EEPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 67 



the Dutch scientific bureau for 18 years, during which time the inter- 

 change of publications between the Netherlands and the United 

 States was conducted in a most efficient manner, and I desire to 

 record here the Institution's appreciation of his services in promoting 

 the interchange of publications between the Netherlands and the 

 United States. 



The National Committee of the United States for the Restoration 

 of the University of Louvain in Belgium, which work is being con- 

 ducted under the direction of Dr. Herbert Putnam, Librarian of Con- 

 gress, collected and sent to the Institution for transmission to that 

 university up to March, 1920, over 12,000 publfcations. The forward- 

 ing of these publications required 102 boxes, measuring 767 cubic 

 feet and weighing 25,423 pounds. That shipment was the largest 

 single consignment ever forwarded through the Exchange Service 

 to any address at one time. It was greater than the combined bulk 

 of the shipments sent abroad during the entire year 1871. The Insti- 

 tution is still receiving books for the University of Louvain, and these 

 will be forwarded at a subsequent date. 



Occasionally complaints are received from foreign correspondents 

 that transportation charges .are made on packages sent to them 

 through exchange channels. Such a complaint was recently received 

 from an Egyptian correspondent. The subject was taken up with 

 the Government Publications Office at Cairo — the Egyptian Exchange 

 Agency — which replied that henceforth that office would deliver all 

 packages under Government frank free of expense to the recipients. 

 This action on the part of the Government Publications Office is very 

 gratifying, as one of the principaF provisions of the Brussels Ex- 

 change Convention of 1886 would be defeated if any transportation 

 charges were exacted from consignees. While not all countries were 

 parties to that convention, most of them adhere to its provisions. 

 I may add in this connection that packages received from abroad for 

 distribution through the Smithsonian Exchange Service are sent to 

 their destinations by mail under Government frank. 



During the latter part of the year a letter was received from the 

 Victorian Exchange Agency stating that the 16 boxes (Nos. 852-863, 

 9739-9740, 9794-9795) sent in its care under date of December 29, 

 1919, were lost at sea when the steamship Marne was wrecked off the 

 coast of Panama. Four of these boxes contained the regular series 

 of United States governmental documents for deposit in the public 

 library of Victoria and in the library of the Commonwealth Parlia- 

 ment. Duplicate copies of these publications were forwarded to take 

 the place of those lost. The contents of two of the boxes were for the 

 Commonwealth War Memorials Library, and the Library of Con- 

 gress, the sender, has taken steps to duplicate the material. The re- 

 maining 10 boxes contained miscellaneous publications for various 



