HONOLULU (HAWAII) POST OFFICE, ETC.

FOR COMPLETION.

The CHAIRMAN. You are asking $531.29 for the completion of the Honolulu, Hawaii, post office, courthouse, and customhouse?

Mr. WETMORE. That is the balance of the authorization.

The CHAIRMAN. Will that complete the building?

Mr. WETMORE. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. And that is necessary?

Mr. WETMORE. Yes, sir..

The CHAIRMAN. What was the total cost of that building?

Mr. WETMORE. The net contract price is $1,010,062.80 for the building, $29,670 for elevators, and the balance will be required for customary items not generally included in the construction contracts. The CHAIRMAN. Is any part of the building occupied?

Mr. WETMORE. No; it is in course of construction.

The CHAIRMAN. Is it necessary to make this appropriation to complete it?

Mr. WETMORE. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Have contracts been let which will involve this expenditure?

Mr. WETMORE. Practically the entire limit of cost and the entire appropriation will be required to complete the building.

The CHAIRMAN. And this amount will complete it in all of its details?

Mr. WETMORE. Yes, sir. We have had to make a cut in order to get inside of the appropriation, and it will take all of this amount to complete it.

Mr. BYRNS. This is within the authorization?

Mr. WETMORE. It is within the authorization; yes, sir.

NASHVILE (TENN.) POST OFFICE AND CUSTOM HOUSE.

FOR FITTING UP ARCHIVES ROOM.

The CHAIRMAN. You are asking $30,000 for fitting up archives room at the Nashville (Tenn.) post office and customhouse. What is the situation there?

Mr. WETMORE. There was an appropriation granted some two or three years ago for the remodeling of that building. They have a rather extensive archives room in that building for the court records. The court archives there date from 1796; they are all very carefully arranged or have been, but the additional records that have come into the custody of the court in recent years are crowding the cases so that they are having difficulty in maintaining the records in proper condition. The appropriation which is requested here is not for a room but it is for the fitting up of a room with proper steel shelving and cases, to cost $30,000. That is the best estimate we can make on it. The CHAIRMAN. How much of that is for the steel cases?

Mr. WETMORE. All of it; the room is in shape to use, but the cases which are now there are wooden cases, are very dilapidated, and the papers are in such quantities as to outgrow the capacity of the facilities they have there in which to file them.

The CHAIRMAN. It is practically a new and modern building, is it not?

Mr. WETMORE. No. The building has been remodeled recently. The building was occupied in 1882.

The CHAIRMAN. Is it a fireproof building?

Mr. WETMORE. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. These cases, then, are for the court records?
Mr. WETMORE. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. And they have nothing to do with the post-office records?

Mr. WETMORE. No, sir. Would you care to hear a letter from the clerk of the court with reference to this subject?

Mr. MAGEE. Do you know what the present prices of steel cases are compared with the prewar period?

Mr. WETMORE. They are 150 per cent higher than they were in, say, 1915. The clerk says:

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This archives room is not a mere "junk" or storage room for old matters, but as the law requires the preservation by the clerk of all of the court records, this room is an absolute essentiality in the efficient and up-to-date filing of the records of the court. It is as much used and much needed as the clerk's office and is directly connected with the said offices.

It has been a matter of extreme pride to this office that our records were arranged and kept in a systematic and efficient manner, so much so that at the personal expense of the clerk the old records from the year 1796 to date have been carefully collected, classified, and filed so that they can be readily located; under the present conditions this is impossible, the shelving cases and arrangement being inadequate and antiquated and the room so crowded that it is impossible to keep it clean, so that the records are becoming misplaced and dirty.

Mr. BYRNS. You do not know what is being done with these files, do you?

Mr. WETMORE. The clerk says they are there in that room.
Mr. BYRNS. I mean how they are being stored.

Mr. WETMORE. They are stored, he says, in very old and dilapidated cases that do not afford sufficient space for them; that he can not get at his papers conveniently; and that they are becoming displaced in consequence of not having sufficient space. The cases there are wooden cases and they should be fireproof for these records of the court.

NEW ORLEANS (LA.) POST OFFICE AND COURTHOUSE.

FOR REMODELING, EXTENSION OF MAILING PLATFORM, PAINTING, ETC.

Mr. VARE. What is the situation at New Orleans?

Mr. WETMORE. This matter was here before in a slightly different form last year, but we have had a letter from the First Assistant Postmaster General which has made it necessary for us to increase our estimate. I think our estimate last year was $50,000 on this work. We have a superintendent at New Orleans, and he has made several statements confirming the necessity for the enlargement of the postoffice platform there. The latest letter from the First Assistant Postmaster General is dated October 28, 1920, and he refers to the necessity for remodeling the building to provide more adequate parcel post and other mailing facilities; that the mailing platform is too narrow, being but 9 feet and 7 inches wide, a portion of the width being taken

up by projecting bins, reducing the width in some places to 7 feet 5 inches; that the platform is not inclosed, entailing hardship on the workers in inclement weather and causing drafts to enter the workroom. He states that the present parcel-post windows are located. in a cul-de-sac, and he suggests that a court room on the second floor, which is not used, be converted into a room for postal purposes. Many places in the building are badly in need of paint, and one cause of congestion is the accumulation of parcel-post matter awaiting outgoing steamers, thus requiring an unusual quantity of space for this branch. He says:

It is believed that the improvements enumerated above are imperatively necessary in order that the postal business at New Orleans, may be efficiently and economically performed.

The estimates for 1921 contained an item of $40,000 for work in connection with mailing platforms, for painting and interior renovating, $10,000, a total of $50,000. The present estimate for remodeling, the work on the mailing platform, painting, etc., is now $100,000. The scheme proposed for the post-office platform was to extend it out some 9 feet farther, I think, and then inclose it, having rolling shutter doors, so that the building could be protected from drafts and the mails handled under cover. The business of the post office there has outgrown the building, the First Assistant Postmaster General stating:

The present facilities for the handling of parcel-post matter are also entirely inadequate. The parcel-post windows are now located in a cul-de-sac, into which the public is forced to crowd with resultant congestion. This condition could be remedied by extending the Lafayette Street corridor so as to extend the full length of the building, making certain necessary changes in the screen, rearranging the workroom floor, and shifting certain sections of the work now performed in that part of the office adjacent to the Camp Street corridor to the lower end of the Magazine Street side of the workroom.

The registry section is also considerably congested, and this department has heretofore taken up with you the question of securing a courtroom on the second floor of the building for postal purposes. This matter is extremely important, and if it is not feasible to secure the permanent use of the courtroom referred to it will undoubtedly be necessary to provide not less than 1,800 square feet of floor space for the accommodation of the registry section.

The CHAIRMAN. Have you a detailed plan for the remodeling of this building?

Mr. WETMORE. No, sir; simply estimates submitted by our superintendent at New Orleans.

The CHAIRMAN. Does this include an enlargement of the building? Mr. WETMORE. No, sir; only changes on the inside.

The CHAIRMAN. Only changes on the inside?

Mr. WETMORE. And the enlargement of the mailing platform which involves $50,000. The other $50,000 is for the interior changes. The CHAIRMAN. Does this include inclosing the mailing platform? Mr. WETMORE. Yes, sir. We propose now to inclose it. It is 131 feet long, runs the whole length of the rear of the building.

The CHAIRMAN. Have you information here as to the size of that building, the floor space?

Mr. WETMORE. No, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. How old is the building?

Mr. WETMORE. It is not an old building; it was occupied in 1915. I think the court room mentioned there is the court room for the United States Circuit Court.

The CHAIRMAN. Is that being occupied by the court?
Mr. WETMORE. No, sir; the court has been abolished.
The CHAIRMAN. What is the court room being used for?

Mr. WETMORE. The Post Office Department wants to use that for registry purposes. The report says that unless they can get that room it will be necessary to provide not less than 1,800 square feet of floor space for the accommodation of the registry section. They want to put the registry section in that room.

The CHAIRMAN. Is it necessary to have Congress take any action to give them authority to use that room for post-office purposes? Mr. WETMORE. No, sir. It is necessary to have the money to make the changes, that is one item, and the other is the corridors spoken of here.

The CHAIRMAN. Why can not they occupy that by putting in benches, tables, and so forth, and use the corridors, if they are not occupied for any other purpose, just as they are?

Mr. WETMORE. The corridors will have to be extended through the building in order to give this relief. They say: "This condition could be remedied by extending the La Fayette Street corridor so as to extend the full length of the building." The corridor does not run through the building now, but by getting through they can make some other changes in the workroom floor.

The CHAIRMAN. Is there an elevator connected with the first floor?

Mr. WETMORE. Yes, sir.

COST OF BUILDING.

The CHAIRMAN. Have you the data with regard to the cost of this building?

Mr. WETMORE. What the building itself cost?

The CHAIRMAN. Yes, sir.

Mr. WETMORE. Yes. $1,656,989, practically $1,700,000.

Mr. MAGEE. How much of this proposed appropriation, did you say, is for remodeling the court room?

Mr. WETMORE. For changes in the interior, about $50,000.

Mr. MAGEE. If the court room was not mentioned, there would be no authority for using or providing the court room?

Mr. WETMORE. No, sir.

Mr. MAGEE. Why is not the converse of that proposition true, that you can not do away with the court room or remodel the court room without authority?

Mr. WETMORE. Congress has abolished the court. The rooms are standing there vacant and the Post Office Department needs the space.

Mr. MAGEE. Was the court abolished by congressional enactment? Mr. WETMORE. Yes, sir.

Mr. MAGEE. And there was no disposition provided for the court room in the legislation?

Mr. WETMORE. No, sir. If I am not mistaken, we have a district court, a circuit court, and a circuit court of appeals. Now, the circuit court has been abolished by Congress and the room is vacant. Mr. MAGEE. Were court rooms provided elsewhere?

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Mr. WETMORE. No, sir.

Mr. MAGEE. Do they hold court there at all?

Mr. WETMORE. There is the district court and the circuit court of appeals. The circuit court is no longer in existence.

The CHAIRMAN. How large is the court room?

Mr. WETMORE. I have not the dimensions here, but I will include them in the record.

NOTE.-37 by 62 feet.

NEW YORK (N. Y.) APPRAISER'S STORES.

FOR ADDITIONAL FIRE PROTECTION AND CHANGES INCIDENT THERETO.

The CHAIRMAN. You are asking for $245,000 "For additional stairway, fire wall, sprinkler system, automatic fire shutter, miscellaneous changes, new vaults, and partitions, etc.," in the praiser's stores, New York. That is the same item which you submitted last year?

Mr. WETMORE. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. The same amount that you estimated for last year? Mr. WETMORE. No, sir. The estimate was $131,000, and the estimated cost of the work under this estimate is $245,000.

.The CHAIRMAN. Where does the difference come? There has been quite a reduction in building materials since last year.

Mr. WETMORE. This estimate is based on the present cost of labor and material,

The CHAIRMAN. But it must include a different estimate, because material is not as high as it was last year.

Mr. WETMORE. For the same items of work?

The CHAIRMAN. Yes, sir.

Mr. WETMORE. Yes.

Mr. MAGEE. Is the cost of construction now higher than a year ago?
Mr. WETMORE. I have not seen any material falling off yet.
Mr. MAGEE. Has there been a material increase?

Mr. WETMORE. No, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Take hardwood flooring; that has decreased practically 100 per cent; it has gone down from $400 a thousand in our part of the country to $200 or less per thousand feet.

Mr. WETMORE. Other flooring is still up, and it is about the only item of lumber that is up.

The CHAIRMAN, I understand that all lumber during the last 60 days has decreased about 25 per cent?

Mr. WETMORE. Everything except flooring other than hardwood flooring. The board of fire underwriters called attention to the fire hazard in this building. This building was constructed not for an office building but for a warehouse, but the demand for office space. in New York shortly after the building was built and ever since seems to have made it necessary to continue to occupy that building in part as an office building.

The CHAIRMAN. You are now occupying it?

Mr. WETMORE. Yes, sir. The principal parts are used as offices for the Board of General Appraisers, the office of the Assistant Attorney General over there, and a number of officials connected with the customs work.