After careful consideration the portrait (with frame) of William McKinley, by W. D. Murphy, of New York, was purchased by this Office in March, 1903, for the sum of $2,500, and hung in the entrance vestibule of the Executive Mansion.

HOUSE NO. 516 TENTH STREET NW., WHERE ABRAHAM LINCOLN DIED.

This property was purchased by the United States in November, 1896, since which date it has been under the supervision of this Office. By authority of the Secretary of War dated October 9, 1899, Mr. O. H. Oldroyd is allowed to occupy this building, with his family, as custodian without pay, and to exhibit his Lincoln Museum and to charge a small entrance fee therefor.

During the year repairs were made to the front door, the door was varnished, and the door frame painted. Minor repairs were made to the plumbing.

BUILDINGS OCCUPIED AS OFFICES BY THE WAR DEPARTMENT, EXCEPT STATE, WAR, AND NAVY DEPARTMENTS BUILDING.

By order of the War Department dated June 30, 1893, all buildings occupied as offices by the War Department, except the State, War, and Navy Departments building, were placed under the charge of this Office, so far as their preservation, care, and safety are concerned. Between July 1 and September 8, 1902, the buildings thus occupied were 12 in number, as follows:

Army Medical Museum and Library, Seventh and B streets SW.
Ford's Theater building, 511 Tenth street, NW.

Annex to Ford's Theatre building, 509 Tenth street NW.

No. 610 Seventeenth street NW., Record and Pension Office, War Department. Southwest corner of Seventeenth and F streets NW., Office of Depot Quartermaster, United States Army, and photograph gallery, Adjutant-General's Office.

No. 1725 F street NW., branch printing office, War Department.

No. 1712 G street NW., publication branch, Record and Pension Office, War Department.

No. 1744 G street NW., Ordnance Department and Signal Office, United States Army,

No. 1814 G street NW., Medical Dispensary, United States Army.

Annex to Winder Building, Ordnance Department, United States Army.

War Department stables, G street, between Seventeenth and Eighteenth streets NW. Lemon Building, No. 1729 New York avenue NW., occupied by supply division, War Department, etc.

On September 8, 1902, the chief of the supply division of the War Department notified this Office that the Department had rented an additional building, No. 601 Eighteenth street NW., for use as an annex to the Insular Bureau, making thirteen buildings in all.

Monthly inspections have been made of these buildings during the year, and they are believed to be in good and safe condition for the purposes for which they are being used.

THE WASHINGTON NATIONAL MONUMENT..

The usual care was extended to maintain the Monument and its machinery in good condition and to keep the interior of the shaft clean. The walls, stairs, and landings were swept whenever necessary, the memorial stones cleaned, and the floor plates of the stair landings frequently oiled to prevent rusting. All of the iron work from the floor

up for a distance of 10 feet, consisting of columns, tie rods, angle irons and hand rails, the elevator cage, partition of storeroom and the front door and frame were painted, also the counter weights of elevator and 200 feet of chain. Two electric fans were placed in the elevator car for ventilation. The electric elevator and machinery were kept in a cleanly condition. All bolts and nuts were set up tight, the large gear on cable drum adjusted, the sheave wheels for cable on 500-foot landing taken down, faced and replaced, and the east cable in counterweight and west cable on elevator tightened. The eight windows and the wire work around the elevator framework at the top were painted. The old wooden door at the entrance was torn out and replaced by a better door with necessary trimmings. Storm doors were also placed at the entrance and all woodwork there was painted. Three electric lights were placed in position on the first floor.

The electric elevator was run and the electric lights were in operation daily, except on Sundays and holidays, when the Monument was closed, and on the following dates, when, owing to the coal strike, it was impossible to get sufficient coal to run the plant: In October, 1902, the plant was in operation only from the 6th to the 13th of the month during the Encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic. In November and December, 1902, the plant was in operation only two days each week, viz, on Friday and Saturday, and from January 1 to 14, 1903, only three days each week, viz, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. An adequate supply of coal having been obtained, the plant was in operation daily except Sundays and holidays from January 15, 1903. During the periods that the machinery was shut down from lack of coal, visitors made the ascent by the stairs, and the interior of the shaft was lighted by kerosene oil lanterns placed on the landings. The electric elevator and its machinery were inspected each month by a casualty company of New York, who furnished monthly certificates of their good condition. In its report dated September 4, 1902, of the inspection made August 30, the company says: "When it is considered that portions of this mechanism have been in operation since the construction of the Monument the general condition, care, and management can not be too highly commended." In addition to the monthly inspection mentioned a daily inspection was made of the safety appliances on the elevator by the employees of the Monument before starting to carry passengers, and a test of those appliances was made twice each week, also by the employees.

In the motor room all of the woodwork inside and outside, the roof, and iron railing, and the brickwork in the area were painted, the floor given two coats of floor stain and varnished, and the paint work on engine and motor painted and varnished. All the electrical connections with the motor were cleaned and adjusted.

At the power house leaking places in the roof were repaired and the roof, tin work, and gutters painted. The walls of the boiler room were whitewashed and the brickwork around the boilers repaired, pointed up, and whitewashed. A new furnace front was put to boiler No. 2 and the furnace fronts scaled, cleaned, and painted. The steam pipes and water pipes, the condenser, air pump, and all pipes connected therewith were painted. Both boilers were washed out, their tubes scaled, and the boilers tested. A tank for hot-water feed was set in place in floor of boiler room and connected with the small feed pump. The window frames, sashes, and doors, water spout, and cupola of the

engine room were painted, and the floor in the room and the steps to boiler room given two coats of floor stain. Necessary attention was paid to the dynamo engine; its rods and valves were repacked, the steam chest and cylinder jackets repainted, and the walls of cylinder oiled. A lubricator with double sight feeds was purchased and placed on the engine for the purpose of better lubricating the valve and both cylinders.

The walls and ceiling in the waiting room were patched and painted and all woodwork given a coat of hard oil.

At the lodge house the office of the custodian of the Monument was moved from the small room to the large room and the former fitted for a storeroom. The walls and ceilings in office and storeroom were painted and the floors in those rooms and in the waiting room given a coat of floor stain. Portions of the wainscoting and flooring in the latter room, which had rotted out, were repaired and painted. Two steam coils were made and connected with the boiler, one for heating the office room and the other for heating the waiting room, the coils bronzed, and drip pans made for the valves.

In the men's toilet a hole was cut in the wall to connect with the air flue for ventilation, a two-stall urinal was placed in the room, a new oak seat placed on closet, and all woodwork painted. Door plates and new check and spring were placed on the main door. A new drinking fountain was purchased and placed in position on the north side of the lodge near the board walk for the accommodation of visitors.

The following table shows the number of visitors to the top of the Monument each month, both by the electric elevator and by the stairway, the total number during the year, and the aggregate number since the shaft was opened to the public, October 9, 1888:

a The large increase in the number of visitors during the month of October, 1902, is accounted for by the fact that the Grand Army of the Republic held its thirty-sixth national encampment in this city from the 6th to the 13th of that month.