REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

CAPITOL BUILDING AND GROUNDS.

OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT,

UNITED STATES CAPITOL BUILDING AND GROUNDS,

Washington, D. C., October 14, 1911.

SIR: In presenting the annual report of this office for the fiscal year 1911, I desire to call attention to the increased administrative service now rendered. In the year 1905 supervision was exercised over the real-estate values, repairs and improvements on the following buildings: The Capitol Building and Grounds; the Courthouse, Washington, D. C. (under the direction of the Department of Justice); the Court of Claims Building (under direction of Court of Claims).

Since that date there has been added to our supervision and maintenance by construction, or otherwise, the following: The Senate Office Building, the House Office Building, the heating, lighting, and power plant for the Capitol and other congressional buildings, and subways connecting the Capitol with the office buildings; the Court of Appeals addition to the Courthouse, Washington, D. C.

The four last-named structures and subways have been constructed by the Superintendent United States Capitol Building and Grounds, under various acts and terms of Congress, and the following statistics may be of interest. There is omitted from this table the original Courthouse and the Court of Claims Building:

Principal buildings under the supervision of the Superintendent of Capitol Building and

Grounds.

The above table shows an addition in supervision of values amounting to $10,687,226.

Reports on details of construction of the Senate and House Office Buildings and the congressional power plant and subways are to appear later under authority of Congress. The reports herewith submitted for the appendix are therefore more or less descriptive.

THE CAPITOL.

The care and maintenance of the Capitol Building during the past fiscal year has been full of more than usual interest, by reason of the extra session of Congress. All usual preparations in the way of repairs and improvements had been made for the regular congressional year. The advent of the extra session brought with it a great number of readjustments calling for many changes and reconstructions, to be made by this office, not only in the Capitol Building, but in the Senate and House Office Buildings. It is not necessary to specify these in great detail, as a full record is on file in this office. Sufficient to say that items for the year were 1,292 in number. Some of the most important are now stated:

The entire central portion of the Capitol (constructed of sandstone) and the dome surmounting it has been cleaned down and painted.

The policy of restoration carried out in the old central portion of the building, mentioned in last year's report, has been contínued, and during the present season the walls of corridors leading from the crypt in the basement story northward to the Senate wing and those leading northward from the rotunda were repaired and refinished to conform to the surroundings. More of this work remains to be done during the coming recess, being prevented at this time by conditions incident to the extra session.

A new iron stairway has been constructed leading directly from the large corridor in front of the Senate post office, basement story, Senate wing, to the sub-basement floor below. This lands directly at the entrance to the subway connecting the Capitol with the Senate Office Building and provides a much needed and quick approach to the subway for persons not desiring to use the elevators.

A new skylight, 36 feet by 10 feet in dimensions, has been installed over the Senate document room.

New lavatories and toilets have been installed in the rooms of the Senate Committees on Naval Affairs, Rules, Foreign Relations, and the Senate library and document room.

In the Senate wing the following rooms have been painted or painted and decorated: The rooms occupied by the Committees on Commerce, Privileges and Elections, Immigration, Territories, Judiciary, Rules, Indian Affairs, Transportation and Sale of Meat Products, Pacific Islands and Porto Rico, Foreign Relations, Education and Labor, Census, Agriculture, Public Buildings and Grounds, and the Vice President's room. Other rooms as follows: Senate post office, Senate disbursing clerk's room, Senate press gallery and reporters' room, Senate barber shop, and room No. 2, Senate terrace. Stairways leading to the dome, elevator shafts, and motor rooms in this section have been cleaned and painted.

In the Supreme Court section of the Senate wing extensive repairs have been made. The court heating plant has been much improved by substituting modern steam coils for the old type steam benches. The Supreme Court room, Attorney General's room, court reporters' room, and marshal's office have been repainted and decorated where necessary. Additional plumbing fixtures have been installed, including new lavatory in the robing room.

The removal of the file room of the House to another location made possible the execution of an order of the House assigning the space

vacated to the House Committee on Appropriations. To carry this into effect the file room was transferred to the attic story and located in a room formerly used by press reporters. A doorway was cut through the side wall, giving access to space in the rear of the west principal stairway, attic story, and that space allotted and adjusted to the use of the file room.

The intervening doorway on the principal floor between the committee rooms and the old file room, which had been closed, was reopened and suitable double-acting doors installed in conformity with others in the committee rooms. This readjustment involved the removal of a large amount of steel case work and files and the refitting of the cases in the new location. In this connection two new lavatories were installed.

A new skylight with ventilators 36 feet by 10 feet in size was placed over the House library.

In the House folding room several of the aisle spaces have been concreted, and repairs made to the room occupied by the foreman, to the stairway, and to the wooden floors.

Repairs were made to the House kitchen and a new dish-washing machine installed. Additional lunch accommodations for the general help were provided.

The rooms of the House Committees on Reform in the Civil Service, Enrolled Bills, Rules, Pensions, Manufactures, and the room allotted the minority leader were painted and decorated.

Statuary Hall was thoroughly overhauled, and the restoration of the stonework in the hall, accomplished last season, was supplemented during the present by the painting of all plaster side walls and the ornamental ceiling.

A number of rooms throughout the building have been rewired in a permanent manner in steel conduit, replacing old conduits of other and less permanent and safe material.

The space in the attic story of the west central section, occupied by the House document room, contains important files of the House, stored on wooden shelving which is painted with fireproofing paint. An effort to secure suitable steel cases failed. The lighting was done in a temporary and not altogether safe manner. To protect, as far as possible, such temporary installation of the files the old wiring has been removed and the distribution of current carried in steel conduit with suitable outlet boxes placed only at the important points, with a minimum use of portable cord and fixtures.

For the benefit of this section and sections adjacent, permanent ventilating skylights have been installed to take the place of temporary ones formerly in place. It is to be hoped that the House of Representatives will soon authorize the installation of steel fireproof shelving for this section.

New chandeliers have been installed in a number of rooms throughout the Capitol. These chandeliers are of a style and type which should be suitable for a long period of time, the effort being made to have them conform to the general architectural requirements of their structural surroundings.

I will not detail the repairs carried out in the lighting, heating, and ventilating departments of the Capitol. They were general in character, such as the overhauling of the large number of ventilating motors and fans, elevator motors and controlling boards, and the

renewal of the cables on 26 of the elevators. Our card system of daily inspection on all elevators and their machinery continues. Every possible precaution is taken by this early morning inspection to prevent the use of a machine not fit for service.

Mention should be made of the thousands of feet of air ducts which must be cleaned and whitewashed annually, cellar passageways to be cleaned and painted, air chambers under the floors of the House and Senate chambers to be scoured, disinfected, to be followed by similar processes every two weeks during the session; bronze ventilating risers in the chamber floors taken out, treated with live steam and replaced in absolutely clean condition.

The departments named have a multitude of things to do, all of which bear on the general health of the Members and Senators, both as relates to the Halls of the House and Senate and the committee rooms in general. The fact that these things rarely reach the attention of those who occupy the upper stories of the building, prompts me to speak of them here.

The practical completion (though not final acceptance in detail) of the new congressional heating and power plant enabled us to furnish, during the past year, light, heat, and power to the Capitol Building, the Senate and House Office Buildings, and in a large measure to the Library of Congress. So far, the operation of the plant has been very satisfactory; and although operating under somewhat abnormal conditions, very economical, as compared to past yearly expenditures under divided and somewhat widely separated plants. There have been no breakdowns serious enough to warrant particular attention. Such as occurred did, at no time, inconvenience Congress. They were incident to the beginning of any enterprise as great as the one which the Government has just entered into with this plant. We will now be able to displace the large amount of machinery located in the sub-basement of the building and utilize the space for storage. Mention may be made here of the fact that the Senate and House Office Buildings have been maintained in excellent shape for occupancy during the past fiscal year. In the case of appropriations for the maintenance of these two buildings, the disbursements are made by the Interior Department, although all expenditure of money is under the supervision of the Senate Committee on Rules for the Senate Building, and the House Office Building Commission for the House Building. The detailed report, therefore, both as to maintenance and expenditure of money, has been and will be made to these two congressional commissions.

CAPITOL GROUNDS.

An examination of the trees in the Capitol Grounds during the past season disclosed the fact that a number were in poor condition, due to breaks, splits, or to other forms of disease affecting the most vital parts.

It is well known that when the Capitol Grounds were enlarged in 1873 a number of existing trees were taken up and relocated. The filling material used in leveling up the grounds was not of the best character; and the relocating of the trees was done in a period when the science of tree culture and care had not reached the present-day knowledge of the cure of disease or perfect handling of fractures.