474 
except a registration fee of two dollars for 
those desiring university credit. The probable 
expense for the two months, excluding railway 
fare, will be about fifty dollars. 
CHARLES E. BESSEY. 
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA. 
THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS. 
THE bill establishing a National Bureau of 
Standards which, as we have already noted, was 
passed by Congress at the end of the session 
is as follows: 
Be it enacted, etc., That the Office of Standard 
Weights and Measures shall hereafter be known as 
the National Bureau of Standards. 
SECTION 2. That the functions of the bureau shall 
consist in the custody of the standards; the compari- 
son of the standards used in scientific investigations, 
engineering, manufacturing, commerce, and educa- 
tional institutions with the standards adopted or 
recognized by the government; the construction, 
when necessary, of standards, their multiples and 
subdivisions ; the testing and calibration of standard - 
measuring apparatus ; the solution of problems which 
arise in connection with standards; the determina- 
tion of physical constants and the properties of ma- 
terials, when such data are of great importance to 
scientific or manufacturing interests and are not to be 
obtained of sufficient accuracy elsewhere. 
Sec. 3. That the bureau shall exercise its functions 
for the Government of the United States; for any 
State or municipal government within the United 
States ; or for any scientific society, educational in- 
stitution, firm, corporation, or individual within the 
United States engaged in manufacturing or other pur- 
suits requiring the use of standards or standard meas- 
uring instruments. All requests for the services of 
the bureau shall be made in accordance with the rules 
and regulations herein established. 
Sec. 4. That the officers and employees of the 
bureau shall consist of a director, at an annual sal- 
ary of $5,000; 1 physicist, at an annual salary of 
$3,500 ; 1 chemist, at an annual salary of $3,500; 2 
assistant physicists or chemists, each ab an annual 
salary of $2,200; 1 laboratory assistant, at an annual 
salary of $1,400 ; 1 laboratory assistant, at an annual 
salary of $1,200 ; 1 secretary, at an annual salary of 
$2,000 ; 1 clerk, at an annual salary of $1,200 ; 1 mes- 
senger, at an annual salary of $720 ; 1 engineer, at an 
annual salary of $1,500 ; 1 mechanician, at an annual 
salary of $1,400; 1 watchman, at an annual salary of 
$720 ; and 1 laborer, at an annual salary of $600. 
Sgc. 5. That the director shall be appointed by the 
SCIENCE. 
(N.S. Vou. XIII. No. 325. 
President, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate. He shall have the general supervision of the 
bureau, its equipment, and the exercise of its func- 
tions. He shall make an annual report to the Sec- 
retary of the Treasury, including an abstract of the 
work done during the year and a financial statement. 
He may issue, when necessary, bulletins for public 
distribution, containing such information as may be 
of value to the public or facilitate the bureau in the 
exercise of its functions. 
Src. 6. That the officers and employees provided 
for by this Act, except the director, shall be appointed 
by the Secretary of the Treasury, at such time as 
the respective services may become necessary. 
Sec. 7. That the following sums of money are 
hereby appropriated: For the payment of salaries 
provided for by this act, the sum of $27,140, or so 
much thereof as may be necessary; toward the erec- 
tion of a suitable laboratory, of fireproof construction, 
for the use and occupation of said bureau, including 
all permanent fixtures, such as plumbing, piping, 
wiring, heating, lighting and ventilation, the entire 
cost of which shall not exceed the sum of $250,000, 
$100,000; for equipment of said laboratory, the sum 
of $10,000; for a site for said laboratory, to be ap- 
proved by the visiting committee hereinafter provided 
for and purchased by the Secretary of the Treasury, 
the sum of $25,000, or so much thereof as may be 
necessary; for the payment of the general expenses 
of said bureau, including books and periodicals, fur- 
niture, office expenses, stationery and printing, heat- 
ing and lighting, expenses of the visiting committee, 
and contingencies of all kinds, the sum of $5,000, or 
so much thereof as may be necessary, to be expended 
under the supervision of the Secretary of the Treasury. 
Sec. 8. That for all comparisons, calibrations, 
tests, or investigations, except those performed for 
the Government of the United States or State govern- 
ments within the United States, a reasonable fee 
shal] be charged, according to a schedule submitted 
by the director and approved by the Secretary of the 
Treasury. 
Sec. 9. That the Secretary of the Treasury shall, 
from time to time, make regulations regarding the 
payment of fees, the limits of tolerance to be attained 
in standards submitted for verification, the sealing of 
standards, the disbursement and receipt of moneys, 
and such other matters as he may deem necessary for 
carrying this act into effect. 
Sec. 10. That there shall be a visiting committee 
of five members, to be appointed by the Secretary of 
the Treasury, to consist of men prominent in the 
various interests invoived, and not in the employ of 
the Government. This committee shall visit the 
bureau at least once a year, and report to the Secre- 
