LC 173 ,'i W&Z&Zaatfi fyxmll Hmvmitg |f itog THE GIFT OF .yL».S., .l.?£*A' Librar y olin 3 1924 030 609 899 The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924030609899 UNITED STATES BUREAU QF EDUCATION , PULLETJN, 1909: NO. ,WHOl£ NU\&ER 398 GOVERNMENT AT WASHINGTON By ARWU^ T\^IN;IN^ HADI^Y^: -; j r% WASHifo&TON lOVERNMENT PRINJtpl5^|Q|- , 1909 UNITED STATES BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN, 1909: NO. 1 - WHOLE NUMBER 398 FACILITIES FOR STUDY AND RESEARCH IN THE OFFICES OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AT WASHINGTON By ARTHUR TWINING HADLEY PRESIDENT OF YALE UNIVERSITY WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1909 J) (h L A, i\ ■ CONTENTS. Pace. Letter of transmittal 5 Brief history 7 Administration versus education 9 Existing facilities for study and research 11 Facilities available for the general public 11 Arrangements for the training of classes 14 Opportunities for individual research 15 Obstacles to student research 17 1. The space difficulty 17 2. The administrative difficulty 18 3. The educational difficulty 19 Conclusions 21 APPENDIX. Form of inquiry by the Bureau of Education 22 Letter of the Secretary of the Interior 23 Replies received: " Library of Congress 25 Department of State — Bureau of Indexes and Archives 28 Bureau of Bolls and Library 29 Treasury Department — Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service 30 Department of Justice — Library 32 War Department — Library of the Surgeon-General's Office 32 Museum of the Surgeon-General's Office 33 Officeof theChief of Staff 34 Bureau of Insular Affairs 34 Navy Department — Hydrographic Office 35 Naval Observatory 35 Naval Medical School 35 Library and Naval War Records 36 Department of the Interior — General Land Office 37 Patent Office 37 Bureau of Education 38 Geological Survey 40 Reclamation Service - 40 Government Hospital for the Insane 41 3 4 CONTENTS. Replies received — Continued. Page. Department of Agriculture — Weather Bureau 42 Bureau of Animal Industry 42 Bureau of Plant Industry 42 Forest Service 44 Bureau of Chemistry 44 Bureau of Soils „ - 45 Bureau of Entomology 46 Biological Survey 47 Offlceof Experiment Stations 48 Office of Public Roads 49 Library 51 Department of Commerce and Labor — Bureau of Corporations 51 Bureau of Manufactures 52 Bureau of Labor 53 Bureau of the Census 54 Coast and Geodetic Survey 55 Bureau of Fisheries 56 Bureau of Standards 57 Bureau of Statistics- 58 Interstate Commerce Commission 59 International Bureau of the American Republics 62 Isthmian Canal Commission 63 Botanic Garden 63 Smithsonian Institution 63 National Museum 64 Bureau of American Ethnology r 66 National Zoological Park 67 Astrophysical Observatory 67 Bureau for the International Catalogue of Scientific Literature 68 Index 69 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education, Washington, November 30, 1908. Sib: I have the honor to transmit herewith a report prepared by President Hadley, of Yale University, on the facilities for advanced study and research in the offices of the National Government at Washington, and to recommend its publication as a number of the Bulletin of the Bureau of Education. Especial interest attaches to this publication, and I am confident that it will be widely useful. It sets forth, in compact form, infor- mation which has frequently been sought by institutions and indi- viduals engaged in scientific research, both in our own land and in foreign lands. In particular, it will answer numerous inquiries which arise in the graduate departments of our American universities. The question has been asked repeatedly in the course of the collec- tion of materials for this number, whether it is intended to have some bearing upon the effort to secure the establishment at Washington of a National University. It seems proper accordingly to make the following statement: That this publication is intended merely to convey accurate information concerning a matter of the highest edu- cational interest, and not to serve as an argument, either pro or con, in any special propaganda. Its immediate purpose is to furnish information to advanced students and directors of research. It is inevitable that it should have an important bearing upon any dis- cussions which may be had in the immediate future touching the establishment of a National University, but it is my intention that its part in any such discussion shall be simply that of a source of reliable information. In pursuance of this purpose, President Hadley in his editorial comment has limited himself to such guarded reference to the National University movement as seemed necessary to the complete- ness of his brief survey of the materials offered. This definition of the nonpartisan purpose of the publication, with which President Hadley is in full accord, is the only limitation which was proposed when the collected materials were placed in his hands for editorial arrangement and review. 6 LETTER OP TRANSMITTAL. The thanks of this office are due and are extended with all hearti- ness to those offices of the Government which have furnished the information which is here summarized. Every department and every independent office of the Government which was invited by the Secretary of the Interior to furnish such information has responded without exception. As a result the account here pre- sented offers, so far as I am informed, the most complete survey that has ever been made of the facilities for research under governmental control provided at our national capital. Without such cooperation the undertaking would have been altogether impracticable. It is fit- ting to add that the personal interest and attention which you have given to the undertaking have greatly facilitated the gathering of the information which is here set forth. Very respectfully, Elmer Ellsworth Brown, Commissioner. The Secretary of the Interior. FACILITIES FOR STUDY AND RESEARCH IN THE OFFICES OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AT WASHINGTON. BRIEF HISTORY. From the very beginning the United States Government has been called upon to provide facilities for advanced study and scientific research, and has shown itself active in meeting these demands. In the year 1800, when the seat of Government was established at Washington, provision was at once made for establishing a library of Congress, under the direct control of the United States authorities, which should be the best institution of its kind in the Western Hemi- sphere. In spite of two fires — one in 1814 and the other in 1851 — by which the collections of books were destroyed or greatly impaired, these intentions have been consistently realized. The Library of Congress is not only the largest collection of books in the country; it is, of all the large libraries in the world, the one whose collections are made most readily available for the scientific investigator of every grade. More than once in the history of the institution the question has arisen whether the Library of Congress should be treated as a circulating library for the casual reader or as a reference library for the serious student, and the answer has been in favor of the latter principle. Simultaneously with the establishment of the Library at the begin- ning of the last century there was a recognition of the scientific im- portance of the census, of the probable necessity of government in- vestigations in American ethnology, and of the need for the establish- ment of an adequate coast survey. In the year 1800 the American Philosophical Society, under the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, presented a memorial to Congress stating that " the decennial census offered an occasion of great value for ascertaining sundry facts highly important to society and not otherwise to be obtained," and praying that this object might be held in view in taking the next census. A similar memorial was presented by the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences during the same year. Six years later the project of a coast survey was taken up by Secretary Gallatin and received the sanction of law in 1807. 7 8 FACILITIES FOE STUDY, ETC., IN WASHINGTON. The results of these early endeavors were not wholly satisfactory. The war with Great Britain and the political and material develop- ments which followed it turned men's minds in other directions. Though the census schedules were somewhat enlarged, the methods employed were faulty and the results obtained were of little value until after 1830. The work of the Coast Survey during these years, in spite of the ability of its superintendent, Mr. Hassler, was scarcely more effective. But about 1840 there was a revival of scientific inter- est and scientific activity on the part of the Government which led to the accomplishment of large results. The census of 1840 showed a distinct improvement over its predecessors, and that of 1850 was a work of great positive value. The Coast Survey was reorganized in 1843 under the headship of Professor Bache, and its work~was pushed with vigor and success. The Naval Observatory, established in 1842 under the title of "A Depot of Charts and Instruments for the Navy," gradually developed into* a scientific institution of the first rank. The establishment of the Smithsonian Institution in 1846, by which the leading members of the United States Government became respon- sible for the administration of a large trust for the increase and diffusion of knowledge, marked another step in the direction of public encouragement of research. After the year 1850 scientific interests at Washington were again somewhat crowded out by political ones. The good work of the institutions just described was continued, but few new ones were established (if we except the Weather Bureau, the Hydrographic Office, and certain specific surveys of importance) until after the close of the reconstruction period. The organization of the United States Geological Survey in 1879 can perhaps be taken as marking the beginning of a new era. This era, which has continued to the present time, has been characterized by the gradual development and coordination of technical bureaus and technical researches in a large number of different lines — biological, chemical, and industrial. Starting usually on a small scale, as auxiliaries of the operations of some department of the Gov- ernment, these bureaus have acquired independent importance, and have been so organized as to facilitate their development as separate institutions instead of subordinating it to the administrative needs- of the department in which they originated. The investigations deal- ing with biology and chemistry, wherever they may have originated^ have tended to go into the charge of the Department of Agriculture. The investigations in industrial and statistical science, wherever they have originated, have similarly gravitated toward the Department of Commerce and Labor. Under the Department of Agriculture we now find the Weather Bureau, the Bureau of Animal Industry, the ADMINISTRATION VS. EDUCATION. 9 Bureau of Plant Industry, the Forest Service, the Bureau of Chem- istry, the Bureau of Soils, the Bureau of Entomology, the Bureau of Biological Survey, the Office of Experiment Stations, and the Office of Public Roads. Under the Department of Commerce and Labor we find the Bureau of Corporations, the Bureau of Manufactures, the Bureau of Labor, the Bureau of the Census, the Coast and Geo- detic Survey, the Bureau of Fisheries, the Bureau of Standards, and the Bureau of Statistics. ADMINISTRATION VERSUS EDUCATION. Of the extent and value of the researches made by these various offices and bureaus there can be no doubt whatever. The scientific results are admirable alike in quantity, quality, and range of subjects. Of the investigations which have given American science its credit and its standing in other countries, a surprisingly large proportion have been conducted in government departments. But it has been felt in many quarters that these bureaus were not administered in such a way as to have the maximum educational value. The work has not been done by students but by officials. The very fact that its scientific and administrative usefulness is so great has emphasized its lack of direct connection with the educational system of the country. It has been felt that if a larger number of students were trained in the government offices at Washington, this would form a natural development and culmination of our whole system of public instruction. Under these influences the Fifty-second Congress, in the year 1892, passed the following joint resolution " to encourage the establishment and endowment of institutions of learning at the national capital by defining the policy of the Government with reference to the use of its literary and scientific collections by students." Whereas large collections illustrative of the various arts and sciences and facilitating literary and scientific research have been accumulated by the action of Congress through a series of years at the national capital ; and Whereas it was the original purpose of the Government thereby to promote research and the diffusion of knowledge, and is now the settled policy and present practice of those charged with the care of these collections specially to encourage students who devote their time to the investigation and study of any branch of knowledge by allowing to them all proper use thereof ; and Whereas it is represented that the enumeration of these facilities and the formal statement of this policy will encourage the establishment and endowment of institutions of learning at the seat of Government, and promote the work of education by attracting students to avail themselves of the advantages aforesaid under the direction of competent instructors: Therefore, Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the facilities for research and illustra- tion in the following and any other governmental collections now existing or here- 10 FACILITIES FOR STUDY, ETC., IN ■WASHINGTON'. after to be established in the city of Washington for the promotion of knowledge shall be accessible, under such rules and restrictions as the officers in charge of each collection may prescribe, subject to such authority as is now or may hereafter be permitted by law, to the scientific investigators and students of any institution of higher education now incorporated or hereafter to be incorporated under the laws of Congress or of the District of Columbia, to wit : One. Of the Library, of Congress. Two. Of the National Museum. Three. Of the Patent Office. Four. Of the Bureau of Education. Five. Of the Bureau of Ethnology. Six. Of the Army Medical Museum. Seven. Of the Department of Agriculture. Eight. Of the Fish Commission. Nine. Of the Botanic Gardens. Ten. Of the Coast and Geodetic Survey. Eleven. Of the Geological Survey. Twelve. Of the Naval Observatory. Approved, April 12, 1892. Nine years later this was supplemented by a further resolution, approved March 3, 1901 : That facilities for study and research in the government departments, the Library of Congress, the National Museum, the Zoological Park, the Bureau of Ethnology, the Fish Commission, the Botanic Gardens, and similar institutions hereafter established shall be afforded to scientific investigators and to duly qualified individuals, students, and graduates of institutions of learning in the several States and Territories, as well as in the District of Columbia, under such rules and restrictions as the heads of the departments and bureaus men- tioned may prescribe. The first of these acts was avowedly an attempt to encourage the incorporation of educational institutions in the District of Columbia. The second was an attempt to extend privileges to individual students without reference to their connection with any organized educational body. It can not be said that either of these acts has produced results com- mensurate with the expectations. The George Washington Univer- sity has, indeed, numbered among its members many students who were supporting themselves by ,work in the departments. But with the exception of certain students of medicine who have obtained valuable scientific privileges in the government hospitals, this con- nection has been a means of self-support for the student rather than of scientific training. The George Washington Memorial Associa- tion, founded in 1901, made it one of its main objects to direct the work of students pursuing their researches in the various departments. What might have come from this movement if it had been vigorously pursued it is impossible to tell. What actually happened was that the gift of Mr. Carnegie of $10,000,000 for the establishment of the Carnegie Institution, a few months later, turned the thoughts of the promoters of the Washington Memorial Institution into other chan- EXISTING FACILITIES FOE STUDY AND EESEAECH. 11 nels by giving them funds under their own control with which to direct researches, instead of making them dependent upon the close cooperation of the departments at Washington. Under these circum- stances the movement, as an organized movement, was abandoned. The student who comes to Washington to-day to get his scientific training in a government department comes under his own impulse and at his own risk. EXISTING FACILITIES FOR STUDY AND RESEARCH. The existing facilities for study and research divide themselves into three groups : 1. Facilities open to the general public; to wit, libraries and museums. 2. Training schools for class instruction in preparation for specific departments of the government service. 3. Laboratory facilities and personal instruction available to indi- vidual investigators in the various government offices, whether these investigators be actually in the employ of the Government or not. FACILITIES AVAILABLE EOE THE GENERAL PUBLIC. The Library of Congress on June 30, 1907, contained 1,434,000 printed books and pamphlets, including the books deposited in the Smithsonian Institution and the law library of 122,000 volumes, which, while a division of the Library of Congress, still remains at the Capitol; besides 98,000 maps and charts, 465,000 pieces of music, and 254,000 photographs and prints. On June 30, 1908, the number of printed books and pamphlets had increased to 1,535,008. Both in the arrangement of the Library and the rules regarding its use, every facility is given to investigators. For reference use the Library is absolutely free, without introduction or credential, to any inquirer from any place. The general reader is supposed to carry on his work in the main reading room; but if he is pursuing investigations which imperatively require access to the shelves he receives the necessary permission, and if he is engaged in research involving continuous use of a number of the same books day after day, he is given a table in an alcove. If he desires to dictate to a stenographer he is assigned a separate room for doing so. There is no limit to the number of books which he may draw for refer- ence use. The arrangement of the catalogues and the organization of the Library staff are such as to facilitate to the utmost the work of the independent inquirer of every grade, from the casual reader, who wants a specific piece of information, to the scientific investigator, 12 FACILITIES FOE STUDY, ETC., IN WASHINGTON. who wants to find everything that has been printed on a particular topic. The usefulness of the Library as an aid to scientific research is by no means limited to the work done within its own walls. Doctor Putnam, the Librarian, has, during the nine years of his adminis- tration, developed a system of cooperation between the different libraries of the country which is of inestimable advantage to investi- gators everywhere. It is now possible for students in any of our large libraries to find out pretty accurately the books that are to be had and the work that can be done in the others. By the system of interlibrary loans the material in the Library of Congress is actually put at the disposal of responsible investigators all over the country. Under this system the Library of Congress will loan certain books to other libraries for the use of investigators engaged in serious research. This means that any scholar or advanced student who is within reach of a responsible local library which can guarantee proper care of the books can obtain, without the expense of going to Washington, the opportunity to study large classes of scientific and literary material which the Library of Congress possesses, and which the local library can not expect to possess. The importance of this system to the scholars of the country can not possibly be overestimated. Libraries of the separate departments and bureaus of the Govern- ment. — There are some twenty-five of these, probably containing a total of nearly 1,500,000 volumes and pamphlets," the great majority of them, however, duplicates of material existing in the Library of Congress. "A detailed estimate of the number of volumes in these libraries, published by Mr. C. D. Walcott seven years ago, reads as follows : Library. Books. Pam- phlets. Maps. Army Medical Museum Department of Agriculture. Bureau of Education Patent Office Department of State. Geological Survey National Museum Coast and Geodetic Survey. Weather Bureau Museum of Hygiene Hydrographic Office Bureau of Ethnology Bureau of Statistics Department of Justice Department of Labor Corcoran Gallery of Art Treasury Department War Department Navy Department Interior Department Post-Offlce Department Light-House Board War Records Office Naval Observatory Nautical Almanac Office . . 135,058 68,000 81, 872 74, 140 63,000 , 47, 600 25,000 16,405 18, 000 11, 969 3,000 12,000 6,000 30,000 7,051 2,500 22,000 49,000 33,635 15,000 12,000 5,000 2„000 20,000 2,200 Total 762,430 229,546 140,004 2,500. 77,027' 30,000 6,178' 5.Q00 29,185 25,000 4,000 5,000 4,454 3,000 2,000 4,000 2,500 515,209 54,185 . EXISTING FACILITIES FOK STUDY AND RESEARCH. 13 By far the most important of these libraries, in public use as well as in number of books, is that of the Surgeon-General's Office. This library deals with all branches of medicine, surgery, and the allied sciences. It provides a reading room for the general public and special facilities for competent investigators who desire to make scientific researches. Great use is made by the medical profession of the country, and even by investigators from other countries, of the facilities here offered. The libraries of the State Department also contain unique material — more valuable to the special investigator than to the general student, who will, as a rule, find his needs better met in the Library of Congress. The various military and naval records in the libraries of the departments at "Washington also possess an importance to the student of history which is wholly dis- proportionate to their bulk. But^ on the whole, it may be said that most of the departmental libraries are arranged, and should be arranged, with primary reference to the needs of the administrative force of the several departments, and that the work of the outside investigator can be better cared for in the Library of Congress, which is arranged with a view to his needs and purposes, than in any departmental library, however complete. This is not intended as a criticism on the administration of depart- mental libraries. They are, as a rule, handled generously as well as efficiently. There is an evident desire on the part of those in charge to have the books used by persons outside of the department as well as inside. But most of the government bureaus receive large num- bers of books and pamphlets which they find it hard to take care of, and harder still to arrange to utilize. The Bureau of Education has been a special sufferer under this difficulty, and has taken practical and efficient measures to remedy it. In his statement to the Secretary of the Interior for the year ending June 30, 1908, the Commissioner of Education says : Under the direction of the new chief of the library division, Mr. William Dawson Johnston, the library of the bureau has been thoroughly overhauled and reorganized. The first task here was to strip the collection down to its most effective working basis by the removal of all books and other matter no longer needed or suitable for the purposes of such a special library. The pieces so removed were transferred to the Library of Congress and the District library, under the provisions of the legislative, executive, and judicial appro- priations act of February 25, 1903. The following statement shows the number of pieces so transferred : Bound volumes 26, 851 Pamphlets 15. 512 Periodical numbers 16, 241 Total number of pieces 58, 604 14 FACILITIES FOR STUDY, ETC., IN WASHINGTON. This constitutes, as I am informed, one of the largest transfers in the history of American libraries. It was made with a view solely to the increase of the working value of the library of the bureau, and that end has clearly been attained. Museums. — The most important of these are the National Museum and National Gallery of Arts, under the control of the Smithsonian Institution. The sciences most fully illustrated in the National Museum are zoology, botany, and geology, including palaeontology, and the ethnology and archaeology of North America. The technical subjects best represented are firearms, land and water transportation, methods of lighting, time-taking devices, measuring apparatus, electrical appliances, ceramics, and glass mak- ing and decoration. The collections are much used for serious study, and would be used still more if it were not for the limitations of space. Apart from the general enjoyment of the exhibits by the public, it seems probable that at least two hundred investigators have availed themselves of the special facilities for study during the fiscal year 1908. In the laboratories and working rooms of the museum, however, there is practically no opportunity for outside students, owing to the limitations of space. Like the Congressional Library, the National Museum will some- times send material away from Washington to be studied, in cases where it is impossible for the investigator to come to the museum. The regulations regarding investigators are as simple as possible. Little is required other than an assurance of good character and scientific ability. As a rule, a brief indorsement from a scientific man of reputation or from the head of an institution with which the applicant is connected is all that is needed. The Smithsonian Institution also has valuable material for the student in connection with its Bureau of Ethnology and its Zo- ological Park. The National Botanic Garden is independent of the Smithsonian Institution, but affords opportunities for study on closely allied lines. Hardly second in importance and reputation to the collections of the Smithsonian Institution are those of the Army Medical Museum. Among the departmental collections special mention should also be made of the museum in the Agricultural Department, and of the models and drawings of the Patent Office. ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE TRAINING OF CLASSES. The most important training schools conducted by the Govern- ment at Washington are the medical schools of the United States Army and Navy. These are organizations for the benefit of gradu- ates of medical schools who need preparation for the special problems EXISTING FACILITIES FOB STUDY AND EESEABCH. 15 which will meet them in the service of the United States Govern- ment. The course is in every case a brief one; beyond the fact that it is well conducted, the detailed work requires little comment. Of a similar character, but perhaps even more distinctive, have been the classes organized by the Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service for the students who desire to prepare themselves for the special problems confronting that branch of the Government. The facilities of the Government Hospital for the Insane are well utilized in connection with the instruction of medical students in George "Washington University, and an effort has been made to render the collections of the Botanic Garden similarly useful to classes of college students. Perhaps the most interesting class instruction in connection with any of the departments at Washington is that furnished by the Bureau of Standards. The assistants in this bureau receive from their chiefs regular instruction in the theoretical problems of physics connected with their work. The reports regarding the results of such instruc- tion are extremely favorable. These classes and conferences enable the force of the department to do better practical work than it could without such training. Their results not only enable the assistants to qualify themselves for promotion within the department faster than they could otherwise, but they increase the demand for their services outside of the department in the manufacturing and mechanical industries of the country when they have reached the limit of the possibilities of their promotion at Washington. OPPORTUNITIES FOE INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH. The students who desire to avail themselves of these opportunities fall into two pretty distinct groups. 1. Investigators of mature age and independent resources, who have definite problems to solve for which the departments in Wash- ington furnish more suitable or more accessible material than is to be found elsewhere. 2. Students not yet wholly established in their profession, who desire not only material for study, but also a certain amount of guidance and help from their superiors, and who wish to use their studies as a means of winning position for themselves as well as knowledge for the world. As things stand at present the first of these classes can be well accommodated at Washington. The number of investigators who can take care of themselves and who have definite ends in view is small. It is such a pleasure to the head of a department to see a scientific man who can direct his own work and who has a definite end in view that he is always willing to make room for him in a laboratory, no matter how crowded it is. 16 FACILITIES FOB STUDY, ETC., IN WASHINGTON. With representatives of the second class the case is different. They can not as a rule take care of themselves. They want suggestions con- cerning the ends to be pursued, no less than concerning the means to be employed. They are men who need education instead of simply needing opportunity. It is this class which most people have in mind — a class of students who desire to obtain their technical and their advanced scientific training in immediate connection with some of the departments of government work. With regard to the devel- opment of these facilities it must be confessed that the results are disappointing. In the year 1901 an unofficial inquiry was instituted by Mr. Walcott, at that time Director of the Geological Survey, concerning the possi- ble number of students on different subjects who could be accommo- dated in the various departments and bureaus at Washington. The results were as follows: Students. 1. History and diplomacy 5 2. Historical research 10 3. Library administration and methods 15 4. Statistics __.. 5 5. Magnetism 2 6. Meteorology 15 7. Tides 2 8. National Standards (Bureau of) 9. Astronomy 8 10. Physics 3 11. Hydrography 10 12. Cartography, etc 5 13. Topography 20 14. Chemistry 10 15. Mineral resources 5 16. Geology 17 17. Paleontology- 7 18. Animal industry 25 19. Anthropology and ethnology 13 20. Zoology 50 21. Botany 25 22. Forestry 20 272 A similar inquiry to-day would scarcely meet so favorable a re- sponse. It is doubtful whether the different officials would be willing to accommodate more than one-third of the number contemplated as possible in 1901. Some of the offices which had hoped to accommodate students are prevented by lack of room. Others have already tried student assistance and found it unsatisfactory. Several of the offices which contributed the largest numbers to the above table now say ex- plicitly that they have no accommodations. This is true of the Weather Bureau, of the Hydrographic Office, of the Geological Sur- OBSTACLES TO STUDENT KESEAECH. 17 vey, of the Bureau of Animal Industry, and of the Forest Service. The only offices which express any appreciable readiness to provide for student assistants are as follows : Public Health Service. Five or six. Military War Records Fifteen. Naval Observatory A few. Xaval War Records. A limited number. Patent Office. In library. Bureau of Education Six or eight. Hospital for Insane Some. Bureau of Plant Industry A few. Bureau of Chemistry. If they come as officials. Bureau of Entomology A limited number. Office of Public Roads Eight. Office of Experiment Stations One. Bureau of Manufactures For very brief periods. Census Bureau Perhaps. Coast Survey About six. Bureau of Fisheries Twelve. Bureau of Standards A considerable number. Bureau of Statistics Some. Astrophysical Observatory Some. These numbers are vague; but after making due allowance for all uncertainties, it would seem difficult to make them add up to 100. But whether we estimate the number of places now open to students a little higher or a little lower, it is perfectly clear that we have not moved in the direction of making Washington a place for student training and student research. A few years ago there were eight or ten bureaus which had a system of student assistance. Now there are but one or two. The educational work initiated a few years ago with so much hope for the future is on the whole tending to diminish rather than to increase. Department officials who at the outset were sanguine concerning the possibilities in this direction to-day show themselves exceedingly skeptical. OBSTACLES TO STUDENT RESEARCH. What are the obstacles or difficulties which have prevented the development of so attractive a plan ? They may be grouped under three heads: The space difficulty, the administrative difficulty, and the educational difficulty. 1. The space difficulty. A great many of the departments are so crowded that they have no room for students. The presence of an untrained man would crowd the trained man out of the necessary desk room. This is notably true of the Geological Survey. In its field parties the United States Geological Survey has been an educa- 67438—09- 2 18 FACILITIES FOE STUDY, ETC., IN WASHINGTON. tional institution of vast importance. A large number of the younger geologists of the present day have derived their inspiration and their scientific development from this source. But what Van Hise could do in the field Walcott could not do at Washington, for the mere physical reason that there was no place to do it in. The offices of the bureau were and are still inadequate for the work expected of it. This difficulty is likely to continue. There is a tendency on the part of every large government undertaking to outgrow its quar- ters. Give it more room, and it will undertake more objects. This sort of vitality is the very best thing to have in a government bureau, but it makes it harder for the officials in charge to find room for students. 2. The administrative difficulty. Even in those bureaus whose work has not passed beyond the capacity of the rooms accorded to them, as is the case with many of the newer bureaus in the Depart- ment of Agriculture, there is another allied difficulty which meets us, lack of funds. The problem for every chief is to get his work done in the most efficient and economical manner. Even where Con- gress is liberal in its appropriations — and for many of these bureaus the treatment has been as liberal as could be expected — the bureau chief has to study ways and means pretty carefully. He wants to do all the administrative work he can with the money placed at his disposal. The presence of students interferes with the chance of obtaining this maximum of efficiency. The labor of student assistants is as a rule neither very efficient nor very easy to handle. An untrained man employed at $500 rarely does half as much work for his chief as the trained man at $1,000. The work of supervising two $500 men takes a great deal more of the time and strength of the higher officials than the work of supervising a single $1,000 man. Of course there may be indirect results which justify this expenditure of money and time. If a bureau finds that there are not enough men who are tech- nically trained for the work which it has undertaken, it must train them itself. The expenditure of money and time involved in their training is a necessary means to an end. But where the educational object is an independent one — where it is not undertaken as a neces- sary preliminary to getting the work done, but as a means of outside public service in connection with the work that is already progress- ing — then it represents a costly diversion of time, strength, and , money. Of course there are exceptions to this general rule. The Bureau of Standards is a marked instance in point. The development of the researches in this bureau must necessarily go hand in hand with the development of the men who make the researches. Hence the educational side of this bureau is much more fully developed and OBSTACLES TO STUDENT RESEARCH. 19 much more successful than that of most others. In the majority of cases the educational work is no integral part of the administrative work. If one side must be sacrificed, it is the educational side. This is necessary and right. The main work of our offices is and must be administrative. A bureau chief who should neglect his main work for the sake of a subsidiary or incidental one would be forfeiting his trust. If, under these circumstances, Congress wishes the bureaus to undertake educational work on a large scale, it ought to make a spe- cific appropriation for the purpose. But it does not seem likely that this policy will be adopted. A great many people who are in favor of using government bureaus as a means of education, if it can be done at little loss or expense, would view the policy in a wholly differ- ent light if it was shown that it cost as much money to do it there as anywhere else. 3. The educational difficulty. Even if we had room enough and ap- propriations enough it is doubtful whether the government bureaus, regarded from the purely educational standpoint, furnish as advan- tageous a training place as many people suppose. This is a subject on which it is difficult to generalize. Certain bu- reaus are first-rate training places for some men. The student who has chosen his line of life and has had his preliminary theoretical training can often spend his last year of study with great advantage in immediate connection with the chiefs under whom he is going to serve ; and if his promotion depends upon his success in doing the work they want, it will furnish a stimulus to him and a help to them. But where these conditions are absent — where the man's promotion does not depend upon the chief under whom he is studying, where his studies are not being turned to a particular form of government service, or where he is deficient in the necessary theoretical training — the case is reversed. By all means let the government offices accom- modate as many special students as their facilities and appropriations will admit ; but let these students get their theoretical training else- where if we wish to secure the maximum efficiency and economy from the educational standpoint as well as from the administrative one. The fact is that to nine men out of ten a good school is a better training place in the theory of a man's profession than any ordinary office or bureau. We have passed beyond the stage of the student assistant. At the beginning of the nineteenth century any man who wanted technical training tended to seek it in the office where technical work was done. The man who intended to be a lawyer went into a law office ; the man who intended to be a doctor went into a doctor's office ; the man who intended to be a minister went into a minister's study ; the man who intended to be an engineer carried chain for an engineer. There are 20 FACILITIES FOB STUDY, ETC., IN WASHINGTON. still people who think that this is the only way in which a man can really be educated ; but they are getting fewer and fewer every day. Practical experience is against them. The man who goes to a good law school, if he uses his time properly, can learn more law in three years under the new system than he learned under the old system in twice that time. The same thing is true of medicine, of engineering, or any of the different branches of technology. A teacher who makes it his business to educate can do this side of the work more effectively than a practitioner with whom the training of his assist- ants is and can be only an incidental matter. It is simply an instance of the advantages of division of labor. It is better to have a trained teacher do the teaching in places arranged for teaching, and a trained administrator do the business in the places arranged for business, than to try to mix the two things up. While this is not an absolutely universal rule, it holds true in the vast majority of cases. For seven years, from 1899 to 1906, the Forest Service of the United States provided for a system of student assistance. Two years ago this system was abandoned. Why ? Nominally because the problems which confronted the service had grown too complex to leave room for any untrained men in government forestry; actually because the forest schools of the country had trained enough men who were capable of handling complex problems to allow the Forest Service advantageously to specialize upon this, its proper work, and leave the educational work to the schools. The course of events here is typical of what has happened to almost every large line of business in the course of the last hundred years. There has been a tendency to separate the educational from the administrative side, because both sides could be better attended to if they were kept apart. When the Forest Service, after seven years' trial, abandoned the experiment of student assistance, it simply repeated the history through which hundreds of other kinds of offices, public and private, have been passing during the nineteenth century. The question is often asked how far the establishment of a national university, which could take care of the preliminary theoretical train- ing of the students and relieve the department officials of much of the purely educational work, might alter or modify these conclusions. The question concerning the advantages of a national university is too large a one to be here discussed in its entirety, and really forms no part of the subject of this report. We are concerned with what can be done at Washington under the existing system rather than with what might be done under some other system. It may be said provisionally that the presence of the scientific bureaus of the Gov- ernment would be of great advantage to a university, but that it is very doubtful whether the presence of a university would be of advantage to the scientific bureaus of the Government. The uni- CONCLUSIONS. 21 versity could gain, not only by having large libraries and museums within easy reach, but by being able to call for advice and help upon the scientific investigators engaged in government work. But it does not appear that these investigators, now employed in govern- ment service, could expect a corresponding benefit to themselves or their departments from the establishment of a university. Some of them, who have the teaching instinct, would value highly the oppor- tunity for the instruction of university classes, and could exercise a large influence in this manner. But it is only a minority of the bureau chiefs who could do effective work in this way. The qualities which make a successful administrator are not always, or perhaps generally, those of a successful educator. And even with those men who were really fitted to contribute to the success of the university the work they might do in that way would represent in large measure a subtraction from the time and strength which they now devote to the organization of the researches immediately under their charge. While the establishment of a university at Washington would make it a little easier for the departments to meet the needs of students than it now is, it would tend to create an increased pressure upon the departments to accommodate students who had not had the necessary degree of preliminary training, or acquired the necessary definiteness of purpose, to make them contribute to the efficiency of the staff. From the standpoint of the departments, the advantage in one direc- tion would generally be outweighed by the disadvantage in the other. CONCLUSIONS. The conclusions of this report may be summed up as follows : There is an increasing opportunity for the work of advanced study and research at Washington ; but this work, under present conditions, is and must be done by officials rather than by students. The various libraries, collections, and offices of the Government are thrown open with the utmost liberality to investigators of every kind. But we have nothing which can be regarded as a system of training for advanced students in the various departments of scientific work, except a relatively small number who are qualifying them- selves for promotion in the government service itself. The efforts made a few years ago to develop a system of training schools within the departments of the Government itself have not been crowned with success. Some are hindered by want of space, others by the de- mands of administrative economy, and others yet by the fact that there are so many instances where education and business are both better done if the schools do the educating and the offices the business. APPENDIX. In order to collect the material necessary for the preparation of this report, the Department of the Interior made inquiry in the month of May, 1908, of the bureaus and institutions mentioned in the acts of 1892 and 1901, and of certain others which had been more recently established, concerning the facilities which they furnished for advanced study and research. The questions asked were as follows : 1. Date of establishment of this office in its present status. [Information concerning work of a similar kind under government auspices, prior to the establishment of this office in its present status, may be briefly noted, or reference made to publications in which such information is presented most concisely and satisfactorily.] 2. Facilities offered for advanced study and research prior to the year 1908. [A brief narrative and descriptive statement is desired, such as may be incor- porated verbatim in the proposed bulletin. If more convenient, reference may be made to publications in which such information is already accessible ; or, if such information is not at hand and can not be collected without undue expenditure of time, answer may be omitted altogether.] 3. A more detailed account of such facilities offered during the fiscal year 1908. [Statements are desired with reference to (a) library facilities, (6) laboratory facilities, (c) direction and supervision of students, (d) special opportunities for study and training afforded to members of the office force, (e) provision for the appointment of student assistants for either part-time or whole-time employment, and (/) additional information.] 4. Number of persons availing themselves of such facilities during the fiscal year 1908. [Including, if practicable, a list of names and addresses, together with some indication of the previous training of each person and of the work done by him here. If preferred, the answer may take the form of a statement of the number and character or class of such persons and the* type of inquiry in which they are engaged.] 5. Facilities offered for the fiscal year 1909. [Statement in such form as may be incorporated verbatim in the proposed bul- letin. Facilities not now offered but which may be made available to students in the near future might well be mentioned. Where the facilities referred to de- pend upon an estimated increase in the appropriation for the year, concerning which the action of Congress is still uncertain, this fact should be noted. Answer may be limited to a reference to information given under 3 where this is deemed a sufficient announcement for the coming year.] 6. Regulations and suggestions concerning the conditions of admission to the use of such facilities. [It would be serviceable to know whether admission to the use of the facilities is limited to any particular type of inquirer ; whether, for instance, solely to those pursuing original investigation calculated to advance the boundaries of knowl- edge, or, in addition, to students doing graduate work in connection with some higher institution, or to all students. Some Indication of the number of students who can be accommodated should be included. The conditions governing appoint- ment to student assistantships or analogous positions should be noted.] 7. Additional information and remarks. 22 APPENDIX. 23 These inquiries were transmitted by the Secretary of the Interior to the various departments of the Government accompanied by a let- ter similar in form to the following. In the case of those offices not included in any government department, the accompanying letter was modified to adapt it to the circumstances of the case. Department of the Interior, Washington, May 12, 1908. The honorable the Secretary of State. Sir : Inquiries are made from time to time at the Bureau of Edu- cation with reference to the facilities now offered for advanced study and research in the government offices at Washington, under the pro- visions of the joint resolution of Congress approved April 12, 1892, and the act of Congress approved March 3, 1901. With a view to answering such inquiries and with a view also to furnishing compre- hensive information with reference to this matter for the use of the graduate schools of our universities, the Commissioner of Education is desirous of issuing a special bulletin dealing with the subject, and has secured the service of President Ira Remsen, of the Johns Hop- kins University, in the capacity of editor of such bulletin. 11 You will readily understand that what is contemplated is not the preparation of an official report concerning operations under the acts referred to, which the Bureau of Education is neither directed nor empowered to make, but merely the assembling of such information as will meet the needs of instructors and students throughout the country. Such a publication as will serve this purpose can be pre- pared only with the cooperation of the heads of the several govern- ment offices concerned. I have received assurances that such co- operation will be freely extended. I trust that you will find it proper and possible to assist in this undertaking, by furnishing such information as is indicated on the inquiry blank inclosed herewith, with reference to the following offices of the Department of State: The Bureau of Indexes and Archives, and the Bureau of Rolls and Library. This form of inquiry has been prepared in consultation with President Remsen, with a view to bringing together the information from the several offices in something approaching uniformity of ar- rangement and presentation. It is not unlikely, however, that in some offices certain variations from this plan will be found necessary to a fair presentation of essential facts concerning those offices. I inclose a copy of this letter for the information of each of the offices referred to. For convenience of reference there has been added to the circular of inquiry the text of the congressional enactments to which reference has been made, and a provisional list of the government offices to which this inquiry is to be sent is inclosed herewith. If convenient, will you kindly furnish this office with the informa- tion asked for before the end of this current month. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, (Signed) James Rudolph Garfield, Secretary. « A few weeks later President Remsen was obliged by tbe pressure of immediate and unusual duties to withdraw from this engagement. 24 The complete list of offices to which the inquiry was sent is as follows : Library of Congress. Department of State : Bureau of Indexes and Archives. Bureau of Rolls and Library. Treasury Department: Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service. Department of Justice : Library. War Department : Library of the Surgeon-General's Office. Museum of the Surgeon-General's Office. Bureau of Insular Affairs. Office of the Chief of Staff. Navy Department : Hydrographic Office. Naval Observatory. Naval Medical School and Hospital. Naval War Records Office and Library. Department of the Interior : General Land Office. Patent Office. Bureau of Education. Geological Survey. Reclamation Service. Government Hospital for the Insane. Department of Agriculture : Weather Bureau. Bureau of Animal Industry. Bureau of Plant Industry. Forest Service. Bureau of Chemistry. Bureau of Soils. Bureau of Entomology. Bureau of Biological Survey. Office of Experiment Stations. Office of Public Roads. Library. Department of Commerce and Labor : Bureau of Corporations. Bureau of Manufactures. Bureau of Labor. Bureau of the Census. Coast and Geodetic Survey. Bureau of Fisheries. Bureau of Standards. Bureau of Statistics. Interstate Commerce Commission. International Bureau of American Republics. Isthmian Canal Commission. National Botanic Garden. REPLIES TO QUESTIONNAIRE. 25 Smithsonian Institution : National Museum and National Gallery of Art. Bureau of American Ethnology. National Zoological Park. Astrophysical Observatory. Bureau for the International Catalogue of Scientific Literature. International Exchange Service. It was requested that the information be furnished in such a form that it might be quoted if the Bureau of Education should find it de- sirable to do so. The majority of the answers were framed with such care that the bureau believes it advantageous to publish them nearly in full. Exception has been made in case of the reports of a few of the departments which, owing to their limited means or to the con- fidential character of the work intrusted to their charge, are unable to afford much assistance to the general student. The replies of other departments have been abridged by the omission of catalogues of liter- ature collected or published, whose inclusion would have swelled this report beyond its natural limits. REPLIES MADE BY THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS AND OFFICES TO THE INQUIRIES OF THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. (Officer reporting : Herbert Putnam, Librarian.) 1. 1897. This date is that of the completion of the new library building, which marks the beginning of the opportunity and service of the library as the National Library of the United States. While still at the Capitol, however (that is, from 1800 to 1897), the library was free for reference to all inquirers, and within its abilities rendered valuable service as a general research library, as well as one for governmental use. 2. The resources and facilities are indicated passim in the annual reports of the Librarian 1897-1907. See especially the Manual attached to that for 1901. 3. The Library is still the Library of Congress, and as such has a special duty to Congress. It is also (1) the law library of the Supreme Court of the United States, and (2) the central library for all the executive departments and bureaus at Washington. Subject to the convenience of the Government, it is a free reference library for the general public. As such its interest is particularly to aid research calcu- lated to advance the boundaries of knowledge. All of its collections are available to this end, and they comprise now (in round numbers) 1,500,000 books and pamphlets, 100,000 maps and charts, 470,000 volumes and pieces of music, 250,000 prints, and a great collection of manuscripts indispensable to the student of American history. It receives by operation of law all books copyrighted in the United States, and by exchange the official publications of all governments and most learned societies and institutions. Its expenditures for purchase now total 26 FACILITIES EOB STUDY, ETC., IN WASHINGTON. $108,000 a year. In its selection for purchase it will gladly give preference to material desired by investigators for immediate use. It receives currently nearly 7,000 serials, including about 1,200 newspapers. The resident or visiting investigator can be given a special desk where he may reserve material from day to day, and, if necessary, direct access to material on the shelves. Upon special permit he may withdraw material for home use. The specialists of the Library, of whom there are a number in various fields of knowledge, will gladly give assistance in the bibliography of their subjects. Investigators not able to visit Washington may secure the loan of material by application through their local libraries. The main reading room has accommodation for 250 readers, but the building as a whole for a thousand. No credential is required for its reference use, and no formality beyond the minimum requisite for safety. Special strength of collection. — Manuscripts (for American history), official documents, maps and charts, music, prints, society publications, law, history, and political and social science. Other departments are now being rapidly and systematically developed. (In four are already special collections of impor- tance: Russian, Chinese, Japanese, and Sanskrit literature.) Note. — Special fields not emphasized because covered by other governmental libraries, are Medicine, Agriculture, Geology, and Education. 4. We do not keep statistical records to enable us to answer this question, nor does the inquiry seem to demand it. The number of persons using the library is, as a whole, about the number that would use a large municipal library. The classes of persons may be divided into three: Members of Con- gress; visiting investigators; Resident investigators. The resident use is obvious. The visiting investigators may be indicated by the following: Historians, mostly professors in American universities; econo- mists ; scientists, in connection with advanced work of the government bureaus and for personal work ; candidates for doctors' degrees. 5. Same as for 1908. 6. For reference use the Library is absolutely free, without introduction or credential, to any inquirer from any place; and it is open from 9 a. m. until 10 p. m., and on Sundays and most holidays from 2 p. m. until 10 p. m. The general reader is supposed to carry on his work in the main reading room. If, however, he is pursuing investigations requiring access to the books upon the shelves, he will be admitted to the shelves if his work imperatively demands it, and if he can not be served by having the books brought to him. Such access is, of course, subject to the convenience of the administration. If a reader is engaged in research involving the continuous use of a number of the same books day after day, he will be given a table in an alcove, where they may be set aside for him ; if he desires to dictate to a stenographer, a separate room, where he may do so without inconvenience or publicity. There is no limit to the number of books a reader may draw for reference use. For books from the stacks to be used in the reading room he makes out a call slip, signing his name and residence. But there are available to him without this formality, or the intervention of an attendant, some 15,000 vol- umes of reference books in this room, 2,700 current newspapers and periodicals in the periodical reading room, and much material in other parts of the Library. In the very early years (circa 1815), and again from about 1884-1894, the privilege of drawing books for home use was permitted to any resident of the District making a deposit as security. From time to time since then, and especially before the Public Library was in efficient operation in its new build- ing, appeals have been made for the revival of this privilege. A communication from the Librarian to the chairman of the Senate Library Committee, January REPLIES TO QUESTIONNAIRE. 27 27, 1903, was induced by such an appeal, which caused the introduction of a resolution into the Senate. The view held was adverse to the proposal to make the National Library a general circulating library, but emphasized the sympathy of the authorities with every application for the home use of books resting upon a serious need not to be satisfied by 'reference use nor by the Public Library of the District. A distinction is easy, for the function of the latter is peculiarly -to aid the general reader and the younger reader, including the pupils of the common schools. This leaves to the Library of Congress the investigator proper. The statutory designations of persons (rather classes) within the District who should have the privilege of books for home use are as follows : President, Vice-President, ex-Presidents of the United States, Senators, Representatives, Delegates, heads of departments, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, reporter of the Supreme Court, clerk of the Supreme Court, members of the Diplomatic Corps, judges of the Court of Claims, clerk of the Court of Claims, Solicitor-General, assistant attorneys- general, secretary of the Senate, clerk of the House of Representatives, chap- lains of the two Houses of Congress, Solicitor of the Treasury, the financial agent of the Joint Committee on the Library, Smithsonian Institution through its Secretary, regents of the Smithsonian Institution, members of the Inter- state Commerce Commission, secretary of the Interstate Commerce Commission, Chief of Engineers of the Corps of Engineers of the United States Army, Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia, associate justices of the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia, associate justices of the Supreme Court of the District of' Columbia, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. A resident of the District engaged in serious investigation, and having some special need which can not be met by reference use, may apply to the Librarian for a special permit which may meet this need. The duty of the National Library is to aid the unusual need with the unusual book, not only by supplying a reader on the premises, but by making books available to the research worker even if he is not in Washington. When, there- fore, it receives a call for a book in its possession which is not accessible to the applicant elsewhere, and it is a book required by him for serious investiga- tion, and it can at the moment be spared from Washington, it is lent, through another institution. The principles governing the operation of the interlibrary loans are described in the following memorandum, which was put forth as a circular at the incep- tion of the system : Under the system of interlibrary loans the Library of Congress will lend certain books to other libraries for the use of investigators engaged in serious research. The loan will rest on the theory of a special service to scholarship which it is not within the power or the duty of the local library to render. Its purpose is to aid research calculated to advance the boundaries of knowledge, by the loan of unusual books not readily accessible elsewhere. The material lent can not include, therefore, books that should be in a local library, or that can be borrowed from a library (such as a state library) hav- ing a particular duty to the community from which the application comes; nor books that are inexpensive and can easily be procured; nor books for the gen- eral reader, mere text-books, or popular manuals ; nor books where the purpose is ordinary student or thesis work, or for mere self-instruction. Nor can it include material which is in constant use at Washington, or whose loan would be an inconvenience to Congress, or to the executive departments of the Government, or to reference readers in the Library of Congress. Genealogies and local histories are not available for loan, nor are newspapers, the latter forming part of a consecutive historical record which the Library of 28 FACILITIES FOR STUDY, ETC., IN WASHINGTON. Congress is expected to retain and preserve ; and only for very serious research can the privilege be extended to include volumes of periodicals. A library borrowing a book is understood to hold itself responsible for the safe-keeping and return of the book at the expiration of ten days from its re- ceipt. An extension of the period of loan is granted, upon request, whenever ffiflsiblft All expenses of carriage are to be met by the borrowing library. Books will be forwarded by express (charges collect) whenever this convey- ance is deemed necessary for their safety. Certain books, however, can be sent by mail, but it will be necessary for the borrowing library to remit In advance a sum sufficient to cover the postal charges, including registry fee. The Library of Congress has no fund from which charges of carriage can be prepaid. A service of the Library distinct from that involved in the actual loan of books is that performed by answer to inquiry through correspondence. The character of the questions which the Library answers most willingly is noted below : 1. As to its possession of a particular book. 2. As to the existing bibliographies on a particular subject. 3. As to the most useful existing authorities on a particular subject and where they may be available. 4. As to the author of a book by a known title. 5. As to the date, price, and probable present cost of a specified book. 6. For the source of a particular quotation, if ascertainable by ready refer- ence. 7. (If not requiring elaborate research) for other particular facts in history or literature ; in the organization or operations' of the Federal Government. 8. (Where of moderate extent) for an extract from a book in its possession. DEPARTMENT OF STATE: BUREAU OF INDEXES AND ARCHIVES. (Officer reporting: John R. Buck; chief of bureau.) 1. 1870. 2. The diplomatic archives from 1789 to August, 1906, are contained in about 3,000 volumes, and are arranged in the following series : (1) Instructions. These include all letters from the department to diplo- matic representatives of the United States abroad. The series commences with January 23, 1791, although earlier letters, to United States representatives in France, Morocco, Great Britain, Netherlands, and Spain, are contained in the volumes of Foreign Letters in the Bureau of Rolls and Library. (2) Dispatches. (3) Notes from the department. (4) Notes to the department. For details see Guide to the Archives of the Government of the United States in Washington, by Van Tyne and Leland, second edition, published by the Car- negie Institution, 1907. 3. The volumes of diplomatic papers in the Bureau of Indexes and Archives are listed in an inventory book, in which new volumes are entered when bound. This inventory gives the numbers on the manuscript volumes, showing which volumes are duplicates of others; it also gives the dates of beginning and ending of the volumes, but in many cases, especially in dispatches, these dates are not early enough or late enough, as the case may be. The reason for this discrepancy in dates is usually the fact that the letters written before the minister or agent reached his post, and those written after leaving it, are not included in the dates given. In some cases at the end of a volume are found REPLIES TO QUESTIONNAIRE. 29 letters written by a former diplomatic officer many years after the termination of his mission. Besides the list of volumes of Dispatches, Notes to the Depart- ment, Instructions, and Notes from the Department, this inventory contains lists of volumes of Circulars, of Consular Instructions and Consular Dispatches, and of volumes pertaining to Consular Clerks, Foreign Consuls in the United States, and Special Agents. By the help of this inventory volumes can usually be located readily. The system of arrangement of books is comparatively simple, and in almost all the books the manuscripts are bound in chronological order, the most noteworthy exception being that inclosures are bound after the letter in which they were inclosed, though naturally preceding it in date. The records are, on the whole, in excellent condition, though some of the older papers are considerably dis- colored, or are brittle and breaking at the edges, thus making the reading of them difficult for the investigator. The handwriting of many of the earlier papers is hard to decipher, even when the ink has not faded. Some of the press copies are at present almost illegible. The arrangement in earlier years is in some ways perplexing, and sometimes important documents are not to be found. It is no unusual thing to find that dispatches of certain numbers are not in the archives, and this in spite of the fact that sometimes as high as five copies of one paper were sent by as many different ships. It is interesting to note how many copies of the original number were received, and to compare the dates of sending and of receipt. About 1831 a definite system was adopted. The records since that time are well arranged, and the system is easily understood; the records since 1831 are also more nearly complete, due to a great extent to improvements in navigation, but due also to careful supervision. Duplicates no longer appear, and on the other hand there are no dispatches missing, as is the case in the earlier volumes. Evidently about that time our ministers ceased to send dupli- cate and triplicate dispatches, while the department made arrangements to get copies of documents that for any reason went astray. 6. See answer to corresponding question under Rolls and Library. DEPARTMENT OF STATE: BUREAU OF ROLLS AND LIBRARY. (Officer reporting: William McNeir, chief of bureau.) 1. 1882. 2. The archives of the bureau consist of the Declaration of Independence, laws, treaties, proclamations, executive orders and announcements, the pro- ceedings of international commissions, documents relating to the Constitution, territorial papers, and a large body of miscellaneous material. Within the last few years several of the most valuable collections in the bureau have been removed. 3. The library, which is a branch of this bureau, is rich in historical and biographical works, the law of nations, and travels, and is open to persons interested during office hours. A detailed catalogue is found in the Guide to the Archives of the Government of the United States in Washington, by Van Tyne and Leland, second edition, published by the Carnegie Institution, 1907, pages 33-54. 6. The library is open between the hours of 9 a. m. and 4 p. m. It is for the official use of the department. When not required for that purpose it may be enjoyed by persons attached to the department and to the diplomatic corps in Washington, but by no others without express permission from the Secre- tary, an Assistant Secretary, or the chief of the Bureau of Rolls and Library. 30 FACILITIES FOE STUDY, ETC., IN WASHINGTON. The special rules governing its use are as follows: I. Persons to whom the privilege of consulting the manuscript archives of the Department of State is granted can exercise the permission only subject to the convenience of the department and the uninterrupted transaction of its business. II. No manuscript shall, at any time, be taken out of the department except by order in writing of the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary. III. No manuscript shall be taken out of the Bureau of Rolls and Library, into any room of the department, until a receipt in form and descriptive of the paper or volume be signed by the official taking the same and deliv- ered to the chief of the bureau, or, in his absence, to the person in charge. IV. No manuscript shall be detained from its place on the shelves of the Bureau of Rolls and Library after 4 p. m. of the day it shall have been taken; and no manuscript shall be taken from its place on the shelves by any others than the clerks in charge, except by special arrangement in excep- tional circumstances. V. The use of the indexes in the room in which the old archives are deposited is not permitted except through the clerks in charge. VI. The privilege of consulting the manuscript archives does not include the use of the library. The latter privilege must be independently asked of the chief of the Bureau of Rolls and Library. TREASURY DEPARTMENT : PUBLIC HEALTH AND MARINE-HOSPITAL SERVICE. (Officer reporting: W. Wyman, Surgeon-General of Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service.) 1. The Hygienic Laboratory of the Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service was established in New York, at the Marine Hospital on Staten Island, August, 1887. It was transferred to Washington, with quarters in the Butler Building, June 11, 1891, and a new laboratory building, located in Washington, was authorized by act of Congress, March 3, 1901. An extensive addition to this building was authorized by Congress in 1907. 2. Research work of a laboratory character, with special reference to problems affecting the public health, prior to the year 1908, have included advanced studies in bacteriology, serum therapy, pathology, chemistry, medical zoology, and pharmacology. The direction which the advanced studies have taken is indicated from the following list of publications, which have appeared as Hygienic Laboratory Bulletins since 1900. Those numbers to which an asterisk is prefixed are out of print. * No. 1. — Preliminary note on the viability of the Bacillus pestis. By M. J. Rosenau No. 2. — Formalin disinfection of baggage without apparatus. By M. J. Rosenau. •No. 3. — Sulphur dioxid as a germicidal agent. By H. D. Geddings. No. 4. — Viability of the Bacillus pestis. By M. J. Rosenau. No. 5. — An investigation of a pathogenic microbe (JB. typhi murium Danyz) applied to the destruction of rats. By M. J. Rosenau. * No. 6. Disinfection against mosquitoes with formaldehyde and sulphur dloxid By M. J. Rosenau. No. 7. — Laboratory technique : Ring test for indol, by S. B. Grubbs and Edward Francis ; Collodium sacs, by S. B. Grubbs and Edward Francis ; Microphotography with simple apparatus, by H. B. Parker. By act of Congress approved July 1, 1902, the name of the " United States Marine Hospital Service was changed to the " Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service of the United States," and three divisions were added to the Hygienic Laboratory. Since the change of name of the service the bulletins of the Hygienic Laboratory have been continued in the same numerical order, as follows : * No. 8. — Laboratory course in pathology and bacteriology. By M. J. Rosenau (Re- vised edition March, 1904.) KEPLIES TO QUESTIONNAIRE. 31 •No. 9. — Presence of tetanus in commercial gelatin. By John F. Anderson. No. 10. — Report upon the prevalence and geographic distribution of hookworm disease (uncinariasis or ankylostomiasis) in the United States. By Ch. Wardell Stiles. •No. 11. — An experimental investigation of Trypanosoma lewisl. By Edward Francis. •No. 12. — The bacteriological impurities of vaccine virus : an experimental study. Bv M. J. Rosenau. •No. 13. — A statistical study of the intestinal parasites of 500 white male patients at the United States Government Hospital for the Insane ; by Philip E. Garrison, Brayton H. Ransom, and Earle C. Stevenson. A parasitic roundworm (Agamomermis culicis n. g., n. sp.) in American mosquitoes (Culex sollicitans) ; by Ch. Wardell Stiles. The type species of the eestode genus Hymenolepis ; by Ch. Wardell Stiles. No. 14. — Spotted fever (tick fever) of the Rocky Mountains ; a new disease. By John F. Anderson. No. 15. — Inefficiency of ferrous sulphate as an antiseptic and germicide. By Allan J. McLaughlin. •No. 16. — The antiseptic and germicidal properties of glycerin. By M. J. Rosenau. •No. 17. — Illustrated key to the trematode parasites of man. By Ch. Wardell Stiles. •No. 18. — An account of the tapeworms of the genus Hymenolepis parasitic in man. including reports of several new cases of the dwarf tapeworm (H. nana) in the United States. By Brayton H. Ransom. •No. 19. — A method for inoculating animals with precise amounts. By M. J. Rosenau. •No. 20. — A zoological investigation into the cause, transmission, and source of Rocky Mountain " spotted fever." By Ch. Wardell Stiles. No. 21. — The immunity unit for standardizing diphtheria antitoxin (based on Ehr- lich's normal serum) . Official standard prepared under the act approved July 1, 1902. By M. J. Rosenau. •No. 22. — Chloride of zinc as a deodorant, antiseptic, and germicide. Bv T. B. McClintic. •No. 23. — Changes in the Pharmacopoeia of the United States of America. Eighth Decennial Revision. By Reid Hunt and Murray Gait Motter. No. 24. — The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature as applied to medicine. By Ch. Wardell Stiles. No. 25. — Illustrated key to the eestode parasites of man. By Ch. Wardell Stiles. No. 26. — On the stability of the oxidases and their conduct toward various reagents. The conduct of phenolphthalein in the animal organism. A test for saccharin, and a simple method of distinguishing between cumarin and vanilin. The toxicity of ozone and other oxidizing agents to lipase. The influence of chemical constitution on the lipolytic hydrolysis of etheral salts. By J. H. Kastle. No. 27. — The limitations of formaldehyde gas as a disinfectant with special reference to car sanitation. By Thomas B. McClintic. No. 28. — A statistical study of the prevalence of intestinal worms in man. By Ch. Wardell Stiles and Philip E. Garrison. •No. 29. — A study of the cause of sudden death following the injection of horse serum. By M. J. Rosenau and John F. Anderson. No. 30. — I. Maternal transmission of immunity to diphtheria toxine. II. Maternal transmission of immunity to diphtheria toxine and hypersusceptibility to horse serum in the same animal. By John F. Anderson. No. 31. — Variations in the peroxidase activity of the blood in health and disease. By Joseph H. Kastle and Harold L. Amoss. No. 32. — A stomach lesion in guinea pigs caused by diphtheria toxine and its bearing upon experimental gastric ulcer. By M. J. Rosenau and John F. Anderson. No. 33. — Studies in experimental alcoholism. By Reid Hunt. No. 34. — I. Agamofilaria georgiana n. sp., an apparently new roundworm parasite from the ankle of a negress. II. The zoological characters of the roundworm genus Filaria Mueller, 1787. III. Three new American cases of infection of man with horsehair worms (species Paragordius varius), with summary of all cases reported to date. By Ch. Wardell Stiles. M . ._ . . .. _. i _. ^ „ No. 35. — Report on the origin and prevalence of typhoid fever in the District of Columbia. By M. J. Rosenau, L. L. Lumsden, and Joseph H. Kastle. (Including articles contributed bv Ch. Wardell Stiles, Joseph Goldberger, and A. M. Stimson.) No. 36. — Further studies upon hypersusceptibility and immunity. By M. J. Rosenau and John F. Anderson. . N 37. — index-catalogue of medical and veterinary zoology. Subjects : Trematoda and trematode diseases. Bv Ch. Wardell Stiles and Albert Hassall. No. 38. — The influence of antitoxin upon post-diphtheritic paralysis. By M. J. Rosenau and John F. Anderson. ., No. 39. — The antiseptic and germicidal properties of solutions of formaldehyde and their action upon toxines. By John F. Anderson. No 40 — Miscellaneous zoological papers. By Ch. Wardell Stiles and Joseph Goldberger. No 41. — Milk and its relation to the public health. By various authors No. 42. — The thermal death points of pathogenic micro-organisms in milk. By M. J. °No na 43 — The standardization of tetanus antitoxin. An American unit established under authority of the act of July 1, 1902. By M. J. Rosenau and John F. Anderson. 3. (a) The Public Health and Marine-Hospital Bureau and its Hygienic Laboratory have small reference libraries of about 3,000 volumes each. (6) The laboratory is well equipped to carry on experimental work in bacteriology, pathology, chemistry, pharmacology, biology, zoology, and other problems pertaining to the public health. (c) A course of practical instruction in bacteriology, epidemiology, serum therapy, disinfection, quarantine, vital statistics, sanitary analysis, etc., is given to student officers of the service and to health officers. 32 FACILITIES FOB STUDY, ETC., IN WASHINGTON ( 116. 'No. 7. State school systems: Legislation and judicial decisions relating to pub- lic education, October 1, 1906,, to October 1, 1908. By Edward C. Elliott, Professor of Education in the University 1 of Wisconsin. No. 8, Statistics ' of state universities and other institutions of higher educa- tion partially Supported by the State, 1907-8. .-;' X0O9. No. 1. Facilities for study and researchin- the offices of the U. ,S. Government at Washington. By Arthur Twining Hadley, President of Yal,e University. 6 ,1 r i ■ _gfv f