Evening star., 1925-07-07
ARCHIVES BUILDING
NEED IS STUDIED
Commission investigates
Crowded Conditions in State.
War and Navy Offices.

A drive TO get the long proposed ar
possible date. as absolutely esse ntial
to the proper operation Of the Govern
ments important departments and bu-
reaus," will he made. under the leader
ship Of Senator Smoot, chairman of
the public buildings commission and
of the Senate committee on public
buildings and grounds, as soon as Con-
gress meets.
With the need for a proper place in
which the vital records of the Gov
ernment may be safely stored again
emphs sized during an extensive sur
veg of the old State. War and Navy
Building. al the corner of Pennsyl-
vsnia avenue and Seventeenth street,
by the Public Buildings Commission.
Senator Smoot said that he will work
tirelessly for an archives building
aside from the $50. 100000 building
program for the National Capital. for
which he will also make renewed
fight.
1t is not generally known that the
original copies of all the laws of the
United States are stored in the State
Department Building, as we'll as treat
les and other fundamental papers af
fecting our relations with the ma
tions of the world. The proper stor-
age of these irreplaceable documents
has caused serious problem in the
State. War and Navy Building. which
has greatly hampered the transac.
tion of important State business be-
cause of Office congestion.
Badly Overcrowded.
To get first hand informa ton so as
to try to work out a solution of the
problem. the Public Buildings Commits
son went through the entire old. his.
! toric building today from garnet to
cellar After the inspection Senator
Smoot as chairman said that while
| they found some space that the War
Department might use to better ad-
vantage, still there was a serious con-
gestion which created impossible
| working conditions. The State De-
partment was found to be in as bad
| If not worse, condition, as regards
over-cr0wding.
The best that could be done to af-
ford relief at present, the commission
found, would be to authorize these
two departments to make ira ansfers
and exchanges of rooms among them
selves and to see if they could not
! find some way of storing "ded" files
to give more office space.
The commission realized. however,
| that very little space could be thus
supplied. IF we had the archives
building the problem would be large
ly solved said Senator Smoot. "be
cause by moving the files we could
get much more room for Offices.
State Department Grows.
At present the War Department
occupies a little more than half the
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cupied about three -fourths. Rapid
expansion of the State Department
has gradually resulted. however. in
the transfer of the entire Navy De-
! partment to its present quarters, in
| West Potomac Park and the trans
| fer also of several bureaus of the
War Department to the Munitions
(, Building. in West Potomac Park 3
Branches of the State Department
occupy expensive rented quarters in
different parts of the city. and 1t has
been suggested that great economy
would result from the assignment OF
| the entire State. War and Navy Build
| ing to the State Department and the
| transfer of the War Department
| offices still there to the Munitions
| Building, where there Is available
| space. Most of the War Department
| section of the old building is occupied
| py iNlotoitS VI the AQJutant general 5
| ONCE, which also has branches in
/ other buildings. In addition to the
forces Of the adjutant generals office
the offices of the Secretary and AS
| sistant Secretary Of War. the offices
I of the chief of staff and the entire
! general staff personnel, the Judge ad.
vocate generals office. the inspector
! generals Office, the Office OF the chief
chaplain and Gen. Pershings private
| offices are now located in the building
! at Pennsylvania avenue and Seven
1 teenth street
Spend Day I'm Survey.
While the War Department officials
! recognize the advantages OF concen-
trating the Offices of the State De-
partment in one building they seri.
ously object to any plan that would
involve the loss of their present quar-
iters, and suggest a compromise that
would involve the transfer of only one
or more of the smaller bureaus and
! leave the offices OF the Secretaries, the
chief. of stan and the adjutant general
undisturbed in their present quarters.
| The survey occupied the time of the
commission most of the day. The Pub
lie Buildings Commission has final au.
thority in the matter. 1t is composed
of Senators Smoot and Swanson, Rep.
resentatives. Langley and Clark, the
architect of the Capitol, the supervis-
ing architect of the Treasury, and Col.
Sheriff., director of public buildings
/ and grounds in the National Capital.
/ In their rounds the members of the
| commission were accompa MED by
Chief Clerk Schofeld and Mr.. Hoadley
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