Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
77
WASHINGTON
1912
AA&
CONTENTS
Page.
Report of Commission ........................................................................................... 3
Heating, lighting, and power plant for Capitol and congressional buildings ...................................... 6
Subway and traction system between Capitol and Office Buildings................................................ 8
Report on construction of House Office Building.................................................................. '9
General excavation ................................... ................................................ 20
Trench excavation .................................... ..................................................... 22
Tunnel construction .................................. ..................................................... 22
Foundations ....................................... .................................................... 23
Marble and brick work................................. ..................................................... 25
Marble approaches ................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Brickwork ............................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Steelwork and metal work.............................. ............................. ................
32
Roof construction ................................... .....................................................
35
Floor construction ..................................... ..........................................
35
Terra-cotta partitions ... ............... : 36
Interior finish of building.............................. ..........................
36
Plumbing and fixtures................................. ..........................
39
Bathroom fixtures..................................... ........... ................
41
Heating and ventilating ............................... ............. ......................
42
Electric wiring........................................ ........ ..................
43
legislative bells, buzzers, etc............................ ............. ..........................
45
Panel boards and boxes................................ ...... ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
46
Plastering ............................................. ...... I ...... ..............
47
Rotunda plasterwork ................................. ............ ..........................
48
Corridors and rooms................................... I....... .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
48
Exterior and interior wood finish........................ ............. ................
49
Hardware ...... ...
.... ... ................................... 52
Elevators, gravity conveyers, and mail chutes............. .................................. I..............
53
Court paving and lawn................................. ................................. I............
54
Summary .............................................. ...
...... ... ... .......................... .
55
General description of heating, lighting, and power plant for UJnitted States Capitol and congressional buildings.... 6i
Power-house building......... .......... .................................................
ace *e n
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled, That the assignment of rooms in the office building of the House of Representatives, which
shall hereafter be designated as the House Office Building, heretofore made by resolution or order of the
House of Representatives, shall continue in force until modified or changed in accordance with the provi-
sions of this resolution, and the rooms so assigned to any Representative shall continue to be held by such
Representative as his individual office room so long as he shall remain a Member or Member-elect of the
house of Representatives, or until he shall relinquish the same, subject, however, to the provisions of this
resolution, and no Representative shall allow his office room to be used for any other purpose.
U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 35, p. 578.
2
REPORT of the HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING
COMMISSION
T ~\ HE commission appointed under the sundry civil appropriation act
approved March 3, 1903, to direct and supervise the construction of the
fireproof building for committee rooms, folding room, and other offices
for the House of Representatives, and for the necessary office rooms for Members
theieof, submit the following as their final report.
Under authority of the act above referred to, the Speaker, Hon. DAVID
B. HENDERSON, on March 3, 1903, appointed as members of the commission
Representatives Joseph G. Cannon, of Illinois; W. P. Hepburn, of Iowa; and
James D. Richardson, of Tennessee. Subsequently, on the 2d day of March,
1909, Representative W. P. Hepburn having resigned, the Speaker, Hon. JOSEPH
G. CANNON, appointed Representative Walter I. Smith, of Iowa, a member of the
commission in his stead.
The commission appointed James C. Courts, clerk of the Committee on
Appropriations, as secretary, and have employed no other clerical assistance.
Mr. Elliott Woods, Superintendent of the Capitol Building and Grounds, was
designated by law to control the construction of the building and the letting of
contracts therefor, subject to the direction and supervision of the commission. In
addition to the efficient discharge of those duties, Mr. Woods has served the
commission most acceptably and has discharged in their service all of the duties
ordinarily attaching to the responsible position of an executive officer.
The first meeting of the commission occurred March 5, 1903, and this was
followed by sessions on the 6th, 7th, and 9th days of that month.
At these meetings of the commission the selection of Square 690 from
among those specified in the act and to which they were limited in making
a choice was decided upon, and this action was communicated to the Secretary
of the Interior with the request that he proceed, as provided in the law, to
institute condemnation proceedings to obtain title to the square. The right
of the Washington Terminal Co. to construct a tunnel under the square
mentioned, which was conferred or claimed under an act of Congress approved
4 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
February 28, 1903, a few days prior to the passage of the law authorizing the
commission to determine upon the same as a site for the Office Building, was
considered, and action was taken with reference thereto. The question of
possible structural weakness resulting from the construction of a railroad
tunnel under the southeast corner of the proposed building-was carefully and
exhaustively considered and advice thereon sought and obtained from eminent
engineers. Assurances were exacted of and given by the Washington Terminal
Co. that the tunnel in question should be constructed under conditions
satisfactory to the superintendent of construction, Mr. Woods, and so as to
assure the safe and convenient use of the building.
Among other concessions obtained at that time and shortly thereafter from
the Washington Terminal Co., as consideration for the commission's further
noninterference in their rights or claims with reference to Square 690, under the
act of Congress passed in their behalf prior to the law which authorized the
use of that square as a site for the House Office Building, was a cash payment
into the Treasury of the United States of the sum of $+0,000 and the
undertaking on the part of that company at its expense to construct and
maintain a siding from a connection with the tracks of the Philadelphia,
Baltimore & Washington Railroad Co. to a central power plant to be constructed
for the service of all of the Capitol buildings.
At the meetings referred to, as well as at other meetings, the commission
had the benefit of the presence, advice, and counsel of men eminent as
engineers and experienced in the construction of great buildings, including
Mr.- Bernard R. Green and Capt. John Stephen Sewell, the latter then a member
of the Engineer Corps of the United States Army.
The hearings and proceedings conducted at many of the formal meetings
of the commission were printed at the time and are submitted as part of the
appendix to this report.
As soon as the condemnation proceedings were completed and title to the
land, Square 690, passed to the United States, the superintendent of construction
advertised for proposals for the removal of buildings therefrom. This work
was completed in midsummer of 1904, and on the 18th day of July of that
year excavation for foundations of the building was begun. The masonry and
concrete work on the foundations began April 12, 1905, and on July 5 following
the first brick was laid in the western section of the building, and on August
24 the first stone was set.
-REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 5
During the foundation work the superintendent of construction obtained
from the Terminal Co. suitable agreements as to the proper construction of the
railroad tunnel in so far as it related to its passage through Square 690 and
its supporting strength to hold up that portion of the House Office Building
resting upon it, as determined by the revised plans of the building.
A condition arose, however, which necessitated the construction of
extraordinary foundations for the eastern side of the building, all of which were
below the normal foundation lines of the structure, as judged to be sufficient had
not the tunnel been present. This extraordinary expense the commission called
upon the Terminal Co. to pay. The company declined to do so. The nature
and extent of the controversy which ensued is fully set forth in the appendix.
As will be seen by the records, the superintendent, in these foundation
problems,' as well as in all subsequent important matters, strengthened his
judgment and that of the commission by the best expert advice obtainable.
The commission exercised in these questions of foundation, construction,
and, indeed, in all details of the progress of the building, from foundation
footings to roof, an oversight and supervision as intimate and thorough as
possible. They authorized the superintendent of construction to employ a
consulting architect, to be held responsible for the correct architectural details
of the exterior of the building and the proper fitness of the interior, but they
left with the superintendent, already an officer of the Government, the
responsibility of arranging for the needs of the House and the greater
responsibility of making the size of the building commensurate with the
demand for office room, a consideration which resulted in a building which in
capacity exceeds the original estimate by more than 2,500,000 cubic feet, and
which, from the normal footing lines to the peak of the roof, has been
constructed under the original authorization of $3,100,000.
In addition to the authorized and actual cost of the building, the commission
requested and obtained an appropriation reimbursing the building fund $109,611.16,
the amount expended for the extraordinary foundation work below the line of
the normal foundation. The commission also approved the request for an
appropriation of $132,400 for approaches to the building, a work whose extent
could only be determined after the building had been expanded in size to
suit the needs of the House.
The commission believe that the method employed in authorizing the
superintendent to employ a consulting architect on a salary, as a client would
6 REPORT OF THU
employ counsel, and in further authorizing the superintendent to open, manage,
and operate on the site of the work his own drafting room for the study and
production of the plans, has been of distinct benefit to the Government, both in
time and money, as the records of the superintendent submitted herewith show.
The building proper may be said to have started with the laying of the
first brick on July 5, 1905. It was occupied by the House on January 10, 1908.
It was not built under a general contract, but under separate contracts made
from time to time by the superintendent with the approval of the commission.
HEATING, LIGHTING, AND POWER PLANT FOR CAPITOL AND CONGRESSIONAL BUILDINGS.
During the discussion of the various features connected with the possible
uses and occupancy of the House Office Building it became evident that the
original proposition to install therein a heating, lighting, and power plant for that
building and the Capitol would, if carried out, produce unsatisfactory results.
The Senate had under consideration the proposition to erect an office building
for the use of Senators, involving the necessity for heat, light, and power for
such a structure, and it was found to be impracticable to extend the plant of the
Capitol Building to take care of the new situation. The Congressional Library
Building was operating an independent plant. The problem thus grew to such
importance that the commission deemed it wise to consider the subject from
a larger point of view. Direction was therefore given to the superintendent of
construction to make such investigation of the matter as might be requisite.
The results of this investigation were embodied in a report by the superintendent
in conjunction with - a report to him by the Westinghouse Electric &
Manufacturing Co., and a written opinion on the subject by Mr. Bernard R.
Green, superintendent of the Congressional Library Building, all advocating
the establishment of a central heating, lighting, and power plant which would
not only furnish heat, light, and power to the Capitol Building, the House
Office Building, the proposed Senate Office Building, and the Congressional
Library Building, but would furnish in addition sufficient capacity to supply
any other structures that might be erected on sites adjacent to the Capitol
Grounds.
After mature consideration both by the commission and by the House
Committee on _Appropriations a provision was enacted in the sundry civil
appropriation act, approved April 28, 1904, providing for the construction of a
building for a heating, lighting, and power plant in connection with the House
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
Office Building of sufficent size and capacity to furnish the necessary heat, light,
and power for the Office Building, the Capitol, the Congressional Library Building,
and such other public buildings as might thereafter be erected on grounds adjacent
to the Capitol Grounds east of the Capitol.
It was also provided that the power plant should be located on public
reservation No. 17, south of the Capitol, otherwise known as Garfield Park. This
location was decided upon because the established levels at that point were more
than 50 feet below the established levels of the Capitol and other congressional
buildings, thus permitting the design of a steam-transmission system with suitable
return drainage. Another consideration was that the distance of the plant from
the buildings to be served was not excessive for such purpose from the modern
engineering standpoint, steam transmission being therefore feasible and economical,
and the site could be utilized without cost to the Government. More important
still, thfe site immediately adjoined the location of the tracks of a railroad, thus
affording ample facilities for the convenient transportation and handling of fuel
and materials.
The design and construction of the power house was intrusted to the
superintendent of construction, with the same direction and supervision of the
commission as that exercised with respect to the House Office Building, and the
architectural design was prepared in the office of the superintendent.
The resulting building is of simple design, constructed of red brick,
intended in the future to be stuccoed and otherwise treated by planting, in
the near vicinity, so that when the development of the park is completed the
building will not be objectionable. It is sufficiently large,- not only to
accommodate the equipment requisite for the service of the four buildings
now constructed, but to meet the demands of any other building or buildings
that may hereafter be constructed east of the Capitol Plaza.
The arrangement of its mechanical details is such that continuity of service
under all conditions is practically assured, there being sufficient duplication of
apparatus to meet the conditions which surround the operation of a plant
devoted to this peculiar service. It should be noted that the service required
is wholly different from that usually demanded of an ordinary commercial
plant. Suitable substations have been installed in the several buildings to take
care of the individual building loads required, and arrangements are being
provided so that during the recesses of Congress one or two of the substations
alone can take care of the necessary distribution to and from the several
8 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
buildings, namely, the Capitol, the House and Senate Office Buildings, and the
Congressional Library Building. The main lines of transmission run from the
power plant to the several buildings through the medium of a long subway
approximately 6,200 feet in total length, the size of the principal tunnels being
7 feet in height by 4 feet 6 inches in width, affording easy inspection at all times.
The total cost of the power plant, embracing necessary machinery, trans-
mission systems, substations in the several buildings, and a special waterway from
the plant to the river, including appropriations made at the present session of
Congress, is $1,545,857.65.
SUBWAY AND TRACTION SYSTEM BETWEEN CAPITOL AND OFFICE BUILDINGS.
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NO. 1. VIEW AT THE CORNER OF B STREET SE. AND NEW JERSEY AVENUE SE.. SHOWING THE HISTORICAL CONGRESSIONAL HOTEL
HOME OF MANY STATESMEN. GENERAL VIEW OF B STREET ON THE LEFT.
PROPERTY. FOR YEARS THE
NO. 2. VIEW LO KING UP NEW JERSEY AVENUE SE, FROM THE CORNER OF C STRE T SE., SHOWING THE HISTORICAL RESIDENCE OF THE LATE JUDGE JOSEPH HOLT. SECRETARY OF WAR AND AT ORNEY GENERAL UNDER BUCHANAN
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NO. 3. BEGINNING OF EXCAVATION. VIEW ON SITE LOOKING TOWARD THE CAPITOL HOUSES REMOVED FROM THE
SITE, TRACKS LAID, AND EXCAVATION BEGUN.
OCTOBER 22. 1904.
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NO. 5. EXCAVATION. SHOWING FIRST STREET SIDE OF THE BUILDING SITE WITH THE OPEN-CUT WORK AND TIMBERING OF THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD
TUNNEL WHICH RUNS UNDER THE OFFICE BUILDING AND UPON WHICH THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE BUILDING. AT THE SOUTHEAST CORNER, REST.
OCTOBER 24. 1904.
NO. 6. EXCAVATION. ANOTHER VIEW OF THE TUN EL EXCAVATION. 40 FE T BELOW THE BUILDING FOUNDATIONS. OCTOBER 24, 1904
NO. 6. EXCAVATION. ANOTHER VIEW OF THE TUNNEL EXCAVATION. 40 FEET BELOW THE BUILDING FOUNDATIONS. OCTOBER 24, 1904.
NO. 7. EXCAVATION. ON THE FIRST STRE T AND B STRE T SIDE OF THE SQUARE LO KING TOWARD THE LIBRARY OF CONGRES . DECEMBER 6, 1904
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NO. 7. EXCAVATION. ON THE FIRST STREET AND B STREET SIDE OF THE SQUARE LOOKING TOWARD THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. DECEMBER 6. 1904.
NO. 8. TESTING FOR THE FOUNDATIONS. TEST PIT SHOWING CAR IER LOADED TO PRODUCE PRES URE VARYING FROM ? TONS PER SQUARE FO T TO ? TONS PER SQUARE FO T. NO MOVEMENT OF THE SOIL WAS PRODUCED UNDER THESE PRES URES, BUT UPON THE PLATFORM BEING LOADED WITH 8 TONS PER SQUARE FO T THE SOIL AT THE BOT OM SHOWED SIGNS OF MOVEMENT. NOVEMBER 29, 1904
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NO. 8. TESTING FOR THE FOUNDATIONS. TEST PIT SHOWING CARRIER LOADED TO PRODUCE PRESSURE VARYING FROM 21 TONS FER SQUARE FOOT TO 7i
TONS PER SQUARE FOOT. NO MOVEMENT OF THE SOIL WAS PRODUCED UNDER THESE PRESSURES. BUT UPON THE PLATFORM BEING LOADED WITH 8
TONS PER SQUARE FOOT THE SOIL AT THE BOTTOM SHOWED SIGNS OF MOVEMENT. NOVEMBER 29. 1904.
NO. 9. FOUNDATION WORK. BEGIN ING FOUNDATION TRENCH AT NEW JERSEY AVENUE AND B STRE T. DECEMBER 6, 1904
I.
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NO. 9. FOUNDATION WORK. BEGINNING FOUNDATION TRENCH AT NEW JERSEY AVENUE AND B STREET. DECEMBER 6. 1Q04.
NO. 10. FOUNDATION WORK. CONSTRUCTION OF THE RAILWAY TUN EL UNDER THE SOUTHEAST SECTION OF THE BUILDING FOUNDATIONS. SUP ORTING WAL S OF STONE WITH GRANITE SKEW BLOCKS. JANUARY 27, 1905
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NO. 10. FOUNDATION WORK. CONSTRUCTION OF THE RAILWAY TUNNEL UNDER THE SOUTHEAST SECTION OF THE BUILDING FOUNDATIONS. SUPPORTING WALLS
OF STONE WITH GRANITE SKEW BLOCKS. JANUARY 27. 1905.
NO. 1 . FOUNDATION WORK. REINFORCING THE TOP OF THE TUN EL TO SUP ORT THE BUILDING FOUNDATIONS. JANUARY 21, 1905
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NO. 11. FOUNDATION WORK. REINFORCING THE TOP OF THE TUNNEL TO SUPPORT THE BUILDING FOUNDATIONS. JANUARY 21. 1905.
NO. 12. FOUNDATION WORK. CONCRETE FOUNDATIONS AT FIRST AND C STRE TS, CROS ING THE TOP OF THE RAILWAY TUN EL. MARCH 14, 1905
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NO. 12. FOUNDATION WORK. CONCRETE FOUNDATIONS AT FIRST AND C STREETS, CROSSING THE TOP OF THE RAILWAY TUNNEL. MARCH 14. 1905.
Table: OF ICE BUILDING FOR THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (SQUARE 690, OR SQUARE 635 AND SQUARE 636)
Area of building:
On street ..........95,000 *
**6,470 6*,775 8*,*oo
In court .22,000|
Cubic contents
Street ...................................................................................7,280,000.... ............ ....... ............
Court .....................................................................1.........1760,00
, ....|. ........!
Sundry civil act, approved March 3, I903, Statutes at Large, volume 32, page 1113.
Deficiency act, approved February i8, 1904, Statutes at Large, volume 33, page 31.
Sundry civil act, approved March 3, i905, Statutes at Large, volume 33, page II82.
Sundry civil act, approved June 30, i906, Statutes at Large, volume 34, page 723.
Sundry civil act, approved March 4, 1907, Statutes at Large, volume 34, page 1330.
Sundry civil act, approved May 27, i908, Statutes at Large, volume 35, page 344.
Sundry civil act, approved May 27, i908, Statutes at Large, volume 35, page 345.
Deficiency act, approved March 4, i909, Statutes at Large, volume 35, page 925.
Deficiency act, approved June 25, I91o, Statutes at Large, volume 36, page 795.
POWER HOUSE.
Sundry civil act, approved April 28, 1904, Statutes at Large, volume 33, page 479
Sundry civil act, approved March 3, 1905, Statutes at Large, volume 33, page 1183.
Sundry civil act, approved March 4, 1907, Statutes at Large, volume 34, page 1331.
Deficiency act, approved March 4, I909, Statutes at Large, volume 35, page 925.
SUBWAYS.
Sundry civil act, approved March 4, 1907, Statutes at Large, volume 34, page 1331.
With the submission of this report, evidencing as it does the completion of
the public work whose direction and supervision were committed to their charge,
the commission regard their mission as fulfilled, their work done, and their
responsibility ended. The expenditure of certain minor sums for transportation
and other equipment features of the House Office Building and power plant
will be directed, as proposed in the appropriations therefor, by the commission
in control of the management and conduct of the buildings.
OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT
UNITED STATES CAPITOL BUILDING AND GROUNDS,
Washington, D. C., March 1, 1911.
TO THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION,
Washington, D. C.
GENTLEMEN: I have the honor to submit herewith my report on the construc-
tion of the House Office Building, the Heating, Lighting, and Power Plant and
the Subways connected therewith.
INTRODUCTION.
over $1,100,000.
The Government furnished the brick, cement, and sand
required backing
in
The hot water for the heating system is furnished from the central power
plant, which also furnishes current for the electric lighting and the operation of
elevators.
The following data relates to the construction of the building:
Appropriation
Appropriation
for
for
construction
purchase of
of
site
building .
...................................................... $ 3,100,
..................................... $743,635.55
ooo.0
Appropriation for construction of approaches ..................................................... $132.500.00
Appropriations for furnishings .................. $300,500.00
Total area of building ................................................ square feet . 110,500
Cubic contents .............................. cubic feet 8,6oo,ooo
Rooms available for offices and committees ....................................................... 410
The (lods
above
count
not include
uses,
rooms
office, (ining room, etc.
devoted to special such
125,000
Cut stonework, between 285,000
and 290,000 feet cubic
.......................... 290,000
Cement ..........................................................................19,150,000
walls
Bricks in
used.........................................................................barrels. . 71,507
NO. 13. FOUNDATION WORK. GENERAL VIEW OF THE TOP OF THE TUN EL WITH RELATION TO THE GENERAL LEVEL OF THE SQUARE. APRIL 2 , 1905
NO. 13. FOUNDATION WORK. GENERAL VIEW OF THE TOP OF THE TUNNEL WITH RELATION TO THE GENERAL LEVEL OF THE SQUARE. APRIL 22, 1905.
NO. 14. FOUNDATION WORK. STATE OF THE WORK ON THE NEW JERSEY AVENUE SIDE OF THE BUILDING SITE. MAY 1, 1905
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NO. 14. FOUNDATION WORK. STATE OF THE WORK ON THE NEW JERSEY AVENUE SIDE OF THE BUILDING SITE. MAY 1. 1905.
NO. 15. FOUNDATION WORK. INEF ECTUAL EF ORT TO DRIVE FOR CONCRETE PILES ADJACENT TO THE TUN EL AT FIRST AND C STRE TS SE. THIS EF ORT AND THE CONSEQUENCES ARE DESCRIBED IN THE REPORT. MAY 1, 1905
NO. 1',. FOUNDATION WORK. INEFFECTUAL EFFORT TO DRIVE FOR CONCRETE PILES ADJACENT TO THE TUNNEL AT FIRST AND C STREETS SE. THIS EFFORT AND
THE CONSEQUENCES ARE DESCRIBED IN THE REPORT. MAY 1, 1905.
NO. 16. FOUNDATION WORK. SUBSEQUENT WORK, SHOWING THE METHOD OF EXCAVATING ALONG THE SIDE OF THE RAILWAY TUN EL TO SECURE THE FOUNDATIONS OF THAT SECTION OF THE SOUTHEAST BUILDING OVERLAP ING THE SAME. MAY 18, 1905
II
NO0. I. FOUNDAI ION WORK. SUBSEQUENT WORK, SHOWING THE METHOD OF EXCAVATING ALONG THE SIDE OF THE RAILWAY TUNNEL TO SECURE I HE FOUNDA-
TiONS OF THAT SECTION OF THE SOUTHEAST BUILDING OVERLAPPING THE SAME. MAY 18. 1905.
NO. 17. FOUNDATION WORK. FOUNDATION TRENCH AND CONCRETE FOUNDATIONS UNDER THE B STRE T COLON ADE. MAY 18, 1905
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NO. 18. FOUNDATION WORK. FOUNDATION TRENCHES. WOOD FORMING AND FOUNDATION WORK UNDER THE ROTUNDA SECTION OF THE BUILDING AT B STREET
AND NEW JERSEY AVENUE SE. MAY 8, '905.
NO. 19. FOUNDATION WORK. ANOTHER VIEW OF THE FOUNDATION WORK AT NEW JERSEY AVENUE AND B STRE TS AND ALONG THE B STRE T COLON ADE. MAY 27, 1905
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NO.19. FOUNDATION WORK. ANOTHERVIEWOF THE FOUNDATION WORK AT NEWJERSEYAVENUE AND B STREETS AND ALONGTHE BSTREET COLONNADE. MAY27, 1905.
NO. 20. FOUNDATION WORK. SECURING THE FOUNDATIONS UNDER THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF THE BUILDING. INSTAL ING THE 8 INCH I-BEAM GRIL WORK. JUNE 3, 1905
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NO. 20. FOUNDATION WORK. SECURING THE FOUNDATIONS UNDER THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF THE BUILDING. INSTALLING THE 8 INCH I-BEAM GRILLWORK.
JUNE 3. 1905.
NO. 21. FOUNDATION WORK. GOING DOWN TO GET THE BUILDING FOUNDATIONS TO THE LEVEL OF THE TUN EL FOUNDATIONS. EXCAVATION FOR THIS PURPOSE IS SHOWN ON THE LEFT AND THE COMPLETED TOP OF THE TUN EL ON THE RIGHT. THE NORMAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE BUILDING ARE 10 FE T ABOVE THIS TUN EL TOP, JUNE 9, 1905
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NO. 22. FOUNDATION WORK. ANOTHER VIEW OF THE WORK ALONGSIDE OF THE RAILWAY TUNNEL SHOWN ON THE LEFT. JUNE 26, 1905.
NO. 23. FOUNDATION WORK. ERECTING THE CONCRETE FOUNDATION WAL S ACROS THE TOP OF THE TUN EL JUNE 26, 1905
NO. 23. FOUNDATION WORK. ERECTING THE CONCRETE FOUNDATION WALLS ACROSS THE TOP OF THE TUNNEL JUNE 26. 1905.
NO. 24. FOUNDATION WORK. ANOTHER VIEW OF THE FOUNDATION WORK UP FIRST STRE T, ON TOP AND IN LINE WITH THE TUN EL. JUNE 26, 1905
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FIRST STREET, ON TOP AND IN LINE WITH THE TUNNEL JUNE 26, 1905.
NO. 24. FOUNDATION WORK. ANOTHER VIEW OF THE FOUNDATION WORK UP
Table: [No Caption]
The House Office Building was erected and furnished under the direction of
the Superintendent of the United States Capitol Building and Grounds, acting
under the supervision of the following Commission of the House of Representa-
tives constituted for this purpose by an act of Congress:
The Hon. Joseph G. Cannon, Illinois.
The Hon. William P. Hepburn, Iowa.
The Hon. James D. Richardson, Tennessee.
The Hon. Walter I. Smith, Iowa.'
James C. Courts, secretary to the Commission.
Thomas Hastings, consulting architect, New York.
Consulting engineering services, special investigations, reports on materials
and devices proposed for use in the building and similar services, were rendered
by the following:
Owen Brainard, consulting engineer, New York.
Theodore Cooper, consulting engineer, New York.
Charles Sooysmith, consulting engineer, New York.
Swinburne & Clark, consulting sanitary engineers, New York.
John Stephen Sewell, Captain of Engineers, United States Army.
Arthur A. Ernst, consulting illuminating engineer, New York.
F. L. Averill, Washington, D. C., structural engineering work.
Prof. S. Homer Woodbridge, Boston, heating, ventilating, and sanitary engi-
neering work.
Succeeded lion. W. P. Hepburn of Iowa.
REPORT ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE OFFICE
BUILDING FOR THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
G ONGRESS in the organic act contemplating the selection of a site, and
erection thereon of a fireproof building for office purposes of Members
of the House of Representatives, restricted the choice to one of four
squares forming the southern boundary of the grounds of the United
States Capitol. The square chosen, 690, forms an imposing site for the construc-
tion of a building of the type of the House Office Building. From the date of the
commencement of the general excavation to its occupancy by the House of Repre-
sentatives (60th Cong.) a period of three years and six months elapsed; from the
date of the laying of the first brick of the foundations to the occupancy of the
building, a period of two years and six months.
A reference to the photographs attached to this report will show that prior to
the commencement of construction Square 690 was occupied largely by buildings of
substantial character, most of them being homes. The best of these were located
along B Street and New Jersey Avenue. Some of those along New Jersey Avenue
were historically interesting. For instance, a photograph showing the corner of
C Street and New Jersey Avenue gives a very good view of the noted old Holt
mansion. At the corner of New Jersey Avenue and B Street is shown a view of
the old Congressional Hotel, which was for many years a favorite, abiding place
for statesmen of prominence. Adjacent to this building and its annex, and shown
in light tone, was the historic Middleton mansion, interesting because of its
association with early banking days in Washington.
The first step in the work, after the receipt of the court notice that the
property had passed into the hands of the United States, was the notification
to the various residents to vacate the property. In general this was carried out
without friction, and as far as possible with due regard to the convenience and
interests of persons occupying the various properties. Dispossession under
such circumstances is more or less a sad task always, and it was so in this case
particularly, because a large number of the people living on the square owned
the properties in which they lived and were giving up actual homes Which they
had occupied for many years. Once this task was completed, steps were taken
to clear the site and raze the buildings. For this purpose advertisement was
made, specifications were issued, and bids received. A contract was finally
entered into with Rezin W. Darby, of Washington, D. C. The net result of
20 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
the contract was that the Government secured the removal of all encumbrances
on the site and received back into the Treasury the sum of $6,130.50. This
work was completed in the spring of 1904, and preparations were then made
for commencing the general excavation.
GENERAL EXCAVATION.
Before taking up this subject it is well to state under what conditions the
excavation, or its progress, was eventually hampered by other construction.
Under a prior law-the terminal act of April 28, 1904-and under subsequent
adjudication on the part of the House Office Building Commission (Messrs.
Cannon, Hepburn, and Richardson) the Pennsylvania Railroad Co. was entitled
to pass through Square 690 with a twin railway tunnel, the bottom of which
was approximately 41 feet below the general level of the square and the top
approximately 10 feet below the line of the normal foundations of the building.
The worst feature of this project was the fact that the tunnel line passed
under the southeast corner of the proposed building, and in a long curve,
so that only a very small portion of the tunnel actually paralleled the lines laid
down for the foundation. The tunnel passed under the building for about
three-quarters of its length, leaving an overhanging section of the building at
the southeast corner projecting some 35 feet beyond the tunnel. Through
Square 690 the railroad officials had laid out the construction in the form of
open-cut work, which means excavation from the surface down, instead of
tunneling under the soil. This was some advantage to the future construction
of the building, in that it bared every condition with which our construction
proposed to deal, although it naturally delayed the progress of the general
excavation and caused no little difficulty in the foundation work, as explained
hereafter. A reference to the drawing will show the relation between the
foundation lines of the building and the position of the railway tunnel.
It was also arranged between the House Commission and the officials
of the railroad that the plans for the tunnel work should be approved
mutually by the chief engineer of the railroad company and the Superintendent
of the Capitol. Modifications of these plans, as hereinafter stated, were
amicably adjusted.
The general excavation on the square amounted to over 100,000 cubic
yards. This was an increase over the original estimate of 22,010 yards, due
to the development of the plan for the building during the progress of the
excavation and the necessities arising from the increased cellar height, clue
to the desire to keep the balustrade lines of the building below the level of
the Capitol balustrade. The original elevation decided upon from the
preliminary drawings was set at 62. The changes referred to carried the
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 21
elevation down to 58.46, accounting for the increase over the estimated
amount by 18,010 yards. The subsequent excavation of the terraces on
New Jersey Avenue and B and C Streets added 4,000 yards.
The character of the soil excavated from the site of the building was
generally of a gravel formation, and a large percentage of the trenches were
cut through beds of gravel in a conglomerate form of such density that it
was difficult to remove it with the ordinary pick. This was especially the
case in the excavation at the southeast corner of the building. The soil at
the northeast corner was a loam composed of sand and red clay for a depth
of 20 feet above the gravel. The heaviest cut in the excavation was along
the B Street front. The depth of the cut at the corner of New Jersey Avenue
and B Street was 16 feet below the curb line at its intersection.
The cut at the corner of B and First Streets was approximately 23 feet
6 inches, this being the point of the highest curb grade. The slope of the curb
from this point to the corner of C Street is 21 feet 6 inches. The slope of the
curb from B and First Streets to the corner of New Jersey Avenue and B Street
is 7 feet 6 inches. The slope from this point to the corner of C Street is
12 feet 6 inches, while the slope from the corner of C and New Jersey Avenue
to the corner of C and First Streets is 1 foot 6 inches.
i- During the month of July, 1904, a contract was made with the Brennan
Construction Co. for general excavation of the site to an elevation of 62 feet
above tidewater. This required the removal of approximately 86,000 yards of
soil.
The disposal of this amount of soil was a problem which had to be solved
by the bidders. The specifications issued for the work announced certain
opportunities for the disposition of material, but placed the actual responsibility
on the succesSfull bidder. By an arrangement with the Commissioners of the
District of Columbia the Brennan Construction Co. obtained permission to
dispose of material on the present site of the Union Station Plaza. To do this
required some means of quickly transferring the excavated material to that point.
Realizing that any facility, not an expense to the Government, which would
enable the contractor to proceed rapidly with the work would be of advantage
in the speed of future construction, this office added to the permission the
right to cross the east front of the Capitol with a narrow-gauge road. This
enabled the contractor to utilize steam engines and cars of the type shown in
the photograph, and also to employ rapid steam excavators on the site. The
cars had a capacity of 6 yards each. In general the Brennan contract covered
what might be termed the normal excavation. The excavations brought about
by the presence of the railway tunnel will be treated under the head of trench
excavations pertaining to the foundation work.
22 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICEI1BUILDING COMMISSION
TRENCII EXCAVA'TJON---I)DEI FOUNI)ATION EXCAVATION.
The trench excavations for the greater portion of the building walls were
executed by the Brennan Construction Co., the successful bidder under another
contract, and amounted to 5,7431 cubic yards, at 75 cents per yard. The
remainder of the excavation, east of the driveway, and the deep foundation
excavation on First Street, along the line of the Pennsylvania Railroad tunnel,
were executed by men and apparatus employed by the Government, under the
direction of the superintendent of construction.
The excavation for the deep foundation under the First Street pavilion,
including the concrete footings for this feature, was given by contract to the
Brennan Construction Co., under their estimate for the work, $15,101. The
work was finished on November 26, 1905.
The only difficulty occasioned by water in the normal trenches was along
the line of B Street, where water percolated through the sides of the trenches.
This was evidently caused by a small spring, which was discovered directly
under the main entrance to the building, on the northwest corner. At this
point it was deemed advisable to increase the width of the footing 3 feet, and
this was done.
Referring to the deep foundation work caused by the presence of the
railroad tunnel, the original intention, instead of excavating to the depth
required along the line of the railroad tunnel for a safe footing, was to drive
concrete piles where required to a depth of approximately 26 feet; the piles
to be spaced about 2 feet 6 inches on centers, and capable of sustaining a
load of 25 tons each. This plan was indorsed by several eminent civil
engineers who were consulted by the superintendent of construction and he
at once ordered the machinery to be placed in position to execute the work.
It was found after several attempts that the steel tubes used for this purpose,
driven with a 3,000-pound hammer, would not stand the strain necessary to
drive them through the dense gravel formation. During this test it was
found that at a depth of about 12 feet the tubes buckled under the strain
and could not be driven to any greater depth. It was then determined to
excavate until firm soil was reached. Further reference will be made to the
excavation for foundations below the normal footing line in the treatment of
that subject.
'TUNNEL CONSTRUCTION.
As before stated, this office worked 'in harmony with the railroad company
to secure such reenforcement of that section of the railroad tunnel passing
through Square 690 as would insure a safe and convenient foundation for the
portion of the building which was to rest upon it. The railroad company
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICF BUILDING COMMISSION 23
acceded to the wishes of the superintendent in the matter of construction and
reenforcement, and the general plans of the tunnel work were changed to suit
the circumstances. In connection with this work we called in the services of
eminent engineers, specially qualified for that class of work, and acted largely
upon their advice. The plan of the railway company was to construct a tunnel
with concrete walls surmounted by brick arches. At our request the plans
were changed, and the walls built of large blocks of dimensioned limestone.
These walls were topped off with skew-back stone of Port Deposit granite.
Upon these rested the brick arch work which covered the tunnel. This arch
was made stronger than usual. Wherever the building rested upon the tunnel,
the construction work of the tunnel was conducted upward to a height
sufficient to carry a series of interlaced 24-inch I-beams set in concrete.
These I-beams were intended to transfer the load of the building to the walls
of the tunnel and to relieve the strain on the brick arches. The finished top
of the tunnel at this point was at elevation 48.50. The elevation of the
finished top of all concrete footings over this section was 58.46, a difference
of about 10 feet, which represents the: height of the added foundation walls
deemed necessary to bring the elevation line to the normal line of the other
foundation work.
FOUNDA'I'IONS.
The scope of the normal foundations of the building is shown on the
drawings attached to this report. These drawings give the dimensions of each
feature and of the whole. Concrete foundations were used throughout.
All concrete footing walls of the foundation are composed of native
Portland cement concrete, the component parts of which were one part of
Portland cement, two parts of clean-washed river sand, and five parts broken
stone from the Potomac River quarries.
A raised platform was erected in the court of the building so that
wheelbarrows could dump the different materials in the concrete mixer without
shoveling. The concrete, after being assembled in the mixer, was dumped on
a platform, and then conveyed in wheelbarrows to the different points of the
foundation.
All concrete footings, with the exception of those described as deep
foundations, were 4 feet in thickness or depth, and varied in width, according
to the load which was imposed on them, from 7 to 9 feet, respectively, which
was the maximum width at the bottom of the trenches.
They were then reduced in width every 16 inches in height by a series of
steps. The width of the concrete footings at the top, when finished, was for
the exterior wall 5 feet wide, court walls 4 feet 1.0 inches, and for the corridor
walls 3 feet 9 inches wide.
24 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
In offsetting the footings for the stepping, as described, wood forms were
used. The last or top form, which brought the concrete to a finished level to
receive the brick masonry, was set with great accuracy in order that the
finished top of the footings at any point could be used for taking different
elevations of the building.
After the trenches for the footings had been excavated to the face of the
masonry walls of the tunnel, it was found that the soil against the side of the
concrete work of the tunnel had been disturbed and had to be removed. At
this point it was determined to excavate to the depth of the tunnel foundations
wherever the walls of the building came in contact with them, especially as
the building walls in some cases ran nearly parallel to the walls of the tunnel.
The deep excavations along the line and side of the tunnel varied in width and
thickness from 4 to 6 feet, according to the conditions. In making these
excavations it was important to keep the horizontal shoring solid against the
banks of earth in order to prevent slipping. This was done by using screw
jacks placed against the concrete walls of the tunnel, and 6 by 6 inch upright
timbers were placed against the face of the horizontal shoring to support the
earth banks.
It was found that in pursuing this method all timber could be removed as
the trenches were filled and rammed without leaving voids or other debris, at
the same time keeping the banks rigid.
In all cases where it became necessary to excavate the trenches from a
high to a lower level, the height and width of the stepping was controlled by
the character of the soil in the bottom of the trench.
The deep excavation along the east side of the tunnel at the corner of First
and C Streets, was done in the same manner as that described for the west side of
the tunnel. The level excavation under the southeast corner of the building was
left in the form of an angle caused by the curve of the open-cut tunnel. The
excavation within the lines of this angle was carried 3 feet 6 inches below the
finished top of the tunnel, and then covered over its entire area with a 12-inch
layer of concrete, on which was placed a layer of 8-inch I-beams spaced 16 inches
on centers. The spaces between the beams were filled with concrete, and well
rammed. Then an additional course of 8-inch I-beams was laid on top of these,
at right angles to the first layer. The entire angle was then finished with a layer of
concrete, which brought the mass up to a level with the top of the 24-inch beams,
which reenforced the concrete work of the tunnel roof immediately under the
building at that point.
The excavation of this angle, together with the deep excavation on the east
side of the tunnel and all concrete work up to the level of the top of the tunnel,
NO. 25. FOUNDATION WORK. BUILDING FOUNDATIONS COMPLETED AT THE SOUTHEAST, ACROS THE TOP OF THE TUN EL. JULY 1, 1905
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NO. 26. FCUNDATION WORK. FOUNDATION WORK ALONG FIRST STREET SE. VIEW SHOWS THE BUILDING FOUNDATIONS LEAVING THE CURVING LINE OF THE TUNNEL
THESE FOUNDATIONSWERE STEPPED DOW.< SO THAT ON THE RIGHT THEY REACH THE BOTTOM OF THE TUNNEL AND ON THE LEFT REACH TO A DEPTH TO SECURE
EARTH- ON T HE RIGHT IS SHOWN ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL CORRIDOR WALLS ABUTTING AGAINST THE SIDE OF THE COMPLETED TUNNEL JULY 3. 1905.
NO. 27. THE FIRST BRICK ON THE NORMAL FOUNDATIONS WAS LAID JULY 5, 1905. THIS VIEW SHOWS THE PROCES OF LAYING AT THE LINES OF THE BUILDING AND CONDITION OF THE WORK ON JULY 8, 1905
195. THIS VIEW SHOWS THE PROCESS OF LAYING AT THE LINES OF THE BUILDING
NO. 27. THE FIRST BRICK ON THE NORMAL FOUNDATIONS WAS LAID JULY 5. THE WORK ON JULY S. 1905.
AND CONDITION OF
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NO. 28. LAYING OF THE POSITION OF THE CEL AR-STORY WINDOWS. JULY 24, 1905
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NO. 2a. LAYING OFF THE POSITION OF THE CELLAR-STORY WINDOWS. JULY 24. 1905.
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NO. 29. INSTAL ATION OF THE FIRST DER ICK TO BEGIN THE SET ING OF STONE AT THE CORNER OF NEW JERSEY AVENUE AND C STRE T SE. AUGUST 7, 1905
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NO. 29. INSTALLAT ION OF T HE FIRST DERRICK TO BEGIN THE SETTING OF STONE AT THE CORNER OF NEW JERSEY AVENUE AND C STREET SE. AUGUST 7, 1905.
NO. 30. CORNER OF NEW JERSEY AVENUE AND B STRE T. ROTUNDA SECTION OF THE BUILDING READY FOR STONEWORK. FIRST DELIVERY OF STONE SHOWN IN THE BACKGROUND. AUGUST 14, 1905
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ROTUNDA SECTION OF THE BUILDING READY FOR STONEWORK. FIRST DELIVERY OF STONE SHOWN
NO. 30. CORNER OF NEW JERSEY AVENUE AND B STREET.
IN THE BACKGROUND. AUGUST 14. 1905.
NO. 31. SET ING THE FIRST STONE. AUGUST 28, 1905
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NO. 32. LAYING STONE AT THE DRIVEWAY ENTRANCE IN THE CENTER OF THE C STREET RUN OF THE BUILDING. AUGUST
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NO. 3 . GET ING A GO D START ON THE STONEWORK. SEPTEMBER 13, 1905
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NO. 34. LAYING AT THE PAVILION AT THE CORNER OF NEW JERSEY AVENUE AND C STREET SE. SEPTEMBER 1S. 1905.
NO. 35. LAYING THE FIRST IRON BEAMS FOR THE CEILING OF THE CEL AR COR IDOR. SEPTEMBER 18, 1905
NO. 35. LAY;NG THE FIRS; 'RON EEAMS FOR THE CEIL!NG OF THE CELLAR CORRICOR. SEPTEMBER 13, 1905.
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NO. 36. INSTAL ING THE BEAM WORK OF THE FIRST FLO RS AND SHOWING EXPERIMENTAL CONCRETE ARCH UNDER THE ROEBLING SYSTEM. SEPTEMBER 28, 1905
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It). 36. INSTAlLING TtilE REAM WORK Or TlE FIrST' FLOORS ANO SHOWING tEXIWf;RIMENTAL. CONCRETE ARCII UNDER rTllf
ROCiULING SYSTEM. SEPTEMIIER 2m, 1905.
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 25
was done by the Cranford Paving Co. It amounted to 1,503 cubic yards of
excavation and 520 cubic yards of concrete.
In placing the concrete for the deep foundations, great care was taken in
ramming the mass thoroughly, so as to obtain the best results. At all points
where the foundation walls of the building intersected the tunnel masonry,
and where stepping was required to bring the concrete footings to their
proper level, the concrete was reenforced with a series of twisted steel bars
1X inches square. The bars were embedded in the concrete at different levels
in the course of construction, and the joints broken so that the ends of the
rods were never placed opposite each other, thereby insuring the best
practical results.
MARBLE AND BRICK WORK.
The marble and stone work of the exterior facades of the building was
finished and erected in place by B. A. and G. N. Williams, of New York
City, under their contract with the Government.
The marble for the New Jersey Avenue and B Street fronts was quarried
in South Dover, N. Y. The marble for the rotunda and main stair hall was
also quarried in South Dover. The marble for the C Street and First Street
fronts was produced in the State of Georgia from what is known as the Ball
Grounds quarries.
The marblework was commenced on the C Street front of the building
oil the 24th day of August, 1905, and was carried on continuously when the
weather permitted until November 9, 1907, when the exterior marble and stone
work of the exterior court walls was finished. The courses of marble were
generally 1 foot 4Y2 inches in height, and continued at this height around all
four faces of the building. The heavy slopes of the street grades affected
very materially the number of courses on each front.
Taking the top of the brick foundation walls onl B Street, there are 51
courses of marble in sight, including the large projecting cornice course; C
Street shows 61 courses in sight; First Street shows 56 courses in sight; and
New Jersey Avenue shows 55 courses in sight. The marble ashlar facing of
the walls alternates in thickness from 8 to 12 inches, in order to form the
usual bond with the brickwork. All the 8-inch ashlar was anchored to the
brickwork with two galvanized iron anchors IS4 inches wide, 12 inches long,
and Y4 inch thick8 All projecting courses of marble had bearing on the stalls
from 12 to 18 includes, according to the size of the stone and its projection
over the face of the walls.
In stating the progress of the stonework during the construction of the
building, the date of the completion of each story will be given as of the date
8202o012-- 11
26 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
when the floor beams were placed in position. On December 30, 1905, the
masonry work of the basement story was completed and the floor beams in
place.
The granite courses forming the base for the limestone facing of the
court walls and the granite piers and walls of the driveway were delayed
in delivery, and this delay retarded the progress of the court walls some
five weeks. Finally, after some of this stone was delivered on the ground and
inspected, the cutting was found to be below the standard required by the
specifications. The stone was ordered to be recut, and this caused further
delay. As soon as this work was completed the walls were rapidly constructed.
The limestone facing of the court walls was quarried and cut to the
required dimensions at the Bedford, Ind., quarries. The general character of
the stone in the court walls is very plain. The only attempt at ornament will
be found in the molded belt courses over the arches and under the sill line
of the circular head windows of the second story and in the molded cornices
and five panels over the large windows of the conference room in the
northwest corner of the court.
There are 57 courses of the court limestone in sight, the first S courses
projecting from the building line 2 inches, forming a base, The stone of the
different courses varies in thickness in order to bond with the brick backing,
the thin courses being 8 inches thick, and the alternate course 12 inches
thick. This stone is anchored into the brick backing with galvanized-iron
anchors from 12 to 16 inches long.
All stone used in the construction of the House Office Building, including
marble, granite, and limestone, was set and placed in position under the
supervision of practical inspectors employed by thei Government, whose duties
were to see that every stone was set on full beds of mortar composed of
La Farge's nonstaining cement and fine, sharp sandd. The vertical joints of all
stone were grouted with the same material.
Before the brick backing was laid all marble and limestone was given a
full coat of antihydrene paint to prevent any stain from the cement mortar of
the brickwork showing on the face of the stone ashlar.
When the stone walls of the court were finished, a force of men was set
to work washing the face of the walls and pointingup the joints with La Farge
cement. This work was done from swinging ladders secured to the stonework
of the roof balustrade. The same process was applied on the exterior marble
until the whole work was finished.
The principal decoration of the First Street elevation is the pavilion at the
corner of B Street. The elevation of this pavilion extends through the third and
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSiON 27
fourth stories of the building. The ornamentation consists of four pairs of twin
columns, set on plinths that receive the cap of the balustrade, the columns being
adorned with turned balustrades and molded bases. The lintel course, which rests
on top of the capitals of the columns, is molded on the face and soffit, and forms
a part of the entablature over the pavilion. The ceiling is formed of three sunk
panels. The third-story windows of this feature have projecting molded archi-
traves, and under the sill there is an ornament of carved drapery. The second-
story windows have projecting molded caps and molded architraves on the face
of the walls.
The C Street elevation is ornamented with five balconies resting on heavy
carved corbles, with a balustrade of turned marble and heavy molded caps. There
are two molded belt courses-one under the third-story windows and one under
the second-story windows. The third and fourth story windows are finished with
a projecting molded architrave on the face of the marble walls. The walls of the
first story are decorated with rustic marble. This continues around the building
on First Street, and stops against the walls of the First Street pavilion.
The front elevation at the B Street entrance is ornamented with a large
circular head window with projecting molded architraves. The angles at the
top of the windlow between the circular architraves and the pilasters are
enriched with carved emblematic panels. On each side of this window there
are two free standing columns, extending from the level of the second-story
floor to the bottom of the architraves of the cornice entablature. The base
of these columns rests on plinths built up to a height to receive the cap rail
of the balustrade. The balcony is supported by two large carved corbels.
On each side of this window are four pilasters treated with plinths and caps,
molded to conform with the similar members of the columns. Immediately
back of the columns are two pilasters. None of the third-story windows shows
on this elevation. This space is treated with an ornamental sunk panel, carved
at the top. Oni each side of the center feature in the third story there is a
window with an ornamental molded pediment cap. This pediment rests
on richly carved corbels. The vertical sides of the windows have molded
architraves and lines of carved moldings. The entrance door to the vestibule
has a segmental head, with broad, deep-seated paneled jambs. This doorway
has a projecting molded architrave, with a line of carved molding. The
exterior face of the second-story marble ashlar is rusticated at this point. rilhe
ornamental features of the elevations at the entrance to the building at the
corner of New Jersey Avenue and. C Street, including the elevation of the
ornamental work on both sides of the main entrance at the corner of B Street
and New Jersey Avenue, are prototypes of the feature above described.
28 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
The doorway of the main entrance to the rotunda is finished in the same
way as the entrance to the marble vestibule at the corner of B and First
Streets. Immediately over this entrance, in the recessed wall, is a large circular
head window, the same as described for the corner of B and First Streets, with
carved panels in the angles at the top. There are also two free standing col-
umns, one on each side of the recess, with capitals, plinths, and bases the same
as those of the columns of the other features. The balcony over the entrance
doorways has an ornamental balustrade, with molded balustrades and cap rail.
The floor slab of the balustrade rests on two large richly carved and molded
corbels, which are placed at each end of the platform.
The long colonnade on the B Street front, between the corner features,
is composed of 16 twin columns and 2 single columns. The single columns
occur at the return walls at the end of the colonnade. The bases of the twin
columns rest on combination plinths sufficiently large to receive the twin
columns. An ornamental balustrade fills the space between the plinths of
the columns. These columns have molded capitals and a carved line of egg-
and-dart ornament. On top of these capitals is set the lintel course, which
forms the bottom member of the entablature under the cornice line. The
lintel course from the top of the capitals to the top of the pilasters on the
side walls has molded faces and ornamental soffits. Upon these lintels are
laid the ornamental panels of the colonnade ceiling. This lintel course is
carried around the side walls and rests upon the pilaster capitals. The
pilasters, set on wall plinths of the same height as the column plinths, have
molded bases, fluted shafts, and molded capitals corresponding with the
column caps. The windows of the fourth story directly under the ceiling of
the colonnade have molded architraves projecting beyond the face of the wall,
with a carved drapery ornament under the sill of each window. The third-
story windows of the colonnade walls have molded architraves. The cap of
the window head projects over the face of the wall. It is molded and has a
carved line under the soffit. The architrave is broken under the caps and
finished against marble corbels under the window heads. The space between
the corbels has a decorated panel.
In the faced marblework of the second story, directly under the marble
cornice course upon which rest the plinths of the column, there are 17
circular head windows, with deep revealed jambs which act as a stop for the
rustication of the marble ashlar.
The face marblework of the New Jersey Avenue front, between the
corner features, bears pilasters that start from bases which overlie the molded
cornice course directly over the rusticated ashlar facing of the secoiid-story
walls. On this front also the first-story ashlar facing is rusticated. There are
REPORr OP THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 29
32 twin pilasters and 2. single ones which finish against the corner features.
These pilasters have fluted shafts, with molded bases and carved molded
capitals. The twin pilasters separate the windows of the several stories. At
the base of the pilasters there is a molded balustrade between the plinths.
This balustrade is located immediately across the front of each of the third-
story windows. The bottom of the molded entablature course rests on the
cap of the pilasters and projects beyond the face of the ashlar 5 inches.
The finish of the marblework at the jambs of the windows of the different
stories is the same as that described for the B Street front. The windows of
the first story have flat arches and deep revealed jambs, which receive the return
of the sunk rustication.
The balustrade over the New Jersey Avenue front and the B Street front,
with the return over the First Street pavilion, consists of pedestals placed at
each corner and angle of the building, showing the different breaks in the
outer walls. The caps of these pedestals are molded on the sides and
weathered at the top. The spaces between the pedestals are filled with an
open molded balustrade. The balustrade on top of the cornice on the First
Street and C Street fronts consists of two courses of stone. The first course
is a plain piece of ashlar, backed up with 13 inches of brick. On top of this
course is set a projecting molded course, weathered on top with a reglet cut
in the back face to receive the lead calking of the copper flashing of the
roof gutters.
The balustrade of the court walls is formed of three courses of sandstone.
The two bottom courses are backed up with brickwork and capped with a
molded course 10 inches thick and 20 inches wide. This course is weathered
at the top and has a reglet cut in the top face 4 inches from the edge to
receive the lead calking of the copper flashing.
All ashlar facing of the House Office Building, either of limestone or
marble, is 8 and 12 inches thick, respectively. These thicknesses were adopted
in order to bond with the brick backing.
MAR1LE, APPROACHES.
The building has four marble approaches to the main entrance, situated at
the corners of the buildingt. In extent they cove the breaks in the walls
formed by the projecting features of the corner pavilions.
The main approach, on the corner of B Street and New Jersey Avenue,
architecturally forms the base for the pavilions at this point. The floor of this
approach is reached by two flights of steps, one on B Street and the other
immediately in front of the main entrance. BIack of these steps and situated
on top of the platform are other marble steps leading directly to the entrances.
30 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
These steps, like the main steps leading from the sidewalk, are built between
large marble pedestals. The bottom steps are spread out and are returned
against the face of the pedestal and the walls of the building. The entire area
of this approach is excavated to the depth of the basement floor, and forms the
enlarged outlet of the Capitol subway. The spread-out of the subway at this
point is used for the storage of material and for access to the openings in
the walls of the rotunda. The floor of this approach is supported by steel
columns and girders upon which the floor beams rest. These beams are
12-inch I's, are built in the brick walls at either end, and are supported by the
steel girder in the center. Between these beams are built brick arches that
support the cement floors. The top finish of these floors is done in cement
and laid out in square blocks.
The marble facing of the walls is broken with rusticated projections that form
the bases of the pedestals which extend above the floor, At the floor line there is
a projecting cornice course which forms the bases of the balustrade pedestals.
The molded rails of the balustrades are made to intersect the projecting caps of
the pedestals and form the top finish of the balustrade.
The approach at the corner of First and C Streets was cut from Georgia
marble. The approaches at the other entrances are of South Dover marble. The
work was done under contract by B. A. & G. N. Williams, of New York City.
All the approaches are similar in design and finish, except at the corner of First
and B Streets, where the approaches are brought together and made to connect
with a circular balustrade. Between the approaches on B Street, and connecting
them, is a panel-faced retaining wall, finished with a broad molded coping, the top
of which is finished level with the parking. The sunken panels in this wall are
designed to harmonize with the face walls of the approaches. In the east wall of
the main approach a section of the balustrade is omitted, and forms an entrance
to the marble steps leading down to the area in front of the entrance to the first floor.
On three of the exterior sides of the building, namely, New Jersey
Avenue, B Street, and First Street, areas are built to light and ventilate the
windows of the basement. 'T'hese areas have a clear width of 6 feet, and the
walls are capped with marble and granite coping that finishes 9 inches above
the parking.
BRICKWORK.
In the construction of the brick walls of the building only the best
quality of hard-burned bricks was used. All of the bricks delivered on the
site of the building during the progress of the work were inspected by an
expert employed for that special duty.
The brickwork of the building, approximating 17,000,000 bricks, was
executed very rapidly. especially in the first stages of the construction where
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 31
there was no stone facing to the wall. Some days as many as 65,000 bricks
were laid in the walls. To keep a sufficient stock of bricks on hand and to
avoid delay it became necessary to enter into contract with all the local brick
manufacturers for a specified amount to be delivered on the ground in a
certain time. By this means a sufficient stock of bricks was obtained to supply
the demand for the daily consumption and also leave a reserve stock stacked
up on the premises. The brickwork was commenced July 5, 1905, when
the positions of all the walls were laid out on the top of the concrete footings.
This required the locating of all vertical chases on the interior faces of the
walls, chases for rain water from the roof, chases for the steam risers, and soil
and waste pipes for the plumbing fixtures.
The varying thickness of the walls, starting from the top of the concrete
footings, is as follows: Exterior walls, where faced with marble, 3 feet 5 inches
thick; court walls, where faced with granite, 3 feet 3 inches thick; corridor
walls, 2 feet 3 inches thick. The partition or crosstie walls vary in thickness,
according to their location, from 2 feet 3 inches to 13 inches.
In the erection of the brickwork for the corridors, walls were carried to
their full height in advance of the exterior walls. The 9-inch floor beams were
then placed and the rough concrete floors laid. It was found necessary to do
this in order to have an elevated position for the derricks used in setting the
stone. This plan was adopted in the erection of the building throughout.
After the exterior walls were brought to the proper height to receive the
marble facing, and from this period until the completion of the masonry work
of the building, the progress of the brickwork depended upon the amount of
stone that was set in the walls in readiness for the brick backing. All the
brick walls were reduced in thickness at the floor levels as the brickwork
progressed, as shown by the drawings of the several floor plans.
The mortar used in the laying of the bricks was composed of 1 part
Portland cement and 2% parts clean river sand. These proportions were strictly
adhered to in all brick masonry work during the erection of the building.
The Gustavino arch which supports the marble tile floor of the rotunda
was erected on strongly supported wood centering. The form of the center
was broken so as to allow for the projecting ribs which are seen from the
basement floors. The brickwork ring at the base of the arch along the line of
the circular wall also projected so as to intersect with the ribs which radiate
from a similar ring at the crown of the arch, the whole effect forming nine
sunk panels. The body of the arch was.-constructed of four layers of Gustavino
tile in Portland cement, with the joints carefully bonded. Upon them thin
brick walls were built, radiating from the main brick wall of the rotunda to
the top of the arch. These walls were carried from within 6 inches of the
32 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
finished floor of the rotunda up to the top of the arch, and the voids between
the brick dwarf walls were then covered with concrete slabs, upon which the
cement bed for the marble was laid.
The rooms constituting the series immediately around the main floor of the
rotunda on the north and west sides are built over brick arches which were
made necessary by the architectural construction of the building.
STEEL WORK AND METAL WORK.
The greater portion of the House Office Building may be classed under
the head of masonry construction. Steel work was used only in the construction
of the floors, the ventilating ducts, the roof, and dome of the rotunda. This
work consisted largely of iron beams of various sizes, with very little complicated
fabrication. All steel work was furnished under contract by the American
Bridge Co., of New York. That company completed the first contract three
months ahead of the stipulated date.
The steel beams required for the different floors were furnished and delivered
on the ground by the contractor, but were set in place and assembled by
mechanics and laborers employed by the Government. Shop drawings were
furnished by the manufacturers, giving the number and location of each beam.
All the 15-inch beams were set on cast-iron plates 1 inch thick and 12 by 12
inches square. All 12-inch beams were set on plates 10 by 10 inches square
and 4 inch thick. Nine-inch beams were set on plates 9 by 9 inches square
and X+ inch thick. Six-inch beams were set on plates 8 by 8 inches square and
X inch thick.
The plate girders at the corner of B and First Streets and New Jersey
Avenue and C Street, over the large conference rooms at these points, had
bearing plates 1% inches thick and 14 by 18 inches.
Generally when the brick walls were brought up to the proper height
the location of the beams was then determined and the plates were set in
cement mortar to their proper level, one plate being used on each floor as a
datum point to level from. This was done in all cases as soon as the walls
hadl been brought to the required height.
The beams that support the office room floors are 15-inch I-beams,
weighing 55 pounds to the lineal foot, with angles bolted on the web of the
beams at each end to act as anchors in the brick walls. The beams were
doubled and bolted together with separators, so as to form a girder where
they carry the additional load of the terra-cotta partition. The floor beams
were then spaced approximately 5 feet 9 inches on centers. These beams are
in all the office room floors at points where they come in contact with the
ventilating and hot-air-flue construction.
NO. 37. BEGIN ING THE STONEWORK ALONG THE B STRE T FRONT. OCTOBER 4, 1905
me7S~mo
NO. 3,. BEGINNING THE STONEW ORK ALONG THE BSTREET FRONT. OCT08ER 4, 1905.
NO. 38. CONDITION OF CONSTRUCTION AT NEW JERSEY AVENUE AND B STRE T SE. CEL AR STORY COMPLETE READY FOR FLO R BEAMS. ROTUNDA WAL S READY FOR THE INSTAL ATION OF THE GUASTAVINO FLO R ARCH. OCTOBER 17, 1905
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NO. 38. CONDITION OF CONSTRUCTION AT NEW JERSEY AVENUE AND B STREET SE. CELLAR STORY COMPLETE READY FOR FLOOR BEAMS. RC%-UNDA
WALLS READY FOR THE INSTALLATION OF THE GUASTAVINO FLOOR ARCH. OCTOBER 17. 1905.
NO. 39. VIEW OF THE CONSTRUCTION AT FIRST AND C STRE TS SE. OVER THE RAILWAY TUN EL. OCTOBER 21, 1905
110".
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NO. 39. VIEW OF THE CONSTRUCTION AT FIRST AND C ST REETS SE. OVER THE RAILWAY TUNNEL OCTOBER 21, 1905.
NO. 40. BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE CONSTRUCTION ALONG THE NORTH SIDE OF THE BUILDING, LO KING FROM NEW JERSEY AVENUE AND B STRE T. NOVEMBER 24, 1905
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NO. 40. BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE CONSTRUCT ION ALONG THE NORTH SIDE OF THE BUILDING, LOOKING FROM NEW JERSEY AVENUE AND B
NOVEMBER 24. 1905.
NO. 41. BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE CONSTRUCTION ALONG C AND FIRST STRE TS. LO KING FROM NEW JERSEY AVENUE AND C STRE T SE. NOVEMBER 24, 1905
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NO. 43. COMPLETED FOUNDATIONS FOR THE CORNER OF THE BUILDING AT B AND FIRST STREETS SE. THESE FOUNDATIONS RUN DOWN TO THE DEPTH OF THE
TUNNEL FOUNDATIONS. DECEMBER 4. 1905.
NO. 4 . BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF THE CONSTRUCTION. JANUARY 19, 1906
1I
NO. 45. INTER OR COURT SHOWING PROGRESS OF 7HZ LIMESTONE WORK. LOOKING NORTHEAST. FEBRUARY 19. 1906.
NO. 46. LIMESTONE WORK IN THE COURT, LO KING TOWARD THE CAPITOL. FEBRUARY 19, 1906
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NO.45. LIMESTONE WO( ON HE COU TLOOKJNG TOWAPO THE CAPITOL. FEPRUARY 19,1906.
NO. 47. BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF THE CONSTRUCTION. APRIL 2, 1906
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NO. 52. TOPPING OUT WITH THE THIRD-FLOOR BEAMS. MAY 14. 1906.
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 41
office rooms, each being provided with an ice-water spigot, located over
the lavatory.
The public toilet rooms have marble floors, and marble partitions 7 feet high;
also marble slabs, 7 feet high, in the back of the urinals and lavatories. Behind
the marble partitions and urinal slabs a space is left for the local ventilation of the
closets and urinals, this space being connected with the openings in the vertical
vent flues above referred to. The closets, urinals, and lavatories are of vitreous
ware. The closets and urinals are constructed with local vent connections, which
are conducted to the space provided for them through local vent openings cut in
the marble partitions. The flushing apparatus of each closet has a valve attachment
known as a "flushometer," which is directly- connected with the city water
pressure. Closets are of the improved siphon jet pattern. In the public toilets
and bath rooms the basins are supported by brass nickel-plated brackets, and are
fastened to the marble slabs by brass T-bolts. The office lavatories with integral
backs are supported with knee pieces fastened to the terra-cotta partition with
toggle bolts and a porcelain supporting leg to the floor. All the lavatories are
connected with heavy brass nickel-plated hot and cold water supply pipes, and are
equipped with heavy brass nickel-plated combination spigots, hot and cold, brass
nickel-plated tip-up water plug, and brass nickel-plated nonsiphon tap and pipe
to the wall. The urinals are flushed automatically by siphon tanks, fastened to
the walls with expansion bolts, back of the marble slabs.
There are 32 public toilet rooms, 144 toilet lavatories, 134 urinals, 212
water-closets, 35 slop sinks, 27 drinking fountains for toilet rooms, and 417
combined lavatories and drinking fountains in office rooms.
BATHROOM FIXTURES.
or 31 4 miles.
ELECTRIC WIRING.
The electric work in the building consists of wiring for lights, motors,
legislative bells, and clocks.
The two-wire multiple system is used for lighting and motors, the current
for this purpose being furnished by the new Capitol Power Plant, at 6,600
voltqiroujh two feeders, either capable of carrying the total load of the
44 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
There is installed in the wall of the ventilating flue of each office a cast-
iron box 6 by 6 by 6 inches. These boxes project in the flue IS inches, and
are connected together in tiers of 4 by 23+ inch conduits,- ending in the
hot-air duct above the ceiling of the basement corridors.
One of these conduits is used for legislative buzzer wiring, the others for
telephone or other signaling devices. The boxes open in the rooms at the
baseboard, and are covered by a 6Yr by 6%2 inch nickeled plate. Each box
contains a 100-ohm Faraday buzzer.
The four buzzers in each tier are connected in multiple with a pair of
No. 14 B. & S. rubber-covered copper wires, terminating at the nearest one of
eight panel boards located in the basement.
A circuit of No. 6 B. & S. rubber-insulated wire, controlled by an automatic
switch located in the substation, connects all panel boards. This circuit and
all branch circuits are run through bridle rings from the point where they
enter the hot-air ducts to the various panel boards.
In addition to these room buzzers there are sixteen 12-inch gongs, one being
located in each of the four long corridors on each of the four floors. The
automatic switch-is controlled from the floor of the House of Representatives by
an automatic signaling device, making from one to five signals, through a pair of
wires connecting the two. The lighting current is used for the operation of the
system, the voltage reduction being obtained by means of a rheostat, connected in
series with the main feeder to the panel boards.
The clock circuits are run in a similar manner, and terminate at the panel
boards in the same boxes with the bell-panel boards.
Table: SUM ARY
l of
Numbe Capacity i6-
Location of outlets. outlets. canidlepower
lamps.
Total ......9
.................................................................... ,6o I............................
23,o38
;Ioitors (4,12 horsepower) .. ... 7,279
30,317
30.317X501i5i5.850 kilowatts.
PANEIL BOARDS ANI) BOXES.
Purpose:
Lighting ............. , 50
..........0...................... ....
Clocks............
,1.... 54
NWire:
Slow-burning weatherproof ......................... feet
. 42,054
Rubber insulated, lead covered. .........................
( ... 8,532
Rtblber insulated ........................................................................do.... 252,385
Total .(10.... 302,971
Conduit:
Greenfield flexible.......................................................................(1o.... 43,250
Enameled steel .do. .. 112,900
Total .............................................................................. (1.... 156,150
The material for the plastering of the office rooms and corridors was
composed of sharp clean-washed river sand and rock lime. Platforms were
erected in the courtyard whereon were placed mixing boxes for slaking the
lime and mingling the sand and hair. A soon as this was done the contents
were dumped in spaces fenced off so as to keep the material from flowing
over too great an area. It was then left in large piles for two weeks, in order
that all the particles of lime would be thoroughly slaked. The character of
the work is what is known as three-coat work; the first, or roughing-on coat,
the second coat, that brought all surfaces straight and the angles of the room
true, and the last coat a hard finish of lime, putty, and calcined plaster. This
was used in running the cornices of the rooms and corridors and in finishing
the plain surfaces of the ceilings. The finishing of the side walls was done
with a mixture of fine sand containing an ocher pigment. This sand was
used with the slaked lime, and produced a buff color when the work was
floated to a smooth and even surface. It was utilized generally for the side
walls of the office rooms and corridors.
All the ceilings of the office rooms were finished with molded cornices
in the angles. The plain surfaces of the ceilings were finished white and
troweled to a smooth surface.
The side walls of the conference room are decorated with 20 pairs of
fluted pilasters, with foliated capitals and molded bases. Each pair of pilasters
rests on molded plinths which receive the base. The side walls have 8 large
panels, with raised centers and side moldings. Over the panels and
continuing around the walls are 16 carved emblematic panels. Over the panels
a projecting cornice, ornamented with carved medallions, carved moldings
and dentals, is carried around the room. The ceiling of this room is richly
decorated. The central feature is a large sunken oblong panel with a
projecting carved molding along its outer border. Between the large sunken
panels and the sides of the wall on the ceiling line there is a series of
decorated panels with carved features of a rich and harmonious design. The
interior caps of the three interior doors have projecting pediments with carved
corbels and elaborate carved moldings. The plaster decoration of this room
is finished with Keene cement.
The ceiling in the room of the Committee on Ways and Means is in the
form of an elliptical arch running the length of the room, with three small
intersecting arches cutting it at right angles. Under these arches on the side
walls are eight large pilasters, four on each side of-the room. These pilasters
have molded dental capitals. On and around the face of the elliptical arch
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
there is a projecting rib that starts at the top of the pilaster capital of one
side and finishes at the top of the capital on the opposite side. This rib is
ornamented with small deep-sunken panels. Each panel is finished with a
carved rosette.
'1'HE ROTUNDA LIASTERWORK.
The side walls of the first floor have projecting pilasters which continue
around the soffit of the ground arch and finish on the back of the piers at
the base line. The ceiling under the arcade floor at this point is finished
with a series of groined arches, one arch between each pier. The side walls
between the pilasters are finished plain. On the arcade floor back of each
column there is a fluted pilaster with foliated capital. These pilasters stand
on marble plinths and have molded plaster bases. The ceiling-of the arcade
is finished with sunken panels and carved moldings. The side walls of the
arcade are finished with 10 large slightly sunken panels, surrounded with a
neat molded border. The plaster cornice over the colums is decorated with
a Corinthian entablature, enriched with carved lines of moldings and is
finished with carved medallions. In the soffits between the medallions are
small deep-set panels, finished with carved rosettes. There is also a line of
dentals below the medallions. The top of this cornice is finished with a large
carved Cyma molding.
From this point springs the curve of the dome. Its interior face is laid
out in radial ribs, which diminish as they reach the eye of the dome. On
the surface of the dome a series of horizontal ribs intersects the radial ribs,
forming between the lines of ribs at their intersection sunken panels, each
having a carved molding around its outer edge. Around the eye of the dome
the plasterwork is finished with a molded architrave.-
CORRIDORS AND ROOMS.
The circular corridors back of the rotunda as well as the arcade floors
are decorated with slightly sunken molded panels. The ceilings of these
corridors are finished in the angle with neat molded cornices. The plasterwork
of the different stair wells is of the same character of work. The ceiling
angles and stair soffits are all finished with a small cove molding which slightly
projects from th-ewalls and ceilings. This, however, does not apply to the
plasterwork of the wells of the winding stairs. Here there is no ceiling mold,
and the soffit of the stairs is not plastered. All the rooms adjacent to the
rotunda have the side walls finished plain, with molded cornices in the ceiling
angles.
The plasterwork of the barber shop and bathroom is finished perfectly
plain. Four projecting ribs are carried across the ceiling and conceal the steel
NO. 53. VIEW OF THE CONSTRUCTION IN THE COURT. JUNE 1 , 1906
ii.
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NWt VIEW tI:- THE CONSTRUCTION IN THE COURT. JUNE 11. 1906.
NO. 54. STARTING THE STONEWORK IN THE THIRD STORY. JUNE 2 , 1906
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NO. 54. STARTING THE STONEWORK IN THE THIRD STORY. JUNE 22, 1906.
NO. 5 . CORNER OF C AND FIRST STRE TS SE. THIRD-STORY STONEWORK NEARLY COMPLETED. SEPTEMBER 1 , 1906
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NO. CORNER OF C AND FIRST STREETS SE. THIRD-STORY STONEWORK NEARLY COMPLETED. SEPTEMBER 11, 1906.
NO. 56. BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE CONSTRUCTION. OCTOBER 15, 1906
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NO. 58. STRE T-LEVEL VIEW OF THE CONSTRUCTION. NOVEMBER 16, 1906
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NO. 59. BEGINNING THE SETTING OF THE COLONNADE ALONG B STREET. NOVEMBER 16, 1906.
NO. 60. BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE CONSTRUCTION FROM THE CAPITOL. NOVEMBER 2 , 1906
i' I I YA./
22. 1906.
NO. 60. BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE CONSTRUCTION FROM THE CAPITOL. NOVEMBER
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 49
girders that support the floor beams above. The columns in this room are
finished as plain rectangular shafts.
The post-office room has eight columns, round shafts, with molded caps
and bases. The molded ribs of the ceiling which form the sunken panels
intersect at each column cap. Around the sides of the room the indented
ribs form 16 narrow panels. The panels in the ceiling have an ornamental
centerpiece from which hangs the electric lighting fixtures. On each side of
this room there are six pilasters, with cap and base mold corresponding with
the column cap and base, and at each end of the room there are four similar
pilasters.
The smoking room is finished with a ribbed ceiling, forming 15 sunken
panels. The sides of the ribs are molded, and the panels have a carved
egg-and-dart molding finishing around the line of the ribs. The side walls
are plain.
The wire lathing for the plastered ceilings was lashed to small angles,
fastened to the bottom flange of the floor beams with clips manufactured for
this purpose. Brackets of i- by 3/ inch iron were made to conform with the
outline of the cornice moldings. The bases of these brackets were turned
into the wall in holes drilled for this purpose, and firmly wedged in place.
The top end of each bracket was lashed with a small annealed wire to the
angles that were secured to the floor beams. On these bracket forms the wire
lath was firmly fastened with the usual wire lashing. All plastered surfaces
throughout the building where steel construction was used were finished in
like manner.
EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR WOOD) FINISH.
The wood finish consists of the panel doors and jambs, transoms and
impost bars, molded base and shoe, architrave of the doors, plinth blocks,
window trim, plain door jambs, outside door and transom jambs, exterior pine
doors, window frames and sash, pine doors and frames of basement.
The interior doors of the building are faced with mahogany veneer on a
pine core. The panels are built up of three thicknesses of thin pine, glued
together with the grain of one layer running opposite to the intermediate layer.
The veneer is then applied and the panel raised and finished. The single doors
have six panels, and are generally 8 feet 6 inches high, 3 feet 6 inches wide,
and 2% inches thick. The large folding doors of the principal rooms are made
in two leaves, joined in the center with astragal moldings that conceal the
vertical joints. These doors were delivered at the building finished, and with
polished surfaces.
The interior closet doors, the communicating doors of the office rooms,
and the exterior doors of the court are manufactured of Michijan white ineL
so REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
as are also the doors of the basement corridors. These doors have plain jambs.
The jambs of the corridor office doors have sunken, embossed, and molded
panels corresponding in height with the panels of the doors.
There are eight exterior entrance doors. Five of these are of mahogany
and are located at the main entrance of the building. These doors are hung
with spring hinges, and open in or out. Each leaf of the doors has eight
lights of glass, and over it a segment-head glazed transom. South of the main
approach on New Jersey Avenue, the entrance doors to the first story are
folding doors and of pine, with segment-head glazed transoms. There are two
entrance doors on the C Street side leading to the basement. These doors have
two leaves and are made of white pine. All of the above exterior doors have
pine frames, with staff molding finishing against the masonry.
The architraves of the doors are manufactured of Michigan white pine
and are built of three members, 7 inches wide, the back member projecting
beyond the face of the plastered walls 2 inches. These have wood plinths on
the room side and marble in the corridors. The molded impost bar that
separates the door and transom is mahogany.
Entrance to the building from the driveway is had through five large pairs of
folding doors. Two pairs close the corridors and are hinged to solid pine frames.
The other three pairs are overhung sliding doors. One of them shuts off the
kitchen, and the other two, on the east side of the driveway, are sliding doors,
used for the driveway of mail matter and printed documents. These doors are
constructed of the usual rail and stile skeleton, with chamfered edges. There are
no panels. The frames are covered with matched and beaded white pine, secured
to the chamfered frame. These doors are constructed with a view to withstanding
rough service.
The window trim consists of a plain strip 5 inches wide and seven-eighths
of an inch thick, planted on the rough boxing of the frame, and receives the
plastering. The windows have an inside sill, with wall apron and molding.
The finished bases of the walls of the office rooms are of white pine. They
have a shoe mold at the bottom and are capped with a wall molding on the top
edge. This base finish is a groove cut in the back of the wood plinths of the
door architraves. All the rooms of the building, except those that have side walls
architecturally treated, have white-pine picture moldings placed 18 inches below
the plaster cornices. These moldings are 4 inches wide and 1 Y4 inches thick.
The window frames and sash are manufactured from Michigan white pine
and are of the usual box-frame type, finished against the masonry with a staff
molding secured to the walls.
The window frames of the building are of two types-casement frames,
where each leaf of the sash is hung with hinges, and mullion frames, which
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 51,
have a vertical bar separating the sash in two equal parts-and hung with sash
weights and chains.
The windows of the first story have mullion bars, and have 16 lights of
glass each. The boxing for the sash weights are on the sides of the frames
next to the masonry walls only. They are hung with iron weights and steel
chains. These chains run in flat grooved axle pulleys and are concealed over
the head of the frame. Each weight is heavy enough to balance the sash.
There are 127 of these windows.
The windows of the second story have circle heads, with mullion and
impost bars. The circle transoms have two lights of glass apiece. The
windows below the impost bars have 16 lights. There are 123 of these frames
and sashes. The transoms are hung with hinges. The lower sashes are hung
with weights and chains, as above described.
The windows of the second-story colonnade on B Street are of the same
design, but have casement frames, and all the sash are hung with hinges.
This is done so as to allow passage from the office rooms to the floor
colonnade. There are 17 of these windows, with 20 lights of glass each.
The windows of the third story have square heads, with mullion and
impost bars. The transoms are hung with hinges and have two lights each.
There are 135 of these windows, each having 16 lights. The bottom sash is
hung with weights and chains.
The windows of the fourth story have mullion frames, with the sash hung
with weights and chains. There are 127 of these windows, with 16 lights each.
There are five large windows in the court wall of the conference room.
These are casement windows. They have two molded impost bars across
them at the top. The upper impost bar, intersecting the mullion, forms four
panels of sash, of four lights each. The lower impost forms the top finish
over the two bottom sash, which are hung with hinges. There are 32 lights
in each of these windows.
There are 9 side-light windows situated at the stair landings in the three
angles of the court, 3 on each story. The side-light sash of these windows
are stationary. The two center sash, one at top and one at bottom, are hung
with weights and chains. Three of these windows show between the first
and second landings of the stairs in the first story, and there are 20 lights in
each window. Immediately above them are 6 similar windows, with the same
number of glass panes in each. In addition to the sash, these 6 windows are
extended down to the floor of the stair landing, and are braced with broad
solid-wood panels for protection.
There are 6 casement windows in the fan rooms of the basement which
have 8 lights each, are hun with hines and
____ -Tur r 11-3PS-DUVAJ11NUAX)MMISSION
also 4 windows, 2 on the east and 2 on the west of the court driveway.
These are casement windows with solid frames, and they have 8 lights each.
There are in the court wall of each story five small head windows, with
three lights of glass each. These windows light the small rooms on each side
of the corner stairways. There are 20 such windows in all. The sash are hung
with hinges, on solid rabbeted frames 2 inches thick.
The four large circular head windows in the B Street and New Jersey
Avenue pavilions have a sunken panel impost bar which separates the circle
sash from the square sash below. In the lower sash are two leaves of casement
sash, hung with hinges, and used as portals to the balcony floors. There are
14 lights of glass in each circular transom and 42 lights in each large lower
sash. The wood forming these sash is white pine. The rails and stiles of the
hinged leaves are reenforced with angle iron embedded in the wood, which is
2Y:3 inches nhick. All other sash in the building are 2 inches thick and have
check rails in the center of the windows.
Generally all of the interior woodwork of the building is plain in character
and finished white; four coats of lead and oil have been used. The only
attempt at artistic treatment appears in the mahogany paneled railing of the
raised platform in the room occupied by the Committee on Ways and Means.
This platform is reached by three steps at each end. On the first step of each
flight the mahogany panel starts from the step in the form of a scroll and
rises quickly to its finished height on the platform. There are 16 such panels
in all. Tile center panel is raised slightly above the panels of either side, and
bears in bas-relief the national emblem. The 8 panels at either side of
the central feature are slightly sunken, with covered corners. The panels are
finished with a raised molding. The grain of the mahogany is brought out by
the polished finish, and is exceedingly rich in color. The floor of the dais is
laid with white maple matched flooring.
All the interior wood finish of the building except the railing and platform
above mentioned was erected by mechanics employed by the Government.
HARDWARE.
The office doors are fitted with Sargeant & Co.'s brass-face combination
cylinder locks, with bolt attachments, brass-face plate escutcheons 9Y by 2Y/
inches, and knobs 2Y4 inches in diameter equipped with screwless spindles, all
manufactured especially for this building. The doors arm hung with heavy
five-knuckle 5 by 5 inch brass hinges, with loose holdfast pins, self lubricating.
The door transoms are hung with five-knuckle fast-joint 4 by 4 inch button-tipped
brass hinges. The transoms are fitted with lifts having travelers with an automatic
grip on a X-inch brass rod.
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 53
The casement sash have Cremorne bolts with cross-bar handles that operate
the top and bottom with one movement. These bolts are of polished brass, and
are secured with screws to the inner face of the sash. All windows are secured
with the Fitch-pattern sash fasteners and polished brass sash lifts. The stop
beads of all windows are fitted with the Ives adjustable bead screw.
All folding doors have concealed bolts at bottom and top, the top bolt
operating with a brass bar handle and the bottom bolt with a push plate.
The basement sash are hung with 4 by 4 inch brass hinges, with loose
pin butts, and are secured with brass spring bolts. The top bolt is operated
with a chain attachment.
The three double sliding doors opening into the basement driveway are
hung at the top with heavy barn door hangers, with steel tube-track and ball-
bearing sheaves. The three large portals of the main court entrance on C Street
are fitted with steel collapsible doors which fold, when open, back of the
granite piers, and are not visible from the street.
ELEVATORS, GRAVITY CONVE-YERS, AND MAIL CHUTES.
The building is equipped with five large passenger elevators and two small
ones for employees and freight. In the original plan of the building provision
was made for eight passenger elevators, of which only five have been installed.
The ornamental screens and doors have all been put in place, and are ready for
operation at any time that it is found necessary to install other elevators. These
elevators are of the Otis type, counterbalanced with sheaved gear at the top,
and are operated by a 20-horsepower electric motor. The worm-geared traction
machine has a magnet control with two speeds, fast and slow. Each elevator has
a capacity of 3,000 pounds, and while in use has a speed of 300 feet per minute.
Each machine is equipped with the latest modern safety appliances. The
entrances are fitted with ornamental steel screens, with sliding doors of the
same design. The original intention, which has been carried out, was to place
all the elevators contiguous to the stair landings on the floors of the several
corridors. The two freight elevators are located, one on each side of the
post-office room, and have entrances from the passages leading from the main
corridors to the rear doors of the post office. Their equipment is generally
the same as described for the larger passenger elevators.
There are located at convenient points in the main corridors five gravity
conveyers, installed by the Otis Elevator Co. The conveyers are constructed
of light steel sheet metal in the form of a large tube. In the center of this
tube there is a small hollow shaft made of light metal, to which the spiral
bottom of the conveyer is attached. The outer edge of the metal bottom is
turned down and riveted to the inside face of the large tube, and when
54 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
assembled has the form of a spiral chute, the spiral form being intended to
make gradual the descent. These conveyers deposit bundles and packages
on a raised platform or table in the basement-story rooms immediately below.
The openings in the corridor walls are 10 inches wide and 12 inches high,
and govern thie size of the package to be conveyed.
Five mail chutes are placed at suitable distances apart on the face of the
corridor walls of each story, and deliver in metal receptacles cut into the
brickwork of the corridor walls of the basement. These receptacles have
metal doors, fitted with locks and keys, from which the mail is collected.
The body of these chutes is rectangular and is constructed of sheet copper.
Above the openings for the deposit of letters, the front has a movable section
of plate glass, so that any congestion can be detected. The chutes are
rectangular in form, 9 inches wide and 3 inches deep. They are attached to
marble wall slabs that run from the corridor floors to the bottom of the
plaster cornices. Below the openings for the reception of letters, the body of
the- chute is enlarged and has a metal front.
COUJR'r PAVING ANI) LAWN.
Around the building line of the interior court a cement sidewalk 10 feet
wide has been laid. The coping of the walk is 6 inches above the bed of the
asphalt roadway, and decends to the entrance of the driveway in four broad
steps.
The roadbed is 20 feet wide, and slopes 6 inches, and is finished against
the curb of the parking. This curb is pierced at intervals of 50 feet with
openings that convey the surface water to the sewer intakes.
The road-bed has an asphalt surface laid on a 4-inch bed of broken stone,
and slopes 3 feet 6 inches from the angles of the court to the portals of the
driveway. Here the road is increased in width by a curved retaining wall that
acts as a support to the parking bank.
In the center of -this parking a large bowl-shaped fountain, 50 feet in
diameter and 3 feet deep, has been constructed. The concrete work is reenforced
with 3+ -inch steel bars, laced together and shaped to suit the contour of the
bowl. The outer edge of the concrete stands about 18 inches above the
parking.
The drivewayentrance to the court is through three arched openings, the
piqys and walls being of granite laid in courses the same height as the courses
of marble ashlar in the building. These openings are 9 feet 6 inches wide and
10 feet 5 inches high from the roadbed to the soffit of the arch at the center
of the opening. In order to reach these openings from the street the parking
has been omitted, and a sunken road cut and paved with asphalt blocks. This
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 55
roadbed crosses the sidewalk at two points 75 feet east and west of the portals,
and at its lowest point is protected by a concrete retaining wall, 3 feet high,
capped with a granite coping on which is set a large iron pipe railing along
the line of the sidewalk.
SUMMARY.
In summing up the dates upon which the masonry work of each story was
completed and the beams set in place, it was found difficult to determine the
exact dates on account of the delay on the First Street front. This delay was
partly on account of the unfinished condition of the railroad tunnel and the
necessity for the extra work required to obtain rigid foundations for the walls
adjacent thereto.
While the actual brickwork was commenced on the New Jersey Avenue
side of the building on July 5, 1905, the concrete footings of the deep
foundations at the corner of First and B Streets were not finished until
November 30 of the same year. The result was that when the brickwork
was started on the footings at the corner of First and B Streets, the steel floor
beams were being placed on the New Jersey Avenue walls for the first-story
floors. It was then decided to date the progress of the work from the actual
time that the steel beams of each floor were in place, complete.
The concrete work of the wall footings was commenced April 15, 1905,
and was finished November 30, 1905. The brickwork was commenced July
5, 1905, and continued during the erection of the masonry work. The first
piece of marble was laid on the C Street front on August 25, 1905; the last
piece was laid, completing the balustrade of the B Street front, on November
9, 1907.
The basement-story masonry was completed and the floor beams set in
place December 30, 1905. The first-story masonry was completed and the
floor beams set March 21, 1906. The second-story masonry was completed
and the floor beams set in place June 20, 1906. The third-story masonry was
completed and the floor beams set in place December 15, 1906. The fourth-
story masonry was completed and the attic-floor beams set in place April
15, 1907.
The steelwork of the roof was started February 12, 1907, and completed
August 14, 1907. As soon as the steelwork of the first section of the roof was
placed in position, the concrete covering was commenced and followed the
progress of the roof until completion.
The copper covering of the roof was commenced in the month of April, 1907,
and was completed during the month of November, 1907, amounting to 1,385
squares. Two hundred and eighty-seven thousand cubic feet of cut stone was
Table: [No Caption]
In addition to the 410 office and committee rooms, there is the main
conference room, with cloak rooms and lounging rooms adjoining; a dining
room, lunch room, pantries and kitchen; a post-office room, with space for
public telephone booths and telegraph office; a barber shop and bathrooms,
and in the basement the necessary storage rooms. The latter can be reached
through three driveway entrances on C Street, and at the corner of B Street
and New Jersey Avenue they connect through the new subway with the Capitol.
With the exception of the mahogany used for the doors and furniture in
the offices, all materials entering into the construction and furnishing of the
building are of domestic production.
The following list exhibits the extent to which the work was distributed
over the United States:
The marble for the B Street and New Jersey Avenue fronts and for the
rotunda and main stair hall was produced in South Dover, N. Y., while the
marble for the C Street and First Street fronts was produced in Georgia. The
limestone for the court was produced in Bedford, Ind. All of the above work
was executed under contract with B. A. & G. N. Williams, of New York City.
The marble for the interior floors, toilet rooms, etc., was produced in
Maryland, Vermont, Georgia, and Tennessee by the Hilgartner Marble Co.,
the Rutland-Florence Marble Co., the Blue Ridge Marble Co., and the
Vermont Marble Co.
The steelwork was produced in Pennsylvania, and erected by the
American Bridge Co.
The steel lathing for floors was furnished by the Roebling Co., of
New Jersey.
The plain and ornamental plastering was executed by H. W. Miller,
(Inc.), of New York City.
Elevators and gravity conveyers were furnished and erected by the Otis
Elevator Co. The machines there manufactured in Yonkers, N. Y., and the
elevator cars in Cleveland, Ohio.
NO. 61. STE L FRAMING FOR RO F CONSTRUCTION. MARCH 1, 1907
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NO. 62. VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF THE CONSTRUCTION FROM THE CAPITOL. MARCH 9, 1907.
NO. 63. CONDITION OF CONSTRUCTION, SHOWING C STRE T SECTION WITH CORNER COMPLETE. MARCH 25, 1907
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NO. 65. VIEW OF THE LIMESTONE CONSTRUCTION. SHOWING THE COURT STONEWORK COMPLETED. MARCH 30. 1907.
NO. 6 . DETAIL IN CONSTRUCTION, PAVILION AT THE CORNER OF NEW JERSEY AVENUE AND C STRE T. APRIL 18, 1907
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NO. 67. DETAIL IN CONSTRUCTION. C STRE T FA?ADE. APRIL 18, 1907
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NO. 70. RO F FRAMING OVER THE CEILING OF THE LARGE CONFERENCE RO M. JUNE 24, 1907
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NO. 70. ROOF FRAMING OVER THE CEILING OF THE LARGE CONFERENCE ROOM. JUNE 24, 1907.
NO. 71. CONSTRUCTION OF THE CONCRETE RO FING. JULY 18, 1907
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NO. 72. CONDiTION OF THE CONSTRUCTION AT FIRST AND B STREETS. AUGUST 26, 1907.
NO. 73. VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF THE CONSTRUCTION FROM THE CAPITOL. OCTOBER 26, 1907
NO. 73. VIEW OF THE CONO:TION OF THE CONSTRUCTION FROM THE CAPITOL. OCTOBER 26. 1907.
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NO. 74. SET ING THE LAST PIECE OF EXTERIOR STONE. OCTOBER 29, 1907
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NO. 75. INTERIOR CONSTRUCTION. SETTING THE ARCADE IN THE ROTUNDA SECTION. NOVEMBER 24, 1907.
NO. 76. INTERIOR CONSTRUCTION ARCADE AND COLON ADE IN THE ROTUNDA SECTION. JANUARY 31, 1908
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NO. 7 . GENERAL VIEW OF THE BUILDING FROM THE CAPITOL. NOVEMBER 23, 1908
NO. 77. GENERAL VIEW OF THE BUILDING FROM THE CAPITOL. NOVEMBER 23. 1908.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE HEATING, LIGHT-
ING, AND POWER PLANT FOR THE UNITED STATES
CAPITOL AND CONGRESSIONAL BUILDINGS i i
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Ad 7 Senate
HEN the appropriation for the House of Representatives and
Office Buildings had been authorized, the question of
heat, light, and power for the same arose. The Capitol and the
Library each had its own steam-driven plant. Both plants were antiquated
and incapable of extension sufficient to care for their own needs and provide
for the wants of the new buildings, and as the carting of coal and ashes, with
the attendant noise and dirt, had always been a source of annoyance during
the sessions of Congress, it was finally decided, after a close study of existing
conditions, that a central generating station should be built to supply all the
buildings and that the old plants should be eliminated.
It was decided to install 8,000 kilowatts of generating equipment in the
new plant, and although some have claimed that this capacity is greatly in
excess of that necessary, the Government engineers had in mind the future
increase in the number of Government buildings on Capitol Hill and
continuity of service.
The question of the location of the plant was very thoroughly considered,
and careful investigations were made of several proposed sites. The site
finally selected was Garfield Park, a plot bounded by New Jersey Avenue, South
Capitol Street, Virginia Avenue, and E Street SE. The determining factors
leading to its selection were its location directly on the Pennsylvania Railroad
and at a convenient distance both from the river and the buildings to
be supplied. Owing to the fact that Garfield Park -was a Government
reservation, no appropriation was required for the ground.
The predominating idea throughout the design of the plant has been
continuity of service, and this has been adhered to closely, even at the sacrifice,
possibly, of some points of economy. The generating system selected was
three-phase, 25 cycles, at 6,600 volts. The reasons for the selection of this system
are mainly as follows: The Capitol and the Congressional Library are both
wired for 110 volts and have numerous direct-current motors installed therein.
Obviously, 110-volt direct current would have to be supplied to these buildings
unless expensive alterations were made. It was decided, therefore, to retain
this system in the existing buildings and to install it in the new ones, so as to
WQIZ-12-2 161
62 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
have a similarity of equipment in all the buildings. The maximum transmission
distance, or that from the generating station to the Senate Office Building, is
approximately five-eighths of a mile. This distance and the load to be carried
practically determined the use of alternating current for transmission.
The decision was reached, accordingly, to generate and transmit alternating
current and to install motor generator sets in each of the four substations,
namely, the Capitol, the Congressional Library, the House of Representatives
Office Building, and the Senate Office Building. Energy had to be furnished
also for the motor-driven pumps on the bank of the Potomac River, and, since
all the load consisted practically of motors, a frequency of 25 cycles was chosen.
An -additional reason for the selection of the system finally chosen was that
until the plant was completed it was necessary to feed the substations, which
were immediately established, from the Benning plant of the Potomac Electric
Power Co., so that the generating equipment had to be interchangeable, wholly
or in part, with the equipment in the station mentioned. This arrangement
also guaranteed exceptional freedom from interruption of service, as it is not
likely that a catastrophe would wipe out both stations, which are widely
separated.
The accompanying sketch (fig. 1) shows the general character of the
system and the relative location of the various points. The construction of the
plant was begun in February, 1909, and the station was placed in operation
July 18, 1910, although the plans were prepared and the appropriation made
some years before. In fact the plant is the result of plans and ideas which
have been maturing for 10 or IS years.
POWER-HOUSE. BUILDING.
The building is constructed of red brick, from a local yard, upon concrete
foundations that rest upon 790 simplex reenforced concrete piles, 16 inches in
diameter and from 20 to 24 feet in length, the load upon each pile being
approximately 25 tons. There are two Custodis radial brick chimneys, 212
feet in height and 11 feet in diameter at the top, each serving a group of eight
boilers.
The station is well ventilated, having large windows consisting of light
metal frames and wire glass, which admit a flood of daylight. The engine-
room doors are all built of copper calamine, and the fireroom doors of galvanized
calamine.
ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT.
In the engine room there are installed four Westinghouse Parsons turbo-
alternators, each of 2,000 kilowatt rating, delivering three-phase, 2S-cycle current
at 6,600 volts. (Fig. 2.) The turbine operates at 175 pounds steam pressure, and
FIG. 1. MAP SHOWING LOCATION OF GENERATING STATION, SUBSTATIONS, AND PUMP HOUSE
FIG. 2. INTERIOR VIEW OF ENGINE RO M, SHOWING TURBO-GENERATORS AND CONDENSERS
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circuits to the auxiliary circuit, fed from the storage battery. As stated, these
auxiliary lighting circuits feed about one-fourth of the total lamp installation, so
that at no time will there be any possibility of any of the stations being in
darkness due to failure of the generating or transmission system.
SWITCIHIBOARDS.
Perhaps no feature in the design of the entire system better illustrates the
precautions taken against possible failure of supply, and also the excellent
construction and material employed throughout, than does the switchboard.
(Fig. 4.) This may be said to consist of two parts-the high-tension concrete
structure and the low-tension, marble-panel control board.
All of the high-tension apparatus, including bus bars, circuit-breaking
devices and transformers, is mounted on the concrete structure located on the
engine-room floor.
The low-tension board consists of 19 panels of white Italian marble,
mounted on a gallery immediately above the high-tension concrete structure,
overlooking the engine room. On this board are located all the low-potential
wiring, measuring instruments, and control switches, and from here the operator,
who has an unobstructed view of the engine room, controls the operation of the
entire system. He assumes control of the operation of the turbo-generators as
soon as the engineer opens the throttle, synchronizes them, and directs the
engineer to start up or shut down any machine, according to the load, as
indicated by the instruments on the board.
The switchlboard is (Iividcd into two sections, each being a duplicate of the
other, thus forming in reality two boards. The two sections are connected by
oil break and disconnecting switches that are normally in the closed position.
Should any trouble occur on one portion of the board, or should it be desired
to work on one section, the disconnecting switches can be opened and the
entire system operated from the other half of the board.
The turbo-generatorl are connected to each section of the board, thus
carrying the division to the extent of having practically two separate plants;
but one or all generators can be connected to either bus.
INSTIRIUMENT 1POSTIS.
On the engine-room floor, opposite each turbo-generator set, is an
ornamental iron post, mounted on which are the following instruments for the
information of the engineer: An indicating wattmeter, a synchroscope, a
vacuum gauge, a steam gauge showing the boiler pressure, and a steam gauge
showing the pressure inside the primary valve of the turbine or directly at the
blades.
FIG. 4. VIEW OF SWITCHBOARD, SHOWING HIGH AND LOW TENSION STRUCTURE
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A - 4
,
L't
No arrangements have been made for heating the building, and it is believed
none will be necessary, owing to the presence of the boilers and engines.
ELECT'1R IC CRANE'-MAIN STATION.
A 50-ton electric traveling crane, equipped with two 25-ton hoists, operated
by direct-current motors, is installed in the engine room, and was of great
assistance in the installation of the machinery.
MOTORS FOR MACIHINE,-SI-1lO' TOOLS.
D)irect-current motors, taking current from the storage battery, are used
for driving the various tools in the machine shop, so that should any accident
cripple the generating equipment, the machine shop could still be used in
making repairs.
SHOWEIR IA'T'IIS ANI) LOCKERS.
The welfare of the employees is not overlooked, and large, commodious
shower baths and wire-frame lockers are provided; one set for the engine-
Iroomll employees, and One for the use of boiler-room employees.
SUBS'T'A'I'IONS.
CAIBLES.
.1 11
FIG. 5. HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING SUBSTATION. SHOWING MOTOR GENERATOR SETS AND SWITCHBOARD.
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 67
SUBSTATION EQUIPMENT.
There is a reenforced concrete tunnel 6,600 feet long, 7 feet high, and 4%4
feet wide, with walls approximately 12 inches thick, running from the power
house to First Street and up First Street to the Senate Office Building, with
branches to HIouse Office Building, the Congressional Library, and the Capitol,
wherein the steam-heating mains are carried on racks spaced about 20 feet apart
to the various buildings.
S'T'EAM TUNNEIL PIPEl RACKS.
The pipe racks have been installed for a duplicate steam main. In addition
to this, provision has also been made for an 8-inch high-pressure water main
connecting fire lines in all buildings to a high-pressure pump, to be located at
the power house, taking its supply from the river.
-x=:i
FIG. 6. HOUSE OF ICE BUILDING SWITCHBOARD. DISTRIBUTING PANELS SHOWN AT LEFT
Is
1 -9- i4* S . .p
At~ n
4.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~As
FIG. 6. HOUSE
:,Ai.
_
The plant has been in operation since July, 1910, and already marked
economies in cost of operation over the old system have been noted.
CHANGE FROM OLD 'TO NEW PLANT.
It gives me great satisfaction to state that all changes from the old to
the new plant have been made without any interruption to the service.
MATERIAL FURNISHED BY CONTRACTORS.
All the electrical apparatus has been Furnished by the Westinghouse
Electric & Manufacturing Co. and the steam turbines by the Westinghouse
Machine Co., of Pittsburgh, Pa.
r'phe boilers were furnished and elected by the Atlas Engine Works, of
Inidianapolis, Ind.
The boiler feed pumps were furnished by the Warren Steam Pump Co.,
of Warren, Mass.
The electric crane was furnished by Manning, Maxwell & Moore (Inc.),
of New York.
Injectors were furnished by the Hayden & Derby Manufacturing Co., of
New York.
The steam pipe was furnished by the Ball & Wood Co., of Camden, N. J.
Coal and ash handling apparatus were furnished by the R. H. Beaumont
C!., of Philadelphia, Pa.
FIG. 7. INTERIOR VIEW OF PUMP HOUSE, SHOWING ONE OF THE VERTICAL INDUCTION MOTORS
IX
*
W
v-
-
-
-
,i
''Ifar.
a'
1.
7;-, -. -,- -
,. .1 ..,
IF' ..
I I I
M.,
I'k
Vt X
'I-II.
FIG. 7. INTERIOR VIEW OF PUMP HOUSE, SHOWING ONE OF THE VERTICAL. INDUCTION MOTORS.
Table: SUM ARY OF PIPE, EXPANSION JOINTS, ETC., IN STEAM TUN EL
Table: CABLES CON ECTING SUBSTATIONS- EXTENDING AND INCREASING OLD FE DERS IN CAPITOL, ETC.- OILED CAMBRIC INSULATION AND LEAD COVERED
~7T
SUMMARY OF PIPE, EXPANSION JOINTS, ETC., IN STEAM TUNNEL.
Feet.
14 inches......................................................................................... 1,979 9 ............ 10s
i1 inches .......................................................................................... 909 4 48
io inches .......................................................................................... 298 ............
..is..
...... ...... .
9 inches ........................................................................................... 653 3 .33
7 inches ........................................................................................... 21073 8..o6
6 inches ............ 613
14-inch .. 42
Concrete:
48-inch .....4..............
,.4,190
.........
CABLES CONNECTINO SUBSTATIONS-EXTENDING ANI) INCREASING OLD FEEDIERS IN CAPITOL, xTC.-OILDI) CAMBRIC
INSULATION AND LEAI) COVEI(EI).
Pounds.
Single ..... . . . . . 2,000,_00 C. MI. . jo,0o 108,350
Do .......................................................................................... 1,000,000 C. 'M *-- 3*- I,192 18,o54
Do .......................................................................................... 90o,00oC. M ~~700 3,669
Do ............................................ ............................. 700,000 C. M 4,048 17,752
Do .... 65o,ooo C. MI 400.... 40
i,670
Do ........... 6oo,ooo C, M * 91 3,647
Do ........ 55o,oo C. I *1..... 1,919
Dc,.......................................................................................... 503,Oc0o C. NI .. 5,680 19,717
I) .......................................................................................... 450,000 C,M. ......... 2,024 6,S46
I)o ......................................................................................... 400,000 C. NI.3,516 10,587
Io .......................................................................................... o50,000 C. hI ..,,,,, 1,814 5,073
D)o ......................................................................................... 300,000 C. I .1,844 4,647
D)o....... 2so,000 C. NI 13.04 2,956
I)o ... . . . 3-0 II. a11dl S 540 702
Do ........................................................................................ 2-0 ll. and S . 1,080 1,210
Total ........................... .............. . ......... . 37,596 1 206,509
2
103 tolls.
OILPI) CAMBIIRIC INSULATIION-DOUBLE BRAIDPI)ED.
'oundsi.
Single . . . . . . . . . . . 500,000 1,210 2,290
M) ........ I.................................................................................. 400,000 1,370 211,13
Do. 300,000 So3 6to
otal............................................ I. ...................... 3,080 15,032
I
I 2109.
Table: WIRE, CABLE, ETC., CON ECTING POWER HOUSE AND SUBSTATIONS- PAPER INSULATED AND LEAD COVERED
Table: DUCT FOR HIGH TENSION LINES BETWE N POWER HOUSE AND AL SUBSTATIONS
Table: DUCT FOR LOW TENSION LINES USED TO CON ECT OLD AND NEW WORK IN THE CAPITOL, SENATE OF ICE BUILDING HOUSE OF ICE BUILDING, AND LIBRARY
1101unds.
3. .......................................................I.......................... 40 13,000 8,226 76,633
3 ..6.............................................I.................................... 2 300 3,962 30,903
3 .. ............................0I................................................. I1-0 13,00) i,16 99,912
3. ................................................................................. 6 13,00o 9,268 43,170
................................................................................. 4 600 ,88 13,98Z
............................ I..............I.............................I.................... 1-0 600 2,69o 8,839
................................................................................. 4 600 1,123 2,64S
................................................................................. 6 6oo 1,041
Total .........................
......- 613
............4...
............
177,135
I)UCT FOR HIGH TENSION lINES BETWEEN P'OWER HOUSE AND ALL SUBSTATIONS.
Duct feet.
20-way ...1 1,934 X 20 38,68o
6-way .885 X i6 =
14,I6o
8-way. ,841 X 8=30,728
4-way .4,434 X 4 17,736
Total
---- ....... 101,304
I)UCr FOR LOW TENSION LINES USEID T0 CONNYC1 OLD) AND) NFE%' WORK IN TIlE CAPITOL, SENATE OFFICE BUILDING
HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING, AND LIBRARY.
Duct feet,
36--way ................................................................................... 119 X 36 =
4,284
FINANCIAL STATEMENT
HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING :: HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING APPROACHES :: HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING FURNISHINGS
HEATING, LIGHTING, AND POWER PLANT :: SUBWAY CONSTRUCTION.
Traveling expenIscsC
.....................,,,, 2,322.02 ....,.,,,,,,,,,,,.
,,
Skylights ....3, 3,191-74 ........ ......
APP~lROPgRIATIONS.
Sundry civil bill, May 27, 1908 ......................... ,.... $119,600.00
I)eficielncy bill, Jtulnc 17, 1910 ........................,.
, , , . ............... 12,800.00
Total ...............
I ............ I...... I........ I.............. I....... ........... 132,400.00
E.XPEII)ITURES.
Stonev work .... $78,049.42
Excav; Itiolls. .............3.........................................
I .......... 1,310.85
Concr ctc footings andI foundations .... .,. .. .,
. ............,,.... 1,718.75
Stollc and coping of areas ........................... , .,,
555.60
Marbl steps, waterproofing and roof ...1,2...,.
, , , , , .
1 z29.33
Rough brickwork ................,,...,....,....,.......,...,..10,668.68
Table: STATEMENT OF AP ROPRIATIONS, EXPENDITURES, AMOUNT DUE ON CONTRACTS, AND BALANCE ON HAND SEPT. 1, 191
APPROPRIATION.
Appropriated, sundry civil bill ............................................................... .....
S300,500.00
EXPENDITURES.
Furniture ......................................................................... $263,786.o0
Typewriters ....................................................................... 27,698.68
Shelving for bookcases, etc .......................................................... 2,734.46
Doors, jambs, etc.................................................................. 64-.o
Painting .......................................................................... 140.00
Contingent and miscellaneous supplies............................................... 3,933.40
I)rafting material .................................................................. 62.oo
Traveling expenses ................................................................. 283.87
Advertising and printing........................................................... 257.98
Hauling, telephone, and telegraph .................................................... 543.48
Draftsmen and assistants.......................................................... 394.43
299,898.31
Balance on hand Sept. 1, 1911 ................................................. * I .......... 601.69
SHELVING FOR HIOUSE LIBRARY UNI)ER FURNISHINGS.
Appropriated in urgent deficiency bill, Aug. 5, 1909 ... 4,200.00
Expended for shelving ....................................................................... 4,169.38
Balance on hand Sept. 1, 191 I........................................................... 30.62
HEATING, LIGHTiNG, AND POWER PLANT.
STATEMENT OF APPROPRIATIONS, EXPENDITURES, AMOUNT DUE ON CONTRACTS, AND BALANCE ON HAND SEPT. 1, 1911.
APPROPRIAXIONS.
Sundry civil bill, approved Apr. 28, I004 ..........................$..130,000.00
Sundry civil bill, approve(l Mar. 3,1905 .363,000.00
Sundry civil bill, approved Mar. 4,1907 . ,237,000.00
Deficiency bill, approved Mar. , 1909 .98,5oo.oo
Sundry civil bill, approve(l Mar. 4, 1911 .64,357.65
'Total .......................................................................... ,89.2,857.65
1
E X E1N BITUR ES.
E.xcavationI ....................................................................... $73,258.94
Concreting, forms, floors, etc........................................................ 42,410.71
Pipe supports and piping.......................................................... 3,513.03
Concrete footings and foundations, site ............................... 18,103.38
Roof construction ............................ 15,839.56
Stonework, court, curb, and parking................................................. 10,217.30
Rough brickwork .............................................................. 66,22S.o8
Steclwork anid frramging. 55,107.27
Tunnels-engincers' work .......................... 2,015.50
Boiler house, storage of tubes ...............................- 900.01
plastering ......................... 7,856.30
Window framies, sashes, doors, etc .................. ....... ......... 1o,642.01
Painting ......................................................................... 5,750.38
Contingent ....................................................................... 14,198.78
76 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
Ventilation .664.20
Steam heating ant(I electrical transmission. 127,179.58
Plumbing and sewers. 34,386.92
Electrical work and conduit line, including cables. 83,977.78
WVaterway and punphouse.
.124,350.68
Engineering instruments .534.26
Expenditures ,802,132.31
Due on contracts and bills .70,621.66
PittsbArg, etc., in the quickest time possible to do so, and in order to do that we are spending millions of
dollars taking out even 2-degree curves. We are trying now to get 30-mninute curves-half a degree.
Mr. CANNON. What suggestion have you to make of a curve that would give you the same-what do
you call it-radius-to get from B Street and First to the point on your main line on the same radius ?
Suppose y'ou were to mark it out--what modification would you mark it out to give you the same radius
the profile shovs ? I-low should you vary it if you had to make B and First and construct your railroad
and miss block 690 ?
Mr. BROWN. Miss this intersection ?
Mr. CANNON. I am speaking of missing that intersection.
Mr. BROWN. We could not do anything without missing that intersection. We could put that same
curve farther down here and miss the block. We 'would miss that intersection-this place here-and go
through Garfield Park-three things we are not allowed to do.
Mr. RICHARDSON. You could not go tinder that ?
Mr. BROWN. No, sir; we would have to go over that because that comes down here right sharply.
You have to raise that intersection, as it is now two or three feet. We would rather do that than to have
the road at grade or overhead. We would not %vant to build it at grade under any circumstances.
Mr. CANNON. I-low long would it take you to construct that tunnel ?
Mr. BIROWN. Well, Wve could do it this year.
Mr. CANNON. You could build the tunnel from end to end in 12 months ?
Mr. 3BRosZN. Yes, sir.
Mr. CANNON. And it would take twvo years to build that union depot ?
Mr. BROWN. It would take longer than that. It would take twvo years at least.
M r. CANNON. H-low long would it take to complete the elevation-the viaduct?
M r. BROWN. That could be all going oln at the same time. It would probably l)e done at the time
the house was being done. We would aim to get everything done by the time the house %vas ready.
Mr. CANNON. Of course you would have to have your viaduct and house before you can use your
tunnel ?
M r. 310oWN. Yes, sir.
M r. CANNON. Now, it still take three years, as I understand you, or two an(l a half years ?
M r. BROWN. A little over two years for the house.
M r. CANNON. It would take twvo years plus to build the house and viaduct, this union depot antI the
viaduct, and it would take one year to build this tunnel ?
M\4 r. BROWN. Yes, sir.
M r. CANNON. I mean working diligently; I just wanted your best judgment about it. What is the
difference in expense of making that tunnel under Garfield Park, roughly estimated-substantially the
same ?
Mr. BROWN. Yes; it would be about the same thing. The whole road would cost a good bit more,
because this would have to be all on viaducts around here. Now, we have the right to change that street,
and Wve intend to make a solid bank here and here and only bridge the street. Now, if we came along
here, we vould have to build a steel viaduct, and nobody can tell you when you can do that with the present
status of the steel business.
Mr. CANNON. How high would it be?
Mr. BROWN. It would be 2o feet high over here.
Mr. CANNON. You would not build a steel viaduct rather than make a 2o-foot bank ?
Mr. BROWN. They would not let us put a 20-foot bank diagonally across Garfield Park.
Mr. CANNON. Why not?
Mr. BROWN. They never allowed us to go in it before, and object to it.
Mr. CANNON. Why not put it across Garfield Park, providing you put the street under your viaduct
just like you do north of the Union Depot ?
Mr. BROWN. We tried that once before, and they were not willing to allow us to cross over.
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 99
Mr. CANNON. "They" mean the people you consulted with, the Engineer Commissioner or the
District Commissioners ?
Mr. BROWN. And the committee who had this in charge.
Mr. CANNON. After all, Garfield Park and the part of the city through which this runs is of no more
importance than where you make the viaduct over here on Massachusetts Avenue, is it ?
Mr. McKENNEY. 'The people in that section have always insisted so, and they beat us out before.
Mr. CANNON. In point of fact it is not one ten-thousandth as important as far as travel is concerned,
as a matter of fact, as it is up here in this vicinity ?
Mr. McKrNNEY. That is the only park in that end of the town, and there was a great outcry when
it was thought before we were going to take 2% acres off one end of it.
Mr. RICHARDSON. What would be your legal opinion as to the right of changing from the two points
fixed in the terminal act; that is, that youl must cross Newv Jersey Avenue at the intersection of D Street,
and you must strike C Street at the intersection of First Street. I-lave we that right? I will ask you, Mr.
Cannon, and you gentlemen also, without new legislation could we change the location of the Pennsylvania
Railroad from those two points that are defined in the act, or would the road have any discretion to change
from those two points ?
Mr. CANNON. I dto not know.
Mr. MASSEY. Probably unfortunately for the railroad company I happen to be in the relation of its
legal adviser and I would not feel justified in advising the railroad company the)' could depart in the slightest
way from these fixed points.
Mr. RICHARDSON. You mean the points fixed in the law ?
Mr. MASSEY. Yes, sir; that is my opinion. That is what I would be constrained to advise, because
you will observe the language of this act is,we are not only authorized, but we are required to construct
this in conformitywith the locations described in the act, and in the seventh section of the act, which refers
to the commencement of the construction, it says, "That before any portion of the work of construction
within the District of Columbia hereindescribed shall be begun, plans thereof in accordance with the
provisions of this act that shall be submitted, etc."
Mr. RICHARDSON. Then you consider that the points, the intersection of Newv Jersey' Avenue and D)
Street and the intersection of First and D Streets, are arbitrarily fixed in the law from which you could not
depart?
Mr. MASSEY. Quite right.
Mr. RICHARDSON. You think from those two points it isdiscretionary or optional withytoul as to tile
line you run as between those two points ?
Mr. MASSEY. I think that the railroad company would be authorized under the terms of this bill in
naming those two fixed points from which they are not authorized todepart, to prescribe such intermediate
line as would be reasonably practicable for the purposes.
Mr. HEPBURN. The intersection at New Jersey Avenue andI) Street might mean a variationof 150
feet, might it not ?
Mr. MASSEY. I confess that is a little bit elastic. A point of intersection between two streets would
in the ordinary interpretation ofthe phraseology refer to the intersection ofthe centers, and that would
be a conservative
Mr. HEPBURN. Yet you do not propose to reachthe center at all in B and First Streets ?
Mr. BROWN. Then there is another clause, this line must be on thewest half of the street.
Mr. MASSEY. That is anotherthing fixed. This can not be locatedeast of the center ofthe line on
First Street.
Mr. McKENNEY. The main points are fixed absolutely on the streets right through.
Mr. RICHARDSON. You have an intermediate point here which is "crossing over First Street SW.,
and Delaware Avenue SW., at a point about 40 feet north of the north house line of E Street."
Mr. McKENNEY. That fixes the point there, and it fixes the point in here at this intersection.
Mr. CANNON. But I take it, as you run your road in front of the Capitol and the Library on -hewest
half, the moment you reach the center of D Street you might slightly deflect feet from there gradually
55
100 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
up toxvard the east side of First Street east of block 690, and run your curve-in other words, there you
have f;ot i lo feet to play on, that is cast of your line as shown by your profile out here near the northeast
corner of block 690, so that NVoUld greatly ameliorate the conditions in the event you construct, I take it,
so as to avoid touching block 690?
Mr. MASSEY. WN\ould not that he in First Street ?
fITr. CANNON. But you are not confined in First Street except to B.
Mr. MASSFY. Where is your authority to be in First Street at all until we get to B Street?
Mr. CANNON. Let us look at it here. If )'o1l have not the authority, your profile is wrong.
Mr. MASSEY. That being fixed and this point being fixed, that is to say, we must go into First Street
at the intersection of 13. That is an engineering feature, and therefore, as the chairman remarks, that can
be construed as authorizing it.
M1. CANNON. It seems to me in constructing that you have got to construct it in front of these Capitol
grounds on the west half of the street. TIhe moment yol leave the west half of the street, construing the
act together, you may gradually come over here, so far as you can from an engineering standpoint, to the
very property line of First Street here, and run through First Street down to this corner.
Mr. BRoWvN. But that would make a tunnel so that )'ou coukl not run a train through it.
Ai4r. CANNON. I am1 not talking about that; but yet if you had to build that road there that would give
you that nuoch more room to go on and make your tunnel of a less radius.
Capt. J. S. SENVEtLL. You mean greater radius.
Mr. CANNON. With a greater radius than you voull if you could not strike First Street at all there.
IVr. BROWN. Then to get from that point you have to make it so sharp we could not reach that point
again. If)ou011make this curve an) easier on one sideyou have to take it out of somewhere else.
Mr. CANNON. SupposeyoIl had this lo i feet here to play on,would it make it amore favorable curve
if)'ou could come fromn here ?
M\r. BROWN. Itwould make it sharper. It would be better here than there, but you vould have to
take itul) somewhere else.
Mr. CANNON. Well, the fact remains that )oul can make that tunnel in a year ?
Mr. BiOtwN. If wve couldI put it under contract to-dca)' and give the contractor the say it would he
nearer three)'ears than-
Nm11. CANNON. Capt. Sewvell isan engineer officer in the Army anid has charge of something of con-
struction in ffiecCity. swishI nowyou vould ask questions about that curve, so as to develop the facts
about it froman engineering standpoint, so it will be inblack and white,
Capt. Sinv\i.L.. Yes, sir.
Mr. CANNON. If there is anything Nve haveomitted I wish you would take it as one engineer officer
would wvith another and discuss it.
Capt.Si}'ml.
Yes, sir.
Mr. CANNON. And wvhenyoul speak, locateyour various lines that you speak of, and curves, and
streets, and so on, so that anybodywvho reads it can trace it in connectionwith themap.
Capt. SEWvELL.. Here is Virginia Avenue, and First Street here [indicating on map]. The railroad
company has to have its line in the direction of Virginia Avenue. When it gets on Virginia Avenue it has
to be-in thedirection of First Street. The angle made by those streets represents a certain change of
direction they have to accomplish where they leave Virginia Avenue and where they strike First Street,
anti now is thequestion of how they will locate the curve in between. It seems to me thatthe only points
where we have a little latitude under the act are where the railroad crosses-the intersection of Canal Street
and South Capitol Street andwhere it crossesthe intersection of NewJersey. Avenue and D Street.
The act does not say that the point of intersection shall be considered asthe intersection of the axes of
the streets, and, as a atter of fact, this curve as laiddown does not pass through the intersection of the
m
axes ofthe streets, and would I like to ask Mr. Brown whether would
it not be possible by shoving these
points
farther south, possibly a little farther east, whetherhe could not with a practical curve, possibly a
little sharper than 30 30', come in tangent to First Street and at some point near the intersection of D Street
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 101
south. If he could do that it might get the tunnel possibly not off square 690, but still far enough to the
southeast to prevent any interference between the tunnel and this proposed building.
Mr. BROWN. rhen you mean to move the curve at the intersection of D Street and New Jersey
Avenue
Capt. SEWELL. And if necessary here [indicating on map].
Mr. BROWN. We could not move it at the intersection of New Jersey Avenue and D Street more than
2o feet at the outside, and that would not make a difference of more than lo feet on square 690.
Capt. SEhN'vEiI. Could it not be moved a little more than that ? For instance, here you had a location
once vliich is indicated by these lines. 'Fhere mist he a little more from that line to that [indicating oniliap].
Mr. BROWN. We could not move it any more from where it is now without moving Ivy Street.
Capt. SI svFrll . If the law absolutely fixes that, that may be troublesome, although the road might
pass tangent to that point with a retaining wall at that point [indicating oil map].
Mr. BROWN. There is only room for two tracks there now.
Capt. SE\wYu.I. There is only room for two tracks.
Mr. BROWN. As soon as we get out of the tunnel we want four tracks; two tracks in the tunnel, and as
soon as we get into daylight we would want four tracks.
Capt. SEWELL. You spread to four tracks here immediately [indicating on m11ap] ?
Mr. BROWN. Yes.
Capt. SEWELL. And this is just the space you need for tracks ?
Mr. BROWN. Yes.
Capt. SFWELL. If that street is fixed by law
Mr. BROWN. It is.
Mr. CANNON. Which one is that?
Mr. BROWN. Ivy Street. I think it is un(ler the paragraph for vacation of streets.
Mr. CANNON. Is that in the new bill ?
Capt. SEWEII. Yes, sir.
Mr. CANNON. What section?
Mr. McKrNNEY'. That would be in section 5 [reading]:
"The necessary land to form a western exit from IvXy' Street to Canal Street as shown on1 the Pla1e filed
by said company as required by this act."
Mr. CANNON [reading]. "That the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company shall (ledlicate to the
District of Columbia," and so forth.
Mr. McKE NNEY. That follows immediately.
"Also, in the city of Washington the following-named streets arc hereby vacated, abandoned, an(l
closed, to wit: Ivy Street, between South Capitol Strect and( a point 220 feet east thereof."
That is found at the top of page 6.
Mr. BROWN, A point 220 feet cast thereof. That is the way the plan is drawn. On the bottom of
page 5, that refers to this plan, and this is the plan [indicating]. It has a reference at the far end that this
plan is one that is mentioned in the Senate bill of such a number.
Mr. McKENNEY. We could probably squeeze that a little, and this a little [indicating on map].
Mr. BROWN. But we could not get out of that bluff.
Capt. SEWELL. How could you get to that corner ?
Mr. BROWN. Instead of entering the center line 12o feet from the house line we could probably' bring
that down to I 10 feet and still comply with this law.
Mr. Woo-s. That is practically 6o feet from the building line to the corner of the building-6o feet
that way and about ioo feet this way.
Mr. BROWN. The whole depth of the block.
Mr. WOODS. No; at this point.
Capt. SEWELL. Plot that on there.
Mr. WOODS. What is that scale; ioo feet to the inch ?
82X0-12-26
102 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
Mr. BROWN. Yes.
Capt. SEwNEIAI,. You want 6o feet to the hundred.
Mr. WOODS. It just about touches that line there.
Capt. SEWVELL. It just about hits the center line. In order to miss the building you would have to
shove it over, then, at least 25 feet. If you got the tunnel moved 25 feet to the east there you would just
about graze the corner of the building.
Mr. BROWN. You say the edge of the building is 6o feet from First Street ?
Mr. WOODS. The edge of the building is 6o feet from First Street, ices-no; I mean from the building
line, Mr. Brown.
Capt. SENE:LL. Whoever fixed that building line fixed it pretty good and hard.
MIr. CANNON. We have an irresistible force and an immovable body. The immovable body is the
railroad company, but the irresistible force was created after the immovable body was created.
Capt. SENVE LL. The center line of the tunnel Wvouldl have to be gotten 37Y2 feet from that point, and
even then part of the foundation of the building and part of the foundation of the tunnel would be a common
structure.
Mr. McKENNEY. Why should not that happen ? What would be the difficulty about that from an
engineering standpoint ?
Mr. BIoosN. About what ?
Mr. McKENNEY. About a part of the foundation of the building and a part of the foundation of the
tunnel being a common structure.
Mr. BRO\VN. It would be entirely practical. I could put a io-story house on that.
Mr. CANNON. And not shake it?
Mr. BROWN. Not shake it.
Mr. M\IcKFNN eY. That is the point.
Mr. RICHARDSON. In building your tunnel are you intending to open it from the surface to the bottom,
or only dig through ?
Mr. BROWN. Only a short distance. here is a profile of the ground as it is to-day, and here is the
track. This would be an open cut probably as far as C Street. This could be done the same way. We
could go a little farther there.
Capt. Si.wEL l . You could make the open cut a little farther to accommodate the necessities of this
building ?
Mr. BROWN. Yes. Suppose a tunnel was there built to-day. It would be a great deal safer to let
that tunnel alone and put this corner of the building away from the center line, because it would come over
the side wvall of the tunnel instead of over the arch; it would be a better foundation.
Mr. CANNON. If you0 Would put the tunnel farther in on the lot
Capt. Si.Xvtil.. Leave it where it is.
Mr. BROWN. It would be a little bit better for tile building if this line were drawn in.
Capt. Si.\vELL. That would bring that corner right over the east wall of the tunnel.
Mr. WOODS. That meaSuremlent is as close as we can make it nowv.
Capt. SEWE.LL. That street prevents any changes of these points.
Mr. CANNON. Withl your tunnel in First Street, along as it may be constructed when yo11 come to 690,
is it practical, without too great an expense, to put a switch in there in which freight, coal, and other things
could be delivered ?
Mr. BROWN. Out of the tunnel?
Mr. CANNON. Out of the tunnel into the basement of this building.
Mr. BROWN. I would not like to do that. I would not like to put a switch in the tunnel. We have
enough risk in the matter now without an open switch.
Mr. RIIADItSON. Suppose you made the switch a line from the south entrance up to B Street and to
the intersection of First Street without having them connect there with the main line ?
Mr. BROWN. There would not be any trouble about putting that switch here, about Ivy Street, and
rimnnintx it alongside of the tunnel ut into this block, crossing the streets at grade.
REPORT OF THE HOUSE
OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 103
Mr. RICHARDSON.
Mr. BROWN. That
would have to approach
I mean, put
would
prepared
a
be
third track in the
safe
to
for the
stop, and
tunnel, not to
passenger
there would
traffic.
run
It
through,
is
tunnel,
running
trains
and
in.
trains
trains
through
Mr. there.
WOODS. Then, according your idea, you do not want to put a switch in there of any kind ?
Mr. BROWN. If
Mr. WOODS. Not in the tunnel.
)'ou could
put switch in
there, it would mean a great saving in handling
documents,
and Mr.
so on,BROWN. We go over that
street and under this
one, and there would be no trouble in putting a
passengers. You
and there is a great
you have a wreck in a tunnel you can not get the passengers
understand
of
there, out
deal
trouble. That was illustrated in the wreck on the New York Central
iii the
tunnel. I could build it
there, but am sure the transportation department would not wvork it.
Mr. CANNON. It is entirely practicable, however, to build thesxvitch ?
Mr. BROWN. Here ? Entirely so.
Mr.
Mr. CANNON. Would that be an expensive construction ?
BROWN. No,sir. expense, suppose,would be to get property
The
most
this where run
IVlr.SE~EWI.E.
story of that building, to go through there in a cut ?
Capt.
BROWN. Yes; that
pretty heavy grade there, but
is a
p
Yes. You have some retty heavy grades there as it is.
much
tunnel [indicating on map]. It is perfectly practicable for a sidetrack.
than here out not worse to get of the
Mr.
main track at the south
I do
why there
some
point outside of
not
be
of
would
you had your sidetrack
the
leave
any danger
your
Street,
probably.
Mr. RICHARDSON. it level with your track?
Why would not be on the same
Mr. CANNON. I will say this. We do not want any delay in the construction of this building, and as
one individual Member of Congress I do not want any delay in the construction of this tunnel.
Mr. NEALF. We will go right ahead, if Mr. Brown says so.
Mr. CASSELS. The railroad company is certainly not going to delay.
Mr. RICHARDSON. It will be entirely feasible and entirely agreeable to your operating engineer to
work in constructing your part of the tunnel in harmony with Mr. Woods, our superintendent, in making
the foundation of the building.
Mr. BROWN. Certainly. We can fix that between us without a bit of trouble whatever.
Mr. MASSEY. It may not be inappropriate to observe, if I may be allowed to interject this suggestion,
which is entirely in harmony with the inquiry propounded by one of the members of the commission (I
think it was Mr. Richardson) some moments ago with respect to the additional expenditure that will be
required to make the construction of that portion of the tunnel, the strength of the walls, and the other
equipment in connection with it, adequate for the purpose of your intended construction, I think it may
be assumed-I think I will be willing to assume-that whatever additional outlay that is imposed upon
the railroad company so far as this structure is concerned as the superstructure in connection with your
superstructure, that there would be no claim made b)y the railroad company against the Government for
that additional expense.
Mr. RICHARDSON. It is very well to have that in the record.
Mr. MASSEY. I think I ought to say it--
Mr. RICHARDSON. I asked, in order that we might have an expression from you gentlemen, as to
whether you thought it would be of sufficient moment or importance to justify you gentlemen in saying
that we had added additional obligations upon you or made any exactions upon you in requiring you to
conform your subway to our superstructure.
Mr. MASSEY. We do agree that it is an additional exaction and that it does involve an additional
expenditure, the amount of which I can not state, but it is but fair and right that you should have an answer
to the inquiry; and I think I will be safe in assuming-I will assume-that whatever additional expenditure
may be required in the construction of the tunnel to accommodate the superstructure the railroad company
will make. Am I right?
Mr. BROWN. Yes.
Mr. CASSELS. Do you not think itwould be fair tosay we will divide it?
Mr. MASSEY. No; I have said what I have said.
Mr. BROWN. Itwill not cost any more to reenforce that tunnel---
Mr. CASSELS. It ought not be much oneway or the other.
Mr. BROWN (continuing). And carry this building than whatwe customarily put in if that were not
there at all.
Capt. SEWELL. The total amounts of money involved will be very small anyway.
Mr. BROWN. Mr. Massey is right.
Mr. RICHARDSON. I think the main point is to have your superintendent work in harmony with ours,
so that there will be no conflict in bringing the two points together.
Mr. MASSEY. The committee will understand that has already been assented to by the chief engineer
of the railroad company.
Mr. RICHARDSON. If there was any controversey to arise during the construction, who would be the
arbiter on the part of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co. in getting together with our superintendent?
Mr. MASSEY. What was that?
Mr. RICHARDSON. I say if there were any disagreement between the constructor in charge of your
subway and our superintendent in putting our foundations there, who would be the final arbiter of that
question ?
Mr. MASSEY. The chief engineer.
Mr. RICHARDSON. And he is now present?
Mr. MASSEY. He has consented to it.
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 109
Mr. RICHARDSON. Then if our superintendent, Mr. Woods, or whoever he might be, did not agree
with your man or act in harmony, then this commission might be called in. I do not know about that.
At any rate, Mr. Brown speaks for your road ?
Mr. MASSEY. There would be no room for any dispute there, as I understand Mr. Brown. If I
misunderstand him, he will correct me. His statement was that there will be no difficulty in seeing that
the railroad company's work is done in such fashion as would be satisfactory to the representative of your
commission. Am I right?
Mr. BROWN. Yes.
Mr. MASSEY. I thought that covered the whole of it.
Mr. CASSELS. On the other hand, whom should we appeal to-to Mr. Woods, on the part of the
Government ?
Mr. CANNON. We will represent the Government. Mr. Woods is superintendent of construction.
Of course Mr. Woods's opinion about this matter from the standpoint of an expert, if necessary, reenforced
by Capt. Sewell and Mr. Green, we would be apt to rely upon, although not knowing a thing about it.
Mr. MASSEY. We understand that this commission is the center, the source of authority, with reference
to this construction-the final source of authority with reference to this construction on the part of the
Government.
Mr. CASSELS. No; is not the construction in the Interior Department ?
Mr. HEPBURN. No; merely condemnation.
The CHAIRMAN. Condemnation.
Mr. MASSEY. Therefore, if there was any controversey or criticism too remote to be even within the
limits of possibility, in view of what Mr. Brown has said, his statement was that the railroad company
would make its construction such as would be satisfactory to those who were charged with the supervision
of the governmental annex.
Mr. CANNON. You spoke a little bit ago of an examination by the respective engineers and of consul-
tation between the legal authorities, the solicitors, as to what can be done under the law as it is, and see
how far the whole thing can be done without additional legislation. That of course would progress; we
would go on and designate to the Secretary of the Interior this block. He would proceed to get the title.
Now, I can conceive of a question arising as to whether this commission would have tie authority to grant
an easement under the block to which we acquire title without legislation. You can see at once that
question.
Mr. MASSEY. I appreciate, Mr. Chairman, the pertinency and force of that inquiry; but it seems to
me that inasmuch as Congress has already authorized and required the railroad company to locate and
construct its tunnel railroad and its viaduct railroad upon a certain defined route, that the assent of Congress
has already been given to that location and to that use, and therefore that the exercise of that easement
would be in no way inconsistent with what has been declared to be the congressional intent and purpose;
and, although the property may be acquired by the Government, and the fee acquired, and, as I understand,
of course, the Government would desire to acquire its title, and probably find it indispensable so to acquire
it, it would nevertheless be a fee charged with the railroad easement-I mean upon the assumption that
the railroad's interest was not divested-charged with easement, and the fee would be a fee of the United
States.
Mr. CANNON. Considering the two companies together?
Mr. MASSEY. Considering the two companies together.
Mr. RICHARDSON. The only difficulty that strikes me in that, Mr. Massey, is that Congress does not
by an act, up to this time, acquire a title to square 690, but we go along in the exercise of a discretion given
to the commission, and we choose that square after legislation.
Mr. MASSEY. I concede that; but while the acquisition is made under a subsequent act, it is not the
act of this commission that makes the acquisition of title. The title is derived, as I understand it, by the
process of condemnation.
Mr. RICHARDSON. That gives us the absolute fee.
823-12-27
110 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
Mr. MASSEY. That gives you the absolute fee.
Mr. RICHARDSON. Then where does your right come in to the easement subsequent to the acquisition
of a fee?
Mr. MASSEY. But Congress has subsequently authorized and defined the location for the railroad
which they have not only authorized and empowered us to construct, but have changed the phraseology
in the original act, which Congress thought it wise change, although they required us to construct. So
to
that the peculiarity of this phraseology I was struck with when the amendment wovas made. The language
I employed, " authorized and empowered," and the committee struck out empowered andI said " required." " "
The)' meant to make it mandatory. It is not inconsistent, I with the Government title in fee that
can say,
the easement may be exercised on the location precedently established Congress.
Mr. RICHARDSON. As the obligation in no wise interferes with our full and complete use of tile fee.
Mr. MASSEY. Quit.o
right, sir.
Mr. RICHARDSON. It is no impairment of our right to it or to affect the utility of it, so far as we are
concerned, an(l in no wise impairs the value of our fee.
Mr. MASSmE. Nor in noway interferes with the purpose you intendl todevote it to.
Mr. CANNON. Is there anything else?
Mr. MASS F Y. Then, as I understand it, we leave the matter in about this situation: That it is understood
that our own construction will bemadewith reference to and in view of the needs and necessities of the
sul)erstructural conditions, and that the railroad company is to make its structures ill such fashion as vidl
be satisfactory to and approved by, in accordance wVith Mr. Brown's undertaking, those who represent
tile United
shall
States-tthe
authorities representing the United States with regard to this building-and that
be so far as the railroad company is concerned(,
without claim any)
or demand upon the United upon
MARCH 9, 1903.
The commission met at 2 o'clock p. m., pursuant to adjournment of last meeting. All of the members
were present.
J. A. Collins and John Lovett, citizens of Washington, D. C., appeared, and were accorded the
following hearing:
STATEMENTS OF J. A. COLLINS AND JOHN LOVE'X'.
Mr. COLLINS. We came up to get some information and make some statements in regard to block
No. 635.
Mr. CANNON. Which one is that?
Mr. COLLINS. The one where the car line is.
Mr. CANNON. Where- the cow barn is ?
Mr. COLLINS. Yes, sir.
Mr. CANNON. Not the one where the marble yard is ?
Mr. COLLINS. No, sir.
Mr. CANNON. You mean the corner block ?
Mr. COLLINS. Yes, sir.
Mr. CANNON. Now, just as briefly as you can, make the statement.
Mr. COLLINS. I want to show you what our idea is. Possibly you might not have had your attention
called to certain things that could be done with that block that would give it special advantage over the
other blocks. From Delaware Avenue to First Street there is a fall of nearly 40 feet--39 feet odd.
Mr. CANNON. From the Butler Building?
Mr. COLLINS. No; not from the Butler Building-from the corner below that, where the marble yard
or stone yard is.
Mr. CANNON. You mean from one corner to the other there is a fall of 4o feet ?
Mr. COLLINS. Yes, sir. I had a map with me at home that would show it, but I had no idea of making
a statement and so I did not bring it with me. Now, First Street is IO feet above tidewater-
Mr. CANNON. First Street is away up here [indicating].
Mr. RICHARDSON. No; he means First Street SW., Mr. Cannon.
Mr. COLLINS. Yes; that is IO feet above tidewater. Now, it is 39.89 feet to the top there, so that it
is a fall of nearly 40 feet from one corner to the other. Now, if you build a building there you have two
subbasements of i6 feet at least, and all lighted from the outside by windows, without any excavation at all.
Well, then, on the south side the fall is pretty nearly the same. There is a fall from the B Street to
the C Street side which would leave you one story lighted from the oustide, so that you would have natural
light all the way around.
The Pennsylvania Railroad runs two blocks south from Pennsylvania Avenue. They want to put the
power house that heats and lights it in that block. You can build a spur from the railroad there, from
that railroad, by which you can run the coal right into that building without any digging or grading.
Then, in the other direction the Printing Office stands on G Street near First Street. Now, you have
an enormous mass of documents to haul to the folding room from the Government Printing Office, and
that all can be brought up to that building without any haul uphill.
Mr. CANNON. You mean to run a track up First Street ?
Mr. COLLINS. By a street line, or in wagons, just as you please. You would have no grade to overcome.
You can put your entire power plant there, and never haul a pound of coal, by building a spur from the
railroad into that lower subbasement to First Street, which is lo feet above tidewater.
114 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
And another thing: On the opposite side on that same line are the Senate offices-the Maltby House.
Now, you have massed up on the east from here [pointing] the Library and the Supreme Court Building
and all the improvements that have been made on1 this side of the Capitol. This west front is barren,
almost. It is adesolation there. And the north side is fairly improved from First Street to the Maltby.
Now, if you had this new building down on this side, with the Maltby or a new building in its place over
there on that side-and I believe there is a provision made by the Senate to that effect-and they should
have the same consideration for their own comfort ash
Mr. CANNON. No; there is nothing about the Senate OfficeBuilding in the law that passed.
Mr. COLLINS. Anyway, you would have the House wing on one side and the Senate wing on the other;
an(lwould havethe anBotanic Gardenallisthebelow. Now, if that
then other block near No. 635 was turned into the Mall you
open park way through, and this part would be improved in comparison with that
of the Capitol. But the especial advantage would be the approach for that heavy machinery
onandthecoaleastandsidesupplies and heating apparatus,without any hauling.
Mr. CANNON. Do you control that
Mr. COLLINS. Yes; practically.
property?
Mr. CANNON. What is it worth ?
Mr. COLLINS. Well, that is a question that I am not at liberty to state. I do not know. The interest
rests in a friend of mine, and he will have to make the arrangement himself as to the price. I do not know
anything about the price.
Mr. LovE'rr. The price would not be exorbitant; I know that.
Mr. CANNON. That would depend upon what you would call exorbitant.
Mr. LovrErr. 178,000
I made an estimate. You have 690
square feet in block No. 635. In No. you
have 201.000 square feet. Now, youdeduct area alleyways in both blocks, you have a difference of
if the of
23,000 square feet. Now, there areno improvements to speak of on No. 635. They are practically valueless.
But here [referring to block No. 69o] you have a fine hotel, and Judge Holt's old residence on the corner
back there, and all the other valuable buildings, with $2oo,ooo or $300,000 worth of improvements.
Mr. CANNON. You have no idea of what the value is ?
Mr. LovF'ri. Estimating the land value at the same price, you have got to go 4o feet underground to
get the same level you are at on First Street SW.
MTr. CANNON. How far have you to go, did you say? You are IO feet above tidewater, in a swamp.
Would you not have to go 20 or 30 feet down there for a foundation?
Mr. LovwErr. I have never been underground there, or attempted to make a foundation; but at any
rate you would save enough in the area, more than enough, to pay for that difference.
Mr. CANNON. Why?
Mr. Lovir-r. Because you have more in this block already than in this [indicating], and you have no
iml)rovements that you will have to throw away and pay for.
-Mr. CANNON. There are no alleyways through the other block, No. 635?
Mr. COILLINS, Oh, certainly; there is a large alley, 30 feet wide, that runs from north to south in this
block, No. 635, and the calculated area of this alley is deducted from the general area of the whole block,
because the area of the alley belongs to the United States already.
Mr. RICHARDSON. We would not have to pay for that area?
Mr. COILILINs. No; so there is a difference of nearly 24,000 square feet in the block, and the alley the
United States already owns, and you would not have to pay for expensive buildings on the ground.
Mr. LovFrir. I will give you some idea. The best of it would be somewhere in the neighborhood
of $4. a foot.
Mr. CANNON. Down here?
Air. LovTorr The best of it-for that which lies up the hill.
Mr. CANNON. Why, block No. 690 and this block together are not worth $4 a foot if you were to put
one of them right on top of the other, in my judgment.
Mr. HEPBURN. At $4 a square foot that would be more than four times the appraisement.
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 115
Mr. COLLINS. You have got 178,ooo feet in block No. 635. At $4 a foot that would be $712,000.
Mr. HEPBURN. It is all appraised at $240,000.
Mr. LovErr. Property is not appraised at anything like its real value in this city.
Mr. HEPBURN. They say it is appraised at 6o per cent of its real value. At $+ a foot we could not
touch that at all, because the appropriation is not sufficient.
Mr. LovFr'r. Excuse me; for the whole block it would not be probably more than a half of that.
When I said $+ a foot, I was speaking of the upper corner there.
The commission went into executive session, whereupon the following action was had:
On motion of Mr. Hepburn, it was determined by the commission that, of the squares mentioned in
the act authorizing the commission, and for other purposes, the block numbered 690 be chosen as the one
to be acquired as a site for the office building in contemplation. And accordingly the following notice of
their action ill the promises was prepare(l and signed for delivery by the commission to the Secretary of
the Interior:
House OF REPRESENTATIVES,
JJas/iwgton, D. C., Marc/i 9, I9o.
Hon. E. A. HITCHCOCK,
Secretary of the Interior.
DEAR SIR: At a meeting held this 9th day of March, 1903, of the commission of the House of Repre-
sentatives appointed March 3, 1903, as attested by the Clerk of the House of Representatives in the accom-
panying certificate, and under authority of the following provision contained in the act entitled "An act
making appropriations for sundry civil expefises of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30,
I904, and for other purposes," approved March 3, I903, namely-
"To acquire a site for, and toward the construction of, a fireproof building for committee rooms,
folding room, and other offices for the House of Representatives, and for necessary office rooms for Mlenm-
bers thereof, to be erected on one of the squares bounded by B Street south, C Street south, First Street
east, and First Street west, as the commission hereinafter provided shall determ;ile, $75o,ooo; and said
building shall be constructed substantially according to the plans prepared under thle provisions of an act
of Congress approved March 3, 190i, with such modifications as may be found necessary or advantageous,
and at a cost, exclusive of site, not to exceed $3,i00,000, for any part or all of which sutmn contracts are
authorized to be entered into. Said construction and letting of contracts including the employment of all
necessary skilled and other services shall be under the control of the Superintendent of the Capitol Building
and Grounds, subject to the direction and supervision of a commission, which is hereby created, to be
composed of three members-elect to the House of Representatives of the Fifty-eighth Congress to be
appointed by the Speaker of the Fifty-seventh Congress; vacancies occurring, by resignation or otherwise,
in the membership of said commission shall be filled by succeeding Speakers of the House.
"The commission herein authorized shall, within thirty days after their appointment, determine wh/ic/
of the squares above described shall be acquired and used for a site for the building herein provided for, and
shall notify the Secretary of the Interior in writing of their determination, whereupon the Secretary of the
Interior shall, within thirty days after the receipt of such notice, proceed in the manner prescribed for
providing a site for an addition to the Government Printing Office in so much of the act approved July 1,
i898, as is set forth on pages 648 and 649 of volume 30 of the Statutes at Large, to acquire the square so
determined upon; and for the purposes of such acquisition the Secretary of the Interior shall have and
exercise all the powers conferred upon the Public Printer in said act.
"The appropriations herein and hereafter made for said site and building shall be disbursed by the
Secretary of the Interior"-
the undersigned members-elect to the House of Representatives of the Fifty-eighth Congress constituting
said commission, determined, and hereby notify you as required in said provision of law, that they have
determined, that of the squares mentioned in said law, the one which is numbered 69o, bounded on the
east by First Street SE., on the south by C Street SE., on the west by New Jersey Avenue SE., and on
116 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
the north by B Street SE., and separated from the southeast section of the present Capitol grounds by
13 Street SE., shall be acquired by you in the manner prescribed, and used for a site for the building
mentioned and authorized to be constructed by said law.
Please acknowledge receipt hereof.
Very respectfully, J. G. CANNON,
W. P. HEPBURN,
JAMES D. RICHARDSON,
Members of the Commission.
On motion of Mr. Hepburn, it was
Ordered, T hat the Superintendent of the Capitol be directed to make all necessary borings, examina-
tions, and investigations on block No. 690, with a view to the designing of the necessary foundations for
the building contemplated by the act.
And on motion of Mr. Hepburn, it was
Ordered, That the Superintendent of the Capitol be instructed to communicate with competent first-
class architects in relation to the architectural work of the elevation and interior of the building contem-
plated by the act, and that he report their names and terms to the commission.
Thereupon the commission, at 3 o'clock p. m., adjourned, subject to call.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Washington, D. C., MarchI12, 1904.
The commission this clay met at i.30 o'clock p. in. in the Speaker's room. All of the members were
present.
There appeared before the commission Mr. George V. Massey, general counsel, accompanied by
Messrs. John Cassels and S. C. Neale, of counsel, for the Pennsylvania Railroad; Maj. John Biddle,
Engineer Commissioner of the District of Columbia, and Mr. Elliott Woods, Superintendent of the Capitol
Building and Grounds; whereupon the following proceedings were had:
STATEMENT OF MR.G. V. MASSEY.
Mr. MASSEm. Referring to thepleasant conferences that Iwas privileged to havewith the commission
last Saturday and to the consensus of views thatwas then reached, which I then stated distinctly should be
regarded on our part as an agreement, subject to the approval of the president of the company, as you will
recall, although Idid not feel I was authorized to make a finality of the matter until I first had submitted
it to his consideration; but, pursuant to the understanding, both Mr. Brown and myselfsubmitted it to
him on Monday morning and stated to him that we had stated to the commission that we would recommend
the acceptance of that to him.
Mr. Cassatt considered the matter very carefully and said in substance that his assent and approval
had been given to the proposition,which was tentatively consented to at the conference a year ago, with
reference tothe construction of asiding into the annex building at the cost of the railroad company, when
the company indicated its willingness to contribute that cost upon the hypothesis that the plan of the annex
building, as then tentatively contemplated by the commission, would involve an additional expenditure on
the part of the railroad company beyond what would be required in the ordinary course of tunnel construc-
tion of from $5,ooo to $8,ooo, but that under the present conditions the plan, as now determined upon, of
a building which would cover the entire tunnel enlarged the expenses of the railroad company in construction
by the sumof $43,230, so that there was that essential feature of difference in the two conditions; and
therefore ifthe commission were inclined to insist upon the theory of an adjustment on the basis of the
antecedent conditions, as assented to a year ago, without reference to the value of the easement, which I
reported to him was the sentiment of the commission, he felt that that payment by the company ought to
be considerably reduced.
Now, frankness becomes every situation between gentlemen, and especially between gentlemen under
conditions of this sort. I feel a little bit embarrassed about it. Possibly I was a little too liberal in' my
view. At the same time I made that proposition, and I made it in good faith and I assented to it in good
faith and I presented it to the president in good faith, and I think I am entitled, in a proper way, to appeal.
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 131
to the liberal sense of the commission in the matter. But with the understanding that I made it in good
faith-and I am going to stand by it-if you do not think, under all the circumstances, that it ought to be
abated, I would like to make this suggestion to the commission: Considering all these features and giving
due weight to them, if the payment of the contribution by the railroad company be reduced to $30,000 in
cash, it will be fairly acceptable all around, and certainly up to the full measure of the equities in the case,
as I view it.
That is the suggestion I have to make for your consideration, gentlemen.
Mr. CANNON. I have not reread that original hearing since probably in December, and my " forgettery"
is pretty good; but I have an impression of what seemed to me to be a fair construction of the whole
conversation at that hearing.
* * * * * * * * *
Mr. HEPBURN. You know, gentlemen, $Io,ooo can excite a good deal of criticism, as you will believe
when I tell you that the whole money value involved in this controversy of this last week in the House of
Representatives relating to Post Office Department matters was $14,170.
Mr. MASSFY. That I understand perfectly well, Col. Hepburn. But in answer to what you say you
said, Mr. Speaker, the strength of this position from our standpoint, as I view it, is that the proposition of
$30,000 is ample, full, just, and equitable, and defensible anywhere, and before any forum.
Because what is the situation ? We think there would be a good deal of contention, which I have
referred to heretofore-that is to say, that the route has been located by Congress; we are required to
construct on that route; we can not depart from it. Those were fixed conditions, and subsequently Con-
gress passed an appropriation bill which contained a provision for the constitution of this honorable comn-
mission and the selection by them of a site for this annex building. Therefore, the repeal did not rest on
a qualification by necessary implication, but the commission was required by that bill to make a location
in a larger territory.
Therefore having located and acquired that site in accordance with the determination of the preceding
year by Congress locating and fixing the route of the road, and with no means to alter it, it seemed to me
that there was a good deal of force in the suggestion that the Government must be taken to have acquired
that site subject to the necessary easement for that railroad that they had required us to construct on that
route.
We are not asking the Government for any money. It is not any appropriation of the Government's
money. But we are paying money-a contribution or consideration-for a title which has that feature of
doubt and uncertainty about it at the outset, from the Government standpoint; so that, in fact, we are
paying, Mr. Speaker, in the last analysis--if we pay $3o,ooo instead of $40,oo0-we are actually paying
$73,ooo for that subsurface route, with the surface untouched, and with the largest opportunity to utilize it
for the purposes of this site, as fully and completely as if there was no tunnel or railroad under it.
Mr. CANNON. There is something other, now, than this in the whole proposition. I regard as advan-
tageous to you the change involved in the abandonment of the little tunnel into the basement of this annex
basement, just of from your passenger route, and the placing of it down on your freight line, exactly where
you want it when you come to serve the Government and where the Government will serve you in the way
of business, and it seems to me if I was the Pennsylvania Railroad I would not take $50,000 for that change.
Mr. MASSEY. There is an element in that, Mr. Speaker, and a factor of some consequence from the
operating standpoint. I concede that is not without its value, and I do not minimize it. But are we not
paying $83,ooo, in fact, for this right of way? Is not that just what we are doing to-day if we were to
pay $40,000 ? And are we not paying $70,000 if you accept the proposition for $30,000 ?
I have simply presented what I had to say, and I have presented it as briefly as possible. I have
simply presented the equities of the situation as they appear to us, and as they appeared to Mr.-Cassatt,
for your consideration and for such action as you think proper and right under all the circumstances. I
do not want to be understood for a moment as departing from any definite understanding, as we had it,
subject to the approval of the president of the company. There is no misunderstanding as to what passed
between us.
132 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
Will it be the least embarrassing to you-to any member of this commission-will it be the least
embarrassing to make this change ? If it is, that ends it right here.
Mr. CANNON. I have been doing most of the talking-
Mr. MASSEY. If it will be in the least embarrassing to you, Mr. Speaker, we will not disagree.
Mr. CANNON. I will not refuse to face anything that is fair; but from my general recollection of that
whole hearing, and from mdy understanding, frafikly, it would be embarrassing to me.
Mr. MASSEY. Then we 'need not discuss it another minute, Mr. Speaker. That ends it.
Mr. CANNON. We have not retired to consult. Let the other brethren speak for themselves.
Mr. HEPBURN. I think it would be very much better, in view of all the circumstances, that the amounts
that were name(l l)efore should be adhered to.
Mr. CANNON. Do you agree, Mr. Richardson ?
Mr. RICHARDSON. I agree; certainly I agree.
Mr. MAss Y. Then let me have a pen and I will sign it right here.
Mr. RICHARDSON. I will say with perfect frankness that what I said to you after the last hearing
was said sincerely, and that was that I thought we did not lose anything in the trade. That was my
language. I can not decline to say it again. Yet as it is a little embarrassing to us all, in view of all the
circumstances, I am willing, however, to say what I said on the floor of the House in justification of it. I
think it is right to (1o it. It is what we have agreed to as fair and right and just. At the same time--
Mr. CANNON. The railroad has conceded, you would say, quite all, under the understanding that it
ought to and that it is fair to the House and the country, all around ?
Mr. RICHARDSON. I would say we out-traded them.
Mr. CANNON. I would not say that. I would not want to say that.
Mr. MASSEY. I do not think you have traded, Mr. Richardson. I made this proposition in view of
what passed in the hearing a year ago. I thought it was a fair and just and reasonable conclusion to be
dlrawvn from it, although I confess I did not give proper weight to the additional cost that would be entailed
by this change. May I read this provision ?
Mr. CANNON. Yes.
Mr. MAssrEY (reading):
"Upon payment into the Treasury of the United States by The Washington Terminal Company of
the Sum of forty thousand dollars, and the undertaking of said company, at its expense, to construct and
maintain a siding from a connection with the tracks of the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington
Railroad Company to a heat, light, and power building intended to be established and maintained at a
point oln Government reservation numbered seventeen, near the line of New Jersey Avenue extended, in
connection with and appurtenant to the fireproof building for committee rooms, folding room, and other
offices for the [louse of Representatives, authorized by act of Congress, approved March third, nineteen
hundred and three, entitled 'An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and three, and for prior years, and for other
pllrposes,' the said The Washington Terminal Company, its successors and assigns, shall have and be
possessed of the right and to occupy and use for the location, construction, and operation of its railroad,
authorized by act of Congress, approved February twenty-eighth, nineteen hundred and three, entitled
'An act to provide for a union railroad station in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes,' a
subsurface parcel of land through and beneath square six hundred and ninety, in the city of Washington-
recently acquired by the United States as the site for the fireproof building-of such width, not less than
seventy feet, as shall be required for the location, construction, and operation of said company's railroad
on the route as located conformably to the requirements of said last-mentioned act"-
Mr. CANNON. "Of such width, not less than 70 feet ?"
Mr. MASSEY. Yes, sir.
Mr. CANNON. What would be the maximum ?
Mr. MASSEY. I was furnished with this plan, Mr. Speaker. You have a copy of this, have you not,
Mr. Woods?
Mr. Woois. Yes, sir.
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 133
Mr. MASSEY. That is 76 feet.
Maj. BIDDLE. That is a cross line. A straight line would be this way [indicating on plan].
Mr. CANNON. I was only going to say that somebody might say-
Mr. MASSEY. Suppose I put that in as "more or less" ?
Mr. CANNON. Yes, I think that would be better; or perhaps it would be claimed that in the future
it might anticipate an additional tunnel.
Mr. MkSSEY. Very well, suppose I say "not exceeding 70 feet ?"
Mr. CANNON. Yes.
Mr. MASSEY (continuing):
"Of such width, not exceeding seventy feet, as shall be required for the location, construction, and
operation of said company's railroad on the route thereof as located conformably to the requirements of
said last-mentioned act. The said railroad to be located and operated in a tunnel, which shall be con-
structed in such manner, and of such structural strength, as to assure the safe and convenient use of said
square six hundred and ninety for the purposes of said building site, in accordance with plan of construction
to be approved in duplicate original by the Superintendent of the United States Capitol Building and
Grounds, and also by the chief engineer of the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad Company;
and one of such duplicates shall be filed by said superintendent and the other delivered to said the
Washington Terminal Company."
Mr. WOODS. Will you repeat that clause-" as to assure" ?
Mr. MASSEY (reading):
"The said railroad to be located and operated in a tunnel, which shall be constructed in such manner
and of such structural strength as to assure the safe and convenient use of said square 690 for the purposes
of said building site."
I restore that. Probably I put that a little more strongly than I promised to do. That is what I
understood you wanted. I tried to carry out your wish.
Mr. CANNON. And then you refer to the plan of construction, and it is to be approved by your chief
engineer and Mr. Woods?
Mr. HEPBURN. I think that covers it.
Mr. RICHARDSON. I think so. You mean safe, convenient, and secure against all vibration, I suppose,
and damage to the walls ?
Mr. MASSEY. Yes, sir.
Mr. RICHARDSON. And to decorations on the walls ?
Mr. MASSEY. It would not be safe unless it did that, Mr. Richardson.
Mr. CANNON. If you get the description large enough, you always weaken it if you go into details.
I do not know but that it is large enough. Then the plan is to bring it about by your chief engineer and
our representative ?
Mr. MASSEY. I intended to put it in such fashion that it would not be open to any debate.
Maj. BIDDLE. Is that the part of the tunnel that is under that square [indicating] ?
Mr. MASSEY. Yes, sir.
Maj. BIDDLE. The rest of it is treated as it is treated in the railroad station ?
Mr. MASSEY. Yes, sir.
Mr. CASSEL. There is an error there, in the citation of the act. It should be the sundry civil bill.
Mr. COURTS, clerk to the commission. Yes; it should be the sundry civil bill. I can correct that.
Mr. MASSEY. I will correct it. I want to correct it so that I can have my copy to take home.
Mr. CANNON. Yes; I think you had better correct it.
Mr. CASSEL. Mr. Courts can tell you where to change it.
Mr. MASSEY (reading): "Authorized by act of Congress, approved March 3, 1903, entitled 'An act
making-
Mr. COURTS. You can just refer to it as the sundry civil appropriation act. That would be
sufficient.
Mr. MASSEY. Yes, sir.
* * *^ .L -
134 REPORT UFTI{ TIOUSH OFFTCE BUIDTANU ICUMMI~blUN
OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT,
U. S. CAPITOL BUILDING AND GROUNDS,
Mr. THOMAS HASTINGS, Washington, D. C., April II, 1904.
Architect, New York City.
DEAR SIR: I beg to inform you that at a meeting held this day by the commission of the House of
Representatives, appointed by the House to supervise the construction of an office building therefor,
approval was given by the commission to my selection of you as consulting architect in connection with
the construction of an office building for the House of Representatives. Said approval was based on the
terms of the correspondence between us, namely, my letter dated April I, 1904, addressed to you and your
reply thereto dated April 2, 1904, addressed to me. In accordance with the terms of said approval and
correspondence you are hereby appointed consulting architect in connection with the construction above
named, and you are requested to enter into contract with this office on forms which will be prepared by
me and submitted for your signature.
The terms of service and compensation, namely, $io,ooo per annumi, will begin on the date of corn-
pletion and signing of contracts.
Very respectfully, ELLIoTrr WOODS,
-Superintendent U. S. Capitol Building and Grounds.
The letter was considered by the commission and the following order was made, namely:
Ordered, That Mr. Elliott Woods, Superintendent of the Capitol Building, in charge of the construc-
tion of the office building for the House of Representatives, is authorized to enter into a contract with
Thomas Hastings, architect, in accordance with the stipulations made in the foregoing letter, and that
the said letter be made a part of the contract.
Thereupon the commission adjourned.
Upon payment into the Treasury of the United States by the Washington Terminal Company of the
sum of forty thousand dollars, and the undertaking of said company at its expense to construct and maintain
a siding from a connection with the tracks of the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad Com-
pany to a heat, light, and power building intended to be established and maintained at a point on Govern-
ment Reservation numbered seventeen, near the line of New Jersey avenue extended, in connection wvith
and appurtenant to the fireproof building for committee rooms, folding room, and other offices of the
House of Representatives, authorized by act of Congress approved March third, nineteen hundred and
three, entitled "An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal
year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and four, and for other purposes," the said The Washington
Terminal Company, its successors and assigns, shall have and be possessed of the right and easement to
occupy and use for the location, construction, and operation of its railroad authorized by act of Congress,
140 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
approved February twenty-eighth, nineteen hundred and three, entitled "An act to provide for a union
railroad station in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes," a subsurface parcel of land through
and beneath square six hundred and ninety in the city of Washington, recently acquired by the United
States as the site for said fireproof building, of such width, not exceeding seventy feet, as shall be required
for the location, construction, and operation of said company's railroad on the route thereof as located
conformably to the requirements of said last-nentioned act. The said railroad to be located and operated
in a tunnel, which shall be constructed in such manner and of such structural strength as to assure the
safe and convenient use of said square six hundred and ninety for the purposes of said building site, in
accordance with plan of construction to be approved in duplicate original by the Superintendent of the
United States Capitol Building and Grounds, and also by the chief engineer of the Philadelphia, Baltimore
and Washington Railroad Company, and one of such duplicates shall be filed with said superintendent and
the other delivered to said The Washington Terminal Company. (Sundry civil appropriations bill.)
JANUARY 6, I905.
WILLIAM HS. BROWVN,
Chief Engineer Pennsylvania Railroad Co.,
Broad Street Station, Philadelphia, Pa.
DEAR SIR: We are prepared to commence work on the concrete footings of the eastern section of the
House Office Building, particularly those which are involved by the presence and construction connected
with the Pennsylvania Railvay tunnel through square 690.
In accordance with the terms of the sundry civil act approved April 28, I904, and with the hearings
held prior to the passage of said act, you are requested to afford, by further proceedings in connection with
the tunnel and on the lines of the building running adjacent thereto, the necessary security for the con-
struction of the normal lines of footings of said building in so far as said construction is affected by the
presence of the said tunnel, and in accordance with the additional plans to be agreed upon under the terms
of said act.
The progress of the construction of the tunnel, the disclosure of the nature of the soil, and the conl-
ditions adjacent to the tunnel have been sufficient for this office to formulate tentative schemes which will,
we believe, secure the necessary safety to the normal footings of the building. These are herewith
presented tentatively for your consideration and discussion. I respectfully ask that this matter be taken
up at once, in order that construction of our footings may proceed at the earliest possible moment.
I write this letter by authority and direction of the House Commission.
Blueprints and copy of the act referred to are herewith transmitted.
Very respectfully,
ELLIOTTr WOODS,
Superintendent U. S. Capitol Building and Grounds.
had there
been no tunnel through square, can state that from the character of the soil developed by the general
excavation, as well as the excavation at the corner of First and C
Streets, prove conclusively that the bottom
of the normal footings of
building could have been safely kept at the present depth of feet 8 inches
below the subbasement floor, the same as contemplated for all foundations except where the ground has
been disturbed next to the exterior walls of
tunnel. The test that has been made outside of the area
occu-
asonry, piling,
or other work that in
your
proceed
judgment is required
with the construction of all necessary
Iouse Representatives, in order to assure the safe and convenient use of square
690 in
the
city of
Washington as site
for said
building, keeping an exact account of all expenditures incurred
any work
for and all
such is
required to be done because of the presence and manner of construction
the;
of the railroad
separately
of the presence therein
tunnel
proportion
of
of
the
of
said
Washington
tunnel
Terminal
expenditures incurred within the
as well as
Co. through a portion
building
the proportion thereof incurred outside of said
of said square
lines of said
690,
square
and
on
showing
account
building lines.
Very respectfully,
J.G. CANNON,
W. P. HEPBURN,
JAMES D. RICHARDSON,
Commission to Direct and] Supervise Construction of
Office Building for the House of Representatives.
144 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
MARCH 6, 1905.
At a meeting of the commission to supervise the construction of an office building for the House of
Representatives, held in the Speaker's room, at which Messrs. Cannon and Hepburn were present, the
Superintendent of the United States Capitol Building and Grounds presented to the commission the ques-
tion of the deep foundations on and adjacent to the railway tunnel in square 690, and suggested the inad-
visability of attempting to proceed with this work for the whole, under contract, due to the fact that until
the work developed the quality of the soil and proceedings to take any contract let for the same as a whole
would be subject to many revisions, and that if so stipulated in the specifications a very high price would
no doubt be obtained for the work.
The superintendent was therefore authorized to proceed with this particular section of the work,
under favorable terms to be secured from contractors, said terms to be based upon the proposition that
the Government would furnish all material required, or as much thereof as possible, and that the con-
tractor would furnish appliances and skilled operators and receive rental for the said appliances at a rate
per diem only when in actual service, and that the contractor should receive in addition to this rental the
cost of his skilled labor plus not more than I5 per cent for his superintendence and use of minor tools.
MARCH 8, 1905.
There was an informal meeting of the commission this day at which there were present Messrs. Cannon
and Hepburn.
At the suggestion of Mr. Woods, superintendent of construction, they visited the building site and
viewed the condition of the construction of the railroad tunnel through the southeast corner thereof. The
question of proceeding with the footings and foundation of the office building at that point was discussed
and it was agreed that Mr. Woods should proceed with the work at once, notwithstanding any opposition
that might be interposed by the railroad company.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Washington, D. C., March 8, I905.
-Ion. E. A. HITCHCOCK,
Secretary of the Interior.
SIR: I am directed by Hon. J. G. Cannon, chairman of the commission in charge of construction of
the office building for use of the house of Representatives to acknowledge receipt of your letter of May 5,
1904, concerning the question of compensation for disbursing the appropriations made for said building,
an(d to say that at a meeting of the commission it has been determined that the subject is one over which
they have no control, but that it is a matter wholly within your discretion, subject only to the laws appli-
cable to compensation for disbursements for construction of public buildings.
Very respectfully, JAMES C. COURTS,
Secretary of the Commission.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Yashington, D. C., March I7, 1905.
The commission of the House of Representatives to determine the site for and to direct and supervise
the construction of a fireproof building for committee rooms, folding room, and other offices for the House
of Representatives, met this day at I o'clock p. m. in the Speaker's room, first floor.
Present: lIon. Joseph G. Cannon, of Illinois, chairman; Hon. W. P. Hepburn, of Iowa; Hon. James
D. Richardson, of Tennessee, and Mr. James C. Courts, clerk to the commission.
There appeared before the commission Mr. John M. Carrere, of the firm of Carrere & Hastings,
consulting architects, accompanied by Mr. Owen E. Brainard, of and a partner in said firm, and Mr. Elliott
Woods, Superintendent of the Capitol Building and Grounds; whereupon the following proceedings
were had:
Mr. CANNON. Col. Hepburn, will you and Mr. Richardson question these gentlemen concerning
this matter ?
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 145
Mr. RICHARDSON. You have all talked it over. Go ahead, sir, you and Mr. Hepburn.
Mr. HEPBURN. We wanted to talk with you, gentlemen, about the relative merits of the three classes
of materials-limestone, marble, and granite-for which bids have been received. What is the difference,
or is there any difference, in the durability of the structures made from those three different kinds of stone ?
Mr. CARRERE. Of course, I take it vou mean with regard to your building?
Mr. HEPBURN. Yes, sir.
Mr. CARRERE. They are all sufficiently durable. It is a question, I might almost say, of thousands of
years' experience. The granite will outlast any of the others, but either one of them will last long enough
for any building of this kind. I have no preference at all on that point, because I think that either of the
three materials would answer the purpose.
Mr. HEPBURN. What will be the difference?
Mr. CARRERE. May I qualify that? By durability I mean as to the stone becoming deteriorated
at all. Of course, they do not stand the weather equally. They are changed in color differently.
Mr. HEPBURN. Which will deteriorate most in color from the artistic standpoint ?
Mr. CARRERE. The limestone.
Mr. HEPBURN. It will become less attractive ?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes; less attractive, and it will become so more rapidly.
- Mr. HEPBURN. Simply in its discoloration ?
Mr. CARRERE. It is a very soft stone. It is very absorbent, and the rain will drive the dust into it,
and it will very soon become very much darker; and as it becomes darker, it loses its life and becomes
muddy and putty-like. The granite does not-change very much, although it darkens. The marble changes,
but improves with age. The marble, which at first is white and glaring, and to some people, perhaps, dis-
agreeable, as it gets older mellows and becomes very beautiful, as you can see here in your own building.
Mr. HEPBURN. Which stone would give you the greatest uniformity of color in a building?
Mr. CARRERE. The greatest evenness of color ?
Mr. HEPBURN. Yes, sir.
Mr. CARRERE. I do not think there would be very much difference.
Mr. HEPBURN. Will it be possible to get marble of the same shade-different blocks that would have
the same shade of blue or green ?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes; it will be possible to get the marble so that the average of it will be even. There
would be no more difference between two pieces than there would be on the same piece.
Mr. HEPBURN. That would be practicable?
Mr. CARRERE. Absolutely so.
Mr. HEPBURN. What is the difference, probably, as to promptness of delivery of the three materials ?
It was stated here by the chairman--and I think that is the opinion of all the members of the commission-
that this building should be completed for the occupancy of the Sixtieth Congress--
Mr. RICHARDSON. Which meets the first Monday in December, 1907.
Mr. BRAINARD. In December?
Mr. RICHARDSON. Yes; in December.
Mr. BRAINARD. lThat is three seasons-three open seasons.
Mr. RICHARDSON. Three full open seasons--
Mr. CANNON. Counting this one.
Mr. CARRERE. Of course, the limestone would probably be delivered, on the whole, faster; but, on
the other hand, it comes from a northerly State, and they will not be able to quarry it during certain months
in the year, and one of the marbles comes from a Southern State, where they will be able to quarry it all
the year round. I think that the granite would take longer to supply than either of the other stones.
Mr. HEPBURN. What do you think of the practicability of securing the delivery of the stone in time
for the completion of this work as suggested ?
Mr. CARRERE. Well, Mr. Hepburn, I think that depends a great deal on which of these marbles you
use, or on which of these stones you use. It happens that we are pretty well informed concerning the
matter. Most architects have not the opportunity, but we have been obliged to make such a thorough
146 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
and exhaustive study of the question of quarries that I think we can speak with considerable knowledge.
Either Mr. Brainard or myself have visited every marble quarry that we know of in the country, so
that we know what kind of marble there is there, and how much they can get out of it, and what their
facilities are, and even what their financial backing is.
Mr. RICHARDSON. And the probable supply P
Mr. CARRERE. Yes; and the probable supply.
Mr. HEPBURN. Are you familiar with these bids?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes; with the marbles and with all the stones.
Mr. HEPBURN. What do you say as to the feasibility of procuring marble from the lowest bidder in
time for the purposes of the building ?
Mr. CARRERE. Either one of these bidders for marble-the South Dover or Georgia-can furnish it
in ample quantity.
Mr. HEPBURN. Within the time allotted ?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes; within the time required. I doubt about the Vermont marble. In fact, I am
quite sure-
Mr. WOODS. If you will pardon me, have you looked into the Vermont marble question of late?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes; as late as last Sunday, in this way: They have furnished you with a sample,
which is about as beautiful as anything you can imagine. It is statuary marble. But I am absolutely sure
that they can not supply it.
Mr. BRAINARD. Certainly not within a reasonable time.
Mr. CARRERE. Certainly not within a reasonable time, because there are 230,000 cubic feet required
for the building. We are engaged in building the McKinley Monument at Buffalo, where there is only
9,ooo cubic feet to be supplied. They have supplied the marble, but it does not look like that marble at all.
It is very heavily marked, and that was a very special case, you see. It was a monumental shaft or obelisk,
where they were supposed to have selected the material very carefully. That is an unusual Diece of marble,
and I do not think that is a fair test.
Mr. RICHARDSON. You mean the sample?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes. You can not get it. They could give you marble that would be satisfactory,
but it would not be like that.
Mr. CANNON. You doubt if the Vermont people would give the marble that would be satisfactory
within the time necessary ?
Mr. CARRERr. I think it would be very difficult to do so. They have the climate to contend with,
and the stratification of their marble is such that in order to get the marble you need they would have to
waste a good deal. If we wanted a hundred thousand cubic feet, they would have to quarry 2oo,ooo or
250,000 cubic feet in order to get that much out of it, and that takes time. They would have to quarry
twice as much marble as we can use in order to get the quality that we want.
Mr. CANNON. The Vermont quarries-they are at Proctor, Vt. ?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes; at Proctor
Mr. BRAINARD. And at Rockland.
Mr. CARRERE-. They are wonderfully equipped there. Of course they have very large orders, but
the stratification of their marble is such that in order to get the white marble they have got to get a great
deal of the gray and green spotted marble with it, and they have to cut it so as to separate the twvo elements.
Mr. CANNON. You would consider it, notwithstanding their equipment or what it might be, as imprac-
ticable to get the marble that would be satisfactory so as to complete the building within the time required ?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes, in the time specified, and the reason for it is this: We would not find out-for this
is my experience-we would not find out if the marble was not satisfactory, or that a great deal of it was not
satisfactory, until it was at the building, and then to reject it and wait until the new marble is supplied
would cause a tremendous delay. You see the difficulty. They take marble and they say, "This will go;
this is good enough," and they would send it. It is impossible to decide that when the marble is quarried.
You have to put it on the bed and rub it to see what the colors will be, and you would be rejecting a lot
of finished material, which causes delay.
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 147
Mr. CANNON. You can not inspect it there ?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes; but the inspection would not be final.
Mr. BRAINARD. If we did it there you would have to take so many years to get that quality of material,
even if you inspected it accurately when it came from the quarry.
Mr. CANNON. And it is your opinion that this building could not be completed within the time specified
with that marble ?
Mr. CARRERE. I do not think it can, sir.
Mr. CANNON. Let us exhaust the marble question. You say there is another sample from South
Dover, N. Y.?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes; from South Dover.
Mr. CANNON. Are you entirely familiar with that, sir?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. That is a thoroughly reliable concern ?
Mr. CARRERE. Perfectly so; yes, sir.
Mr. CANNON. As much so as the concern at Proctor?
Mr. CARRERE. I think so; yes. The Proctor people we know about. They have done very extensive
work. The South Dover people have done work for us, and we know them by actual experience.
Mr. CANNON. Both of them are up in G so far as reliability is concerned ?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes, sir.
Mr. CANNON. What do you say as to the South Dover quarry? Would you have an assurance, would
you feel assured, that if that marble were used we would have this building in time ?
Mr. CARRERE. More so than any other, because the general average of their marble is much whiter
and we would be able to use more of their marble that they actually quarried.
Mr. CANNON. Yet both at South Dover and in Vermont, for that matter, the climate is a little against
them ?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes; but I think the wastage at South Dover would be so much less than in Vermont
that we would get greater results.
Mr. CANNON. From the climate in both places they would have to work it in the spring and summer
and fall?
Mr. CARRERF. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. What is the open season ?
Mr. CARRERE. They quarry all the winter, but in the winter the work is conducted at a great disad-
vantage. They are constantly stopping. They are constantly having accidents and storms and things,
so that the output is light in the winter.
Mr. CANNON. You would not hesitate, if you had the work at the price you bid, if you were a contractor
yourself-you would not hesitate about saying, "I can complete this building and get the marble from
South Dover?"
Mr. CARRERE. No, sir; I would not.
Mr. CANNON. Now, then, coming down to the Georgia marble, are you familiar with that?
Mr. CARRERE. Perfectly; yes, sir.
Mr. CANNON. Are they like the other two in capacity-natural capacity, and quarry open, and all that
kind of thing?
Mr. CARRERE. The quarry is there, and the marble is there. We think it is the best quarry in Georgia.
The equipment is not equal to that of the other two, but of course that would be supplied. The quarry
does not belong to those people, the Williams people, who have bid, but they would handle it, aiid they
would supply the equipment.
Mr. CANNON. None of those quarries belong to the people who bid ?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes; the South Dover belongs to Williams, and the Vermont belongs to Proctor, who
has bid on the Vermont marble. But the company in Georgia is a separate company, and these people
would get control of the output. That is the way they do.
Mr. RICHARDSON. So that the equipment would be sufficient?
148 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
Mr. CANNON. With the marble in Georgia, and its quality, and the opening of the quarry, as it is,
with the labor and everything, you would have the same feeling, that the building could be completed,
if that was the material used, within the time required ?;
Mr. CARRERE. Well, less so, for the reason that there, again, the amount of wastage is greater, and the
local conditions of labor are less favorable. They have less skilled labor, and they would have to quarry
more marble in order to supply a given quantity. As against that, however, they would have an open
season to compensate for it. In the case of the New York Stock Exchange, which was built of marble
from a neighboring quarry in Georgia, and part of it from this quarry, and where they wanted about the
same grade of marble as we would want here, they had a very good contractor, but they had considerable
delays in getting the marble, on account of the conditions which I mentioned-the labor conditions and
the quarry conditions. But I think it would be about an even chance between that quarry and the other
two, with all the odds in favor of the South Dover, so far as time is concerned.
Mr. CANNON. What do you mean by an even chance ?
Mr. CARRERE. On time; of getting the marble within the specified time.
Mr. CANNON. An even chance with Georgia and South Dover?
Mr. CARRERE. And Vermont, yes; with the balance in favor of the Georgia and South Dover quarries.
Mr. CANNON. But you say it can not be done from Vermont?
Mr. CARRERE. I think it will be very much more difficult.
Mr. CANNON. I mean within the time specified.
Mr. CARRERE. I mean it will be very difficult to accomplish. I think it can be accomplished with the
Georgia, and I am absolutely positive that it can be done with the South Dover. I put them in that order.
Mr. CANNON. South Dover first, Georgia second, and Vermont third?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes; don't you think so [addressing Mr. Brainard] ?
Mr. BRAINARD. Decidedly so.
Mr. CANNON. And you would put it as to desirability, South Dover first, or Georgia first ?
Mr. CARRERF:. No; I would put it in the same order of desirability for your purpose-put South
Dover first.
Mr. CANNON. Georgia second, and Vermont third ?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. NoW, let us go to the granite. What are the lowest bids on granite ?
Mr. RICHARDSON. Nine hundred and ninety-two thousand three hundred and seventy-three dollars.
Mr. WOODS. Mr. Speaker, may I put a question there, just to get it in the record ?
Mr. CANNON. Yes.
Mr. WOODS. What is the difference in cost between the bids for the South Dover marble and the bid
for the Georgia marble ?
Mr. CARRERE. Fifty-one thousand dollars.
Mr. CANNON. And what is the difference between the Vermont and the South Dover ?
Mr. CARRERE. The Vermont people only bid on the exterior of the building, so that it is difficult to
establish that.
Mr. WOODS (to Mr. Cannon). Using the Vermont marble, I use the lowest figure, the alternate prop-
osition, $1,008,373, as against $929,000, the bid from South Dover.
Mr. CANNON. That is the difference between South Dover and the alternate bid from Vermont, with
the court partly of limestone ?
Mr. WOODS. No; the difference between--
Mr. CARRERE. The Vermont would cost $79,373.15 more than the South Dover.
Mr. RICIHARDSON. And it would be correspondingly greater than the Georgia--$51,ooo added to that
greater.
Mr. CARERRE. Yes; it would be $I30,000 More.
Mr. CANNON. You can eliminate this if it is not a fair question to ask, and I suppose it is a fair question
to ask: Considering the certainty of delivery within the time specified and the quality of marble, without
regard to the cost of the building, which of these marble propositions is the best ?
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 149
Mr. CARRERE. My preference would be decidedly, under these circumstances, for South Dover.
Mr. CANNON. Notwithstanding it is; how much higher?
Mr. RICHARDSON. Fifty-one thousand dollars.
Mr. CANNON. More than the Georgia ?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes, sir.
Mr. RICHARDSON. Why so?
Mr. CARRERE. Because the marble-I am not taking it on the basis of the calculation there, but from
my knowledge of what we can get from the quarry-because the marble, in my judgment, would be the
most suitable and the least marked of all the marbles. It would be freer from the blue and green or other
marks in such quantity as to destroy the general harmony of the effect. In the other marble every now
and then you are apt to get a blue stone or a dark stone, which will make a disagreeable spot for many
years to come, until the whole thing mellows. If we could take each stone and match it with the stone
that comes next to it, so that these markings would be all beautifully accorded, as in interior working-in
wainscoting and things of that kind-the marking would not be an objection; but when you are using stone
in such large quantities as this it is impossible to do it, and the stone that is quite discolored might come in
contact, in immediate contact, with a stone that is quite white, and the only way to avoid it is to use a marble
that has practically none of the dark stains and which is as generally uniform in color.
Mr. CANNON. Is the Corcoran Art Gallery built of marble ?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes; it is of Georgia marble, the same as this, or this and a neighboring quarry.
Mr. CANNON. Is there anything else, gentlemen, that you want to ask about the marble ?
Mr. RICHARDSON. I do not think so.
Mr. WOODS. I do not remember, but do you remember whether or not the finished surface of the
Corcoran Art Gallery is the same as the finished surface of the House office building is to be ?
Mr. CARRERE. No. The surface of the Art Gallery is tooled and not sand rubbed.
Mr. WOODS. Would this sand rubbing bring out, in greater force, the marking of the marble ?
Mr. CARRERE. It Will.
Mr. CANNON. Now, let us go to the granite. The lowest separate bid for the granite for the four
street facades is that of William Bradley & Son, of New York, $875,000, and the lowest separate bid for
limestone for the court, partly in limestone, is the FUrst-Kerber Cut Stone Co., of Chicago, III., $11 7,373.15,
making $992,373.15 on granite. Is that less or more than marble ?
Mr. RICHARDSON. It is a little bit more than marble.
Mr. BRAINARD. $875,000 is the lowest marble to compare with that.
Mr. WOOD. How would it be with the South Dover?
Mr. BRAINARD. $929,000.
Mr. CANNON. You already stated that you are familiar with these granite quarries ?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes; but less familiar than with the marble. But we know all about them.
Mr. CANNON. What have you to say, from your knowledge of the granite, taking this lowest bid of
Bradley & Son, who seem to be the lowest on the marble also ?
Mr. CARRERE. No-
Mr. BRAINARD. Bradley (lid not bid on the marble.
Mr. CANNON. Who was that man?
Mr. BRAINARD. WillialmlS.
Mr. CANNON. Oh, yes; Williams. I)o you know what granite he bid on ?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. Where is that?
Mr. CARRERIE. Fox Island, Me.
Mr. CANNON. Now, taking the same things into consideration-time, quality, and everything else-
can that be furnished within the time ?
Mr. CARRERE. I think it will be more difficult to furnish the granite than the marble, because the
quarrying season is very much shorter, and the quarrying conditions of labor, and so forth, are very much
more difficult to handle. In the case of this particular granite of Fox Island, we are the consulting
150 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
architects for the Manhattan Bridge in New York, and they have been awarded the contracts for a part
of one of the anchorages, and we are obliged there to use three kinds of granite because they are not able
to furnish any one kind in sufficient quantity in the time prescribed.
Mr. CANNON. How much time is that?
Mr. CARRERE. I think it is a year-is it not [addressing Mr. Brainardl ?
Mr. BRAINARD. Yes.
Mr. CARRERE. Yes; and it is a very simple, big, coarse work-just buttress work.
Mr. CANNON. If they had the contract for granite, would they be as well off as the contract people
would be on marble, as to time ?
Mr. CARRERE. I do not think so, because the man who is estimating does not control the quarry. He
would have to buy his granite from the quarry. This man Bradley is a New York stonecutter, a very
capable man.
Mr. CANNON. A reputable contractor?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes; but he is buying his granite from the quarries.
Mr. CANNON. From the practical standpoint, do you regard it as practical? Suppose the contract was
awarded to them-that is what we want to get at-could we go into that building within the time indicated ?
Mr. CARRERE. I do not believe so, but it is hardly a fair statement on which to make a decision. But
you take all the granite buildings that have been built lately-the New York customhouse, for example-
and the delays have been considerable; and the quarrying of granite has become a very delicate matter,
considering the labor conditions.
Mr. CANNON. More so than with the marble and limestone?
Mr. CARRERE. l'Jore so than the marble and limestone; yes.
Mr. CANNON. What stone was it tihi t went into the Chicago customhouse building? Pierce wasthe
contractor.
Mr. CARRERF. That may be one of those Maine granites.
Mr. CANNON. This sample that the Bradley bid is based on is the Fox Island granite. Is that a
different granite from the other Maine granites in coloring?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. And if that bid was accepted, it would have to come from the Fox Island quarry ?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes, sir. May I say something about that granite?
Ml. CANNON. Certainly.
Mr. CARRERE. The granite is quite highly colored, and it is very speckled, and quite a coarse granite;
and in my judgment it: is one of the least suited of all the granites submitted for a monumental building of
this character. It is just the right sort of granite for the buttresses of a bridge, hut it is not of a fine texture
and a fine-tone building material, such as you would want here, to turn shafts and columns and balustrades
out of.
Mr. WOODS. Is it not the same granite that is used in the buildings at the Annapolis Naval Aeademy?
Mr. CARRERE. I do not know.
Mr. WOODS. It was so stated to me this morning.
Mr. CARREREI. Those are very ponderous buildings; different sort of buildings altogether from this.
Mr. CANNON. That is the only granite bid you had from Bradley, is it not ?
Mr. WOODS. There are others, but that is the lowest.
Mr. CANNON. We are dealingwith the lowest bids.
Mr. CARRERE. If you could see the samples, you would notice quite a variation between the granites.
It is greater than the variation between the other stones.
Mr. CANNON. What granite is desirable ?
Mr. CARRERE. The most desirable granite would be the Bethel. I think so. I should think the
Bethel, and the Mount Airy, and the Hardwick would be the most desirable; I mean to say in color and
texture. But they can not furnish it in the sizeswe ought to have. There is a difficulty there. Then,
there is a white granite.
Mr. WOODS. He refers to the white granite so much talked about.
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 151
Mr. CANNON. Are there bids for this?
Mr. WOODS. Yes. The one he referred to just now is a white granite lately selected for the Union
Station here in Washington.
Mr. CARRERE. They are the whitest.
Mr. BRAINARD. That is the Bethel granite.
Mr. WOODS. Woodbury, Vt., white granite-what kind is that?
Mr. CARRERE. That is very good.
Mr. CANNON. How much is that more than the bid of Bradley & Son ?
Mr. BRAINARD. $13,000.
Mr. CANNON. And what is the next?
Mr. WOODS. We come next to Hallowell granite.
Mr. BRAINARD. The Chicago customhouse is built of that.
Mr. CANNON. How much is that bid?
Mr. BRAINARD. $22,500 above the lowest bid.
Mr. WOODS. Then we come to Waldo, Me.
Mr. CARRERE. That is like the Riggs Bank-a decidedly brown color-
Mr. WOODS. A pink color.
Mr. CARRERE. Yes; a dark pinkish color.
Mr. CANNON. What is that bid ?
Mr. WOODS. That is $94i,ooo.
Mr. CARRERE. Then $963,000 for Milford, Mass.; then the Concord granite, $979,000.
Mr. WOODS. The Concord granite is used in the Library of Congress. Their bid is $1,077,999.
What is that difference ?
Mr. BRAINARD. $104,000.
Mr. CANNON. This Fox Island you would not recommend at all for this building?
Mr. CARRERE. From an artistic standpoint I think it is one of the least suitable. You would have a
building that would be entirely out of harmony in color and general texture both with the Capitol and the
Library of Congress.
Mr. CANNON. I also understand from you-to get away from the difference in bids on granite-that
you are familiar with all the quarries, and that, in your judgment, for the early completion of this building
as we desire it, as indicated, we would have more difficulty in getting any of them than we would have in
getting marble from the Vermont quarry? I am speaking in point of time.
Mr. CARRERE. I hardly think that that would be true. I do not think that any of these granites
would come along any faster than the Vermont marble. I meant the South Dover-
Mr. BRAINARD. The South Dover would come faster.
Mr. CANNON. I am trying to get a comparison between the Vermont marble and the granite.
Mr. CARRERE. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. You have already spoken of the Fox Island in point of time. Now, from your
familiarity with these other quarries, are they better situated than Fox Island ?
Mr. CARRERE. Some of them are. The Concord granite would be probably the easiest to obtain.
I do not know anything about the Mount Airy; That is very recent. Mr. Brainard says that the Mount
Airy will be easy to get, too.
Mr. CANNON. The Library of Congress is of Concord granite?
Mr. WOODS. Yes; that, however, is a high bid.
Mr. CANNON. fHow much higher?
Mr. BRAINARD. One hundred and four thousand more.
Mr. CANNON. More than the cheapest granite ?
Mr. BRAINARD. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. Now, let us go to the limestone, unless you want to ask something more about granite.
These limestones that you have are from Indiana only ?
Mr. WOODS. From the Indiana field-from two separate quarries, Bedford and Buskirk.
152 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
Mr. CANNON. Are you familiar with those quarries ?
Mr. CARRERE. I am not familiar with them except by hearsay. They are not quarries; they are
vast fields.
Mr. CANNON. Have you ever been to those quarries, Mr. Woods ?
Mr. WOODS. Not within 15 years.
Mr. CANNON. Do you understand that they are both substantially the same ?
Mr. WOODS. They are substantially the same.
Mr. CANNON. Different qualities of limestone ?
Mr. WOODS. Very little difference. They are quarries in close proximity.
Mr. CANNON. I mnean take the ledges of stone. It is like marble or granite; there is difference in
quality. That is to say, you could get limetsone, as you could get marble or granite. That would not do
at all. Have you noticed these samples here ? There are two samples of limestone ?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes; very good samples.
Mr. CANNON. You spoke of limestone a little bit ago as being softer than the marble. I heard it
claimed-I do not know where or by whom-that the limestone from the Indiana field is hardened after
being put in construction.
Mr. CARRERE. It does harden-after being exposed to the air, but, of course, the process of discoloration
begins at once, so that by the time the stone gets hard it is also dark.
Mr. CANNON. From an artistic standpoint, using stone, are you satisfied they could furnish the stone
equal to the samples ?
Mr. CARRERE. Oh, yes.
Mr. CANNON. Those that are furnished here ?
Mr. CARRERE. Oh, yes.
Mr. CANNON. And on the question of time, you are satisfied about that ?
Mr. CARRERE. Entirely so.
Mr. CANNON. Well, now, from the samples, how much less desirable are they than marble or granite ?
Mr. CARRERE. You mean to say from the artistic point of view?
Mr. CANNON. We have altogether got it from an utilitarian point that they are all substantially equal.
Now, from the artistic standpoint-
Mr. CARRERE. Well, the limestone is a stone that is quarried so much, and is used so much, and is
quarried so easily, because of its softness, that it is inexpensive, and it has become really a commercial
stone. It is a commonplace stone, and it has no great beauty; at least no beauty such as the marble has,
either in texture, or in color, or in fineness.
Mr. RICHARDSON. It is the difference between corn bread and poundcake.
Mr. CARRERE. And it is not a stone that you would naturally select for a monumental building.
These are buildings, very important and very beautiful buildings, that are constructed of limestones; for
instance, the Columbia College Library. The library of Columbia College, in New York, is built of lime-
stone, andl it is one of the big monuments of the country; but it is not effective as other buildings of a
similar character, or as the Capitol, for instance, which is built of marble.
Mr. CANNON. Suppose the limestone were as hard to get as marble or granite, and the marble or
granite were as easy to get as the limestone; which, then, would be the most artistic ? [Laughter.]
Mr. CARRERE.. The marble, sir. If I may give you all illustration, you would never think of hewing
a statue out of limestone if you could get marble; and the same thing would apply to a building, if you
are striving for the same standpoint of beauty and dignity and simplicity. The marble has a transparency
that no other stone has. You feel that there is color, and texture, andI graining, and everything else
beneath the surface of the marble, as there is beneath the surface of the skin, as in the complexion.
Mr. CANNON. Both are limestone, are they not ?
Mr. CAmRERE. Yes; but they have been through a different degree of heat.
Mr. CANNON. The granite is not a limestone ?
Mr. CARRERE. No; the granite is not.
Mr. CANNON. How long has this Columbia College Library been built?
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 153
Mr. CARRERE. Five or six years.
Mr. BRAINARD. It has been finished, I think, eight years.
Mr. CANNON. How large a building is it?
Mr. CARRERE. In dollars and cents it cost slightly over a million dollars; and it is built, I should
imagine, about i20 feet square, with a dome.
Mr. CANNON. Are there many buildings constructed of limestone in New York?
Mr. CARRERE. A great many.
Mr. CANNON. I mean large buildings.
Mr. CARRERE. Yes; the Metropolitan Museum Building is of limestone.
Mr. CANNON. Is that larger than the Columbia College Library i
Mr. CARRERE. It is a more monumental building, not so large in actual size.
Mr. CANNON. How long since that was built?
Mr. CARRERE. Ten or twelve years.
Mr. CANNON. Are they both still handsome buildings ?
Mr. CARRERE. Oh, yes; they are handsome buildings in design. The stone becomes lifeless. The
Metropolitan Museum is a good example of that. The stone after awhile looks almost like cement in
color. It becomes stuccoed and puttylike. Of course, it varies a great deal according to climate. It
must be better in your climate than in the New York climate, because there is more sunshine here.
Mr. CANNON. Better in this climate than in New York?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. In Indiana and Illinois, out there, the climate and conditions are pretty severe, especially
with bituminous coal. The public building at Indianapolis is built of this limestone, I believe. I-lave
you ever seen it ?
Mr. CARRERE. No; but I have seen drawings of it.
Mr. CANNON. That is larger-
Mr. CARRERE. Yes; larger than either of the buildings I have mentioned.
Mr. CANNON. Is that used elsewhere than in New York ?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes; throughout the country.
Mr. CANNON. In what you might call monumental buildings?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes. My personal experience is that we use it in monumental buildings when we can
not afford to use anything else, because it is a stone, and we prefer that to brick or terra cotta or any other
inferior material. Sandstone has objections on the score of durability, and the defects of limestone as
to discoloration are even more marked in the case of sandstone. The limestone is preferable in exterior
work.
Mr. CANNON. What do you say as to its use in the court ?
Mr. CARRERE. In the court of the building I think it would be very suitable, because in character
the court is a perfectly simple, straightforward, practical design. We had thought of using brick, but we
would prefer to use stone.
Mr. CANNON. Let me ask you the question: We have got some pretty severe statutes enacted; one
without any thought of this bill, carried on the deficiency bill; and the statutes have been that way all the
while in point of fact. But this puts it in black and white, and absolutely prohibits anybody that has
authority to make contracts on the part of the Governmryent fromn making contracts or incurring obligations
not authorized by law. Now, assume that this building can not be built with granite or marble within
the limit of cost. I will first assume that, and then I will ask you: Then we either do nothing, or if we
seek to go ahead we will violate the law. Now, is limestone really bad for a building of this kind ?
Mr. CARRERE. Why, no. I can not answer that question in any other way. It is not bad. I would
be willing to build the building of limestone if I had to be influenced by other considerations than simply
the absolutely best results.
Mr. CANNON. You consider that marble would give the best results, and granite next, and limestone
the next ?
154 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
Mr. CARRERE. No; I can not say that I do. I should say that regardless of any consideration
excepting that of art and the design of the building and its relations to the surrounding buildings, my choice
would be for marble. On the whole, I would just as soon use limestone as granite. I will leave it there
if you want.
Mr. CANNON. NO; go ahead. I want to know.
Mr. CARRERE. I would just as soon use linmestone as granite, because granite-it is a very difficult
thing to explain-the granite is such a hard material that it does not lend itself to the surface treatment
of a classic design of this character as readily as a softer stone would, like limestone.
Mr. CANNON. Now, see if I understand you properly from the standpoint of an architect and an
expert: Marble would be your first choice ?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. And you say you would as soon use limestone as granite, for the reasons assigned?
Mr. CARRERE. Just as soon.
Mr. CANNON. Is there any preference between the two ?
Mr. CARRERE. I would be guided entirely by the estimate. I would not pay the difference indicated
here for the use of granite.
Mr. CANNON. Between granite and limestone?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes, sir.
Mr. CANNON. Your firm supervised the plans for the building, and you are familiar with the estimated
cost of the building?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. Taking the cost of marble and of granite, as per these bids, what could the building be
completed for ?
Mr. CARRERE. The cost of the granite and marble-
Mr. CANNON. No; taking first the marble. The cost of marble is something less than that of granite.
Take the cost of marble under these bids. Then take the case of the building otherwise finished. What
would be the cost of the building?
Mr. CARREIRi. From comparison with other work we are doing, I would say it would be three times
the cost of the stone, and with limestone it would be about four.
Mr. Hi.rPTIuRN. Thice times, you say ?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes. I might state, in support of that, that in the case of the New York Public Library,
which we are building, that is exactly the relation of the value of the marble to the cost of the complete
building as we contemplate it-one-third; and I think that in the case of the library the conditions are
somewhat more favorable than they are here. That is to say, your marble represents a greater proportion
of the cost than ours do.
Mr. RicHARDsON. Then, if our lowest bid of marble is $1,008,303.I-S
Mr. CARRERUlE. No; the lowest is $926,ooo; that is, the Georgia marble.
Mr. RICHARDSON. Yes; if outr bid was that, could we build it within our appropriation of $3,100,000 ?
Mr. CARIUER. Yes; I believe that we can,
Mr. RICHARDSON. Could we within the bid of the South Dover Co. ?
Mr. CARRrRlE. Yes; I think wve would-just about; $3,ooo,ooo, that makes it.
Mr. RiciIaRDSoN. Would the cost of the building as contemplated, outside of the material of limestone
or marble or granite, be about the same whether you use either limestone or granite ?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes.
Mr. I-I}EPIURN. Now, yhou have in your mind, have you, when you say that it should be built for two
millions and some odd thousand dollars outside of the stonework, that Mr. Woods calculates nearly $Ioo,ooo
for these extra foundations made necessary by the tunnel?
Mr. WOODS. No, sir; we do not.
Mr. BRAINARD. TIat is an extraordinary situation.
Mr. CANNON. Now, I wish you would sit down with Mr. Woods, and-what we want to get at is this:
Mr. Woods is our superintendent under the law; Mr. Woods knows the cost of the foundation. You
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 155
ought to be able to approximate pretty closely as it is. I wish you would sit (]own, while we do anything
that we please, and foot tip the cost of this building, without regard to the stone, and give it to us.
Mr. RICHARDSON. Yes; so that we can add the cost of either stone to it.
Mr. CANNON. Yes.
Mr. WOOuS. That is easily done. I have here the detailed estimates.
Mr. CARRERE. The estimates that you have received ? I am talking about marble estimates now.
Mr. CANNON. Throw the marble estimate and the limestone and granite estimates from your minds
and figure out the cost of the building aside from the stone-the cost otherwise. There is one element of
cost that your attention has not been called to-in round numbers $Ioo,ooo; and then add incidentals and
superintendence and architects and drawings, and the whole thing-
Mr. HEPBURN. So that when you add the bids for whatever stone is selected, whether marble or granite
or limestone, we will know just what the cost will be.
Mr. CANNON. We have that now, and also your estimate of the various material!. as to desirability.
Mr. CARRERE. For this building ?
Mr. CANNON. Oh, yes; of course. You have some regard for this building, the Capitol, and some
for the Library of Congress and some regard for the elevation.
Mr. CARRERE. I change my point of view under different circumstances.
Mr. CANNON. Oh, certainly. What we want now, Mr. Woods, is an estimate of the cost of the
building, excluding the stone, as covered by these specifications--excluding all that. Now, then, give us
how much money the balance would cost.
Mr. RICHARDSON. You said in the rough it was twice as much ?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes; twice as much. In other words, if your appropriation is $3,ooo,ooo, we would
be safe in expending a million for stone. That is what I meant.
Mr. CANNON. That is, as a general proposition ?
Mr. CARRERr. Yes.
(At this point the commission took a recess for 20 minutes.)
AFrER RECESS.
Mr. CARRERE1. We have gone over this tabulated estimate with Mr. Woods and compared it with
some figures that we have as to some of our own buildings, and it seems to us that it is a very fair estimate--
namely, $3,139,864 for the completed building, including the stone and including that tunnel work.
Mr. RICHARDSON. With an allowance of a million dollars for the stone ?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes, with an allowance of a million dollars for the stone. Answering your question
specifically, it would cost $2,139,864.
Mr. HEPBURN. That would exceed that, then ?
Mr. RICHARDSON. If you added a million dollars to that you would have $3,139,864. ?
Mr. CARRERE. YOU would have $39,000 over that. To begin with, you would have $ii8,ooo of
tunnel work included in that.
Mr. WOODS. I (lo not think that should be charged against the building estimate, but I pwt that in
for information.
Mr. RICHARDSON. What is this -lowest bid ?
Mr. CARRECRE. It is $929,000. No, the lowest bid, I should say, is $678,000.
Mr. RICHARDSON. For marble ?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes. No, I beg your pardon, that is not it.
Mr. HEPBURN. It was $I,030,000, was it not ?
Mr. BRAINARD. It was $i,ozo,ooo of Georgia, and $98i,ooo of South Dover.
Mr. CANNON. Give me the figures, please, will you ?
Mr. CARRERE. If we make the court of brick, and not of limestone, wve can come well within the limit.
Mr. BRAINARD. Certainly. Your estimate for marble outside and limestone within the court amounts
to $98i,ooo. Now, if you use marble for the outside and brick on the inside of the court--
Mr. WOODS. You understand that means all brick?
156 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
contract all.
at
Mr. RICHARDSON. What wanted
to get at
was, that we
arc not imposing new
terms upon bidders,
WO who (1
so thatMr.those
ODs. When
not get the benefit of it would not have the right to complain.
hc could
and find out if such terms becould
this discussion
made.
was had yesterday
Do you know
asked
[addressing
Mr. Brainard
Mr. Brainard]
if
whether they
inquire into it
can be
made ?
Mr. CARRE3RE.
Mr. BRAINARD.
Theyy can.
We both saw him last night.
Mr. CANNON, Suppose you black put it in and white
there. Prepare the clause to go into
the contract.
Here is the contract
have the liberty of Georgia
for
using
South
such
the
proportions
he elect,as
Superintendent
may
as to such Georgia
between
CARRrEFRE.
Mr. the
two bids
I do
-12--34
166 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
proposal of March 15, i905, using marble from the quarry at South Dover, N. Y., and with the court
complete of Indiana limestone, be accepted, and a contract be entered into accordingly: Provided, however,
That in the discretion of the Superintendent of the Capitol Building and Grounds Georgia marble, from
the Amicolola quarry, may be used in such proportions as the said superintendent may determine, and
that the price for the whole work shall be reduced in that proportion of $5I,ooo which the amount of
Georgia marble so used shall bear to the total amount of marble supplied under this contract."
Mr. RICHARDSON. What do you say, Col. Hepburn?
Mr. HEPBURN. I think that is all right.
Mr. CARRERE. We are informed that by this process you will have the use at South Dover of four
complete plants, and one will be installed here, and in Georgia there will be at least three more plants, so
that that will make altogether eight plants in operation.
Mr. CANNON. Shall we consider that resolution as adopted and spread upon the record ?
Mr. RICHARDSON. I think so. I move that it be adopted.
The foregoing resolution was adopted.
Mr. CANNON. All right, Mr. Courts; it is so ordered.
Mr. RICHARDSON. You speak of having virtually eight plants. Is it your opinion that the supply at
these two places-that is, at the South Dover quarry and at the mine in Georgia-is ample to construct
the building for the Senate, as well as for the House, right along at the same time?
Mr. CARRrEtl. Yes, sir.
Mr. BRAINARD. It is only a question of time.
Mr. CARRERE. I have had that in mind all the time we were considering this question. I have hoped
that the two buildings would go on at the same time.
Mr.- RICHARDSON. You think the supply is sufficient in the two mines for the purpose contemplated ?
Mr. CARRERE. Yes, sir.
Mr. Woons. Ought not that resolution to say that the Superintendent of the United States Capitol
Building and Grounds be directed to accept the Williams bid ?
Mr. CANNON. Yes; or that the same be accepted. That is the language, I believe, that it "be
accepted, and a contract be entered into accordingly." What is the verbiage of the act? This is to be
constructed under what machinery ?
Mr. COURTS. "Under the direction and supervision of the commission." The construction is to be
done by the superintendent, under the direction and supervision of the commission.
Mr. CANNON. The commission accepts the bid with the modification as proposed in the resolution,
andI the resolution, it seems to me, might show that the Superintendent of the Capitol is authorized--
Mr. RICIIARDSON. And directed to make a contract in accordance with this resolution.
Mr. CANNON. Yes; with this resolution.
Mr. HEPIIURN. I move that the superintendent be instructed to enter into a contract in accordance
with the terms of this resolution just adopted and the invitations for proposals that have been published by
himt and the bids that have been received from Williams, as expressed in the following resolution.
Mr. RICHARDSON. Or the "foregoing."
Mr. CANNON. Yes; "as expressed in the foregoing resolution."
The stenographer will read Col. H-lepburn's resolution.
Tile StrENOGRAPHI ER (reading):
"That the superintendent be instructed to enter into a contract in accordance with the terms of this
resolution just adopted and the invitations for proposals that have been published by him and the bids that
have been received from Williams, as expressed in the foregoing resolution."
Mr. CANNON. Those in favor say "aye"; thoseopposed, "no." The ayes have it, and the resolution
is agreed to.
Mr. HEPBURN. You [addressing Mr. Woods] published the contract, did you not?
Mr. WooDs. Yes; that contractwent out with every proposal.
Mr. CANNON. The only variation in that contract is covered by the resolution.
Table: Schedule B.- Sum ary of lowest bids for the entire stonework of the superstructure, submit ed March 15, 1905
Table: Schedule C.- Sum ary of bids for the entire stonework of the superstructure, formed by a combination of the lowest separate bids for the stonework of the stre t fa?ades and the lowest separate bids for the stonework of the court, submit ed March 15, 1905. The alternate bids set forth below are submit ed under the same conditions as the alternate bids noted under Schedule B
SCHEDULE B.-Summary of lowest bids for the entire stonework of tihe superstructure, submitted Marc/ I5, 1905.
NoTM.-Alternate bids refer to the court walls constructed of a base story of stone and upper stories of brick with stone trimmings, cornice, etc., of
which the brickwork is to be done by the Government.
LIMESTONE BUILDING.
For stonework of building complete, the street facades of limestone assd the entire court of limestone:
Ambrose B. Stannard, New York, N. Y ........................................................................................ $644,ooo.oo
Alternate bid (street faqades of limestone arsd court partly of limestone):
Ambrose B. Stannard, New York, N. Y ............................. ................000. .0...........0-..... 58S, ooco
MARBLE BUILDING.
For stonework of building complete, the street facades of marble and the entire court of limestone:
B. A. & G. Williams,
N New
. York,N.Y ............981,000............................ $981, .... .
There is only one combination of a separate bid for the four street facades and a separate bid for the court which amounts to a less sum than the lowest
single bid for the stonework of the entire building complete in the same materials. This is the combination of the lowest separate bids on granite and lime.
stone, as follows:
Lowest single bid for granite for the four street facades and limestoise for the entire court:
William Bradley & Son, New York, N. Y . .......................................... $1,099,249.00
Lowest separate bid for granite for the four street fa5ades: William Bradley & Son, New York, N. Y ...................... $875,000.00
Lowest separate bid for limestone for the entire court: Ambrose B. Stannard, New York, N. Y ........................... 2o,ooo.oo
- 1, 078, ooo.oo
D difference .....0...................................................0.....................................................
21,249.00
Alternate: lJowest single bid for granite for the four street facades and for the court partly of limestone:
William Bradley & Son, New York, N. Y .... 1,OIO ,13200
Alternate: Lowest separate bid for granite for the four street facades:
William Bradley & Son, New York, N. Y ................................................. $875,ooo.oo
Alternate: Lowest separate bid for the court partly in limestone:
The Furst-KerberCut StoneCo.,Chicago, Ill ......................................................................*117,373- 15
993, 373. 15
Difference ......................................................................................................... 17, 758.8S
Estimates ...................3,
c.6, 364.00
Contingent .................. 83, 636.oo
SCHEDULE D.
LIMESTONE.
Estimate, minus stonework ................. $2, oi6, 364. 00
644,000
........................................................
Limestone, full building ....................................................
2, 660, 364.0o
Appropriation ............... 3, 0,000 .00
2, 660, 364.co
Reserve fund ............................................................................................................. 439,636.00o
Estimate, minus stonework ........................................................................................................ 2, o6, 364.00
Limestone facades, part brick and limestone court ................................................................................... 585,000.00
2, 6cl, 364. 00
Appropriation ................
. .... 3 oI, ooo000. c
2, 6oi, 364.oo
........................................................................................................
Reserve fund.9 ., 636. oo
MARBLE.
Estimate stonework ............ $2, o0 6, 364. 00
Georgia marble, with full limestone court .9...........g8,000.00
2, 997, 364.00
2, 997, 364-00
Reserve fund ............................................................................................................ 5102, 636. 0o
Estimates, nilnus stonework . ............................................................................................... 2, o6, 364. 00
878, 0ooo00
Georgia marble, with part brick and part lirmestone court ............ .......................................
2, 894, 364. 00
Apppropriatio, ......................................... 3,100, 000. 00
2 894, 364.00
Reserve fund ...6..3..
..................... ....... 2oSf3fi.00
Estimates, minus stoneworP . .................................................................................................... 2, oz6, 364.00
Dover marble, full limestone court ...............................,03',000.............................I................c.... 1032,000,00
3,048,364.00
Appropriation ............3,00, 000.0.0
3, V48, 364.0
.,,,, ,,,, . 51, 636 00
Reserve fund ........,,........ I
Table: Sum ary on lowest separate bids
GRAN1TE.
Estimate, minus stonework ...................................................................................................... $a t6, 364.00
Granite, with full court of limestone . .............................................................................................. 1, 099, 249. 0o
3,i1S,613-00
Appropriation ................................ 3, 100, o0o. 00
3,115,613.00
Deficiency ........15,613.o00
Estimate, minus stoiiework ........ 2, o6,364.00
Granite, part brick and part limestone court ......... ,010, 132.00
3,026,496. )o
Appropriation ............................................................................................................ 3,100,000.00
3,026,496.oo
Reserve fund ....................................................73, 504. 00
2P 727, 364- 00
AT,'rY;RNA'1';.
Estimate, miinus stonework ........................................ $i, oi6, 364.00
.*****.****.**.**..*$*o8, o00,00
I.imestone faSades ..................**.....................
..................................................15...........
Part brick and part limestone court .................. 117
__625, 373-.15 373.IS
a 64:, 737. IS
Aporopriatio ........
......
31o.00
..000................. . ............ ...........
2, 641,737.1S
Reserve fund ............. ................... . 85......
S8,685
MARBLE.
Estimate, minus stonework ...$., oi6, 364,00
Marble fa~ades ........ $891, 000.00
Full limestone court ..............2.......................0I.......0....
203000.00 ............................. ....
, o094,
o00
o.
3,110,364.00
Appropriation .3, 000,0oo. 0
3,110,364,00
Deficiency ....................................................0.................................................0..........10036400
Estimate, minus stoltework .....................a., o.6, oo
3640.
Marble facades ................................................................................. $891,0ooo.oo
...................
Reserve funds:
Limestone ............................................................................................... 1439, 636.0 $498, 636. oo
Marble (Georgia)....................................................................................... 102k 636. oo 20S,636.0o
Marble (Dover)........................................................................................
21524,636.
Granite .................................................................................................
51,636. oo oo
1S,613.00 74,OO.00
I Deficiency. X Reserve.
HousE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Washington, D. C., April I, 1906.
Hon. JOSEPH G. CANNON,
Hon. WILLIAM P. HEPBURN, and
Hon. JAMES D. RICHARDSON,
Commission of House of Representatives
to Supervise Construction of Office Building th/refor.
GENTLEMEN; I respectfully request that an appropriation of $Soo,ooo be made to carry on operations
in connection with the construction of the House Office Building during the coming fiscal year. The
amount heretofore available was $x,556,364.45. The balance on hand is $V44,015. The financial state-
ment attached to my report, giving an account of operations up to April x, i906, shows that the balance
(actual and estimated) due on contracts already entered into will reach the amount of $919,101.49, which
amount is greater than the balance on hand, but as some of the contracts will not be completed during the
next year it is estimated that the balance on hand April I will be sufficient to cover payments on these items.
Of the $500,000 asked for as an additional appropriation, it is estimated that the following contracts
are to be entered into and largely completed during the corning year, viz:
Interior marble work .................... $90,000
Fireproof floor construction ...................... ......
971 000
Steam heating............................ **...
........................................... *
*... *................................. 78,000
**..*
Plumbing .. 90oo
Electricctri ..................................................iri.....................**g.***..**..**3..**...............0..........
big 3 .3OQO
0
Plastering . . . . . . . . . .45,000...-......-. -.-.* .*.-................................................... 45,°00
Fireproof partitions ............................................................................... 250
...................................00
Office expenses, draftsmen, etc ......................................................................................................... 51,ooo
Total .to..o....... 51o000
Very respectfully submitted.
ELLIOTI WOODS,
Superintendent U. S. Capitol Building and Grounds.
Approved.
J. G. CANNON, Chairman.
W. P. I-IEPBURN.
172 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
APRIL 23, i906.
At a meeting of the commission held this day, all of the members being present, it was ordered that
the Superintendent of the Capitol Building and Grounds be authorized to accept proposition 8 of the
schedule of bids received for fireproof floor construction, the same being the proposition made by the
Brennan Construction Co., of Washington, D. C., in the sum of $66,6I5, using cinder concrete floor arches,
or proposition II of said schedule, and made by the Brennan Construction Co., in the sum of $72,295,
using gravel concrete floor arches.
The Superintendent was authorized to make additional modifications in either one of these two propo-
sitions for the purpose of bettering the ceiling construction.
In the matter of the bids received for cut-stone work for the rotunda section of the House Office
Building, the Superintendent of the United States Capitol Building and Grounds was authorized to accept
the proposition No, 9 of the schedule, which proposition was made by B. A. & G. N. Williams, of New
York City, for interior work of marble, the original bid of $190,475 being reduced to $91,073 on account
of the elimination of material caused by the restudy and preparation of plans by the Superintendent and
approved-of by the consulting architect.
The commission considered in a tentative way the bids received for heating, lighting, and power plant
for congressional buildings, but came to no conclusion thereon, and thereupon adjourned.
OFFICE BUILDING, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Hon. JOSEPH G. CANNON, Washington, D. C., April 26, 19015.
Hon. WM. P. HEPBURN, and
Hon. JAMES D. RICHARDSON,
Commission to Supervise the Construction of an
Office Building for the House of Representatives.
GENTLEMEN: Referring to the subject of fireproof floor construction for the Office Building, House of
Representatives, and the action of the House Commission authorizing the Superintendent of the United
States Capitol Building and Grounds to enter into a contract with the Brennan Construction Co. for fire-
proof floor construction -under Scheme A, with certain additional modifications involving increase in price,
I respectfully recommend, in view of the fact that such modifications do involve increase in the amount
to be finally paid, that the Superintendent be authorized to reject all bids received and to invite new pro-
posals on a definite scheme to be prepared which will embody all desirable features not in any of the bids
received, it being estimated that the total cost should not exceed the sum which would be paid in case the
present bidder be awarded the contract with the modifications required. Further, that the former action
of the commission in relation to this matter be rescinded at the request of the Superintendent.
Very respectfully,
ELLIOrr WOODS,
Superintendent U. S. Capitol Building and Grounds.
Approved.
J. G. CANNON,
W. P. HIEPURN.
CONSTRUCTION 01F HOUSE1 OFFICE BUILDING.
OFFICI3
BUILI)ING, HOUSEo0 REPRESENTATIVES,
HIonI. JOS1.1)I1 G. CANNON, Washington, D C., May .31, 1906.
Chairman of the House Contmission.
DlEAR SIR: I transmit herewith an abstract of bids received for fireproof floor construction for the
House Office Building. This is the result of the second bidding on this work.
The commission will remember my former recommendations in this matter, and will note that this
bidding is intended to covet and does cover all modifications which were recommended at the first bidding.
Very respectfully,
ElIOdinTan
WOODS,
Superintendent U. S. Capitol Building ar~'d Grounds.
Table: Schedule of bids opened May 2 , 1906, for firepro f construction of the basement, first, second, third, and at ic flo rs, not including cor idors; of ice building House of Representatives
i. Roebling Construction Co . . $zsl, 662 ......... Basement floor only; concrete construction.
............
7. 0. W. Ketcham.75, 122 ......... First, second, third, and attic floors; terra-cotta construction.
............
8. Roebling Construction Co ........... 75, 66z ......... Basement, first, second, third, and attic floors; concrete construction.
............
9. National FireproofingCo ........... 79,900 . ......... First, second, third, and attic floors; terra-cotta construction.
......................
io. R. J. Beall Construction Co . So, .......... First, second, third, and attic floors; concrete construction.
. . ............
as. Brennan Construction Co ........... 83,485.......... .......... Basement, first, second, third, and attic floors; concrete con-
......
btruction.
i2. Brennan Construction Co . 8S, 3 10 . ..... Do.
13. Brennan Construction Co ........... 86,215 ......... First, second, third, and attic floors; terra-cotta construction.
............
6. National Fireproofing Co.94, 900 ......... Basement, first, second, third, and attic floors; concrete and terra-
............
cotta construction.
17. Brennan Construction Co.98,420 .......... .......... Do. ............
crete construction.
X. R.Roebling
2.
Construction Co $64,000
. .
80,
()
J. Beall Co ......................31
o 32
$67,500 $3, 500 less, Their system A; drawings submitted.
81,770 1,770 less. Their system; drawings submitted.
oo
3. ArmoredConcreteConstructionCo .... (1) * 294 ............... ...... Do.
Ct-ss 1).--TERRA COTTA-BIDS ON CONSTRUCIION OF FIRST, SECOND, THIRD, AND ATTIC FLOORS.
I. 0. W. Ketcham ................... $75, 122 $0.30 ......... Not Including drilling of holes for tie rodls,
2, National Fireproofing Co........... 79i 900 .31 $80, 406n $o6 less. Not Including the putting in of tie rods. End construction arches.
CLASS E.-ATI. OF CONCRETE CONSTRUI'TION-BIDS ON CONSTRUC1ION OF BASEMENT, FIR.SI', I-CONT),IIIRI), ANI) A1'IC FLOORS.
1. Roebling Construction Co........... $75, 66z (l) Basement, their system B; tipper floors, their system A; drawings
submitted; this bid is a combination of bid No. s, Class B, an(d
bid No. i, Class C.
2. Brennars Construction Co............ 81, 48S (l) }4|@*@***.... I...... All floor slabs same as basement; suspended ceilings above base-
ment; drawings submitted.
3. Brennan Construction Co............ 85,3 10
(l) All floor slabs same as basement; suspended ceilings above base-
ment; drawings submitted. Bottom flanges of all beams fire.
. .
proofed.
4. Geo. S. Holmes Co.................. 913,272 Blasenment floor as shown on drawing No. 1I 717; tipper floors as
. . . .
shown on drawings submitted.
3 .18 Their systelo; drawing submitted.
S. R. J. Bell Construction Co.......... 92,450R 4 3
NotNot ~92,5
glyco,
tiven. No lucap1.5
I Noui
0
bid.
lsmn.4 pe lo
I B Asetatnt. I Upper Awle.
174 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
Schedule of bids opened May 22, 1906, for fireproof construction of basement, first, second, third, and attic floors, not including corridors;
office building House of Representatiws-Continued.
CLAss F.-BASEMENT CONCRETE; UPPER FLOORS TERRA COTTA-BIDS ON CONSTRUCTION OF BASEMENT, FIRST, SECONDTHIRD,AND
ATTIC FLOORS.
LIST OF BIDDERS.
1.Armored Concrete Construction Co., il2o Block Street, Baltimore, Nid., Isaac S. Filbert, president.
2. R. J. Beall Construction Co., 1217 F Street N,., Washington, D. C., R. J. Beall, jr., president.
3. Brennan Construction Co., foot Thirty-first Street, Washington, D. C., P. J. Brennan, president.
4. The Haydenville Co., Haydenville, Ohio, J. W. Jones, president.
S. The Geo. S. Holmes Co., i56 WVest Twenty-seventh Street, New York, N. Y., Geo. S. Holmes, president.
6. 0. W. Ketcsam, Builders' Exchange, Philadelphia, Pa.
7. National Fireproofing Co., Colorado Building, Washington, D. C., R. W. Allison, vice president.
8. The Roebling Construction Co., Land Title Building, Philadelphia, Pa., C. 0. Roebling, president.
OFFICE BUILDING, HousE OF REPRFSENTATIVFS,
JJashington, D. C., June I8, o906.
I1on1. J. G. CANNON,
IHon. W. P. HE-PBURN, and
I-IOnl. J. D. RICHARDSON,
Commnission to Supervise the Construction of an
Ofice Building for the house of Representatives.
GENTiEMErN: relation to the bids received for fireproof-floor construction of the office building,
In
I-ouse of Representatives, received an(d opened May 22, I906, I recommend that the bid of the Roebling
Construction Co. in the Sl1lml of $75,662 be accepted, and that the Superintendent United States Capitol
Building and Grounds be authorized to enter into contract with said company for this work.
Very respectfully,
El u~O~v WOODS,
Supertntendent U. S. Capitol Building and Grounds.
I-OusE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
1Jashington, D. C., July 2, 1906.
TIhc COmliSSiol met this (lay at i0.30 o'clock a. l1l. ill the room of the Committee o01 Appropriations.
Present: Joseph G. Cannon, of Illinois, chairman; W. P. Hepburn, of Iowa; James D. Richardson,
of Tennessee; and James C. Courts, clerk to the commission.
There appeared before the commission Mr. Elliott Woods, Superintendent of the Capitol Building
and Grounds; whereupon the following procee(lillgs ensued;
Mr. WOODS, Shall I make a statemenlit about this, Mr. Speaker ?
Mr. CANNON. Yes.
Mr. Woons. O' tile 30th of last September, after issuing the specifications, copy of which I have
placed before you, bids were received for furnishing and installing in a building to be built by the Goverilmlent
a complete operative power plant, with all machinery and appliances'; of every description, with stearn and
electric transmission between the buil(lings and with the substations to be installed in the buildings. The
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE, BUILDING COMMISSION 175
nature of the specifications was such that the bidders were requested upon the general specifications to
file with their bids complete details as to the nature and character of the plant which they proposed to install.
That brought into play, I think, the engineering talent of the whole country, inasmuch as the nature
of the competition was such that it enabled all the smaller bidders to deal with the larger bidders who make
a business of installing plants, and it brought into competition the best types of apparatus that can be
produced in this country at this time.
After receiving these bids the whole subject was turned over to a so.-called advisory committee, which
I consulted, and which consisted of the electrical engineer of this building; the two engineers of the Library
Building; Dr. Stratton, Director of the Bureau of Standards; Prof. Woodbridge, an expert in heating
and ventilating; and Col. Bromwell, the officer in charge of public buildings and grounds. Those
gentlemen were directed to analyze these bids and make a report to me as to the best plan submitted,
which they did.
If you will look at these figures, I will call your attention to the fact that there are several classes of
bids there [indicating]. This is a modification sheet [indicating]. After the first bids came in it was found
that the prices appeared higher than the money then available, and, after consultation with the legal
branch of the Interior Department, I sent out circular letters calling for eliminations to be made on the
several bids. Those figures represent the various eliminations. The only elimination now under consid-
eration is the question of steam and electrical transmission, which I will discuss later.
In the report made to me by this advisory committee they recommended the adoption of the Westing-
house Manufacturing Co.'s bid, upon the ground of the excellence of the plan. After leaving the question
untouched for about two months I went into it very thoroughly myself, and, upon the excellence of the
plan and the general features outlined, I approve the report of that committee.
The Westinghouse plan is superior. There are some features about four of the bidders' plans, all of
which are good, but as we permitted these people to submit their very best judgment, it would seem to me
to be in the nature of a competition of brains; and while any one of those four propositions that I refer
to is adaptable to our purposes, I must confess the superiority of the Westinghouse layout.
Now, on the question of steam and electrical transmission, none of the bidders submitted what I consider
a thoroughly competent scheme, although the schemes are good in various forms. I figure that the
Government can install the electric and steam transmission in its own way and to its better satisfaction
by eliminating that proposition from any one of the bids to be considered and doing the work ourselves.
I estimate that we can do it with a saving of between $40,000 and $50,000 over the various plans
submitted.
Now, if we consider the steam and electric transmission omitted, then we have this comparison: The
original Westinghouse bid was $I,084,369--itern No. 5 there [indicating]; with the elimination, it stands
$774,333.
In the case of the Hanley Casey Co. bid, it was originally $I,047,277.85, and with the elimination
the bid stands at $792,753.35.
In the case of J. G. White & Co., witli a bid of $i,I89,250, the elimination stands $887,394.
Mr. HEPBURN. Those latter figures are not here at all.
Mr. WOODS. No, sir. They are not shown on1 the sheet there at all. In the case of another acceptable
bid-that of Muralt & Co., $1,109,700-the result of elimination stands $842,100.
In the case of the Schofield Co.'s bid, which is at the bottom, the resulting figures are $825,761.
Mr. CANNON. Why (lo you eliminate Woodward and McIntosh, Seymour & Co. ?
Mr. WOODS. I am coming to that now. The Woodward proposition submitted in these bids is one
that I do not think any body of engineers in considering it would adopt, in that they are indefinite in their
specifications somewhat, and besides the character of the machinery they offer to supply is not, in my judg-
ment, the best that can be furnished. Their bid was originally for a reciprocating engine. The commis-
sion will understand that a reciprocating engine is an engine with backward and forward moving pistons,
and the turbine engine is a rotary engine.
I also approved of the opinion of the advisory committee that we should adopt a turbine engine for
our motive power.
176 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
Lynch & Woodward bid on a reciprocating engine. McIntosh, Seymour & Co. bid on a recipro-
cating engine. Those two propositions, if we assume we adopt the turbine plan, will go out. Later on
Lynch & Woodward put in a proposition to substitute a turbine engine at the same price; but I doubt
if we can make a substitution after these bids have been opened in that way.
Now, in considering the bids further, in order to get at the differences of apparatus supplied by the
people, and in order to put them on an equal basis, I find that the Westinghouse Co. have something like
$io,ooo in a storage battery which is in the power plant, and which nobody else has. They have something
like $9,ooo in electric appliances outside the power house and in the substation, which is above that of
anybody else. If we should eliminate that from the price, of course, their total will be lowered by that
amount.
On the other hand, I find in the bid of Muralt & Co. apparatus which is not absolutely necessary,
but which, to give their bid a fair standing, should be considered as eliminated to the total value of $55,800,
which would bring their figure to $786,900 if the eliminations were made.
Now, then, in talking with you yesterday, Mr. Speaker, I spoke of this Atlas boiler question as not
being in an acceptable bid. I am mistaken about that. The Atlas boiler is in a turbine bid; I thought
it was in a reciprocating bid.
I believe that is about all I have to say, and I will be glad to answer any questions.
In the meantime, before this report was submitted, and in view of the fact that the gentleman across
the way, Mr. Green, had a building which was to be reached by this heating, lighting, and power plant,
I sent the papers over to him before I looked into them myself to get his opinion on it, and he also stands
by the report of the advisory committee. So far as the details of the apparatus are concerned in any of these
prominent bids, most all the figures are strictly acceptable in detail, but when it comes to the layout and
arrangement of those matters I must say that the Westinghouse proposition is superior and, I think, would
be sustained by any competent board of engineers that you can call in.
Mr. HEPBURN. What (lo these bids cover ? Having in mind the entire heating proposition, what do
the bids cover ?
Mr. WOODS. They cover some i2,ooo horsepower in electric and generating, machinery, with all the
equipment at the power house, with the various substations in each of the buildings for distributing the
current, and a system of transmission, both for heat and power, between the power house and the several
buildings.
Mr. HIEPBURN. That does not include the building ?
Mr. WOODS. That does not include the building proper.
M r. HEPBURN. Does it include the installation of it? For instance, the laying of pipes, and every-
thing of that kind, connecting that building with this ?
Mr. WOODS. Yes, sir; everything except the actual structure; every detail of machinery and other
al)parattus.
Mr. I-IrrPIURN. That would mean light and heat ?
Mr. WooDs. Yes, sir.
Mr. RIcHARDsON. In what buildings ?
Mi.. WOOnS. The Capitol Building, the Library Building, and the new office buildings, with a sufficient
reserve to cover any other building which might be erected cast of the Capitol.
Mr. HEPBURN. What will it cost to operate this Westinghouse scheme ?
Mr. WOODS. The cost of operation in any of these important bids is about the same.
Mr. I-IrPl'URN. How much is the cost of that annual operation at the present price of coal ?
Mr. WOODS. I will have to make that calculation for you; I (1o not have it in mind now.
Mr. I-l.PBnuRN. Can you not approximate it ? I will put it in another way: lIow will that annual cost
compare with the necessary outlay for the heating and lighting of the Capitol Building and the Library
Building ?
Mr. WooDs. It ought to save at least 20 per cent.
Mr. HEPBURN. Over present cost?
Mr. Wooms. Yes; on account of the question of salaries involved.
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 177
Mr. HEPBURN. And that would include the administration in the other two buildings P
Mr. WOODS. Yes.
Mr. RICHARDSON. If this plan or system were adopted and put into operation, how far will it eliminate
and do away with the present plants for heating and lighting, and so forth, the Capitol and the Library
Buildings, and what would become of those plants?
Mr. WOODS. This central plant will do away with the operation entire of every plant; that is to say,
the plants in the Library and in the Capitol.
Mr. RICHARDSON. Can they be utilized in any way in this operation?
Mr. WOODS. They can not. The character of the current to be generated and the power to be fur-
nished would take them out of service. They might be given over to some other governmental institution;
but that is about all I know you could do with them.
Mr. HEPBURN. What are A. C. 2,ooo K. W. direct-connected generators?
Mr. WOODS. That is an electrical generator directly connected on the shaft of the engine. The 4 A. C.
2,000 K. W. is a 2,ooo-volt alternating current generator. That is what it means.
Mr. CANNON. Have you anything more you want to ask about the bids, Colonel?
Mr. HEPBURN. No.
Mr. CANNON. Have you, Mr. Richardson?
Mr. RICHARDSON. No.
Mr. CANNON. I want to ask some things about it. The Westinghouse bid, the original bid,
is $1,084,369 ?
Mr. WOODS. That is right.
Mr. CANNON. That is bid B?
Mr. WOODS. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. There seems to be a bid C?
Mr. WOODS. Yes. Let me explain, Mr. Speaker: In receiving these bids, each bidder was allowed to
submit with his original proposition, if he chose to do so, four alternate propositions for consideration. This
sheet [indicating same] represents those finally brought into consideration as being worthy, and the top one
of each set represents the one that I consider the most desirable in each case.
Mr. CANNON. That is $i,o84,369?
Mr. WOODS. Yes; so that the end figures in any one set need not be taken.
Mr. HEPBURN. What do they mean?
Mr. WOODS. They are for a plant of cheaper character. For instance, one man would put in with a
first-class proposition, with a turbine generator, a cheaper proposition with reciprocating engines, cheaper
engi-es, and he would cut down on every detail he could to get his price down-cheaper valves, and cheaper
pipes, and so forth.
Mr. CANNON. Why do you give the Westinghouse the bid $901,736?
Mr. WOODS. That was put on this sheet as a matter of information. It was not intcndcd to be brought
up here for consideration.
Mr. CANNON. Now you come to the Haniley-Casey bid. That is $I,O47,277.85. I)id they have
another bid ?
Mr. WOODS. They had four alternate propositions.
Mr. CANNON. You do not seem to have put any of those on.
Mr. WOOns. They are in the three places now.
Mr. CANNON. I am speaking of these original bids on the first line. Just as a matter of information,
I want to see what they bid.
Mr. WOODS. I took out of these bids those of the I-lanley-Casey Co. that had recip)rocating engines.
Mr. CANNON. This is the turbine engine?
Mr. WOODS. That is the turbine engine.
Mr. CANNON. What is the Westinghouse $901,736? Is that a reciprocating engine?
Mr. Woons. No; that is a turbine engine.
Mr. CANNON. Then the Hanley-Casey has only one turbine bid?
178 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
Mr. WOODS. They have two turbine engine bids, but in their figures here they submitted only their
variations on one bid.
Mr. CANNON. I do not understand what you mean by the variations.
Mr. WOODS. In making their deductions from this proposition they only took the one proposition
named by my committee to deduct from.
Mr. CANNON. That is the $1,047,277.85?
Mr. WOODS. That is the one they adopted as making their omissions on.
Mr. CANNON. That is the highest bid he got ?,
Mr. WOODS. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. Now, I notice with White & Co. you put in two bids; with Muralt & Co. two bids, and
two each with McIntosh, Seymour & Co. and the Schofield Co. I just want to know what the Hanley-
Casey bid was.
Mr. WOODS. I will give you that in just a minute. As I say, this sheet is an information sheet of my
own-
Mr. CANNON. Yes--
Mr. WOODS. And I put here those propositions which they returned, with their omissions on. In the
case of Hanley-Casey Co., they did not take the second and third proposition and make deductions, but it
amounts to the same thing, because if you take their figure of $1,047,277.85 and go back, for instance, to
the question of the omission of the steam and electric transmission, it gives you the same figure all the way
through on three different propositions, but on the first proposition his figures stand with a B. & W. boiler;
on the second, with the use of the Sterling boiler, and on the third proposition the use of the Atlas boiler.
Mr. CANNON. Is this first proposition with the use of the Wilcox & Babcock boiler?
Mr. WOODS. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. Now, I want to know what his proposition is with the use of the Sterling boiler, which
is included in the modifications there.
Mr. WOODS. Yes; it is included in his modifications.
Mr. CANNON. Or does he make deductions for anything else except the boiler? In other words, I
want the Hanley-Casey comparative bid, the same as you give the Westinghouse, the White, the Muralt,
the McIntosh, and the Schofield.
Mr. WOODS. I will give you the figures; but, Mr. Speaker, they did not make any modifications except
upon the one original proposition. On his second bid, $971,I75, that was the first proposition with Atlas
boiler.
Mr. HEPBURN. Those figures are not here at all.
Mr. WOODS. What figures?
Mr. HEPBURN. Those you last gave.
Mr. WOODS. You see there are four other propositions that are attached to that that were not considered
acceptable propositions.
M1r. CANNON. How (10 you know that they are not acceptable propositions ? That is for the commis-
sioni to determine, What we are trying to get at is the question of what the bids are, and I want this sheet
corrected-no, not corrected at all, but we want the information in the shortest form that we can get. We
have two bids on the Westinghouse; one $I,084,369 and one $901,736. We have one bid tabulated here
on the 1-lanley-Casey Co., $1,047,000, in round numbers.
Mr. Woons. I will give you the second bid. It is $971,075. Tlhe third bid was $1,031,i98.85. The
other bid was $1,083,697.85. There is still another, $947,885.85.
Mr. CANNON. Now, you considered in these original bids that the $1,084,000, in round numbers, of
the Westinghouse peoI)lc was their most acceptable bid as a whole proposition ?
Mr. WOODS. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. Then you considered that the $I,047,000 in the Hanley-CaseY bids, upon the whole, was
their most acceptalblc bidi ?
Mr. Woois. Yes.
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 179
Mr. CANNON. Now, then, wherein in the Westinghouse bid, when they cut their bid from $io84,000
to $9oIooo is the difference.? What makes the difference there ? Is it in engines, boilers, or general
arrangement, or in dynamos, or in what ?
Mr. WOODS. In every direction in the plant, practically. For instance, the steam electric transmission
is very much cheaper in trench work instead of tunnel work, and they use a cheaper form of layout in the
power house, although they use the turbine engine in each case; a cheaper form of layout, cheaper con-
densers for the generating machinery, and a very much reduced-in-cost system of steam piping and valves.
Mr. CANNON. And so much so, taking the whole thing-generators, steam pipes, valves. and every-
thing-that your recommendation is the $i,o84,000 scheme ?
Mr. WOODS. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. Well, then, let: us go to the next bid, the $I,o47,000 scheme of Hanley-Casey. What
is the $97I,I75 scheme ? Wherein does it differ from the $I,o47,000 scheme ?
Mr. WOODS. Its boilers are cheaper by about $35,800, I understand. His generators remain the
same and his engines remain the same. His condensers are many thousand dollars cheaper in that scheme.
His coal-handling and ash-handling apparatus appear to be less expensive.
Mr. CANNON. What boiler is used?
Mr. WOODS. That is the Atlas boiler.
Mr. CANNON. Does he bid on a turbine engine?
Mr. WOODS. He bids on a turbine engine.
Mr. CANNON. Now, is there any difference between the $971,000 scheme-any substantial differernce
and the $1,047,000 scheme in the Hanley-Casey bid, except the boilers ?
Mr. WOODS. Oh, yes; there is a great deal in the layout and construction.
Mr. CANNON. In the layout and construction ?
Mr. WOODS. Yes. I think the $1,047,000 bid is the better bid of the two for the Government.
Mr. CANNON. Now, the $1,047,000 bid is the better bid of the two, so that you eliminate all bids of
Hanley-Casey except the $1,047,000 bid?
Mr. WooDs. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. IS there anything in the General Electric bidding or papers that shows that the
$1,047,000 bid would be reduced by thirty-odd thousand dollars if the Atlas boiler were substituted for
the Babcock?
Mr. WOODS. That refers to the original $1,047,000 bid ?
Mr. CANNON. Yes.
Mr. WOODS. There is nothing to show that. There is a statement of the boiler people that the
difference in cost would be about $30,00o, but in Mr. Hanley's omissions-from Mr. Hanley these figures
that you see on that sheet are the figures given if the Babcock & Wilcox boiler is used, if the Sterling
boiler is used, and if Atlas boiler is used.
Mr. CANNON. Which figures show that?
Mr. WOODS. You see a set of three figures attached to that set of bids? The $1,047,000 bid-
Mr. CANNON. I had not any memoran(lum of that.
Mr. WOODS. There is nothing in this other bid.
Mr. CANNON. That is not acceptable [indicating] and that [indicating] is not acceptable ?
Mr. Woons. It is this bid that shows, by difference of figures, a difference of $35,ooo attributable to
the boilers.
Mr. CANNON. That is $1,047,000?
Mr. WOODS. Yes, sir.
Mr. CANNON. Now, then, the $I,047,000 bid, in round numbers, is for the Babcock & Wilcox boiler?
Mr. WOODS. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. Now, then, the same bid, as I gather from what you say, if you use an Atlas boiler, is
to be deducted how much ?
180 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
Mr. WOODS. It does not say so here. I want to call your attention to the fact that the statement of
the $35,ooo difference is a mere statement. It is not authoritative. But these figures in Hanley's letter
simply show that if the B. & W. boiler is used and the Atlas boiler is used-
Mr. CANNON. Show us his letter, if you can put your hand upon it.
Mr. WOODS. I will have to get that out of the box, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. CANNON. That letter was written when ?
Mr. WOODS. At the time the modifications came in, in October.
Mr. CANNON. Then you wrote for modifications ?
Mr. WOODS. Yes, sir.
Mr. CANNON. That is to say, you got in all these bids from these parties-
Mr. WOODS. Yes-
Mr. CANNON. And then submitted a request to all the bidders, sending them the same kind of notice
or circular letter to modify their bids ?
Mr. WOODS. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. And this $1,o84,000 bid, in round numbers, is the modified plan of the Westing-
house Co.?
Mr. WOODS. No; that is their original bid.
Mr. CANNON. What is their modified bid?
Mr. WOODS. That is determined, as I have given it to you before, by the deductions which they make
in each particular case.
Mr. CANNON. I am talking about the Westinghouse.
Mr. WOODS. I understand that. These figures, standing alongside of that original bid, show what
the modifications will be with the several items.
Mr. CANNON. You mean to run all through this line of figures here [indicating] ?
Mr. WOODS. No; they simply show the deductions they will make for the omission of those certain
items.
Mr. CANNON. But where are they added up, Mr. Woods?
Mr. WOODS. We have not considered anything but the one omission, Mr. Speaker, and that is the
steam and electric transmission, and those are the figures I have read to you.
Mr. CANNON. That is the steam and electric transmission ?
Mr. WOODS. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. But the Westinghouse people do not in the second biddings, as I will call them-I
suppose they might be legitimately called second biddings if they went to all on equal terms-the West-
inghouse people did not submit any different proposition on boilers or power house ?
Mr. WOODS. They submitted exactly what is shown on that sheet, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. CANNON. just whereabouts, Mr. Woods ?
Mr. WOODS. You want to know if the Westinghouse submitted anything under this modification ?
Mr. CANNON. Yes.
Mr. WOODS. That states their original bid, and these figures show the deductions, just the same as in
every case and with every bidder (indicating from papers.)
Mr. CANNON. These, added tip, make what?
Mr. WOODS. They make up the total deductions called for in the circular letter. We did not consider
these deductions as final, so that I did not consider it necessary to bother about adding this up.
Mr. CANNON. You did not want these deductions ?
Mr. WOODS. We did want this deduction, and I have given it to you here with that deduction out.
Mr. CANNON. That is, you wanted deduction No. x ?
Mr. WOODS. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. That is Senate substation and steam and electric transmission ?
Mr. WOODS. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. You wanted that deduction, but all the other deductions you did not care about ?
Mr. WOOnS. We did not care about them.
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 181
Mr. CANNON. That brings me to the point of wanting to see the Harley-Casey proposition that was
submitted at the same time that the General Electric and the Westinghouse and these other people sub-
mitted theirs, because I gather from you that you not only submitted deductions in No. i, which is Senate
substation and steam and electric plant transmission, as to the Westinghouse, but as to the other bidders
also; but in the tabulation, as you did not treat Nos. 2, 3, and 4. as desirable, you did not submit that in
any of them ?
Mr. WOODS. No.
Mr. CANNON. But I gather from you that at the same time the Hanley-Casey people submitted to you
what their deduction could be in the event a different boiler or boilers were used than the Babcock &
Wilcox boiler-
Mr. WOODS. Yes-
Mr. CANNON. That is what I want to get, and then I want to inquire about the Babcock & Wilcox
boiler, and I want to inquire what information you may have, whatever it may be, about the Atlas boiler.
In other words, I want to get the whole facts before the commission.
Mr. WOODS. Shall I read the Hanley-Casey letter?
Mr. CANNON. Yes; turn to what they say.
Mr. WOODS. Take the case of item No. i, which is steam and electric transmission. He gives the
sum there, $254,524.70-
Mr. CANNON. That is on No. I ?
Mr. WOODS. Wait a moment, if you please. If Sterling boilers are accepted, $262,524.70.
Mr. CANNON. The $254,000 that he eliminates is the use of what ?
Mr. WOODS. That is the use of the Babcock & Wilcox boilers.
Mr. CANNON. Very well. If Sterling boilers are used, his deductions are how much ?
Mr. WOODS. $262,524.
Mr. CANNON. Not so much as in the other case?
Mr. WOODS. No.
Mr. CANNON. And the next?
Mr. WOODS. If Atlas boilers are accepted the deduction would be $289,524,70; so that you get the
difference between $?.54,ooo and $284,000, which is $35,000.
Mr. CANNON. That comes legitimately, because it comes in on the modifications?
Mr. WOODS. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. 'The modifications that you recommend that we adopt ?
Mr. WOODS. Yes; it is a legitimate proposition all the way through.
Mr. CANNON. Precisely. What I want to ascertain is, first, if it is regular. I will just pencil down
here that this is $792,753.35 minus $35,000, in round numbers, if Atlas boilers are used; so that, taking
the modifications which you recommend with the tunnel work or the street work. In other words, under
your second proposition to all these people when they sent in their modifications you recommend that that
be dropped out and that the Government do that itself, or that you do it by subsequent contract, one or both ?
Mr. WOODS. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. And instead of letting a bid to the Westinghouse for $1,084,000, you let a bid to the
Westinghouse for $774,000 in round numbers, or if we let it to the H-lanley-Casey Co. instead of to the
Westinghouse Co. at $1,044,000, we let it to them at $792,000, in round numbers ?
Mr. WOODS. Yes. f
Mr. CANNON. And so on down, leaving you to take careof No. I, the second line there, after " proposals";
leaving you to take care of No. i by other methods of construction. Is that right ?
Mr. WOODS. Yes, Sir.
Mr. CANNON. Now, H-anley-Casey, when they sent in their modifications, say, "We will (lo it at
$792,000, in round numbers, but if you elect to take the Atlas boilers, we will do it 1or $35,000 less than
$792,000," which will make their bid, if the Atlas boiler was taken, $757,753.35 ?
Mr. WooDs. Yes, and Ix cents.
82020-.2---3
182Z
1REPORT O3F 'THEHOUSE OFFICEnUILDINNG tK3MMSSIO1N
Mr. CANNON. Now, I want to get at the question of the comparative merits of the Babcock & Wilcox
and the Atlas boilers-
Mr. Wooi)s. Before you go to that, Mr. Speaker, call I call your attention to something which I think
I ought to call the commission's attention to ?
Mr. CANNON. Certainly.
Mr. WOODS. I wVant the Com11m1isiOn1 to note the fact that this proposition with respect to boilers
sulujecte(l to these modlifications was not asked for. If that is considered as rcgdlar, then I think you ought
to consider the bid of Muralt & Co., because they submit other propositions which are just as regular as
these.
Mr. CANNON. Very well. Let Us get the Muralt. Talking about regularity, the bids are opened;
as I understand it, are in the nature of being opened for modification. Now, if they are opened for modifi-
cation, what is there irregular in making the modifications ?
Mr. WOODS. I (do not see anything irregular in it, except that if this is to be considered, the commission
ought to consider the other manl's modifications on the same line.
Mr. CANNOW. I (lid not know you had it, but if you have, let us get the proposition of Muralt & Co.
Mr. WOODS. Muralt, at my request, has furnished prices and modifications.
Mr. CANNON. When ? In his answer to this matter ?
Mr. WOODS. No, sir; not in answer to this matter.
Mr. CANNON. I am trying to get the replies in answer to this matter.
Mr. WOODS. Very well; I will not say anything more about it.
Mr. CANNON. How do they come?
Mr. Woot)s. On a new request.
Mr. CANNON. Was it a new request made to everybody ?
Mr. WOODS. No, sir. It was made for this reason: I discovered that this man had in his plan a
very expensive outfit in the power house that was not necessary, and I thought it was advantageous to the
Government to get from him a price as to what he would leave that part of his outfit out for, if called upon
to do so. I have his answer to my individual request on that. I did not write to the others because they
did not have those particular features in their plaiis. TFhis maln had this much in addition, which I thought
could be saved; so I wrote to him.
Mr. CANNON. Now, then, when you got his reply did that cover a scheme that you can recommend ?
Mr. Woons. 01, yes.
Mr. CANNON. HOW does it com11pare in its scheme with the Westinghouse and the General Electric ?
Mr. Woons. It compares as favorably, as a scheme, as any one of those bids, except that Westinghouse
plrol)osition, which I say is a better laid-out affair.
Mr. CANNON. Now, at the second lid(ling, as I will call it, to describe it, the second proposition sent
to everybody for modifications, you got no response at all from Muralt & Co. ?
Mr. WOODS. Oh, yes; that is shown on the sheet there.
Mr. CANNON. Theirs was $842,000o ?
Mr. WOODS. That is the net result.
Mr. HIEP~mBUIN. Where is that $842,000?
Mlr. CANNON. On1 the first line.
Mr. Wooi)s. The result is $842,700. It (the de(lduction for steam an(l electric transmission) should be
$277,000 on the Muralt sheet.
Mr. CANNON. On1 Senate substation and steam andI electric transmission they modify their hid and
reduce it $277,600 ?
Mr. Woons. $277,000 even.
Mr. CANNON. Not six hundred ?
Mr. WooDs. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. And that (deducted from their original bid of $J,119,700---
Mr. WOODS. Leaves $842,700.
Mr. CANNON. Now, then, after that modification came in, which you advise in consideration of these
bids in column No. i. Senate substation and steam and elertric transmission. vou fit to examining
Table: [No Caption]
the
and all other
should
requirements,
hereafter install
to
this
be
unit it
so
tiurnished
will be
hundred
and
connect
generator ?
eighty-six thousand
aforesaid two batteries of boilers of
two units
generator
and
andl two
apparatus
of
and the
operation?
two units
A complete
under
installed
list in detail
this proposal
should
to
be submitted
form a
4,ooo-kilowatt
showing exactly
plant complete and
what pieces of apparatus
ready for
are
drawings
four
e
in the
a
various
sumli
lump
(Words wanted.)
brackets not
f
n
$M6,58.
IW ords In
brickttl otwanted.1
n
Addition Congretssonal
deduction] Capitol Building,
Library
oo,
Building, Nonte, Addition for
deductions Capitol Building,
Addition or deduction Congressional Library $i6,R5Building,
8oo.
None.
Addition
[or deductions
or
House Office Building, $13,102.00.
deductions Senate Office Building, $P3,96.o0.
Addition(or dleductIon) House
Addition for deduction) Senate Office
O1ci
c
Building,
Building,
$13,102.00.
13,966.oo.
Respectfully submitted.ny
Ila-leyanly-ey Cotnpaly,
By T. F. Hanley, Prest.
Very respectfully,
ELLI'OT' WOODS,
U.
Superintendent LI. Capitol Building and Grounds.
Makeprices
your on this original and retain a copy.
E. W.
Mr. CANNON.
On November I 1905
o, s you ent to all these
parties, these
bidders, a circular letter like
this, of which I will read a portion. [Reads extracts from above letter.]
I wish
you would furnish the
stenographer a copy of that
letter, and so
on. Now, I
merely put
1 2 ~~~~~~~~3
4
Bidders. Proposals. Items I and I Two units with
tiOn and steam engine genera- auxiliaries, . and coal ands
andtranmisson.
tand electrical
electrica tor, and(no4
boilers
auxiliaries),
engines,
generators,2 3
boilers, etc.
asparans
ahapparatus.
handling
Omissions.
5 ~~6 7
Bidders. Proposals. Original Remarks.
bid,m~nus No. 6 plus
Original bid. u1ner
sniS No. 3.
u ,(, er
Iten 4.
Wcstinghouse Electric Mansufactusrinsg Co ........ .................... 1 1, 084, 369.oo $488, 367.00 752, 34900 Storage battery.
C 901,736.00 429,807.00 6713217.00
Ilaslry.cyasey Co .................
. 4.98,782.20 757, 464. 80
2 1,047,277.85 490,782.20 749,464.80
3 463,782.20 722, 464. 80
J.G. White & Co ................................................ I 1,189,250.00 594,26.0oo 865,032.00
2 1,0o5,299.00 509,962.00 758, 732.0
l ynch & Woodward .................1...........................1 862, 726.00 375, 769. o 1, 769.oo
Mfuralt & Co .................1.. ........ I I 1,199, 700 00 747,300.00 3, o1 7300. 00
2 1,164, 800oo 769,20oo.o 1, o62, 200, oo
Mlclntosls, Seymouir & Co .................. ........ ...... 3 903, 730.00 422, 676.00 655, 592.00
430,448.00
2 918,500.00 670,362.oo
I is of 3So.0oo
Trhe Scofield Co .......................................... ..3,35....... 5 63, 796, 977.00
2 974, 100.00 550, :56.oo 774,334.00
The material used in the piping system consists of about 12,250 feet of standard heavy wrought-iron
pipe 6 to 12 inches in diameter with Van Stone joints, 34 anchors, 35 expansion joints, and 35 valves from
6 to 12 inches. The return system consists of about 12,250 feet of pipe from 3 to 5 inches diameter. A
drip system for draining the pipes consists of about 12,250 feet of IX4 to 2 inch pipe.
The insulation for the larger pipes consists of about 2 inches of asbestos covered with tarred paper
and canvas thoroughly painted. Twelve long manholes 8 by 8 by 7 feet and I5 smaller manholes about
5
feet 3 inches by 5 feet 3 inches by 6 feet are provided. The tunnels drain to the manholes and these
are drained to the nearest servers or into blind drains.
The clectric-transmission line proposed consists of a duplicate line to each building, of duct construction,
about 13,000 feet in length, wvith a total length of SI,950 duct feet. The duct construction is placed just
outside of the walls of the tunnel and forms a part of it. The manholes for the steam and electric trans-
mission lines are common to both systems. The cables are 3 conductor cables of various sizes for the
several buildings, paper insulated and lead covered, about 27,500 feet in length. The tunnels are lighted
throughout by electricity.
The committee does not approve of the general plan of the steam-transmission line which requires
the operation, probably in freezing weather, of valves placed in manholes outside the buildings when it is
necessary to change the distribution of the steam in consequence of a break or leak in any portion of the
line. Furthermore, it is of the opinion that the tunnel construction should be slightly larger than that
provided in the largest size of tunnel and should all be of uniform size. Furthermore, it does not approve
of the forced-return system for all buildings. Furthermore it does not entirely approve of the proposed
drainage system and the lack of waterproofing. Neither does it approve of the location of the electric
ducts in the wvalls of the tunnels with manholes common to both systems. Nor does it approve of
the location of those lines in the Capitol Building. However, as all of these objections, except the first
one, can be removed b)y slight changes in design at an increased cost, and as the other features of the
plan propose(l are in general very satisfactory, the committee gave the bid further consideration,
The plan No. i is th: best that this company offers. The four other plans reduce the dimensions of
the tunnel to a degree not acceptable to the committee.
Plan No. i provides for a turbogenerator outfit, and plans No. alt. and No. 2 are modifications of
I
plan No. i, with a view to still further reducing the cost by the substitution of cheaper apparatus.
It is believed only necessary to consider plan No. i, as any modificationswith a view to reducing the
cost canlbe made from the No. i bid by suitable reductions to be determined byyourself.
lPlans No. 3 an(l No,+ provide for reciprocating-engine outfit. The committee, for reasons to be
given more fully later on,do not approve of the use of reciprocating engines. Moreover, these bids are higher
than the other bids for a reciprocating-engine outfit which meetwith the views of the committee more closely,
andl there is nothing in the proposed planswhichwould justify the consideration of this bid at a higher cost
than some of the othersproposed.
It is therefore recommended that only the bid No. i of the Hanley-Casey- Co. be considered in the
ultimate selection of the most favorable bid.
Theplan of Lynch & Woodward for the steam transmission line proposes a single tunnel to each
buildingwith a single delivery pipe and return pipe in each tunnel. The tunnel is 6,460 feet in length.
Its inside dimensions are 4 by 6 feet and the concrete forming it varies from 8 to 12 inches.
The material used in the piping system consists of about 6,460 feet of full weight mild steel pipe, 8 to
I4 inches in diameter,vith Walmanco or Van Stone joints and 14 valves from 8 toi4 inches. Expansion
bends are used. The return system consists of 6,460 feet of cast-iron pipe 4 inches in diameter.
The insulation forthe larger pipes consistsof inches of magnesia with one layer of roofing felt. The
z
dimensional andI number of manholes are not given. No provision is made for the drainage of waterproofing.
Expansion chambers, 15 by 6 feet, for the steam and return systems are provided at intervals not exceeding
400 feet.
The electric transmission line consists of a duplicate line to each building of duct construction some
2,500 feet long, supplemented by split tiles placed in the side walls of the tunnel with a total length of about
21,000 duct feet.
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 201
The cables are 3-conductor cables of various sizes for the several buildings, paper-insulated and lead
covered about 2I,000 feet in length.
This plan for the steam transmission line providing but a single line of pipe to each building is not
approved by the committee. If a duplicate line of pipe be provided for each building, as shown on the plans,
at an increased cost of $mI,5oo, this plan would still not be acceptable, as it requires the operation, probably,
in freezing weather of valves placed in manholes outside the buildings when it is necessary to change the
distribution of the steam in consequence of a break or leak in any portion of the line.
The committee thinks that the dimensions of the tunnels should be larger and that drainage or water-
proofing should be provided. The committee does not approve of the expansion bends as shown. -The
committee does not approve of the use of tiles in the tunnel for carrying the electric cables. Neither does
it approve of the location of the steam and electric lines in the Capitol Building, nor of the control of the
Senate electric transmission line from the Capitol.
This plan provides for a reciprocating-engine outfit. The committee, for reasons to be given more
fully later on, does not approve of the use of reciprocating engines. Moreover, although this bid is the
lowest bid for a reciprocating-engine outfit, yet the specifications and plans arc so incomplete and indefinite in
many essentials that the committee is unable to determine exactly the character of the materials or apparatus
to be furnished, and is therefore unwilling to consider this bid in comparison with other bids for the same
type of engine which are much more complete and definite and more acceptable to the committee.
Moreover, the changes which would be necessary to make this plan meet with the approval of the
committee would so increase the cost that the revised estimate would be higher than the cost of other plans
which more nearly meet the views of the committee.
The committee therefore recommends that the bid of Lynch & Woodward be not considered in the
ultimate selection of the most favorable bid.
The plan of McIntosh & Seymour for the steam transmission proposed a duplicate line of trenches
to each building with a single delivery pipe in each trench. No return system is provided in the plan this
company recommends, although an alternative plan provides for a return system at an increased cost of
$37,200. The length of trench is about I2,225 feet, its dimensions are about 2o by 24 inches with brick
bottom and 8-inch brick sides, covered with plank and 4 inches of concrete.
The material used is about I1,225 feet of wrought-iron pipe from 7 to I2 inches in diameter with
recessed flanges, 58 double expansion joints, 20 single expansion joints, and 22 valves from 7 to I2 inches.
The insulation consists of z inches of magnesia. The number and dimensions of the manholes are not given.
A tile drain, 4 inches in diameter, placed under the axis of the trench, takes care of the drainage.
The electric transmission line proposed consists of a duplicate line to each building of standard duct
construction, about 12,225 feet in length, with a total of 26,373 duct feet. The electric transmission is placed
parallel with the trenches and in the same excavation. The cables are 3-conductor cables of various sizes
for the several buildings, paper insulated and lead covered and about 26,373 feet in length.
The number and dimensions of the manholes are not stated.
The committee does not approve of the general plan of the steam transmission line which requires
the operation, probably, in freezing weather of valves placed in manholes outside the buildings when it is
necessary to change the distribution of the steam in consequence of a break or leak in any portion of the line.
Furthermore, it does not approve of the method of trench construction nor of the type of expansion joint,
nor of the variators offered as a substitute.
The electric transmission line is, in general, satisfactory to the committee, although it does not approve
of its location in the same excavation with the trenches.
The alternative proposition of this company for the steam transmission line of pipe covered with wood
insulation placed directly in the ground at a reduced cost of $24,300 is not-approved by the committee.
Moreover, all of the plans proposed by this company contemplate the use of a reciprocating-engine
outfit. The committee is unanimously opposed to the use of reciprocating engines for this plant for reasons
to be given more fully further on.
If, however, the steam and electrical transmission lines should be eliminated from this contract and
this portion of the work should be done under a separate contract, or by hired labor by the Government,
202 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
the layout and machinery and apparatus offered by this company for the power house alone is generally
acceptable from a reciprocating engine point of view.
The plan No. 4 for the apparatus for the power house meets, in general, with the approval of the
committee from a reciprocating point of view. While the committee strongly recommends the adoption
of a turbo generator plant, it is of the opinion that this plan, with modifications giving a lower piston speed
to the engines, should be considered, provided only the material for the power house is contracted for at this
tile, an(l the recommendation of the committee for a turbo generator plant is disapproved.
The plan of Muralt for the steam transmission proposed a single line of trench to each building with a
single delivery pipe and return in each trench. The length of the trench is about 5,6oo feet., The material
forming the trench varies from 6 to 8 inches. The dimensions of the trench are not stated.' The material
used consists of about 5,600 feet of extra heavy flanged pipe from 6 to iZ inches in diameter, with expansion
joints, and the same length of return pipe from 4 to 7 inches in diameter. The insulation consists of i inch
of magnesia covered with canvas, thoroughly painted.
The numbers of valves, expansion joints, manholes, and their dimensions are not given. Drainage for
trenches and chambers is provided for by 6-inch tile drains led to convenient points.
The electric transmission line proposed consists of a single line to each building, of standard duct
construction, about 5,600 feet in length, with a total length of 23,ooo duct feet, with duplicate cables. The
steam and electric transmission lines are independent. The cables are three conductor cables of various
sizes for the several buildings, rubber insulated and lead covered, about 23,000 feet in length. Sixteen
manholes 4 by 4 by 4 feet are provided.
The committee does not approve of the single line of pipe to each building nor of the trench construction.
It does not approve, either, of the duplicate line of electric transmission in the same trench.
The plans of this bidder provide for either a turbine or a reciprocating engine outfit, but at a higher
price in Calch case than those proposed by other bidders.
lThese plans contain no special advantages which would warrant their consideration at this higher
cost. The changes which would be recommended by the committee would, on the whole, still further
increase the cost.
It is therefore recommended that the bid of Muralt be not considered in the ultimate selection of the
most favorable bid. 1
The plans of Schofield & Co. for the steam transmission proposes a duplicate line of trenches to each
building with a single delivery pipe in each trench, No return system is provided in the plan this company
recommends, although an alternative plan provides for a return system at an increased cost of $35,273.
Thle length of trench is about 12,225 feet; its dimensions are about 20 by 24 inches, with brick bottom and
8-inch brick sides covered with plank and 4 inches of concrete.
The material used is about 12,225 feet of wrought-iron pipe from 7 to i2 inches in diameter,
with recessedl flanges, 113 double variators, 26 single variators, and 22 valves from 7 to 12 inches. The
insulation consists of IS/ inches of magnesia covered with canvas. The number and dimensions of the
manholes is not given. A tile drain 4 inches in diameter under the trenches takes care of the drainage.
The electric-transmission line consists of a duplicate line to each building of standard duct con-
struction about i2,225 feet in length, with a total of 27,275 duct feet. The electrical transmission line is
placed parallel with the trenches and in the same excavation.
The cables are 3-conductor cables of various sizes for the several buildings, paper insulated, and lead
covered, about 27,375 feet in length. The number and dimensions of the manholes are not stated.
The committee does not approve of the general plan of the steam-transmission line which requires the
operation probably in freezing weather of valves placed in manholes outside the buildings when it is
necessary to change tile distribution of the steam in consequence of a break or leak in any portion of the
line. Furthermore, it does not approve of the method of trench construction nor of the type of expansion
joint or variator.
The committee does not approve of the location of the electric-transinission line in close proximity to
the steami-transmnission line.
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 203
The committee could not in any case approve of either of the complete bids of this company on account
of the character of the steam-transmission plan. If all the tunnel and trench work and the Senate sub-
station be eliminated from these plans at the price given by this bidder in his revised bids, it would render
the rest of the plans more easily comparable with other plans. The layout and machinery and apparatus
for the power house offered in either plan would furnish a satisfactory working plant, although not as accept-
able as other plans submitted. Either plan, however, after making the above deduction in cost, is higher
than other plans which are more acceptable and there are no special features in these plans which would
warrant their consideration at this higher cost.
It is therefore recommended that the bids of Schofield & Co. do not be considered in the ultimate
selection of the most favorable bid.
The plan of the Westinghouse Co. for the steam-transmission line proposes a single line of tunnels
and trenches with duplicate delivery pipes to each building in each tunnel or trench. A partial single
return system is also provided. The tunnel is i,900 feet long and its interior dimensions are 5 feet 6 inches
by 7 feet. The concrete and brick forming the tunnel is i6 inches in thickness.
- The trench is 3,935 feet long and its interior dimensions are 2 feet 6 inches by + feet. The concrete
and brick forming the trench varies from 6 to i6 inches.
The material used in the piping system consists of about ii,670 feet of standard wrought-iron pipe 7
to 12 inches in diameter, with welded flanges, i8 valves 7 to 12 inches, about 85 expansion or swing joints,
and about 85 anchors. The return system consists of about 5,835 feet of pipe from 2 to 5 inches in diameter.
A drip system is provided where required. The insulation consists of 2 inches of magnesia covered with
canvas and thoroughly painted with waterproof paint.
Manholes are provided in the trenches every 20o feet and in the tunnel every 400 feet. The tunnel
and trenches are thoroughly waterproofed.
The electric transmission line consists of a single line to each building of duct construction about 5,835
feet in length, with a total length of 57,600 duct feet, with duplicate cables. These lines are absolutely
independent and are far removed from the steam transmission lines. The manholes are 8 feet by 8 feet 6
inches by 6 feet 3 inches, placed at all bends and at intervals of 400 feet in the straight runs. The cables
are 3-conductor cables of various sizes for the several buildings, paper insulated and lead covered, about
57,600 feet in length. One set of cables to each building is a reserve in case of accident. The committee
approves of this general plan of the steam transmission line, for it permits the control of the system at the
power house and does not require the operation of valves placed in manholes outside the buildings when
necessary to change the distribution of the steam. It does not approve of any trench construction, and
thinks, moreover, that the tunnel construction should be used throughout the system. It does not approve
of the dimensions of the piping in the return system. It is not prepared to approve of the expansion joint
offered.
The electrical transmission line is satisfactory to the committee, although it would be less liable to
possible interruptions of service if the duplicate lines were farther separated.
An alternative plan, providing for but a single steam and electrical transmission line, is proposed, but
the committee does not approve of this plan.
As the objections raised to the steam and electrical transmission lines can be removed by slight changes
in design, at an increased cost, however, and as the other features of the plan proposed are in general very
satisfactory, the committee gave this bid further consideration.
Plan B is the most satisfactory plan that this company proposes. Plan C, in addition to providing
for but a single steam and electric transmission line, makes many material reductions in the number and
quality of the apparatus furnished in plan B. These changes do not meet with the approval of the com-
mittee. Moreover, any modifications with a view to reducing the cost can be made from bid B by suitable
changes to be determined by yourself.
In plan A the voltage of the electrical system is reduced to 3,300 volts, at an increased cost of about
$35,ooo. The committee sees no advantage in the selection of the lower voltage at a higher cost, and
therefore confines its consideration to plan B.
204 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
B
Plan of this
company meets, in
general, with the approval of the committee, and it is
recommended
that it be considered in the ultimate selection of the most favorable bid.
The
process of elimination has
reduced the consideration of the most favorable bid to
that of the
Hanley-Casey Co. bid No.
i $1,047,277.85 for a Curtis turbine and General Electric apparatus and to
theWestinghouse
recommendations
bid
of the
B at
$1,084,369
committee
for a Parsons turbine and Westinghouse apparatus, and in case the
in favor of a turbine plant are not sustained and the electrical and steam
transmission line
Comparing
is not
$940,ooo.
offering a turbine plant-on basis
& Seymour with the Westinghouse
elimination
bid-the higher of the
substation and
two bids
the steam
the
of the of the Senate of
and
electrical transmission lines at the
figures given by these bidders in their revised bids, bid is reduced
the first
by $223,180, $7I6,820;
becoming the second is reduced by
$3Io,036, becoming
$774,333-a difference of
$57,513 in favor of the McIntosh & Seymour bid.
The Westinghouse plan is
by far the most satisfactory plan in the layout and material and apparatus
offered.
Some of the advantages of the Westinghouse plan considered from the point of cost are
given as
follows:
The Westinghouse planprovides
coal and ash handling system;
more
expensive type of condenser; a more convenient and
expensive
larger, more
convenient, and expensive crane; a 360 ampere hour storage
sswitchboard
battery with switchboard,
system;
traiisfor nier. the bid of
a more
instruments,
convenient
and
and
charging
economical
apparatus;
exciter
extra
system,
panels
and a
and
more
instruments on the
desirable type of
Moreover, McIntosh & Seymour somewhat increased must be to provide for engines having
a lower piston speed than those offered in their plan.
Furthermore, if reciprocating engines are house, installed in the power the size of the building and
of the foundations forthe engines increased
and generators must be at a greater cost for the ultimate
construction ofthe whole plant.
TIaking these things into consideration, committee is opinion the of
the that the apparent advantage of
$57,513 in favor of the McIntosh
Seymour bid
more
is than offset by the superiority of the apparatus
obtained.
(b) Thc smaller weight and
vibration turbine machinery permits smaller
absence of of the and cheaper
foundations.
(()
original plant,
smaller
and
the turbine machinery gives more headroom in the building.
(c) Thle smaller size of
The size
requires
and
less
weight
time
of
in
the turbine
dismantling
machinery permits
and assembling the
a more
machinery
rapid installation
in case of
of the
repairs,
thereby decreasing the time that the machinery is out of commission for repairs.
(e) The use of
tle turbine engine does require the heavy type of generator and is
not
flywheel more
simple in operation.
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING
205
(m) The turbine, having no
reciprocating motion, is believed to he
theoretically the best type of steam
prime mover. use of
(n) The the plant turbine
believed be in best
is
practice, the
to accord with the modern
as
committee found that nearly large all
plants installing turbines either in
the commercial
plants were
new
in the power house, the plan of the Westinghouse Co. is decidedly the better.
The layout of the steam piping the Westinghouse plan permits the use of both superheated steam
and saturated
A header steam
for the
from all the boilers at the same time.
superheated is run on each side of the boiler room and is connected with a
header in the engine room supplying superheated steam for the main engines.
A header for the saturated each side the boiler
steam is run on of room and is connected with a
header
in the engine room supplying saturated steam for the auxiliaries.
The steam-transmission line is
connected with the header for saturated steam at
points near the
middle of the header on each side of the boiler room.
This
arrangement makes each
system independent and permits the use of one or
boilers to
end of
tees
the
loop
steam,-and,
the
steam.
No outlet or line of
piping is shown on the drawings for the steam for the auxiliaries or for the
steam-
transmission line.
No connection is shown with the saturated-steam outlets of the boilers.
Either the layout of the piping steam
the boiler defective in
plans contemplate
the room is or the use
transmission line.
The specifications do not clearly indicate'that the latter planis contemplated.
The
layout in eithermeet case
approval
does
the
committee, is the
with the of as it of opinion
prob-
the
Government and while the changes in the layout of the steam mains
Moreover, the plan proposed by the Westinghouse Co. proposes a partial gravity return system for
the condensed steam, while the plan of the Hanley-Casey provides for a forced return system with the
greater complication and cost of operation of unnecessary pumping apparatus.
In the plan of the H-lanley-Case) for the electric-transmission line, the ducts are built into the side of
the tunnel and separated only by some 6 inches of concrete, and the manholes are common to both the
steam audI electric systems. As a result the temperature of the ducts will be about the same as that of the
tunnel, and the resistance of the cables will be increased.
The cables are not properly proportioned,, and the watt loss per duct foot is considered excessive.
This loss is further increased by the increased resistance due to the increased temperature above
mentionedl.
In the plan of the Westinghouse Co. for the electric-transmlission line the duct construction is abso-
lutely independent of the steami-transmnission line and is entirely removed from its vicinity. The manl-
holes are larger and more convenient than those proposed in the plans of Hanlcy-Casey.
The cables are half as large as those proposed by the Hanley-Casey and are doubled in number. The
watt loss per duct foot and the inductive losses are therefore only half of those in the cables proposedI by
I-l anlcy-Casey.
The committee does not thoroughly approve of the location of the duplicate lines of cable to each
building in the same duet construction, as the same causes which would injure one line Woould probably
injure the duplicate line at the same time.
In the substations each bidder proposes a greater transformer capacity than that called for in the
specificat ions.
HIanley-Casey propose to use oil-cooled transformers in all substations, except in the Library, where
theyr plol)ose to use air-cooled transforer's.
The Westinghouse Co. propose to use air-cooled transformers in all substations.
While I-lanley-Casey propose to furnish some i,5oo kilowvatt greater transformer capacity than that
furnished by the Westinghouse Co., the difference in cost between the air-cooled transformers and the oil-
cooled transformers is in favor of the Westinghouse Co., as the oil-cooled transformers are of a cheaper
class and less desirable from the point of fire risk.
The Westinghouse Co. proposes to furnish for the Capitol substation a switchboard with distributing
panels, with their bus bars, instruments, switches, etc., to entirely replace the switchboard now in use,
which is not adapted for the proposed system. If not included in the contract, these panels, with their
al)l)aratus, will have to be purchased by the Government. Hanley-Casey do not offer this apparatus.
The exciter system proposed by Hanley-Casey is not as reliable as that proposed by the Westinghouse
Co., as the system is self-exciting and no surplus or reserve is provided for contingencies.
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING
207
The exciters
proposed by the
Westinghouse Co. are
directly connected to the generator shaft, and
each exciter is capable of exciting two of the main generators. In addition, a storage battery of 360 ampere
hours' capacity is provided, which is capable of exciting any or all of the generators for a limited time. It
is also available to light the
power house and to furnish power to
operate the crane in case of
breakdown
or shut down of the whole plant.
The crane proposed by the
Westinghouse Co. has two
that the committee have been able to devote only portion of their time to this matter, as allthe members
a
have had other duties.
important
CHIAS.. G.BRtomwim1,1,
Colonel, U. S. lrnly,
Superintendent Public Buildings GroUnds,Ch)airman.
C. P.IandM,111 .
Chief Electrical Engineer, U. Capitol. S .
S. W. S'TRATKoN,
Director Bureau of Standards.
1). W. HARDING,
Chief Electrician Congressional Library.
CHAS. B.TrrLOW,
Chief Engineer Congressional Library.
S. H. WOODBRIDGE,
Consulting Heating and Fentilating Engineer.
Mr. CANNON (continuing). Is there anything else you have to submit, Mr. Woods ?
Mr.
WOODS. I do not think there is anything else. The matter is all of record
here. All
the materials
will have to be gotten together'in some sort of shape. There is a great mass of it.
So far
as my judgment about this matter goes am perfectly willing for the commission to send for
anybody they want and to let them
go into the matter and accept their judgment instead of
mine. I would
be
perfectly willing for
you do it. would be glad to have you do
it. am
mistaken, I
want to be
corrected.
Mr.
HEPBURN. You
very heartily approve of the bids and of the acceptance of the bids of the Westing-
'rhe impression made upon the committee was to the effect that the bolts and nuts in connection with
the handholes of these boilers were of a very poor and cheap construction in comparison to other boilers
now oil the market.
I n view of the magnitude and importance of the congressional power plant, the committee can not
consistently recominen(l for consideration the Atlas boiler, as it is fair to assume that other boilers of this
type would develop similar defects, as above mentioned In this connection the committee could find no
fault with the operating attendants or the quality of water used, and also that the steam header was located
13 feet above the steam domes of these boilers, giving same every possible advantage. We therefore are
compelled to stand by the original recommendation of the advisory board in their official report to the
Superintendent of the United States Capitol Building and Grounds.
'[he committee departed from Greensboro, N. C., at 11.30 p. im., March I, for Washington, arriving
here at 9 .1. i11., March 2, 1906.
D. W. HARDING, Electrical Engineer.
CHARLES B. TjIr ow, Steamn Engineer.
C. P. GLIEM, Chief Electrical Engineer.
Tios. W. POWER, Consulting Engin'er.
BUIlD)ING, AND GROUNDS, LIBRARY CON(Mr.gs,OF
piping, complete
condenser units with
all
step-down transformers and connections from statics to rotaries and from rotaries to
switchboards, leaving everything ready for the Government to make connections thereto.
No change has been made in the apparatus as originally specified for the Congressional Library
Building.
In case motor generators desired in lieu of the rotary converters mentioned in the above paragraph,
we will furnish and install
these the same as provided for rotaries, without any difference in price from
that as given for the
change in
complete rotary stations, all as per figures in your circular letter
herewith.
Very respectfully, HANIEY-CASEY CO.,
T. F. HANLEY, President.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIvES,
The commission met this
I day at o'clock p. m. in the
- WI/lashington, D. C., January 5, 1907.
Speaker's room.
Present: Joseph G. Cannon, of
Illinois, chairman;
W. P. Hepburn, of Iowa; J. D. Richardson, of
months
Mr.for delivery?
WOODS. Yes;
As I
glance
that
through this memorandum
can be
Mr. CANNON. The cheapest bid for reciprocating engines, with the other apparatus, is $532,674, us
against the cheapest bid with the turbine engines, which is in the aggregate $533,728 ?
Mr. WEST. That is the Westinghouse bid.
Mr. CANNON. They are substantially the same ?
Mr. Wi.-s'i. The reciprocating engine is a thousand dollars less.
Mr. CANNON. Than the turbine engine?
IV\r. WE.ST. Yes, sir; the cheapest bid on the turbine engine.
Mr. CANNON. With the electrical apparatus ?
Mr. WEST. Yes, sir,
Mr. CANNON. And the cheapest bid on the reciprocating engine-and otherwise the apparatus isthe
samne-is $532,674 ?
MIr. WEST. 'Yes, sir.
Mr. CANNON. They being substantially the same, the difference being nominal, that brings us down
to a consideration of the question of the merits of the engines?
Mr. WEST. That is it,
Mr. CANNON. What have you to say as to the comparative merits of the turbine engine and the
reciprocating engine?
Mr. Douj)s. I will open that point by saying that the first question coming up in commercial practice
as to a decision between the two is the question of real estate, buildings, floor space, and cubic feet of
space occupied by the twvo systems, the reciprocating and turbine. In this case that difference would
approximate $35,000 to $40,000 more for the reciprocating engine than for the turbine engine.
M/Ir. Wooi)s. In what ?
M4r. Douns. In buildings, real estate, etc.
Mr. RIcIIARDSON. The reciprocating engine requires that much more space?
Mr. DOUDS. Yes, sir. That is the first and controlling feature in decisions of this sort.
Ar. CANNON. That takes into consideration the value of the real estate and the cost of the building ?
M r. Doui)s. Yes, sir.
Mr. CANNON. Treat them separately, if you vill. Whatdifference would there be supposing the real
estate were donated, what would be the difference in the cost of the building to accommodate the turbine
enginees and the reciprocating engines, substantially the same ?
Mr. DouDs. I would prefer tohave Mr. Gay answer thatquestion.
Mrll. GAY. I think the statement made by Mr. Douds is correct-that from $35,000 to $40,ooo would
be the difference in the cost of the building alone.
Ml. CANNON, These bids do not include the cost of the building?
Mr. Wooms. That is a separate matter. They do not.
Mr. CANNON. That is to say,without regard to the merits of the reciprocating engine and the turbine
engine andiwithout regard to the ground upon which they stand, the value of the same, the difference
between the cost ofthe building for the turbine engine and the reciprocating engine is from $35,000 to
$4o,ooo in favor ofthe use of the turbine engine ?
Mr. GAY. That is correct.
Mr. CANNON,That is, the building for the turbine engine would cost that much less ?
Mr. GAY. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. Nowv, please tell us, in a general way, what are the comparative merits.
Mr. GAY. The first difference between the reciprocating engine and the turbine engine is one of
movement,the one being a continuous or rotary motion and the other being an intermittent or reciprocat-
ing motion. In the small engine,Up toI,ooo kilowatts, that does not make so much difference, because
the moving parts are light, but in this case, the machineryweighing 300,000 pounds or even more, your
dimensions become so great that these parts turn over and tend, inthe first place, to increase the liability
of injury to the engine and the continuity of operation. The momentum of these parts is so great that
there can be no safety device provided to keep them together, and they are more liable to break, in spite
of any safety device we can provide.
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 221
Mr. CANNON. You are speaking now of the reciprocating engine?
Mr. GAY. Yes, sir. Bear in mind that we would change from the one to the other at the i,ooo-,
kilowatt size, which is about half the size we have in mnind here.
Mr. CANNON. You have in mind 2,000 kilowatts ?
Mr. GAY. Yes, sir.
Mr. CANNON. When you speak of a kilowatt machine you are now speaking of the dynamo, and the
dynamo produces the electric current, which is measured by kilowatts ?
Mr. GAY. Yes, sir.
Mr. CANNON. And the steam, of course, runs the engine and the engine runs the dynamo ?
Mr. GAY. In this particular case they are all on the same shaft.
Mr. CANNON. I know; but still you have the shaft instead of the belt. The boiler furnishes the
steam and the engine is the go-between between the steam and the dynamo ?
Mr. GAY. Yes, sir.
Mr. CANNON. And the engine that would furnish i,ooo kilowatts-which would operate a I,ooo-
kilowatt machine-you think it would not make much difference whether it was reciprocating or turbine ?
Mr. GAY. Yes, sir.
Mr. CANNON. But when you come to 2,ooo kilowatts
Mr. GAY (interrupting). Or greater.
Mr. CANNON (continuing). Or greater, you decide in favor of the turbine ?
Mr. GAY. Yes, sir.
Mr. CANNON. That is, the turbine has a round motion ?
Mr. GAY. A circular motion, continuously.
Mr. CANNON. And the other is
Mr. GAY. Reciprocating. It stops.
Mr. CANNON. Back and forth ?
Mr. GAY. Yes, sir; continuously.
Mr. CANNON. There is nothing speculative about either. They have both been tried and are both
in operation ?
Mr. GAY. Yes, sir.
Mr. CANNON. There is less danger from accident in engines the size you speak of, the turbine, on
account of the even continuous motion ?
Mr. GAY. And the difference in the weight of the moving parts. It is similar to taking a heavy stone
and having it go this way and that way [indicating].
Mr. CANNON. That would represent the turbine?
Mr. GAY. Both the reciprocating and the turbine. You have revolving parts in either case. In the
one case you have a flywheel, i6 to x8 feet in diameter and probably weighing 6o,ooo to 8o,ooo pounds,
and that is turning continuously.
Mr. CANNON. What is it that weighs 6o,ooo to 8o,ooo pounds?
Mr. GAY. The flywheel on the reciprocating engine.
Mr. CANNON. There is no flywheel on the other engine ?
Mr. GAY. No, sir.
Mr. CANNON. You have had practical experience with botn kinds ?
Mr. GAY. Yes, sir.
Mr. CANNON. With both of the sizes-i,ooo and 2,ooo kilowatts ?
Mr. GAY. Yes, sir,
Mr. CANNON. And your practical experience is in favor of the turbine engine ?
Mr. GAY, Yes, sir.
Mr. CANNON. And, if I understand, there is less danger from accident to the turbine ?
Mr. GAY. I think there is a very great difference.
Mr. CANNON. How about the lifetime of the two engines?
82020'-12---4
222 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
Mr. GAY. Barring accidents, the lifetime would be the same. Five minutes' damage on a recipro-
cating engine might put a whole machine into the scrap pile-might ruin the entire reciprocating engine.
Mr. CANNON. Might not the same thing be said of the turbine ?
Mr. GAY. No, sir.
Mr. CANNON. Do you mean to say that the turbine is not subject to accident at all?
Mr. GAY. I should say, roughly, there is possibly 40 per cent as much chance of accident to the
turbine as to the reciprocating engine, and not of as serious a character. It can be segregated from the
rest of the engine.
Mr. WOODS. On the rotating shaft of one turbine engine there is a series of buckets and wheels in
one case and fewer in the other; and if one set should be put out of service it would not destroy wholly
the operating efficiency of the machine. There are a number of wheels, and an accident to one would
not necessarily put the others out of commission.
Mr. CANNON. From the standpoint of your experience and observation, without regard to these bids,
if you were erecting a plant, what difference would you make between the value of the turbine and the
reciprocating engines from a practical standpoint ?
Mr. GAY. The only value you could place would be upon the continuity of operation.
Mr. CANNON. Everything taken into consideration, the liability to accident, etc., how much more
money would you pay for a turbine engine, if you had to choose between that and the reciprocating
engine ?
Mr. GAY. I think that question would be almost absolutely a local question. There must be some
reason why I should decide between the two-what would be the basis of value that I would place on
either machine.
Mr. CANNON. You have the conditions down here, the power house on Garfield Square?
Mr. GAY. My first thought would be that I could not afford to pay $40,000 extra for building.
Mr. CANNON. That is to say, you would not pay $30,000 or $40,ooo more for a building to house the
reciprocating engine than you would to house the turbine ?
Mr. GAY. No, sir. I think I can answer that question without any particular case in mind. I would
rather put the extra money into the turbine than into the building to house the reciprocating engine.
Mr. CANNON. That is to say, if, in connection with the power house and engine together, the recip-
rocating-engine house would cost $40,000 more, do I understand that you would rather take the house
necessary for the turbine engine and the turbine engine at the same price than to take the reciprocating
engine ?
Mr. GAY. At the increased cost I would sooner.
Mr. CANNON. That is what I mean. That is to say, the house and reciprocating engine at one price ?
Mr. GAY. Yes, sir,
Mr. CANNON. With the house and the turbine engine at the same price, do I understand you would
take the house and the turbine engine?
Mr. GAY. I should,
Mr. RICHARDSON. What is the difference in the cost of the two systems when installed ?
Mr. GAY. You mean the difference in mechanical operation or coal consumption ?
Mr. RICHARDSON. Both.
ATr. GAY. The mechanical operation cost for the turbine engine would be about 70 per cent of what
it would be for a reciprocating engine.
Mr. RICHARDSON. Thirty per cent less.
Mr. GAY. I would not say 30 per cent less, but, roughly, yes; it would be a matter of figuring it out.
Mr. CANNON. That is what?
Mr. GAY. The mechanical operation cost; the number of men necessarykto man the station.
Mr. CANNON. What about the coal cost ?
\4lr. GAY. That would be approximately the same.
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 223
Mr. RICHARDSON. Assuming that you have the two systems, what is the relative efficiency of the one
as compared with the other-the total efficiency ?
Mr. GAY. The first consideration is the number of hours during which the machines operate.in the
year. In order to derive that you must take into consideration the continuity of operation, how much that
machine operates in a year. That alone would point toward the turbine, because there is less liability for
accident.
Mr. HEPBURN. In the bids of C. L. de Muralt on the complete equipment, bid A, on the steam turbine
basis, is $456,956, and bid B, on the basis of the reciprocating engine, is $439,494, a difference, substantially,
of $I7,5oo. From those two bids I take it that the difference is to be found in the engine, namely, the
steam turbine engine is $I7,500 more than the other.
Mr. GAY. I do not think that is so, if you will pardon me, because there are very few firms, if any,
bidding direct who would make the same price to their competitors that they would if they put the bid in
themselves. I think that is proved by the two bids $533,00o plus and $544,000 plus.
Mr. HEPBURN. I read, under bid A, "Substituting stationary transformers for motor generator sets,"
and under bid B I read "the same substitution as above." So that apparently all of this machinery is
identical, except that one is a steam turbine engine and the other is reciprocating ?
Mr. GAY. On those two bids; those are alternate bids.
Mr. DOUDS. Those are alternate bids. The original bid is on page 4. It is not in the specifications,
but is according to his own specifications.
Mr. HEPBURN. But everything aside from the engine in each of the bids is identical ?
Mr. DoUDS. No, sir; "Substituting stationary transformers for motor generator sets,"
Mr. HEPBURN. Yes; but under the second bid it says, "Same substitution as above."
Mr. DOUDS. Those are the only two bids received on that basis.
Mr. HEPBURN. From the same man ?
Mr. DoUDS. Yes, sir.
Mr. HEPBURN. On the same basis, excepting the engines ?
Mr. DOUDS. Yes, sir,
Mr. HEPBURN. So that the difference he makes there of $17,500 is based upon the character of engine
he has to use in each bid ?.
Mr. DOUDS. His bid is due to the price quoted him on reciprocating engines and on the turbine engines.
Mr. HEPBURN. In the market the turbine engine is the higher priced engine ?
Mr. DoUDS. Possibly on the average I might say yes, but they are very close together. The one bid
is on the steam turbine and the other is on the reciprocating engine; the electrical apparatus in each bid
is entirely different.
Mr. HEPBURN. It says here, "Substituting stationary transformers for motor generator sets," and
then below, "Same substitution as above."
Mr. DoUDS. That is for substation apparatus. The dynamo which is connected to the engine is
different in each case, so there is a difference in price.
Mr. HEPBURN. That is, the difference does not represent simply the difference in the engine?
Mr. DOUDS. No, sir.
Mr. HEPBURN. Which is the older of the engines, the reciprocating or the turbine ?
Mr. GAY. The reciprocating was the first commercial engine ever made.
Mr. HEPBURN. It is the one that has been in use generally until recently ?
Mr. GAY. Yes, sir.
Mr. RICHARDSON. I would like to ask if the advice you have given us would be the same as you would
give to a private client pursuing the same object that we have; that is, your judgment as to the best
machinery for us to take ?
Mr. GAY. I might say that in our own business we have certain plants which we reorganize and make
over and operate, and this procedure is exactly the same that we go through with our own plants in each
and every case. We are giving you just such experience and advice as we give ourselves for similar work.
224 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
Statement of amount expended and balarsce on hand Dec. i, 1906, House Offlee Building.
Amount appropriated to date ......................................... .4........................ $2oS6,36445
.................
Excavation, concrete footings, normal and extraordinary ....... ................................................... 198 251,77
......
Stonework:
Superstructure ......... B. A. & G. N. Williams......... Mar. 28, 1905 $I, 032,1o000. 00 $657, 900o.0 $374, 100.00
Interior rotunda section. .do ..... June 2, 1906 81, 473.OO 8i, 473. 00
Excavation ................ 11rennsn Construction Co........ I July 8, 1904 44, 760. o0 44,7.00 ............
Additional excavation ..
..... 1 0 6,676.0o 6, 676. oo
under same contract.
Foundation trcnches........ ..... do '. Apr. 1, 190S $0o075 per cubic yard .... 10, 47- 56 10, 477- S6
Deep foundation work...... do ...
.'. Sept. 6, 1905 $. .. ....... ....y ..... 15, 101.00 15, 101.00
Concrete footings and foun- Ambrose B. Standard '..I Apr. 14, 1905 s.o8 per cubic yard .....
. 4,411* 80 4,411.80
dations.
Rough brickwork.......... Brennan Construction Co ....... July 6, 9o05 $3-43 per cubic yard 21
48,000 00 112, 518.07 ............
235,481.93
Laying subsoil pipe.........
Structural steelwork:
.(o ....... doAug. i6, 195SI. 4, 334- 00 2, 700. 00 1, 634.00
............
Basemenst and first floors. Anerican Bridge Co . June i6, 19o5 36, 5O00 00 36, So0 .0o ............
Second, third, and attic .do ..... ..
..
.....M24, 1906 ar. 6i, o6i. 6i, o6i. oo0
floors.
Water pipe and special cast- Central Foundry Co........... .I June 9, 1905 ........................ 4,486.68 4,486. 68
ings.
Ussiversal water pipe do.
.................... Aug. 5, 1905 1. 1,i657.54 1, 657- 54
Plumbing:
W.'rought-iron pipe. F,,1'.Keating. May 14, 1906 5,075.00 4, 110- 75 964.25z
Galvanized fittigs do ..... dso .... ... 4,234.20 3, 429. 71 804,4+9
Recessed drain fittings Crane Co. ...... .. ..do . 1, 241.61 1,005.71 ............
235.90
Metal staircases ............ Contract awarded Snead & Co. Oct. 30, 1906 41, 721.00 ............. 41,721.00j
Fireproof floor construction. RoeblitsgConstruction Co. Aug. 30, 1906 223,087.c00 1,952. :6 10, 134.84
Electrical material .......... M. Du Perow ........... Aug. 29, 19o6 7, 140 00
7, 140. 00
Cement:
12,ooo barrels, snore or Atlas Portland Cement Co....... I Fets. 1, 1905 $i.65 per barrel........ 15, 1o8.32 15, to0. 32
less.
3,400 barrels, more or ...... .....................
July 17, 1905 $iqS per barrel........ 32, 409- 33 32,409.33
less,
30,000 Isarrels ....... do. Oct. 27, 1906 fi.87 per barrel......... 18, 200.00
,............
18,200.00o
20,000 barrels ....... National Mortar Co ........... May 24, 1906 $'.9S per barrel ... 16, 984. 68 6, 984. 68
Broken stone: ............
7,500 cubic yards, more ...
.. I Fels. 1i 1905 $1.35 per cubic yard. . 13, t39- 29 13, 139.29
or less.
4,500 csibic yards, more J. 11. Bradley July 17, 1906 $i.8i per cubic yardl.
....... ..*. Its 157.99 11157.99 ............
or less.
Building sand:
sooo cubic yardl, Islore Columbia National Sand Dredg. Fel. I, 19o5 $o092 per cubic yard .. 13, o96. 23 13,o96.23
or less. isng Co.
Concrete (same as above-)... ...do ... Oct. 271, 906 ...... 7, 850- 59 7, 85o 59
Buildinsg .............. 1.....,lo ....... $1.05 .................. 3,150. 00 3, 150.00
Concrete ..... .... .do ..... .do ..... $1.05, .................. 2 1,050.00 1,050.00
Brick:
4,000,000, more or less.. Potomac Brick Co.............. Felb. 1, 1905 $8.20 per AM.......... 40, 559. 25 40, SS9. 5
3,000,ooo, more or less.. Highland JBrick Co............. Dec. J5, 195S $7-97 per M ... .. 2,0o8.38 2,018. 38 ..........
3,OO,000>, more or less I'otomac 'Brick Co
. Jan. 23o1906 $8.63 perM. .
.... 19,075.73 19075. 73
I ,0ooooo ............. ......do ...................... May 22, 10o6 $8.88 perAi... 6, 600. 04 6, 600.04
2,000,000 ............ A nacostia Brick Co........... .do .. * * * $8.63 per hi........ I 9, 351. 46 9, 351.46
S,0ooo0o .............. .do ..... .... Aug. 28, 19o6 $8.53 perMt *--. 5, 624- 36 4, 667. 62 95 .4
3000,000o, more or less. Washington Brick ansdTerraCotta Jan. 23,1906 $8.60 perMi ..... 21, 773. 41 21, 773- 41
Co. I
3,000ooo ....I S tasidard Brick Co Nov. 2t1 1906 $7.99 per A( ............
............. 18, 045.41 6, o60, 41 11, 985.00
I Completed. 2
P.stimated.
In conjunction with the Chief Clerk of the House, I have formulated an estimate for the cost of furnishing
the House Office Building, and respectfully suggest that this matter be immediately taken up in order that
the furniture may be ready in time for the occupancy of the building.
A most conservative estimate for the furniture of one office room calls for an amount of $700.50, or,
for 40o rooms, a total amount of $280,200; for the caucus rooms and adjacent rooms, $7,000; for the
kitchen equipment ($9,2oo) and the necessary furniture for the restaurant ($4,IOO), $13,300, making a total
or all items of $300,500,
HEATING, LIGHTING, AND POWER PLANT.
As this power plant, including all lines of transmission an(d subway construction, is expected to I)e
complete on or before June 30, i908, it is required that the total amount of the limit of cost therefor be
provided by appropriation, less amount already appropriated.
Limit of cost, including subways ......................... ,,730, 000
Total amount appropriated to date ....0.................... 93oo
Balance to be appropriated ....................... I 237, coo
Very respectfully,
ELLIOi-r WOODS,
Superintendent United States Capitol Building anrd Grounds.
FEBRUARY I6, 1907.
At an informal meeting of the commission of the House of Representatives appointed to supervise
the construction of an office building therefor held this day-present, J. G, Cannon an(l William P. IIep-
burn-consideration was given to the estimates submitted by the Superintendent of the Capitol relating to
the services required for the care and maintenance of the office building for the House of Representatives
and for the heating, lighting, and power plant, and it was decided to recommend an appropriation in lump
sum of $30,000 for the temporary care and maintenance of the House Office Building, with the purpose in
view of finally determining by actual experience the requisite number of employees required and-the
compensation in connection therewith.
Ihe estimates for completion of the House Office Building, $1,050,0oo, and for completion of heating,
lighting, and power plant, $I,237,000, within the respective authorized limits of cost, and of $300,500 for
furnishing the House Office Building, all submitted and recommended by Elliott Woods, the superintendent
of construction, were approved by the commission an(l referred to the Comluittee on Appropriations, with
the request that appropriations l)e recommended therefor in the sundry civil appropriation bill for 1908.
Housi, OF REPRESENTrArIvEs,
Jfashington, D. C., Marchi 3, I907.
The commission met this (lay at 2 o'clock p. m. in the Speaker's room.
Present, Joseph G. Cannon, of Illinois, chairman, and W. P'. Hepburn, of Iowa.
There appeared before the commission Mr. F. W. Gay, representing the J. G. White Co. (Inc.),
consulting engineers, and Mr. Elliott Woods, Superintendent of the Capitol Building and Grounds;
whereupon the proceedings following were had.
..
246 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
Mr. Woods, the superintendent, presented to the commission the following tabulation of bids received
for boilers
Heating, lighting, and power plant, United States Capitol and Congressional buildings-bids opened Feb. 28, 1907, for boilers,
superheaters, and stokers.
SCHEDULE OF PRINCIPAL BIDS, AS CALLED FOR IN SPECIFICATIONS.
Amount
Name of bidder. of prin- Name of boiler. Name of stoker.
cipal
bid.
'. Atlas Engine Works, Indiar apolis, Ind ................................. $97, 902 Atlas Water Tube ....................... Roney overfeed.
2. The Babcock & Wilcox Co., New York, N. Y ......................... 134, 926 Stirling ................................. Do.
3. Mosher Water Tube Boiler Co., BBroadway, New York, N. Y ........... 163, 300 Mosher Water Tube ..................... Do.
4. The Babcock & Wilcox Co., New York, N. Y ......................... 164, 800 Babcock & Wilcox..................... Do.
S. The Edgemoor Iron Co., Edgernoor, Del............................... 172, 436 Edgemoor ........ Do.
6. The Heine Safety Boiler Co., Pennsylvania Building, Philadelphia, Pa..... 173, 300 Heine Safety Water Tube ................. Do.
7. The Rust Boiler Co., Pittsburg, Pa ...... .......................... 197,000 Rust Vertical Water Tube................ Do.
SCHEDULE OF ALTERNATE BIDS (A, B, AND C) CALLED FOR IN SPECIFICATIONS, USING THE SAME BOILERS AND SUPERHEATERS AS
IN PRINCIPAL BIDS BUT OTHER STOKERS.
Alternate
bids on
Alternate bids on overfeed stokers. under-
Amount feed
Name of bidder. of prin- stokers.
cipal
b id
t.Atlas Engine Works, Indianapolis, Itid........................................ $97, 901 $98, 362 .......... ....... ...
$104, 710
2. Tle Babcock & Wilcox Co., New York-, N. Y.................................... 134, 926 ....... 1 ...... .. ..143,450
3. Mosher Water Tube Bailer Co., I Broadway, New York, N. Y .................... 163,300.~~~~~39
. 63, 300 .......,,,
..........
0
....,,,,.....,
4. The Babcock & Wilcox Co., New York, N. Y .................................... 164 800 .......... 68, ooo 169, 0o. .......... 173 400
S. The Edgemoor Iron Co., Edgetnoor, Del ........................................ 1722436 |.......... 172, 100
177, 200
6. The Ileiine Safety Boiler Co., Peinnsylvania Building, Philadelphia, Pa.............. .173,300o $I74, 6
7. The Rust Boiler Co., Pittsburg, Pla ............................................. 17.
31)
I97 000
73, o ... ............ .........
197, 5°°
..........
200,000
Alter-
Ila te
bids ott
Alternate bids ott chain grate stokers.
Amount under-
Name of bidder. of prin- feed Superheater.
.
cipal bid. stokers.
..Atlas Engine Works, Indianapolis, Ind..................... 97, 901 I......... $100, 270 ... . ..........
. .. .I. .I...
Foster.
2. The Babcock & Wilcox Co., New York, N. Y . ............... 134, 9i6 .......... .. Stirling.
3. Mosher WaterTube BoilerCo., BBroadway, New York, N. Y.. 163, 300 j; 62, too . ..........
164, 4.
......
Moslier.
9.
4. The Babcock & Wilcox Co., New York, N. Y ................ 164, 800 .......I.. ..........$1 . . . .I... ..
Babcock & Wilcox.
S. The Edgeinoor Iron Co., F.dgemoor, Del .................... 172, 436 I....I...... $ q,6 o .......... Foster.
6. The Ileine Safety J3oiler Co., Iennsylvania Building, Philadel. 173, 300 . ... .... .. .........
...........
....$177, 900 Do.
phia, IPa.
7. The Rust Boiler(Co., Pittsburg, Pa......................... 197, ooo ..
$199, 5c o 1)o
Do.
98, °S0 ..do
..... Wettel overfeed ......... Do.
.
..
I. .. 102, 750 .. Detroit overfeed.
....do ........ o.
Police Superintetident United States Capitol Buildiog and Groutids, March 1)1907.
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 247
Mr. CANNON. The amount of the principal bid on the first is $97,902. Atlas water-tube boiler, Roney
stoker; the next is $I34,926, Stirling, Roney stoker; next, $163,300, is the Mosher water-tube boiler; next,
$i64,80o, is the Babcock & Wilcox; next, $172,436, Edge Moor; next, $173,300, Heine safety water tube;
next, $173,300, Rust vertical water tube. Those were the bids that were called for?
Mr. WOODS. Those are the principal bids.
Mr. CANNON. When you got those you got what you are ready to make your recommendation about?
Mr. WOODS. Yes, sir.
Mr. CANNON. What is your recommendation?
Mr. GAY. It seems to me, Mr. Speaker, on the face of it, that there is only one thing to do. We had
a meeting of our engineers before I left home to get a consensus of opinion, and the consensus of opinion
was this: First, we issued a set of specifications which we knew would make a workable outfit; second,
there is a clause in the specifications which provides that this boiler does not need to be accepted by the
Government unless it conforms in the most minute detail to that specification and inspected by our
inspector, who will be present at the plant to watch it while it is being built; third, the specification
requires that every part of this boiler which is under pressure, when shipped from the works of the manu-
facturer, shall be accompanied by a certificate of inspection and insurance by the insurance company.
They can not get away from the specifications in the millwork. Therefore any man who bids on this is
bidding on what we ask him for, and I think the prices speak for themselves.
Mr. HEPBURN. Then you mean to say that the Atlas Engine Works' bid, at $97,902, is the bid that
ought to be accepted ?
Mr. GAY. I do not see why not. They all bid on the same specifications. They will all have to be
subject to the same inspection and test, and there is not the slightest chance for any deviation.
Mr. CANNON. That makes a short horse of it.
Mr. WOODS. I would suggest, Mr. Gay, that you bring forth that question of the operation. I think
that is important.
Mr. GAY. Our specifications require that they shall have a man on the ground for two years to watch
the operation of these boilers.
Mr. CANNON. That the contractor shall ?
Mr. WOODS. Yes; and it seems to me it does not make any difference who gets it. In any event,
we should insist on his employing all the mnn necessary to do that. That is, we should let him select his
tenders and water stokers, so that they can do what he wants.
Mr. CANNON. You mean so that they would be friendly ?
Mr. WOODS. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. All that can be done under your bidding?
Mr. WOODS. Yes; except that I want authority from the commission to make that stipulation a part
of the contract.
Mr. CANNON. Will you pay them or will he pay then ?
Mr. WOODS. I will pay them.
Mr. CANNON. You will make it a part of the contract that they shall operate this boiler plant ?
Mr. WooDs. Yes; that they shall operate the plant, and I will pay the standard wages, and that will
prevent anybody from accusing anybody else of unfriendliness; and I wish that I shall be authorized to
make the contract that way.
Mr. CANNON. You advertised that way?
Mr. Woois. No. We had provision for one representative for a period of two months or a year, or
whatever would be necessary up to two years.
Mr. GAY. We are extending to him just a little further courtesy, to give him a chance under every
condition.
Mr. WOODS. I think it is the best thing for the Government to do. The contract calls for a two-year
guarantee period. We will pay the salaries, and it costs him nothing; but he is responsible if the plant
breaks down, and whether it holds up or breaks down he either makes or breaks himself.
Mr. HEPBURN. It does not increase the cost ?
248 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
Mr. WOODS. Not a bit. I will pay the salaries, the same as my own men.
Mr. HEPBURN. It takes the management of the plant out of your jurisdiction ?
Mr. WooDs. No; he simply operates this boiler room in his own way and furnishes us with our
supply just the same.
Mr. CANNON. That is to say, so many stokers and this and that and the other--they would operate
your boiler room, whoever gets this contract ?
Mr. WOODS. Yes.
Mr. CANNON. Now, you contract for this on a two-year operation, and now your proposal is to avoid
all criticism, excuses, or anything else by providing that whoever gets this contract shall select his own
stokers to run the boiler room-his own employees to run the boiler room-and you put them on your
pay roll just as your own employees at current wages ?
Mr. WOODS. Exactly.
Mr. CANNON. And if he breaks down within two years he has nobody to come back on ?
Mr. WOODS. That is it.
Mr. HEPBURN. His bond covers that ?
Mr. GAY. Yes, sir.
Mr. WOODS. YOU see, I provided that same thing for the individual in the case of the electrical
equipment, so as to avoid any afterclap.
I think this proposition made by the J. G. White Co. one of the fairest that I ever heard of, coming
from an engineering firm, an(l I am heartily in accord with it.
M r. CANNON. What do you say, Colonel ?
Mr. I-IEIPBURN. Aye.
Mr. CANNON. Aye, also; the bi(l is accepted, with authority to make the contract you speak of.
Mr. WOODS. Yes.
Mr. HEPBURN. Another thing, Mr. Speaker, I want to go away this spring, to be gone for about six
weeks, beginning about the ist of April and extending until about the i5th of May.
Mr. CANNON. I go away to-morrowv night to the West Indies, to be gone about a month.
Mr. GAY. We will extend the time when we shall need to report to you again until the ioth of April.
Mr. CANNON. I shall probably get back by the ioth of April.
Mr. WooDs. Of course I can not have the subway out, but that will not require your attention. It
will be a case of lowest bid--a case just like this. I can reach you perhaps by telegraph in case it comes
at an inopportune time for the Colonel.
Mr. I-HEPBURN. I shall not leave here before the ist of April, but I can come back at any time that I
anm needed.
Mr. WOOnS. You will be back when, Mr. Speaker?
Mr. CANNON. I think I shall be gone a full month. But can you not get ready and work up now as
near to the ist of April as possible ?
Mr. GAY. We can make it absolutely the ist of April in order to be ready for the Speaker.
Mr. Wooins. Then, Colonel, if you remain here a day or two longer you will not have to come back
again.
Mr. CANNON, I will come back as near the Ist of April as I can.
Mr. HLEPBURN. If you should think of it, along about the last of this month, and would wire me here
when you come, I would make my arrangements so as to meet your convenience.
Mr. WOODS, I understand the stokers will be left to thel discretion of the engineer and the superin-
tendent ? The modification of the proposition will not amount to more than a few hundred dollars either
way.
Mr. CANNON. Yes.
Mr. HEPBURN. I move that we adjourn.
Mr. CANNON. Very well. This meeting of the commission stands adjourned.
T hereupon, at 2.i8 o'clock p. in., the commission adjourned
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 249
MARCH 19, 1908.
At an informal meeting of the commission held this day, present Mr. Cannon and Mr. Hepburn, the
question of liability of the Washington Terminal Co. to the United States for the sum of $1o9,67i.16
expended, as reported, by Elliott Woods, superintendent of construction, under instructions from the
commission in their letter of February 3, 1905, to make sure the footings and foundations of the office
building in order to assure the safe and convenient use of square 690 as a site for said building and required
to be done because of the presence and manner of construction of the railroad tunnel of said company
through the said square, was considered and it was determined to submit the matter to the Attorney General
with the request that unless convinced, after careful consideration of all the premises, that the Government
has no right of action, to cause suit to be instituted and prosecuted against the Washington Terminal Co.
for the recovery in behalf of the United States of said sum of $io9,671.I6.
The following letter and enclosures, in accordance with the foregoing action of the commission, was
addressed and sent to the Attorney General:
MARCH I9, I908.
Hon. CHARLES J. BONAPARTE,
Attorney General.
SIR: We have the honor to hand you herewith:
Copy of the law which authorized the acquisition of square 690 in Washington for a site for an office
building for the House of Representatives.
Copy of the law which authorized the Washington Terminal Co. to construct a tunnel through said
square 690.
Copy of the minutes of the Commission to Supervise and Direct Construction of Office Building for
the House of Representatives, showing their contention and action with reference to increased cost of
foundation for said office building incident to construction of a tunnel through said square 690.
Copy of letter from Elliott Woods, superintendent of construction of said office building, stating extraor-
dinary expenses incurred for foundation for the building on account of the existence of the said tunnel.
And we beg to request in behalf of the commission that you will, after careful consideration of all the
premises, unless convinced that the Government has no right of action against the Washington Terminal
Co., cause suit to be instituted and prosecuted to recover in behalf of the United States the sum of $io9,67i.i6,
which is stated by Elliott Woods, superintendent of construction of said office building, to have been expended
"to make sure the footings and foundations of the office building for the House of Representatives, in order
to assure the safe and convenient use of square 690, in the city of Washington, as a site for said building,
required to be done because of the presence and manner of construction of the railroad tunnel of the WAash-
ington Terminal Co. through a portion of said square 690."
Please acknowledge receipt of this letter with its stated enclosures, and as soon as may be practicable
advise us of your conclusions and action with reference thereto.
Very respectfully,
J. G. CANNON,
W. P. HEPBURN,
Commission to Supervise and Direct Construction of
Office Building for the House of Representatives.
JAMES C. CouRTS, Secretary.
Authority to acquire square 69o, for a site for the office building (sundry civil act, fiscal year 1904, Stat. I,., vol. 32, p. 1113).
lfo acquire a site for, and toward the construction of, a fireproof building for committee rooms, folding
room and other offices for the House of Representatives, and for necessary office rooms for Members
thereof, to be erected on one of the squares bounded by B Street south, C Street south, First Street cast
and First Street west, as the commission hereinafter provided shall determine, seven hundred and fifty
thousand dollars; and said building shall be constructed substantially according to the plans prepared
under the provisions of an Act of Congress approved March third, nineteen hundred and one, with such
250 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
modifications as may be found necessary or advantageous, and at a cost, exclusive of site, not to exceed
three million one hundred thousand dollars, for any part or all of which sum contracts are authorized to
be entered into. Said construction and letting of contracts, including the employment of all necessary
skilled and other services, shall be under the control of the Superintendent of the Capitol Building and
Grounds, subject to the direction and supervision of a commission, which is hereby created, to be composed
of three Members-elect to the House of Representatives of the Fifty-eighth Congress to be appointed by
the Speaker of the Fifty-seventh Congress; vacancies occurring, by resignation or otherwise, in the mem-
bership of said commission shall be filled by succeeding Speakers of the House. The commission herein
authorized shall, within thirty days after their appointment, determine which of the squares above described
shall be acquired and used for a site for the building herein provided for, and shall notify the Secretary of
the Interior in writing of their determination, whereupon the Secretary of the Interior shall, within thirty
days after the receipt of such notice, proceed in the manner prescribed for providing a site for an addition
to the Government Printing Office in so much of the act approved July first, eighteen hundred and ninety-
eight, as is set forth on pages six hundred and forty-eight and six hundred and forty-nine of volume thirty
of the Statutes at Large, to acquire the square so determined upon; and for the purposes of such acquisition
the Secretary of the Interior shall have and exercise all the powers conferred upon the Public Printer in
said act.
Authority for IJashington Terminal Co. to construct tunnel through square 690 (sundry civil act, fiscal year 1905, Stat. L., vol. 33,
P. 480).
Upon payment into the Treasury of the United States by The Washington Terminal Company of the
SUM of forty thouLsand dollars, and the undertaking of said company at its expense to construct and maintain
a siding fromt a connection with the tracks of the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad Coin-
pal)ly to a heat, light, and power building intended to be established and maintained at a point on Govern-
ment Reservation numbered seventeen, near the line of New Jersey Avenue extended, in connection with
an(l appurtenant to the fireproof building for committee rooms, folding room, and other offices for the
I-louse of Representatives, authorized by act of Congress approved March third, nineteen hundred and
three, entitled "An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal
year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and four, and for other purposes," the said The Washington
Terminal Company, its successors and assigns, shall have and be possessed of the right and easement to
occupy and use for the location, construction, and operation of its railroad authorized by act of Congress,
approved February twenty-eighth, nineteen hundred and three, entitled "An act to provide for a union
railroad station in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes," a subsurface parcel of land through
and beneath square six hundred and ninety in the city of Washington, recently acquired by the United
States as the site for said fireproof building, of such width, not exceeding seventy feet, as shall be required
for the location, construction, and operation of said company's railroad on the route thereof as located
conformably to the requirements of said last-mentioned act. The said railroad to be located and operated
in a tunnel, which
shall be constructed in suhel manner and of such structural strength as to assure the safe
and convenient use of said square six hundred and ninety for the purposes of said building site, in accordance
with plan of construction to be approved in duplicate original by the Superintendent of the United States
Capitol Building and Grounds, and also by the chief engineer of the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Wash-
ingtonl Railroad Company, and one of such duplicates shall be filed with said superintendent and the other
delivered to said The Washington Terminal Company.
lctlao of the coinniission %vith reference to increased cost of foundation for office building, incident to construction of a tunnel through
square 690.
r * eg ~~~~~~~~~~~~MONDAY,
January 23, 1905.
The commission met in the office of the Speaker.
All of the members were present.
Mr. 'Elliott Woods, superintendent of construction, laid before the commission the following
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 251
JANUARY 6, 1905.
WILLIAM H. BROWN,
Chief Engineer Pennsylvania Railroad Co.,
Broad Street Station, Philadelphia, Pa.
DEAR SIR: We are prepared to commence work on the concrete footings of the eastern section of the
House Office Building, particularly those which are involved by the presence and construction connected
with the Pennsylvania Railway tunnel through square 690.
In accordance with the terms of the sundry civil act approved April 28, i904, and with the hearings
held prior to the passage of said act, you are requested to afford by further proceedings in connection with
the tunnel and on the lines of the building running adjacent thereto the necessary security for the con-
struction of the normal lines of footings of said building in so far as said construction is affected by the
presence of the said tunnel, and in accordance with the additional plans to be agreed upon under the terms
of said act.
The progress of the construction of the tunnel, the disclosure of the nature of the soil, and the con-
ditions adjacent to the tunnel have been sufficient for this office to formulate tentative schemes which will,
we believe, secure the necessary safety to the normal footings of the building. These are herewith pre-
sented tentatively for your consideration and discussion. I respectfully ask that this matter be taken up
at once, in order that construction of our footings may proceed at the earliest possible moment.
I write this letter by authority and by direction of the House Commission.
Blue prints and copy of the act referred to are herewith transmitted.
Very respectfully, ELLIorr WOODS,
Superintendent United States Capitol Building and Grounds.
JANUARY 19, 1905.
Mr. WILLIAM H. BROWN,
Chief Engineer Pennsylvania Railroad,
Broad Street Station, Philadelphia, Pa.
DEAR SIR: On January 6, 1905, I wrote you a letter transmitting blue prints, etc., all relating to
certain work in connection with the foundation of the House Office Building, as they relate to the tunnel
construction in square 690.
Having received no answer and fearing the letter may have gone astray, I inclose you herewith a
copy, and in case you desire, will send you duplicate blue prints.
Very respectfully, E.i.io-rr Woons,
Superintendent United States Capitol Building and (Grounds.
JANUARY 20, 1905.
Mr. Exiomr WOODS,
Superintendent United States Capitol Building and Grounds,
Fashington, D. C.
DEAR SIR: I have your letter of the i9th instant, inclosing a copy of your letter of January 6.
As I understand your letter, you expect us to build the foundations for your house outside of the
tunnel, This we can not consent to do. We have already spent more than twice as much money
reenforcing the tunnel as we promised to do at first. Our original proposition, which was accel)te(l, wvas
to build you a siding from New Jersey Avenue and 1) Street into the basement of the new building for the
House of Representatives on block 690 and to reenforce the south wall of the tunnel, so that you could
set the corner of your building upon it. You then changedl the plan of the building to cover the whole
lot, and asked for certain reenforcements of the tunnel and inverts to the arches, which has cost uts a great
deal more money than the original estimate.
We can not see our way clear to spend any money outside of the outside wall of our tunnel.
Respectfully, WM. H. BROWN, Chief Engineer.
252 REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
After consideration of the foregoing it was, on motion of Mr. Hepburn, ordered that a letter be
directed to A. J. Cassatt, Esq., president of the Washington Terminal Co., and copies thereof be sent to
the president, chief engineer, and general counsel of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co., a copy of which
follows:
JANUARY 23, 1905.
The WASIIINCTON IFRMINAL CO.,
Jashbigton, D. C.
GENTLEMIEN: We call your attention to the act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of
the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1905, and for other purposes, approved April 28, 1904,
especially to that portion of it (copy inclosed) to be found on page 480 of volume 33, United States
Statutes at Large.
In proceeding with the construction of the tunnel referred to in said act, we are informed by the
Superintendent of the Capitol Building and Grounds, Mr. Elliott Woods, that it is necessary for certain
construction to be made upon each side of the tunnel passing through square 690 to insure the safe and
convenient use of said square for the purposes of the office-building site, and that the necessity for such
construction arises from the presence and manner of construction of your tunnel through said block,
Mr. Woods is fortified in this view by the most competent expert engineering services. By the letter and
the spirit of the law we are clear that this work is to be done by and at the expense of the Washington
Terminal Co.
We instructed the Superintendent of the Capitol Building and Grounds to communicate with the
chief engineer of the Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington Railroad Co. touching the premises. He
proceedl(l to (lo so by letter of the 6th of January, instant (copy inclosed).
Not receiving a reply to the letter, the Superintendent of the Capitol Building and Grounds, on the
i9th of January, instant, aldlresse(I Mr. Brown another letter (copy inclosed). Mr. Brown, under (late
of January 2.o, rel)lied by letter (copy inclosed).
Mr. Brown's letter ignores thle law, and seemingly manifests an indisposition to act in accordance
wvith the request an(l suggestions of Mr. Woods. Trhe Superintendent of the Capitol Building and
Grounds desires to progress with the work of construction of the office building onl block 690 and can not
(do so until you comply with the law inl question. We ask you to proceed at once to a compliance with
the agreement in letter alnd substance contemplated by the law,
There Nvill not be upon our putt, anld we trust there will not be U1po1 your part, any disposition to
j)rocrlastinate or evadle the letter or the spirit of the lawv There is, in our judgment, no room for miSuin-
derstandling. The lawv sj)eaks for itself, The notes of a consultation held on the 2tli of March, 1904,
between Mr. Massey, waho, wve believe, is the genCral solicitor for the Pennsylvania Railroad Co. and we
stipp)os to Ibe also legal adviser and representative of the Washington Terminal Co., and the undersigned
Commissioners, which consultations led to the enactment of the law of April 28, 1904, shows that the
construction we give to the act is thle construction contemplated by both parties at the time the law was
enacted.
Tlhe pr'eseilce and construction of your tunnel through said square 690 has already caused delay in the
prosecCution1 of the construction of the office building for the use of the 1-louse of Representatives, causing
restudlics of and changes in the building pllanS. Of this delay the commission l ave been reasonably
tolerant. We therefore request that you will give this matter prompt attention, thus avoiding further and
unnecessary delay in the construction of said building.
We have sent copy of this communication to the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co. and to
Mr. W. I-I. Brown, chief engineer of that railroad, as well as of the Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington
Railroad Co., and also to Mr. Massey, solicitor of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co.
With respect, etc., yours, truly, J. G. CANNON,
W. P. HEPBURN,
JAMES D. RICHARDSON,
Commnission to Supervise and Direct Construction of
'n D21ji. L. Ad-
'l * ,
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION 253
[Extract from p. 480, vol. 33, U. S. Stat. L.]
Upon payment into the Treasury of the United States by the Washington Terminal Company of the
sum of forty thousand dollars, and the undertaking of said company at its expense to construct and maintain
a siding from a connection with the tracks of the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad Com-
pany to a heat, light, and power building intended to be established and maintained at a point on Govern-
ment Reservation numbered seventeen, near the line of New Jersey Avenue extended, in connection with
and appurtenant to the fireproof building for committee rooms, folding room, and other offices for the
House of Representatives, authorized by act of Congress approved March third, nineteen hundred and
three, entitled "An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal
year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and four, and for other purposes," the said The Washington
Terminal Company, its successors and assigns, shall have and be possessed of the right and easement to
occupy and use for the location, construction, and operation of its railroad authorized by act of Congress,
approved February twenty-eight, nineteen hundred and three, entitled "An act to provide for a union
railroad station in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes," a subsurface parcel of land through
and beneath square six hundred and ninety in the city of Washington, recently acquired by the United
States as the site for said fireproof building, of such width, not exceeding seventy feet, as shall be required
for the location, construction, and operation of said company's railroad on the route thereof as located
conformably to the requirements of said last-mentioned act. The said railroad to be located and operated
in a tunnel, which shall be constructed in such manner and of such structural strength as to assure the
safe and convenient use of said square six hundred and ninety for the purposes of said building site, in
accordance with plan of construction to be approved inl duplicate original by the Superintendent of the
United States Capitol Building and Grounds, and also by the chief engineer of the Philadelphia, Baltimore
and Washington Railroad Company, and one of such duplicates shall be filed with said superintendent
and the other delivered to said Tihe Washington Terminal Company. (Sundry civil appropriations bill.)
JANUARY 6, 1905.
WILLJIAM 11 BROWN,
Chief Engineer Pennsylvania Railroad Co.,
Broad Street Station, Philadelphia, Pa.
DEAR SIR: We are prepared to commence work on the concrete footings of the eastern section of the
House Office Building, particularly those which arc involved by the prcsecec and Construction connected
with the Pennsylvania Railway tunnel through square 690.
In accordance with the terms of the sundry civil act approved April 28, I904, and with the hearings
held prior to the passage of said act, you are requested to afford by further proceedings in connection with
the tunnel and on the lines of the building running adjacent thereto, the necessary security for the conl-
struction of the normal lines of footings of said building in so far as sail construction is affected by the
presence of the sai(l tunnel, and in accordance with the additional plans to be agreed upon under the terms
of said act.
The progress of the construction of the tunnel, the disclosure of the nature of the soil, and the conditions
adjacent to the tunnel have been sufficient for this office to formulate tentative schemes which will, we
believe, secure the necessary safety to the normal footings of the building. These are herewith presente(l
tentatively for your consideration and discussion. I respectfully ask that this matter be taken up at once,
in order that construction of our footings may proceed at the earliest possible moment.
I write this letter by authority and direction of the House Commission.
Blue prints and copy of the act referred to are herewith transmitted.
Very respectfully,
EI.Iio'rr Woorss,
Superintendent United States Capitol Building and Grounds.
82020'-12---"
254 REP'ORT OF THE HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING COMMISSION
JANUARY 19, 1905.
Mr. WILLIAM H1. BROWN,
Chief Engineer Pennsylvania Railroad,
Broad Street Station, Philadelphia, Pa.
I)EAR SIR: On January 6, 1905, I wrotc you a letter transmitting blue prints, etc., all relating to certain
work in connection with the foundation of the House Office Building, as they relate to the tunnel con-
struction in square 690.
Having received no answer, and fearing the letter may have gone astray, I inclose you herewvith a
copy, and in case you desire, will send you duplicate blue prints.
Very respectfully,
ELLIOTt1 Woons,
Superintendent United States Capitol Building and Grounds.
Table: Statement of expenditures, amount due on contracts and proposals, and balance on hand Apr. 10, 1908
Table: Statement of amount expended, and balance on hand Apr. 10, 1908
.......................99....
Amount expended to dlate ............................. 2,75,673 99 .............................
44 9)02, 50
- .-.-
Deficit ........7,
9. 7.947 95 -
MAIN'rENANCE.
Statemnent of atmoutnt expendedl, and balance on hand Apr. so, 190o.
Amount appropriated . .. $30,000. 00
Amount expended for operating tihe building, including pay rolls, supplies, office expenses, heaings, etc ......... ..... 9i,9ip.64
Balance on hand .8, o8o. 36
82020'-12---46
Table: Statement of penalties with eld on contracts, House Of ice Building
Snecad & Co.........................Staircases ... Oct. 30 41,7 21 (3) (I) 200 2 0000
Penalty is assessed frern date of notice that work It slow, Aug. 16, 1907, to Apr. 5,1908.
AAR1,L 20, 1908.
liOnl. JAMEtlS A. IAWYNE.Y,
Ch1 airman Committ iee on Appropriations, blouse of Representativ)es.
Silm WVe respectfully recommend that an appropriation of the sumi of $I09,671.16 be made to reimburse
the appropriation for the construction of the House of Representatives Office Building, the amount which
wVas re(luired to be used in order to assure the safe and convenient use of square 690 as a site for the said
building, because of the presence under sai(l square of the railway tunnel authorized by Congress.
Ill connection with tile foregoing request we hand you herewith copy of the report from the superin-
tendent of construction certifying to the amount actually expended, the account of which was kept as shown
in saiid report under an order made by the commission, also copy of a letter of the commission to the Attorney
General and his reply thereto with reference to tile bringing of a Suit against the Washington Terminal
Co. for a recovery of the suimi in question.
Trhe appropriation in question is necessary in order to coml)lete the construction of the building proper
within tile limit of cost authorized by law.
We also request all appropriation l)e made of the Sum of $ii9,600 for the construction of necessary
approaches to the building and necessary retaining walls in accordance with the plalrls of the consulting
architect of the building; the construction of the approaches and walls in (question were not included in
the lilit of cost of the building fixed by law ait $3,100,000.
IMuch of this suilm of $i 19,600 is rendered necessary because of the change of the original plans of tile
butil(dinIg, by which the height thereof Nvas increased ill order to obtain the numl)er of rooms requisite for the
membership of the House,
We also recommend that provision be made reappropriating an(l making available during the fiscal
yearl909 the unexpende(l balance (approximately $i6,ooo) of the appropriation of $3o,ooo made for the
current fiscal year for maintenance, etc., of the Il-ouse of Representatives Office Buailding.
Very respectfully,
J. G. CANNON,
W. P. HEPBURN,
Commission to Salm.rvise and Direct Construction of
Office Building for tihe House of Representatives.
APIPROPRIATION T10 REIMBIURSE 11BUIII)ING FUNI) OF HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING.
To reimburse the appropriation for construction of the fireproof building for committee rooms an(l
oflfces for theI lHouse of Representatives, the additional amount which was required to be used in order to
assure the safe and convenient usc of square six hundred and ninety as a site for said building, one hundred
an(l nine thousand six hundred and eleven dollars and sixteen cents, to be expended in the completion
of said building under the direction of the commission of the House of Representatives designated by law
to supervise the construction of the same. (35 Stat. L., pt. I, P. 344.)
INDEX
American Bridge Co., 32, 56. Carrere & Hastings, 144, i6o.
Amicolola (Ga.) quarry, 066. Cassatt, A. G., 130, 138, 141, 143, 252, 255 ct seq.
Appendix to Report of Commission, 77. Cassels, John, 94, 105 Ct seq., 130.
Approaches, marble, 29. Cassidy & Son Manufacturing Co., 57,
Appropriations for building, 26x. Ceilings, 34, 47.
Architect of the Capitol, 9, lo Cement, 56.
Architects, communications with, authorized, i 6. Cincinnati, Ohio, inspection at, 191.
Employment of, discussion concerning, 86 et seq. Clark, Edward, 9.
Atlas Engine Works, 70. Clark, N. F., 217, 229, 232 et seq.
Authorization of House Office Building Commission, 79. Clerk of the House of Representatives, 79.
Authorized cost of building, S. Coast and Geodetic Survey Building, 8o, 83.
Automatic Mail Delivery Co., 57. Collins, J. A., 113.
Averill, F. L., 142, 256. Commission, House Office Building, 79.
Baker, W. E., 217, 229. Hearings held by, 8o, 94, 113, 117, 130, 144, 160, 174, 211
Ball Grounds (Ga.) marble, 25. 245.
Ball & Wood Co., 70. Report of, 3.
Barrus, George H., 196. Committee on heating andl lighting plant, report of, 197.
Bathroom fixtures, 41. Concrete work, 55.
Beaumont, R. H., Co-, 70. Construction of House Office Building:
Bedford (Ind.) limestone, 56, i5i, 164. Date of beginning, 6.
Bells, buzzers, etc., 45. Report on, II, 259.
Bidders on power-plant e(luil)ment, 246. Construction, superintendent of, report, 1.
Bids for fireproof floors, 172, 173, 174, Consulting architect, 136, 137, 144, 160.
For heating and lighting apparatus, 175, 246, Consulting engineers, 59, 142, 256.
For stone, 167. Reports of, on heating an(l lighting equipment, 191, 215.
Biddle, Maj. John, 130, 134, 135. Consulting structural engineer, 142, 256.
Blue Ridge Marble Co., 37, 56. Contractors, names Of, 244.
Boiler equipment, 65, 176. Contract With consulting architect, 136, 137.
Boilers, bids for, 246. Contracts, 58, 244.
Bonaparte, lion. Charles J., 249, 258. Cooper, Thcodorc, 59.
Borings for foundation, 142. Corridors and rooms, tIecorations of, 47.
In Square 690, X 0. Cost of building authorized, 73.
Bradley, William, & Son, 149, 167, i68. Court paving, 54.
Brainard, Owen 1 , 59, 144 ct seq(., i0o. Courts, James C., 3, 113, ii6, 144, 174, 217, 249.
Brennan Construction Co., 21, 22, 57, 172I Cranford Paving Co., 25.
Brickwork, 25, 30, 54. Crupper, Joseph L., 57.
Bromwell, Col. Charles G., 207. Darby, Rezin W., 19.
Brown, William II, 94 et seq., 117 et sCe., 137 et SMIl, 251 et sCe. Decorations, exterior, 26.
Bluzzers, 45. Description of H1ouse Oflicc Building, 19.
Cables, 71. I)oors, 49, 50.
Cannon, lIlon, Joseph G., 3, 20, 79, i i6, 117, 139, 141, 143, 144 Douds, 11. G., 217, 220, 223 Ct Se(l., 237 et seq.
et seq(., 164 et seq., 171, 172, 174, 177 ct seq., i86, 187, 189, I)rainage, 39, 40, 41.
190, 192, 193, 196, 197, 207 et seq., 217 et seq., 225 et seq., Drawings, 136.
244, 245 et seq., 252, 256 et seq., 259, 262. Ducts, 72.
Capitol Building and Grounds, Superintendent of. (See Woods, Dumb-waiters, 46.
Elliott.) l)uparquet, Hluot & Monetise Co., 58.
Capitol, central portion of, proposed extension, 9. Electrical eqjuii)ment, 62, 66.
Capitol Power Plant, 6, 7, 8, 42, 43, 61,75, 174 et seq., 245. Electric wiring, 4:I.
Care anid maintenance of building, 245. Elevators, 46, 53.
Carman, A. F., 217, 218, 229, 230. Ernst, Arthur A., 59.
Carrere, John M., t44 et seq. Estimates, summary of, i68.
264 INDEX
Excavation for the building, 20 ct seg. Lovett, John, 1 13.
Expenditures on building, 242-261. Lynch & XWoodward, 175, 176, 189 et seq., 212 et seq.
Faraday buzzer, 45, Macnichol & Son, 58.
Financial Statement, 73 et se(q. Mail chutes, 53.
Fireproof floor construction, 171, 173. Maintenance of building, 245.
Floors, 35. Manning, Maxwell & Moore (Inc.), 70.
Fireproof, bids for, 171, 173. Marble, 25, 36, 56, 145 et seq., x6o et seq.
Foundations of building, 5, 22, 137, 138. (See Tunnel under Estimates for, 169, 170.
Square 690.) Interior, 171.
Furnishing of building, 240, 245, 261. Maryland Granite Co., i68.
FIUrst-Kerber Cut Stone Co., 149, 068. Massey, George V., 94,1o8 et seq., 1I17, 119, 141 et seq.
Garfield Park, 7, 42, 61, 98, 99. McDowell, Alexander, 79.
Gay, F. W., 217, 2?20 et seq., 237, 239, 240. Mcintosh, Seymour & Co., 175, 176, 178.
Georgia marble, 146 et seq., 16i, 165, et seq. McKenney, Fred. 1)., 94.
Gimbel Bros., 58. McKim, Meade & White, go.
Gleim, C. 1'., 188 et seq., 207, 215, 216. McReynolds, lion. J. C., 141, 254.
Granite, discussion concerning, 145 et seq., 160 et seq. Meetings of I-House Office Building Commission, 79, 80, 94, 113,
Granite work, estimates of, 170, 171. 117, 130, 136, 141, 144, i6o, 172, 174, 217, 245, 250, 254, 257,
Grant Pulley & Hardware Co., 57. 258.
Green, Bernard R., 4, 6, 59, 80 et seq., 216. Metal work, 32.
Greensboro, N. C., inspection at, 215. Miller, H. W. (Inc.), 56.
Ilanley-Casey Co., 175, 177 et seg., 217. Motor-generator sets, 46.
Hlanley, 1'. F., 184, 185, 217. Mott, J. L., Iron Works, 57.
HIar(ling, D. W., 19!, 192, 207, 215, 216. Muralt & Co., 175 et seg., 184, 218, 219.
I lardlware, 52. Myer-Sniffen Co., 57.
listings, Thomas, 136, 137. National Electrical Supply Co., 57.
Ilaydeni & lDerby Manufacturing Co., 70. National Fireproofing Co., 57.
Hearings held by House Office Butilding Commission, 8o, 94, Neale, S. C., 94, 130, 134,
113, 117, 130, 144, i6o, 174,217,245. Occupation of building, date of, 6.
Heating, lighting, and power plant, 6, 7, 8, 42, 43, 6i, 75, 171, 174 Otis Elevator Co., 46, 56.
ct sc(l., 245. Planel hoards, 46.
Bids for, 171. Parker, Charles, Co., 57.
Ilecla Iron Works, 57. Parkersburg Mill Co., 57,
Ilenderson, lion. J)avid 1B, 3. Partitions, 36.
Hlepburn, lio1, WV. P., 3, 20, 79, 0i, 117, 139, 141 et seq., 160, Pennsylvania Railroad, 97, 138.
i6z et seq., 171, 172, 174 ct se., 186, 187, 197, 207 et seq., 217, Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington Railroad Co., 4, 8n, 135,
219, 223 et se(l., 234 et seq., 238 et seq., 244, 245 ct seq., 257, 139, 140.
259, 262, Arrangement with, regarding tuinnel, etc., 130 ct seq,
I-lilgartner Marble Co., 37, 56. Correspondence with, 249 et seq., 262.
Hitchcock, lion. E. A., 115, 16. Plans atd (Irawings, 9, 136.
Ilornblower & Marshall, 89, 92, Plaster, 56.
1ltiiit, S. S., 143, 256. Plastering, 47, ,8R
lnulianapolis, Ind., inspection at, 191. P11umb1ing and fixtures, 39.
Inspection, tours of, regarding power-plant equipment, 191 215. Port I)eposit (Ovd.) granite, 23.
Interior (inisil of building, 36. Potomac Electric P'ower Co., 67.
Interior inarblework, 36, 171. IPower plant, 6, 7, 8, 42, 43,
4 ,t 61, 75, 171, 174 ct sell., 245.
Power, Thomas W,, 191, 192, 215.
Interior, Secretary of the, 115, 117. Power, Thomas W., Elevator Co., .46, 57.
J1 l11bie, J. }3., Co., 56. P'um"ping station, 70.
Lansburghl, Julius, Furniture Co., S7 Reimbursement of building fund, 262.
Lawn, in interior cotirt, 54. Rejection of proposals for power-plant equilpment, 211.
Legislative history of the I louse Office Building, i t. Report of committee on heating anll lighting l>lant, 197, 207.
Lightingl plant. (See Heating, lighting, and power plant.) Of consulting engineer on heating and lighting equipment,
Limestone, 26, 56, 145 et seq., i6o et seq. 191, 214.
Estimates for, 068, 170. Of I1ho0ise Office Building CoMmmissioll, 3.
Location of Hhotuse Oflice Btiilding, 19. Of superintenldetlt of construction, i i.
INDEX 265
Reserve boiler plant, 69. Swinburne & Clark, 59.
Richardson, lion. James D., 3, 20, 79 et seq., 90, 94, 96, 99, 102 Switchboards, 64, 66.
et seq., i6 et seq., 126, 129 et seq., 132, 133, 135, 136, 137, 139, Switch connecting power house with House Office Building, 117
141 et seq., 144 et seq., 148 et seq., 152, 155 et seq., 174, 190 Ct et seq., 130 et seq., 138, 139.
seq., 208, 211, 212, 217, 218, 220, 222 et seq., 227, 229, 234 et Tawney, Hon. James A., 262.
seq., 239 et seq., 244, 252, 255 et seq., 259. Terra-cotta partitions, 36.
Roebling Co., 56. Tests of materials, 59.
Roofs, 33, 35, 55. Tiber Creek, 84.
Rooms, 56. Titlow, C. B., I90, 191, 192, 207, 215, 216.
Decoration of, 47. Toilet rooms, 41.
Rotunda, plaster work in, 48. Tunnel, steam, 68.
Rutland-Florence Marble Co,, 56. Tunnel under Square 690, 3, 22, 81 et seq., 94 et seq., 120 et seq.,
Sand used, 56. 137, 139 et seq., 248.
Sargent & Co., 57. Correspondence concerning, 249 et se., 262.
Secretary of Commission, 3, 113, II6, 144, 174, 217, 249. Veneered Door Co., 57.
Sewell, Capt. John Stephen, 4,59, 82 et seq., 91 et seq., 100 Ct Ventilating apparatus, 4x, 43.
seq., 106 et seq., io8, 109. Vermont marble, 146 et seq.
Sloane, W. & J., 64. Vermont Marble Co., 56, 167.
Smith, Hon. Walter I., 3. Wainscoting, 37.
Snead Co., 57. Wanamaker, John, 58.
Sooysmith, Charles, 59. Warren Steam Pump Co., 70.
South Dover(N.Y.)marble,25, 37,56,146etseq., i6i et seq. Washington Terminal Co., 3, 4, 5, 132, 35, 138, 139, 141 Ct seq.,
Square 690, discussion concerning, 3, 11, 19, 20, 80 et seq., 94 et 249 et seq.
seq., 114 et seq. Water pipes, 71.
Selected, I i6. Ways and Means, room of Committee on, 47, 52.
Tunnel through, 4, 22, 81 et seq., 94 et seq., 121 et seq., 135, West, E. L., 217 et seq., 237 et seq.
137 et seq., 249 et seq. Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co., 6, 46, 70.
Stairways, 34. Bid of, accepted, 240.
Standards, Bureau of, tests by, 59. Westinghouse Machine Co., 70.
Stannard, Ambrose B., 167 White, J. G., & Co,, 175, 178, 234, 248.
Steam piping, 69, 70. Wilcox & Babcock boiler, 178 et seq., 191.
Steam tunnel, 71. Williams, B. A. & G. N., 25, 30, 37, 56,s6, 167, 172.
Steelwork, 32, 33, 55. Windows, 50, 51, 52.
Sterling boiler, 179. Wiring, electric, 43, 46.
Sterling Bronze Co., 57, Woodbridge, S. H., i8, 2o7.
Stone, discussion concerning, 145 ct seq. Wood finish, 49-52.
Bids for, x67 et seq. Woods, Elliott, 3, 8, 59, 8o, 86, 87, 88, 94, 107, log, 116 et seq.,
Stratton, S. W., 207. 125 et seq., 129, 130, 136 et seq., 149, 150, 151, 155 Ct seql.,
, Sturtevant, B. F., Co., 46.
Subway and traction system, 8. 162, 164 et seq., 171, 172, 174 et seq., 185 et seq., 207 et seq.,
Superintendent of Capitol Building and Grounds. (Set Woods, 220, 225 et seq., 233, 237 et seq., 243 et seq., 251 et seq.
E",lliott.)
0