Commissioners of the District of Columbia and the Director of National Parks, Buildings, and Reservations shall be given with respect to the land contained in said parcels "C" and "D" respectively: And provided further, That upon the transfer by plat and/or the conveyance by deed of the said parcel designated "E", as provided herein, the land contained in said parcel shall be subject to assessment and taxation the same in all respects as other private property in the District of Columbia.

SEC. 4. That the surveyor of the District of Columbia is hereby authorized to prepare the necessary plat or plats showing the parcels of land to be transferred and dedicated in accordance with the provisions of this Act, with certificates affixed thereon to be signed by the parties in interest making the necessary transfers and dedication, which plat or plats, after being signed by the various interested parties and officials, and approved by the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, upon recommendation of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission, shall be recorded upon order of said Commissioners in the office of the surveyor of the District of Columbia, and said plat or plats and certificates when so recorded shall constitute a legal dedication and legal transfers of the property described for the purposes designated according to the provisions of this Act. Approved, April 13, 1934.

[PUBLIC NO. 152-73D CONGRESS]

[S. 2057]

AN ACT

Authorizing the sale of certain property no longer required for public purposes in the District of Columbia.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Commissioners of the District of Columbia be, and they are hereby, authorized and empowered to sell and convey to the highest bidder, at public or private sale and at such time as in their opinion may be most advantageous to the District of Columbia, the old Potomac School property, known as lot 802 in square 327, containing five thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven square feet of land, more or less, and the proceeds from such sale shall be deposited in the United States Treasury to the credit of the District of Columbia. Approved, April 13, 1934.

[H.R. 8889]
AN ACT

To provide for the custody and maintenance of the United States Supreme Court Building and the equipment and grounds thereof.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Architect of the Capitol shall have charge of the structural and mechanical care of the United States Supreme Court Building, including the care and maintenance of the grounds, and the supplying of all mechanical furnishings and mechanical equipment for the building. The operation and maintenance of the mechanical equipment and repair of the building shall be performed under his direction and he is authorized to enter into all necessary contracts.

SEC. 2. Employees required for the performance of the foregoing shall be (a) appointed by the Architect of the Capitol with the approval of the Chief Justice of the United States; (b) compensated in accordance with the provisions of the Classification Act of 1923, as amended (U.S.C., Supp. VI, title 5, ch. 13); and (c) be subject to the provisions of the Act entitled "An Act for the retirement of employees in the classified civil service, and for other purposes approved May 22, 1920, as amended (U.S.C., Supp. VI, title 5, ch. 14).

SEC. 3. All other duties and work required for the operation, domestic care, and custody of the building shall be performed under the direction of the Marshal of the Supreme Court of the United States, who shall be superintendent of the United States Supreme Court Building, and employees (including elevator operators) required for the performance of such duties shall be appointed by the Marshal with the approval of the Chief Justice.

SEC. 4. Appropriations for the work under the jurisdiction of the Architect of the Capitol shall be disbursed by the Marshal upon certified vouchers submitted by the Architect of the Capitol.

Approved, May 7, 1934.

(159)

[8. 2508]

AN ACT

Authorizing the Secretary of the Interior, with the approval of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission and the Attorney General of the United States, to make equitable adjustments of conflicting claims between the United States and other claimants of lands along the shores of the Potomas River, Anacostia River, and Rock Creek in the District of Columbia.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That for the purpose of establishing and making clear the title of the United States in and to any part or parcel of land or water in, under, and adjacent to the Potomac River, the Anacostia River, or Eastern Branch, and Rock Creek, including the shores and submerged or partly submerged land, as well as the banks of said waterways, and also the upland immediately adjacent thereto, including made land, flat lands and marsh lands, in which persons and corporations and others may have or pretend to have any right, title, claim, or interest adverse to the complete title of the United States as set forth in an Act entitled "An Act providing for the protection of the interest of the United States in lands and water comprising any part of the Potomac River, the Anacostia River, Eastern Branch, and Rock Creek, and adjacent lands thereto ", approved April 27, 1912 (37 Stat. 93), and in order to facilitate the same, by making equitable adjustments of such claims and controversies between the United States of America and such adverse claimants, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to make and accept, on behalf of the United States, by way of compromise when deemed to be in the public interest such conveyances, including deeds of quit-claim and restrictive and collateral covenants, of the lands in dispute as shall be also approved by the National Capital Park and Planning Commission and the Attorney General of the United States.

Approved, June 4, 1934.

(160)

[S. 2623]

AN ACT

To amend the Act entitled "An Act to require the erection of fire escapes in certain buildings in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes", approved March 19, 1906, as amended.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Act entitled "An Act to require the erection of fire escapes in certain buildings in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes approved March 19, 1906, as amended, is amended to read as follows:

That it shall be the duty of the owner entitled to the beneficial use, rental, or control of any building three or more stories in height, constructed or used or intended to be used as an apartment house, tenement house, flat, rooming house, lodging house, hotel, hospital, seminary, academy, school, college, institute, dormitory, asylum, sanitarium, hall, place of amusement, office building, or store, or of any building three or more stories in height, or over thirty feet in height, other than a private dwelling, in which sleeping quarters for the accommodation of ten or more persons are provided above the first floor, to provide and cause to be erected and fixed to every such building one or more suitable fire escapes, connecting with each floor above the first floor by easily accessible and unobstructed openings, in such location and numbers and of such material, type, and construction as the Commissioners of the District of Columbia may determine; except that buildings designed and built as singlefamily dwellings, and converted to use as apartment houses, in which not more than three families reside, including the owner or lessee, or rooming houses in which sleeping accommodations are provided for less than ten persons above the first floor, not more than three stories, nor more than forty feet in height, and having a total floor area not more than three thousand square feet above the first floor, shall be exempted from the provisions of section 1 of this Act; and except that buildings used solely as apartment houses, not more than three stories, nor more than forty feet in height, so arranged that not more than five apartments per floor open directly, without an intervening hall or corridor, on a fire-resistive stairway, three feet or more in width, enclosed with masonry walls in which fireresistive doors are provided at all openings, shall be exempted from the provisions of this section.

"SEC. 2. It shall be the duty of the owner entitled to the beneficial use, rental, or control of any building already erected, or which may hereafter be erected, in which ten or more persons are employed at the same time in any of the stories above the second story, except three-story buildings used exclusively as stores or for office purposes, and having at least two stairways from the ground floor each three or more feet wide and separated from each other by a distance of at least thirty feet, from one of which stairways shall be easy access to the roof, to provide and cause to be erected and affixed thereto

a sufficient number of the aforesaid fire escapes, the location and number of the same to be determined by the Commissioners, and to keep the hallways and stairways in every such building as is used and occupied at night properly lighted, to the satisfaction of the Commissioners, from sunset to sunrise.

"SEC. 3. It shall be the duty of the owner entitled to the beneficial use, rental, or control of any building used or intended to be used as set forth in section 1 of this Act where fire escapes are required, or any building in which 10 or more persons are employed, as set forth in section 2 of this Act where fire escapes are required, also to provide, install, and maintain therein proper and sufficient guide signs, guide lights, exit lights, hall and stairway lights, standpipes, fire extinguishers, and alarm gongs and striking stations in such locations and numbers and of such type and character as the Commissioners may determine; except that in buildings less than six stories in height, standpipes will not be required when fire extinguishers are installed in such numbers and of such type and character as the Commissioners may determine.

"SEC. 4. The Commissioners are hereby authorized and directed to issue such orders and to adopt and enforce such regulations not inconsistent with law as may be necessary to accomplish the purposes and carry into effect the provisions of this Act, and to require any alterations or changes that may become necessary in buildings now or hereafter erected, in order properly to locate or relocate fire escapes, or to afford access to fire escapes, and to require any changes or alterations in any building that may be necessary in order to provide for the erection of additional fire escapes, or for the installation of other appliances required by this Act, when in the judgment of the Commissioners such additional fire escapes or appliances are necessary.

"SEC. 5. Each elevator shaft and stairway extending to the basement of the buildings heretofore mentioned shall terminate in a fireproof compartment or enclosure separating the elevator shaft and stairs from other parts of the basement, and no opening shall be made or maintained in such compartment or enclosure unless the same be provided with fireproof doors.

"Such buildings as are used solely for office buildings above the second floor and defined under the building regulations of the District of Columbia to be fireproof are exempted from the requirements of this Act as to fire escapes, guide signs, and alarm gongs; but when the face of a wall of any such fireproof building is within thirty feet of a combustible building or structure, or when the side or sides, front or rear of such building or structure faces within thirty feet of a combustible building, or contains a light or air shaft or similar recess within thirty feet of a combustible building, then each and every window or opening in said wall or walls shall be protected from fire by automatic iron shutters or wire glass in fireproof sash and frames.

"SEC. 6. It shall be unlawful to obstruct any hall, passageway, corridor, or stairway in any building enumerated in this Act with baggage, trunks, furniture, cans, or with any other thing whatsoever.

"SEC. 7. No door or window leading to any fire escape shall be covered or obstructed by any fixed grating or barrier, and no person