APPENDIX 5 

 REPORT OX THE INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES 



Sik: I have the honor to submit the following report on the 

 operations of the International Exchange Service during the fiscal 

 year ending June 30, 1925 : 



The congressional appropriation allowed for the support of the 

 exchange service during the year 1925 was $19,550, $G,550 more than 

 the amount granted for the fiscal year 1924. Of this increase about 

 half was to cover the extra amount necessary for reclassification of 

 salaries. The usual appropriation of $200 for printing and binding 

 was granted by Congress. There was collected by the Institution 

 on account of repayment from departmental and other establish- 

 ments $-1,900.22, making the total resources available for carrying 

 on the Smithsonian system of exchanges for the fiscal year 1925 

 $54,650.22. 



During the year the total number of packages handled was 468,731, 

 an increase over the number for the preceding year of 8,073. These 

 packages weighed a total of 506,164 pounds, a loss of 60,943 pounds. 

 This decrease in weight is due to the smaller size of packages of 

 publications received for transmission through the service. 



The number and weight of the packages of different classes are 

 indicated in the following table : 



The value of the material passing through the International Ex- 

 change Service can not be estimated by the mere number of packages 

 handled. Many of the packages each contain a number of valuable 

 scientific publications. It may be estimated that annually there pass 

 through the service both to and from foreign countries, considerably 

 more than a million publications. 



Although the United States Government sends abroad more publi- 

 cations than it receives in exchange, the disparity is not so great 



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