Then we have three or four separate intercommunicating telephone systems in the building, and they have to wire for these. They installed those systems, and they keep them in order

EXTRA SERVICES OF EMPLOYEES, ETC.

Mr. BYRNS. You are asking for an increase under the head of Extra services of employees, and additional employees under the superintendent to provide for the opening of the Library Building.' That has been $2,800 for nine years.

Mr. AVERILL. The principal reason for the increase is that we have taken from the calendar the number of days required and estimated the actual employees required. Of course, we have to put on a few more than we did a few years ago in fact, there are more on now than we had last year. I had to assign one laborer for evenings to keep things picked up, and I have had to add one check boy for Sunday service. Heretofore the watchman at one of the doors had to do the checking Sundays, and it was not very satisfactory. During a rainy time crowds come there and crowds do come there very often rainy evenings-the watchman is swamped, so that I put on an extra check boy. That is the principal difference; there is no difference in the rate. Last year I thought they ought to have a percentage increase of about time and a half. They are now getting about time and fifteen one-hundredths. There is also one more Sunday in the fiscal year.

Mr. BYRNS. You say we did give an increase?

Mr. AVERILL. No; there is nothing figured in here for that; it is about the same rate, but it really means that there will be more people employed by at least two and one more day. This year I had to cut the Sunday pay from time and fifteen one-hundredths down to, I think, about one on account of the above changes and one more holiday. The 4th of March is a holiday, but we have to increase the force which is in part paid for that day. But that can not be helped now.

TEMPORARY SERVICE OF ADDITIONAL EMPLOYEES.

Mr. BYRNS. You are asking $500 for temporary service of additional employees when found necessary.

Mr. AVERILL. This is a similar provision to the paragraph in the librarian's appropriation from year to year. There are times when we can hardly get along, when there are extra crowds here, and it would be of immense benefit if we could employ on such occasions. three or four extra people for different purposes. There is another feature of that. For instance, the 4th of March is coming, and I have no appropriation out of which to put on an extra person, and there are liable to be 80,000 people in the building per day for a few days. I think the record runs about 80,000 people in one day, and that number must be handled with the same force as the average 2,500. While I have not experienced such a crowd as yet, I am told that that is about the number we may expect. I have seen some small crowds in the building, and it is very hard to handle them. As a matter of fact, it is almost impossible to handle people when they come there in such large numbers. I would like to be prepared for

this so that we can, on such occasions as Grand Army parades, large conventions, and so on, be able to put on a few special watchmen just for the day. Then there is another feature of it: During the last year both of the telephone operators broke down temporarily and had to take sick leave. One used up practically all of her annual and sick leave before the first four months of the year expired. At one time both were sick. I could not employ a substitute telephone operator; I could not employ another operator, because there is no way to pay such an operator. So I had to use the stenographer and a messenger of the office and put them on the switchboard. That was the only thing I could do. Had an appropriation as asked for been available I could have employed two operators from the telephone company to fill out for the few weeks the operators were sick. It was a terrible handicap for a few weeks.

FUEL, LIGHTS, REPAIRS, ETC.

Mr. BYRNS. You are asking for a considerable increase under the head of "Fuel, lights, repairs, miscellaneous supplies, electric and steam apparatus," etc.

Mr. AVERILL. You will notice we have stricken out $4,000 for waterproofing parts of east driveway and over machinery and $2,000 for temporary repairs and painting of roof. The roof will now carry us over with what we have done to it under the former appropriation. The waterproofing has not been done, but proposals have been received which overrun the appropriation, and I am trying to make revision to get it done for the money. My bids overran the $4,000 very much, and I am trying now to see if I can not find some way to get around the difficulty.

FLRE HOSE AND FITTINGS.

Mr. BYRNS. You are asking $1,075 for fire hose and fittings.

Mr. AVERILL. There is not a foot of fire hose in the building that will hold the pressure of water. It is, in fact, worthless, having been there since the building was erected. You can tear it with your fingers, and water goes through it. Water would hardly get to the nozzle, as it goes through the hose, and it seems to me we ought to put that in.

Mr. BYRNS. Do you know how many feet of fire hose you have there?

Mr. AVERILL. About 2,400 feet. I will say that this amount, $1.075, is the exact amount required. I obtained informal bids on this hose.

Mr. BYRNS. And you contemplate supplying new hose throughout the entire building for this amount?

Mr. AVERILL. Yes. There is not a foot of good fire hose in the building. This is fire hose on racks to be used only in case of an emergency.

REPAIRING TUNNEL AND MECHANICAL BOOK CARRIER TO CAPITOL.

The $8,500 for repairing tunnel and mechanical book carrier connecting the Library Building and the Capitol is one of the most important items. This drawing shows the construction of the rail

way tunnel which runs along First Street. Our book carrier tunnel crosses that at an angle of about 70°. The railway tunnel was supposed to be back filled with concrete at this point, but all that timber is still there, and we do not know how well it is back filled. However, good or bad, the book tunnel has settled very much for something over 100 feet. It has gone down 2 feet in the middle. The settlement has broken every casting of the book carrier and has cracked the side walls so that water is now coming in. The water comes in and there is no drainage to the tunnel. It has been very hard to keep it in order and of course it is getting worse all the time, and I am only afraid

Mr. EVANS (interposing). What are the dimensions?

Mr. AVERILL. Four and one-half feet by 6 feet inside.
Mr. EVANS. A man could pass through it?

Mr. AVERILL. Yes. These book carriers are traveling all the time carrying books from the Capitol to the Library and return, and we bad instances twice last year when sudden storms came on that it got so wet that a pocket of water formed at this sag and the books dipped into it and some of them were injured. It seems to me this work is almost absolutely necessary. I have been very much afraid in the last few months that the thing might fail utterly so that it would stop this carrier service between here and the Library. I can explain to you how I propose to repair it. I propose to dig a hole at these three points to the top of railroad tunnel. Of course the railroad tunnel is safe, so far as it is concerned, and if I can get a support from that there will be no further settlement of this book tunnel. Then with a foundation over here and another one at this end, making this reinforced concrete, I will have the two sides of the tunnel acting as two girders and there will never be any further settlement, no matter what the surrounding ground does. I do not know whether that is going to continue settling or not, although I suppose it will.

Mr. BYRNS. And you contemplate it will take the full amount estimated to do that work?

Mr. AVERILL. Yes. I made a sort of guess estimate of $8.500 because that was all I could do, and I asked a contractor who is an expert in that line of work to look at it, and he looked at this drawing and took some measurements, and without taking it out to make a regular bid or estimate he said it would cost $8,000, and therefore I think we are fairly close to it. Of course, if it can be done for any less we will do it.

Mr. BYRNS. You say your book carrier has been put out of commission?

Mr. AVERILL. Oh, no; it is still in commission, but the castings are all broken up, and as this settling here takes place it lengthens the distance and pulls the tracks apart. We have kept it going, but it has been pretty well broken up. The bulk of the expense of this operation will be to fix the tunnel so it will stay there. There are great cracks forming along the side walls which we now have to plug up with elastic cement. Every time there is a hard rain water runs into that tunnel, and, of course, as it is not drained, it makes a pretty bad condition.

REPAIRING PASSENGER AND FREIGHT ELEVATORS.

Mr. BYRNS. You are asking for $3,600 for repairing and reconstructing passenger and freight elevators and inclosures.

Mr. AVERILL. As far as the elevators are concerned there are a number of automatic elevators, these push-button elevators, with no conductor. The person who wants to go to another floor goes in and pushes a button. I have been very much afraid of those elevators myself in going upon them, and I have been afraid we might have an accident. They are not in very good condition. They have been there a long time and there have been a lot of improvements made in such elevators, and I am afraid of the automatic devices we have on them because they are too frail.

Mr. BYRNS. How many have you?

Mr. AVERILL. Of these automatic elevators, or elevators without operators, there are five.

Mr. BYRNS. Where are they located in the building?
Mr. AVERILL. In the stacks.

Mr. BYRNS. For the use of the employees in the stacks?

Mr. AVERILL. Yes; for people going for books and for anybody who wants to go from one floor to another. They are supposed to be connected in such a way that when any door is opened no one can move the elevator, and when the door is closed then anybody on any floor can push a button and bring the elevator to that floor. We have had a few minor accidents with them, but fortunately nobody was hurt. They have been started notwithstanding the safety devices two or three times when book trucks were half way on the elevator, although the door was opened and supposed to be locked against any accident, and yet somebody started the elevator. We will have to overhaul all of these elevators.

Mr. BYRNS. And this estimate is for overhauling those particular elevators?

Mr. AVERILL. Yes; and you will notice that I say for repairing and reconstructing passenger and freight elevators and inclosures. There is one very large elevator on the east side of the building which has a very heavy inclosure. The doors are very heavy, and they are sagging all the time, and we have to file out to keep them going. It is all a man can do to push these gates.

Mr. BYRNS. Is that a passenger elevator?

Mr. AVERILL. That is a passenger and freight elevator. It is a very large elevator, and what I would like to do in that case would be to take down that heavy, ornamental inclosure and put in a modern, light inclosure so a man can throw the door with one hand. '

Mr. BYRNS. Can you separate the cost of that work from the other work?

Mr. AVERILL. Yes, sir; I had an estimate on an inclosure made up without drawings, just from measuring it up, of $1,300 for the inclosure, and the rest would be used for repairing these push-button elevators. That is work our men can not do. That automatic device is only handled by the big elevator companies.

Mr. BYRNS. Just where is that large elevator in the building with this inclosure you speak of?

70971-16- -2

Mr. AVERILL. This inclosure is on the east side of the building and it is used principally for freight. It is going all the time with book trucks and all sorts of trucks.

Mr. BYRNS. It is not used so much for passengers?

Mr. AVERILL. It is used for passengers also, as there is no other elevator in that part of the building.

Mr. BYRNS. Not for the public, but for employees?

Mr. AVERILL. The public do not get to it; no, sir.

PAINTING ROOF AND POINTING EXTERIOR STONEWORK OF BUILDING.

Mr. BYRNS. Then you ask $500 for painting portions of the roof of the building and $2,000 for pointing exterior stonework of building.

Mr. AVERILL. The $500 for painting portions of the roof-you will remember we had $2,000 for repairs on the roof, and that has painted quite a little of; and instead of putting on any more copper next year, because the copper we have put on this year will tide us over. we will need some paint. We can get along with paint without any copper for another year, and then we will have to ask for more copper again.

With reference to the $2,000 for pointing exterior stonework of building, I find that there are a great many open joints, and you may have noticed the building is rather badly stained up, and there are open joints all the way up the cornice. You will find that you can stand on the ground and see right through the joints of cornice projections, and out in front around the main entrance of the building there are a great many open joints, and they are so bad that the water is getting through and running down into the inside. The only way to do that pointing up is to put men on it by day labor. It is impossible to get a contract at any reasonable sum, and we will simply have to put good men on it and let them work as long as the money will last. I think $2,000 will complete the work.

IMPROVEMENT OF LIGHTING.

Mr. BYRNS. You are asking for $3,500 for making improvements in interior lighting of building. I believe you went into that last year, did you not?

Mr. AVERILL. Yes; but this is a somewhat different thing. That was not granted either by the House or the Senate, and this year the $3,500 I am asking for would go, most of it, for improving the lighting in offices. I have had a great many complaints this year from different divisions, and I have simply told them I could not improve the lighting for the reason that money was asked for last year and was not granted, and I therefore did not feel I could spend any money in improving the lighting out of the general fund.

Mr. BYRNS. What is the trouble in the offices? Have they not sufficient light?

Mr. AVERILL. It is sufficient in most cases, but it is the wrong kind of light. It is the direct lighting and it is in their eyes too much, and all of them want this indirect lighting. There is hardly a room in the library where you can sit down and not get a direct ray of light right in your eyes.