Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-08-23
$35.ooo.ooo
Mons+rosi+y
Gets Setback
New War Dept. Building
Blocked by President
By GEO. ROTHWELL BROWN

BY GEO. ROTHWELL BROWN
WHEN President Roosevelt re-
W turned from wherever he
was with British Prime Minister
Churchill he found a S35, 000,-
900 monStroSity on his desk, left
there by his squandering Con-
greSS.
This was a provision in a bill
awaiting has signature, for the
erection Of a new war depart
ment building on a 67-acre tract
Just across the Potomac River
from the Lincoln Memorial, and
Immediately beneath Arlington.
and the Tomb Of the Unknown
Soldier.
The building, TO be completed
in a year, was to be of hideous
design, and was planned TO be
twice as large as the huge De-
partment of Commerce Build
ing. which is the largest office
building in the world.
This building, if erected, will
eternally ruin one of the most
beautiful approaches to Wash
ington. Mr.. Roosevelt promptly
put his foot down on it hard.
and il may be that the outrage
may be prevented.
TIIS joint raid on the treas
L ury and the beauty of the
national capital was rushed
through Congress while the
President was away.
Cooked up by army, ii would
have meant the transfer of a
huge department of the govern
ment of the United States to
place OUTSIDE THE SEAT
OF GOVERNMENT, in the
state of Virginia.
So vast has grown the swarm
of employees of the government
in Washington that the war de-
partment now has personnel
of 100000
1t was planned to put all of
'em under one where a
single hostile bomb might wreck
the entire military establish
! ment.
The scheme was cockeyed
from the start. Most of the
10000 live in Washington. They
would have 10 be transported to
Virginia every morning. and
back every night, over a total
of only three bridges, two of
them drawbridges.
The traffic snarl would have
been frightful. AS soon as the
bill had been rushed through
Congress, il was seen that il
would be necessary to vote more
millions TO DIG A TUNNEL
UNDER THE POTOMAC.
DY A coincidence, the bill to
- which this war department
provision was last minute
amendment, was in charge of
two Virginians: in the House,
Representative Woodrum, and in
the Senate, Senator Carter
| Glass.
When the District of Column
bia was created under the Con-
Stitution to be the seat of gov
eminent. territory 10 miles
square was donated, on both
banks of the Potomac. the larger
part by Maryland and the rest
by Virginia.
The credit of the government
was so poor, that when a loan
was negotiated from Maryland,
for the construction of the first
public Improvements, the money
was obtained only when certain
prominent and patriotic private
citizens came forward and signed
the note.
SINCE Maryland advanced the
~ money, in the beginning all
public buildings were erected in
that part of the district which
| had been coded to the federal
government by Maryland, and
thus il came about that none
were erected in the Virginia
part, south of the Potomac.
In 1916 Congress coded the
Virginia part of the district back
TO that state. The whole area
between Washington and Alex
andria remained in a very back
ward condition uutil compare
lively recently. when it began
10 develop as residential Sec
ton
When Woodyum and Glass had
plotted through the bill 10 con-
Struct the war department build
ing IN Virginia, an immediate
movement was launched by Sem
ator Pat McCarran of Nevada.
for the return OF the Virginia
part Of the old district back to
the federal seat of government.
THAT movement would have
Il gained momentum, for Con-
greSS Numbered in 1916. an d
William Howard Taft has de-
clared that this act was uncon-
Stitutlonal.
The moral7 Oh - there are