Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-01-13
Commissioners Act Promptly Upon
Mr.. Carnegie's Offer.
TIE LIBRARY Site THEY RECMOMEND
Text of the Measure and Their
Letter in Support Of 1t.
SCULPTOR'S PROMISE

| in this city of handsome building Tor
| the Washington public library, detailed
| in yesterdays Star, considered this
morning by the District Commissioners. and
they at once drafted a bill to provide a
site for the building. Mr.. Carnegie having
| stipulated in his offer that the site should
| be provided by the government.
/ Commissioner Wight, Immediately after
the Commissioners had approved the draft
! of the bill took copies of it to the chair
| men of the two District committees in Con-
gress, and also presented TO the chairmen
| of these committees the following letter
form the board of District Commissioners:
| The Commissioners of the District of
| Columbia have the honor to inclose here
| with draft of bill to provide a site for a
! building for the Washington City Free Lii
| brary which they request that you Will
| present, and which they hope may have
| your approval and support in securing its
| passage
The site named in the bill is suggested
| by the Commissioners because Of its access
| ibiiity, being reached by nearly every
! street car lire in the city, and will be con-
| venient in their opinion to the largest num-
| Der of persons, who will make use of this
| proposed library building.
| Improve the Avenue.
The dimensions available are shown on
| the map accompanying this letter, and are
! believed to be more than ample for the
| building, allowing on the east and west
! fronts space for parking, which will en-
| hance the appearance of the building. This
| location will, moreover, afford another op-
! portunity to improve the appearance of
| Pennsylvania avenue by lining its south
| side with handsome structures.
The reservation referred to was origin
| ally a gift to the Cnited States government.
| As matter of convenience, Louisiana ave
| nue. was extended through the reservation,
| but il was not originally intended as d
| street, and is not essential at all to the
| comfort or convenience TO those doing bust
| ness in that neighborhood \ very slight
| detection around 9th street affords accessi-
| bflity to the markets.
| I'm order that the building NAV present
| d proper appearance on Pennsylvania ave-
| nue., it may be advisable to close up Louisi-
| ana avenue at this point. The statue of
Gen. Rawlings located on the corner of
| 9th street and Pennsylvania, within this
| reservation need not be disturbed as the
| building will not be within one hundred
| feet of it. -
| Text of the Bill.
The bill as drafted by the Commissioners
| reads as follows:
"A bill TO provide site for building for
the Washington City Free Library.
| BE 1t enacted by the Senate and House
| OF Representatives of the United States of
| America, in Congress assembled that au-
thoflty Is hereby conferred upon the Com
| missoners of the District of Columbia To
| cause 10 be erected upon reservation Z, on
the south side of Pennsylvania avenue be-
tween ith and 9Th streets northwest, in the
| city OF Washington, in the District of Co.
| iumbia, a building for the use OF the Wash
| ington City Free Library, with funds to be
| contributed by Andrew Carnegie provided
| that such building shall be commenced
| within six months and completed within
| TWO years from the passage of this act
ana provided, further, that no liability shall
| be incurred by the United States or the
| District of Columbia for the cost of the
erection of said building
The Reservation Described,
! The reservation suggested in this bill as
| the site for the proposed public library
building originally extended from 9Th to
| to 9th street and from B street to Penn
sylvania avenue, and in 1870 the reserva-
| ton was leased to the Washington Market
! House Company for a term of ninety-nine
years by the government at an annual
| rental of $4,000 For three years the COM
pany occupied the whole of the reservation,
but in 1873 Congress modified the agree
ment so as to restrict the companyS oc-
| cupancy of the reservation TO the south
half of it, reducing the annual rental to
| $1,5OO. At that time what is known as the
city hall site was owned by the District,
having originally been acquired by the
| municipality, it is said, as the result of a
| lottery conducted by it. The city hall had
| been used until 1871 as the home of the
| municipal government, and the United
States. desiring to make it the home of the
| United States courts, paid the District the
| sum OF sIo,ooo for its interest therein, with
| the understanding that this amount should
| be used in the erection Of a municipal
| building. AS a site for such a building the
| United States granted to the District the
use of the north half of the reservation
| bounded by Gth and 9th streets and B
street and Pennsylvania and Louisiana ave-
nues, and that ground remains today at
| least equitably, the property of the District
For some reason or other, the sum of S75-
| 600 received from the United States for the
city nall site was never expended in the
erection of a municipal or District building,
put was expended, it Is said, by the then
| board of public works in carrying out its
| system of improvements, and it is said
! that the District has never been reim-
| bursed.
The reservation now held by the District
| is thus described in an agreement entered
| into March IS, 1873. between the Wash
ington@Market Company and the board of
public works: Beginning at the south
west corner of 7th street and Pennsylvania
avenue, thence westerly along the southern
side of Pennsylvania avenue to its inter-
section with the southerly side of Louisiana
avenue; thence westerly along the southerly
side of Louisiana avenue to the east side
of 9th street; thence along the east side of
3th street sc feet; thence eaSterly a line
parallel with the aforesaid southerly side
of said intersection of the southerly side
lines of Pennsylvania and Louisiana ave-
nues and thence on line parallel with
the aforesaid southerly side of Pennsyl-
vania avenue to the westerly line of 1th
| street at a point SO feet from the corner
begun at: thence northerly along the west
| line of 7th street to the corner begun at
Promises a Bust.
Mr.. Trentanove, the sculptor, has offered
| as his contribution to the Public Library
| to execute and present a marble bust,
| heroic size, of Mr.. Carnegie. In his letter
making the offer he says:
81 notice in the public press that Mr.. An
| drew Carnegie has, with his characteristic
generosity and public spirit, offered to give
! the funds to erect in the capital of the
United States free public library. I re-
gard this as the most important private act
| for the benefit of Washington which has
come within my knowledge. The erection
of such an institution on the broad basis
proposed by Mr.. Carnegie will be a per-
petual benefaction not only to the resident
population Of this city, but to the hundreds
OF thousands who come here annually from
| this and other countries. do sincerely
| trust that this splendid building may con-
| tain not only vast and yaluable collection