The National tribune., 1910-08-11
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of Records. no<pIace where it can keep
the valuable documents which from
time to time it is necessary to clear out
of the Departments and put some place
for safekeeping. This being. the case,
when fire broke out one day last week
under the offices of the Geological Sur
vey there was wild excitement. In the
basement of the store that got on fire
are the records and archives of the
Geological Survey. These are invalu-
able, and if destroyed could never be
replaced, but the United States Govern
ment is obliged to house its different
Departments in rented buildings all
over Washington, and the constant
danger threatens the destruction of val
liable archives whenever a fire breaks
out, and there is not any reason why
fire should not break out in nom
fireproof building. The loss of Gov
ernment property in this fire is thought
to be less than $1,000, but in the library
over the fire was unique collection
of geological literature containing more
than $4,000 volumes. $1,000 pamphlets
and $4,000 maps, the most complete
collection of geological works and maps
in this country if not in the world. The
destruction of these by fire would have
deprived not only the geologists of the
Survey but the scientists of America, of
a reference collection that could not be
response of the Fire Department, if the
watch force and some of the members
of the Survey had not been in the
building to promptly use the hand ex-
tinguishers the damage to books and
maps would have been very much
greater. What the United States Gov
ernment needs is a magnificent Hall of
Records, where all the valuable ar
chives of the Government might be
stored in absolutely fireproof vaults.
Some day after few hundred million
dollars worth of these valuable records
have been destroyed, Congress will give
us this Hall of Records.
The report that William Jennings
Bryan is going to desert Nebraska be-
cause Nebraska has deserted him is
said to be not true. Mr.. Bryan has
big ranch down in Texas, and he is go
ing down there to improve it, but it is
said that he has no disposition to lose
his citizenship in Nebraska. He ex-
poets to use the Texas ranch for a Win
ter home.
1t is now announced that while the
Attorney-General has construed the
law to mean that there is no way to
keep the effigy of any disloyal citizen
out of the Capitol, which, by the way,
everybody knew, for the reading of the
.
face, it is yet a fact that pressure
brought to bear upon Congress can
force Congress to vote to fire out that
piece of statuary or any other. The
National Capitol belongs absolutely and
is absolutely controlled by votes in the
United States Senate and the National
House of Representatives, and when
these two bodies give a majority vote
that thing shall not come into the
Capitol or anything in the Capitol shall
be fired out, that vote means just ex-
ectly that thing.
President Taft, We are told. wants to
get rid of his superfiuous flesh, and yet
almost in the same breath we learn
that he motored $50 miles just to get
to eat pie with his aunt, Miss Della
Torrey, at Millbury, Mass 1t was apple
pie, and as Aunt Della made it we
know that it was all right, and SO a
pie-eater can hardly blame the Presi-
fent for getting hunk of this luscious
dent is going to indulge in apple pie
with cream on it he is going to put on
rather than lay off flesh.
The Treasury Building is undergo
ing another overhauling which this
&ime costs $4,000. The renovators
have been at work on the Treasury
Building for a good many years. Not
very much has been done to the inside
of the great pile of masonry, where
the United States money is kept, but
more or less work is all the time going
on on the outside. All of the original
sandstone or soft limestone that faced
the outside of the building has been at
last removed, and granite has been put
in its place. The principal change that
viii now be made will be to eliminate
the huge granite entrance steps on the
18th street side. Several new passen-
ger elevators will be installed. Lockers
will be furnished sufficient for ali Of
the clerks; the money-handiing Divi-
sions will be segregated on the ground
floor; supplies will be shipped from the
west entrance instead of the 18th street;
frieze windows will be placed on the
third floor. and a general adjustment
of Bureaus and Divisions will be made
so as to facilitate the work. The Treas
ury Department has been seriously
overcrowded for number of years.
One of the very first improvements was
the elimination from the building of
the branch printing Office, with its COM
bustible inks. oils, etc. With the great
18th street steps removed, fine en-
trance at grade Will be provided for
the employees, and count will be kept
of the people entering and leaving the
building, which at the present time
seems to be impossible. At the pres
emf time the employees are obliged to
carry their clothing, hats, rubbers UNI
brellas and everything OF that charac-
ter into their working rooms, so that
lockers are imperative. 1t will GER
tainly be $3.50, 900 mighty well expend-
ed, for in the present condition of the
Treasury Department it is impossible
to keep it clean or to run it on busi-
nesslike methods with departments of
the various Bureaus widely separated,
most of his time trayersing the corri-
dors in his attempt to keep track of
his clerks and of his work.
The Treasury Department has dis
continued the coming of the $3.50 gold
pieces There is an accumulation OF
approximately s2,00o.000 worth OF
them in the Treasury vaults at the
present time. Altogether $4,000, 600 of
them have been coined, and there is
little or no demand for them, so 1t is
thought best not to make any more of
them at the present time.
There was a regular emeute from
Washington to Oberammergau and then
there was another one back of as dis
contented lot of people as you ever
saw. They say they did not get their
moneys worth. The seats were un.
comfortable, the play long drawn out
the actors doing their work crudely
Teking it altogether, they say 1T was
not worth the trip. In other words
there is a heap sight OF difference
between the simple performance of the