Page:U.S. Department of the Interior Annual Report 1880.djvu/69

Rh are removed by the company to which they belong, such meters should again be inspected before being placed in service.

It is suggested that the law does not specify the person whose duty it shall be to institute proceedings to recover the penalty for failure to supply gas of the required purity and illuminating power. The law should be amended in this respect, and also should set forth more particularly the manner in which the penalty should be recovered.

Receipts and expenditures of the office:

The report of the Architect of the Capitol sets forth the improvements which have been made during the year in the Capitol, the Capitol grounds, the Government Printing Office, and the City Hall.

He calls attention to the fact that it was not possible to execute the act passed at the last session of Congress providing for the construction of an elevator for the south wing of the Capitol, for the reason that the proviso to this act required that it should be so located as not to interfere in anywise with the lighting and ventilation of the building, and it was found that it could not be so located as to comply with these conditions. He expresses the hope that Congress will so amend the law as to remove the restriction referred to, so that the appropriation made for the elevator can be used during the present fiscal year, there being a necessity for its construction.

The Architect recommends that the police of the Capitol grounds be attached as special police to the Metropolitan department.

He renews his recommendations that the old hall of the House of Representatives and rooms adjoining be made fire-proof.

The Electrician to the House of Representatives reports that the method of lighting the gas by the dynamo-electrical machines effects an annual saving of $1,000 or $1,200 over the old method of lighting by batteries. The experiments made with the electric light do not warrant him in recommending it for the legislative halls. He recommends its use in the Capitol grounds and adjoining parks.

The amount expended on the Capitol Extension for the year ending June 30,1880, was $50,000, the amount appropriated for this purpose. The expenditures on account of improvement of the ventilation of the Hall of the House of Representatives were $30,000, the amount of the appropriation.

The expenditures on account of the heating apparatus for Senate Chamber were $4,000, the amount appropriated.

The expenditures for lighting the United States Capitol and grounds