Evening star., 1925-10-06
No. 3-Department Of Agriculture.
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

The Department of Agriculture rs
without doubt the worst housed IN.
stitution in the city of Washington
Senator Smoot. speaking on1cially lot
the Public Buildings Commission, has
formally reported to the President and
to Congress.
This great department Of Govern
ment is now scattered over the DIS
trict Of Columbia in As buildings Tor
parts of buildings) widely separated
IS of which are rented and II Gov
ernment owned. A great many OF
these rented buildings are nothing
more or less than shacks, and the
department is using just about every
type Of building that can be found in
the city.
Rental of S18., $50.
The rental bill is $1s2,s50 per an
mum. and the cost through inem-
cheney and lost motion due to this
scattered condition and location IN
unsuitable structures is many times
that amount.
Onlv 9 of the As buildings occupied
are of modern fireproof construction
OF the more than 4,200 employees
of the department only about 1,90o TOR
considerably less than half are work
ing in modern fireproof buildings. and
only $50 in Government-owned build
ings of this type.
The valuable records of the De-
partment Of Agriculture. which di.
rectly serves every citizen In this
country-scientific, statistical and
businesses we'll as millions Of dol
,ars' worth Of property. are exposed
to an extreme fire hazard in 3S
buildings.
The Department of Agriculture has
heen inadequately housed since 1897,
and recommendations to relieve this
condition have been made by every
successive Secretary OF Agriculture
since land including> the famous
, 'Tama Jim" Wilson,-Houston, Mere.
dith, Wallace, Gore and now DR.. Jar
dine.
It has been insistently drummed in
upon Congress that in spite OF the
new duties which each succeeding
Congress, year after year, adds to the
| work Of the Department OF Agr1cul'
ture. there has been no building done
to provide quarters for these new ac.
tivities or expanding old activities since
the completion of the two white mar
| BILE wings known as Laboratories A
and n. These were finished and occu-
pied in March. 1908. Even then the
| housing was Inadequate and that was
nearly Is years ago.
Congress knows these facts. the
President sees them and Is firmly be-
| hind a public building program to cor
rect them.
Poorly Fitted for Use.
Senator Smoot, chairman n Of the Pub
| lie Buildings Commission. says:
! "A great many of these rented
buildings are nothing more or less
than shacks and are poorly adapted
| to governmental uses. In fact. 1t Is
! very difficult to see how this depart
ment has been able to function at all
under the present cumbersome ar
raneement of its various bureaus and
units. While a rental of S1S2,S50 per
annum Is now being paid, this does
not by any means represent the total
saving which would result were the de.
partment's activities concentrated in
one location"
! Senator Keyes In officially reporting
to the Senate for the committee on
public buildings and grounds. recon-
mending remedial legislation. says:
"No we'll conducted business organi
zation in the world would tolerate such
a situation for a single moment. The
| department is probably occupying
every type Of building to be found in
| this city. 1t is using old dilapidated
residences, patched up to serve as Of
! fces; the temporary war buildings
/ modern office buildings. and one good
Government. owned building, which has
! been standing for years with the main
| portion uncompleted.
"The saving to the Government II the
department could bring it's varied ac-
| tivities together in buildings close to-
gether would be enormous. The rental
! of $1S2 $50 per annum now being paid
! could be only a fractional portion OF
! the total saving. Aside from this, 1t is
! easy to see that the business of the
department Of such tremendous i'm
portance to the farming interests of
| the country would be handled more
Continued on Page 4, Column j.