The Cordova daily times., 1919-08-15
CRICSBY AIDS IN EFFORTS TO
 GET BUILDING

dluSA CO SOLuOFCh1 ACeo ohO"h HID | faith in the stability of the town and it's prospects by erecting an office building and also beautiful resi- dence He appreciates the need of a public building here, and has en- listed the support of Delegate George B. Grigsby in getting an additional appropriation to the one of $1OO00O already made, in orcer that work may proceed on the structure. Several | weeks ago he wrote Delegate Grigsby | on the subject, and the following is an excerpt from the letter:
 Some two or three years ago con- gross passed bill appropriating $1OO,- 900 for a public building in Cordova. l We donated to the government a site | for this building on Second avenue, just south of the Windsor hotel We had some trouble satisfying the gOv- ernment as to the title, but this was finally satisfactorily arranged. The | plans of the building were drawn and | approved some time back. We un- derstand now that it is claimed that the appropriation of $1OO,OOO is not sufficient to defray the costs of mak- ing the necessary excavation and erecting the building. It seems that the architect desires to excavate the site to level with Second avenue Now, this would simply ruin the site, l as it would leave at the rear end of the site a perpendicular wall of rock better than thirty feet high, and the building would apparently be set in a hole. The reason the government ac- cepted this particular site was owing to it's elevation and commanding view. l am told by responsible contractors site and make the necessary excava- tiOns for the basement for the build ing and the necessary approaches or stairways from Second avenue for $10,O00. This would leave $9O,000 for the building, which I know is ample for any public building required in | COrdOva for a number of years to come"
 Grigsby's Reply
 Delegate Grigsby immediately got busy and wrote MT. Donohoe as fol- lows:
 T have been looking into the Cor dOVa public building matter for the \ last three or four days, and am pre- pairing bill today to get an addi-I tiOnal hundred thousand dollars forI the Cordova building. The last omni- bus bill for public buildings carried an additional hundred thousand for COrdova, and would have passed ifI the whole thing had not died. The committee had a meeting the other day and will not introduce another | bill until the beginning of the next session, and will include in it this additional hundred thousand for Cor dova and an additional two hundred and fifty thousand for Juneau, and the whole thing will undoubtedly pass. Yesterday I talked with MT. | WetmOre, the supervising architect for the treasury department, and he explained to me why this additional hundred thousand was necessary of course, as you know, since the act of March 4, 1913, authorizing the hun dred thousand dollars for the COrdova building was passed, owing to the in creased cost of material and construc- t1on, and on account of the war, the work on several hundred buildings was suspended; that is, that the money was not sufficient to carry out the plans of the architect I don't see exactly how one hundred thousand dollars can possibly be enough if itI was not too much in 1913. I will talk with the architect again this after noon with reference to the excavation on the site which you mention, and give him your views. The public buildings committee advised me to 1 introduce a separate bill for the addi- t1onal money needed, which would be referred to that committee, and en- phasized the necessity of not getting action on it until the omnibus bill goes in; but the chairman informed me that most of the congressman were introducing separate bills in order to bring their respective interests be- fore the committee in preparing it's omnibus bill.
 T suggest that you write a letter to James A. Wetmore, supervising architect, treasury department, or have one written, explaining what you think will be the results of the ex- cavation on the site to the level of