The Washington herald., 1909-06-21
a Bad Move.

Editor The Washington Herald:
/ Can Il be, as see stated, that the Of
( fees OF the Auditor for the Interior De-
l partment have been removed from the
\ Treasury building 10 the old Union Build
/ ing, IN G street? Is not this the building
that was vacated by the Post-office be-
cause OF its reported unsafe. combusuble.
/ and insanitary condition? II so, the
move deserves the condemnation. whether
as an act OF petty and outrageous
,, tyranny or as an evidence OF admin
/ istrative folly. justifable by neither ne
/ Icessity. convenience. nor public economy.
That this structure. fl only for the stor-
age Of merchandise. should be made the
Official home OF scores OF clerical en-
ployes passes understanding. unless there
be a concealed motive behind the fact
II is rumored. indeed. that the Union
Building is owned in large part by GER
tain members OF Congress. Can this
be the milk IN the cOcOanut?
/ The writer was for some years a chief
OF one OF the division Of the force thus
maltreated. and can testify that the clerks
| transferred are not excelied by any IN
the employ OF the government for eff
cheney or intelligence Why should they
be selected 10 be placed IN surroundings
filthy and unhealthy. and in a structure
UNIT for such public user II, as is
claimed. there is not room enough IN the
Treasury proper 10 house its Offices, II IS
surely incumbent on those in charge OF
these matters 70 select decent, sanitary
well-lOcated quarters for the employees
who must be transferred. And certainly
such selection should be made entirely
in the public interest. and not TO bolster
up a poor investment. whether for Con-
gressmen or any one else. This. how
ever, does not appear on the face OF the
matter.
It seems that the Supervising Architect
desired more room for his force. and that
his friend. the chief clerk. decided to ac-
commodate him. But Is this a result de-
sirable at the expense Of the public serv-
ice or sacrifice Of the rights OF other Of
hcials? Is Il desirable az the expense
and health and comfort OF so many en-
ployesy Must II be done by placing the
auditing Office nearly mile away from
the Treasury bureaus with which Il has
constant necessary relations?
1t is hard TO see how this bad move is
In the direction Of decreased expenditure
as claimed; for the rental OF the new
quarters, added 10 the cost OF removal,
s-4i~ NA4N 6AVoN lVS9 OF LAtlt n travelling
three-quarte-s Of a mile each way to
effect the necessary interaction OF this
bureau with the other Treasury Offices
must mean a large and useless Increase
OF expense to the government Why
should this be done, 70 the great dis
comfort Of threescore employees, and with
the delay in the public work that viii be
sure TO result, merely 10 crafty the ca
price Of the Supervising Architect? Il IS
well known that other buildings than the
Union, free from It's faulty and combus-
tiDle construction, are 20 be had, at no
such lnconvenient distance from the
Treasury, and at no greater expense. But
the necessity Of Areproof storage room Tor
the millions OF valuable documents. the
equal necessity for close and easy com
munication Of the Auditors bureau with
other Treasury Offices. appears to have
weighed nothing In the minds OF people
with axes 10 grind. The deed Is done
and, being evil. should be undOne.
No time should be lost in giving the
required notice of termination OF con-
tract and the obtaining Of some mora
suitable habitat for one Of our most i'm
portant public bureaus C. c. snow
South Onington Ne