Prof. S. W. Stratton has been at the head of the Bureau since its organization in 1901. The use of the facilities of the Bureau of Standards for research and study by scientific investigators and students of any institution of higher education is granted by law (31 Stat., 1039) and resolution of April 12, 1892. (See page 153.) Functions of Bureau. Mar. 3, 1901. reau shall serve. Sec. 3. The Office of Standard Weights and Measures shall hereafter be known as the Bureau of Standards." The functions of the bureau shall consist in the custody of the standards; the comparison of the standards used in scientific investigations, engineering, manufacturing, commerce, and educational 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 determination of physical constants and the properties of materials, when such data are of great importance to scientific or manufacturing interests and are not to be obtained of sufficient accuracy elsewhere. Whom the Bu- 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 institution, firm, corporation, or individual within the United States engaged in manufacturing or other pursuits requiring the use of standards or standard measuring instruments. All requests for the services of the bureau shall be made in accordance with the rules and regulations herein established. of Personnel Bureau and sal aries. Sec. 4. The officers and employees of the bureau shall consist of a director, at an annual salary of five thousand dollars; one physicist, at an annual salary of three thousand five hundred dollars; one chemist, at an annual salary of three thousand five hundred dollars; two assistant physicists or chemists, each at an annual salary of two thousand two hundred dollars; one laboratory assistant, at an annual salary of one thousand four hundred dollars; one laboratory assistant, at an annual salary of one thousand two hundred dollars; one secretary, at an annual salary of two thousand dollars; one clerk, at an annual salary of one thousand two hundred dollars; one messenger, at an annual salary of seven hundred and twenty dollars; one engineer, at an annual salary "Name adopted July 1, 1903. of one thousand five hundred dollars; one mechanician, at an annual salary of one thousand four hundred dollars; one watchman, at an annual salary of seven hundred and twenty dollars, and one laborer, at an annual salary of six hundred dollars." Sec. 5. The director shall be appointed by the President, by The Director how appointed; and with the advice and consent of the Senate. He duties. shall have the general supervision of the bureau, its equipment, and the exercise of its functions. He shall make an annual report to the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, 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. Sec. 6. The officers and employees provided for by this Act, Appointments. except the director, shall be appointed by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, at such time as their respective services may become necessary. items. Sec. 7. The following sums of money are hereby appropriated: Appropriation * * * toward the erection 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 three hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars,' one hundred thousand dollars; for equipment of said laboratory, the sum of ten thousand dollars; for a site for said laboratory, to be approved by the visiting committee hereinafter provided. for and purchased by the Secretary of the Treasury, the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary; expenses of the visiting committee, and contingencies of all kinds, the sum of five thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, to be expended under the supervision of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor. * * * For all comparisons, calibrations, tests, or investigations, except those performed for the Government of the United States or State governments within the United States, a reasonable fee shall be charged, according to a schedule submitted by the director and approved by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor. fee is When fee charged. of and Labor to make Sec. 9. The Secretary of Commerce and Labor shall, from secretary time to time, make regulations regarding the payment of Caree fees, the limits of tolerance to be attained in standards regulations. submitted for verification, the sealing of standards, the disbursement and receipt of moneys, and such other matters as he may deem necessary for earrying this Act into effect. There shall be a visiting committee of five members, to be appointed by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, Appropriation act of April 28, 1902, increased the number of employees to 28, and act of February 25, 1903, increased the number to 58. Act of June 6, 1902. 27628-04-27 Visiting mittee. com to consist of men prominent in the various interests involved, and not in the employ of the Government. This committee shall visit the bureau at least once a year, and report to the Secretary of Commerce and Labor upon the efficiency of its scientific work and the condition of its equipment. The members of this committee shall serve without compensation, but shall be paid the actual expenses incurred in attending its meetings. The period of service of the members of the original committee shall be so arranged that one member shall retire each year, and the appointments thereafter to be for a period of five years. Appointments made to fill vacancies occurring other than in the regular manner are to be made for the remainder of the period in which the vacancy exists. CHAPTER XVI LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF SENATE BILL NO. 569-AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE [AND LABOR] [Fifty-seventh Congress.] PART I PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE On December 4, 1901, Senator Nelson introduced in the Senate a bill (Senate No. 569) "To establish the Department of Commerce;" it was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce; on January 9, 1902, it was reported by Mr. Nelson, with certain amendments; January 22, 1902, the bill was ordered printed, as agreed to in Committee of the Whole, and at this period of its progress it read as follows: A BILL to establish the Department of Commerce. [Omit the matter in small type and insert the part printed in italics.] Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there shall be at the seat of government an executive department to be known as the Department of Commerce, and a Secretary of Commerce, who shall be the head thereof, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, who shall receive a salary of eight thousand dollars per annum, and whose term and tenure office shall be like that of the heads of the other Executive Departments; and section one hundred and fifty-eight of the Revised Statutes is hereby amended to include such Department, and the provisions of title four of the Revised Statutes, including all amendments thereto, are hereby made applicable to said Department. SEC. 2. That there shall be in said Department an Assistant Secretary of Commerce, to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, who shall receive a salary of four thousand dollars a year. He shall perform such duties as shall be prescribed by the Secretary or required by law. There shall also be one chief clerk and a disbursing clerk, and such other clerical assistants as may from time to time be authorized by Congress, and the Auditor for the State and other departments shall receive all accounts accruing in or relative to the Department of Commerce and examine the same, and thereafter certify the balance and transmit the accounts, with the vouchers and certificate, to the Comptroller of the Treasury for his decision theron. 419 SEC. 3. That it shall be the province and duty of said Department to foster, promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce, the mining, manufacturing, shipping, and fishery industries, the labor interests, and the transportation facilities of the United States; and to this end it shall be vested with jurisdiction and control of the departments, bureaus, offices, and branches of the public service hereinafter specified, and with such other powers and duties as may be prescribed by law. SEC. 4. That the following-named offices, bureaus, divisions, and branches of the public service, now and heretofore under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Treasury, and all that pertains to the same, known as the Life-Saving Service, the Light-House Board, and the Light-House Service, the Marine-Hospital Service, the SteamboatInspection Service, the Bureau of Navigation and the United States Shipping Commissioners, the Bureau of Immigration, and the Bureau of Statistics, be, and the same hereby are, transferred from the Department of the Treasury to the Department of Commerce, and the same shall hereafter remain under the jurisdiction and supervision of the last-named Department; and that the Census Office, the Patent Office, and all that pertains to the same, be, and the same hereby are, transferred from the Department of the Interior to the Department of Commerce, to remain henceforth under the jurisdiction of the latter; that [the Department of Labor,"] and the office of Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, and all that pertains to the same, be, and the same hereby are, placed under the jurisdiction and made a part of the Department of Commerce; that the Bureau of Foreign Commerce, now in the Department of State, be, and the same hereby is, transferred to the Department of Commerce and consolidated with and made a part of the Bureau of Statistics, herein before transferred from the Department of the Treasury to the Department of Commerce, and the chief of said Bureau of Foreign Commerce shall be the assistant chief of the said Bureau of Statistics; and the two shall constitute one bureau, to be called the Bureau of Statistics, with a chief of the Bureau and one assistant [and it shall be the duty of said Bureau, under the direction of the Secretary, in addition to the duties now prescribed by law, to gather, compile, classify, and publish statistical information showing the condition of the foreign and domestic commerce, of the mining, manufacturing, shipping, and fishery industries, and of the transportation facilities of the United States "). That the official records and papers now on file in and pertaining exclusively to the business of any bureau, office, department, or branch of the public service in this act transferred to the Department of Commerce, together with the furniture now in use in such bureau, office, department, or branch of the public service, shall be, and hereby are, transferred to the Department of Commerce. SEC. 5. That there shall be in the Department of Commerce a bureau to be called the Bureau of Manufactures, and a chief of said Bureau, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and who shall receive a salary of three thousand dollars per annum. There shall also be in said Bureau one chief clerk and such other clerical assistants as may from time to time be authorized by Congress. It shall be the province and duty of said Bureau, under the direction of the Secretary, to foster, promote, and develop the various manufacturing industries of the United States and markets a Pending. |