Evening star., 1923-05-13
imperative Internal Revenue
Work Under Way With
Nowhere to Co..
NEED NEW UNDERMINING
AT TREASURY ANNEX NO. 2
Conditions at War Work Buildings
Emphasize Need Of Erecting
Permanent Structures.

The imperative need for Congress
TO appropriate money for the erec-
tion OF permanent buildings to house
activities Of the government that are
constantly expanding under acts of
Congress is emphasized by the prob
lem placed before the Public Build
fngs Commission with. respect to
Treasury Annex No. 2. There 5000
government employees, on important
income tax work. are threatened with
being temporarily interrupted in
their work, by groups, over a period
OF hve or six months, while abso-
lutely essential repairs are being
made. because no space can be found
elsewhere to house this work.
This particular temporary building,
between 18th and 18th streets and
Ohio avenue and Z street, must
have a completely new underpinning If
II Is to continue in use during the next
three years. All Of the temporary
war work" buildings are in virtually
the same condition, and have from
time to time been patched up to last
a little longer One such building. at
9th and B streets, has had the lower
foors strengthened and is to be en-
tirely shored up for use by the gem
eral supply COMMITTEES.
Built on Piles.
The trouble with these temporary
buildings is tha- they were built
without foundations, on piies and
such construction must be renewed
about every three years, the enRi-
neerS employed by the Public Build
lhgS Commission point out. 1t is be-
ing urged by the Public Buildings
h.sT 10
economy to spend hundreds Of thou
sands OF dollars year for putting
in new underpinning, when IN three
or tour years the buildings would be
unsafe ana unit for the government
work
James =. Wetmore, supervising
architect OF the Treasury, has ap-
pealed to Lieut.. Col. Clarence ..
public buildings and grounds and ex-
ecutlve officer OF the PuDiic Buildings
Commission, to see II space cannot
be found in some OF the Mail build
ings or some other temporary build
inSS into which the internal revenue
force can be moved, SO that these re-
pairs can be made.
\ survey Of the available space.
made by J. g. Young, an engineer
detailed by Col. Sheriff. for this spe-
cial work, reveals that there is no
space into which these 1920 employees
can be moved. They are now oc-
S0pJ IHS dDOul SoU,UUU square feet or
foor space in Treasury annex No.
and there is no more than $4,000 feet
anywhere else that will be available
between now and June, unless some
NO place TO move the other units into.
Must Take Up Floors.
Temporary repairs have been made
from time to time and this work Is
still in progress. Tho problem pre-
sented for the public buildings COM
mission, however. Is that a general
JOB of replcaing the underpinning
must be done If there is any inten-
tion OF continuing to use this tenn
porary building. To do this will re-
quIre that the floors be taken up.
Supervising Architect Wetmore points
could be done at time. but even
this would necessitate a double NOV
ing or the employees, and IL done in
that way the Job would take five or
100000, Mr. Wetmore estimates.
otner estimates have placed the cost
as high as 100000. Even then, Mr,
Wetmore said, the work would have
oS ne th-u uone an over again at the end
Col. Sheriff. has detailed engineers
TO hgure the cost of complete re.
underpinning to be submitted to the
pubic buildins commission. Mr.. Young
yesterday made an inspection Of the
unaerpnning where it is giving way for
Col. Sheriff. O
One phase of the situation that
compllcates the problem is that this
Is the best occupied Of the temnorary
buildings in Washington and that the
clerks are very busy on income tax
returns. Jasper y. Baker. chief clerk
or the internal revenue bureau, said
tnat any interruption Of the work of
@ @LHese enpIoyes would be great ham |
olcap and quite costly to the govern
ment lie estimated that there are
at least 5000 employees in Treasury
annex No. 2, or about half the force
empioyed by the bureau in Washing
ton, which is now occupying seven
dlHerent buildings.
No Occasion for Alarm.
Supervising Architect Wetnora am
phaSlzes that there is no occasion for
alarm among those employed in this
building on the ground that 1t Is
Thae TTahneerons eni TOT them to work there.
lnss commission, as he sees It, is TO
decide whether 1t Is real economy to
spend $4,000 Cor, maybe twice that
that cannot Last more than three
years, on building that has already
outlived Its intended existence, or To
move the force elsewhere. The puh-
nc pulidlngs commission cannot find
Col. Sheriff. has already announced
mat the public buildings commission
VIII urge upon Congress as soon as
1T meets the absolute need for a new
internal revenue building. or the gov
ernment will be unable to .coIlecf tfs
taxes Supervising Architect Wet
more said last night that it will re-
qulre building at least two. and one
half times the size of the Treasury
building to accommodate the internal
revenue bureau. He estimated that
the proposed new building viii re-
guire $4,000 to 100000 square feet Of
floor space. The site of the Treasury
annex No: 3 Is not large enough for
building.