YOUR

YOUR

CONGRESSMAN

REPORTS

~ fit Rri>. Burr P. Harrison

, - Washington-The peoph of the United States, through the Federal Government, own a tremendous amount of real estate and personal property. Just" how much it is worth "is not. certain. Committees of Congress, wife the co-operation > of the various departments and . agencies in the Executive Branch, have been trying to figure the total value for a number of years. -We citizens and taxpayers have • a financial interest, for example in nearly 700' million acres of public - lands. We own* the ill-starred' Hope Diamond, which is on view at the Smithsonian Institution in

Washingtop. On Capital Hill, we have a share in scores of paintings, busts and statues 4i»layed in the Cnpitol itself and a block away in the Supreme Court building. The public lands have an estimated present value of almost $14.5 bil- lion. The Hope Diamond may be worth $200,000 or $2,000,000, hut it is carried on the books "With azero valuation, because the presentpractice is to show personal property at cost, and the big stone was ‘donated to the museum. Works of -art at the Capitol are shown in the property inventory at $1,425,000. The Supreme Court reports $78, 500 worth of portraits and busts.

In the Library of Congress, the card catalogs alone are valued at $97,000,000, and the fumihiad and equipment aft more than $2, 000,000. The really priceless collections of books, prints, photographs, etc., are listed at $2.2 billion. , •

As of now, the inventory procedure provides for listing personal property at acquisition cost; public lands-, at estimated present Value, and other real estate of the Federal Government at acquisition cost. The Committee fen Government Operations of the House of Representatives, which has been undertaking an annual inventory of the possessions of the Federal Government, is not satisfied that it makes aense to continue to list federal real estate, acquired many years* ago, at acquisition cost, when its value has' increased many times. In its recent inventory report, fee Committee commented;

“There is, at fee present time, much acreage listed on fee books of the Federal Government at “no value” simply because it was received by fee Government at no output of moneys. These properties are valuable and are definitely an asset of fee Federal Government and should be listed at some realistic -value rather than continue to be listed on fee balance sheet of our nation’s Government as of no value. Good bookkeeping prac