Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-02-27
Kieb Requests
More Time for
Trying Program
BY GEORGE BEvERIDGE

Leeueo 10 make 1t work.
Ormonde A. Kieb, assistant
postmaster general, made the
appeal to a House subcommittee
headed by Representative Jones.
Democrat of Alabama, who has
introduced a bill to kill lease
purchase everywhere except in
Washington.
Mr.. Jones is pressing his re-
peal drive on the basis that the
laundering program is largely
unavoidable and excessively cost
ly to the Government.
Mr.. Kelb said the Post Office
Department, like the General
Services Administration, has been
able to get only one project I'M
DER construction in the two
tyear-old program. Under lease
purchase. the Government con.
tracts with private investors for
buildings any pays for them in
annual installments up to 80
years.
Mr.. Kieb said his depart
ment's favored space technique
lis to lease room 1t needs. He
said it would like to use lease
purchase only in selected" cases,
especially where the Govern
ment already owns undeyeloped
land"
Program Highly Complex
He also differed with General
Services Administra tor Franklin
G Floete that low interest rates
on the investment of private in
tereSts is the main factor in the
Governments failure tc attract
leaSe-purchase bids. He said a
basic problem was that the lease
purchase policies and procedures
are highly complex and brand
new" to investors and that the
market needs much more UNDER
standing and education. This is
a slow process now beginning to
show some progress"
Mr.. Kieb also said interest
rates and construction costs are
I"unrealistic criteria" to deter
mine whether bids are accept
able. He contended that the
only necessary criterion was
whether the annual payments
under lease-purchase were COM
parable to payments the Post
ONCE now makes to lease the
space. AT present. he said, his
agency spends about $50 million
year to rent or lease about so
million SQUARE feet Of space.
Congress has approved 4s
postal projects and 80 GSA
buildings under lease-purchase.
The administration called a
temporary halt" to the program
on February Is. however. and
cited a desire to hold down in
hation as the reason.
Burgess Questioned
A Senate Public Works Sub.
committee. also investigating the
collapse. failed today to elicit
any new information from Un-
dersecretary of the Treasury w.
Randolph Burgess.
Mr.. Burgess refused to be
drawn into a, discussion of the
merits or faults of lease-pur-
chase, and said he was aware only
OF the decision to try to control
lnfiationary pressures. He also
said he had no idea when the
pressures would let up to the
point that the program could be
resumed.
Senator Mcnamara, Democrat
OF Michigan, chairman of the
Senate group. said he felt the
Government could put much of
the money it now spends for
rent into new buildings.
He cited the GSA decision tn
rent 100000 worth of Office
space in the Arlington Towers
apartments for the State De-
partment as just as infiationarv
on the Nations economy as new
construction would be. The apart
ment overlookS the Potomac
River in Arlington.
Sees Inflationary Impact
Mr.. Burgess disagreed, con-
tending the huge sums required
for new building have a strong
infiationary impact. At one point,
he said inflationary influences
would prevail las long as the
American people continue to
spend more than they save"
Senator Kerr. Democrat Of
Oklahoma, accused Mr.. Burgess
of making abstract statements
and lust romancing with me-"
in answers to questions about
the administrators motives in
hating lease-purchase.
During today's House Public
Works Subcommittee hearing
Post Office officials opposed a
bill introduced by Mr.. Jones to
substitute for lease-purchase a
Dig public buildings construction
program financed by direct ap.
preparations from Congress.
Mr.. Kieb urged the House
members to recognize that many
months OF work have been re-
CURED to develop administration
policies and documents to carry
out lease-purchase. He said
necessary delays in this work
have been cleared and predicted
the program will start moving"
as soon as there is more general
understanding Of its provisions.
Turkey Shoots Set