The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-06-06
PUBLIC BUILDINGS
 GO BY PULL" U. s. Treasury Department Makes no Bones of its
 Position Data of an Interesting Nature Showing How Uncle Sam's Money is Spent Between
 Friends

That is the opinion of the Treasury
 Department officials and they have prepared statistics to sustain their po- sition.
 What is more, they are trying to formulate plan by means of which
 Senatorial and Congressional influence will not be the only reason for the ex- penditure of public moneys in the con- struction of government buildings They think that such appropriations should be based upon the practical ne ceSsit1eS of the case rather than upon the possible number of votes which the securing of the building may bring to the member who introduced the bill
 Just as there is now an effort to bring the river and harbor appropria- tions out of the dominion of politics, and SyStematiZe them so as to bring the best and most lasting effects for the commerce of the country, so should there be. in their opinion, a well-de- fined program governing the erection Of post offices and court houses in the different States and cities
 The department has not progressed far in outlining it's proposed plan, nor is there any promise that. if it had, the members of Congress would will ingly forego their annual or biennial scramble over this pork bar'l."
 It is the opinion of the Treasury of ficials, however. that something more than the population or wealth of a town should be taken into considera- tion when passing upon the question as to whether 1t is entitled to public building.
 Other things that should be consid- cred, according to the Treasury men, are the character of the business transacted in each place and the gov ernment revenues collected. Thus a manufacturing, town. or one in which there is a thriving revenue producing business. ought to take precedence over a staid, quiet, residential town or su- burb, even though the latter can show a preponderance of wealth.
 Still another item is the question of illiteracy in a community, it being ob- vious that, where a large proportion of the inhabitants are unable to read so great as in a smaller. place where education is more widely diffused.
 Since 1916. the first record of the construction of a public building by the government. there has been ex- pended $268, 8,210,6S4 in the purchase of house the various government offices throughout the country. Of this amount New York has received si6 5S per cent; Massachusetts 5.39 per cent. l; Pennsylvania, 7.21 per cent; Ohio. 5.6s per cent; Illinois. 5.47 per. cent; Cali fornia. 5.1S per cent. and Missouri, 4.S5 per cent
 Taking the wealth and population of the several States as a basis for cal culation there is, proportionally. still due to New York 8, 5,A1.2 .277; Pennsyl- vania, s7.436.50I; Illinois. $8, 545, ,62S; Ohio. s, 1862, ,376; Texas. $3.620, ,0S9; Iowa, s3,587, ,436; and New Jersey. $3.4S4,616. Indiana, Michigan. Wisconsin. Mime sota, Kansas, Arkansas. and Oklahoma are all more than $2, 100000 below their appropriations upon this basis. Mis- souri, Kentucky, Tennessee. North Carolina. Alabama and Mississippi are all more than $1, ,000 900 below.
 On the other hand Louisiana has re- ceived an excess on that same basis, of $1,3S1. 773: Maine, s1.160,951; Colo rado, $1, ,936, 819; South Carolina. $7S8. 7S6; and California. $444,S63. There is a disposition to assign as the reason for these excesses the fact that the Dem ocratic votes of the two Louisiana Sem ators generally have been greatly de- sired by the Republican party; that Senators Hale and Frye throughout their long terms have not overlooked the wants of their State of Maine; that former Senator Teller and Walcott of were disposed to be indepen- dent at times and had to be kept in good humor: that Senator Tillman has demanded that his State, South Carolina, should have a share of the ''good things going around; and that Senator Perkins of California has been member of one of the appro- priation committees for a number of years.
 A list has been prepared showing 232 cities with a population of more than 5 900 in 1900 which have no post of- flee buildings and a list of the postal receipts for the fiscal year 1909. Here are a few at random from the long list with the receipts collected:
 Santa Barbara. Cal. $44, 943; Stam- session.; Urbana. H.. $2S091; Shelby vile. Ind. s23,541; Waltham, Mass, s54, ,8S7; Leominster. Mass. $32, 1894; Port Huron. Mich, s66. 134: East Orange, N. J., sS2,S77: Passaic, N. J., $9O,S63; New N. Y. s66.7SS; Elyria. O., s44.- S134,972 and Tyrone. Pa, $63, 330
 Then there is another list of 145 cit es with a population of 5000 and less in 1900 which have public buildings, which makes an interesting compari- son with the preceding examples. The Harrison, Ark, has a s100.000 building, receipts $736; Hope. Ark. s50,OO0 building. receipts s1S21: London. Ky, s105,00 building, receipts $1. .459; Devils Lake, N. D.. s15O,O00 building. receipts 4 344; Florence, $. C.. S100.0OO build PIP. coo building, receipts $5.631; Pierre, ;. D., s175,000 receipts $34O7; Green 'ille Tenn. $110,000 building, receipts 3.939: Big Stone Gap, Va. $100 1000 building. receipts s693; Port Townsand, Va, s251. 900 building receipts s2.971; md Lander, Wyo., $122.OOO building, eceipts $S05
 These are only a few instances of he situation attributed by Treasury f1cials to political pull" They ar ;ue that the showing is sufficient to make it desirable that some definite Jan should be worked out to cover the | rection of buildings in the future