Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-03-30
BUILD UP THE AVENUE
MR.. TELLER'S EARNEST PLEA TO
THE SENATE.
Bill to Provide a New Department
Building Under Discussion-La-
fayette Park Site Opposed.

CeedngS was closed.
The Maltby Buildings Condition.
Senator Foraker thought the Capitol
should be completed in accordance with ne
Walter plan. That enlargement would cost
S2JOOOOO but he believed every senator
would vote for it.
II felt mortified and Inundated when l
heard a senator, who has a room In the
Maltby Building, tell us the other day."
said Mr.. Foraker, that for a considerable
period that building has been condemned,
that 1t is liable to fall. and that they have
been prohibited from carrying books up
into their rooms which they wanted to use
In their work because 1t would endanger
their lives and put in jeopardy all who are
connected with that building"
Mr.. Spooner said he thought the building
was in no danger of falling.
II think at one time he continued, lit
was a dangerous structure in that regard;
but improvem ents have been made there and
/ am told by the superintendent of the Capt.
tol that his fear is not from that, but IL fire
should occur in that building there would
be very little chance of escape for those
who were in the upper stories of the build
ing
Mr.. Newlands suggested that the House
quite ready to go with appropria-
tons for the improvement of the Capitol.
New Department Building.
II do not think 1t Is wise" said Mr.. Teller
"to carry out the scheme of this bill, which
1t to take the square Immediately north of
the State Department. or the square i'm
mediately north of the Treasury Depart
ment. and / do not know which is to be
taken and nobody else knows or will know,
/ suppose. until the commission consisting
of the Attorney General and the Secretary
OF State and the Secretary of Commerce
and Labor shall determine. This bill leaves
1t absolutely to those three officers"
Mr. Fairbanks suggested that four addi-
uonal members of the commission had been
provided for, the president pro tempore of
the Senate. the chairman of the committee
on public buildings and grounds of the
senate. the Speaker of the House and the
chairman of the committee on public build
ings and grounds of the House.
Work Of the Commission.
THAT Is immaterial." continued Mr.. Tel
Ter. because this commission will settle
where the building is to be. We abandon
our right to determine that question, and
turn 1T over to the committee. 1 am not In
favor OF doing that. 1t admit that there
ought to be some additional buildings built
DO not hesitate to say that we have been
nerellct Tor many years In not building
them.
II seems to me a great deal more i'm
portant that the Supreme Court of the
united States should have a reasonable
place In which to do its business, which
IL mas not today than it is that the newly
commerce and Labor should have q nIaca
70 discharge his multifarious duties which
the senator from Wisconsin seems to think
are somewhat III the clouds. and 1 guess
they are, for If anybody will take the mains
10 look at the law under which thai de-
partment was created he will see that tho
extent OF the jurisdiction and authority of
that department is limited only nv tba
PIRATE. ' "Ppio
~ seems to me 1t would be the course of
"hsuom 10 create commission and to saw
TO them: Now, at the rext session of Con
sress tell us something about the wants ava
necessities of this government Look bacl
ana see what the government has been do
s III the iast hfty years, and see what it's
CROWN and extension have been. and deter
mine what 1t Will want in the next fiftv
years VI course, know it will be a djfi-
cuit question to determine what is to be the
future growth of this land of ours know
We may continue to progress and grow in
wealth. and numbers, and il seems to me
,Hat that is the normal and proper thing to
sApect. since we escaped threatened disso-
Iuloh IN this country it seems to me that
when you look to the future-and when 7
speak OF that do not mean in my lifetime
or IN yours but in the next one hundred
anu, anu hlty or two hundred years-we ought to
Hciedse IN numbers; we ought to increase IN
wealth; we ought to increase in everything
mat makes a nation great and strong and
gives 1t a proper place in the world
Future of the Capital.
This Is our national capital II IS the
pace that was founded as the seat of gov
eminent by the consent of the states and
was Withdrawn from tine operations of state
laws. and Congress alone was given power
TO regulate affairs in this District 1t was
believed when IL was laid out that il would
DC tire great capital of a great nation, and
YET doubt whether there lived then a man
who, II he had been called upon to tell rs
what would be the power and wealth of the
nation today, would have dared to predict
the condition that now exists 1t ought to
DC the greatest capital of the world. 1t not
only ought TO represent the wealth, but 1t
ought also to represent the intelligence of
this great country of ours.
when l came here twenty-seven years
ago last fall. having but a slight acquaint-
ance with this capital. having been here
only few times in my life, / said to nv
associate who came with me. While l am
IN this body intend to vote for every an
preparation that comes before the Senate
that will make this the handsomest and
best city in the world, and In the years that
nave served here / have never failed to
give a vote looking in the direction of max
Ing this city such that every American who
came here would look upon it with pride and
feel that he had a capital city that repre-
scented the great strength and wealth and
Intelligence of the American people 1
want capital city so that whenever a man
comes from abroad he will be properly i'm
pressed and would not have any other
loneliness. IL / nad my way
since l have been here l have heard
complaints of the expense of this District.
! nave heard complaints OF the expense of
pLilding streets and avenues and opening
avenues OF Intercourse with the outside
suburban towns. have heard some COM
paint or the extravaganza OF the buildings.
remember that u few years ago there
was In the Senate much feeling that we
should retreIch and that we were spend
Ing too much money. and this body then
Instructed the Interior Department to build
building for the use OF the pension office
alone. and they said IL should be built of
brick and of iron. and 1t should have no
orr lamentations, and no expense should be
incurred In that direction. IL was provided
that the Secretary of War and the Secre-
tary OF the Interior and General Meigs
should locate it upon some public ground
Insanitary Structures.
1T was thought that the government
could not AFFORD to buy place TO put the
building. Walk down from here to the
Peace Monument. Cast your eye to the
right In front OF this Capitol in sight of
II, there are insanitary Observation-Disclosures
ha fg,,,