Appendix III. 

 REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGER. 



Sir : I have the honor to submit the following report of the operations of 

 the International Exchange Service during the year ending June 30, 1905 : 



The sj^stem for the interchange of publications between learned institutions 

 and individuals in the United States and those in other countries was inaugu- 

 rated by the Smithsonian Institution almost at the very beginning, and was 

 maintained at the expense of the private fund of the Institution exclusively 

 from 1850 to 1881, when Congress made a small appropriation to assist in the 

 work. Since that time Congressional appropriations have been made annually, 

 but at no time have they been large enough to provide for the entire expense of 

 the service, the Institution having supplied all other necessary means from its 

 private fund, with the aid of United States departments and bureaus and 

 State institutions, which have been asked to reimburse the Institution, at the 

 uniform rate of 5 cents per pound, for a part of the expense of preparing, boxing; 

 and transporting contributions.- 



The number of packages dispatched during the year was greater than ever 

 before, and, as a record of every package is required, the work has been 

 considerably augmented, but there has been no increase in the clerical force. 



The offices occupied by the Exchange Service, consisting of five rooms, are in 

 the southeast basement of the Smithsonian building, and are equipped with the 

 necessary folding and sorting tables, bins, file cases, desks, etc. In addition to 

 the customary supplies for general clerical employment, the service requires 

 large quantities of cards, labels, and printed forms. The supplies for packing 

 and shipping are considerable, and so far as practicable are obtained under 

 annual contract. 



On May 1, 1905, the Institution was informed that the steamship Buteshire, 

 which sailed from New York on November 26, 1904, was subject to general 

 average adjustment on account of fire in the hold of the vessel during the 

 voyage. Twelve cases of international exchanges destined for Australian ports 

 formed a part of the cargo, and in the event that the contents of any of these 

 cases prove to be irreparably damaged they will be replaced by duplicate 

 volumes, if practicable. 



The following tabular statement shows the weight and number of packages 

 transmitted each month during the year, and also the increase over the previous 

 twelve months in each class of correspondents. The second table is a statement 

 of exchange transmissions during each year since 189S. 



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