Evening star., 1941-04-04
Defense BiIIProvidinq
buildings in D. {.
Is Ready for President
Conference Report Bans
Nearby Area for
Temporary Structures

The S41O0,OO0 appropriation in
the fifth supplemental defense bill
for temporary Government Office
buildings in Washington is ready to
go to the White House for signature
today, following Senate and House
approval of the conference report
yesterday.
In final form, the bill requires
that the structures be erected in the
District of Columbia, on land al,
ready owned by the Government,
but the exact location remains to be
chosen by the Public Buildings Ad-
mlniStration.
A representative of P. B. A. went
to the Federal Works Agency today
for a conference with John M.
Carmody on the new site. No de-
ciSion has been made, but from time
to time several District sites have
been suggested by persons interested.
They include the grounds around the
Soldiers Home, and grounds of the
National Training School for Boys,
and the Army War College.
ReynOldS WINS f0lnt.
The original provision authorized
the public building authorities to go
beyond District boundaries, and it
is understood consideration was
being given to use of the Expert
mental Farm area in nearby Airing
ton County. The conferees elm
mated that locality, however, by
specifying that the buildings be in
the District. Chairman Reynolds
of the Senate District Committee
took the lead in urging that the
buildings be placed in Washington.
The plan is to build six frame
buildings, two stories high and con-
tanning 100000 square feet of'space
for expanding Federal agencies here.
Meanwhile, a special subcommit-
tee of the Senate Public Buildings
and Grounds Committee. headed
by Senator Taft, Republican, Of
Ohio, has been authorized to begin
a comprehensive study of all exist
ing laws relating to the construction
of public buildings here, to deter
mine whether they are adequate to
insure systematic planning OF fu-
ture developments
Room Plentiful, Reynolds Says.
Senator Reynolds took the floor
in the Senate to point out that there
is space in the District to meet the
new building needs of the Govern
ment for the next quarter of
century. He was backed up by
Senator Overton of Louisiana, in
charge of District appropriations in
the Senate.
Although Senator Taft did not
take part in the discussion on the
floor, as member of the Public
Buildings and Grounds Committee,
he began to look into the general
statutes governing Federal buildings
in the Capital to find out to what
extent they provided for spreading
the public building area into nearby
States. Appointment of the special
subcommittee yesterday to survey
the whole subject resulted from
questions asked by Senator Taft in
the Public Buildings Committee.
Senator Reynolds had suggested
on the floor that there are areas of
considerable acreage in the vicinity
of the War College and at the Sol
diers' Home
Senator Overton pointed out that
the purpose in creating the District
of Columbia was to have a territory
wherein all public buildings would
be erected and over which the Con-
greSS of the United States would
exercise exclusive jurisdiction, rather
than to have them in outlying areas
where State sovereignties would ex-
ercise jurisdiction over them" Erec-
ton of public buildings beyond the
District boundaries would defeat
that provision of the Constitution,
the Louisiana Senator said.
To Study Building Controversy.
Chairman Maloney of the Senate
Public Buildings group also has
named a separate subcommittee to
consider the bill to authorize the
Pan-American Union to erect new
Office building near its present head
quarters. This subcommittee is
headed by Senator Andrews, Demo-
crat, of Florida, and includes Sem
ators Green, Democrat of Rhode Is
land and Brewster, Republican, Of
Maine The controversy over this
bill revolves around the proposal to
close streets in the vicinity of Eight
eenth and Virginia avenue in order
to keep the building from blocking
the view of the new Interior Build
ing.