Evening star., 1897-04-03
THE POST OFFICE REMOVAL
Additional Grounds Against the Consoli
dation.
Postmaster General Gary Has Not
Been Consulted About the
Proposed Change.

On next Tuesday morning the Senate
committee on appropriations will be called
upon to pass upon the sundry civil app-o-
priation bill, and. incidentally, to decide
whether the appropriat tion OF $4,000 for the
removal of the Post Office Department
from its present quarters into the new city
post office building shall be allowed to re-
main in the bill
There seems to have been an utter lack
OF information on the part of many who
have considered the sundry civil bill re-
garding the conditions that would be met
by the Post Office Department If it should
be moved into the city post office building
The Senate committee on appropriations
does not seem to have been informed re-
garding the utter lack of facilities that
would be met by the Post Office Depart
ment If this change is made and there has
been general impression prevailing in
That committee that the quarters allotted
TO the department were amply sufficient
TO accommodate every portion of the Post
Office Department that is now uuartered i'm
the main building, on 9TH street. and In
several separate rented quarters in the
nelghoorhood 1t was for the purpose of
getting all these bureaus under one roof
that 1t was deemed desirable to move the
department, and number of senators ex-
pressed surprise when spoken to by a Star
iSpoitti totdy al the existing condition.
as pointed out in The Star yesterday
1t has been shown that the department
would have 21,290 square feet of floor
space less than its various bureaus now
occupy This is exclusive of corridors
| and the fact that the corridors have been
| left out of all calculation is said by many
ofhcials to have an important bearing on
| the subject for the reason that the corri-
dor space in the general post office build
| ing and in those buildings that have beer
| rented by the government is greatly in
| excess of the corridor space that will be
! al the disposal Of the department in the
| city post office building. In the general
| post office building the corridor space has
| been utilized for storing files and many
! valuable documents which must remain
| in the possession of the department ar.
now so cared for. while in the new city
| post office building Ii will probably be
| necessary TO place them in rooms and in
| this way there will be a reduction of the
| floor space as now calculated.
| Gen. Gary Not Consulted.
| At the Capitol today there was consider
| able comment among senators and repre-
sentatives over the fact that It is propose {.
to remove the Post Office Departm ant with
| out consulting Postmaster Geleral Gary
1t has always been the custom of commit
| tees Of Congress to consult heads of de-
partments regarding every important piece
| of legislation that terds to affect the de-
| this case, Postmaster General Wilson was
consulted regarding his wishes The aill
| did rot receive the signature of President
4 Cleveland, and 1t came up In the presen,
| Congress with the necessity of considering
and acting upon ii without regard to wbai
/ the last Congress had done. So far as III,
Dill has teen considered, the paragraph pro-
| viding for the removal of the Posi- Offce
| Department has not, 1t is asserted a. Tho
| Capitol been even called to the attention OF
the Postmaster General, and t is no;
known there whether he approves or dis.
approves the project for the removal OF
| his department.
AS he Is to be greatly fnconve nienced by
having a great mass Of public Dcuments
and records placed under his control re
| moved into new building, and as he viii
| suffer from this Inconvenience more thar
any one else, 1T is regarded as strange
| that he has not been called before any
| committee Of Congress in order to get his
views So far as is known the Postmasten
| General has not expressed any opinion re-
| garding this matter. But 1t is not Gus
| tomary for the head of a department. Il
| express opinions regarding pending legis
| lation unless he is called upon to DO So
| 1t Is believed that the Senate committee
| on appropriations next Tuesday viii
| consider the disadvantages which would re
| suit from the adoption of that paragraph OF
the sundry civil bill which provides fol
| the removal of the department, although
| the bill as a whole is now practically com
pleted. and lacking any new development
| is ready to be reported favorably to IN,
| SenaAe