bers' voting records; and for recording and filing statements of political committees and candidates for nomination and election to the House of Representatives, pursuant to the campaign contribution laws. The amount is $3,000 less than the former appropriation, on account of some reduction in the activities. The CHAIRMAN. You have an estimate of $4,000 for certain services and expenses in connection with contested-election cases in the Sixty-seventh Congress. Mr. PAGE. That same item has been carried in either the deficiency or the sundry civil bill for half a century. The CHAIRMAN. Is it generally all used up? Mr. PAGE. Yes, sir: it is calculated on the basis of the number of cases and the number of pages of testimony. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1922. STATEMENT OF MR. ELLIOTT WOODS, ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL. MAINTENANCE OF HOUSE OFFICE BUILDINGS. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Woods, we have before us an estimate for the maintenance of the House Office Bulding. It is not printed in the bill, but appears in House Document No. 191. As a rule, we do not send these estimates through the Bureau of the Budget, but I insisted that they should go through the Budget Bureau so as to be regular. There are certain items included in the estimate that we would like to have you explain. Mr. WOODS. The sum total of the deficiency for the maintenance of the House Office Building is $49,875. PAINTING. The CHAIRMAN. Tell us what it is for. Mr. Woods. The first item is for painting. The CHAIRMAN. What is the necessity for painting? Is it not in very good shape so far as painting is concerned? Mr. WOODS. No, sir; it is not. The CHAIRMAN. How many rooms need painting? Mr. WOODS. That shows the total The CHAIRMAN (interposing). How many rooms are there in the building? Mr. WooDs. There are 374 Members' offices, 108 committee rooms, and 33 toilet rooms, 50 miscellaneous rooms; a total of 565. The CHAIRMAN. How long since they have been painted? Mr. Woods. Most of them have not been painted for at least six or seven years. Mr. SISSON. A great many of them have been painted recently, have they not? Mr. Woops. I was going to tell you about the program. During the war. when we had continuous sessions of Congress, we could not get into the office rooms to do much work of any kind. A little over a year ago the House Office Building Commission authorized a pro gram, on which we started, of painting the rooms as fast as we could get into them. For instance, a Member would go away for a few days, and we would go in and paint the office. In carrying out that program it was understood that it would be done outside of the annual estimates for the general maintenance of the building; so that in our present situation we have a deficiency for this fiscal year of $16,735 for painting. We estimate that this $16,735 carries the work to the 1st day of January, and we have figured the cost of painting to te 1st day of next July at $7,800. In other words, for this year the estimated cost of painting is $24.735. The next item is for painting gratings, railings, window guards, etc., on the New Jersey Avenue and First Street sides of the building, which was not estimated for in the last annual maintenance estimates. The House Office Building is surrounded on three sides by iron gratings that cover areas that front on three sides of the building. This year we found that they were in very bad shape. We are compelled to take them off to paint them. They have to be removed in order that the work may be thoroughly done. They must be painted on the underside as well as on the upper side. We have estimated that cost, outside of the maintenance charge, at $1,000. MAIL CHUTES. The next item is for the mail chutes. When the office building was first constructed, we went into the market and got bids on mail chutes. At that time there were three or four manufacturers of mail chutes, and we accepted the cheapest bid. We put in a set of mail chutes that looked to be all right, but in service they proved to be very unsatisfactory. The mail was continually hanging up in the chutes. The CHAIRMAN. Do you mean those chutes along the sides of the walls where the Members drop their mail? Mr. WOODS. Yes, sir. We had, in addition to those chutes, package chutes, and they gave no trouble at all. The other chutes, however, were very unsatisfactory. The letter mail would get caught on the side of the chute, requiring the removal of the whole front of the chute in order to get it out. Therefore the House Office Building Commission decided that we should change those chutes and put in new ones. We made a contract with the Cutler Mail Chute Co., which appeared to be the most reliable company manufacturing chutes, for the type of chute that has been adopted, used, and approved by the Post Office Department. That item is $7.850, for which we are asking a deficiency. The CHAIRMAN. You have already let the contract? Mr. WOODS. Yes, sir; and the chutes have been installed. INSTALLATION OF NEW LIGHTING SYSTEM. The question of lighting the building was taken up during this fiscal year. The lighting system, chandeliers, etc., installed at the time of opening the building were the best of the kind at that time. but they proved to be inefficient in the developments and modern progress in electrical matters. The House Office Building Commis sion authorized the renewing of those fixtures, and fixtures of a more modern type have been installed. The CHAIRMAN. What was their authority to do that? Mr. SISSON. I think they have pretty full authority, but I think the statute might be consulted at this point. Mr. WooDs. The act creating the House Office Building Commission imposed upon them the duty of general supervision of all matters connected with the House Office Building. Mr. SISSON. The question asked by the chairman was as to the extent of the authority of the commission, or whether it went so far as to authorize them to take down old fixtures and put up entirely new ones. Of course the repair of fixtures would come within their power, but it is a question whether the change of the whole installation might not be new work, and the question of the chairman was whether they require a special authority for that or not. The CHAIRMAN. The work has been done? Mr. WOODS. Yes, sir. Mr. SISSON. Has it been paid for? Mr. WOODS. Yes, sir; they were paid for out of the current appropriation, but that created a deficiency. Mr. SISSON. Did you put the fixtures in with your own labor? Mr. WOODS. Yes, sir. GENERAL RECONSTRUCTION WORK IN BASEMENT AND CELLAR. I have also an estimate for general reconstruction work in the basement and cellar story of the building amounting to $2,500; also for wire partitions in connection with the shops and storerooms, for partitions in the room of the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads, and for repairing the electrical conveyor which operates from the kitchen in the cellar to the café above. Then, there is another item for awnings on the court side of the building. Last year we got permission from the committee to put some new awnings on frames on the exterior of the building, and we repaired those on the court side of the building. This year we must get them ready before the spring months, or by the 1st day of May. They are needed, and it is impossible to get along another season without them. The general reconstruction work in the basement story comprises these items: General reconstruction work in basement and cellar story of the building, $2,500, and wire partitions for shops and storerooms, 2,850. I will take up those two items first. The general reconstruction work is due to the fact that we are occupying now the cellar story of the building, directly under the post office section, for the shops connected with the building. Hitherto the shops have been separated in various parts of the building. By putting in some waterproof floors and by installing some wire screens we can bring all the shops together and can have nearly every function of the building concentrated there, as well as the materials and supplies, so as to keep better track of them. The fire-alarm box was put in a short time ago at the earnest request of the fire marshal of the District, acting through the commissioners of the District. They suggested it, and I think it was a good suggestion. We have this fire-alarm box at the main entrance of the building. The CHAIRMAN. I think that is a good thing. PARTITIONS AND CASES IN POST OFFICE AND POST ROADS COMMITTEE ROOM. Mr. WOODS. With reference to the item for partitions and cases in the room of the Post Office and Post Roads Committee, when the Appropriations Committee was enlarged and additional rooms were required, the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads was moved to the House Office Building. In order to accommodate them there, we gave them room, and we were compelled to put in partitions and furnish them with cases. They went into the room formerly known as the majority room. That room was not at that time fitted up for office purposes, so this work was done to provide proper accommodations for the committee. The CHAIRMAN. That covers the items, does it not? Mr. WOODS. Yes, sir. Cooperation with States and planters_ Fee charged for disinfection and inspection_. Markets and Crop Estimates, Bureau of. 160 162 160 151 151 152 155 154 |