Evening star., 1934-03-18
ACTION EXPECTED
ON ARCHIVES BILL
Building Near Completion to
Have Supervision and
Administration.

south of PENNSYLVANIA avenue, Con-
eress is about to take the final step
in the establishment Of this new
agency by considering the Fess bill to
create the Office of archivist and a
council to take charge Of assembling
and preserving the permanent records
of the Government in this structure.
designed especially for that purpose.
When the building Is finished it will
mark the realization of a need recog-
nized by Government officials 60 years
ago, but not finally provided for until
the general building program was au-
thorized by Congress few years ago.
The building occupies the site of the
old Center Market, Seventh to Ninth
streets, between Constitution and
Pennsylvania avenues.
Chairman Connally of the Senate
Public Buildings and Grounds Com
mittee recently appointed a subcom-
mittee to consider the necessary legis-
lation for creation of the Office Of
archivist and an advisory council.
With the building nearing completion,
1t is probable efforts will be made to
obtain action at this session on some
measure to provide for supervision and
administration of the archives.
Action Urged BY Fess.
Senator Fess, Republican. Of Ohio.
called attention recently to the ad-
visibility of acting now on such a
measure in view of the task that will
confront the archivist and the
Archives Council in selecting and ar
ranging for the assembling Of the his
torical documents and valuable rec
ords that will repose in the new
building.
The subcommittee handling the
matter is composed of Senators Keyes.
Fess and Connally. Under the bill
Senator Fess introduced the archivist
would be appointed by the President
and confirmed by the Senate. The
bill also would create a National
Archives Council, to be composed OF
the secretaries of each of the eXecu-
tive departments, the chairman OF the
Senate Committee on the Library, the
chairman of the House Committee on
Library, the Librarian of Congress,
the secretary of the Smithsonian In
stitution and the archivist.
The function of this council would
be to consult and work with the
archivist in selecting and transferring
records to the new building. Under
the Fess plan, each department or
other agency would transfer to the
Archives Building at the outset, such
files as the council recommends.
covering that period of the Govern
varinr RI 1QG0
Removal of Records.
Five years following the initial
transfer there would be moved to the
new building from each department
the records of another five-year Pc
riod, namely, from 1861 to 1865. This
process of moving the records gradu-
ally would continue, taking another
five-year historical period each time.
Exceptions, however, could be made
to this procedure where the Archives
Council deemed it advisable.
Another Advisory Commission would
be provided to cooperate in preparing
plans for the publication Of historical
material in the national archives.
In going through old records at the
d lew NagO o6O' ooAAANO ~
Preston. librarian of the Senate. came
across documents showing that the
need for a central building in which to
assemble and preserve the records OF
the Government was first brought to
the attention Of Congress by Presi-
dent Hayes in 1873. For nearly half
century thereafter the question was
revived from time to time, until,
within the past few years appropri-
ations were made available for begin
ming the structure.
In 1912 former Senator Poindexter
presented to the Senate history OF
the movement up to that time for the
establishment of a national archives
building. That report pointed out that
even prior to 1878 the proposal had
been discussed, and in that year it
was brught formally to the attention
of Congress.
Recommendation of Meigs.
In October, 1878, Maj. Gen. Mont
gomery c. Meigs, quartermaster gen.
eral of the Army, recommended to
Secretary of War George w. McCrary
that there be erected hall of rec
III 10 1OI pIcScI FdUlOll VI IIlC ICSOAOo VI
the executive departments not re-
Quired for daily reference"
Secretary McCrary approved the
suggestion, and President Hayes, in
calling the proposal to the attention of
Congress, pointed out that such a
building would preserve valuable
Government records from the hazard
Of destruction by fire.
At varying intervals thereafter the
proposal was brought up. Definite
provision for the Archives Building
finally was made in the public build
ing legislation of 1926, which contem-
plated grouping of a series of new
structures in the Pennsylvania avenue
Mall triangle. The corner stone of
the building was laid a little more
than year ago and the exterior walls
are now virtually complete.