﻿EEPOET 
  OF 
  THE 
  SECEETARY 
  

  

  81 
  

  

  Last 
  year 
  43,783 
  packages 
  were 
  received 
  from 
  abroricl, 
  a 
  substantial 
  

   gain 
  over 
  the 
  previous 
  year 
  in 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  packages 
  received 
  from 
  

   foreign 
  countries. 
  During 
  the 
  past 
  12 
  months, 
  as 
  shown 
  in 
  the 
  

   above 
  table,, 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  further 
  gain 
  in 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  packages 
  

   received 
  from 
  abroad. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Vittorio 
  Benedetti, 
  chief 
  of 
  the 
  Italian 
  exchange 
  office 
  in 
  

   Rome 
  for 
  the 
  past 
  13 
  j^ears, 
  severed 
  his 
  connection 
  with 
  that 
  office 
  

   on 
  June 
  30, 
  1926, 
  and 
  was 
  succeeded 
  by 
  Dr. 
  Guglielmo 
  Passigli, 
  

   who 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  librarians 
  of 
  the 
  Victor 
  Emanuel 
  National 
  Library, 
  

   under 
  tlie 
  direction 
  of 
  which 
  the 
  Italian 
  exchange 
  office 
  is 
  conducted. 
  

   Dr. 
  Passigli 
  has 
  been 
  succeeded 
  since 
  by 
  Dr. 
  Vincenzo 
  Fago 
  as 
  

   director 
  of 
  the 
  Italian 
  exchange 
  office. 
  The 
  Institution 
  desires 
  to 
  

   record 
  here 
  its 
  appreciation 
  of 
  the 
  valuable 
  services 
  rendered 
  the 
  

   Smithsonian 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Benedetti, 
  not 
  only 
  in 
  his 
  regular 
  duties 
  as 
  

   chief 
  of 
  the 
  exchange 
  office, 
  but 
  in 
  his 
  painstaking 
  efforts 
  to 
  procure 
  

   copies 
  of 
  Italian 
  official 
  publications 
  for 
  the 
  Library 
  of 
  Congress 
  

   in 
  exchange 
  for 
  the 
  full 
  series 
  of 
  United 
  States 
  governmental 
  docu- 
  

   ments 
  sent 
  to 
  Ital3^ 
  To 
  what 
  extent 
  the 
  services 
  of 
  Mr. 
  Benedetti 
  

   were 
  valued 
  by 
  correspondents 
  in 
  his 
  own 
  country 
  may 
  be 
  inferred 
  

   from 
  the 
  following 
  extract 
  from 
  a 
  letter 
  addressed 
  to 
  Mr. 
  Benedetti 
  

   by 
  an 
  official 
  of 
  the 
  Library 
  of 
  American 
  Studies 
  in 
  Italy 
  : 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  with 
  keen 
  regret 
  that 
  I 
  learn 
  that 
  you 
  have 
  left 
  the 
  exchange 
  office 
  where 
  

   for 
  so 
  many 
  years 
  j'ou 
  have 
  rendered 
  such 
  courteous 
  and 
  efficient 
  service 
  in 
  

   promoting 
  close 
  intellectual 
  relations 
  between 
  Italy 
  and 
  other 
  countries. 
  The 
  

   Library 
  of 
  American 
  Studies 
  found 
  in 
  you 
  a 
  sincere 
  friend 
  and 
  your 
  counsel 
  

   was 
  most 
  helpful 
  to 
  us 
  when 
  our 
  organization 
  was 
  in 
  its 
  formative 
  period. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Benedetti's 
  interest 
  in 
  the 
  exchange 
  service 
  at 
  large 
  was 
  so 
  

   great 
  that 
  shortly 
  after 
  his 
  appointment 
  as 
  chief 
  of 
  the 
  Italian 
  Office 
  

   of 
  International 
  Exchanges 
  he 
  made 
  a 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  origin 
  and 
  de- 
  

   velopment 
  of 
  the 
  exchanges 
  and 
  wrote 
  an 
  account 
  thereof, 
  a 
  copy 
  of 
  

   the 
  manuscript 
  of 
  which 
  he 
  presented 
  to 
  the 
  Institution. 
  So 
  far 
  as 
  

  

  