Names of cities where sites only or sites and buildings have been authorized, etc.-Continued

Names of cities where sites only or sites and buildings have been authorized,

Names of cities where sites only or sites and buildings have been authorized, etc.-Continued

List of buildings included in Exhibit A, where drawings have been prepared

Mr. BUSBY. Mr. Chairman, in connection with that I might suggest that quite a number of items contained in the Senate document have been completed; that is, the buildings have been built or the projects have been placed under contract.

The CHAIRMAN. If I understand it, there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 65 that have not been taken care of. There were

approximately 120 of them in the document. Where they have been built, of course, we will not build them over again.

Mr. BUSBY. I understand that; but taking 23 that have been finished or placed under contract, that amount stated will be reduced by quite a bit.

The CHAIRMAN. Yes. My information is that it will take $13,800,000 in addition to appropriations heretofore made to complete these buildings; but as this is a mere authorization, it will not hurt anything to have some leeway, more than is necessary, because it will not be appropriated by Congress unless needed.

There has been and is now great need for public buildings all over the country, and this has existed for some time, owing to the fact that no public buildings bill has been enacted by Congress since March 4, 1913; and merely as evidence of the necessity of passing publicbuildings legislation, I desire to call the attention of the committee to the report of Hon. Hubert Work, Postmaster General in 1922, where he reported to Hon. Charles E. Townsend, chairman of the joint commission on the Postal Service, a list of places where new buildings, or repairs or additions, were very necessary. I ask permission to put in the record this report for the information of Congess. This report contains the names of 140 cities in the United States.

Also on the 8th day of Febuary, 1923, Hon. Hubert Work, Postmaster General, and Hon. A. W. Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury, sent a statement to the Speaker of the House of Representatives in which they gave a list of 19 cities where the Government-owned buildings are inadequate to house the Government service, and suggested relief at an estimated cost. I ask permission to put that in the record also. If there is no objection, it will go in. (The report and statements referred to are as follows:)

Hon. CHARLES E. TOWNSEND,

WASHINGTON, December 18, 1922.

Chairman Joint Commission on Postal Service.

MY DEAR SENATOR TOWNSEND: On the 11th instant I addressed you a communication in regard to the department's policy with reference to the Government ownership of buildings to be occupied by post offices and post-office stations rather than securing them through the leasing system, as is generally done at present, and furnished therein a list of post offices and stations which, in my opinion, deserve immediate attention.

On the same date you wrote me regarding this matter and in the second paragraph of your letter requested this department to advise you if there are any other cities where it is thought that there is an emergency and which should be included in your report to Congress for new offices.

Availing myself of that invitation, I am submitting herewith a supplementary list as follows:

NEW YORK CITY, STATION J

This is a substation on which the lease expired October 1, 1922. The quar ters are outgrown. For the next 10 years we shall need fully 3,000 square feet additional. The landlord will renew the lease and add the additional 3,000 feet for a term of 10 years for $54,000 for the first year and $34,000 for each of the succeeding 9 years. We have been paying $16,300 a year for 18,630 square feet.

There will always need to be a station of some sort in this immediate vicinity, and it is believed that it would be the best policy for the Government to build what it needs and own it.

NEW YORK CITY, STATION G

The lease on the quarters occupied by this station expired July 1, 1922, but it has since been extended for a period of one year from that date. To properly maintain the service at this point during the next 10 years we shall need at least 30,000 feet of floor space. A proposition has been secured to lease 31,032 square feet, at $59,500 a year. Under the present extension we are paying $30,000 a year for 11,574 square feet.

The needs of the Postal Service at New York will always require the provision of station facilities in this neighborhood, and it is my opinion that it would be advantageous to the Government to erect a building for the housing thereof.

DETROIT (MICH.) NORTH END STATION

The lease on the quarters occupied by this station expired October 1, 1922. We have obtained a proposal to lease 9,706 square feet for 10 years, at an annual rental of $15,875. The rental under the former contract was made at the rate of $3,500 a year for 5,520 square feet.

This station is the largest in Detroit and serves a population of 201,232 people. It is imperative that it be continued in operation, and it is believed that it would be a wise step to provide a Government-owned building, containing between 15,000 and 20,000 square feet above the basement, for its use.

BROOKLYN (N. Y.) STATIONS A AND W

The on Station W, which is at the rate of $6,000 a year, will expire May 1, 1923, and that on Station A, at $7,200 a year, will expire June 1, 1923. Proposals have been received for new quarters to be occupied on the dates stated; for Station A, 10,764 square feet at $16,500, and for Station W, 15,024 square feet at $27,500, or a total for the two stations of 25,788 square feet at $44,000. Inasmuch as these stations serve territory adjoining each other, it is believed to be possible to consolidate them in one station at a central point. That, however, can only be determined after a careful investigation, which will be undertaken immediately after the holday season. If the consolidation of the

stations is found feasible, it is believed that it would be in the interest of economy and good servce for the Government to erect a building, containing not less than 35,000 square feet of floor space above the basement, for the use of the station established as a result thereof.

Sincerely yours,

HUBERT WORK.

OFFICE OF THE POSTMASTER GENERAL,
Washington, D. C., December 11, 1922.

JOINT COMMISSION ON POSTAL SERVICE,

Washington, D. C.

MY DEAR SIRS: On August 21, 1922, I had the honor to send to your commission a communication concerning the ownership by the Government of such new postal buildings as must of necessity be erected from time to time to accommodate the rapidly expanding volume of mail.

Basing my recommendation wholly on principles of business economy, I cited the fact that the department is constantly compelled to secure additional postal buildings by contracting for leases of structures not in existence but to be erected by private capital. Although such leases are negotiated with the greatest care and through the best competition available, they are usually made on an investment basis of from 8 to 15 per cent.

This state of affairs arises from the fact that, generally speaking, Congress, in the past, has followed the policy of appropriating moneys for the leasing of postal buildings, but has not appropriated for the construction and ownership of such buildings as they become necessary.

The Postal Service must be maintained. Mail is received in such volume as the public business requires. It must be housed, transmitted, and delivered in safety. The department can not decline to negotiate leases on new buildings. They must be had, otherwise valuable mail is exposed to the elements and ruined in transmission.

Under the law as it exists to-day the department is absolutely compelled to execute leases on the best terms it can get, whether they are reasonable or otherwise.