Evening star., 1932-02-28
Making Jobs for Thousands
Continued From First Page.)

where great Government departmental
buildings costing S125 100000 (ulti-
mately) are being erected, the observer
gains only an inadequate glimpse OF
what the public building program really
comprehends Here one sees the great
Department of Commerce building,
only recently completed at total cost
Of S17,500, 900; it is 1893 feet long, 3l9
feet wide. seven stories in height, covers
a ground area of three or four city
blocks and contains 100000 net square
feet Of floor space.
Nearby Projects.
Near by are huge buildings completed
n in process of construction for the
Internal Revenue Bureau, the Depart
ment Of Agriculture, s!h2e Interstate
Commerce Commission, the Post Once
Department. the Department Of Justice,
the Archives Building and the Labor
Department. There are great. gaping
holes in the ground, blocks wide and
long, and so deep that water must be
constantly pumped out while swarms
OF men labor on the foundations for
more new buildings to house the activi-
ties of the Federal Government In
the mile-long triangle from the Capitol
to the White House, and beyond, men
are shaping steel and stone into struc-
JuICo Va CIlOul A14S pSoNVy oliN IoCAuA
ness
But impressive and engrossing as this
huge activity is, it is only small part
of the public building program of the
United States Government. In New
York State alone that program en-
braces Federal building projects in
nearly $50 cities and townS-an the
way from a $56,000 border inspection
station (for the immigration and Gus
toms Services). at Champlain, to an
100000 parcel post service building
in New York City In some of the
nearly $50 cities more than one Fed
eral building is to be erected. The New
York City program of the National
Government. for instance, includes not
only the huge parcel post plant, but
also a So 500,0 900 annex to the present
post Office, a 100000 Federal court
house. a Sl2,0000,000 Office building for
Government purposes, a $3,765, 900 as
say Office and S2,500,000 marine hos
pital at Stapleton, Staten Island. The
total expenditure in New York State
Is to be more than $80,000,000.
have cited New York merely as an
example of what is being done by the
Federal Government throughout the
country. The list of California public
building projects for the use OF the
United States is nearly as long. And
all the way between California and
Maine, from the borders of Canada to
the Gulf of Mexico, Federal buildings
are under construction. We are buy
ing land for erecting Federal court
houses, border inspection stations,
custom houses, immigration stations,
marine hospitals, post Offices, quaran-
tine stations and buildings to house
other necessary Federal Government
activities.
Altogether, we have ,624 projects on
the list. Nearly 1,100 places now with
out Federal buildings are to have them.
Where there already are Government
buildings, new ones are being erected:
old ones enlarged, extended and mod
ernized When this program is COM
pleted there will be more than $500
buildings under the control of the
United States Treasury. including post
Offices.
Employment Provided.
Every one Of these buildings that are
now being erected, or which soon Will
be started, means work for men who
might otherwise be without jobs. Con-
slider the employment that Is being
created by one project alone-the new
post Office now going up in Chicago.
That building has given Jobs to 10000
men, who are either working directly
at the building site. or are employed
ton. Ten Thousand workers-and five
persons to a family-that's $4,000 men,
women and children whose livelihood
during this economic crisis can be
traced to this new building, the big
gest construction project now under
way In Chicago
That's one example. Here's another:
Just the other day we opened bids for
a new post Office in Detroit. 1t will
cost $5 900 900 and it too. will be the
biggest building project in that city.
cost IS 100000 and it, too, will be the
jobs as a result of that one building;
and 10000 others, the families of those
workers. will be supported by it.
In other cities in California, in New
York, almost everywhere over the
country, jobs are being created by the
thousand and men are going to work
and pay checks are going into homes
that need them.
But the beauty of the program is
this: These buildings are needed, and
will be in use for the public service
and protection-they are not mere
erected to make work" AS an ex-
ample, there is the just mentioned new
post Office that is being erected III
Chicago. 1t will be the largest post
Office building in the world. The cost
of the site and building will be about
S22,000,000. There will be four great
corner pylons more than 200 feet high
and 100 feet by 500 feet in area. The
building itself is to be 800 feet long,
$50 feet wide, with SO acres of floor
space on the nine floors in the rear
and the II stories in the front.
r. he ord iV1c cl-1y
"stories" in point of height, for they
will be 10 feet from floor to floor.
Extravaganza? Not at all. That space
from floor to ceiling will be well
utilized. 1t must accommodate air.
conditioning apparatus for the protec-
ton of the health of 5000 or more
employees. 1t must give space to over
head carriers, conveyor belts and SINH
lar apparatus for automatic and speedy
handling of the United States mails.
1t must contain observation galleries
for post Office inspectors who keep
watchful eye on the mail night and
day, to guard against theft and other
tampering with letters and packages.
The huge building for the service of
the people of Chicago and surrounding
territory is being constructed over the
tracks of the Union Terminal, the lines
of carriers that reach all parts Of the
country. ABOUT 5OO IralnS IN ana out
each day will not be interrupted during
construction. When the building is
completed, incoming mail will be dis
tributed without loss of time from train
to post Office and outgoing mail as
quickly dispatched, without the delay
Of a haul across the city. In the single
hour between 6 and o'clock at night,
100000 letters will pour into the new
post Office building. More than 10 times
as many letters must be handled each
day plus 250,000 outbound parcel post
packages, and 10000 sacks of papers
and parcel post received at Chicago
BY 1943 it probably will be necessary
to handle 19,0o0,o 900 letters a day.
S50O,0O0 Yearly Rental.
Now the Government is having rent