62 ANNUAL EEPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1915. 



Of the 1,653 boxes used in forwarding exchanges to foreign agen- 

 cies for distribution, 220 contained full sets of United States official 

 documents for authorized depositories and 1,433 were filled with 

 departmental and other publications for depositories of partial sets 

 and for miscellaneous correspondents. The total number of boxes 

 sent abroad during 1915 was 812 less than the preceding year. This 

 decrease was due to the suspended shipments to certain countries 

 owing to the inability of the Institution to secure transportation 

 facilities for forwarding consignments to the various exchange agen- 

 cies, which condition has been brought about by the European war. 



Owing to the disturbed conditions which existed in Europe and the 

 interruption to transportation facilities, shipments to all European 

 countries were suspended during August and a part of September, 

 1914. On September 17 transmissions were resumed to Great Brit- 

 ain, and during the month of October to Denmark, Holland, Italy, 

 Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden. Through the courtesy of the 

 minister of the Netherlands at Washington, arrangements were made 

 to send consignments to Switzerland by way of Rotterdam, and 

 transmissions to that country were resumed on November 2. On 

 December 8 shipments were resumed to Greece, and on January 23 

 to France. At the close of the fiscal year, therefore, the only coun- 

 tries to which shipments were not being made were Austria, Belgium, 

 Bulgaria, German}^, Hungary, Montenegro, Roumania, Russia, Ser- 

 bia, and Turkey. Steps are being taken through the Department of 

 State to send exchanges for Germany to the American consul general 

 at Rotterdam for reforwarding to the German exchange agency in 

 Berlin, and it is hoped that the exchange of publications with Germany 

 will be resumed at an early date. Through the assistance of the De- 

 partment of State, arrangements have also been made for the for- 

 warding of exchange consignments from Germany to the United 

 States through the American consul general at Rotterdam. 



The Russian Commission of International Exchanges was ap- 

 proached with a view to sending exchange consignments to Petrograd 

 by way of Archangel during the summer months, but the commis- 

 sion replied that, as the route in question presents so many difficul- 

 ties and is so encumbered, it would prefer not to make use of it, and 

 not to renew the sendings until after the conclusion of peace and the 

 reestablishment of the regular communications. 



The number of boxes sent to each foreign country and the dates 

 of transmission are shown in the following table : 



