Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1922-03-31

PRICELESS GOVERNMENT REG
oRDs STORED IN "TINDER
BOX" BUILDINGS.
HAZARD OF FIRE EXTREME
Report on the Subject Has Been Made
to congress-PIsns for Enlargino
National Botanic Garden--American
Legion Wants Own Building.
BY EDWARD 8. CLARK

by EOWAhD 3. CIAhN
Observation-Disclosures and perils of
fire existing In the "tinder box" build
ings where invaluable records of the
government, in many cases non-replace-
able, are stored, were pointed out with
other salient features In a report on
the archives buildings from Lieut.. Col.
G. o. Sheriff., superintendent of pub
lie buildings and grounds, to Senator
Reed Smoot chairman of the public
buildings commission. N--
The report summarizes the steps
taken thus far to assure the govern
1nent of storage place for its rec
Ords. 1t also takes into consideration
the arguments of opponents of the
archives building plan for placement
of the building on land already owned
by the United States government,
rather than in the Jquare bounded by
Twelfth and Thirteenth. streets, B and
@ Streets as is planned in reports to
this time. h4
The emphatic part of the report,
however, is that of the fire hazard
existing. For instance, 1t shows that
the files of the income tax unit, in
Guiding more than 15,00O,000 conf
Dental returns of income, with 10000
600 related letters, and hundreds of
thousands of valuable maps and spe-
cial reports, are packed and jammed
Into annex No. 1. Then there are sew
eral hundred thousand returns and
related papers In courses of audit
the second annex of the unit, which is
characterized as a fragile wooden
building erected during the war, III
which the risk of fire is constantly
imminent. In the possibility of a fire
there. the report continues. fireplace
able papers, representing hundreds of
millions Of dollars of revenue, would
be quickly destroyed and the work of
the government would be irreparably
interrupted.
Priceless Records in Danger.
The report does not overlook the
fact that serious fire in any of the
typically hazardous buildings in which
the records of the United States gov
eminent are stored In Washington
would easily be able to cause a loss
running into hundreds of millions of
dollars, whereas the cost of purchase
of site and the erection OF the
building would be such a few million
dollars as to make the latter figure
Innk IRn q hnStAn In.
relative comparison.
1t Is not only In the income tax
unit that the hazard to records exists,
according to the report. There are
buildings in which the records of other
activities of the government are stored
WHO'RE the risk, assumes similar pro-
portion. The general accounting office,
under the controller general, is one of
these XII 4
The first definite step was TAX
en- toward enlargement of the Ma.
tional Botanic garden at its pres.
ent location, looking forward to maxi
ing 1t one of the greatest, botanic gar
dens in the. world, when Lieut.. Col.
Clarence o. Sheriff., officer In charge
-
of public buildings and grounds and
executive officer Of the Fine Arts COM
assured joint conference of
senators and house members who
would handle the necessary legisla,,
ton, that he Is ready to turn over to
the Botanic garden the requisite land
already owned by the government.
1t was agreed that land south of
the present site of the Botanic gar
den, which lies on Pennsylvania ave-
nue.. between First and Third streets,
and following the line of the old
james creek canal bed from Third
street to the capital power plant, and
thence south TO the Potomac river,
Joining the grounds of the War. college
ON the south and Buzzards point on
the east, should be turned over to
the Jurisdiction of George w. Hess,
director of the Botanic garden. for.
a NJ
This plan for extension of the gar
den. which has long been advocated
by Director Hess, who is ambitious
10 develop It into the greatest, boz.
tanic garden in the world, and who
has received promises Of co-opera-
tion from many foreign countries,
has been approved by Charles Moore,
chairman of the fine arts commits
sion, and Lieutenant Colonel Sheriff.,
the secretary and executive officer. It
also works in with the plan recent
ly submitted to congress by Elliott
Woods. architect of, the capitol and
a member OF a special commission
on enlarging the capitol grounds,
who recommends comprehensive
development of the. area surrounding
the capitol. and especially the for
nation of parkway development
from Union station to- the, capitol
and thence south of the capitol to
the river. Under Architect Woods
plan, the main portion of the Botanic
garden would be artisticaily placed.
between the Washington navy yard.