of the situation was such that you ought to know at once what you were going to be able to do. For that reason we did not delay, and, as one gentleman has said, since it is the duty of the Chief Justice to pass sentence, I have passed it as gracefully as I knew how. SURVEYOR'S OFFICE- -TEMPORARY DRAFTSMEN, COMPUTERS, ETC. The CHAIRMAN. For the services of temporary draftsmen, computers, laborers, etc., in the surveyor's office, you ask for $4,000. Tell us what you know about that. Maj. BROWN. The appropriation for several years previous to 1922 had been $8,000, and it is believed that the amount was cut down to $4,000 through a misapprehension which occurred in the Senate. The Congressional Record of January 19, 1921, page 1716, will indicate that the appropriation was cut in two through error, and it was too late for a correction to be made. It was the erroneous impression of certain members of the Senate Committee that out of this appropriation was paid the salary of an individual in the District Building, and the amount of his salary was cut out of that appropriation. That impression was entirely erroneous, because this particular individual is not an employee of the surveyor's office. The CHAIRMAN. Do you mean to say that this cut was made to stop the salary of some single individual? Maj. BROWN. It would appear so from the page of the Congressional Record I have referred to. The CHAIRMAN. That is a serious charge to make against the Senate. Maj. BROWN. It is not made as a charge. I simply referred to record as explaining the reason of the cut. The CHAIRMAN. What is the unexpended balance in this fund now? Maj. BROWN. Of the $4,000, we had to allot the amount throughout the year. It was allotted $3,000 to the first half and $1,000 to the second half of the year, with the idea that if we were unable to obtain any additional funds, we would be obliged to cut the force of the surveyor's office during the second half of the present fiscal year. The CHAIRMAN. What is the duty of the surveyor? Maj. BROWN. The surveyor prepares all plats ordered or called for by the District of Columbia or by private individuals. One feature of his work which has been very large during the first half of this present fiscal year consists of plats which he is called upon to provide for private parties, particularly in connection with building operations. The CHAIRMAN. For subdivisions? Maj. BROWN. For subdivisions and for buildings, The CHAIRMAN. Does the Government of the United States or the District of Columbia provide plats for subdivisions made by private parties? Maj. BROWN. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Do you make the surveys? Maj. BROWN. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. I thought that private parties themselves or through private surveyors made the surveys, and that they were only required to have them approved and recorded. Maj. BROWN. No, sir; they are made by the surveyor's office. Of course, a private party may get a private surveyor to make a tentative subdivision plat, but the final plat must be prepared by the surveyor. The CHAIRMAN. Prepared or approved by him? Maj. BROWN. It must be actually prepared by him. The private surveyor may make a layout which is intended more or less as a guide for the surveyor, but the plat actually approved by the Commissioners must be made by the surveyor's office. Mr. WOOD. Does he make any charge for that service, or is any fee paid.? Maj. BROWN. Yes, sir; that work is on the fee basis, but those fees go back into the United States Treasury, so that this appropriation does not receive anything from that source. The CHAIRMAN. Does the surveyor's office do the field work in connection with those surveys? Maj. BROWN. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. As well as the office work? Maj. BROWN. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Is there a sufficient amount of building now on hand to justify an increase in this appropriation? Maj. BROWN. Building operations have been very large, and the monthly building permits for two of the past four months have exceeded $3,000,000 in value. The work is exceedingly large, and every one of those building permits means some work on the part of the surveyor's office. The appropriation receives no return from the fees, as they go into the Treasury, and this year's appropriation is particularly hard pressed now. Mr. Wood. What is the amount of fees collected? Maj. BROWN. The surveyor's office is practically self-sustaining. I can not give you the exact amount. The CHAIRMAN. What do you mean by saying it is self-sustaining, or upon what basis is it self-sustaining? Maj. BROWN. From the income from the fees. The CHAIRMAN. On the basis of $4,000 or $10,000? Mr. DONOVAN. $30,000. Maj. BROWN. There is one other general appropriation of $2,000, and the total appropriation for the surveyor's office amounts to about $30,000. The collections from fees during the last year were in the neighborhood of $25,000. Mr. DONOVAN. They were $25,355.87. Maj. BROWN. The balance between that amount and the appropriation of $30,000 represents the amount by which it was not selfsustaining, and, in addition to that, the surveyor's office does whatever public work is required. There is a great deal of that to be done in the preparation of plats in which only the District government is interested. The CHAIRMAN. How nearly current is the work on the basis of the present appropriation? You stated that you have allotted $3,000 of the $4,000 for the first six months. Maj. BROWN. We must keep up with the applications for building plats. That work must be kept current, because we believe that is our duty. We can not hold down on private parties, but the surveyor's office is somewhat behind on its own work, or work purely for the District of Columbia. For example, if we wished to study the alley layout in certain squares, the surveyor's office would have to do that preparatory to ordering condemnation for additional alleys, etc., but on such an item as that we would have to hold back, because, as I have said, the surveyor's office is hard pressed. The CHAIRMAN. How many additional computers and draftsmen would you need, or how many would you be able to employ under this appropriation? Maj. BROWN. Out of the additional $4,000, the salaries of those men for half a year would probably not be greater than $750 apiece, and that would give us approximately six additional men for half a year. Mr. SISSON. Following up the question asked by Mr. Wood, will you put in the record a statement showing what you have received to date, in this fiscal year, in the shape of fees for the surveyor's office, and then give us a statement covering a year or two preceding, so that we may see about how the fees run for the surveys? Maj. BROWN. I will do so. Receipts and salaries, surveyor's office, District of Columbia. July 1, 1919, to June 30, 1920: Receipts.. Salaries.. $27, 557.85 30, 322. 68 25, 355, 82 30, 346.96 12, 096. 10 9,637.02 Mr. SISSON. Those fees are fixed by law? Maj. BROWN. They are fixed by the commissioners in accordance with authority of law. Mr. SISSON. What is the principle upon which the fees are fixed? In other words, how do you determine what fee would be charged for a certain plat for a person who wanted to build an apartment house, for instance? Maj. BROWN. The fees with regard to subdivisions ar.. sed upon the number of lots included in the subdivision, but the fees for building plats are flat fees. The CHAIRMAN. Depending upon the cost of the building? Maj. BROWN. No, sir; for a plat which necessitates no survey in the field, the fee is 50 cents for a single lot and 10 cents for each additional adjoining lot. When field surveys are required the fee varies according to location and number of lines to be located up to a maximum of $8, except for extensive surveys for which the charge is $25 per day of field work. Mr. SISSON. I was wondering why, if you have a fee system, this fund should not be absolutely self-sustaining, because, so far as I am informed, in the States the surveyors are either absolutely on a fee basis, or the fees are so fixed that the State or subdivision of government concerned actually makes a little money out of it. Maj. Brown. I might just cite an instance that came up on yesterday, or Saturday. There came to my office from Maj. Tyler, the District engineer, a request that the surveyor place along the left bank of the Anacostia River certain hubs indicating the lines around the Anacostia Park improvement. Now, that is public work for which there is no fee and, therefore, the surveyor's office can not be made wholly self-sustaining. It can be made largely so, and it is now largely so. Mr. SISSON. They might make a slight profit. Mr. WOOD. Those gentlemen who are exacting such exorbitant rental prices should contribute something to this expense. Col. KELLER. No matter what we charged for the service, the money would go back into the general fund. Mr. Wood. It occurs to me that this is one office that could very easily be made self-sustaining. The CHAIRMAN. That depends upon the amount of public service rendered. Maj. BROWN. Yes, sir; it is measured by that in a way. The CHAIRMAN. Are not surveyors' plats needed in order to locate the lines on which buildings are erected? Maj. BROWN. Yes, sir; and the District surveyor is under bond that these lines shall be run accurately. That makes it necessary that he have the proper number of men and capable men on the job Mr. ANTHONY. If you are called upon to locate the lines of a lot what are your fees for that service? Maj. BROWN. The fee is from $3 to $8, depending upon location and number of lines to be located. Mr. ANTHONY. Out in my country they charge about $10 for that service. The CHAIRMAN. Where you have it done by a private surveyor? Mr. ANTHONY. No; by a county surveyor. The CHAIRMAN. He is paid by fees ? Mr. ANTHONY. Yes. MUNICIPAL LODGING HOUSE. ERECTION OF NEW BUILDING. The CHAIRMAN. For additional amount required for the erection of a new municipal lodging house, you are asking $33,000. We would like to have somebody tell us why this new municipal lodging house should be built at the present time, with the present rate of building costs. Maj. BROWN. I am here to represent the engineer department more definitely with regard to the question of what it will cost to construct the building according to the plans we now have rather than to represent the real need for the institution. The administration of the institution is not under the jurisdiction of the engineer department of the District of Columbia. The CHAIRMAN. I would like to ask you, then, so that you may incorporate the answer in your story, what authority there is for the expenditure of this increased sum of money? Is there any law that authorizes an increased cost for the building? If there is not any law authorizing it, we had as well cut it out at once. that there was no limit. Is the work in progress? It appears Maj. BROWN. The work has not been started. Under the old appropriation made The CHAIRMAN (interposing). You find that it will cost $33,000 more to construct the building that was originally estimated? Maj. BROWN. Yes, sir; we want a house that will accommodate 100 or more. Mr. tion ? SISSON. Was there a law authorizing the original appropria Maj. BROWN. There is an appropriation of $40,000, and a part of it was expended for the site. Mr. SISSON. There was a law authorizing it? Maj. BROWN. Yes, sir. Mr. SISSON. My recollection is rather dim about it, but I recall there was some discussion of it. Mr. DONOVAN. That is in the appropriation law. There was an appropriation of $40,000, with authority for the purchase of,a site and erection of a municipal lodging house. The CHAIRMAN. It might be well to inquire right here whether, in addition to this request for a deficiency appropriation, this particular item has been included in the budget of the District of Colum bia for the fiscal year 1923. Maj. BROWN. No, sir; it has not. The CHAIRMAN. Tell us why this additional cost is necessary. Maj. BROWN. I have the plans here. The original appropriation was made in 1917, and the site was purchased for approximately $10,000, which was taken from the appropriation of $40,000, leaving a balance of $30,000, approximately. The building as planned can not be built for such a sum. It has not been possible to build it for that sum at any time since the appropriation was made, and it can not now be done for that sum. These plans were made after consultation with the administrative officials of the institution, and they embody what in their opinion is desirable. The present building is wholly inadequate. It is an old dwelling house. The CHAIRMAN. How many people do they provide for there now? Maj. BROWN. Yes, sir; I think they run about up to their limit. and the superintendent tells me that a great many men come there and go away when it might really be desirable to take care of them in the institution. This new building will provide for 100 men and - will provide for them much better than the building they now have. It will provide them with the same facilities, but they will be in much better shape. The CHAIRMAN. It will be more extensive? Maj. BROWN. Yes, sir; more extensive. Mr. WOOD. What class of people do they keep in this institution? Maj. BROWN. There are a certain number of men there who are sent by the Board of Charities. They are people whom they look up and find to be deserving to go into that place. Others are men who are out of employment and who come to the city. They are people who go to this sort of institution rather than to a hotel, for example, because here they are sure of cleanliness and proper meals without undue expense. |