Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-01-07
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it will conform to the purposes for which
it is used"
= * = X ::
by q kind of a common consent ar
Management. the Senate committee pub
lie buildings and grounds allowed the late
Senator Morrill, to have his own way as
far as bills relating to public buildings in
Washington We're concerned" explained an
| official of the Senate to Star reporter,
| land in every instance reported the bills
in the exact shape he desired them. The
members of the committee knew he took
great interest in public buildings in
Washington and were perfectly satisfied to
do as III desired in connection herewith.
! 1t may not he generally known. but it is
a fact. that the State War and Navy De-
partment, the National Library building.
the pension office building. the Agricultural
Department building and the National
Museum building bills were left entirely
to him. 1t was h, more than any one else
that selected the site and reported the bill
for the new city post office building. There
had been various sites pressed on Congress
for session after session for over fourteen
years for a city post office The owners OF
the various sites their representa- lives,
upon finding that they would be unsuccess-
full In having their ground purchased. gen
orally made combination and defeated
the site selected Things had run along
this way until the committee on publc
buildings and grounds of both branches of
Congress had got tired of it, and it was
left to Senator Morrill, to end it up in some
way. The late Senator Leland Stanford of
California was chairman of the Senate
committee and the late Representative Seth
Miliken of Maine chairman of the
House committee of public buildings and
grounds. Representative Milliken had pass
ed 4 bill through the House providing for
several
side of Pennsylvania avenue at 9th street
though he was not very enthusiastic him.
self on the site. That bill came over to the
Senate and was taken up for consideration
by the Senate committee on public build
ings. Senator Morrill,, who was member
of the committee, was authorized to &C
cept the House bill if he desired or report
substitute.
During the session of the committee the
clerk of the committee informed the mem
bers that on looking up the record he had
discovered that though there had been no
joint meeting of the Senate and House COM
mittees for over thirty years, under the
rules of the two branches of Congress the
committees were a Joint committee, and
could meet as such if they desired. Senator
Morrill, offered a resolution inviting the
House committee to meet with them the
following day. which invitation was ac-
cepted. AS soon as they got together SEN
ator Morrill, stated that he was very anx-
ious to provide a post Office building for
Washington, and that he wanted the joint
committee to agree to report bill before
the day was over The question OF a site
was then considered, and motion of
Senator Morrill, a subcommittee consisting
of himself and Senator Vest and Represent
atives Milliken and CluRe of California
were authorized to take a carriage and Sc
lect a site before they returned to the Cap
itol. the only condition put upon them being
that they were not to report III favor of
any site that had ever been offered for
sale. Senator Stanford furnished the car
s~in and ,y,aitN tINA
avenue, first taking q look at the square on
which the power house of the Capital Trac-
ton Company afterward erected. Find
ing that the traction company was ahead of
them, they next considered the condemna-
ton of the square bounded by Pennsylvania
avenue and D. 18th and 18th streets That
was long enough for the purpose, but Il
was thought that it was not deep enough.
The subcommittee then drove to tho next
square in which the post Office has since
been erected and it was decided in five min
uteS to condemn and purchase it. The en-
tire time con Sumed was less than an hour.
On their return to the Capitol the clerk of
the committee was instructed TO prepare a
bill for the condemnation and purchase of
the land and making an appropriation to
start the foundations. This was done and
a second meeting Of the joint committee
was held that afternoon, when the decision
was announced and the bill read and agreed
70. Later on the same afternoon the bill
was offered in the Senate as a substitute
for the House bill and it was Immediately
passed In a few days the bin was con-
CURED in by the House. after a statement
by Representative MiIliken, and il became
a law. The entire measure was engineered
| by the late Senator Morrill, There is no
doubt that the fact that Vermont produces
granite had a great deal to do with Senator
| Mnrrilfs interest in public building bills,
but there never was anything put in the
| bills requiring granite to be used in their
construction. Three of the buildings named
above the pension Office. the Agricultural
| Department and the National Museum
| buildings. are constructed OF brick"