Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-12-29
BUILDING PROGRAM
FOR ALL us. URGED
Representative Magee Would
Unite District and Rest of
Country in Bill.

Emphasizing the need for Carrying
out President CoolIdge's recommends
lions for a $4,000. 900 program of,
public buildings in the National Cap+.
tai to house government activities
that are now woefully handicapped
while at the same time making O
start toward building up the Nations
postal plant, which has deteriorated
since the enactment Of the last pub
lie buildings bill in 1913, Represent
alive Walter w. Magee of New
York today urged favorable consid-
Grafton of the Elliott bill.
Representative Magee is n member
OF the House appropriation committee
and was speaking in support of the
Treasury and Post Office Departments
appropriation bill. He expressed the
opinion that the bill introduced by
Representative Richard N. Elliott of
Indiana, acting chairman OF the
House committee on public buildings
and grounds, is the only one outlining
building program that the House
membership will be willing to accept.
The Elliott proposal is to put the
erection of public buildings under the
Bureau of the Budget and to have
any building proposal handled as an
item Just as other items under the
Treasury, Agriculture or other de-
partmental appropriation Items are
handled.
Magee proposed that the Govern
ment use possibly 100000 a year
for buildings in the District OF Co
lumbia and in the Nation TO start. The
plan, he said, would pay for itself in
savings on rent in Is years. In 10
years the need for buildings in the
District of Columbia and the Nation
would be cared for and new needs
could be met as they arose without
pickering.
THE enactment into law of the
Elliott bill will relieve the Congress
OF all responsibility for alleged neg
lect to construct in the District of CO.
lumbia necessary buildings for the
preservation of governmental records
and for other governmental purposes"
he said. 1T seems TO me that the
most urgent need in the District is
the construction of an additional
building for use of the Treasury De-
partment This bill, if passed, would
permit this construction to begin
promptly"
No More "Pork, Bills.
Congress has passed its last pork
barrel" bill, that is, bill giving each
building for his district. Mr.. Magee
said. He deplored the fact that be-
cause pork barrel bills were once
the vogue, there has been a tendency
to lean backward against any sort OF
public building
The Government needs some new
public buildings in the District of
Columbia, but this need is no greater
than the need for public buildins in
~
Mr.. Magee said. And argument for
public buildings in the District and
excluding the rest OF the country is,
in my judgment, indefensible from any
viewpoint. / do not believe that a
bill providing for the construction
of public buildings solely in the Dis
trict, or a bill that is ordinarily known
as pork barrel bill affecting the
whole country, has any chance OF
passing in the House.
MY notion Is that we can pass only
a bill providing for a public build
ing program on a sound business
basis. Can any one say that .jts.is
not a good proposition for the Gov
eminent to expend annually in the
construction of necessary public
buildings on sites now owned or here
after acquired an amount not in ex-
cess of what the Government pays an
nually in rentals? Particularly in
view of the fact that the rentals are
constantly and materially increasing"
Calls Condition Intolerable.
Magee cited conditions in his hom.
city OF Syracuse, where in 1916 all the
buildings on perhaps the choicest
block in the city were RACED for a
building which has never been erected
because the cost Of construction adj
Nanced.
If a private concern ran it's bust
ness as the Government has been run
ming the public buildings business. 1t
would soon go into bankruptcy" Mr..
Magee said. 1T does not seem pos
sible that reasonable men would per-
nit such an intolerable condition to
exist for any material length of time"
There are 51,266 post offices in the
United States. OF these, 36,47S are
fourth class, for which no allowance
for rent is made.
The presidential grade of post Of
fees total 147S8. OF these, 1,125 are
in Federal buildings and 1868 are
hui