Evening star., 1951-04-27
Defense Office
SpaceDeficiency
Climbs CRITICALLY
Prospects Dim for
Finding is Million
More Squore Feet

More square Feet
The Defense Department is seek
ing 100000 square feet of Office
space and, like other Government
agencies, does not know where it
can find it.
The department now has about
SO. 900 employees, both military and
civilian, in the Washington area,
exclusive of such military installa-
tons as the Naval Gun Factory,
Army Map Service and others.
These workers are described as
squeezed up too tight to operate
efficiently" In addition, the de-
partment is figuring ION an in
crease of about 5000 employees.
Emergency Dispersal Plan.
Efforts are going ahead, mean
while. on an emergency dispersal
program to be ready in case of
attack or threatened attack. This
includes a canvass of buildings in
Washington and within a 60-mile
radius which the Government
might commander. Another
angle to these plans is a de-
termination of the agencies and
minimum personnel required to
carry on the Government and
wage war.
\ The building canvass is being
made by the General Services Ad-
ministration and includes schools
in the District and adjacent ter
ritory. It has been in progress
for sometime, having been started
when it appeared that there would
be delay in congressional consid-
Grafton of the dispersal bill which
was finally killed Monday.
A schedule of agencies necessary
to carry on operations of the
Government In case of attack is
being worked on by the Budget
Bureau.
While there has developed the
possibility that more temporary
buildings might have to be erected
to provide needed space, Raymond
j. Hayden, assistant administra-
ton director of the Defense De-
partment. agreed they should not
be in the downtown area That
would add more Government
workers to the crowded district
considered to be the prime target
in event of attack.
Dispersal Sites Ruled Out.
The Public Buildings Service
which would put up any addi-
tional buildings, was opposed to a
downtown site if necessary to
erect more tempos.
Nor would the buildings be
erected 20 miles out, as contem-
plated in the dispersal bill which
the Senate killed. Mr.. Hayden
said this would appear to be
carrying out a plan rejected by
Congress. III
Henry E. Dement,, Mr.. Hayden's
deputy, said that last January the
department was promised 1,O38,-
600 square feet of space when it
became available. He said it re-
ceived 305,000 square feet, mostly
in converted barracks and ware
houses, plus $4,000 square feet
of outright warehouse space.
There was a deficiency, there
fore, of $4,000 square feet in pro-
viding the promised space. In
addition to that, Mr.. Dement, said,
the department needs about Gill;
600 additional square feet now.
PentagOn Population Peak.
Mr.. Hayden said there are now
more than 10000 employees in the
Pentagon, or more than ever be-
lore on a one-shift basis. Some
work is being done on a second
shift and the department is plan
ming to extend that, he said.
Mr.. Hayden said the department
had participated in the planning
OF Office buildings to be dispersed
into the suburbs and intended to
transfer technical bureaus to
space provided there. Under plans
for decentralization-removaI of
agencies to other cities-the Army
and Air Force planned to remove
agencies or parts of agencies with
the l,674 employees Immediately.
The department intends to
carry out as much of the decen-
trahzation plan as is possible
without the funds, which Congress
also withheld. For example. he
said, some of the Air Force finance
unit staff have already gone to
a new depot at Denver.
The department has employees
in more than 40 buildings in the
District area in addition to the
Pentagon, Mr.. Hayden said.