Hearings Before the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, United States Senate (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1916 edition. Excerpt: ...or not), Senator Shafroth insisted on halting the proposition of taking down the buildings in these squares between the Capitol and Union Station, and preserving the Maltby Building for the use of the Agricultural Department. In the House I noticed there was rather an acrimonious but quite extended controversy or colloquy over what to do with that building. The Maltby Building stood unoccupied, and a report had come from the Agricultural Department that it was unfit for use, because it was an unsafe building. I was here when we bought that building. I occupied a portion of it with a Senate committee. It always had that reputation, when we bought it, of being unsafe, but we felt it would answer our purpose. That question ought to be settled, because as it stands now it does nobody any good and stands where the surroundings have been torn down. We ought to settle it sooner or later and repeal that law, unless it can be used for the Agricultural Department. Senator Smith of Georgia. Have we not a row of buildings straight down that street to the next street? Senator Warren. I presume those are already purchased right down through there, and it is a queer position. I will say frankly that I did not favor the amendment when it went in, but the committee voted it in, and it stands there in that queer shape, and I think there ought to be emphatic statement from the department whether they can or can not use it. If they can not use it--and I dare say they know--we were going to use it for records and storage, and we found from our architect that we could not use it for that without bracing it up at a very large expense. Senator Smith of Georgia. I am very much opposed to renting buildings. I think it is a miserable waste of money to pay all this...