- 3 - 
While the retirement of superannuated employees 
passed the House with hardly a word of discussion and without 
giving the President power to continue special cases, there 
has lately been a great deal in the papers on this subject and 
I think a decided fight will be made before the Senate 
Committee. It has been suggested in the newspapers that the 
Senators will be a little bit more lenient in view of the fact 
\ 
that they are older and thus can come nearer to appreciating 
just how it feels. 
The Independent Offices Bill is just where it was 
when you left. Apparently, some of the leading lights on the 
Committee are also on the Economy Committee and they are trying 
to formulate some general plan that can be used on all of the 
bills. Agriculture is still being held where it was, reported 
out of conference but no action by either the Senate or the 
House on the conference report. At the present time. Interior 
is the only bill that has come through, and they took the 10 
per cent cut and really some extra, since they had already been 
cut by the Budget and the House. 
Adjournment by the 10th is planned and the House has 
indicated that it can get through by June 4, .but I do not know 
how the Senate can possibly do their work unless they pass a 
lot of bills without any debate at all. They are working on 
the Revenue Bill at the present time and should pass it within 
a couple of days, but since it will differ rather radically 
from the House Bill, it seems to me that it will take Some 
little time to iron out differences. The general prospects 
as to Congress adjourning or recessing is undoubtedly carried in 
papers you are reading so you can make about as good a guess at 
it as we can. 
The Plan of Operations for Furniture and Fixtures has 
been completed. This was worked up on a basis of $38,340> 
last year’s figures and the main headings run a.s follows - 
Exhibition cases----- $8,411 
Storage cases - - ____ 17,849 
Glass Jars and Vials --- 1,323 
Pasteboard Boxes and Trays - - - 2,345 
Office and Laboratory Furniture - 5>385 
Emergency Reserve 3,020 
I had intended to cut out all exhibition cases, but such a move 
would practically have cut Arts and Industries out of the pic¬ 
ture altogether. Most of the exhibition cases go to Engineering 
and Graphic Arts, a few to Textiles, with none for Biology and 
