Evening star., 1947-10-16

in the lease that the show was under
the sponsorship and for the beneflt
of the Headquarters Detachment
Association. Since proceeds OF the
show, after expenses, will be applied
to staging another show next year,
the homebuilderS demurred.
Eventually, an agreement was
reached and the lease was drawn up.
At that point, the lease was signed
by Mr.. Mayhew, Gen. Cox and rep
resentatives of the homebuilderS and
the $500 was paid to the detach-
ment association.
District Building sources said the
Guard, in the meantime, applied for
a permit to stage the show. Since
District officials were uncertain what
type of permit was sought, no action
was taken OH the application.
Mr.. MAYHEM, who has been an
emplove of the Chesapeake & Po-
tomac Telephone Co. for Is years,
was in the Army Air Forces from
June %, l943, to January. l945,
when he received medical. dis
charge He and his wife Dorothy
live in the jefferson Village section
of Falls Church. He said he en-
listed in the National Guard in July,
1916.
Gen. Cox said organizations such
as the Headquarters Detachment
Association are a National Guard
tradition. He said the prewar Ma
tional Guard had similar groups for
establishment OF canteen funds.
Claims Rental Funds.
In this case, Gen. Cox said, the
Guard took over an empty" build
ing and now wants to set up facili-
ties so the public can get in
Gen. Cox declared that the Guard
has the legal right to any funds
realized through rental Of the drill
hall.
Meanwhile, further investigation
into the muddled Almory situation.
which has kept District residents
from using the vast indoor space
since the FBI moved out last June,
reveals there are only two possible
methods tor increasing the audience
capacity.
Assistant Corporation Counsel
Chester Gray said his Office is con-
sideging a study of other armories
throughout the Nation, with view
to deciding if it would be feasible
10 seek change in the building reg
ulatfonS. Such a change preSun-
ably would permit Building In
spector Robert Davis to raise the
limit of capacity from 1925 persons
to a figure more in keeping with
what the founders of the Armory
intended
Code Change Cited.
A change in the building code,
/ however, would not be made, Mr..
Gray emphasized, until after eX-
tensive study had shown the city
heads that the lives of people at
| tending sports shows or meetings
! in the drill hall would not be
endangered in case of fire or panic
by the limited number of emergency
exits.
The Commissioners could not
take the responsibility for increas-
ing the capacity of the building
unless it were deemed perfectly
safe. he said. The Armory, although
constructed of stone, brick and steel,
has a certain amount of wood in its
making, he pointed out. The pres
.ence of any wood at all is sufficient
TO keep the Armory from being 100
pea cent fireproof.
/ New Exits Difficult.
! A second, but more far-fetched
possibility, would be to create addi-
tional emergency exits. Municipal
Architect Merrel Coe said such a
move would be extremely difficult
because the main drill hall is
dauked OIL all four sides by smaller
buildings containing Offices and
storeroOnS.
/ New exits would have to be routed
/ through three offices and store
rooms-a change which would be
both expensive, difficult and incon-
venient, Mr.. Coe said. The original
plans for the drill hall called for
| the surrounding buildings to be de-
tached, but the plans were revised
/ to save money. Subsequently, the
abutting buildings were built flush
to the sides OF the drill hall.
! II the smaller buildings were not
flush with the drill hall walls, Dis
trict officials agreed, it would be a
comparative simple matter to break
through new exits.
At the same time. former Repre-
sentative Ross Collins of Mississippi
who played leading part in eStab-
| lishment of the Armory, today con-
firmed the general belief that the
Armory was meant to accommodate
/ more than 1926 persons.
/ Collins Contacted.
Mr.. Collins, former chairman OF
the House Appropriation Commit
tee District Subcommittee, contact
ed by long distance telephone in
Jackson, Miss said:
+ L was chairman of the Appro-
priations. Committee when the
bill authorizing the Armory went
through. I don't recall that any
specific capacity figure ever was
mentioned, but I don't think we