Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-01-27
Hearing Before the Building and
Grounds Committee.
IT'S NEEDS ENTHUSIASTICALLY STATED
Justices of tA Supreme Court and
Commissioners. Speak.
OF OTHER CITIES

the House committee on public buildings
and grounds gave a hearing this morning
upon the Senate bill 1862, to provide for
municipal building and court house in the
District of Columbia. i The District Com
missioners, Justices, Hagner and Cole of the
District bench and Mr., B. H Warner. chair
man of the board of trade committee on
public buildings, addressed the committee.
Judge Hagner's proposition to the COM
nittee was for the erection of two fire.
proof buildings, one on each side of the
present city hail. one to. be used by the
courts and the other by the municipal gov
eminent. When they should be completed
the existing structure should be demolished
leaving an unobstructed view through Jul
dietary Square from Pennsylvania avenue
and furnishing air and light to each of the
buildings.
Judge Hagner spoke at length upon the
inadequate, lnsaIitary and unsafe quarters
for the courts the recorder of deeds office,
the register of wills Office and other offices
which are now crowded into the narrow
confines of thercity hall. He laid great
stress upon the construction of the present
building, which is of a character to make
it gigantic Undertook, likely to go up in
flames at any time, destroying the inval-
liable records which are filed within its
walls.
Should the Present Building Burn.
community said Judge Hagner earnestly,
IF this building should be burned, with the
deeds. wills and other valuable records. 1t
would be absolute ruin
Referring to the miserable and crowded
accommodations he said it was fact that
Marlboro and" Rockville, in the adjoining
counties of Maryland, provided better quar-
tiers for their courts than the capital of
the nation furnished for its Judiciary. He
read a letter from the register of wills Mr.
T Of Mach
THE present court house has long since
become inadequate and is totally unsuitable
for the courts and the offices allied there
with. The orphans court room is taxed
to its utmost limit at nearly every ses-
sion. The atmosphere of the court room Is
certainly most unhealthy. Until very re-
Gently there was absolutely no safeguard
against losses by fire. The vault was in
most dilapidated condition, and the records
were on wooden shelves, totally without
protection. The vault is now freproof, but
this is the only office in the entire building
which is thus equipped. If fire should
occur in the basement of this building great
damage would ensue to- valuable papers
and records. The dampness of certain
rooms in this office IS most pronounced.
The health OF several of the clerks has fire.
quently been affected by this condition, the
absence ont account of Illness being quite
marked
Need of, Fire-Proof Building.
Judge Hagner also read a communication
from the deputy recorder of deeds, Mr..
George F. SfhayeF, who said:
ITO place. this office, with its valuable
land records and files. in a separate, abso-
lutely tire-broof building has often been
urged before and rs certainly demanded by
the whole property interest of the District.
The office has, moreover, long eutgrown its
present facilities, and Is badly eramped for
room, and its service thereby greatly incon-
venienced. If compelled to- remain very
much longer in thf same. quarters fire-proof
shelves should. asosoon as possible, replace
the dangerous wooden shelves and file cases
now used for ine several thousand record
books and the great number of flies in this
Office ., ,. -it-rars.,.
Mr. John r. Young. the clerk of the Dis
trict Supreme Court submitted state
ment upon the, &2ndijion of the court room,
in which he SAID: ~,
Our space is entirely inadequate, every
nook and corner being occupied that it is
possible to use, and no available room for
extension In sight Our last resort was to
close the north exit of the building and use
the hall leading to it for the storage of
records. There are vaults or fireproof
rooms N, which to store the great mass
of records of inestimable value that have
been accommodating now for nearly one hun
dred years r-.
The furniture, file cases, &c, are mostly
cfuda' cheap and antiquated, and con-
structed from very combustible material.
The sanitary condition of the building is
bad and has been condemned by the heath
office. The clerks in charge of the file
re oms, copyists and other employees of the
Office are crowded into narrow, inconven-
lent and Wretchedly ventilated spaces that
are dark and unwholesome. The lighting
apparatus, both gas and electric which has
been put in some rooms since the conStruc-
ton of the building. with pipes and wires
exposed, is unsightly and l fear, unsafe"
Valuable Records Menaced
Judge Cole addressed the. committee,
and emphasized the 'iatters remarks He
called particular attention to the fact that
the most valuable records of the District
those relating to property titles-are con-
stantiy menaced.
Judge Cole also agreed with Judge Hag-
ner about the plan of having two buildings
one for the judiciary and one for the mu-
ncipal government. He earnestly entreat-
ed the committee to take action upon the
bill and togive the building start.
The commissioners Appeal.
Commissioner Ross said that no matter
had been presented to Congress in which
the people were more deeply interested
than this subject of new municipal build
ing. He said no third-rate power in civil
ization would house its municipal govern
ment in rented building and vet the
Washington municipal government had
been occupying rented quarters since 1871.
Their present accommodations said Mr.
Ross, are better than ever before but they
are rapidly becoming inadequate. Some Of
the Offices in the building the tax col
leotors and others, are daily overcrowded
Inc building, although purporting to be of
fireproof construction, probably would not
withstand a confiagration, and the valuable
papers in the building would be lost
Moreover, said Mr.. Ross, the building
does not even accommodate all the Dis
trict Offices The surveyor, the coroner
the attorney for thu District and the boa rd
of school trustees have to find quarters
elsewhere He said the people were con-
graduating themselves that bill for a
proper municipal building had at last pass
I'D one house of Congress- the Senate and
he besoughh g the .1Commitee to report the
bill and put it through the House of Rep
resentatives-o .ois
Commissioner Wight then briefly address
ed The cornmittef. He said the citizens
were readyfto waive all questions of de-
tail about the kind Of building, whether
one or twu structures, and be contented
now with av bill starting. the work under
way He felt that the necessity for a.
municipal building had been fully demon
strated by Judges Hagner, and Cole and
Mr.. Ross. aThe committee could see the
situation, and he hoped would find it's way
clear to report thei bill and institute a be-
ginning of the work Of providing the city
with a safelihomailfor its government
Mr.. warAer'ss Presentation of the