Evening star., 1924-11-23
WILL PRESS CONGRESS
FOR BUILDINGS BILL
President and Legislative Leaders Will
Urge Authorization of $50, 100000 to
House Government Here.


one roof, or at least in the same
immediate vicinity.
It will be shown that the Govern
ment is squandering untold sums for
messenger service, for automobiles
and trucks and for time lost in going
from one building to another, besides
the highest officials of the Govern
ment kept waiting for hours at a
time for important papers that have
to be brought from distant build
ing. The bringing together Of bu
reaus and divisions would effect great
economies and Increased efficiency,
Congress will be told.
For example: The controller gen
eral estimates that $250,000 could be
saved each year from money that
Is now being spent if all the work
Of this office. which Is corollary Of
the budget system, was placed under
under one roof. Another Illustration:
The commissioner of Internal Rev
enue believes that a building for his
bureau would save 15 to 90 per cent
of the present cost in collection of
taxes, which would mean direct
saving in taxes to the man in every
community throughout the land
who has to dig down into his pocket
to pay the taxes.
The Government already owns
sites for practically all the public
buildings needed at present, unless
possibly 1t may have to buy land
on which to erect an archives build
ing. The Government owns these
squares available for new buildings
west of Seventeenth street and south
of Pennsylvania avenue. 1t owns
three squares south of Pennsylvania
avenue, east of Fifteenth street, run
ming back to the Mall.
Safety Important Question.
A serious factor that will be espe-
citlly impressed upon Congress is
that large part OF the office space
now occupied is in f1imsy temporary
buildings, which are not only an
eyesore, dfsfiguring the Capital Beau
tiful. but of infiammable wooden and
paper-board construction, which
makes them a constant menace to
the safety of thousands of employees
and most valuable records of the
Government. These buildings, Sena-
tor Smoot will emphasize, are rapidly
dtsintegrating and the cost of upkeep
is entirely out of proportion to their
value for office use, aside from the
fire risk. No successful private busi-
ness concern would think for q min
ute of continuing to use such offices.
1t will be pointed out that the
United States Government is under
sanitary. safe, properly lighted and
ventilated, comfortable working
quarters-especially since it breaches
that gospel on welfare of the
workers to private employers. .
Detailed information will also be
laid before Congress showing that in
ser1e of the temporary buildings
there is a veritable hodge-podge of
unrelated activities, sometimes as
many as 90 widely varied units of
the Government service in one
building
Probably the first new building to
be erected will be for the Internal
Revenue Bureau. which really needs
building most. Parts of the In
ternal Revenue work are now located
in four temporary buildings, and
more than 20 per cent of the bureaus
space is in these non-freproof
structures.
Revenue Work Important.
The Internal Revenue work is just
about as important as any in all
the Government service because il
brings in most of the money that
pays the bills for all activities. Yet
it now occupies 10 scattered build
ings, two Of which are rented The |
most serious factor is that the major !
portion of this bureaus activities are /
carried on under most dangerous
conditions as regards fire hazards. (
Destruction by fire of any one of the !
10 buildings it occupies would cost |
the Government several times the |
price of q new, model building for the |
bureaus use.
The Bureau of the Census has files !
running back to the very start of this |
Government In firetrap building |
These files are of great historical |
and genealogical value.
The Department of Agriculture is |
rapidly expanding and is of growing |
Importance to the country 1t is ex-
panding into firetraps. while its main |
building has never been completed, |
and the 40 buildings it occupies are |
of every conceivable type and scat |
tered all over the city.
Then, too, Congress will be shown |
that there are many files that are |
dead" or at least only semi ctiye,
which are occupying more than a /
half million square feet of good |
office space. That will be used as an |
argument for the early erection Of an |
archives building of fireproof con-
struction where all these records of |
intrinsic or historical or consultiye
value can be safely assembled and |
readily accessible.
Senator Keyes, in urging earIv
action on this measure, says Eco |
nomy and good business administra-
tion demand that all activities of the |
Government be housed in public !
buildings, located with due regard to |
the rapid and efficient transaction of
the public business"