Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-12-17
CHANGE T0PENS|O|
BUILDING OPPOSED
Proposed Transfer of Labor
Department CIassed "Bad
Business Move.''

An adverse report on the occupanc.
of the Pension Office Building by tn
Department Of Labor has been sub
mitted to Secretary Davis by grou,
of Labor Department officials headed
by Assistant Secretary Robe Car
White. who inspected the Pension
Building a few days ago. j.
Secretary Davis has told Senate
Reed Smoot of Utah, chairman of tn,
Public Buildings Commission, tina
transfer of the Labor Department t6
the Pension Building. without man!
major alterations involving expendi
ture of d considerable amount o
money. would be a bad business move
The objections to the occupancy
the building at Fifth and G streets
by the Labor Department are based
chiefly upon unsuitability- of the
much larger rooms in the Pension
Building for the smaller individual
rooms needed by the highly spe-
cialized division of the large Gov
eminent unit.
Substitute Proposal.
This was made known today at the
De department. Of Labor, and at the same
time department officials indicated
that in case the Labor Department
does not move into the Pension Build.
ing, the structure in which all vet.
Grams records with the exception of
the World War are housed may be
taken over and occupied by one or
more units of the Department of Com.
merce. Secretary Hoover was said to
be looking for a Government. owned
building to house the eight units of
the Commerce Department now occu.
pying rented quarters or quarters
which they have outgrown.
Transfer Of the Labor Department
to the Pension Building was recon.
mended 10 days ago by the Public
Buildings Commission, after Secretary
or the Interior Work had told the
commission space could be found In
the Interior Building for the Pension
once. releasing that building for an
other Government agency. The Labor
department transfer was undertaken
because Of exorbitant rental demands
by the owners of the structure oc.
cupied by the department at 17l2.14 G
street. The Government now pays
$4,000 year rent, and a demand for
an increase to $4,000 caused Score.
tary Davis to look around for q Gov
ernment-owned structure which his
department could use
The unfavorable report of the Labor
department officials will not mean a
change in the transfer of the Pension
Bureau to the Interior Building to
consolidate all Interior Department &C.
tfvities under one roof. it was indi.
Gated today, as in case the Labor
Department does not take over the
building other agencies will want to
use it.
Technical Units Considered.
Highly specialized and technical
units doing much of their work in
private conference form a large part
OF the Labor Department. Mr.. Davis
was told. These units, 1t was ex-
planned. need private offices, small in
size and amply lighted.
Adaptation Of the pension building
to the needs Of the Labor Department
would involve much construction work
within the building itself. and the
actual floor space available, placed at
10000 square feet in preliminary esti-
mates, is reduced by storage of files
of war veterans on the fourth floor Of
the building. a badly lighted floor
with about $4,000 square feet of space.
For these reasons, and the future
possibility that Congress might not
care to appropriate for a new build.
ing several years hence to house the
Labor Department. If 1t already &C.
cupies Government building, the ad.
vorSa ypnort