SECRETARY’S REPORT HW bE 
1958 
January 27. The United States Department of Agriculture held a meeting 
of the Rural Electrification Agency, Southern Region, 
Telephone Program. Attendance, 125. 
January 28. The United States Department of Agriculture held a meeting 
of the Secretary’s Offices, Farmers Union Meeting. At- 
tendance, 151. 
Four other meetings were held in the Freer Gallery of Art building 
as follows: 
1957 
September 23. Board of Governors of the Washington Society of the Archaeo- 
logical Institute of America met in the library. Attend- 
ance, 7. 
December 14. Far Eastern Ceramic Group met in the library. Attendance, 
25. 
1958 
May 14. Board of Governors of the Washington Society of the Archaeo- 
logical Institute of America met in the library. At- 
tendance, 6. 
June 4, Through the Department of Commerce, National Bureau of 
Standards, it was arranged to have the Freer Gallery of 
Art open the evening of June 4, 8:30 to 10:30 P.M., to 
members of the Sugar Refinery Congress. Docent service 
was given by Harold P. Stern and James F. Cahill. At- 
tendance, 46. 
STAFF ACTIVITIES 
The work of the staff members has been devoted to the study of new 
accessions, of objects contemplated for purchase, and of objects sub- 
mitted for examination, as well as to individual research projects in 
the fields represented by the collections of Chinese, Japanese, Persian, 
Arabic, and Indian materials. Reports, oral and written, and ex- 
clusive of those made by the technical laboratory (listed below), 
were made on 4,049 objects as follows: For private individuals, 
2,538; for dealers, 1,067; for other museums, 444. In all, 863 photo- 
graphs were examined, and 471 Oriental language inscriptions were 
translated for outside individuals and institutions. By request, 19 
groups totaling 453 persons met in the exhibition galleries for docent 
service by staff members. 
Three groups totaling 41 persons were given docent service by 
staff members in the storage rooms. 
Among the visitors were 84 distinguished foreign scholars or per- 
sons holding official positions in their own countries who came here 
under the auspices of the State Department to study museum ad- 
ministration and practices in this country. 
In the technical laboratory 130 objects from the Freer Collections 
and 69 from outside sources were examined. The following projects 
were begun: 
