The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1910-08-02
UNCLE SANS PAPERS
IN DANGER OF FIRE
Need of Hall of Records En-
phaSized by Hooe Build
ing Blaze.
URGED YEARS AGO
BY TWO SECRETARIES
backward Step Taken, Documents
Whose Value Cannot Be Com
Puted Piling Up Meanwhile.

Congress- VIII assemble some day to
discover that some Of the most valuable
documents in -he possession OF the Gov
eminent have been destroyed by FIRE.
Cabinet officers have been pleading fox
years for an approximation for the con
struction Of a hail Of records IL which
the old documents and papers CT the
various DEPARTMENTS might be stored
BIS authorizing the a0Dropriation
have been introduced from time to time
and occasionally such bills have passed
one branch Of Congress only to die in
another.
Last Sunday a FIRE occurred in the
HOoe building. on F street. near -Four
teenth street In a portion Of The build
ing thousands Of documents Of tie In
terStatc Commerce Commission were
stored. and many Of Them would have
been DESTROYED had It not been for the
activity OF William Connolly. chief clerk
Of the commission. in employing q large
force Of men TO remove them from the
burning structure
The FIRE served 10 illustrate two things
first. that the Government is sadly in
need OF buildings Of its own and second.
that there is a pressing need for fire.
proof building 10 be used for the excIu-
siTe purpose OF storing papers which
are not n daily use
Show Makes First Move
The need Of hreDroof hail OF records
was first brought to the attention OF
Congress in 1904 and again in 1915 by
Leslie n Shaw, then Secretary Of the
Treasury In 1eaS Secretary CorteIvou
wrote a special letter TO Congress in
support Of the proposition suggested by
his predecessor
The necessity for some structure Ct
the character described said Secretary
CorteIyOu IN a letter 10 the House Of
Representative grows censtantIv. An
Investigation made In 1906 showed that
me HES then on hand in all 4ba b--i-l-
llSS under the control Of the Treasury
department IN Washington, and in the
space rented exclusively therefor ooer5-
pied over f,eoo,e59 cubic feet OF SUs-e
anu t-al LLleJ were accommodating ~ TIE
rate OF 800 cubic feet per annur7.
Inc condition Of these unCurreut files
Is pTecaFlOus IN the extreme In many
Instances Jney occupy space Wh5ch IS
1requenJed BY the public and are unp-o-
SSCted N any way from depreciation.
some OF them re stored N rented build
lHgS which are not freuroof and ore
BY fire
Available Space Occupied.
All OF the available space IN the DIFF
ferent buildings under the control Of
this department Is now occupied. as. veil
as two and One-haIf floors IN q large
storage building, for which The deDarr-
ment pays an annual rental Of $500.
and, in addition, the department e .rorr-
PEELED 10 use corridors and other vaJua-
DE space which is badly needed for The
transaction OF current business.
While these files ere referred 10 as
'uncurrent,' it must be borne in mind
that reference IS made &c them almost
constantly. that in most Instances f1.e-
pertain 10 questions Of great Ir7Dorfance-
tlls1L NheE have been accommodating since
me organization Of the Government a-75
mat their destruction by FIRE would
cause CONFUSION and delay fl the tran
SacuOn OF public business II Is -Ha-.
fore, absolutely necessary that sufficient
space De provided TO assemble them IN
such manner that they NAV ne of rlz-i--
access. -
Backward Step Taken.
They are now inaccessible for refer
ence' except with great labor. on &C
count Of insufficient space. and al the
same time are daily exposed TO loss. de-
cay and accidents. which NAV gr any
tine destroy them in whole OF in na-+
While there is no recent sata cover
ING Other departments. l. is believed
mat similar conditions prevail in all
In my opinion there are few. if any
public improvements here for which
there Is greater need than for a han
OF records, and the matter Is ureszr+z-f
Win the earnest hope that action min
De taken al this session looking ro fbr
erection Of such q building
" nat was true Of the conditions .-~e-
Ealllng when Secretary COrtelvou wrote
MS letter to Congress is true tOday to =
4aE greater extent The Government has
taken a step backward instead of =
step forward in the matter OF p-esery-
2g its documents.
II 1913 Congress passed a bill making
- appropriation for land between
eighteenth and Nineteenth streets and
L and Z streets for the express purnose
OF erecting haH Of records thereon.
Plans Are Altered.
Since that time it has been decided
IN Ar the new building OF the Geologf-
cal Survey VIII be erected or the land
bought for the had OF records. with
the result that the documents are ac-
cumulating so fast that the various
departments are compelled to store
them away in any quarters they can
find without regard TO the frenroof
qualities Of the building rented for THAI
purpose
In the case OF the Interstate Com