The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1908-05-21
S0UABBLE OVER SITE DE-
lAYSP. 0. BUILDING.

According to a letter in the Milwau-
kee Sentinel from its Washington cor
respondent, T. w. Brahany, the post-of-
flee building will not be erected in this
city for some time. The delay is attri-
buted to the long squabble which took
place here over the selection of site. Mr..
Brahany's letter is as follows:
Members of the Wisconsin congres,
sional delegation are receiving many re-
quests for informations as to when work
will be begun on the various buildings
whose construction was authorized in
the last public buildings bill. Residents
of MariDette, Kenosha, Manitowoc and
Platteville are impatient to have the
contracts awarded and the work begun
at once The representatives from the
several districts have been urging ac-
ton, but the supervising architect of the
treasury has SO much work on his hands
and so many requests for special haste
in particular cases that he has been com
PEELED to adopt hard and fast rule that
each public building proposition shall be
considered in its order.
Frequently delay in construction is
due to drawn out contest over the selec
tion of site. The treasury department
adopted the system of preparing plans
for public buildings in the order in
which the titles to the site were acquir-
ed. Had it not been for a local squabble
at Marinette over the selection of a site
the public building in that city would
be well under way by this time. There
was a similar situation at Manitowoc.
Great interest in the selection of site
was taken by the people of that city. In
order to be fully advised the department
ordered re-examination that all the in
terestei parties might be heard, This
resulted in delaying the selection of
site until last November, prior to which
time the sites for ninety buildings pro
vided for in the bill has been acquired.
This means that the working drawings
must be completed before the Manito-
voc case is taken up, and even then
some weeks will elapse before bids can
be asked for.
The pending sundry civil bill carries
no appropriations for the Macinette, Ken
osha, Manitowoc or n!atteville build
ings. The authorization at Marinette is
$50 600 of which $50, 600 was made avail
able in the civil bill last year. AT Ken
osha the authorization is S15, 900 and
$50 600 will be available. OF the $40, 600
authorized for Manitowoc, So, 600 will
be available. The Platteville authori
zation il $40, 600 and there will be avail
able SOS 600 1t is estimated that the
money made available in the last snndry
civil bill will be sufficient to carry on
building operations until the passage of
the sundry civil bill next winter.
Representative Davidson called this
week at the treasury department to re-
quest that action be taken at once look
ing to the erection of the Manitowoc
building. He was informed that the
working drawings will not be reached
for several weeks. i regret said Mr..
Davidson, that the delay in selecting IA
site has postponed the erection of the
building, but intend keeping at the
officials of the treasury department and
hope action may be taken which will
result in letting the contract so that at
least a portion Of the work may be done
during the coming season."