Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-10-13


incidentally TO the letting OF contracts, etc.
The architects shop OF the treasury has
| already put up and finished 2I3 public build
ings In various parts Of the country from
Alaska to Florida and from Maine to Cali
| fornia. Sixty more are now in process of
construction or alteration. Thirty-eight
| have been ordered by Congress- but are not
yet begun. In this last category Is a great
and beautiful structure for the housing of
government offices In San Francisco. plans
| for which have already been made. This
makes a total of 81 buildings which are, or
| soon will be. under the control of the super
vising architect.
The supervising architect has entire
charge of these buildings. Each one of
| them is under the care of a custodian, who
sends reports at regular intervals to Wash
| ington respecting the condition of the struc-
ture. Whatever repairs are needed he at
| tends to, but he cannot have a broken pane
| OF glass mended without obtaining an order
| from the Treasury Department. II he
wants a new broom. he must go through
the same formalty. strict construction
| of law would oblige Secretary Carlisle to
indorse every such requistion. but, for the
sake of convenience. the supervising archi-
teet signs the ORDERS when the payment in
volved does not exceed s1U. OF course, the
total bill for repairs runs to a great many
thousands of dollars in the course OF a year.
They Furnish Estimates.
The number Of public buildings now going
| up is unusually large. Great ones are being
built ct Detroit Buffalo. Omaha, Mil
waukee, Kansas City. st. Paul and ALLIE
gheny. During the last year the expendi-
lures OF the office were over si,oO0.O0o, in
Guiding the purchase Of sites
In the Office of the supervising architect
are employed forty-fve draughtsmen. many
OF whom have been practicing architects
Some of these are specialists in steel and
iron construction. heating. ventilation and
elevators. All of the tracing is done by wo-
men, for whom this is new kind OF work
They do II as well as men can. There are
forty-nine women in this bureau of the
treasury. but most of them do only copying
and other clerical duty
The most important duty of the average
congressman is to obtain an appropriation
Tor public building in the town where he
resides. Nothing is likely to help him SO
much politically with his constituents
FROM the supervising architect he first gets
an estimate of the cost of the building
MS Is made in a rough way by reckoning
the number of cubic feet in the structure Ii
ought to cost from ~ to 40 cents a cubic
foct. according TO the style of architecture
and degree of ornamentation demanded
The estimate must include heating annara-
tus. elevators hXtures-everything in short
except furniture. Sometimes the euterDris-
ing member gets ahead of Uncle Sam by
securing an appropriation which does nnt
nearly cover the expenditure required The
basement and one story perhaps are con-
cluded, and the next Congress Is Obliged TO
Put up more cash to finish the building.
having got his estimate, the member in
PRODUCES a bill providing for the erection ~
tae building. This is referred TO the conn
mlttee Oh public buildings and grounds
Mhich reports on II In Cue time. If it pass
es. IL goes to the Senate, in ordinary course
and eventually TO the President 1t MAY be
Incorporated rs a paragraph in a general
appropriation bill The bill authorizes the
purchase of site and the erection OF the
structure within specified time.
Securing building Sites,
The Secretary Of the Treasury appoints
commission to report on a suitable site
A letter is sent to the postmaster in the
city concerned, instructing him to adyer-
tise In the local papers that The government
desires to purchase lot of a certain size
for the erection of building. The commits
sion examines the lots offered and recon-
nends one as the most desira bic. Quite a
squabble Is apt to arise over the choice
whlcn necessarily affects many business in
terests. Rival real estate owners and agents
contend for the sale. and influential citizens
take hand in the struggle for the location
NatutaIy property In the neighborhood Of
the public building gains value, and on that
account a site Is occasionally given to the
government outright. On the other hand
Ii sometimes happens that Uncle Sam is
obliged to exercise the right of eminent
domain. suing in the courts for the condem-
nation OF property and buying 1t at an APP
praisement
Property owners have been known to try
bribery in such CO SEES. However, the COM
mission having reported, the supervising
architect makes recommendation to the
Secretary of the Treasury. The latter II IL
seems good to him: authorizes the purchase
Of the site selected. The title having been
Investigated, tests are made to ascertain
the character of the ground with reference
to the foundation Of the structure. Rough
plans are then drawn and submitted to the
Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary Of
the Interior and the Postmaster General
They represent the three departments whose
offices are to be housed In the building
incidentally. a copy of the plans is sent TO
the local postmaster for criticism. He NAV
discover that this or that alteration Will
render the structure better adapted for the
purposes In view.
Plans for Contractors.
Next. the working drawings are taken in
hand at the Office In Washington III the
building is not to cost more than sJe.eoe OF
$4,000 the whole of the construction is
given out to one contractor, except only
the heating apparatus. But, In case IL is
to be a larger structure. 1t is split I'D into
two or more contracts-say. one for the base
ment and area walls. second for the
superstructure, a third for the interior fin
ish and fourth for the heating. In former
times IL was the custom to let out the work
to many contractors, perhaps fifteen or
twenty, one doing the brickwork another
the stonework, and so on. But this method
gave rise to dispute and multiplied the num-
Der of drawings required.
In the rear of the Treasury Department I'm
Washington Is little wooden building.
where all the copying Of drawings for the
supervising architect is done Numerous
bidders for contracts have TO be supplied
With plans, &c, on which to base their
estimates. To reproduce them IN multiple
by hand would be very costly and laborious
so photography Is employed for the purpose.
Architects generally multiply their draw
ings by the blueprint process. They take
plan or elevation, make a tracing from II,
lay the tracing upon a sheet OF sensitized
paper and expose them to the sun. wher-
ever the sensitized paper is not protected
by the lines Of black ink On the tracing IL
turns blue. the result being a sheet with a
blue background, on which the lines OF the
tracing are copied in white. A better
method Is practiced here chemically
prepared paper Is exposed to the sun be-
meath an Ink drawing on tracing linen Just
In the CaSa III fha hlna rrins Is,.t fAo