Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-07-28
NEW OFFICE BUILDING
THAT FOR THE PRESIDENT NOT
FIREPROOF.
There Will, However, Be Steel Vault
in the Cellar for Safety Of
Valuable Papers.

The construction of the new office build
ing for the President of the United States
on the east side of the White House grounds
is being watched by good many people
with interest, and there has recently been
considerable criticism of the lack of fire.
proof facilities in this building. On sew
eral occasions the absence Of the least pro-
lection from fire has been pointed out by
casual visitors to the city, and the subject
has been mentioned to government and
other officials Upon each time this has
been done the answer has been returned
that the building is only a temporary one.
On the other hand, there IS a general be-
lief that 1t will be many, many years before
Congress will authorize the construction of
a larger and more substantial office building
for the President of the United States. The
present building is to cost in the neigh
borhood of $4,000 and when completed will
be occupied by the entire executive force of
the President. Countless documents Of great
value will be preserved in the building,
many of them of immense historic impor-
tance, yet the building is constructed of
brick and wood in the most old time fash
ion
There are no steel beams for the floor, no
fireproof material Of any kind. The win
dow and door frames, joists, flooring and
everything will be of infiammable material,
and there will be constant danger of fire.
This danger will be minimized by the pres
ence of watchmen in the building all the
time, and by the putting in of modern fire
apparatus, but that will in no way prevent
the destruction of the building in case q
fire should get fairly good headway.
Steel Vault in the Cellar.
Secretary Cortelyou has had nothing to
do with the making of the appropriation by
Congress, and consequently could not con-
struct the building after his own desires
When his attention was directed today to
the criticisms of the building he said that
the valuable documents of the government
would be thoroughly protected inasmuch
as in the cellar of the new executive build
ing will be a fine new steel fire and bur
glar-proof vault the first thing of the kind
a President of the United States ever had
most valuable papers, SO that In case Of
hre most of the public documents apper-
taining to the White House will be saved.
The new building is ra pidly going up and
the contractors hope to have it completed
by the 1st of October The new building
will be completely furnished with entirely
new furniture of mahogany and oak There
will not be an old piece of furniture in the
whole building. The President will have
new cabinet table, a new chair and new
desk and any other furniture he desires,
while Secretary Cortelyou's Office will be
fitted up with the most modern furniture.
The historic old cabinet table, around which
so many cabinet meetings have been held
in times of war and peace, prosperity and
depression, will not have a place in the
new building. The President, however, in
tends to reserve to himself the old cabinet
room in the White House for an office
room, and in this will place the old cabinet
table and the furniture which all along
has been connected with 1t.