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.ÿþ176 architects to the nationaia searched intently for another means to make the Chicago projectan exception to the prevailing practice of the Supervising Architect sOffice.With the Chicago project, Congress set a precedent.Whenfunds were appropriated for the building, a provision was madedirecting the secretary of the treasury to establish a ChicagoDepartment under the Supervising Architect s Office.The secretarywas also directed to hire a Chicago architect to prepare designs forthe building.While these directives may have warmed the hearts ofthe members of the aia, the aia noted the limit on funds for drafts-men and expert services and declared that the architect would receivelittle else but glory.42 The view of the American Architect was morepositive.It felt that the arrangement formed a precedent for futureGovernment work. The appointment of a Chicago architect wouldguarantee a building:constructed with full knowledge of our local materials, methods,etc.Also everyone hopes and expects that as an example of de-sign it will do much toward putting the Government architectureon a thoroughly artistic and satisfactory basis and be at the sametime a model to which the city and profession may point withpride.43With this precedent established, rumors began to fly through-out Chicago that Henry Ives Cobb (1859 1931) would be selected ar-chitect of this building (the building designed by Cobb is shown infigure 6.1).A native of Massachusetts, Cobb was a prominent archi-tect in Chicago and an intimate of Potter Palmer.He had been ar-chitect of the Fisheries Building at the World s ColumbianExposition, one of the few fair buildings other than Adler andSullivan s Transportation Building that was not designed in theclassical mode.He had also designed other buildings at the fair, in-cluding the Indiana State Building, the Indian Building, the Streetsof Cairo, and the Marine Cafe.With his firm of Cobb & Frost,he was also architect of buildings at the University of Chicago,the Newberry Library, and many other buildings throughout theMidwest.44In late 1895, Congressman James Franklin Aldrich of Illinois rein-troduced the McKaig Bill.The Aldrich Bill, a virtual duplicate of theMcKaig Bill, made its way through the congressional system.Bythe end of 1896, the House committee reported favorably on the bill.The Senate had taken no action.The aia s efforts, through its
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