Hon. RICHARD BARTHOLDT, M. C., COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS, Chairman Committee on Public Buildings, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Washington, D. C., January 21, 1911. House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. BARTHOLDT: I have received a letter from Assistant Secretary Hilles, a copy of which I inclose, relating to the public building at Canandaigua, N. Y. I wish to add in connection with this matter that the original appropriation was limited to $75,000. The department took up the question of a site, and there was one particular site on the main street and facing the county courthouse building and offices which was preeminently fitted, but the department was finally induced to give up this site because of the high price of the real estate, which would have cost the department twenty-five or thirty thousand dollars to acquire. Because of financial necessity they proposed a site on a side street, the price of which, though comparatively higher, would have brought the matter within the limits of the appropriation. After the Government had entered into a contract, a very philanthropic and public spirited lady and a resident of the city, Mrs. Frederick P. Thompson, returned to Canadaigua from Europe, and hearing of the location of the site, she became at once interested and sent for me to see if by purchasing a part of the site on Main Street and giving it to the Government for the consideration of $1 the location could not be changed to the site that everybody wanted, including the department, viz, on Main Street. She purchased and gave a lot on which there was an office building yielding a good income at an expense to her of considerably over $15,000. The Government took the other land necessary by purchase, which cost about $10,000 more. Then Mrs. Thompson requested me to arrange so that she could employ the architects to make a plan. I arranged this with the Government and plans were prepared by a Boston firm, whom Mrs. Thompson had previously employed to make plans for a hospital in Canandaigua which she has already built and given to the city at a cost of nearly $300,000. She has also bought and laid out some parks. You will see by the letter there is a shortage of some $8,000 to carry out these plans. I presume, rather than give up these plans, Mrs. Thompson would pay this extra money, although she has already done pretty well by the Government, as above stated. I confess I do not wish to see her forced to pay out any more money, and which the Government is much better able to pay than she and which the Government ought to pay. It would give me a great deal of satisfaction, and I believe it would be for the interest of the Government as well, to have these plans carried out by increasing the limit of the appropriation. I should be very glad, indeed, if you will join with me in asking Mr. Tawney to include such a clause in the sundry civil appropriation bill. Yours, very truly, SERENO E. PAYNE, Hon. SERENO E. PAYNE, TREASURY DEPARTMENT, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. SIR: Referring to your request that you be advised of the additional amount which will be required to accept the lowest bid for the construction of the post-office building at Canandaigua, N. Y., without resorting to deductions for alterations, I have the honor to advise you that there will be required to accept such bid $67,255, and for lock boxes, vault shelving, and possibly minor contingencies $2,000, making a total of $69,255. There is a cash balance available of $61,960, which leaves a balance of $7,295. By accepting the following alternates-substituting brick for limestone ashler, substituting brick for limestone and terra cotta, substituting brick for granite and retaining wall and omitting janitor's toilet room in the basement there can be saved approximately $4,000, so as to make the shortage approximately $3,300. Further action in connection with the award of the contract will be held pending the receipt of further recommendation from you. Respectfully, CHARLES D. HILLES, Alpena, Mich., public building. Amsterdam, N. Y., public building. Ann Arbor, Mich., public building. Frankford Arsenal, Philadelphia, Pa Repairs of. Rock Island, Ill., arsenal. Sandy Hook, N. J., proving ground.. Armories and arsenals-Continued. Springfield, Mass.- Streets. Watertown, Mass., arsenal. Watervliet, N. Y., arsenal.. Army and Navy Hospital, Hot Springs, Ark. Army Medical Museum Building, repairs to.. Arthur Kill River, N. Y. and N. J., improvement Arts Commission, Fine.... Arundel Cove, Md., revenue-cutter depot.. Asbury Park, N. J., public building.. Ashland, Ky., public building.. Ashland, Ohio, public building. Improving harbor. Public building.. Assistant custodians and janitors, pay of. Astrophysical Observatory. Athol, Mass., public building. Page. 267 269, 276 275 290, 293 341 893 846 340 326 129 39 85 85 847 39 164 219 39 574, 582 85 39 922 85 39, 93 444, 512, 525 891 85 538 44, 927 85 40 53, 77, 97, 921-924, 937, 941 85 85 77 40 843 641 829, 938 332 Battle Mountain Sanitarium, soldiers' home, Hot Springs, S. Dak. Belleville, Ill., public building. Bellingham, Wash., public building.. Bennettsville, S. C., public building. Bindery. (See Government Printing Office.) 84 685, 688, 690 40 84 85 84,928 40 40 85 84 41 41 Birmingham, Ala., public building. Bismarck, N. Dak., public building. Black Warrior, Warrior, and Tombigbee Rivers, Ala., improving. Blackwell, Okla., public building.... Block-signal systems, investigation of.. Bloomington, Ind., public building. Blue Island, Ill., public building.. Appraisers' stores.. Castle Island Lighthouse. Immigrant station. Bounty claims.. Bowling Green, Ky., public building. Abandonment of cemetery near Bristol, R. I., public building. Brown, John Mason, statement of.. Brownson, Willard H., letter from. Buildings. (See Public.) Buildings and grounds in and around Washington. (See Public.) Bureau of American Republics, printing for. Bureau of Engraving and Printing.. Bureau of Fisheries. (See Fisheries.) Bureau of Mines: Assistant director.... 421 429 423 437 422 424 424, 428 433 414 416 418 430 420, 422, 427 424 427 106 924 85 871 Cabell, R. E., statement of. 144 626, 677, 707 84 331 84 84 707, 736 282 941 84 84 848 684 320 44 85 84 Castle Island Lighthouse, Mass. 637,654 |