The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1908-08-12
Distances All Competitors in Ex-
penditureS on Real Estate.
MILLIONS ARE SPENT BY HIM

is Huirying Now to Ask Bids ON
Rural Structures Which Have Al
ready Been Planned. Several to
BE Erected in the Second Con.
gressiOnal District.
AS an owner of improved real es-
tate the federal government by rea-
son Of the public building bill passed
at the last session of congress dis
tances all competitors. government
and otherwise.
Buildings and grounds costing
$lS5,O00,000 have been paid for
Structures in process of erection
with the sites, will cost 100000. 900
more Sites to be acquired and
buildings to be constructed thereon.
under the terms of the latest omnf
Dus Dill, which provides, among 9th
.ers, for government buildings in sew
eral towns of the Second congress-
lonaI district of Georgia, call for the
expenditure of substantially S33-
100000 more.
When everything now authorized
authorized have been acquired and
When the structures the secretary of
the treasury has been directed to
bulld are stinished-the total invest
ment VIII be near a quarter of bill
hon dollars. That is about two
thirds of the initial cost of the navy
the most expensive Of the possess
sions of Uncle Sam
Annual Repair Charges.
When the building programme is
completed there will be an annual
charge for ordinary repairs of about
$65O,000. A yearly allowance viii
nave to be made for renewal. of ele-
Vators, boilers and other parts of the
mechanical equipment amounting to
$4,000, and the expense of renew
ing locks and vaults will be about
100000.
1t is the boast of the supervising
architects office that the annual re-
pair bill shows the cost of the gov
eminent to be smaller than can be
SHOWN for any Office building-owning
corporation in the world.
These figures relate only to such
structures as are generally termed
pubhc buildings, exclusive of those
IN Washington and structures occu-
pied as army posts, forts and naval
stations Nor is any account taken
OF the structures acquired by the
treaty of Paris when this country
took over the buildings owned nv
the Spanish government.
At this time the government owns
and 0cpnniHG EEO t,+r
KIND. There are 18o under construc-
tlon and 2O9 authorized, 1923 on
sites to be acquired and so on land
already owned The last bill also
authorized the acquisition of 1872
sites, IA pieces Of land to enlarge
sites already owned and extensions
OF 80 buildings.
1t is to get work started on these
259 new buildings and extensions
that the supervising architect is hur-
rying to get bids.
Money for the Country.
The money for them will 90
where government dollar seldom
flnds its way-into the hands of me-
chanics in the rural districts. for
many OF the buildings are to be
placed in towns and cities of from
10000 to $4,000.
Were the federal governments
real property subject to taxation as
other property is taxed it would have
to contribute about $3,375,0OO a year
to state treasures. For taxing pur-
poses its holdings would probably be
valued at $175, 100000.
1t is notorious that the government
could rent structures suitable for its
needs at cost much smaller than
the outlay on the public buildings.
No owner would be satisfied with an
income from his buildings as small
as the sum which the government
would pay out in rent were it to de-
pend upon privately owned structures
for accommodation.
The only exceptions to that ruIe
are 10 be found in the largest cities
mere the government saves money
by being its own landlord. But
every public building in a small CITY
represents loss, because the cost OF
small structure for care and super-
lntendence is larger, in proportion.
than the g building in large CITY.
but in the last two public build
ing bills the small cities are the
ones that have been receiving con-
slderation. The last bill, in partfc-
ular, ignored the claims of the large
cities, so that the pie might be dis
trlbuted among the congressman
from the rural districts.