Evening star., 1946-12-25
Byrnes Decision
0nDepartment's S
Move Awaited
Tentative Plans for
Shift to New War
Building Involved

Federal movers planning to trans
fer most of the State Department
from its present home next to the
White House are marking time until
Secretary Byrnes decides whether he
wants to move.
Tentative plans-and officials en-
phasize their tentative nature-have
been drawn up to move Mr.. Byrnes
and all his aides. except those ham
ding economic matters, from their
historic headquarters to the New
War Department Building at Vir-
ginia avenue and Twenty-firs street
NV. early in the new year.
The Budget Bureau which now
occupies part of the State Depart
ment Building while the depart
ment's own Offices overflow into
more than 80 other buildings, would
be brought to the present State De-
partment Building, under these ten
tative plans, along with other agen-
cies attached to the Presidents ex-
ecutive Office.
Move Recommended to Byrnes.
The move has been recommended
to Mr.. Byrnes by some of his ad-
ministrative assistants as making
for efficiency. They point out that
the New War Department Building
will provide him with more modern
Office space and consolidate under
one room more of the now-scattered
department offices than can be
jammed into the State Building.
But Mr.. Byrnes, resting on assur-
ance from President Truman that
he will not have to move unless he
wants to, has not yet given the 60
ahead signal to the movers.
Mr.. Byrnes is known to feel that
either the Budget Bureau and other
White House agencies should get out
of the State Department Building
or that the department should get
out and turn it over to them-he
doesn't like any halfway measures.
Another complication facing the
moving planners is that the War
Department has not given a definite
commitment as to when the build
ing at Virginia avenue and Twenty
first street NV. will be available.
Advocates of the move, who think
they can sell it to Mr.. Byrnes, say
this is the main reason the plans
are still tentative.
The principal State Department
advantage in standing pat would be
to remain conveniently close to the
White House, so Mr.. Byrnes can
dash across West Executive avenue
in a couple of minutes to see the
President in any emergency.
Decision Expected Soon.
Mr.. Byrnes, out of Washington
much of the time during recent
months for meetings of the Big -Four
Foreign Ministers, has not taken
part in discussions leading up to
the tentative moving plans.
These plans, drawn up by the
Public Buildings Administration,
were disclosed in The Star Novem-
Der 27. 1t was proposed to leave room
in the present State Department
Building for its economic Offices and
to move the so-called core" OF the
department-the Secretary, his As
sistant Secretaries and the geo
graphical divisions dealing with
political affairs abroad.
Public Buildings Administration
officials said yesterday they figured
that under their plans the State
Department could retain between
$4,000 and 100000 square feet of
space in its present home, to be used
any way Mr.. Byrnes sees fit. That
is, it might be used for the depart
ment's economic offices, as tenta-
lively planned, or Mr.. Byrnes might
keep it for himself and the core"
of his staff. The catch there is that
the available space would not be
enough for Mr.. Byrnes and his key
personnel, his assistants figure.
The whole confused question is
expected to be settled soon after Mr..
Byrnes returns from Aiken, S. c..
where he is spending the Christmas