Great Expansion of Federal Work
Evidence of Progress Shown in Construction of Huge Department buildings
Latest One Is Planned For Interior Bureaus
Limited Accomodations for Offices Under Early Government Contrasted With Present Condition

Evidence of the great progress of the United States is seen in the necessity for the construction of a building between 18th and 19th and F and G streets northwest of the "accommodation of the Interior Department. It calls to mind that the department as such did not exist until about the middle of the last century, when the entire departmental service in the District numbered about one-fifth of the present force of that department. In the sixty-five years of its existence there have come into being the departments of Agriculture, Justice and Commerce and Labor, with other bureaus. Before its erection-even from the foundation of the government-the germs of the Interior Department, the patent office, Indian affairs, public lands and pensions, were to be found in the old State, Treasury, War and Navy departments.

When the government office with their employes arrived here in the summer of 1800 the work of the two office buildings on each side of the White House was well under way, and the Treasury building, known in the early part of the century as the East Executive building, was about ready to be occupied. These were about on a line with the south front of the White House, at 15th and 17th streets. That they were intended to accommodate the entire clerical force in about forty rooms in each building is explainable by the fact that there were less than 200 clerks in all.

"East Building" Opens
The east building was opened at once for the Treasury Department and its various bureaus were soon at work. The Secretary's office employed about twenty clerks; the treasurer, three; internal revenue, forty; register, thirty-eight; controller, fifteen, and auditor, twenty. An accidental fire took place in one of the rooms on February 20, 1801, and some of the archives were burned. About this time several certificates of the United states stock were missed, but not until after the departure of the clerks in the register's office, and years later one of the clerks and his son were arrested and some of the stock and the proceeds of other certificates were recovered.

Rented quarters were provided for other government office. The War Department located in a house on the south side of Pennsylvania avenue near 22d street, but it was there but a short time when, November 3, 1800, it was destroyed by fire, with many valuable papers, the home of the messenger being also burned. The Post office Department found lodgment at the house of Dr. Crocker, at the northeast corner of 9th and E streets.

Old Departments Give Way to New
Under the constitutional government in 1789 the old departments gave way to the new ones. The State Department at first took the name of Department of Foreign Affairs, being authorized under the act of July 27; the War department, August 7, and Treasury, September 2. The Attorney General was provided for by act of September 24. The temporary establishment of the post office was provided for by act of September 22. These acts were continued from time to time and when the government arrived here the department was operating under the act of March 2, 1799, which was repealed in 1810, when the Postmaster General, having had but one assistant previously, was given two and the work of the office had rapidly expanded. In 1800 there were 903 post offices, nearly 21,000 miles of mail route and over $280,000 in income.

For robbing the mails the penalty had been hanging, but flogging was eventually substituted therefore. At that time it took forty days by the mail coach for a person in Maine to receive an answer from a letter addressed to a point in Georgia. The Postmaster General was not then regarded as a cabinet officer and it was not until 1825, when the several postal acts were made into one act, that he was so regarded. It remained for President Jackson to invite Gen. Barry to a seat at the cabinet table, in March, 1829, and since that date the Postmaster Generals have been advisers of the President. By act of April 30, 1798, the Navy Department was organized, relieving the War Department of jurisdiction of naval affairs. June 18 of that year Benjamin Stoddert of Maryland, then residing in Georgetown, entered on his duties as a secretary.

Business Indicated by Titles
The Titles of the departments indicated the business for which they were created, but some interests seemingly were out of place under the department names. Under the State Department there were originally the public land interests and at one time for a short period the general land office created by the act of 1812 was supervised by this department, with that of the Treasury and War Departments. Up to 1800 the public lands were sold in logs of 4,000 acres and over. About this time an act was passed providing for the sale of such lands by section or half section.

This led to a flow of emigration to points beyond the Ohio river. The pension affairs as well as the bounty land office was originally under the War Department, and the patent office until the creation of the Interior Department was one of the bureaus of the State Department, and it was easily, to be seen, from the number of patents applied for on improvements in agricultural machinery, plows, etc., that the collection of agricultural statistics would follow. This eventually led, first, to the establishment of a bureau of agriculture and seed depot and finally to the establishment of the great department on the Mall. In the State Department the miscellaneous or home department work was so increased that before the Interior Department was organized its clerical force was as large as the diplomatic and consular force.

By act of April 28, 1810, $20,000 was appropriated to erect or procure a building suitable for the accommodation of the post office and the office of the keeper of patents, and the old Blodgett Hotel property was purchased. Besides those officers the city post office and the office of the superintendent and surveyor of Washington were removed from the west executive building to the hotel property and the structure was repaired, finished and occupied in 1812. The office of superintendent general was also located here and an engine house was provided for in 1820. This was on 7th street north of the east end of the hotel building. This engine was manned by a company of which Mr. Coyle, the chief clerk of the post office, was president, and it was known as the Washington fire company.

Buildings Burned by British
With the White House the two buildings known as the east and west executive offices were burned by the British, and from the debris the books and papers that had been saved from burning were stored in rented houses. These buildings were restored under act of February 13, 1815, and under the act of April 20, 1818, two additional executive buildings were erected north of the old ones. They were completed and occupied about 1820, and were of the same character, two-story brick with attic and basement, covered with slate roof, with imposing porticos fronting north and south. A wide hall extended from east to west opening on 15th and 17th streets, in the center of which were wide stairways. There were about forty office rooms in each, but frequently some of those in the basement and others, were used for other than storage purposes.

The auditors were spread around among the buildings. The land office with the general of the army, paymaster general and fifth auditor were located in the northeast or State Department building. In the northwest building, or War Department, was the bounty land office and the pension bureau, Attorney general and second auditor. In the southwest, or Navy Department building, was the second controller, third and fourth auditor.

The southeast or Treasury building was entirely occupied by the clerks of the Treasury Department, including those of the first auditor.