XIV JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS. 
square, with two stories and a basement, to be erected by the Super- 
vising Architect of the Treasury, under the direction of the Regents 
of the Smithsonian Institution, in general accordance with plans now 
on file with the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, on the 
southwestern portion of the grounds of the Smithsonian Institution, 
there shall be appropriated, out of any moneys in the Treasury not 
otherwise appropriated, the sum of five hundred thousand dollars; 
said building to be placed west of the Smithsonian Institution, with 
its north front on a line with the north front of the present Museum 
building, and constructed as far as practicable, after proper advertise- 
ment, by contract or contracts, awarded to the lowest responsible bid- 
der, and all expenditures for the purposes herein mentioned shall be 
audited by the proper officers of the Treasury Department. 
The Committee on Public Buildings in the House of Representatives 
had made on the 9th of January, 1891, a favorable report on this bill, 
and it had been submitted to the House as follows: 
The Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, to whom was re- 
ferred the bill (S. 2740) for the erection of an additional fireproof build- 
ing for the National Museum, submit the following report: 
To demonstrate the pressing necessity for additional accommodations 
for the vast amount of materials which has been accumulated for ex- 
hibition in the National Museum it will, perhaps, be sufficient to pre- 
sent the communication of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 
It may also be stated that in view of acquiring a large quantity of 
the exhibit of the World’s Fair of 1892, as was the case in the exhibi- 
tion of 1876, such material being presented by various foreign countries, 
the pressing necessities are clearly demonstrated. 
Your committee therefore recommend the passage of the bill as 
amended. 
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM, 
Washington, April 29, 1290. 
Sir: I have the honor to lay before you certain considerations set- 
ting forth the necessity of an additional building for the National 
Museum and respectfully request your attention to them and your 
recommendation to Congress that the money necessary for this purpose 
be appropriated. 
A set of provisional plans for the proposed new building has already 
been prepared, and I understand that these are in the possession of 
your committee. They have been prepared with the utmost care and 
represent the results of exhaustive study, which has extended over 
several years, of the plans of the best modern museum buildings in 
Europe and America, nearly all of which have been personally inspected 
by officers of the Smithsonian Institution. 
The proposed building will contain about 220,000 square feet and 
the net area available for exhibition space and for storage and _ office 
room would be between five and six acres. The exhibition space would 
thus be nearly three times as great as in the present buildings, in 
which only 80,000 square feet are available both for exhibition and 
storage purposes. 
The total cost of the present building was $315,400, including expen- 
ditures for steam-heating apparatus, marble floors, water and gas 
fixtures, and electrical apparatus. 
