Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-12-27
WASTEFULr PIRSIMONY
FEDERAL BUREAUS CROWDED
INTO RENTED BUILDINGS.
Government Should own Its Offices
Would Save Money and
Economize Time.

Washington Correspondence New York Tribune.
One of the peculiarities of government
financiering is to be found in the annual
rental paid for buildings used by the vari-
Gus executive departments in Washington.
This sum for the last fiscal year amounted
to $341 ,236.94. and, as the departments are
growing much faster than public buildings
are constructed, there is every. prospect that
| the sum will aggregate considerably more
in the near future.
A part of the above sum is now devoted to
| the rental of residences and other buildings
totally unfit for the use to which they are
put, for the accommodation of the Depart
ment of Agriculture, and members of Con-
gress point with JUNCTION to the fact that
they have already appropriated a,5OO,0OO
for the erection of a new building Tor TINS
department They fail to say, however, tnat
this amount represents about one-half that
called for by the estimates of the Secretary
of Agriculture, and will only permit OF the
erection of building which, by the time 1t
Is completed, will prove so Inadequate FOR
this growing department as to render neces-
sary the rental of as much private property
as is now required to house its various
bureaus.
The Department of Justice is quartered
entirely In residences rented for the pur-
pose, and the use of which is naturally at
tended with grave Inconvenience and I'M
w..
while occupying its share of the State, War
and Navy building, is also obliged to rent
numerous outside buildings for once pur-
poses, as is the Navy Department, Whlcn
building erected for It's use by private
owner The census Office is in a bu1lding
owned by private citizens, and many other
instances might be cited.
OF course, the scattering OF single de-
partment through many buildings, often
several squares away from the main omces
DELAYS the transaction of public business
and adds materially to the expense OF CON
Quoting the various Offices While cOntrlDut-
ing to a lack of discipline and order which
would be largely avoided were all the ofnces
of each department gathered beneath a SIN
gle roof. But there Is a more potent rea-
son for abandoning the penny wise ana
pound foolish policy which has thus far
dominated Congress in its failure TO pro-
wife adequate accommodations TOT tne oe
partments over which it exercises almost
supreme control.
1t is conseryatively estimated that the
sum paid by the government as rents
amounts to not less than 10 per cent OF the
whole value of the property. Assuming
this estimate to be correct the value OF
the property rented by the government
must be about So ,412,370. AS is well known,
the government can borrow money TO an
almost unlimited amount at per cent II,
therefore, this sum were expended prop
erly to house the executive departments,
even though it should be necessary TO issue
bonds to raise the amount, the interest
would amount to only $6S,247, an annual
saving of $273,0 eco apart from the increased
convenience and efficiency to be secured by
providing suitable accommodations for the
departments. Those members of Congress
who take this view of the situation urge
that, while the cost Of maintenance OF SUCH
buildings would fall on the government, the
steady increase of land values would more
than offset the contingent expenses winch
might be incurred
In striking contrast with the policy pur-
sued by Congress In It's treatment of the
executive departments are the approprla-
tons recently authorized for ONCE pullo-
ings for members of Congress. For the
purchase of sites and the erection OF build
ings for this purpose Congress has appro-
priated Sc, $4,000 of which $3,So0,O0o Will
be devoted to the office building for repre-
sentatives and So, 600 600 to that for sena-
tors The necessity for erecting such build
ings must be obvious to every visitor who
inspects the subterranean chambers now
used as offices and committee rooms by
members of Congress, but it is also evident
that the new structures are projected on
generous SCALE while every provision made
for executive offices is designed on an op-
posite basis
1t Is freely predicted that no public build
ing bill will be permitted to become law
at the present session of Congress, because
of the determination of the leaders to
restrict the expenses or the government
to the receipts, but 1t is doubtful, II the
public fully appreciated the Iacts' lnal
there would be the slightest criticism of
policy which aimed at proper housing of
the executive departments, even although
a special issue of bonds proved necessary
to accomplish the desired end. AT least
that is the view taken by some members
of Congress, who intend to urge their views
on the leaders at the first opportune mo-
ment.
1t is even argued that bond issue OF
$4,000 600 or 81, 100000 would be welcomed
by a host of small investors who would
thus have an opportunity to secure gilt
edged" investment for their small savings,
while an additional reason urged for such
a policy Is that in the absence Of a public
building bill, at this session, the super
vising architect will be compelled either to
curtail his force materially or retain
considerable part of 1t In idleness.