Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-03-02
SERIOUS CHARGES
The HousaPublic Building Committee
Considering Grave Accusations.
The SUPERVISING ARCHITECTS OFFICE
Bad Workmanship and Designing
in the Post Office Building.
LONG BILL OF COMPLAINTS

"A LNJNS VI OE SO-h1 La l-N L ~
The bad workmanship and the bad plan
ming of the Washington post office build
ing, so often subjects of public discussion
of late. have been made the text of for
NAL presentation tc the House and Senate
committees on pubic buildings and grounds,
which. it is believed, will cause an investi-
CATION Of perhaps far-reaching Importance.
There has just been filed with those COM
mittrcs Il sworn statement by Charles
Francis Wood former contractor for the
steam heating and ventilating in the Post
Office Department. which AYERS a long list
of charges agains; the manner in which
the super .is-.ig architects office is organ
lied and managed.
While several of those charges, which
are subscribed 10 under oath. relate to the
contract in which the complainant was di-
rectly interested. others relate to matters
not in the same connection, but affecting
the manner in which the public money is
expended in general, and on the construc-
ton of the post office in particular. The
sum total of the amount which Mr.. Wood
charges was wasted by inefficient planning
and administration is sufficiently large to
attract the notice of Congress. The charges
have been called directly to the attention
tee, who today announced their receipt and
stated that he had no. yet had time to ex-
anime into them closely he intended
soon TO do. II is believed that they will
is promptly laid before the full committee
and probably referred to a subcommittee
for investigation. as they bear most serious
~ upon the efficiency Of the public building
bureau.
Mr.. Wood. whose own claims for dam
ages have beer filed before the Court of
Claims. files his petition in his right as
citizen of Pennsylvania. concerned in the
M. uncr in which the public funds are ex-
pended He sets forth his charges as fol-
lows:
Public Money Wasted.
That by reason of the conditions exist
ing in the methods Of constructing public
buildings throughout the United States
and more particularly by reason of the con-
dltionS existing at the United States post
office building at Washington. D. c.. recent
" finished under the direction of the su-
prrviSing architects office of the United
States Treasury Department. and because
If the wrongful methods inefficiency and
lncpmp"teHcy existing in the office of the
said supervising architect large sums of
ihr puiLc money Of the United States are
being wasted.
The supervising architects office pre-
utr"d ana sem OUT certain plans and Speci-
I''.iicn% for The boiler plant, steam heating
and NcUti-gtIGc apparatus. not and cold
water supply system. ETC in tht. Washing
t'u pJ-t office Iuiiin2. Your petitioner en-
Tered I'M" contract with the United States
based On th"st- plans and specifications:
ihe Pi.'t'S and specifications were 80 faulty
..II G. HiHirsi - many errors as to result
III ing delay il the completion of the
contract, AMI ~ reason Of those faults and
errors ID me plans The architects office
'idSrI e iars- VASE pf the public money
UT tn- E!t"2 Stats
TIN specifications called Cor the use of
certain improper material for gaskets be-
#
Ter protesting against the use of that ma
tS'Ld.. sour Petitioner placed the same in
y .>.tiUn in strict accordance with the speci-
hCduniI>. TN" material upon trial proved
- be improper and resulted in Ieaky Joints
throughout al the piping system At the
demand of the architect your petitioner
a5dinSt ms protest was compelled to renew
the joints with this improper material three
dLncteul tunes. but after the third renewal
Your petitioner refused to make any fur-
iher repairs with the gaskets. After this
refusal I'.e question of the improper and
defective material together with forty or
mole other questions in regard to the faults
and errors on the part of the supervising
architect. was referred to board of arhio
trtJ."iI. composed of naval officers from the
bureau Uf steam engineering of the Navy
department IF which Captain John w
COINS, engineer in chief of the United
tIdtipn. composed Of naval officers from the
MAN -Nftcr Il careful Investigation of the
questions thu board returned a verdict in
idE"r OF Enur petitioner on every material
E'-'-t i' ul~l t4tF anu your pGilllOner
released from all responsibility for the
faults and errors. and also for the i'm
rt.fer and defective material As a result
ot that report there was spent of the nub-
lie money 800 t" renew 1h2 (more or less)
"I IN Joints with proper rubber packing
ana Ihat said expenditure was a waste of
the public money resulting directly from
the Inet1cicncy of the supervising archi-
trcts Office.
Worthless SentiIating Devices.
Certain cvlI-air boxes. shown ON the
plans and called for by the specifications
when constructed according to the dimen-
sons given proved to be of the wrong SIZE
and could not be used in the work. Your
petitioner. having complied with the plans
and specifications, was released from all
responsibility for mistakes and errors by
the board Thereafter SSI3 was expended
2" S"rrsc, The errors in 2J1 boxes (more or
I->Sy.
''-Th,- col.I-air boxes forming part of the
facilitating system Of the said building.
even after IN" changes were made. were
..sd are MT proper for the use of the sys-
tr:n- Within the last six weeks the Post
Gffi zee Department has been compelled 70
i.iil galvanized iron strips on the outside
4 h. building over the openings to the
S',!d c"ld-alr boxes. at an expense of about
%-D- By reason of the closing of these
openings al The rooms of sad buiIding
above III" first story are without ventIla
ton This condition of affairs is the direct
result or IN" family design OF the system.
and by reason Of the faulty design all une
money expended for this system amount-
ing To many thousands of dollars is vast
I'd, aud this money is in addition to the
amounts now being >pcnt by the Post Office
Department 70 render the building habit
abe
Bad Boiler Work.
The above mentioned contract called for
,welve boilers. and the plans and specifica-
r.p'ts illustrated and described certain brick