Evening star., 1909-08-19
MAY LET CONTRACTS
Municipal Architect Need Not
Plan Local Buildings.
DECISION OF CONTROLLER
Interpreting the Words Of District
Appropriation Act.
RECONCILING TWO CLAUSES
Question Raised by Auditor Twee-
dale Regarding the Inten-
tion of Congress.
DECISION OF CONTROLLER
REC0NCILING TWO CLAUSES

Although Congress provided a munlct-
pal architect for the District of COlum-
bia, the controller Of the Treasury has
decided that nc need not prepare the
plans for q single municipal building
provided for I'm the District apprOpria-
tion net passed at the same session, hut
may let contracts for their preparation
to outside architects. The plans for
municipal buildings provided for In
other than the District approprlat tiOn
net, he further holds, must be prepared
by the municipal architect, but there
are none such.
Controller Tracewell was asked to de-
eide this question for the District Com
ndssioners. Municipal Architect Snowden
Ashford recommended that contracts be
| let to outside architects for the plans
for several buildings provided for in the
last District act and the recommendation
was approved by the Commissioners.
The District auditor. Alonzo Tweedale.
| raised the question: however, whether or
not the same act did not direct that the
| municipal architect shall prepare the
plans for all municipal buildings and not
let the work to outside architects. and
1t was upon his recommendation that the
question was submitted to the controller
Of the Treasury Department.
Controller Tracewell's Decision.
II am in receipt. by your reference of
the 18th instant. of letter from the
auditor for the District of Columbia, :
Controller Tracewell wrote the District
Commissioners today. wherein the gen.
eral question is raised whether your
poard is authorized to let contracts to
out side architects for the preparation of
plans and specifications for the erection
Of certain school and other municipal
buildings in the District Of Columbia,
namely, for one eight-room school build
ing to take the place of the old Potomac
School building: for annex or extension
of Mckinley Manual Training School,:
for public convenience station at 9th
and F streets northwest; for an engine
house to take the place Of No. 2 and for
Pennsylvania avenues. 1t is stated. also,
In the auditors letter that the District
appropriation bill for the current fiscal
year contains provision for sixteen n1u-
nicipaI buildings. eleven new buildings
and five additions or enlargements.
THAT there are at present four drafts
men in the employ OF the District and at
the command Of the municipal architect;
| that it will require the services OF TWEEN
ty-two craftsmen for period OF six
months to make the plans for these six
teen buildings. and that such drain
would jeopardze the O.her services con-
ltemplated by section Of said appropria-
tion act, which provides for the employ
ment of craftsmen, assistant engineers.
Jewelers. transitmen, rodmen, cha inmen.
lcornputers copyists, overseers and inspec-
tors temporarily required in connection
with sewer. street or road work. OF the
construction and repair OF buildings and
bridges or any general or special engi-
neering or construction work authorized
Iby appropriations. and to be exclusively
employed to carry into effect such appro-
L lit
ordered by the Commissioners Of the Dis
| trict, and that all such expenditures shall
be paid from and equtably charged
| against the sums appropriated for said
works, provided that the expenditures for
said purposes shall not exceed $61,OOO for
the current fiscal year.
/ He points out that prior to the passage
of the last District appropriation act
| enactments Of Congress declared that the
plans for municipal buildings should be
prepared under the supervision of the
inspector Of buildings and that much OF
the work was given TO outside contractors
to be passed on later by the inspector OF
| buildings.
| Provisions of the Act.
| "The District appropriation act for the
current fiscal year (o5 Stat. at Large,
! page 692) first created the office of mu-
nicipal architect for the District of Co
lumbia,'' he continues, lin the following
language and prescribed his duties as fol-
| lows:
| Municipal architect, whose duty it
| shall be to prepare and supervise plans
| for and superintend the construction OF
| all municipal buildings, and the repair and
| improvement Of all buildings belonging to
the District Of Columbia, under the di-
| rection Of the Engineer Commissioner OF
| the District OF Columbia, $1,000; and al
| laws or parts of laws placing such duties
upon the inspector Of buildings OF the
| District Of Columbia are hereby repealed.
| Further along in said act, page 1O9
we find the following clause:
THAT the plans and specifications fol-
4 all buildings provided for in this act
shall be prepared under the supervision
OF the municipal architect and shall b<
! approved by the Commissioners Of the
| District of Columbia and shall be con-
i structed in conformity Herewith.
There is apparently a conflict between
these clauses as to the duties OF the
municipal architect. From their casua
reading. it would appear that II was the
duty of this officer. as prescribed In the
clause creating his office, to prepare the
plans and specifications for all the mu
nicIpal buildings of the District. Bu
II when read more carefully, 1t Ia apparent
that Congress, even in this clause, hat
in mind that there were some municipa
buildings that he was to supervise their
plans and specifications only, and no
|
duty it shall be to prepare and super
wise plans for Where he is required b,
! law to prepare plans and specifications
for building, 1t would be little les
than nonsensical for Congress to com
. mand him to supervise his own prepa
| rat:ons.
Bringing to our aid a few well under
stood rules of statutory construction til,
apparent conflict between these tw,
clauses of the act disappear
Il. 1t Is presumed that all Legislation
IS enacted to accomplish the result sought
- That each and every word in Law
Is to be given its plain and ordnar,
meaning unlees 1t has a technical one
different from the ordinary meaning.
%. That a law general in its charac
ter must give way to a law special in it,
nature on the same subject.
The results sought In the enactment.
contained in the laws providing for tn,
erection OF municipal buildings In the Dis
trict orf Columbia and about which
you inquire Is the erection o
these buildings in a reasonable time from
the date of the availability OF the appro
priations therefor. One OF the necessar.
and preliminary incidents to the accom-
pl!shment OF these results is the prepara
tion of plans and specifications for. thes,
buildings. The clause creating the ono