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164 Appendix A Page 11. requirements of the building fund. Recently these figures have been unduly high, while later on they may be unduly low. Mr. Cleland calculates how-ever that an allowance of ten per cent on the combined cost of building and of land occupied would show a close approximation to the rental rates for similar apartments in our section of the city. I would suggest that since Mr. Cleland is not in America the Trustees may profitably secure from hire in a personal interview such further information as to these building operations and also as to our purchases of land, as the Trustees may wish. I would also recommend him to them for an expression of our appreciation of his patience and painstaking care in carrying the burden of both building operations and purchases of land. (b) Mandara Property: Our efforts to secure property for use during the summer by those who are forced to remain in Egypt for their vacation, have not been successful as yet. After we had found a suitable site and agreed with the owner on the purchase and secured a legal option, the owner repudiated his agreement and we discover that an option merely allows you to sue for damages incurred by you through the failure of the owner to yield the property. He may pay such damages and keep the property. Furthermore such damages are difficult to establish in court. This illustrates the necessity of instant action in buying property in Egypt and the impossibil-ity of communicating in every instance with America for formal authorization. (c) Suburban Property: The purchase of small bits needed to round out a suitable site for future use goes on from year to year. Just a few days before I left Egypt for the summer, our lawyer reported the need for our securing at once certain pieces of land in the market important to our plans. The University funds in hand did not suffice for the payments required and arrangements had to be : jade with Barclays Bank for borrowings as these might become necessary up to a limit of 13.E. 5000, For this action taken after consultation with the committee in Egypt but without authoriz-ation from America, I have asked for approval by the Finance Committee in America. The sections that have been bought during the summer are in Hod 3, Sections 77 and 89, in Hod 6 sections 1. and 6, in Hod 5 section 33. Refer-ence to the map which Mr. Parker has sent you will indicate the localities of these sections and will at once show their importance to our general purchasing scheme. Mr. Cleland's help will be invaluable in clarifying the whole situation with reference to this suburban property . I would call particular attention to three general plans for completing the property which he has outlined and which, with the map before you, can be easily understood. I have no hesitation in endorsing Plan No. 2 as the most desir-able. His estimate is that it would involve an ultimate total cost for the property of $175,627, of which we have already paid out $76,627. Since, however, some of our present purchases will have to be sold, the total amount of money required for purchasing purposes until these lands are sold would be $127,500. While these purchases look forward to a far distant development of our College Department and the development of certain new lines of work in agriculture, there has never been any doubt of the import-ance of securing this suburban property against our future needs. Land values in the vicinity where we are operating have practically doubled in the last ten years. I wish we could appeal to some one who would push this project through to a finish before the situation becomes more difficult than it is. We have often spoken of a possible lowering of prices in land but every such hope has been proven to be without foundation. Our only real hope is a speedy completion of our purchnses before these land values rise still higher