Evening star., 1918-02-20
$4,2O0,0OO TO BUY
OLD ARLINGTON SITE
Favorable Committee Report
on House Bill for Treas
ury Offices.
608, 900 so. Fl. ARE ADDED

Representative Frank Clark of Flor
ida, chairman of the House committee
on public buildings and grounds, favor
ably reported today the bill authorizing
the Secretary of the Treasury to ex-
pend s4,2OO.Ooo for the purchase of the
site and the fireproof building being
erected thereon of the old Arlington Ho-
tel property. on the west side of Ver-
mont avenue between H and 1 streets
northwest.
1t is intended that the Treasury De-
partment shall finish the main building
by October 1 and the annex by Febru-
ary /, to provide needed Office space
for various bureaus of the Treasury
Department.
The report of the committee says mot
only is this space urgently needed by
the Treasury Department but We are
convinced that the terms under which
to the government are exceedingly ad-
vantageous both with relation to value
and the shortness of time in which the
building will be available for use"
Adds Cos, 900 So. Ft. for Offices.
The new building will provide a total
of 60s,0o0 square feet of Office space
and will be Substantial fireproof
building with three stories under
ground and a superstructure of ten
stories and an attic The outside ap-
pearance will be in harmony with the
general plans of government buildings
as approved by the fine arts commits
sion"
In touching upon rental charges the
report says lit is utterly useless to con-
slider renting space in the District for
the use of the department., for the very
simple reason that investigation has
shown no space is available. If suitable
buildings could be rented it would not
be economical at figures now placed
upon them by landlords. One landlord
recently informed the governmental de-
partment that after July l, when an
existing lease expired, the government
must pay So per foot per annum."
Will Save $1o4, ,2ee in Rents.
As the Treasury Department is now
paying s104,2ss per annum for Office
rent in this city. and as the proposed
building will accommodate all the ac-
tivities of the department. the commit
tee figured that this rental will be
pied.
It is intended to use the new Office
building for housing the entire force
OF the war risk insurance bureau and
q poA tAoA VI luS luIeIHdl revenue force,
the report points out. The war risk
insurance bureau at the present time Ii
occupying four different huiIdlnes IN
various parts of the city. which mill
tates seriously against the efficiency OF
the force and jeopardizes the safety Of
important records and documents In
giving some idea of the immensfty of
the work of this bureau the report
points out that already eleven hundred
thousand applications for Insurance
have been made.
Ten Billions of Insurance Ahead.
1t is estimated that soon the bureau
will have. issued about $10,000,o00. 900
of insurance. The committee empha-
sizes the fact that a permanent build
ing is desirable, because this bureau
Will. exist and do business for many
years after the close of the war.
The committee points out that THE
new building. togther with the Treas
ury annex. construction of which will
soon be begun, will accommodate the
entire force of the war risk bureau and
the entire force of the bureau Of in
ternal revenue, and thus release in the
main building of the Treasury Depart-
ment considerable space which is badly
needed by the divisions of loans and
currency, the registrar of the Treasury
and the treasurer Of the United States.
the work of each having been larreIv
increased on account of the issuance OF
the liberty loan bonds. The income tax
operation will also tremendously in
crease the amount of work required ~
the internal revenue bureau. and will
necessitate very large increase OF the
number of EMPLOYEES