REPORT OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 65 



HISTORICAL RESEARCH. 

 By Andrew C. McLaughlin, Director. 



The work of the Bureau of Historical Research during the past year 

 has been of various kinds. Considerable time has been consumed in 

 assisting or giving suggestions to historical investigators who have 

 come to Washington in search of material for their work. In a few 

 cases documents have been hunted out and copied for the use of those 

 who were unable to come to discover the material for themselves. 

 The experience of the year seems to prove that, while this incidental 

 work does not give at first very tangible results, it is of considerable 

 value and justifies in itself the existence of the Bureau in Washington. 



At the beginning of the year the hope was entertained that the 

 Guide to the Archives in Washington would soon be completed, but 

 the work was not entirely finished until the first of October. The 

 completed volume, bearing the title, " Guide to the Archives of the 

 Government of the United States at Washington," is a book of over 

 200 pages. It describes in general terms the historical collections 

 and the admini.strative records of all branches and departments of 

 the government. Practically every bureau, commission, or office 

 having its independent records receives attention ; its duties are in- 

 dicated, and the character of its records briefly described. This work 

 was begun in January, 1903, b}- Mr. C. H. Van Tyne and Mr. W. G. 

 Leland, and was carried to completion b)^ the Bureau, most of the 

 work after October, 1903, being done by Mr. Leland. Though nec- 

 essarily condensed, for the book purports to be only a guide based on 

 a general survey, it represents much labor, for often the acquiring 

 of accurate information, which was in the end told in a few words on 

 the printed page, required days of patient looking and questioning. 

 The guide will help the historical investigator to know where to look 

 for his materials, will in many instances let him know whether he 

 can reasonably expect to find the materials he seeks, and will, more- 

 over, furnish the necessary basis for further study of the historical 

 records of the government. 



Prof. Charles M. Andrews, of Bryn Mawr, has made for the Bureau 

 an examination of the British archives, and has prepared a prelimi- 

 nary report on the character, extent, and location of the materials 

 for the study of American history. This report will soon be printed, 

 probably in the American Historical Review, and will serve admirably 

 as a basis for more extended as well as a more particular examina- 



