No public buildings bill has been enacted since before the war. I am not in favor of an act which would be characterized as a general parceling out of favors and that usually bears a name lacking in good repute. I am ready to approve an act similar in character to that already passed by the House, providing a lump-sum appropriation to be expended under the direction of the Treasury or any other proper authority, over a term of years, with such annual appropriation as the national finances could provide. The public buildings act was approved May 25, 1926. This marked the beginning of a public-buildings program in the National Capital greater than any which had been undertaken by the United States since the establishment of the seat of government along the banks of the Potomac in 1790. Congress placed the public-buildings program in the hands of the Secretary of the Treasury, both for Federal buildings in the States and for the District of Columbia. To assist him in the plans for new public buildings here in the National Capital the Secretary of the Treasury appointed a board of architectural consultants. The Commission of Fine Arts has been called upon regularly to advise in the development of the plans for the new public buildings. Five years had not yet elapsed when the long pent-up needs for buildings to accommodate public business finally burst their bonds in the act of 1926. The preparations for the flood had been long in the making--so long and so carefully considered, indeed, that the flood has always been under control. There has been no haphazard planning. No hasty or ill-considered work has been done. The harmonious development of the National Capital has progressed in form that would have pleased George Washington, and latterly with a speed and vigor that would have gladdened his heart. In addition to the great public-buildings program and the Arlington Memorial Bridge, Congress authorized during the past ten years many other great projects for the development of the National Capital which contribute to making Washington the greatest and most beautiful national capital in the world. Among these are: The completion of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington, the restoration of Arlington Mansion, the Mount Vernon Highway, the George Washington Memorial Parkway, the enlargement of the Capitol Grounds and development of Union Station Plaza, development of the Mall, addition to the House Office Building, addition to the Library of Congress, United States Supreme Court Building, Government Printing Office extension, Social Security Building, War Department Building, Navy Department Building, new Naval Hospital, Municipal Center development, Walter Reed General Hospital buildings, Botanic Garden and new conservatory near the Capitol, and a National Arboretum. [Illustration: TREATMENT OF THE CAPITOL GROUNDS] [Illustration: PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE BETWEEN THE TREASURY AND THE CAPITOL] PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE