The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-07-01
An Instance Of How Parsimonious ssmen
Put the Government in . Disagreeable
Position by Their False Economy.
How a Simplification of Pension Bureau
Methods Has Facilitated the Work.
Frederick Douglass Not Blaine's First Choice
for the Haytian Mission-DiStrict Offices
Why Few New Clerks Are Needed.
PARsIMONIOUS ECONOMY.
The Trouble Caused by the Meager Appropri-
ations for Rent Of Postoffice Buildings.

ations for Rent of Postoffice Buildings.
Special to the Indianapolis Journal
WASHINGTON, June 30-One of the grea,-
est annoyances with which the Postmaster
general has to contend is that raised over
the rental of buildings for postoffice pur-
poses. With its customary parsimonious
economy Congress has persistently refused
to listen to the recommendations of the
POstmaster-geperal in relation to the re-
Quirements of the service in this respect
and as consequence there is never enough
money available to warrant the Postmaster
general in selecting suitable quarters for
offices in towns where he finds it necesssry
to rent postal stations.
Two cases are now before him which are
giving him q great deal of trouble. Some
years ago, when it was found desirable t.
rent q building for the Denver, Col, post
office, the citizens were so anxious to have
the building located in a certain particular
place that they gave the United States one
of the best buildings in town for the nOm-
inal rental of dollar year. This. of
course, wasmerely the valuable" consider
alton which was necessary to make the
bargain binding. Later it was found that
the building was not large enough for the
requirements of the service, and the depart
ment was compelled to pay 5000 year for
small amount of additional space. Since
that time a public building has been au-
thorized in Denver. but it will be year
yet before that building is ready to be oc-
cupied. The lease of the postoffice. which
was secured at such advantageous terms
for the government, expires on the 1st of
July, and it will be necessary to find other
quarters or come to an agreement with the
owners of the property. These owners are
not anxious to have the government occupy
this building for one year now, when there
is every reason to believe that they can
lease their building on much better terms,
and instead of Offering the building for the
mere nominal rent. they ask $500 year.
From 81 to $500 is n good deal of
jump, yet experts say the rental
asked is not more than the property is real
ly worth. But. of course. Congress could
never understand how it is that a lease ex-
piring on the 1st of July, which has cost
the government only one dollar a year,
could by any possible chance have to be re-
newed at the cost Of $500.
Another case in point is that in relation
to one of the sub-stations in the city of
Brooklyn. Here stOre-room was leased
some years ago a. a rental of 5000. At that
time the total number of employees in the
sub-statiOn was only about eight but that
section of the city has grown so rapidly
that the eight have increased to nearly
fOrty-ei ght, and it is absolutely necessary
that additional room should be provided in
order that their work may be properly
done. The authorities desire to retain the
office in the building. The owner of
room, facing the principal business
th0rOughfare in that section; he shows that
it will cost him 81, 600 to tit it up for occu-
pancy of the department., and that the an
nual cost for heat will be several hundred
dollars, and he asks s., 500 a year for the ac-
commOdatiOns which he proposes to furnish.
He shows cOnclusively that the rental is
bring even more than that for business
purposes yet the increase from 5000 year
to twenty-five hundred is so great that the
government hesitates to close the contract,
yet admitting that there is no other build
ing in the vicinity offering anything like
the facilities afforded BY this One
These are only two of a great many cases
which the POstmaster-general is called up
on to decide day after day, but they show
how absurd it is for members of the House
to cut down the appropriations asked for
by department officials. The heads O6de-
partments are just as careful of the Ma
can be. and it is only natural that they
should have better knowledge of the
needs than member of the House, who
cannot. through the very nature of things,
have any idea of what each individual
branch OF the government service demands.