Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-04-16
SITE FOR NEW BUILDINGS
Amendment Increasing Total to
$4,000, 900 Defeated.
MEASURE GOES TO THE HOUSE
Colloquy Between Clapp and Scott
as to Value of Ground in Dues
ton as an Investment.

By vote of thirty-three TO eighteen
the Senate late yesterday afternoon
passed the Hepburn bill approprlatlng
$40 10000 for the purchase of the prop
erty lying between Pennsylvania avenue
and the Mall, which it is proposed to use
in the future for the erection of public
buildings. An effort by Mr.. Hepburn to
obtain the adoption of an amendment
making the total appropriation s20,O0o,oo0
to conform with estimates submitted 10
Congress by the Commissioners of the
District was defeated.
After The Stars report closed yester-
day afternoon Senators Clay of Georgia
and Clapp of Minnesota opposed the BILL
and Senator Scott Of West Virginia
chairman Of the committee on public
buildings and grounds. from which the
bill was favorablX reported made Wig
orous speech in favor of its adoption. Cen
ator Hepburn then closed the debate.
Mr.. Clay's Objection.
Referring to a remark made by Mr.
Hepburn. Senator Clay said:
THE senator tells us he has no idea
when the government intends to build on
these lots. l presume it will be twenty
five years before We utilize all this
i
building one year and three years later
you will erect another building. We have
heretofore been remarkably industrious
in looking after that interest In this city
But to go forward today and buy all this
land in lump which in all probability
will cost us forty or fifty million dollars.
without knowing when you are going to
utilize it. is not. in my judgment, a good
business proposition
Mr.. Scott Responds.
1T certainly is peculiar to me- de-
clared Mr.. Scott in reply, Ito see gentle
men who appear before me occasionally
tor public buildings in cities of 1.5OO or p
600 population. for which they want ap-
preparations of from $4,000 to $4,000
for public buildings. and they cannot pos
sibly see how their city can get along for
another year without the public building.
and yet they oppose this bill. In feeble
way | tried to show to the Senate last
Monday the condition of the city of Wash
ington, so far as concerns the way the
business OF the government is carried on
/ will stake my reputation as business
man that there is not a senator on this
floor. that there is not business man
in the city of Washington. who can truth
fully controvert the figures and the esti-
mates l gave last Monday.
THE government has money. as the
senator from Idaho has truly said. lying
in bank today which could be used for
the purchase of this property in the city
of Washington and the erection of the
necessary buildings for the proper con-
duct of the business OF the government
without costing the government a single
cent for interest. We are getting no in
terest on the money as it is. The money
Is lying idle. We have plenty of working
men who today are idle. Why not have
this great government of ours put them
to work upon the public buildings that
are SO badly needed to properly house the
departments of the government.
1T is with little patience that l listen
to some Of the discussions of the question
of buying this property and erecting the
buildings. No one can sustain by any log
ical argument the contention that ii is
not the proper thing TO buy this property
and to buy it at once.