The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-12-01
UNCLE SANS LANDLORDS
IN WASHINGTON THIS YEAR NE
WILL PAY SSSO.OO0 IN RENT.

NE IL a GOOL Tonant and ISIS Landlords
Therefore DO Not Want Him 90 Garry
Out sHls Buildlns PrOJects-GOvernunent
Growing Faster Than Its Housing.
WARRINGTON. Nov. 3O.-There is one item
Of our natiOrni expense account which is
as astonishing IA the growth which is
responsible for Il. II is the amount that
Uncle Sam rays annually In rent.
: THE Government is like n boy who OUT
grows his clothes so fast that his trousers
are half way 20 his knees, his sleeves only
TO his elbows. his neck towering above his
DOLLAR. Every department Of the national
Government has outgrown the buildings
provided for its housing.
This year the estimates included $50. i2S. 90
for rent. The figures increase from year
20 year. before very long Uncle Sam
will be paying n cool half million dollars
annually for rented buildings in Wash
inRton alone. not counting the rents which
must be Paid all over the country.
The State Department il the only one
Of the nine great branches of the Admins
tration which seems TO have enough room
for it's actual work. IL has only a single
rent item; S72O a year for stables.
l. As practically all the departments have
q corresponding item it remains for come
Congressman, looking for novelty, to
propose n bill for erecting a general stable.
The President tried in vain to have the old
White House stables replaced by new. so
' Uncle San too may ave to wait.
The Treasury Department has so over
flowed the fine old granite building next
to the White House that 1t has to rent six
other buildings. or grouIs of Offices in build
A. IL. --.s I'm 10 RQA uCA n an and
would be- higher If the Government did not
own some additional outside quarters
occupied by Treasury officials.
The War Department, which shares with
tie State and the Navy the huge building
beyond the White House. could almost
make use Of the entire structure for its
own purposes. It is driven to the renting
Of a dozen outside places at an annual
cost OF ST., 20.
The Navy Department has the fine
new Mills building across the way from
the Government building. For his and
other outside quarters it pays a rental OF
s24.5OO this year.
Tho Department Of the Interior has to
ray the highest rent. amounting to t82. 40.
This is accounted for by the fact that the
Civil Service Commission has to be housed
by this department. So have the Bureau
OF EDUCATION, the fatenI Jmce WIN iUA
thousands Of models and it's millions of
documents. the Land ONCE and several
other big Government enterprises.
The Post Office Department pays $50
1895 his year for rent IN Washington
alone. OF course, its rent roll for the whole
country is a very diff erent and very much
more imposing figure.
The Department of Agriculture pays
$50, liS. 90 in Washington rent. though this
figure will be greatly reduced when it's
hs,ro uhi,o yoarHLo bs,iIJinO = oOmDIahad
The Agricultural Department has boiled
90 hard for the past few years that it has
run over into a dozen outside bureaus,
each as busy and full as a beehive.
The Department of Commerce and Labo
has no building Of it's own. Its rent bill is
S53, 100 this year. The Bureau of the Census
alone couples acres OF space.
The Department of Justice has to have
buildings for the storage OF records and
other documents. so that il costs the %
eminent $40, 400 in rent.
Besides these nine departments Uncle
Sam has TO paw Sl0.SCO rent for the Inter
state Commerce Commission and $49. 89S.00
for buildings rented for the administration
Of District of Columbia affairs. This makes
the very respectable total OF $4,000 Tor
the present year.
The Government owns some land suit
able for public buildings. and Tor years
Congress has been urged by the depart
ments to put up some Of the most needed
structures. Some of these are now in
process OF erection and probably others
will follow. But If the departments are
90 he adequately housed the Government
will need all the land which it is proposed
in the Hepburn bill to acquire.
BY the terms of that bill one sid of Penn
s~ylvania venue between the Capitol
and the White HOuss would come under
Government ownership and there would
be some system as well as beauty in the
arrangement of the mammoth buildings
which W. will be compelled sooner or later
to erect.
The hill is sure OF violent opposition
from Mt least some Washingtonians. Uncle
Sam Ia an uncommonly good tenant and his
many landlords will not view with eQuani-
nifty any prospect Of losing him.
II il said hat the Government does not
get az favorable terms as the private lessee
insists upon. Some instances OF absolute
extortiOn ara reported. When ones hands
get into the money bag it is hard not to grab
FOR a fistful.
But at the Treasury Department, which
pays the bills, IL is said that Uncle Sam
isn't quite - easy as rumor makes out
= and that only one case of real extortion
has occurred in recent, years. Then the
Government simply had TO have a certain
= tuilding, and when the screws were put ON
u .ora n Vnfhfnu N 40 htEf IN anh nit