Letter from Washington

House Speaker Carl Albert finds himself in a difficult situation early in his new job. His advocacy of a House Office Building has put his prestige in some jeopardy.

In a shrewdly timed move just before the Memorial Day recess, Albert announced that he would ask the House Appropriations Committee to delete the $30 million allotted for construction of the Madison Library, a long-planned annex to the overcrowded Library of Congress, and instead fund the new office building.