The Park Governments of Chicago 131 



plants are operated during the summer months, namely — a large 

 plant at Ogden Park which does all kinds of laundry work, and 

 small plants at McKinley and Bessemer Parks and at Davis and 

 Mark White Squares, equipped only for rough work. During the 

 winter all the work is done at the Ogden Park Laundry. Ap- 

 proximately 3,000,000 pieces are now laundered in a year. Only 

 one book account has been maintained at the central office with 

 all these laundries so that reliable figures are not available as to 

 the relative economy of operating each. This account has been 

 charged with labor, supplies, stable expense for deliveries, and 

 incidentals and credited with the value of the output computed 

 at commercial wholesale prices, but has not been charged with any 

 expense for heat, power, administration or depreciation. Inas- 

 much, however, as the account during the last five years, the 

 period reviewed, shows a "profit" each year of approximately 

 100 per cent., the including of the omitted charges would still 

 leave a large saving as a result of operating the plants. 



Prior to 1911 the charge for this service computed, as noted 

 above, was distributed monthly to the several field houses, swim- 

 ming pools, refectories, etc., for which the service was rendered. 

 This year, however, these amounts have been reduced to per- 

 centages which were then applied to the actual monthly costs and 

 the resulting amounts distributed. 



WEST CHICAGO PARK COMMISSIONERS 



Laundry work incident to the operation of the natatorium 

 in Douglas Park has been done since 1906 in the natatorium 

 building, in a laundry operated by the Board. No separate ac- 

 counting has been maintained with this laundry, but the Bureau 

 assembled the 1910 expenses thereof and offset the total with the 

 value of the output, computed at the same prices paid the com- 

 mercial laundries, and the result showed a "profit" of 200 per 

 cent., or a saving of two-thirds. This plant is equipped to do only 

 rough dry work. 



The laundering necessary in connection with the operation 

 of swimming pools in Small Parks Nos. 1, 2 and 3 and also the 

 lunch rooms has been done by outside commercial laundries. There 



