Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-03-24
GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS.
Economy i'm the Public BuiIdings-
Conclusions Arrived At by the Sem
ate Standing Committee.
From the New York Herald


From the New York Herald.
WASHINGTON, March 20.-The Sem
ate Committee on Public Buildings
and Grounds to-day submitted report
on the Senate resolution directing them
to inquire into the expediency Of sus.
pending the expenditure of all appro-
priations for public buildings not yet
commenced, and of covering such ap-
preparations into the Treasury. They
said the contemplated buildings to
which reference is made in this resolu-
ton are those authorized to be con-
structed at Albany, n. Y; Atlanta,
Ga; Covington, Ky; Dover, Del;
Evansville, Ind; FaH River, Mass;
Grand Rapids, Mich; Jersey City,
NJ; Lincoln, Neb.; Little Rock, Ark;
Memphis and Nashville, Tenn; San
Francisco, Cal for marine hospital);
Utica, n. 7. for court house, etc J,
and Washington City for Treasury
archives). The unexpendcd appropria-
tons for these buildings amount to
s., 270, 500, which amount is distributed
among more than a dozen States, a
part being at State capitals, and being
far less than has been appropriated for
buildings IN any one of several of the
larger cities. "In fact" says the COM
mittee, ''the great bulk of all recent
appropriations for public buildings Will
be found to have been absorbed by the
cities of Chicago, st. Louis, New
York and Boston, where large and ex-
pensive buildings have seemed indis-
pensable." They add that, although
the government service would not suffer
much more inconvenience by the delay
of a year IN the construction of the
buildings mentioned in the above list
than it has suffered in the past year,
yet the necessity for them is not less
than that which has prompted similar
structures in other places. As the re-
suit of an extended discussion on gen.
eral subjects of present necessity for
economy, the requirements of the pub
lie service, the different styles of arch
itectural constructions, ETC., the COM
mittee arrive at the following conclu-
sions:
Frst-That when it become neces-
sary, In any locality, for the national
government to erect public buildings
utility shall be the foremost considera-
ton.
Second-That they shall have some
general unity of character.
Third-That they shall be steady and
firm in proportions rather than rich
and unique In detail.
Finally-The committee are of opin-
ion that the expenditure for public
buildings In the present exigency for
economy should be cut down with as
much severity as any of the other ex-
penditures; but that they ought not to
be singled out as the least meritorious
of all and wholly denied in a lump.
In the course of the report it is re-
commended that the following work be
authorized Immediately to be done IN
Washington City, in order mainly to
provide need facilities for the public
service and save the large expenditures
for rent Of private buildings now used:
The Court of CLANS should be re-
moved to the City Hall building, to
give more space for the committee
rooms in the Capitol, and the City Hall
should be enlarged so as to accommo-
date the Pension Bureau. The Post
Office Department should be enlarged.
A building should be erected for the
Printing Bureau of the Treasury De-
partment, and the east part of the lat
| ter should be extended. In the near
future, also provision should be made
for Congressional Library Bureau,
and the additions recently made to the
Capitol grounds should be improved SO
as to carry out the design of their pur'
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