Appendix III. 



REPOET ON THE OPERATIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE 

 SERVICE FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1898. 



Sir : I have the honor to suhmit the report of the International Exchange Service 

 for the year ending June 30, 1898. 



In response to your request that the report shall hegiu with the following state- 

 ments— 



1. The amount, kinds, and classes of property helouging to the Exchanges; 



2. The amount of such property acquired during the twelve months covered hy 

 the report; 



3. The extent and kind of improvements made in the huilding and grounds during 

 the past year, and the estimated cost; 



4. The extent and character of the losses of property, and the origin and causes; 

 I have the honor to say that the property belonging to the Internationa] Exchanges 



is contained in six rooms in the basement of the Smithsonian building. The furni- 

 ture and fixtures consist of desks, sorting tables, racks, and bins for the assembling 

 and classification of exchanges, the usual appliances of a well-equipped office, a type- 

 writer, shelves for directories and reference books, and several tiling cases for sys- 

 tematically arranging all invoices, letters, and the card record of exchange corre- 

 spondents. This record contains a complete debit and credit exchange account with 

 all persons or institutions corresponding with the service wherever located, and at 

 present embraces the names, addresses, and records of all packages sent to or received 

 from 30,000 correspondents. 



Aside from the office equipment above mentioned, it is necessary to constantly 

 carry in stock from 100 to 300 packing boxes, used for the shipment of exchanges 

 abroad, wrapping paper, twine of various sizes, nails and screws in quantity, from 

 40,000 to 60,000 manila envelopes of various sizes and weights for inclosing books 

 and pamphlets, a large supply of printed cards for indexing, cataloguing, and for 

 the acknowledgments of exchanges, both foreign and domestic. 



The office furniture and fixtures represent an original expenditure of about $1,800, 

 and, taking into account the depreciation resultant from use, are at present valued 

 at $1,200. The cost of stationery and supplies on hand averages about $500. 



During the twelve months ending June 30, 1898, the cost of materials purchased 

 from the Congressional appropriation for that year aggregated $938.48 and from 

 repayments $1,177.79. 



The premises occupied by the exchange service are the property of the Smithsonian 

 Institution and are assigned gratuitously to the exclusive use of the International 

 Exchange Service, together with repairs, which are made by the Institution as they 

 become necessary. 



I am pleased to report that during the past year there have been no losses of 

 property and no damages beyond those due to the results of constant use. 



Concerning the operation of the service during the year, I have the honor to report 

 that the total number of packages from all sources handled was 84,208, representing 

 an increase of 3,046 in number and nearly 22 per cent in weight over the exchange 

 shipments of the previous year. Of this number, 58,640 packages originated in the 

 United States and were forwarded to 93 foreign countries, while the remainder were 

 received from 40 different countries abroad for distribution in the United States. 



49 

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