much we will have to have. Of course, if you give us only the $3,000 that we have asked for here, when the coal is gone, we will have to stop.

The CHAIRMAN. The coal will not be gone before summer comes, and summer is coming. Tell us why you need this additional amount for coal?

Mr. PLATT. Here is a statement showing exactly how we intend to use this coal, and where we intend to use it.

The CHAIRMAN. Will you use 40 tons of coal to heat the Treasury garage?

Mr. PLATT. That means more than a garage. That is a three-story building and we keep records in that building.

The CHAIRMAN. Who is working there?

Mr. PLATT. There are people working in that three-story building, and we heat the whole building.

The CHAIRMAN. Forty tons of coal to heat a garage seems like a large amount.

Mr. PLATT. It is quite a large building. The whole building is not used as a garage. We designate it as the Treasury garage, but it is not all used for that purpose.

The CHAIRMAN. How much coal have you on hand now?

Mr. PYROH. I should say 200 tons.

The CHAIRMAN. You are not sure about that?

Mr. PYROH. Not absolutely. We are using from it all the time, and that is an estimate.

The CHAIRMAN. How much of this $25,000 is obligated?

Mr. HAIR. That is something we can not answer, inasmuch as the last bills we had from the fuel yards were for December, or up to the end of December.

The CHAIRMAN. What was your unexpended balance on the 1st of January?

Mr. HAIR. I can not say that.

The CHAIRMAN. What the committee wants is facts, and it is necessary that we have them to justify the making of an appropriation. Mr. HAIR. We are giving the facts that we thought it necessary to show in order to determine the amount of coal required. If we know the amount of coal used up to the present time and the amount used in previous years, we can estimate the number of tons required for each building from now until the end of the season, and from that we can compute the total number of tons. By taking the cost of each building we can see how much will be needed for the year. The CHAIRMAN. Do you know how much will be needed?

Mr. HAIR. The statement that you have there shows approximately the same number of tons, or a few more tons, for each building than we used last year.

The CHAIRMAN. Why do you want a few more tons for each building?

Mr. HAIR. We are using more.

The CHAIRMAN. How many tons did you use for each building last year?

Mr. PLATT. We had for the Treasury Building 2,236 tons.

The CHAIRMAN. That is 104 tons less than you estimate for this year.

Mr. PLATT. For the Butler Building we used 129 tons.

The CHAIRMAN. That is 21 tons less than you estimate for this year.

Mr. PLATT. We have entered into an arrangement with the Superintendent of the Capitol Building and Grounds by which we are to furnish that number of tons of coal in return for heat for the Butler Building.

The CHAIRMAN. How about the Winder Building? How many tons did you use there?

Mr. PLATT. Two hundred and ninety-seven tons.

The CHAIRMAN. That is 100 tons less.

Mr. PLATT. Last year in connection with the Winder Building we were heating an annex, for which we were reimbursed.

The CHAIRMAN. Will it take more to heat the annex than the Winder Building?

Mr. HAIR. We used approximately 400 tons for that building last year, including the annex, and the chief clerk of the War Department reimbursed us for their part of it. After deducting the reimbursement, that left a net cost to our appropriation of 297 tons. Mr. PLATT. We actually burned about 400 tons of coal. The CHAIRMAN. You are not heating the annex now?

Mr. HAIR. No, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. How much coal was consumed for the G. A. R. Hall?

Mr. PLATT. Two hundred and twenty-nine and one-fifth tons. The CHAIRMAN. That is only 10 tons less. How about the Graham Building?

Mr. PLATT. We used 175 tons there.

The CHAIRMAN. That is what you have here.

Mr. PLATT. There is a difference in that Graham Building. We are using 60 tons of soft coal and the rest of it is hard coal, whereas last year it was all soft coal.

The CHAIRMAN. How about the Cox Building?

Mr. PLATT. We used there last year 75 tons.

The CHAIRMAN. How much did you use for the Treasury stables last year?

Mr. PLATT. Fourteen and three-fourths tons. We were burning stoves in that building last year. For the Treasury garage we used 38 tons.

The CHAIRMAN. That is two tons less. How much did you use for the cabinet shop?

Mr. PLATT. Four and two-sevenths tons.

The CHAIRMAN. You had 280 tons less last year than you are figuring on now.

Mr. PLATT. Yes, sir; principally on account of the Treasury Building.

The CHAIRMAN. You would have $2,500 more than you had in your coal bill last year, but you are asking for $3,000. I am figurit at $8 per ton.

ing

Mr. HAIR. The hard coal is $12.75 per ton.

The CHAIRMAN. Two hundred and twenty-five tons of this coal is not hard coal, but is soft coal. There are 280 tons altogether, and if you take 225 from 280 it leaves 55 tons of hard coal. I do not see what you want with this money, according to your own figures.

Mr. HAIR. Our figures there show the number of tons of soft coal that we have, at the average price we have quoted there of $7.90 per ton. Then we show the number of tons of hard coal that we need for those buildings at $12.75 per ton.

The CHAIRMAN. You have 55 tons of hard coal extra and 225 tons of soft coal extra.

Mr. PLATT. We are asking for only $500 outside of the actual price of the coal.

The CHAIRMAN. Why do you ask that?

Mr. PLATT. That is wastage, shovels, oil, etc.

The CHAIRMAN. I thought you wanted all of it for coal?

Mr. PLATT. We are not asking $500 additional on this, but $500 on the whole appropriation that we will spend for oil, waste, shovels, and that sort of thing. That is on the entire appropriation, and we are not in actual deficit on that.

The CHAIRMAN. You are asking for 280 tons of coal more than you used last year. I am basing it upon your own figures of $2,500, and you say you want $4,500.

Mr. PYROн. At the present time we are burning between 3 and 4 tons per day more.

The CHAIRMAN. After the 1st of April you will not need any coal? Mr. PYROH. Commencing about the 1st of January, when the roof of the Treasury Building was practically removed on one side, the heat from downstairs was going through the fourth floor and going out into the open, and that necessitated a greater consumption of coal.

The CHAIRMAN. Is it covered now?

Mr. PYROн. It is only covered with cheese cloth. It is not very much protection.

The CHAIRMAN. They will not leave it there covered with cheese cloth?

Mr. PYROH. No, sir. They are working on it, but it takes time to do that.

The CHAIRMAN. There was only $5,000 damage done to the building, we were informed.

Mr. PLATT.. In making up those figures, you are assuming now that this would simply represent the difference in the number of tons of coal over and above what we had last year, but you must consider that last year we had $38,440 with which to pay for this coal. The coal that we actually burned last year cost us $31,224.28. The CHAIRMAN. Last year you had exactly $22,000. That is what you had.

Mr. HAIR. Plus $11,000 in a supplemental appropriation.

Mr. PLATT. We had $33,000, and we spent $31,224.28 for coal. In addition to the number of tons we are burning, we must add that cost. The CHAIRMAN. No; we do not add anything.

Mr. PLATT. You are taking the difference between the number of tons of coal purchased last year and the number of tons we propose to purchase this year.

The CHAIRMAN. That represents $2,500.

Mr. PLATT. Yes, sir; but last year we had $6,844 more money than we have had this year to start with. We must take into consideration what the coal cost. There is not a single item in that expenditure except coal, other than the $500 for oil and waste.

The CHAIRMAN. It is all coal?

Mr. PLATT. Yes, sir. Last year coal cost us more per ton than it does this year.

The CHAIRMAN. So that, if you are using more tons of coal this year, you will make up some of the difference by your saving in the price?

Mr. PLATT. We actually spent over $6,000 more for coal last year than we have money to pay for this year. As it is, we are really buying more coal this year. Of course, if we do not have coal, we will

Treasury garage (316 Fourteenth Street (anthracite).
Treasury garage (1408 D Street) (anthracite) _.
Cabinet shop (anthracite) ...

PURCHASE OF GAS, ELECTRIC CURRENT, ETC.

The CHAIRMAN. For the purchase of gas, electric current for lighting and power purposes, etc., you are asking $1,500. What is that for? I want to know if you make an allotment of this appropriation.

Mr. HAIR. Not of this appropriation.

The CHAIRMAN. Why not?

Mr. PLATT. The entire payment for electricity, and that is the principal item, the others being insignificant, is paid from contingent expenses, or from this appropriation, and then certain activities. reimburse the contingent appropriation on this account, so that this appropriation does not represent the entire cost of electricity for the Treasury Department. It is impossible for us to make an allotment for current expenses for this bureau or that bureau or the other bureau.

The CHAIRMAN. What makes you think you need $1,500?

Mr. HAIR. Mr. Chairman, the expenditure up to January 31, for electric lamps and fixtures was $1,096, and for gas, $99.96. The CHAIRMAN. For gas fixtures?

Mr. HAIR. No, sir; that is for gas used. Then, the cost of the electric current used for the Treasury Building and the other buildings that we have to supply with current from this fund would total $14,289.12. Now, for the five months, from February 1 to June 30, based on the bills received to date, we will run at the rate of about $2,200 per month, making $11,000 additional for electric current. The CHAIRMAN. You will not use as much after the 1st of April as now?

Mr. HAIR. No, sir. Our bill for December was $2,331.86.

The CHAIRMAN. During April, May, and June the expenditure will be light, and I think you can get along without any more money. Mr. HAIR. Those months are not as light as July, August, and September.

Mr. PLATT. We want to reduce this $500.

The CHAIRMAN. If you are willing to reduce it $500, we will reduce it by the other $1,000.

Mr. HAIR. It is an appropriation we can not control.

The CHAIRMAN. You can control it if you do not allow people to burn lights without limit.

Mr. HAIR. We keep it down as low as we possibly can.

The CHAIRMAN. I think we will divide it up with you. We will take the $1,000 and let you take the $500. You can come back and let us know how well you get along. We must commence to economize somewhere.

Mr. PLATT. We have been doing that all the time. I think we ought to be congratulated for coming in here on only two items.