IV.— REVIEW OF WORK IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE 



DEPARTMENTS. 



FINANCE, PROPERTY, SUPPLIES, AND ACCOUNTS. 



In Appendix viii will be found a statement sliowing the amount of 

 the appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1896, the dis- 

 bursements under said appropriations, and the disposition of the unex- 

 pended balances remaining on hand from the appropriations of previous 

 years. These statements are taken from the report of the chief clerk, 

 Mr. W. V. Cox. 



The routine work of the office, consisting of the preparation of finan- 

 cial statements, of orders for the jiurchase of supplies and for the 

 performance of services, the approval and registration of requisitions 

 for supplies, the examination of vouchers, etc., has been carried on. 

 More than 1,500 letters were prepared. 



The preparation of a suitable subject index to the letters sent from 

 this office since 1885 was also taken up during the year. Seventeen 

 thousand pages have been indexed on slips and are now being arranged 

 for revision, after which they will be transcribed on cards for permanent 

 reference. A complete record, on index cards, of all legislative matters 

 of interest to the Institution has also been kept. 



The building at the corner of Third and B streets, S. W., used for 

 workshops and storage for the Museum, did not prove satisfactory for 

 the purpose required, and a large warehouse on Ninth street, about 

 three squares south of the Museum, was leased instead. 



Congress having made an appropriation of $800 for the better pro- 

 tection of the Smithsonian and Museum buildings from fire, four new 

 hydrants were placed in position during the year and a quantity of 

 new hose purchased. The hydrants were put in under the supervision 

 of the engineer department of the District of Columbia. As an addi- 

 tional safeguard, a number of fire extinguishers has been procured, 

 and the watch force is drilled regularly in fire duty. 



A granito floor was laid in the exhibition hall of the department of 

 comparative anatomy, and a mosaic floor in the vestibule at the north 

 entrance of the Museum building. 



In connection with the Cotton States and International Exposition 

 at Atlanta, Ga., there were issued a large number of orders for the 

 purchase of material and for services. Nearly three hundred accounts 

 were audited for payment, involving expenditures amounting to 

 $24,246.73, and more than three hundred letters were written. All 

 claims on account of the Museum exhibit have been settled, with a 

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