Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-04-15
Government Buildings.

Yesterdays ceremony near the Capitol
| was significant as step toward the evo-
! luton Of the great capital which Washing
/ ton Is destined to become. The new build
| Ing to furnish offices for members Of the
| House of Representatives Is the second
| item of group which when completed
| will comprise the Capitol and two annexes,
| probably constituting the largest legisia-
| tive equipment In the world There Will
| then remain to be built, to round out the
| plan the eastern side of the present
| Capitol park, suitably large and archi-
| teeturally attractive home for the United
States Supreme Court with or without the
Department of Justice as co-tenant. Such
a building has been contemplated for many
years 1t is urgently needed for the accom-
mediation OF the court, which is now dis
gracefully cooped up in the Capitol with an
allowance of space which should long ago
have shamed Congress into this enterprise.
Visitors to Washington are disagreeaby i'm
pressed by the absurdity of the Supreme
Court setting. and it is to be hoped that a
building to meet this condition will very
soon be planned.
With this structure added to the group
Capitol Hill will be crowned by an aggre-
cation of buildings which will challenge the
admiration of the world There will re-
main abundant room on the western flank
for such other constructions as the needs
of the government at this center of activity
may demand. The Senate's park commits
sion regarded the entire area around the
Capitol as inevitably dedicated to such uses
1t did not attempt to designate the sites,
name by name, but it based it's grand plan
upon the assumption that in evolving the
city attention would be paid to the demands
of symmetry in building emplacement. 1t
is not difficult to conceive the growth OF the
government in measure to call for two or
more great structures comparable with the
House and Senate office buildings, to be
erected on the corresponding squares the
northwestern and the southwestern corners
Of the great reservation.
This development is distinct from the gen.
eral growth of the departments and the
providing of quarters for the offices which
are now improperly housed In either public
or private buildings. There is today urgent
need for three or four large structures, and
they should all be located within the Mall
avenue triangle, with plenty of approach
space and no regard for present building
lines. The Department of Commerce and
Labor, which is rapidly increasing in size.
commensurate with its Importance. The De-
partment of Justice. IL not housed with the
Supreme Court in building on Capitol Hill.
should be quickly established in a home of
Its own, and not reegated to a former
dwelling The State Department, too, is
shamefully crowded in the triple-depart-
ment building. Several scattered bureaus
are virtually homeless, save for the accom-
modations provided by the owners of pri-
vate residences. There should he a Hall of
Records centrally located and large enough
to shelter all the accumulated documents of
the public service which must be preserved.
The hope remains that Congress will I'M
dertake this work of properly housing the
government into practical and conclusive
consideration at a very early date There
is no economy in postponement, for the
governments rent roll Is heavy enough to
offset any saving that may be achieved by
putting off from year to year the expendi-
ture OF the few millions necessary to give
the public service. for the first time In the
history of the government, an equipment
commensurate with its dignity and needs.