Evening Star Newspaper, September 8, 1929, Page 90

clals of the time are sald to have aclaimed Mullett's work as a “welcome relief” from the * buildings. “Modern eritics of the building, while strong in condemnaticn of its appearance to- day, come to the defense of its designer with the declaration that Mullett but followed the prevailing style of his day. . . Mr. Wood may be counted in the latter group. -“Had any of the distinguished architects to- day lived when the State, War and Navy Build- ing was designed,” he says, “the building would have been done very similar to the way it was, becausec that was the prevailing style at" the time. “This should teach a lesson. It is dangerous to become so absorbed in what we are doing today as to be blind tc what has been proved sound in the past. 4 “The only test of architecture is time. This test has shown that our original type of siyle, loved by all, is the type we should ecling to in ‘the future—with modifications, perhaps, to meet modern requirements.” The old drawings found in the basement of the State, War and Navy Building came to the attention of Mr. Wood and he became in- tensely interested in them. Comparing the ground plans of the Treasury and State De- partment structures, he satisfied himself it was feasible to remodel the latter to at least harmonize with the former. He mentioned the matter cne day tc a friend, Dwight Davis, who was to become Secretary of War. Mr. Davis later discussed the subject with the Secretary of State, Mr. Kellogg. Evenutally Secretary of the Treasury Mellon learned of the discovery and manifested great curiosity about Mr. Wood's suggestion that th old building could be refaced. 3 What was especially attractive about Mr. Wood’'s plan was its low ccst. Under a biil introduced in Congress in 1920 it was proposed to erect a new State Department building on the west side of Lafayette square, the site for which, alone, would cost an estimated $12,- 000,000. Total cost of such a structure would be possibly $20,000,000. Mr. Wood took the trouble to go into the probable cost of reconstructicn of the present Fire! Fire! and Then Agam More Fire ELL, folks, yesterday morning at 2 o'clock, which is the hour when nobody is supposed to be awake except sick babies an’ healthy chorus girls, I was having a pleasant dream about being chased by five lions. Suddenly my Stable Mate me a bone-crushing smack in the ribs, bringing me out of the jungle in a ; 4} ; a bright trick!” yelps me, as the . famished cats faded from the picture. *“Ex- . plain the brutality, woman!” “Crawl off your pillow, an’ listen to the racket,” says her, excitedly. “People are shouting an’ I can hear gongs clanging!” She didn’t lie. I ain’t heard so much noise the time my friend Jock MacGregor found ‘ terfeit dime among his small change! ‘Then a ladder scraped against the side of our building an’ a queer locking bimbo poked his Dandruff Knob through our window. He was wearing a rubber overcoat, a tin derby an’ a fire axe. " “Was youse folks thinking of getting up?” “We hadn’t given the matter no considera- tion,” says I. “What's the idea of the big hatchet, mister?” “You'll find out,” snorts hir, “if you try to hand me that old gag about ‘Oh, woodman, spare that-tree’ How I hate that! Every time I stick my skull through ¢ window, some smart ! I'll slay the next 3 “at least, the apartment beneath yours is acting kinda overheated—large quantities of flames are «quirting out of the windows.” A'r this moment several puffs of smoke drift- ed up through the cracks in our floor. YEOWWWW !! We live on the second floor, an’ me an’ my wife have often planned just what we would do if fire should bust loose in our building during the night. If I recall correctly, she was to dress quickly, grab the canary bird, her jewelry (f any), as much of her clothing as possible, an’ walk calmly out. I was to follow her as soon as convenient, carrying my typewriter, our silverware, any important papers an’ her Uncle Louie’s photo- graph. (Louie is worth several Grand an’ we are hoping that he will shove the wampum in direction’ when he sees fit to do the crawl over the River Jordan) Oh, yes, every- was going to be real systematic! Har, Sparring Partner 'galloped through the door in her pajamas, an’ she wasn't carrying nothing except a stocking in one mitt an’ her lipstick in the other. I didn’'t follow her at all—I was 10 feet ahead of her—an’ I was staggering beneath the weight of a package of cigarettes an’ a toothbrush. Take my word for it, this talk about people behaving cool an’ sensible during a fire is just a mess of pea- nut oil! As we reached the front hall, a human cy- clone whizzed past us, headsd for the street. This palooka’s monicker is Mergentheim, an’ he is the bachelor who hibernates in the igloo above ours. He has a habit of tossing hilarious parties which commence just after the evening -paper is delivered an’ last until the milkman ‘arrives with the cow-syrup, an’ the racket cre- ‘ated by his Gin Battles have kept us awake ‘many a night. . ] NATURALLY, my love for him rivals Charlie Dawes’ affection for knee hreeches, so when he snorted past me in his cute little flan- nel nightgown I stuck one of my hoofs out an’ spilled him. Have you ever seen a guy walk ‘down @ Aight of sieix ag his nose? - Mr., Mer= fe THE SINDAY .. STAR, of architecture in other Federal . structure and advised Government officials it could be done for about $2,500,000, ff modifica- tions were made in the pilaster treatment be- tween the porticos. If the same kind of stone were used as in the Treasury and the exterior were virtually an exact copy of the Treasury, the cost would b2 about $3,500,000, according to an estimate understood to have been made by the oflice of the supervising architect. FRECTXQN of a new home for the State De- < partment on the Lafayette Park site, besides costing more than the reconstruction of the present building, would leave unsettled the dis- tressing problem of what to do with the State, War and Navy Building. Mr. Wood has prepared drawings of the old building as it would look after remodeling un- der proposals both for duplicating the Treasury and for modifying its design. In addition, he has shown Government authorities an artist's conception of how the whole area between Fif- teenth and Seventeenth streets would look after completion of the “harmonizing” process. ‘With President Hoover behind the movement, it seems likely that something at last is going to be done about the Capital’'s most maligned public edifice. He's going to put before Congress the gues- tion of whether its will, seemingly thwarted so many years ago, should not be carried out in this day of aggressive Capital beautification. THE PRESIDENT'S proposal that the State, War and Navy Building be given a “facial” is but one step in a program long nurtured in the Hoover mind. Considering himself one of the older inhabi- tants of Washington, by reason of his residence here since the World War, Mr. Hoover is pos- sessed of a civic pride that justifies indulgence in some constructive criticism at the expense of the “home town.” Now that he has bcen elevated to an exalted post that carries with it duties tantamount to & mayorality of the National Capital, the Presi- dent has made it plain he intends to give ex- gentheim can do it! Of course, he can’t ac- complish the feat without fracturing his snoot, but I mention that as incidental. “$X@$X@!!!” howls him, scrambling to his feet. “You an’ two slices of bread would make & cheese sandwich!” Our building contains 56 apartments an’ about 150 rent dodgers, an’ most of the latter were already gathered outside. - That herd was wearing less clothes than a Ziegfeld chorus. “There’s Iver Nelson,” says my Quarrel Companion. “The fire started in his dugout— ask him how it happened.” So I waltzes over to this transplanted Viking an’ says, ‘H'ey, person, tell me what caused all the Leaping Heat.” “It will always be a mystery to me,” says him. “You see, I was laying in bed, smoking a cigarette, an’ I must have fell asleep——" “Yeh, most things will always be a mystery to you,” sneers me, “because your dimensions between the ears are such that a full sized idea ain't able to enter.” 66 A L!” shrieks my wife, suddenly. all about our canary! get him!” “What for?” squawks me. “That ounce of “I forgot Rush upstairs an’ WASHINGTON, £ . D, Gy SEPTEMBER 8, 1929, pression to some carefully thought-out ideas anent the Capital aRd its development. Those ideas are predicated on certain lofty ddeals he entertains with regard to the upbuild- ing of America’s seat of government. Ever since Mr. Hoover has lived in Washing- tcn he has heard legislators and other public servants talking about plans for making Wash- ington the “world's most beautiful capital.” Some of the talk was just that and nothing more, but some of it was followed up with ac- tion and resulted in the so-called triangle de- velopment pregram. Mr. Hoover was one of the active administrative forces behind that pro- gram, which involves the construction of mag- nificent public buildings costing many millions of dollars. Talking helps to create sentiment. Hence there ncw prevails an established sentiment in favor of creation of a bigger, better and more beautiful National Capital. President. Hoover believes the time for talk- ing is about ended—that the time for action is at hand. For him the hoped-for opportunity to take the leadership in the city beautiful move- ment has arrived. Not even burdens of arma- ment, tariff or prohibition can swerve him from his determination to seek some mighty changes in Washington before he steps out of the White House. The President senses room for improvement, especially -in the downtown section of the city. He feels no great degree of pride in Pennsyl- vania avenue—the “Nation's parade ground'— as it stands today. He is pleased, however, that Uncle Sam and private interests re co-operat- ing of late to make the Avenue the impressive boulevard it should be. He thinks both parties have been a little derelict in their duties in the past. In order to hasten the improvement of the area south of Pennsylvania avenue Mr. Hoover announced recently he would ask Congress for $25,000,000 additional with which to facilitate the work. FVEN this appropriation will not remove an- < other Federal landmark that pains the presidential pride. The old Post Office Depart- Musical Poultry ain't worth rescuing. Any- how, the climate in our hut is probably very uncomfortable at present, an’ my girlish figure might get scorched beyond repair.” Right away she began slinging grief-water all over the landscape. Like most other ginks, I'm a sucker for the Weep Act, so I galloped up to the second floor an’ slid into our wigwam. At the same moment, some hombre kicked the back door open an' breezed in. He was drag- ging a mile of hose which he pointed at my face. “Hey!"” gurgles me. “Push that wet hurri- cane some other direction!” “What! Are you still here?” yells him. “I came back for our canary,” says 1. “My wife sent me——" “Wives are queer that way,” sighs him, squirting several hundred gallons of water onto our davenport, thereby reducing its resale value from $60 to about 20 cents. “They think noth- ing ¢’ sending their husbands into burning buildings to rescue a pink kimono or some other priccless object of a like nature! Well grab your Harmonious Sparrow an’ haul him outa here.” However, a quick scrutiny revealed the fact that our canary was resting on his chin at the bottom of his little brass bungalow an’' was My sparring partner galloped rlz‘r_gugh the front door in her, pajamas. . ment Building, between Eleventh and Twelfth streets, is another structure that is understocd to have been encompassed in the Hoover frown. Of course, completed plans for the triangle pro= gram provide for replacement of the old granite Post Office home by a beautiful new building in keeping with the Mall develcpment, but the great cost involved in this undertaking is & serious drawback at this time. The Post Office Building is a mighty good building, from the standpoint of permanency, but, like its unat- tractive sister at Seventeentih street, it is lack- ing in what might be termed “It.” Mr. Hoover is known to be hopeful that pri- vate interests along the north side of Pennsyl- vania avenue will do their part in the improve- ment program. Envisioning along the south a vista of gleaming marble and granite, of col- umned porticos and of parking, he looks for changes across the street to fit in with the dig- nity of the scene. Full co-operation of private interests would be forthcoming in the event of promulgation cf o definite agendum for improvement of the north side of the Avenue, Mr. Hoover believes. He has found by experience that civic co-opera- tion in the Government's plans for enhancing the appearance of the Capital is a matter only of suggestion and understanding. Compulsion rarely is needed where the public interest is in- volved. A number of fine buildings already point the way for others to follow. Pennsylvania avenue must look to its laurels if it would make secure its reputation as the Nation's most famous boulevard. There is in the making, below the Avenue, a parallel boulevard which President Hoover be=- lieves is destined to bz one of the most mag- nificent thoroughfares of the world. B street, flanked with imposing Government edifices and embellished with walks and parkings, will cut a broad swath lengthwise of the great triangle. * President Hoover has ceased to think of these monumental changes as phantasies of the future. The transformation is under way, to the tune of pneumatic hammers and hissing derricks. The President thrills to the scund of that symphony, for he is a man of action. —By Snowshoe A1 showing less signs of life than an Egyptian mummy. “Well, well, so little Jawn McCormack has skidded off this planet, eh?” grins the Smoke Eater. “Maybe the fahrenheit didn't appeal to him—you gotta admit that this room is sultrier than The Dance of the Seven Towels.” “MAY I offer a suggestion?” grunts me, noticing that he had just swung the hose around an’ was now washing large quan- tities of value out of our oriental rug. “Why don’t you squirt that bath-fluid on something which belongs to the landlord, for a change? The walls, or the ceiling, for instance.” “My boy,” says he, “that’s one o’ the joys of being a fireman—we're allowed to toss water any direction we see fit!” An’, to prove it, he turned quickly an' slammed a tidal wave at Uncle Louie’s face, which was adorning our library table. Louie immediately sailed through the air, did a couple of tailspins an’ made a perfect landing beneath the kitchen sink. “I have often heard,” yelps me, “that fire- men meet with lots of accidents while perform- ing their duties. I'm beginning to believe that most of the wounds you palookas receive are presented to you by irate housewives after they have viewed a mess of unnecessary water damage——" Whereupon he drops the hose, grabped his fire axe an’ began choppirg a hole in the kitchen floor via our linoleum. Really, folks, this gent’s monicker should have been Depre- ciation. “Hey, Al!” shrieks Iver Nelson, rushing through our front door; “your frau chased me up to see what happensd to you. She wants the bird.” “Who's this flame-defying dodo?” inquires the fireman. “He lives beneath here,” says I. “He's the gyromaniac who caused all this grief.” “Yeh?” sneers the Smoke Eater, gazing sternly at the new arrival. “Greetings, Nero— where's your harp?” Which, in my estimation, was a torrid re- mark, an’ I roared mirthfully while Iver's mug turned redder than a bouquet of radishes. At this moment the fireman evidently remembered that he had forgot to chop the legs off our par- lor chairs, because he galloped hastily in that direction. RASH! The sudden noise was followed by a howl of pain, so me an’ Nelson trotted in an’ found him sitting on the floor, holding his head an’ gazing murderously at an overturned halltree. A bright thought struck Iver an’ caused him to giggle. “Oh, woodman, spare that tree!” he squeaked. “Har, har!” Well, I never cared much for this Iver person anyway, so I corroborated the Smoke Eater’s version of the accident, which was to the ef- fect that Mr. Nelson had jumped through the window, although the victim still insists that he was knocked through it. (Copyright. 1929) Kentucky Coal Piroduction NEWSPAPER readers ars so used to reading coal mine stories of one sort or another from Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Illinois that they are very likely to pass over the third largest producing state and never realize it. Kentucky holds this rank in the bituminous field, with a production last year of 61,860,379 tons, of which about three-fourths came from the eastern end of the State. The number of mines operated during the vear was reduced by 100, but the yield per man was increased. The average price of the coal, $1.56, yielded an income of $95,722.000, which was a decrease of nearly 20 per cent from the preceding year, .\