The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-02-14
THE NEW STATE-HOUSE BILL
A Tumble from S9JO,OOO to $2JO,OOO, or a
Saving of 100000 to the State.

fayorably reported on Dy the Committee on Pub
lie Buildings, Of which Devices is chairman, en-
titled an act to provide for the purchase of
tate-House, to make appropriation therefor, to
set apart the necessary funds and to grant jur.s-
diction for enforcement OF the acts OF sale and
mortgage.
| The bill provides that the st. Louis Hotel shall
by purchased for s25O0O0.
| Authorizes the Board Of Public Buildings to be
composed of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor
and Speaker Of the House, to enter into the
necessary notorial act.
Appropriates the necessary s250,000 and an
add ional thousand dollars for incidental ex-
penses in carrying out the provisions OF the act.
Provides further, that out of all State taxes col
lected one-half of one mill on every dollar shall
be set apart out of the general funds by the Audi
tor and Treasurer as a fund to meet the purchase
price of said property; and the said funds, or SO
much thereof as shall have been collected shall
| be paid to the vendors at times to be designated
| in the act of sale; provided, said payment shall
be made at least twice in each year, and gives
| jurisdiction to every and any court Of ordinary
jurisdiction, in the parish of Orleans, to enforce
| the provisions Of the act.
| 1t was sent to Hahn's Wing for concurrence,
and will no doubt go through and be presented
to Kellogg for his signature, and it can be posi-
lively stated that Kellogg will sign it, and in due
time promulgate it.
| This bill is the wind up of the great State
House job exposed by the BULLETIN at the time
it was 'put uo." during the forepart Of April,
1874
| 1t was one OF the grandest speculaticns into
which the Kellogg government entered. 1t was
provision for the future.
The general appropriation bill passed by the
Legislature Of 1874 gave the Board of Public
Buildings, composed of Kellogg, Antoine and
Lowell full and extensive authority to lease, in
the name of the State, such public building Or
buildings for all the various executive depart
ments and for the General Assembly, for an an
nual rental of fifty thousand dollars.
| On the strength of this section the New Or.
leans Building Association, with John c. Ben
ham as president and Devices, Mathews andWands
as a board Of directoYA purchased the st. Louis
Hotel for s125,OO0, from John G. Gaines, Presi-
dent of the Citizens Bank. The terms were
s25, 900 cash and the balance in annual payments
of $50, 900.
| The purchase completed. the Board of Public
Buildings, each member of which held stock in
the association, entered into lease of the build.
ing for space of nineteen years, at an annual
rental of $50 900, involving little sum of $780,
600.
| The expose and vigorous denunciation by the
BULLETIN caused sole FeeP' to give his atten-
ton to the matter, and the result was applica-
ton for an injunction to prevent the provisions
of the lease being carried out. The injunction
was granted and an application to dissolve the
injunction brought the matter up on its merits
Hawkins decided the case follows:
"Let this lease be declared null and void and
let the Recorder of Mortgages be instructed to
erase and cancel this lease from the records of
his office, and let the Injunction be made per
petual.'
! This judgment was rendered on June 1, and on
the I'd or Sd of the same month the Board of
Public Buildings entered into another lease for
the remainder of the year, at the rate of thirty
eight thousand year.
Geo. c. Benham on the I'd of June, rose to ex-
plain. and in a communication to the BULLETIN,
stated
:sThat the original lease was never intended to
be the permanent lease but was g an earnest to
the Building Association that if they purchased
the st. Louis Hotel and made the large expendi-
ture for its remodellng, amounting in the aggre-
gate to seventy-tve thousand dollars, the State
House Commissioners would, at the proper time
give a permanent lease" and that the lease
was recorded only to make it binding.
This communication establishes the statement
made above, that the purchase of the building
was on the strength of the authority vested in
the board to make the lease.
This last least expired on the LIST of January
of this year.
Hahn appointed his standing committees, and
Devices was placed on the Comm ttee on Public
Buildings He introduced his State-House bill,
and it was referred to his committee, and as
above stated, his committee reported favorably
and recommended its passage.
This report was made inside of twenty-four
hours The committee only had it in its pos
session one day.
Some four or five days previous, Murrell intro
duced resolution instructing the Committee on
Public Buildings to inquire as to the lease of the
State House, and to that committee the resolution
was referred, but up to date has not beenreported
on and the probabilities are that it will not be
ported on until this bill is finally passed. The
impression among the members of the Crowd is
that the nineteen-year lease is still in exist
ence. When Murrell inquired as to the
action on his resolution, Devices replied
that Benham had the lease, and that Ben
ham was not in the city, OF course
Devices knew nothing about the nature of it.
He is one of those innocent men who have bust
ness capacity. He never read the lease, and did
not take copy, and he never once thought Of
ascertaining whether not it was recorded
He thought himself that that nineteen year lease
was still in force, of course he did, and never
once intended to confirm the members in then
error.
1t is claimed by those who advocated the bill
that it will be great saving to the State. They
contend that it costs $4,000 a year for public
buildings, and that in five years the State House
will pay for itself, all the State offices will be