Evening star., 1916-05-03

of Labor and the Department of JUS
tice. in spite of the openly disgraceful
need for better quarters for these two
big government departments. this pres
purpose to die. just as they died in
previous Congresses. The House
knocked the items of rental for new
buildings for these departments from
the bill.
Yesterday, Representative Cooper.
who has been conspicuous in his fight
for constructive policy for the gov
ernment's plant here. asked Represent
ative Byrns. in charge of the bill. how
the provisions happened to be placed
told him the Senate inserted these
items and that in conference the House
yielded. Thereupon Representative
Cooper quoted at length from an arti i
which the lack of a building policy was
decried.
Points to Waste in Rental.
For many years" said Representa-
tive Cooper. I'VE have owned sites for
buildings for the Department of Jus
tice. the Department of Commerce. the
Department of Labor and for the De-
these sites for ten years, and now it
building for the Department of Jus
tice for which we are to pay rental
of $4,000 year. That is per cent
on 100000. or 6 per cent on $60o0Oo.
at per cent. 1t is also proposed to
have some one erect a building for the
Department of Labor. for which the
government is to pay rental of $2i,Ooo
year. ., ;,
toll what nf htli1djnQS w Ill
look like nor where 1t will be loca ted.
They will doubtless be located without
regard to the general plan for the de-
velopment and Identification of WASH
ington. This haphazard locating OF
these boxlike. ungainly structures will
surely result-has in some places al
Ready resulted-in the gross architec-
tura1 Disagreement of this great CAPT.
tai city. Unless stopped, this. practice
will mean the ruin of the city's beauty.
The people of the United States want
the capital of the nation to be in all
respects a model municipality. 1t is
their Capital city"
He continued:
If the building for the Department
of Justice were erected on the site pur-
chased and long held for it. on the cor
ner diagonaily across from the Treas
ury. all of the Avenue. Georgetown and
18th street cars would pass imme-
diately in front of it. Every member
of the Senate or the House and every
visitor to the city could go by street
car directly to the front of the build
ing.
City Planning in Washington.
Speaking of. city planning as applied
to Washington. Representative Cooper
said:
TT is altogether wrong for us to per-
nit the promiscuous construction at
random here and there in the Capital
city of the nation of buildings of the
type going up and rented to the gov
ernment. l do not know why these
things are perpetually and insistently
being done. unless. as the writer of
that article declares, there are inter-
ests in the city determined to see to it
that no more government buildings
shall be erected in Washington. In
ma gnificent sites on 18th street fronting
that park. easily accessible from every
part of the city to every resident of
the city and to every visitor who comes
here, are not utilized? Why is it that
we let them stand idle. occupied by a
few poor. cheap buildings, while we
give to private people the right to
erect in their discretion anywhere in
this magnificent Capital city these dis
figuring buildings and have our prom
ise that they shall be leased to the
of the United States? We
already pay between six and seven
hundred thousand dollars for rent here,
and I repeat what / have said at other
times, that it is our duty as legislators
to put stop to this practice of having
the government contract with private