Evening star., 1923-02-11
ARCHIVES BUILDING
FAILURE ASSA|LED
Smoot BIames Disappoint-
ment of Pork Barrel En-
thusiasts for Defeat.
DELIVERS ! ULTIMATUM
Declares Government Records Will
Be Destroyed in Ten Years
Under Present Case.

Senator Smoot of Utah, chairman
of the public buildings commission,
yesterday assailed the action OF the
House in refusing to agree to Senate
amendments to the independent Of
fees appropriation bill, providing for
national archives building and for
the erection of steel filing stacks to
hold government records in the in
terror court of the Pension building.
Senator Smoot said that the Senate
conferees had been told that as soon
as there was a general public build
ings bill, the House might consider
proposals to house the government
records.
Because they cannot have a new
post office building at Podunk," said
Senator Smoot. I'VE can't have an ar
chives building to house the govern
ment records in the District of CO.
lumbia."
Serves Ultimatum.
Senator Smoot, who was one of the
given notice that next year IL the
Senate voted for an archives building.
the Senate conferees would not yield
on the matter.
The Utah senator said that one Of
the arguments used against the erec-
tion of filing stack in the pension
building had been that the stacks
would cut off the view Of some govern
ment officials in the pension building.
Senator Smoot said that the erection
of these stacks would save the gov
ernment thousands Of dollars.
The governments valuable records to-
day are in such a condition that they
would fail to pieces unless handled with
great care, and in ten years from now.
he said, if nothing is done to preserve
them in better manner, it will be i'm
possible to read them.
Measure Is Indorsed.
AS long as he continued to be chair
man of the public building commits
sion, Senator Smoot said, he would try
every year to reduce the expenses of
the government and to bring about
IT, adoption of proper measures to
safeguard the government records
from destruction by fire.
Senator Swanson of Virginia, who
has been strong advocate, too, of
the erection of a national archives
building in Washington to house the
records OF the government, urged that
Senator Smoot ask the Senate to vote
to send the independent offices back
to conference and further insist upon
it's amendments for an archives build
ing and for the erection of the stacks
in the Pension building.
81 would like to see this issue
fought out now" said Senator Swan
son. 1.-The Senate has again and again
yielded to the House in this matter.
The House conferees seem to think
that when they say that the House
voted against this proposition, they
have said 1t all, and that is an end OF
the matter. The Senate has it's rights
and a vote in the Senate is just as re-
spectacle as a vote in the House..
Hope for Measure Later.
Senator Smoot said that he had
agreed in conference not to push the
matter further at the present short
session of Congress But at the next
session, which is a long session, he
promised the matter would be taken
up vigorously.
Hope for Measure Later.
Senator Warren of Wyoming. chair
man of the appropriations committee.
said that he agreed with Senator
Smoot that it would be the better
plan to let the present appropriation
bill go through without the provision
for an archives building, and then
take the matter up when Congress
had more time to consider 1t.
He said that the other conferees
on the part of the Senate felt just
as strongly as Senator Smoot in favor
Of an archives building.
The conference report on the inde-
pendent offices bill was finally adopted
and the bill now goes to the President