Mr. WENDEROTH. All but about 30. This refers to sites only. There are a number of cases of sites authorized in connection with buildings in which the sites have not been acquired.

Missouri: * Fulton.

Hawaii: Honolulu (additional land being Louisiana: New Orleans.

condemned.)

Michigan:

New York: Yonkers.

*Albion.

Pennsylvania: *East Pittsburgh.

West Virginia: *Hinton.

Wisconsin: * Fort Atkinson.

The asterisk (*) indicates cases wherein a suitable site has been contracted for. A site is not considered as actually acquired until the department secures from the vendor a receipt for the warrant issued in pay. ment.]

Statement showing sites, only, acquired under the act of May 30, 1908, and subsequent acts.

1 Balance unexpended on account of post office, Washington, D. C., made available for preparation of plans, etc.

NOVEMBER 25, 1912.

Statement of sites, only, authorized but not acquired, showing amounts authorized and appropriated under separate acts.

Statement showing amount authorized and amount appropriated for site in connection with the building in cases where the site has not as yet been acquired.

Two projects are involved in the 1908 act and eight projects in the act of June 24, 1910.

The CHAIRMAN. You have already prepared for the committee a statement showing the buildings under construction, the limit of cost, the appropriations made to date, the balance now available, and a statement of the amount required to carry you through to June 30, 1914?

Mr. WENDEROTH. Yes, sir; it includes buildings which will be placed under construction between now and the end of the fiscal year 1914, as well as those already under construction. It gives the amounts we estimate we will need, assuming that our program will be carried out without any break.

CONSTRUCTION HELD UP ON REQUEST.

The CHAIRMAN. In the case of Albany, Oreg., and Chillicothe, Mo., it appears from the note that the work has been held up at the request of the Representative?

Mr. WENDEROTH. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Pending additional legislation?

Mr. WENDEROTH. Yes, sir; there are a number of these cases. The preparation of this statement, of course, followed the estimate which it explains. It might appear absurd that we would estimate for a building and then follow it with a statement that we did not require the estimated amount, but during the intervening period an unforeseen contingency may arise. A Member of Congress may ask that the project be held up, or bids may have come in too high, making it necessary to revise the whole set of drawings, and this may require so much time as to prevent letting a contract for the

work within the coming fiscal year. Lincoln, Nebr., is an illustration. Such cases are scattered all through, but I can have them picked out for you if you desire it.

The CHAIRMAN. In all of these cases has the work been held up at the request of the Representatives?

Mr. WENDEROTH. No, sir. In certain cases it is due to the fact that when the bids came in they were in excess of the authorization, and before we could revise the drawings we would be in another fiscal year. If the revisions are extensive, it may mean the making of a new set of drawings on a different basis. For the building at Lincoln, Nebr., we opened bids on an appropriation of $100,000, which was found to be entirely inadequate. In that case there appeared to be no use trying to make another set of drawings, and the Member of Congress desired to have the matter held in abeyance pending further legislation.

Mr. PAGE. McCook, Nebr., seems to be under the same head.

Mr. WENDEROTH. Yes, sir; there are quite a number of those items, but they are not separated in this statement; they run all through this bill.

[Fiscal year 1913.]

New buildings under contract from plans by the Supervising Architect now held up. [November 1, 1912.]

Buildings from plans of Supervising Architect now held up for various reasons.

Extensions held up or not under contract at the commencement of the fiscal year 1913.

AUBURN, N. Y., RENT OF TEMPORARY QUARTERS.

The CHAIRMAN. "For rent of temporary quarters for the accommodation of Government officials at Auburn, N. Y., to be available until expended, $2,500." What is the situation at Auburn?

Mr. WENDEROTH. It is expected that the contract for this work will be awarded before the close of the present fiscal year. That means the work should be completed during the fiscal year 1914. It is an alteration, at a limit of cost of $50,000, and we should do it in

one year.

- The CHAIRMAN. This $2,500 is for temporary quarters!

Mr. WENDEROTH. This is to enable us to obtain temporery quarters. From information secured through the postmaster or custodian of the present building $2,500 will be sufficient, but we have no contract. We do not rent the quarters or enter into any agreement for them until we are ready to use them. We do not expect to put this building under contract before the close of the present fiscal year.

The CHAIRMAN. Who prepares the estimate of the amount that will be required for rent?

Mr. WENDEROTH. We write to the postmaster of the town in which 1 contract for an extension to the existing building is about to be advertised, that it appears from a study of the plans that it will be necessary to move out the post-office officials, because it does not seem feasible to make the alterations with them in the building. Once in a while we are able to do this, but very infrequently. We instruct him to investigate the situation, and very often we send an agent there to look over the ground, but the postmaster is requested to inquire among the local real-estate agents and ascertain the possibility of securing adequate temporary quarters.

The CHAIRMAN. And is his estimate checked up by the Post Office Department?

Mr. WENDEROTH. Not by the Post Office Department, but by the Treasury Department.

The CHAIRMAN. As to the reasonableness of the rent?

Mr. WENDEROTH. Yes, sir. We sometimes send a superintendent of construction there to check up the postmaster's estimate and to also secure propositions for temporary quarters.

The CHAIRMAN. What I had in mind was that it would not be safe to rely entirely upon the estimate of the local postmaster.

Mr. WENDEROTH. No, sir; not entirely. We start with him and have him collect the data for us; then we analyze it and check it ourselves and, as I say, if it appears desirable we send a superintendent of construction from a near-by town to look over the situation. But of course we make our lease direct, that is, we obtain proposals from the owners of available property. Sometimes we use an abandoned church, sometimes quarters in a new building, and in various kinds of places.

NOTE-The amount ($2,500) included in the estimates, page 426, was intended to cover rental for a portion of a year only, and as the contract for the construction 4 the extension will be awarded early in February of this year, arrangements should now be made for temporary quarters. It was the intention to ask for an amount in an urgent deficiency bill to cover the rental for the first year so that steps could be taken as soon as possible to vacate the Government building in order not to delay the construction work.

The rented quarters will be required for 16 months for the occupants of the first story only of the Federal building, and it is estimated that the total expenditure on this account will amount to $7,500.

The request for an appropriation of $5,000 in addition to the $2,500 is set forth in the supplemental estimates for the fiscal year 1913.

CUSTOMHOUSE, BOSTON, MASS., TEMPORARY QUARTERS.

The CHAIRMAN. "For expenses incident to the temporary removal of the force employed in the customhouse during the extension, remodeling, and so forth, of building at Boston, Mass., to be available until expended." Your estimate is $48,000, but you have submitted a different request.

Mr. WENDEROTH. The Secretary transmitted a letter on that subject. It will give to us $96,000 altogether.

The CHAIRMAN. The amount is made $96,000 a year. Is that the rent?

Mr. WENDEROTH. It is partly for rent and partly for light, heat, water, furniture, carpets, a portion of the custodian's force, etc. The CHAIRMAN. When will that building be completed?

Mr. WENDEROTH. I think the contract has about two years to run. The total is $1.800.000, and we have asked for the entire balance to carry it to the end of the fiscal year 1914, which means about two years more.

NOTE--The amount included in the estimates (p. 426) was intended to cover only the first half of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1914. A request for the same amount for the second half of such year is set forth in House Document 1205, Sixty-second Congress, third session, together with suggested legislation authorizing this rental after July 1, 1913. For the full fiscal year ending June 30, 1914, the total amount required is $96,000, and as it is probable that the quarters will be vacated by December, 1914, a future appropriation of $48,000 will be necessary to cover the first half of the fiscal year 1915, which will be the last expenditure on this account.

TEMPORARY QUARTERS, CHARLOTTE, N. C.

The CHAIRMAN. The next is for rent of temporary quarters at Charlotte, N. C. You reduce that amount.

Mr. WENDEROTH. No, sir; we are asking for an additional amount. We may ask to substitute another item in place of this, Mr. Chairman, because we understand the assay office in Charlotte may be abanabandoned. That frees the old assay office building, a very interesting little building adjoining the post office. It might be a very good idea to fix up that old building and make it available for the use of Federal officials, instead of spending money outside for rented quarters. That would mean taking care of only the post-office business during the construction of the new building. If we fix up the old assay office building, it will be with the idea of continuing to use it after the new building is completed.

The CHAIRMAN. What officials do you contemplate moving there? Mr. WENDEROTH. The special agent, officials of the Weather Bureau, and perhaps others.

The CHAIRMAN. You intend to move them permanently?

Mr. WENDEROTH. Yes, sir. The present scheme for the post office is one for which Mr. Taylor made drawings. It contemplates a rather monumental addition to the existing building, which is very far from being monumental, under the authorization for an enlargement or