IV. -REVIEW OF WORK IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE 

 DEPARTMENTS. 



FINANCE, PROPERTY, SUPPLIES AND ACCOUNTS. 



Ill Appendix VIII will be found a statement showing the amount of 

 tlie appropriations for the present fiscal year, the disbursements during- 

 the same period, and the balance available June 30, 1897, for the pur- 

 j)ose of meeting outstanding liabilities. 



The following remarks are quoted from the report for the current fis- 

 cal year, submitted by Mr. J. L. Willige, acting chief clerk : 



On January 27 Mr. W. V. Cox was designated by the Secretary as special repre- 

 sentative at Nashville of Dr. True, representative of the Institution and the Museum 

 on the board of management of the Government exhibit at the Tennessee Centen- 

 nial Exposition. It is probable that he will remain in Nashville almost continuously 

 until the close of the exposition. 



On the 2d of February Mr. J. L. Willige was, upon the recommendation of the 

 acting assistant secretary, designated acting chief clerk, and on the 12th of the 

 mouth assumed charge of tlie office. 



There has been a considerable increase in the work of the office in certain direc- 

 tions. In addition to the preparation of financial statements and other information 

 required in regular course, the following classes of routine work may be particular- 

 ized: More than 1,600 orders for the purchase of supplies and the performance of 

 services have been issued on approved requisitions (an increase of approximately 

 200 over the preceding year) ; nearly 1.200 inside requisitions have been registered on 

 account of supplies furnished from the stock in the property clerk's office, and 

 services performed by the regular employees of the Museum ; record has been kept 

 of requisitions for articles of furniture and fixtures already made and in stock ; 

 approximately 900 vouchers have been examined and certified to the disbursing 

 clerk for payment, and more than 1,500 pages of letters and memoranda have been 

 coiiied in the letter-jiress books. 



The participation of the Institution and its dependencies in the Tennessee Cen- 

 tennial Exposition, which opened at Nashville on the 1st day of May and will con- 

 tinue until the 31st of October next, devolved a considerable amount of extra work 

 u^iou the office. The work has been accomplished, however, without additional 

 clerical service. There were issued on account of the Exposition 211 orders for the 

 purchase of specimens and material and for the performance of special services; 

 375 pages of letters were written, and 126 vouchers, aggregating in payments 

 $11,041.42, were prepared, in addition to statements of expenditures and liabilities, 

 showing the condition of the allotment from time to time. 



The placing of the several dependencies of the Institution within the limitations 

 of the civil-service law necessitates additional records and correspondence, and 233 

 reports and letters written are chargeable to this account. 



An elaborate statement, in tabulated form, has been prepared, showing the amounts 

 appropriated by Congress for the support of the bureaus under the direction of the 

 Institution, and the aid rendered from the .Smithsonian fund and other sources, from 

 the date of the Wilkee exploring expedition in 1836 down to the present year. 



