CORRESPONDENCE, RECORDS, SUPPLIES, SHIPMENTS. 17 
This section is that part of the administrative branch in which the 
official mail of the Survey, including also the money mail, is opened, 
registered, and distributed to the several branches, divisions, and sec- 
tions for attention, and through which a large part of the outgoing 
mail is dispatched. In it the roster of the Survey is kept and all busi- 
ness relating to appointments, promotions, transfers, and other changes 
is conducted, as is all business pertaining to the attendance of employees. 
It also has charge of the property accounting, of the custody and issue 
of stationery, of the purchase and distribution of miscellaneous sup- 
plies, and of express and freight shipments. 
All letters received by the Survey are stamped with date and serial 
number. Letters without contents are recorded by the card-catalogue 
system, while money letters are registered by book system. The mail 
is then distributed to the various divisions and sections of the office for 
official action. When answered or otherwise disposed of, letters that 
relate to the business of the adminstrative branch are filed in this sec- 
tion, together with carbon copies of the answers; but letters pertaining 
to the internal administration of other branches are filed in the divi- 
sions to which they pertain. 
At the appointment desk all business relating to appointments, sepa- 
ations, etc., is attended to. The Survey's pf£l'fiL..nent working force, 
now numbering about 700, is being steadily augmented, and between 
700 and 800 changes of one kind or another were made during the 
fiscal year 1902-3. This work involves much correspondence with 
the Secretary of the Interior, the Civil Service Commission, and appli- 
cants for empktyment, and the keeping of a full system of records. 
At the appointment desk is also kept a record of the attendance of em- 
ployees and of applications for annual or sick leave or leave without pay. 
From the purchase vouchers the property clerk abstracts all non- 
expendable property and transmits the abstract to the several sub- 
custodians. On its return a consolidated abstract is compiled, which 
shows the entire responsibility and purchase of nonexpendable prop- 
erty in the field. This abstract is transmitted to the custodian, who in 
turn receipts to the Director. At the expiration of the quarter, pur- 
chases as shown on the consolidated reports are inserted in a property 
return. 
For all open-market purchases made in the District of Columbia the 
written authority of the Secretary of the Interior is required. The 
obtaining of these authorizations, the making of requisitions for the 
supplies, and the checking of the bills constitute another branch of the 
work of this section. All stationery used by the Survey in field and 
office is likewise procured through and issued from this section. 
The shipment and receipt of supplies, field material, etc., by freight 
and express, and the registering of mail and handling of incoming 
registered mail are also parts of the work of this section. 
Bull. 227—04 2 
