The Owosso times., 1922-07-21
UNCLE SAM SAVES
ON OFFICE RENTS
Government Is Largest Property
Owner In the United
States.
ECONOMY IS THE WATCHWORD
Congress Keeps an Eagle Eye on the
Governments Housing Bill-com-
mission Saves HaIf-Million in
Rents in Three Years.

Washington, ID. C.-In the vigorous
AuIt Tor more ways of saving dol
inr, congress is keeping an eagle eye
on the governments housing bill. The
go'egnmcnr clerk may work in a gram
lite masterpiece Of Greek architecture
that suggests a large and lavish scale
OF administration, but the classic edi-
bce IS run on strictly modern, save
the-pennies basis.
The government is the largest prop
erty owner in the United States. Be-
sides the great department buildings
IN Washington, each costing several
million dciiarS, it owns offices all over
the corLt.y. These include 1,25O post
offices, ranging in value from small
town building worth only a few thou
sand dollars TO the Chicago post Office,
which cost more than $5.000,00O.
Economy Becomes Watchword.
Economy Is now the watchword in
the management of all this property.
Take the stucco buildings which
sprang up to house the army of war
stenOgrGrhers and filing clerks in the
have departed and whole blocks of the
''tempos," as the war buildings were
called, have been struck like circus
tents. But some are needed because
Washington still has twice as many
clerks as i'm pre-war days.
The tenlros near Potomac park
stand on leased land and the lease is
about to expire. Furthermore, the
owners want higher rate Of rent, and
IL the government turns the property
back TO the owners it must tear down
Ats stucco buildings and even pay for
the structures that stood on the land
when it took possession.
In this dilemma the government
dnds one satisfactory way ont. 1t can
buy the land for 81 500, 900, about what
t!he a. years rent would cost. Congress
Is considering this obviously econOmi-
Cal measure, aud approval is said to
BE certain. The temporary buildings
are regarded as good FOR several years,
aid after that the government will still
have The land as site for permanent
structures.
Buildings Present Problem.
Across the street from some of these
Temporary offices is another govern
ment problem. Here are two build
ings, Joined by pnsSageways, which to-
gether make .he largest office build
ing ir the world. They are the Navy
and Murltous buildings. They con-
tain 1,Top.OOG square feet OF space and
some Of tic corridors are 1,500 feet
bong.
These rccCrd-breaking Office build
tngs are a bone Of contention because
they were put up as temporary war
structures. They stand firmly enough
on goy yernment-owned ground, but the
land Is a part of Potomac park, and
the city-p!anning scheme calls for the
removal Of the prosaic buildings to de-
veior :he park.
The buildings are modern in every
resIect and are extremely solid for
temporary construction. If they had
beer built across the street on the
leased ground which the government
j. nov buying they would have stood |
bHchalcnged and serviceable for at
JcaSi fifteen years to come. They may
StgnC for years as it Is. The two
bu; dngs together cost more than ST. !
O0' .So6. They house several thousand
vo nrs who would have TO he pro-
vihth for somewhere if the biggest |
govC' nent office unit were scrapped. |
Commission Put in Charge.
Ecp..nmy and the city-beautiful idea
are c"ntcsting over this situation, and
economy has the advantage now. Its
cause b'ing advanced for the govern
ment by public buildings commission
at tie capitol. This commission has
for it's ultimate aim the removal of ev-
cry government Office i'm Washington |
from rented building space. The De-
partment of Agriculture, which Is
housed in 26 different buildings, about
half Of which are rented, is an example
of the problem which confronts the
commission.