Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-01-15
A BIG HOUSE TO CLEAN.
The Treasury With Its Miles Of Corri-
doris and Hundreds Of Windows.

Referring to recent publications as to the
sanitary condition of the Treasury building,
most of them containing reflections upon the
| cleanliness of the interior of that structure
! Col. Fred Bracket, chief clerk of the depart
ment and superintendent of the building, said
| to a STAR reporter that he could not take issue
with any one who states that the building or
| certain portions of it are not properly venti-
lated. He. however, questioned the truth of
the statement that sickness or malarial fever
is prevalent to greater extent in the Treasury
department than in other government buildings
As to the cleaning, he said where imperfect
results are obtained IL is due more to the in
adequacy of the force than to Its incapacity.
Few PERSONS Col Bracket went on, sex
cept those connected with the care of the build
ing, realize its extent. 1t is yeritable city in
itself. Nineteen hundred persons spend about
one-third Of their daily life here. There are
500 rooms, 81 of which are occupied by officers
and clerks. Many of the rooms are crowded to
excess. Others are so constructed that the
! inner portion of the room il dark and unfit for
occupation except wheQ illuminated by gas,
which, when used tends to vitiate the atmos-
phere. Ninety-four of these rooms have been
painted since the LIST of last March.
Many more rooms have been thoroughly
cleaned by washing. The corridors through
out the building have been touched up with
paint The subbasement corridors, stairways
and boiler rooms have been twice thoroughly
whltewashed. Whenever requests have been
made for the cleaning Of rooms, or taking M,
cleaning and relaying carpets, the work has
been done. During the year ended March l,
1889, 62 rooms were painted and others thor
oughly cleaned and ceilings kalsomined.
1T may interest you to know that there are
], 19O windows (all large) in this building to
keep clean, or more than there are in sixty of
the ordinary three-story houses of this city.
There are 1920 running feet of corridors, aver
aging twelve feet in width. equal to 5000
square feet, which are cleaned daily. Think of
this space, if you please. One and one-half
miles in length and twelve feet in width
strip one-half longer than the sidewalk from
the Treasury to the foot of the Capitol grounds.
Remember that this does not include one foot
OF the room space In the building occupied for
clerical work, which aggregates the enormous
amount of 171.S16 square feet to be cleaned
daily by messengers, laborers and charwomcn.
The exterior portion of the building used
for entrances embraces 80, COS square feet; the
sidewalks 1880 square feet and pavement in
the west yard 1850 square feet, or total of
1O6.4oS square feet of outdoor surface to be
kept clean.
TO recapitulate, we have: Outdoor surface,
1O6,4SS square feet; corridors, 5000 square
feet; rooms, III, SIG square feet; total of
3I3.3 i4 square feet.
This enormous area of surface has not only
to be kept broom clean but has to be often
washed and is thoroughly busted each day.
do not remember to have had but two COM
plants from occupants of Office rooms as to
imperfect work by cleaners since l have been
i'll the office"
Col. Bracket has received statements from
clerks and employees occupying the subbase-
ment and the attic story testifying to the clean
illness of the building