Evening Star Newspaper, April 7, 1935, Page 59

STATE DEPARTMENT ST Its Growth in Midst of Struggles for Place as Re- publ ic Was Slowly in Harmony With Service of Leaders. Occupants of Famous Struc- tures Which Made Up Capital’s Sct- tng. By John Clagett Proctor.! HE founders of this Republic, | when they selected the District | of Columbia as the site for | the Federal Capital, expected | the city to develop into a big metropolis, and so far as streets, ave- | nues, reservations and parks were | concerned, they adequately planned | along these lines—at least for the first 100 years. But not so as to office accommodations, which from | the first have been insufficient, and | even up to the present time, taking into consideration the enormous | building projects carried on by the | Government in Washington during | recent years, many private buildings | will still have to be rented for some | time to come in order properly to | house the Federal departments and | their bureaus. The four original departmental buildings, which once surrounded the White House—the Treasury and the Btate Department on the Fifteenth street side, and the Navy and War Buildings on the Seventeenth street side—were almost alike. The State Department Building, which stood to the north of the Treasury, and the | ‘War Bullding, which occupied a cor- responding position with the Navy | office, were supposed to be identical. ‘They had 16 rooms each on the first floor and 15 rooms each on the second fioor. The Treasury and Navy Build- ings had 14 rooms each on both the first and second floors. In a crude sketch of these buildings published in 1822, showing front views | and ground plans, dormer windows o mnot appear, although a sketch of the Treasury Building, made many years later, and probably from recol- lection, shows three dormer windows. After the burning of Washington by | the British in 1814, such of these buildings as then existed were rebuilt and probably modified, though not | enlarged. In 1819 an addition was | made to the State Building of about | the same design, except that porticos | and freestone pillars were added; | and the War Department Building was treated in like manner. | OP‘ THE four original buildings erected for the Government, the | Treasury Building, begun in 1797, was the only one sufficiently completed in 1800 to receive the Secretary of the Treasury and the 75 employes then on | the rolls of the department. It was | substantially typical of the group, | having a width of 55 feet and a length | of 160 feet. Leonard Harbaugh, a builder, re- ceived the contract for its erection | for the sum of $39,511, but up to the | time of the invasion by the British 1t had cost the Government $48,955.28. ‘The plans were prepared by George Hadfield, an English architect, who for a time was employed to superin- tend the construction work upon the Capitol. Of these four buildings, which served their purposes for many years ~—the Treasury Building until March 30, 1833, when it was destroyed by fire—perhaps the State Department Building, in war and in peace, proved one of the most notable, and its exist- ence did not cease until it was re- moved about 1866, to provide space for the Treasury extension, when it moved temporarily into the building | at the southeast corner of Fourteenth and 8 streets, erected for the Wash- ington City Orphan Asylum. There it remained until 1875, when it took up its permanent quarters in the present State, War and Navy Build- ing, to the west of the White House. The State Department had its be- ginning in July, 1789, when the first Congress enacted a law entitled “An act for establishing an executive de- | partment of the Government, to be denominated the Department of For- | eign Aflairs.” “By this law,” we are told, “an of- | ficer was to be appointed as Secretary for the Department of Foreign Af- fairs, whose duties were to be per- formed conformably to the instruc- tions of the President. Before this, while the Republic was struggling for the recognition of the great nations, its foreign affairs were conducted | through commissioners appointed by Congress. “Shortly before the adoption of the Constitution, the necessity for some organization of our diplomatic cor- respondence led to the passage of a resolution of Congress, authorizing the appointment of a Secretary of Foreign Affairs. His powers were de- rived from Congress, and he was re- quired to hold himself amenable to that body, to attend its sessions and to report and explain all matters per- taining to his province. In Septem- ber, 1789, another act of Congress changed the designation of the de- partment to that of ‘Department of Ktate’ and defined additional duties 0 be performed by the ‘Secretary of State’” “IH!N the Government moved to WV the new Federal City in June, | 1800, the State Department, with its eight employes, was at first crowded into the building erected for the rtment. However, by | Cook, John Nicholson and Honore " the “six buildings.” Of this row, Al- len C. Clark, in his “Life and Letters of Dolly Madison,” says: “Mr. Madison's landlord was the firm, Jonah Thompson & Richard Veitch, merchants, of Alexandria, Va. ‘They owned (present numbering), | 2113, 2109 and 2107 Pennsylvania avenue; from Georgetown, the third, fifth and sixth houses of the row. The | sixth house was occupied by Benja- min Stoddert and used as the Navy Office. The Madisons likely lived in No. 2113.” | Samuel Houston, Governor of Ten- nessee, United States Senator and first President of Texas, in later years had his residence where formerly had been the Navy Office, and Richard Rush, the eminent statesman, also resided in this row. In 1801 John Coyle lived in the end house, nearest Twenty-second street. REF‘ERRING to this noted group of houses—some of which remain substantially as they were a century and a quarter ago—the late James Croggon, who years ago wrote many historical stories for The Star, has this to say: “The most extensive, as well as the first improvement in this section was the erection of the six buildings on square 74, north side of Pennsyl- vania avenue between Twenty-first and Twenty-second streets, which land, early in the corporate existence of the city, bore an assessment of 16 cents per foot. This land was ac- quired by James Greneleaf in 1794, and two years afterward he conveyed the land, on which were the buildings, to Isaac Pollock, while the rest of the square was conveyed to W. M. |Duncan and others. “The buildings were occupied be- | fore the end of 1797, for in a deed of | that year Capt. E. O. Williams' house, | at the west end of the row, is spoken |of. Before 1800 the houses of R. Dennison, Jonah Thompson, Phillip Fitzhugh and Dr. Dinsmore, as well | as one occupied by Mr. Pollock, are mentioned, and shortly afterward, David Pollock's and James Duer’s | names are connected with the | property. “An addition of one house was made to the row about 1800, William Worthington erecting a building at the east end, similar to the others, of one of which he was the owner. The Worthington family resided here for a half century or more. These houses in 1802 were valued at $2,000 each. They were assessed, two to Mr. Worthington, two to George Beale Brown and one each to Brashears & | Martin. “Shortly after, J. B. Anderson be- came an owner, and in 1804 and at different times in the early part of | the century, among the owners were Thomas Munroe, Dr. William John- ston, Col. John Tayloe, L. D. Theaker, Gen. Henry Lee, William Stewart, Richard Veitch, Thomas Swann, H. Moscrop, dJulius A, de Sangnal and C. H. Upton. “Among the early occupants were Capt. John Woodside, Mrs. Thompson, Mrs. Turner, Drs. Dinsmore and Johnston, the Pollocks, Dr. Thomas Sim, A. H. Derrick of the State De- | partment, William Parker of the War Department and Mrs. Wells. Later came Comdr. Sawyer, U. S. N.; W. A. Randall of the general land office; Richard Gott, chief clerk of the com- missary general's office; James C. Dunn, printer of the Washington Re- publican; Rev. Job Guest, a Treasury clerk; James Dixon and Mrs. H. R. Vinson. "I’I‘ was during the tenancy of Capt. John Woodside that there was an exciting fire in the row. Late one night in 1816, the boarding house of Mrs. Thompson took fire in the lower portion, and soon the building was a roaring mass of flames. Most of the occupants escaped by the closest mar- gin, some minus other dress than night - clothes. One of the guests, however, was cut off from escape, and was seen above the flames in the second story, vainly reaching his arm toward a window in the adjoining hous and begging for some one to| assist him. “Capt. Woodside, who had proved himself a born fireman at the Treas- ury fire in 1801, was looked to as a leader, and both citizens and fire- men followed his direction. A ladder was procured and the man's life was saved, and not only that, but all the other houses in the row, the flames being confined to Mrs. Turner’s house. “Squire Waters, besldes the house he owned in the row, had other prop- | erty in the square and built a row of five one-and-a-half-story brick build- ings west of his residence. This row of small houses was dubbed the ‘five kitchens’” There also resided on the square, prior to 1830, Hugh O'Neal, a baker; Willlam Godfrey, blacksmith; Willilam Watson, a bottler: Thomas Lundy, carpenter; Edward Dyer, and later there was Bonneman's tavern, Luchese’s grocery and Henry Rochat’s woodyard on the square.” The State Department could not have remained long in the “Six Build- ings” (if it ever was there, of which there is some doubt), for upon the completion of the “Seven Buildings,” in 1800, the department is said to have changed its location to the corner house of that group at 1901 Pennsylvania “avenue, when John Marshall was the Secretary, which must have been some time between June 6, 1800, and March 4, 1801, From February 4, 1801, to the end of John Adams’ administration he was not only Secretary of State, but Chief | Justice of the United States as well. | AFTER the burning of the White House August 24, 1814, President Madison moved into the Octagon at Eighteenth street and New York ave- nue, built by John Tayloe in 1800, and remained there until 1815, when the temporary. State Department ‘Treasury Depa: August 27, it was moved into one of 5 Building, at the northwest corner of | 3 T Top, left: The addition to the old in 1819-20, removed in 1866 for the of Treasury Building, Fifteenth street side. State Department Building, erected “Treasury extension,” northern end Top, right: Rear view of the State Building to right during the construction of northern part of the Treasury Building, in 1858. Probably a part of the original building erected on this site. In center: “The Seven Buildings,” on Pennsylvania avenue betwsen Nineteenth and Twentieth streets, where in the corner house (foreground) the State Department was housed in 1800 and later. Below, at right: Home of the Department of State, 1866-1875, built for the Washington Orphan Asylum, Fourteenth and S streets northwest. Nineteenth street and Pennsylvania avenue, before referred to, became the President’s home for the remainder of his_term. This building had previously been occupied by Vice President Elbridge Gerry, who probably died there No- vember 23, 1814, and who is buried in Congressional Cemetery, where his grave is marked with an artistic monument. President Martin Van Buren, while he was Vice President, from 1833 to 1837, made his home on this corner, as did Robert J. Walker when Secretary of the Treasury, dur- ing the administration of James K. Polk. Other distinguished people who lived in this row from time to time include Gen. Turreau de Garambon- ville, Minister of France, 1804, and Gen. John Armstrong, George W. Campbell, James K. Paulding and Benjamin W. Crowninshield, cabinet officers. In 1816, house numbered 1905 became the residence of Jose Correa da Serra, first Portuguese Min- ister to the United States. In 1864 it became the first residence in Wash- ington of Chevalier Joseph Bertinatti, Minister residentof Italy. | was then almost unbelievably small. | The State Department had 8 clerks, i’rressury Department, 75; War De- ‘parunent, 17; Navy Department, 16, and Post Office Department, 10. The,, census of the city included 2,992 | whites, 629 slaves and 123 free colored. | Georgetown had Jjust & little fewer, & HE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, APRIL 7, 1935—PART FOUR. RTED IN MODEST L] | APRIL P—3 HOME Arms Pact of Old Time W as Drawn in the Ringgold Home When Briton Had Residence There as an Envoyto U. S. Rules Made for Border Practice in Waters of the Great Lakes Group atMect- ing for Action. Secretary Rush, was a very important | one, and, as summarized among the public treaties, follows: “GREAT BRITAIN, 1817. “ARRANGEMENT WITH GREAT BRITAIN AS TO THE NAVAL FORCE TO BE RESPECTIVELY MAINTAINED ON THE AMERICAN LAKES, CONCLUDED APRIL 28, 1817; APPROVED BY SENATE 16, 1818, AND RECOM- MENDED TO BE CARRIED INTO EFFECT; PROCLAIMED APRIL 28, |cleanly desolation, which those who| are not philosophers cannot look at without regret. This grand edifice is| or 2,993 in all | encircled by a very rude pale, through | the naval force to be respectively EST and north of the White House it was then quite rural |and inciluded much woodland, and | only a few years before a race course crossed Pennsylvania avenue at about Seventeenth and Twentieth streets, | while there were still the remains of | | an old cemetery in the northwest cor- ner of Lafayette Square. | ‘Thomas Moore, who visited Wash- | | ington in 1804, said some very unkind | | things about “Uncle Sam” and his | | people, which were not true. Some of | | the things he said, however, were| ! true, and illustrate the conditions in | Washington at that time. Referring | to the Blodget Hotel. also called the Great Hotel, the White House and the private buildings, he says: | “The hotel is already a ruin; a|home in the Ringgold house, which | great part of its roof has fallen in | and the rooms are left to be occupied | and Twenty-fifth streets, in the block the English Minister here, which & common rustice style intro- maintained on the American Lakes, 50 it is with the home of Mr. Bagot, | thing but reputable. On the evening | who negotiated the treaty on behalf |of the day of this celebration, the of Great Britain, in 1817, relative to | legation was elegantly {lluminated, |and drew out a large colleetion of the people of town and city. The duces the visitors of the first man in | in which connection the then Attorney | Minister's coach, its four-horse team General and acting Secretary of State, | and the entire outfit were gorgeous. America. 2 “The private buildings exhibit the same characteristic display of arro- COuR! gant speculation and premature ruin, and the few ranges of houses which were begun some years ago, have re- mained so long waste and unfinished that they are now for the most part dilapidated.” As late as 1817 there were but seven | perhaps, even better evidence than diplomatic representatives accredited to this country with the rank of min- ister, the countries represented being: England, France, Spain, Sweden, Den- mark, Portugal and Russia. Great Britain was represented by Sir Charles Bagot, who mede his stood near the northeast corner of L At the time the State Department | gratuitously by Scotch and Irish emi- | where is now the Columbia Hospital moved to this corner in 1800 there |grants. The President's House, a very | for Women. were only 369 houses in Washington, | noble structure, is by no means suited | Sometimes locating the Washington including 109 brick and 253 frame, to the philosophical humility of its|residences of certain notable men of and the building of the War Depart- | present possessor, who inhabits but a | bygone days is not altogether an easy ment structure had hardly begun. ‘The number of department employes | corner of the mansion himself, and |thing to do, particularly if you are | George'; his | Richard Rush, represented this JAMES CROGGON has said that | Minister Bagot lived in the Ring- gold house, built in 1812, where now stands the Columbia Hospital. But, |this is in the statements made in 1901 and 1903 by Willlam W. Birth, a member of the Association of the Oldest Inhabitants of the District of | U8ht." Columbia, who in writing in The | Star of May 4, 1901. of the neighbor- hood referred to, said: “After Mr. Ringgold vacated this | large house, it became the home of ing his occupancy it was the scene |of a very brililant festival, given by | the Minister to commemorate the | birthday of George IV. The English |King was then called ‘Gentleman deserts were In the other | abandons the rest to a state of un- |seeking for conclusive evidence, and ' direction. His moral status was any- A PRESIDENT'S FUNERAL BILL H NEVER HAS BEEN PAID WHIC <« By Mae E. Joseph. NCONCEIVABLE that a Congress which today wields such a mighty I purse, generously assigning huge sums in the millions to relief, refuse to pay a debt of not quite two thousand dollars, because of a tech- nicality. And this for the funeral of one of our martyred Presidents! Strange as it seems, Congress was in no way being arbitrary when it refused to pay the bill of $1,890.50 due for the funeral expenses of Presi- dent Garfield. It was simply the way of the Government then, and perhaps also reveals how much less an important personage was the Pres- ident of those days as compared to present-day Presidents. President Garfield was shot July 2, 1881. He lingered until September 19 and was buried September 25. From that year of 1881 until May 20, 1887, the points involved in the paying of the bill were considered, and then it was finally rejected. Congress had offered to compromise and give the under- taker $700 instead of the $1,890.50, but this was refused. At the very time of the dispute a large surplus from the $55,000 which Congress had appropriated for taking care of the President was still in the Treasury. The article which appeared in a Washington newspaper in connection with the final decision said that the controller disallowed the claim of W. R. Speare, undertaker of this city, for $1,890.50 for services in the fu- neral of Garfield. This was because of the point raised in the case that the claim was made against the Gov- ernment, and not against the estate of the former President. Therefore it was not affected by the act of Congress of August 5, 1882, appoint- ing a board of audit to settle claims growing out of the sickness and burial of Garfleld. The claim was rejected by that board because of the claim- ant’s failure to comply with the re- quirements of the act. The first con- troller held that the board had ample jurisdiction in the matter and that the claim was properly rejected. ‘When Congress refused the bill the undertaker then sent it to Mrs. Gar- field, but heard nothing from her. It was not to be wondered at, though, since Mrs. Garfield simply had not means to pay for it, Garfield having died a poor man. Even when a bill was proposed to appropriate money to care for the President’s widow and children a great struggle ensued in Congress. o Today funerals ef public officials construction, development, should | P ) W. R SPEARE, Qnfltrhhr /P o Prvap At et oy Tanns farm 940 F Stroet, see 0 and i, 76 Lo 65 Cairiey aud o rr— e QUleclma ce e The bill for President Garfleld’s S it At & ] To & 2. Speare, Fr Opporn St. Puirak Chams B 28 Caniger 1022, Hraree i Qo cokits Koracs 4«2 Grorr 2l L ] Luske- ot oo S Hracee coid toytrkil horecr 1ty Gl Ctlh Oncdew /422 14f Teer Mtfl‘{/‘.‘, 12 Bl il Cueler /822 Y Pe vy bloct K L glome 559 G bl cvlil cachion 257, e Ml 23, 1304 hinytin. € UNDERTAKER: e e 28000 /10008 Y200 Ve Zed ésovo = 7022 /0700 Iy ovo 222, - wfla@m"gfl L) funeral, which was never paid. are paid by the Government under the su of the sergeant of arms, who must obtain three bids and place with the lowest one. Consider, too, how today substantial annual pensions are paid to the widows of former Presidents. This, of course, is as it should be. All the most minute details of the funeral of Garfield, as told Almus R. Speare by his father, he easily re- calls. The bill itself, he has chosen to forget in accordance with the wishes expressed by an uncle, who said that, “If Congress couldn't bury our President, I guess I can.” Both Almus Speare and his father have to court, despite the urging of those who know of the outstanding bill. Now, the 53-year-old bill of $1,890.50 would amount to $2,492.29 by adding a straight 6 per cent yearly interest. More than that could be collected. Mr, Speare at first refused to discuss the bill until he found that the details were already known, and then he graciously complied so that the writer's story would be authentic. The bill in itself is interesting, and the photograph shows the original with the notes made on it by the undertake:. ©Of more interest to Mr. Speare was s point hitherto overlooked by him. Ppersonal account book contain- to take the case'In the < | ing pertinent clippings and notations | on funerals, the former W. R. Speare | had entered the following note: “Au- gust, 1881, solid bronze casket, gold | plated, $1,000.” This is in pencil, and | written across it in blue are the words, “Sold for Gen. Garfield, September, 1881.” Mr. Speare considers this both perplexing and interesting, because the casket in which President Gar- field lay at Elberon, N. J., where the | first of the three funeral ceremonies was held, was black with silver han- dles. This casket was made by Charles A. Benedict at the order of Mrs. Garfield, who requested that the entire funeral be very simple. The only conclusion Mr. Speare can reach is that the bronze casket was used as an inner metal one, & practice which was seldom used at that early date. He has set out to determine for him- self the exact facts of this bronze casket, heretofore not mentioned. Telling of the Merino decorrgions in black and white (Merino is the name applied to the particular design) which draped all the public buildings and Capitol, Mr. Speare says the bunting alone probably cost thou- sands of dollars. Of further interest was the finding of the gun used by Charles Guiteau, the assassin, in shooting Garfield. Mr. Leslie Garnett, District attorney in Washington, found it hidden in an old safe in the District Supreme Court office. There is no doubt but that it is the gun, because of notes of Gui- teau's that describe it in detail. Mr. Garnett seys he will probably turn over the gun to the National Museum. Further notes of the assassin reveal the amazing thoughts, which Guiteau had concerning the dramatically planned murder. From May 18 until July 2 he trailed the President, spend- ing hours at a time sitting in the Lafayette Park, directly opposite the White House. Among the many op- portunities which he had to kill the President was the {ime previous to the shooting when Garfield was simi- larly standing in the depot. This time, however, Mrs, Garfield was with him and to quote Guiteau, “looked so frail and clung to the President’s arm 50 tenderly that I had not the heart to shoot him before her.” Picture, t0o, an assassin who orders a hack to be ready to take him to jail after he has done his contemplated shooting, and in further preparation goes off to have his shoes shined. When taken by the police he murmured, “Be quiet, my friends, I want to go to jail.” Guiteau, who was & lawyer, prepared s preposterous defense, and fully be- lieved that the court would & and dur- | ‘The coachman’s seat was of fine, light drab cloth, edged with wide silver fringe. The coachman and two foot- men were clad in red velvet coats and knee breeches, terminating in | white silk stockings, finished off with | silver buttons and small buckles at the knees and large silver buckles on | the insteps of the shoes. It was the first display of that kind witnessed | here, and caused wonder. | street boy followed with yells‘of de- | Referring to the “Six Buildings,” he continues: “While I lived opposite | between 1808 and 1822, Richard Rush | was tenant in the westernmost one of the row. He was then a member of the President’s cabinet.” Two years later—September 26, 1903, Mr. Birth is found reiterating his statement regarding Minister Bagot, saying: “Twenty-fifth street, north of K, had but one house on it. the large, double brick spoken of in a former paper, at L, occupied by United States Marshal Lieut. Ringgoid, and after- ward by Mr. Bagot, the English Min- ister, and now Columbia Hospital.” | MRA BIRTH was born on Pennsyl- vania avenue, between Twenty- first and Twenty-second streets, oppo- site the “Six Buildings,” on January 11, 1808. The place is not more than three blocks from where the Ringgold house stood. He wrote a number of stories about the west end part of | Washington. and contributed to The Star considerable of his early recol- | lections. His writings were generally regarded as authentic, and he was | highly regarded among his fellow citi- | zens, as might be assumed from the | following sketch of him appearing in the Washington press of Sunday, old. The sketch reads: “Wililam W. Birth is a native of this city, and is the oldest member of the society, as he is the senior in point of years, having been born op- sylvania avenue, Circle, on January 11, 1808. Mr. | Birth is of the opinion that if the young men now would live as he has lived, more of them would give prom- ise of attaining a good old age. “Although 92 years old, Mr. Birth's memory is remarkably clear and ex- act, and he is physically as capable as ever, save for the effects of a re- cent accident which crippled his lower limbs. He remembers many amusing incidents of his -boyhood days; how the teachers used to flog the boys, and how the boys used to treat the teachers in return. “After leaving school in 1823, he went to work for his father, who kept a marble yard, and remained with him for 10 years. In 1833 he went to the State house in that city. The fol- lowing year he joined Capt. D. Bing- ham, a civil engineer, and went with him to Alabama, where both accom- plished the surveying for three lines of railroad. All three roads failed, as did many of the cotton planters and merchants in 1837-40. “Mr. Birth returned North and ac- ce] s in the office of the Baltimore American. At the end of three or four months he came back to Washington, and was employed as & clerk in the jewelry store of Robert Keyworth, on Pennsylvania avenue near Ninth street. He married a rel- ative of nis employer in 1834, but his wife died a year later. From that time Mr. Birth has lived the life of & widower. His professional services have been employed by the Govern- ment upon several public works of importance. He ceased the exercise of an active career in 1887. Mr. Birth has only lately commenced to wear glasses.” TBI treaty referred to, as having in all likelihood been negotiated in free him. the Ringgold house by Mr. Bagot and April 29, 1900, when he was 92 years | posite the ‘Six Buildings,’ on Penn- | near Washington | Raleigh, N. C, to superintend the | construction of the mascnry work of | 1818, “Arrangements between the United States and Great Britain, made by Richard Rush, esq., acting as Secre- | tary of the Department of State, and Charles Bagot, His Britannic esty’s Envoy Extraordinary, etc. “The naval force to be maintained upon the American lakes by His Majesty and the Government of the United States shall henceforth be confined to the following vessels on each side; that is— “On Lake Ontario, to one vessel not exceeding 100 tons burthen, and armed with one 18-pound cannon. “On the upper lakes, to two vessels, not exceeding like burthen each, and | armed with like force. “On the waters of Lake Champlain, to one vessel not exceeding like bur- | then, and armed with like force, | “All other armed vessels on these | 1akes shall be forthwith dismantled, The small |and no other vessels of war shall be | there built or armed. “If either party should hereafter be | desirous of annulling this stipulation, | and should give notice to that effect | to the other party, it shall cease to be | binding after the expiration of six | months from the date of such netice. | “The naval force so to be limited shall be restricted to such services as | will, in no respect, interfere with the proper duties of armed vessels of the other party.” THE ability displayed by Mr. Rush in | successfully negotiating this | treaty was soon rewarded, and on | February 12, 1813, he presented to | his royal highness his credentials as the American Minister at the Court of St. James. Later he served as Sec- retary of the Treasury in the admin- istration of John Quincy Adams. When | Columbian College (now George Wash- v;lngton University) was incorporated | in 1821, Richard Rush was one of the | contributors toward a fund for its support. | The present State, War and Navy | Building was begun in 1871 and the southern part finished and occupied by the Departmen of State in 1875. | The entire structure was completed in 1887 at an approximate cost of $11,000,000. Several years ago Con- gress provided funds for remodeling the exterior of this building to con- | form to the Treasury Building, to the | east of the White House. Plans for | this modification, drawn by Waddy B. Wood, local architect, have been approved by the Commission of Fine Arts, and some day the work may be done. Bighead Sheep Problem. | ONE of the problems of sheep raisers in some parts of the West is a | disease known as “bighead,” which, as its names makes obvious, is a swelling of the heads of the infected animals. The fact that outbreaks of the dis- ease coincide with the presence of one or two types of weed—"coal oil weed” and “horsebrush”—has led to the con- clusion that grazing on these weeds is the cause of the disease. In order to determine whether the presence of the weeds is a mere coin- cidence or the actual cause of the disease, Arthur B. Clawson of the De- partment of Agriculture will head & party of investigation this Summer. Pork Imports Restricted. 'HE British government has issued new restrictions curtailing still further the importation of cured pork products from the United States. For non-empire countries, which include the United States, of course, the total importations for May and June are limited to 103,000,000 pounds. It is the desire of the British gov- ernment to stimulate production the various sections of the empire. Dusting Gotton Difficult. THE dusting of cotton with calcium arsenate to fight the boll weevil is not so easy a problem as might be supposed. The poison takes moisture from the air rapidly and this Y. together with the vibration of the dusting machine tends to cause the poison to cake. This entails consid- erable loss of both material and time. New devices are being employed to keep the material agitated to malim- tain it in & light and fluffy condition until used, ;