Relation of the Federal Government to Research 



89 



peiise for each of the particular activities carried on 

 within it, which would clearly be an imiiracticable 

 straining afler completeness. 



A particular case, however, is involved in such co- 

 ordinating boards or agencies as the Central Statis- 

 tical Board and the Federal Board of Survej'S and 

 Maps, whose work is practically confined to dealing 

 with research agencies in the Federal Government. 

 From the point of view just stated, it might be con- 

 tended that all of such an agency's work is research 

 because it is in the nature of an overhead expense for 

 the research work coordinated. This position does not 

 seem as tenable as that expressed in the rule for this 

 study, viz., that allocation of overhead expenditures 

 stops within each bureau or agency, excepting for 

 specific allocations from dejaartments. 



Although overhead expenditures have been omitted 

 that might be logically included, it can be said on the 

 other hand that prorating overhead expenditures 

 within a single agency on the basis of the relative ex- 

 penditures for research and nonresearch activities, 

 overstates the amount of general administrative ex- 

 pense allocable to research that would probably result 

 from a meticulous cost-accounting analysis. Research 

 activities, especially those of the "higher" order involv- 

 ing planning of studies, development of methods, and 

 critical analysis of results, require less general admin- 

 istration, and inteinal personnel, legal and informa- 

 tional services, etc., than do such activities as regula- 

 tion, iDromotion, or other operating functions dealing 

 directly w'ith the public. Hence the results of pro- 

 rating the unallocable overhead of an agency between 

 research and other activities on the basis of relative 

 expendituies may partly or wholly compensate for any 

 omission of overhead allocable to research from de- 

 partments or the general governmental organization. 



Contingent Expenses, Travel, and Printing 



Wlien co)itingent expenses, travel, and printing are 

 appropriated in lump sums for the department as a 

 whole, the department usually allocates the depart- 

 mental appropriations to the bureaus according to a 

 schedule that is made public in the budget volume. 

 When the amounts applicable to the research activities 

 of the bureau were not obvious on the basis of pub- 

 lished data, the proper amounts were obtained from the 

 budget officer of the bureau concerned. If the appro- 

 priations for these expenses were received directly by 

 the bureaus, whether separately or as part of other ap- 

 propriations, they were accounted for in the same way 

 as in the case of any other direct appropriation to the 

 bureau. 



122999—39 7 



Libraries 



Government libraries and library appropriations 

 have various relationships to their operating agencies. 

 In some cases a library has its own appropriation para- 

 graph ; in other cases it is included as part of a single 

 departmental or bureau paragraph; and in still other 

 cases the library receives funds from several different 

 and nominally unrelated appropriations. Since li- 

 braries are of interest in this study solely as aids to 

 research, no attempt was made to report library ex- 

 penditiu'es completely, nor to segregate expenditures 

 for libraries if (he library or a proportional part of its 

 disbursements were reported as part of the other I'c- 

 search activities of the agency. 



In the case of the Library of Congress and a few 

 other libraries, and the analogous case of The Na- 

 tional Archives, the amounts reported, representing 

 operating expenditures for activities that may aid re- 

 search, could not be allocated between the natural 

 sciences and the social sciences, and hence are included 

 in the tables under the caption "Library and other aids 

 to research." 



Surveys and Maps 



Surveys and maps include not only mapping and 

 surveys leading to mapping but also surveys for inven- 

 tory purposes. However, cadastral surveying is ex- 

 cluded. Preparation of maps from the maps or data 

 of other agencies has been included whenever reported. 



Land and Buildings 



The cost of acquisition of land and buildings for re- 

 search purposes have been excluded from tables show- 

 ing operating research expenditures after deducting 

 grants and contributions ; but such costs have been in- 

 cluded along with grants and contributions in tables 

 showing grand total research expenditures of all 

 kinds. The total amount of obligations, however, for 

 land and buildings for research purposes is so small as 

 to be negligible. 



Estimates of Emergency Expenditures 



Consolidated estimates were compiled for research 

 expenditures from various emergency funds, on the 

 basis of information obtained from the Works Prog- 

 ress Administration, the Office of the Commissioner of 

 Accounts and Deposits of the Treasury Department, 

 and budget officers of several agencies, in addition to 

 the published sources listed in the first section of the 

 Appendix. The more comprehensive data on research 

 expenditures from emergency funds jjrepared for this 

 study are summarized below. Data for table A w-ere 

 compiled by the Treasury Department and for table 

 B by the Works Progress Administration. 



