Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-06-11
THE CITY POST OFFICE.
The Senate Discusses it Before Agreeing
TO the Conference Report.


The conference report OF the committees OF
the House and senate on puhiie buildings and
grounds on the city post Office matter was pre-
scented IN the senate late yesterday afternoon.
and was agreed 20 after a lengthy debate.
Senator Morgan made a general attack upon
the site selcciea-th square bounded by Penn
syivanla avenue and 18th. 18th aud c streets.
lie laid especial stress upon the claim that
children and poor old people living north OF
Pennsylvania avenue would be practically cut
oa from communication with the post office by
trStac on the avenue.
ME. HoAR's IpFks.
In the course Of the debate Mr.. Hoar said.
For one hope that all the srace between
the south side % PENNSYLVANIA avenue until
you come 70 ;he next avenue which runs at
night angles. Maryland avenue 1 think 1, rs.
nat 70 the next avenue AZ any rate. which runs
at right angles 90 the Capitol building. hope
10 see ever ta'Ec cleared OF from that space
from the Capitol 60 the Treasury. eNc,pt pub
he bulidlnss, including The railroad. and a park
made
Mr.. Morrill, heartily JON with the senator
as tar as the railroads are concerned. hut I
must say 80 Tar as prsstn: appearances are con-
cerntd that " are not very near n.
Mr.. Hodr / wish % see a park established
ana maintained there which will extend from
the Capitol To the Potomac river, right across
N"' 7 bt'lilafs Nlsl Ahr projected bridge shall
be bUllt 10 Arlington. thai viii hy the great or
namcnt ana breathing place Of the national
capital. lNCry new building that L. nut on that
l space mtcrICr's with the execution OF that
pan; ana At seems 20 me very strange indeed
That the cltr post Cncc should bp placed. as /
hav" SAID. at "A point where there j. no business
Whatever south % At. whore there are a few
put.lc buildings. and n trw of the very poorest
human hdbltatlons until YOU get 10 some dis
lance south Of II and the park. and there IL not
IN the CIty of Washington one single business
establishment ~ any consequence living south
Of tins Spot. This l. not only true. hut II Is ON
the very southern border. as the senator's coll
league Mr.. Edmnnds' suggests. of eytrythmS
IN the way OF business. and the business center
Is constantly and very rapidly moving to the
northwest.
Ii You put this city post office on Franklin
Square or put II somewhere on LAFAYETTE Square
I do not mean in the squares. but IN that loca-
ton IA reference to the - that would be
taking the future into consideration aud put
ting tins building where the business q the
clty would bc constantly moving TO II and
moving beyond It, Ii seems 10 me very strange
indeed that a site should he selected from
which. IL the inevitable course of the growth
OF tins city. all business is moving. so that IN
ten or fifteen years. whatever building may be
put up there. there will be a clamor 10 remove
the city post office because of being out Of the
business part If the CITY.
Several Senators wanted 10 know why the
post Office could not be located on the square
80 " IA 4 oallit DEPARTMENT. ana. SNna-
tor Morrill, told them that the House had re-
peated!y refused TO pass Senate bills providing
for such a plan.
Mr.. VEST MAKES A SPEECH.
Senator Vest WAS absent from the chamber
during the earlier portion of the discussion.
When he came in he said: Mr. President. [
have just come into the Senate. / UNDER
stand that there Is opposition to the adop-
ton Of the conference report in regard TO the
city post office. / want 10 say, from personal
experience IN regard to this matter, that this
Is the only reasonable opportunity for fur
nlshIng to the people Of thus District and 10
the government OF the United States-becAuse
tins Is largely a national matter-an appro-
pirate building for the transaction of the pub
le business IN regard TO postal affairs IN tins
city. len years ago / made report upon this
question, and that was a report which followed
one made 10y friend from Ncrm0ut MIR. Nor
rllll. recommending that the government pur-
chase the bloch 70 winch my colleague MIR.
CockrellD has Just alluded. where the Post
Ottice Department now is. ana that We should
take sth street ard appropriate the space TO
governmental purposes. and erect a building
there which would furnish ample room for the
city post Office and would also furnish adj
dIuonal accommodations 20 the Post Office De-
partmcnt. which Is sadly in need of them. We
were met with this same sort Of opposition.
4 undertake 20 say if YOU 20 back to the
Record you Will find the very same sort Of talk
We have had here tOday-'No use in throwing
dNdA AAC llblltE VI IL ltNIhAt III THAT sort OI
way; 20 on with rented property
The quartermaster department was then IN
a rented house upon Pennsylvania avenue,
which had been three times on fire. and we
came very near losing all the important docu-
ments connected with that department. Other
departments of the public service were IN
rented houses, and still NC we're told ID was
economy not TO purchase that block. to put It
of; ana yet We knew the government was
growing in q l. 10 unprecedented in all hIs-
tory; that We were paying out these rents: that
property Was going up IN the city of Washing
ton. And what II the RESULT Why. today we
cannot buy that block within SiO0. OOO OF what
We could have bought II for - 900
which might have been made and at the same
time secured 10 us an eligible location for this
great public edI:Ice.
THE PRESENT BUILDING A DISGRACE.
AT the next session there was the same sort
of report. the sam sort of controversy and the
same result. And so il has gone on from year
TO year. complaint all the time being made.
The city post office today is in a building which
Ii q public scandal and disgrace to tins govern
ment. a building where no gentleman would do
ms private business. the city postmaster COM
planning, tie Postmaster General complaining,
the Secretary of the Interior complaining that
there Is no room Tor the pubic business. Yet
here, with the Treasury hlled with money. We
are told that II il economy TO wait until prop
erty has gone higher IN the city of Washing
ton. when We know that eventually We must
bGy up an thls property Tor TINS purpose.
The on public buildings and
grounds have given personal attention to this
matter. We have inspected every site offered.
We have permitted no jobbery in regard to it.
We have exercised our very best judgment in
regard to 1t. We have for the first time IN all
these twelve years that 1 have served upon the
committee on public buildings and grounds at
last secured cooperation an the joint commit
tee On public buildings and grounds.
Senators who have not served upon that CON-
mlttee have no idea of the difficulties. Just so
soon as there Is II rumor that either one of
the committees contemplatcs the purchase Of
any particular locality. the real estate agents,
the speculators, the enterprising citizens of
the locality. swarm around Us. property is put
up, and fabulous prices are asked when the
government Of the United States Is 10 become
a purchaser. Quietly and unostentatiously We
selected this square upon this avenue. the
very best that could be done. We are labor
ing now under the trouble that II has become
a sort of common Law here that NO public
building shall so upon the other side of the
avenue; that the government Of the United
States must purchase all its property upon
higher ground. There is no neceasity for that.
ADVANTAGES OF THE SITE SELECTED.
1t was said here for some years that no cell
lars could be obtained upon that side of the
avenue without being filled with water. The
g,11.rz fi.ra y s,-s .Z H. 80. fl.