair, Engineering, Ordnance, Supplies and Accounts and Yards and Docks, and also such technical assistants from these bureaus as may be requested by the senior member. The board keeps in contact with and cooperates with the Navy Department member of the Federal Specifications Board. The Office of the Secretary of the Navy receives and handles all matters sent to the department from the division of simplified practice, Department of Commerce. Bureau of SUPPLIES AND ACCOUNTS Members of the bureau represent the Navy Department on 15 technical committees of the Federal Specifications Board, and the assistant chief of bureau is the Navy Department representative thereon. Representatives are also assigned to the following Federal boards: Federal Purchasing Board. Federal Standard Stock Catalog Board. This bureau has issued, during the fiscal year 1929, about 250 new and revised Navy Department specifications. Of this number, 65 of the new specifications are based on Federal specifications. In addition to the complete specifications, there were four issues of the Index to Specifications and a revision of the General Specifications and Conditions of Delivery Applying to Provisions Contracts. BUREAU OF YARDS AND DOCKS Members of the bureau represent the Navy Department on technical committees of the Federal Specifications Board, namely: Standard wire screens and commerica! wire screen cloth. The bureau is also represented Carpets and rugs. on standardization activities, Federal Purchasing Board, committee on commodities: Subcommittee II. Farm products, Group MM, livestock. Subcommittee VII. Building materials, Group M, ceramics; Group AA, Subcommittee VIII. Fuel and minerals, Group R, coal-tar products; Group SS, mineral products. The bureau also has membership on the committees of the following organizations: Navy Department Specifications Board.-Division of simplified practice: Reinforcing steel, sheet metals, eaves trough and conductor pipe, sheet ware. American Standards Association.-A4, structural steel shapes; A13 safety code for identification of piping systems; A15, elevators; B16, pipe, flanges, and fittings; B31, safety code for high-pressure piping; G8, specifications for zinc coating of iron and steel; X2, 1922, safety code for protection of heads and eyes of industrial workers; MSCC, mining standardization correlating committee, hardware. American Society for Testing Materials.-A5, corrosion of iron and steel; C1, cement; D16, slate. The American Society for Testing Materials.-Test rack for longtime exposure of galvanized materials at the naval station, Key West, Fla., is under the cognizance of this bureau. The bureau is conducting experiments to establish standards for concrete in sea water at the navy yard, Portsmouth, N. H., and naval operating base, Hampton Roads, Va., the former for Portland cement and the latter high alumina cement. Experiments are also being conducted on copper bearing steel sheet piles and electroplated reinforcing bars at the naval station, Key West, Fla. The bureau is also cooperating with the Chemical Warfare Service in testing hardwood preservatives. During the past year gratifying progress has been made in the preparation of new bureau standards and in the revision and extension of the former standards. In addition to the Design Data, Public Works of the Navy, which is now ready to be sent to the printer, the following standards have been published or are now in preparation: 3Ya. Standards of Design for Concrete; revision; draft prepared; now being checked. 4Ya. Concrete Pavements; new; draft prepared; submitted to Bureau of Public Roads for comment. 5Ya. Radial Brick Chimneys; revision printed. 6 Ya. Electric Bridge Cranes; revision printed. 7Yf. Roofing, Siding, Sheet Metal Work, etc.; revision printed. 1 8Yc. Tanks-Steel and Wood; revision printed. 9Yb. Electric Apparatus-Distributing Systems and Wiring; revision printed. 10Ya. Steel Windows; new; printed. 11Ya. Marble and Tile Work; new; printed. 12Ya. Standards of Design for Structural Steel; new; printed. 13Ya. Concrete Construction; new; draft prepared. 14Ya. Electric Elevators and Dumb-waiters; new; being printed. 15Ya. Standard Methods for Sampling and Testing Roofing Materials; new; printed. 16Ya. Refrigerating Equipment; new; in preparation. 17Ya. Piping Installations (heating, hydraulic, fuel, air); new; in preparation. 18 Ya. Dredging; new; being printed. 19Ya. Wire Fencing-Nonclimbable; new; printed. 20Ya. Gravel and Macadam Roads and Bituminous Treatments; new. 21Ya. Steel Welding (structural); new; in preparation. 22 Ya. Installation of Power Plant Equipment and Accessories; new; in preparation. Power Plant Equipment, Power Plant Accessories. These will be Navy Department Specifications, to replace the present Navy Department Specification No. 68P1, "Power Plant Apparatus and Piping;" revisions now in preparation. Data is also being collected with a view to establishing specifications for workmanship in operations in frequent use, such as brick and tile masonry, painting, carpentry, plastering, plumbing, etc. UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS The Marine Corps is represented on seven technical committees of the Federal Specifications Board. An officer of the Marine Corps is detailed to full-time duty with the Federal Specifications Board, and is serving as vice chairman and technical secretary of the board. POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT SECOND ASSISTANT POSTMASTER GENERAL During the year ended June 30, 1929, the work of standardizing railway post-office cars has been continued. A total of 227 new steel cars were built and placed in service, replacing nonstandard cars. Six of these were full railway post-office cars, 117 were mail apartment cars, and 104 were self-propelled cars or trailer apartment cars. Eighty-four mail cars were brought up to the required standards during the year; 429 mail cars strengthened as to construction and equipped with interior fixtures so as to more nearly meet required standards; 84 cars equipped with electric lights in lieu of gas or oil lights; and 1,565 cars equipped with electric fans during the year. Progress has been made in the standardization of quarters occupied by terminal railway post offices located at or in railroad stations. Concrete floors have been replaced by wooden floors, adding much. to the comfort of employees. Modern toilet facilities and other conveniences for the health and comfort of employees have been installed at many points and at other points entirely new quarters in modern buildings with standard heating, lighting, and ventilation have been provided. FOURTH ASSISTANT POSTMASTER GENERAL Gravity tables for mail distribution are now being standardized. The use of these tables, where installed, has increased the output per man from 60 to 100 per cent. Specifications for post-office buildings have also been standardized, with the result that better buildings for postal purposes are being obtained. During the past year three machines, known as cash accounting machines were purchased and tried out in three post offices. The results were so satisfactory that 15 additional machines have been purchased and installed in 15 other offices. The use of these machines not only results in the saving of labor but also gives the department a better check on the remittances received by the central offices from remitting postmasters and at the same time a better safeguard on the revenues of the service. Arrangements are being made to supply the larger post offices with up-to-date spray painting equipment, it having been found that spray painting for letter boxes, of which there are over 200,000 in the service, is far superior to the old brush method. Periodical painting of all the boxes throughout the country in order to preserve them and maintain them in a fairly presentable condition has been put into practice. With the assistance of the experts of the Bureau of Standards a formula has been worked out covering a rubber roller for canceling machines which will give the best possible service, and bids for the supply of these rollers are now obtainable direct from rubber manufacturers at prices far below those quoted by the canceling machine manufacturers, which heretofore constituted the sole source of supply for the rubber rollers used on canceling machines. A recent bid for a supply of these rollers resulted in a saving of $4,500 as compared with the price quoted by canceling machine manufacturers. As a result of investigation by this department, with the assistance of the Bureau of Standards, a much more satisfactory ink is used for marking letter-box time cards, and is obtainable at less than onehalf the cost of ink formerly secured. In addition to the monetary saving a considerable improvement in the legibility of letter-box time cards will result. In order to protect the revenues of this department in the weighing of second-class matter on heavy-duty platform scales, we cooperated with the Bureau of Standards with a view to improving the specification for scales of this character. As a result, we now have a specification which will result in high-grade dormant scales. The higher cost of the weighing equipment will be offset by the greater accuracy thereof. TREASURY DEPARTMENT PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE Official standards and standard tests of the Hygienic Laboratory include: Diphtheria antitoxin, tetanus antitoxin, typhoid vaccine, botulinus antitoxin, perfringens antitoxin (gas gangrene), arsphenamine, scarlet fever streptococcus toxin, scarlet fever streptococcus antitoxin, antimeningococcic serum, antipneumococcic serum, antidysenteric serum, diphtheria toxin, antitoxin mixture, diphtheria toxin for Schick test, and diphtheria toxoid. Through its office of industrial hygiene and sanitation, the Public Health Service is represented on the sectional committee of the American Standards Association for the development of an industrial sanitary code, and is sponsor for the project. A tentative draft of the code is under consideration at the present time. It is also represented on a further sectional committee of the same organization for the revision of the previously adopted code of lighting of factories, mills, and other work places, sponsored by the Illuminating Engineering Society. Studies are also in progress looking toward the development of standards for natural daylight illumination of factories, schools, and hospitals. The primary purpose of a number of studies which are now in progress is that of establishing standards of normal experience with respect to physical condition as a basis of measuring the harmful effect of industrial processes. Furthermore, as rapidly as possible, precise standards of ventilation or other remedial measures are being developed as a guide to industry in the elimination of dust, fumes, gases, or other hazards. For instance, a standard of allowable dustiness for granite polishing has been worked out, together with standards of ventilation procedure by which this limit may be attained. During the past year the statistical office of the Public Health Service has cooperated with the division of mortality of the Bureau of the Census in the tabulation of the causes of death in accordance with the International List. Two representatives of the service were appointed as delegates to attend the conference of the International Commission for the Revision of the International Classification of the Causes of Death to be held in Paris, France, October 16, 1929. The office of milk investigations has for six years been encouraging the passage and enforcement by American cities of a standard milk ordinance. During the fiscal year 1929 approximately 90 American communities enacted the ordinance, bringing the total number of American communities in which the standard ordinance is in effect to more than 300. This office is further engaged in developing a standard method of measuring the milk sanitation status of cities, in order that it may be possible to compare the status of one city with that of another, and in order that it may be possible to express on a satisfactory percentage basis the progress made by a given city from year to year. A committee composed of Public Health Service engineers and railroad officials are preparing standards for sanitary devices and methods to be used in watering railroad coaches and in sanitation of railroad coach yards. Minimum sanitary requirements covering the growing, gathering, shucking, packing, and shipping of shellfish have been continued as a guidance to States in the sanitary control of the shellfish industry. Treasury Department standards continue to be followed in the control of water supplies used for drinking and culinary purposes on interstate carriers. In cooperation with the American Marine Standards Committee, requirements and standards of medicine chests for first-aid equipment for use on vessels of the American merchant marine have been prepared. A book entitled "The Ship's Medicine Chest and First-Aid at Sea," giving in simple language instructions relative to the use of such supplies, was published during the year. OFFICE OF SUPERVISING ARCHITECT The use of standard specifications for materials not yet covered by Federal specifications has been continued, and at the request of the office, the Federal Specifications Board now has in course of prepara |