Type-Checking
The following line shows the method which was perfected in the first
year's work in the New York tenement house department to record the facts
about a house
O
F. P. doors
O
V
CELLAR STAIRS
inside
enclosed
closet under.first story stairs
outside
It reads: "Concerning cellar stairs: there are none outside; there are
inside; they are inclosed (in brick walls); there is one non-fireproof stair
door; there is no closet under the first story stairs."
A fixed form in type secures a
speedy and clear record of the facts. It makes possible thorough, impartial
and consistent enforcement of a law, because the administration can be
centralized in one person, instead of being borne by a number of inspectors
in the field. It saves a great amount of time both in current office review
and in later reference to it as a permanent record. For the latter pur-
pose it is quite comparable with the insurance maps
complete inspection and an accurate,
