The Adair County news., 1922-08-08
Government Is Largest Property
Owner in the United
States.
ECONOMY IS THE WATCHWORD
Congress Keeps an Eagle Eye on the
Governments Housing BiII-conl-
mission Saves HaIf-MiIIion in
Rents in Three Years.

lar, congress is keeping an eagle eye
on the governments housing bill. The
government clerk may work in a gran
lite masterpiece Of Greek architecture
that suggests a large and lavish scale
of administration, but the classic edi-
fee is run on a 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 dollars, it owns offices all over
the country. These include 1880 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.OOO,OOO.
:, Economy Becomes Watehword.
Economy is now the watchword in
the management Of all this property.
Take the Stucco buildings which
eprang up to house the army Of war
stenographers and filing clerks in the
capital. About 10000 war workers
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 in prewar days.
The tempos near Potomac park
stand on leased land and the lease is
about to expire. Furthermore, the
owners want a higher rate Of rent, and
IL the government turns the property
back to the owners ii must tear down
its stucco buildings and even pay for
the structures that stood on the land
when It took possession.
In this dilemma the government
finds one satisfactory way out. 1t can
buy the land for $1,500,0O0, about what
three years rent would cost. Congress
Is considering this obviously economi-
cal measure, and approval is said to
be certain. The temporary buildings
are regarded as good for several years,
and after that the government will still
have the land as a 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 passageways, which to-
gether make the largest Office build
ing in the world. They are the Navy
and Munitions buildings. They con-
tain 100000 square feet OF space and
some Of the corridors are 1900 feet
long.
These record-breaking office build
ingS are a bone of contention because
they were put up as temporary war
structures. They stand firmly enough
on government-owned ground, but the
land is a part of Potomac park, and
the city-planning scheme calls for the
removal of the prOsaic buildings to de-
velop the park.
The buildings are modern in every
respect and are extremely solid for
temporary construction. If they had
been built across the street on the
leased ground which the government
is now buying they would have stood
unchallenged and serviceable for at
least fifteen years to come. They may
stand for years as it is. The two
buildings together cost more than ST.
100000. 7hey house several thousand
workers who would have to be pro-
vided for somewhere if the biggest
government office unit were scrapped.
Commission Put in Charge.
Economy and the city-beautiful idea
are contesting oveAr this situation, and
economy has the advantage now. Its
cause being advanced for the govern
ment by a public buildings commission
at the capitol. This commission has
for its ultimate aim the removal of ev-
cry government Office in 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.
The public buildings commission is
out to save the government money, and
it points proudly to the fact that its
economy begins at home. 1t has no
crew of stenographers, clerks and mes
sengers. Three years ago when it
started it was given an initial appro-
priation of $4,000 by congress, and it
still has $1,000 to its credit in the
bank.
In three years it has saved the gov
ernment more than half a million dol
lars in rents by moving bureaus out
of rented buildings into government
owned offices. Thus the commission
notes that the Veterans bureau per-
sonnel is shrinking daily and it finds
that there is room in the war risk
building for the entire force of the
alien property custodian. This official
and his staff have been occupying a
six-story apartment house at cost to
the government Of $4,000 a year rent.
The commission arranged with the bu-
reau to move and credits itself with
saving the country $4,000.
Lavish Building at an End.
Unless there is a sharp reaction from
the present tendency toward efficiency
and economy there will be no more
elaborate monumental effects in de-