PURCHASE OF MONTICELLO. FEBRUARY 24, 1915.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed. Mr. HENRY, from the Committee on Rules, submitted the following REPORT. [To accompany H. J. Res. 390.] The Committee on Rules, to whom was referred House joint resolution 390, respectfully reports the same to the House with certain amendments and with the recommendation that the amendments be agreed to and the resolution as amended passed. Said amendments are as follows: Strike out the preamble and all after the enacting clause and insert the following: That Woodrow Wilson, Thomas S. Martin, James A. Reed, Jacob H. Gallinger, Champ Clark, James Hay, and James R. Mann are hereby created a commission, to be known as the Jefferson Memorial Commission, for the purpose of purchasing the property known as Monticello, in Albemarle County, in the State of Virginia, including its furniture, paintings, and contents which were the property of Thomas Jefferson, being the former home of Thomas Jefferson, to the end that it may be owned and maintained by the Government as a perpetual Jefferson memorial. SEC. 2. That the commission shall be permanent, and vacancies occurring in the membership thereof shall be filled by appointment by the President of the United States, and they shall serve without salary or other compensation, but in lieu of subsistence while absent from the city of Washington or their homes and engaged in the business of the commission shall be paid $5 per day and their ordinary traveling expenses. SEC. 3. That said commission is hereby authorized to enter into negotiations with Jefferson M. Levy, the present holder of said estate, which is said to consist of a tract of seven hundred acres, more or less, upon which is located the residence builded and occupied by Thomas Jefferson as a home; and said commission is authorized and directed to enter into a contract for the purchase of said properties at the lowest obtainable price, in no event to exceed a total of $500,000, to be paid in installments of not to exceed $100,000 per annum; and said commission shall proceed with the purchase of said properties and shall report its action to Congress on or before the first day of December, nineteen hundred and fifteen, and shall in the discharge of its duties avail itself of the advice and services of the Attorney General of the United States in the examination of the title to said properties. SEC. 4. That the property purchased under the provisions of this resolution shall be preserved under the direction and control of the commission herein created as a perpetual memorial to Thomas Jefferson; and the mansion house, together with such buildings as may hereafter be erected upon said ground, shall be maintained and used as a repository in which shall be kept such original manuscripts, writings, and relics of Thomas Jefferson as may be collected by the commission, together with such other valuable public and historic documents and writings as the commission shall deem proper. SEC. 5. The said commission shall have the care and custody of said properties, and shall preserve the same and shall perform such other duties toward it as may be from time to time designated by Congress; and there shall be appropriated from time to time such sum or sums as may be necessary for these purposes, estimates therefor to be annually submitted to Congress by the commission. SEC. 6. That there is hereby appropriated for the purpose of acquiring said properties and paying the expenses incident thereto the sum of $500,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated: Provided, That not more than $100,000 of said amount shall be available for use in any one year, and the said commission is authorized to draw a warrant on the Treasury of the United States in favor of the owner or owners of said properties for such amount or amounts in accordance with the action of the commission. 63D CONGRESS, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. REPORT 3d Session. No. 1443. POST-OFFICE BUILDING AT GARDEN CITY, KANS. FEBRUARY 24, 1915.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed. Mr. CLARK of Florida, from the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, submitted the following REPORT. [To accompany S. 7188.] The Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, to which was referred the bill (S. 7188) to increase the limit of cost of the United States post-office building at Garden City, Kans., having considered the same, beg to report thereon with the recommendation that the bill do pass. The purpose of this bill is to authorize the additional expenditure of $6,050 on the post-office building at Garden City, Kans., in order that certain additional fireproof construction and other betterments desired by the Treasury Department may be installed. There follows an extract of the report of the Senate Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds relating to this project: It was originally planned to make this practically a fireproof building, but owing to the amount of the original appropriation-$60,000-it was afterwards determined that this would be impossible, and the contract was let for certain wood construction in order to keep within the amount of the appropriation. This additional amount will enable the Supervising Architect and the contractor to carry out the original plan by making the building practically fireproof. The department has reported favorably on the bill, as shown by the following copy - of letter: TREASURY DEPARTMENT, The CHAIRMAN COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS, United States Senate, Washington, D. C. SIR: Reference is made to your request by telephone this day for a supplementary report in connection with S. 7188, to increase the limit of cost of the United States post-office building at Garden City, Kans. Upon further consideration of the matter it is believed that if the increase in the limit of cost is authorized at this session of Congress the work in connection with the construction of the building will not be materially delayed, and it is estimated that the amount carried by the bill, namely, $6,050, will be sufficient to provide for additional fireproof construction and other betterments. H R-63-3-vol 1-50 In this connection your attention is invited to the last paragraph of the letter addressed to you on the 27th ultimo, in which it was suggested that the reference in the bill to the Supervising Architect be eliminated. As the amount carried by the bill is not sufficient to cover the cost of making the building entirely fireproof, it is also suggested that the bill be drawn to contemplate "additional" fireproofing, as estimated. Respectfully, (Signed) BYRON R. NEWTON, Having given the foregoing very careful consideration, the committee begs to report the bill favorably. O |