Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-12-06
NEW BUILDINGS PROPOSED.
PRESIDENT Urges That Department Of
Justice and Supreme Court Be
Provided For,

L deem 1t my duty to call to the atten-
tion of Congress the condition of the pres
ent building occupied by the department of
justice. The business of that department
has increased greatly since it was estab-
Hshed IN It's present quarters. The build
lrs now occupied by it is neither large
enough nor of suitable arrangement for
the proper accommodation of the business
of the department. The supervising archI-
tect has pronounced 1t unsafe and unsui.ed
Tor the use to which it is put. The at
torney general in his reports states that
Inc Iprary or the department is on tie
tourth foor and that all the space allotted
TO it is SO crowded with books as to dan.
Gerously overload the structure. The first
moor IS occupied by the court of claims.
The building is of an old and dilapidated
appearance, unsuited to the dignity which
ment.
A proper regard for the safety. comfort
and convenience of the officers and en-
ployes would justify the eXpenditure of q
liberal sum of money in the erection of a
rev building of Commodious proportions
aau nanosone appearance upon the very
advantageous site already secured for that
purpose, including the ground occupied bv
TIE present structure and adjoining vacant
ground. comprising in all a frontage of al
of 1856 feet.
In this connection I may likewise refer to
- aNNOlllalloubt JILL DTOt'0pd
Tor the supreme court in the capitol and
suggest the wisdom of making provision
Tor the erection of a separate building for
the court and its offices and library up5n
available ground near the capitol.
The Postofice Department.
The postal service of the country adj
vances with extraordinary growth. Within
twenty years both the revenues and the
expenditures of the postoffice department,
AVE multiplied threefold. In the last ten
years they have nearly doubled. our pos
tai business grows much more rapidly than
our population. 1t now involves an
expenditure Of slsO.cO.oO a year. nun
bers 1900 pestoffices and enrolls 2o0.O 600
employees. mis- remarkable extension
of a service which is an accurate
lndex of the public conditions presents
eaucation, of the increase of communica-
ton and business activity and of the i'm
provement of mail facilities leading TO their
constantly auSmenting Use.
The war with Spain laid new and excep-
Ilolal iabors on the pustofiice department.
fo ere sn of ,ba fT, 81 Tie military and naval
mail arrangements for every camp and
every campaign. The communication be-
places of rendezvous as many as D.OpJ iet-
tiers a day required handling. This neces-
sity was met by the prompt detail of ex-
perienced meE from the established force
and by directing all the Observation-Disclosures
of the railway mail and postoffice service
so far as necessary TO this new need. Con-
sress passed an act empowering the post
master general to establish offices or
branches at every military camp or station
and under this authority the postal ma
chinery was speedily put into effective OPP
GRAFTON.
Postal Service Ia the Colonies.
Under the same authority when our
forces moved ypon Cuba. Porto Rico and
the Philippines, they were attended and
followed tie postal service. Though the
act o. gross authorized the appoint
ment o. ! stmasters where necessary, it
was early DE ,ermined that the public inter
ests would be best subserved. not by new
designations. but by the detail of expert
enced men familiar with every branch of
followed. When the territory which was
the theater of the conflict came into our
possession 1t became necessary to re-estsb-
lish mail facilities for the resident popula-