Evening Star Newspaper, May 21, 1933, Page 70

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHI Our Government at ( Eighteen Departments and Agencies, All Will Contribute Remarkable Displa Federal Building, One of the Most Impos - Is Base of Great Triangle—The Natio Februar The United States Government Building at the Century of Progress. It occupies a commanding position in the fair grounds, and the three fluted columns, rising 150 feet, typify the three co-ordinate branches of the Federal Governmerit—administrative, judicial and legislative. HEN the gates of the Cen- tury of Progress are for- mally thrown open at Chi- cago next Saturday the United States Government will be revealed to the world as a show- man of no mean pretentions. In a build- ing all his own, costing nearly $300,000 and striking an entirely new note in architecture, Uncle Sam will put on a show that will portray to all the world, and particularly to his own nephews and nieces, just how he functions. It had been President Roosevelt’s in- tention to travel West to open person- Moderniveic Adminioiration Building ally Chicago's stupendous celebration of the 100th anniversary of its existence as an incorporated municipality and the opening date of the great exposition was accordingly advanced from June 1 to next Saturday. Last Tuesday, how- ever, the .Chief Executive became con- vinced that the domestic and interna- tional situation had assumed a posture that would not permit his absence from Washington. For months Uncle Sam has been pre- paring for his debut of this century oh the Chicago stage. He started last year by digging down into his own jeans for of the Cenlury ¢;f ngreu Exposition. The steel frame of the structure is bolted together. . .. ., : TN e AR $1,000,000 with which to “angel” his part of the great show. Since the day that money became available, experts in a score of branches of the Government, for the most part doing their work right here in Washington, have been building the most effective vehicles for presenta- tion of the manifold activities of the Federal Government. There are now ready and in place, ranging over a wide field of activity and expressed in multitudinous ways, from real live soldiers, part of the War Department exhibit, to charts showing how better babies are reared. Activity in recent weeks has been intensified by advancement of the opening date from June 1 and squads of Federal techni- cians and artists are now in Chicago putting on the finishing touches of prep- aration and ready to act as stage man- agers when Uncle Sam welcomes visitors to his part of the big show. The Federal Government’s participa- tion dates back to February 8, 1932, when former President Hoover approved the $1,000,000 appropriation by Congress. On July 11 he appointed former Postmaster General Harry S. New of Indiana as United States commissioner to the expo- sition, with Col. W. B. Causey, former president of the Interallied Railway Commission in Europe, as assistant com- missioner. Headquarters were estab- lished in the Interior Building, with W. B. Yeager, formerly of the State Depart- ment, as secretary. The next step was contracting with the Century of Progress for a Federal build- ing on the grounds to represent the United States and house its exhibits. The design of Edward H. Bennett was approved by the Fine Arts Commission. Completion of the structure, at a cost b ¢ i1 By Willia of $297,000, reveals it as one of the most beautiful and imposing on the 424 acres which comprise the exposition site. It occupies a commanding position on Northerly Island, across the lagoon from Soldier Field, Chicago’s memorial to her heroic dead. The building is .620 feet long and 300 feet wide, with a rotunda 70 feet in diameter surmounted by a 75-foot dome, around which are grouped the most striking feature, three fluted towers rising 150 feet, typifying the three co-ordinate branches of the Federal Government — administrative, judicial and legislative. These will be silhouetted at night with magical beauty by unusual light effects. ; The Federal building forms the base of a great triangle, the other “sides of which are formed by the States pavilion, in which the various States of the Un- ion will have their displays. With the exception. of an Illinois hosf{ building, near the north entrance to the grounds, no State will have a separate building— a departure from former exposition schemes. T}m interior of the triangle forms a great court, in which more than 25,- 000 persons may gather comfortably for ceremonies and addresses. The whole Federal and States ground is surrounded by {full-grown trees, some of them trucked in from hundreds of miles away with huge balls of their native earth clinging to the roots. The area where the buildings stand is all “made land,” built up from the bed of Lake Michigan. Extending into the court of the Hall of States will be a wing containing a re- ception suite where celebrities will be welcomed on gala days. This is partly surrounded by a triangular sunken gar- den. A grand entrance, with terraces, extends west to the lagoon, connected by a 40-foot span to an embarcadere—a curved island, 150 by 20 feet—where dig- nitaries will be landed from ornate barges on state occasions. Approximately $500,000 has been ex- pended by the commission in the prepa- ration of exhibits portraying the funec- tions of 18 executive departments and independent establishments of the Fed- eral Government. The exhibit of the State Department will center around a large illuminated map of the world, showing the location of each diplomatic and consular repre- sentative of the United States in foreign lands, contrasted with America’s foreign service in 1833. There will also be mod- els of the new American embassy at Paris and the new consulate at Yoko- hama, together with an illuminated great seal of the United States and treaties and other important -interna- tional documents. Troops of the 6th Corps Area, with all their war equipment, will constitute part of the War Department exhibit. The Engineer Corps and other ‘branches of the Army also will have exhibits in the building, including portrayal of harbor and flood control -operations on the Mississippi, the Wilson Dam and the Nicaragua Canal survey. ~ . - £ THE Navy beparim’ent wflldlsphym animated model, .21 by 15 feet, de- picting American sea power in its rela- tion.to the.Nation’s internal and over- . ..