Barnegat and Absecon, New Jersey, and Assateague, Virginia, Light Stations, Letter from the Secretary of the Treasury

SIR: At the instance of the Light-House Board, I have the honor to state that additional accommodations are urgently needed for the keepers of the Barnegat and Absecon, New Jersey, and Assateague, Virginia, light stations.

At Barnegat the second assistant keeper has no quarters except one room, which he occupies in the quarters of the first assistant keeper.

At Absecon the assistant keepers are crowded in a building about 25 feet square, so planned that it is impossible to have any privacy. From this cause, during the heat of summer the keepers are subject to great inconvenience and discomfort.

At Assateague the assistant keepers are living in two rooms each. In these rooms they must perform all the ordinary operations of life, such as sleeping, dressing, and eating, and cooking in winter.

There should be new quarters built at each of these stations, so that the keepers can live with their families in at least as much comfort as can be had by skilled workmen in cities.

At the instance of the Light House Board, I have therefore the honor to recommend that provisions be made by Congress for building keepers dwellings at each of the stations named, and to this end that the following items be included in the proper appropriation bills, namely:

Barnegat Light Station, New Jersey. -- For the erection of a keeper's dwelling at Barnegat (New Jersey) Light Station, $4,000.

Absecon Light Station, New Jersey. -- For the erection of a keeper's dwelling at Absecon (New Jersey) Light Station, $4,000.

Assateague, Virginia, Light Station. -- For the erection of a keeper's dwelling at Assateague (Virginia) Light Station, $4,000.

Respectfully, yours,

The SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.