The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-05-20
NEW BUILDINGS FOR
THE SOLDIERS HONE
improvements in Progress
for Comfort of Veterans.
MESS HALL TO BE BUILT
Fully Half Million to Be Expended.
Washington Architect at Work
on the Plans.
MESS HALL TO BE BUILT

Extensive improvements are soon to
be begun at the Soldiers Home for the
comfort OF the old veterans obliged to
ton The board of governors Is prepar-
ing plans for the erection of two new
buildings and a large addition to an
other the total cost of which Will prob
ably reach $685. or more.
An administration building is to re
erected at a cost of about $780, 900, a new
mess hall is to be built which will call
for an expenditure of nearly half a mil
lion dollars and an addition is to be
made to the present hospital which will
cost approximately s250,000.
At Work on Plans
w NJ. Poindexter. Washington arch
itect, is now working upon the plans for
the administration building, and the ad-
dition to the hospital, and these will be
ready within a short time. The plan
for the former is now practically COM
pIeted, and the board will advertise for
bids within few days. The specif1ca-
lions for the mess hall are tentative, and
the plan and design have not been fully
worked out.
The governor of the home has always
suffered some inconvenience from the
lack of proper building to house the
officers OF the institution and conduct
the executive work in connection with
1t. The building will conform in archi-
tectural design to the other buildings at
the home, and will be adequate to meet
the requirements for many years to
come.
The addition to the hospital is In
tended for those unfortunates who are
too feeble to go about with their health
Ter comrades and yet not i'll enough to
be confined at all times to their beds.
To Have Special Care
It will be more like a sanitarium than
a hospital, where the veterans may have
special care, yet be able to move about
enjoy sun. baths. and a little recreation
regular hospital wards.
The new mess hall will be the most
pretentious of any of the buildings. II
will be three stories high, in order tc
harmonic in design with the surround
ing structures. The two upper stories
viii be divided into private dormito-
! ries, in order that some of the old sol
diers may have rooms to themselves.
| The present Scott building, which is
now used as a mess hall. is inadequate
| ID the requirements. 1t is not equipped
With all the modern appliances for pre-
rering food which is palatable ant
/ easily digested- The new building viii
be provided with apparatus for cooking
a large portion of the food by steam.
! It has been found that steam prepared
food assiInilates better than other kinds
and that men whose constitutions are
Impaired through years OF rough lif,
such as a soldier is Obliged often t
endure gain more strength from It. The
present mess hall will be fitted UP as
recreation and lounging room.
No appropriation by Congress has beer
necessary to make these improvements
| They are, in fact, paid for by the sol
! diers themselves The sum of 1917 cent:
| is deducted from the pay of every sol
der of the regular army each month
and this goes to the Soldiers Home funt
out of which the expenditure for the
mess hall, the hospital, and administra
present aggregates nearly $4,000, 900