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24 rolls, or about 1,830 pounds, of 9-inch paper for use in sending out miscellaneous publications.

63 rolls, or about 4,320 pounds, of 113-inch paper for use in sending out the Monthly Summary of Commerce and Finance, and similar publications. 40 solid-back cases 4 feet wide by 5 feet high by 19 inches deep, together with 30 bases 4 feet wide by 4 inches high by 19 inches deep. 20 solid-back cases 5 feet wide by 5 feet high by 19 with 10 bases 5 feet wide by 4 inches high by 19 1 barrel (33 gallons) and part of another barrel (15 gallons) stiff white paste for use in sealing wrappers.

inches deep, together inches deep.

10,000 metal protectors for book corners (item 1428, General Supply Committee's Schedule) for use in protecting in the mails the corners of bound publications.

1 long-handle ladle for paste.

13,900 tags, in pads of 100 each, for mail bags.

97,186 paper stencils, and 151 tin trays for holding the same, for 61 regular mailing lists.

Also there were transferred from the Bureau of Standards 1 Elliott addressing machine, old style, with stand; and from the Bureau of Fisheries 1 Addressograph addressing machine, Model A, No. 1109, mounted on a 27-drawer cabinet; 1,584 four-line type holders containing obsolete addresses; 112 four-line type holders without addresses; and 2 boxes of assorted rubber type.

The employments in the Division of Publications dispensed with in accordance with the provision of law quoted above were 6 in number with salaries aggregating $3,820, as follows: 1 clerk, at $1,000 per annum; 1 assistant messenger, at $720 per annum; 1 laborer, at $660 per annum, and 3 laborers, at $480 each per annum.

Also 1 clerk at $900 was dispensed with by the Bureau of the Census, making a total for the Department of 7 employees with combined salaries of $4,720.

There were also transferred to the Public Printer editions on hand of 2,557 different publications, aggregating 768,000 copies.

The new law does not relieve the Division of Publications of any of the duties incident to the distribution of publications except those of addressing wrappers in cases where stencils are provided for mailing lists and the actual labor of wrapping publications intended for public distribution. The correspondence and record keeping are in no sense decreased, but rather increased, and the work in connection with the maintenance of mailing lists as well as the writing of franks for mailing lists not provided with stencils still falls on the Division. This work is constantly increasing, as is evidenced by the large increase in the number of publications issued by the Department.

The number of publications, together with their weights, sent out by the Division of Publications during each month of the fiscal year 1912 is shown in the following table:

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The foregoing statement shows an average of more than 21,000 publications, weighing nearly 2,600 pounds, mailed each working day during the year, as against about 19,000, weighing 2,400 pounds, the previous year.

TEST OF DUPLICATING MACHINES.

During the past year the Division of Publications was called upon to conduct a test of machines designed to duplicate typewritten letters, the object of the test being to try out two of the best known machines on the market with a view to determining which of them would best serve the needs of the Department for this class of work.

To avoid unfair discrimination and to eliminate the personal equation in the conduct of the test, two inexperienced operators were employed on the machines, and these alternated on them from time to time, so that the possible greater efficiency of one or the other of the operators might not work to the advantage of either machine. The time occupied by the test was divided into two periods, the first extending from April 15 to July 10, 1912, and the second from July 15 to August 22, 1912. As was anticipated, much greater efficiency was attained by the two operators during the second period than during the first period, due to greater familiarity with the operation of the machines.

A careful record was kept during the entire test of every piece of work assigned to each machine. This record was designed to furnish data from which the actual speed of each machine could be determined, as in no other way could their relative efficiency be arrived at from a test of only a few weeks. Of course, there are other factors, such as lasting qualities, which would enter into any proper consideration of their relative merits, but a test of limited duration necessarily could not embrace those phases,

At the end of the test, the Department made a choice between the two machines which had been on trial, and established in the Division of Publications a section for duplicating work for such of the bureaus and offices of the Department as have no equipment of their own for this work.

SALES OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS.

The recommendation, made in previous annual reports, that certain classes of public documents be limited in their distribution to libraries and to persons who are willing to pay a nominal sum for them, is again renewed, as it is my strong belief that in that way principally can waste in the public printing be avoided. I do not believe that even as much as the actual cost of production should be charged for these publications, but the price should be sufficient to prevent thoughtless and often repeated requests for publications which in many cases have no special interest or value to the parties making the requests. A result of the present system is that the necessarily limited editions are often soon exhausted by demands from sources which frequently can not be benefited by the publications, while those to whom they are of interest are in many cases deprived of them. This applies particularly to many publications of this Department, though other branches of the service encounter the same situation. I believe that the head of each Department and Government establishment should be authorized by law to fix a price at which any publication issued by it shall be sold, and that the receipts from such sales should be deposited to the credit of its allotment for printing and binding. This would permit of a wise and beneficial distribution of documents and also make it possible to reprint documents where there are sufficient demands for them without the danger of exhausting the regular allotments. This plan in some form is practiced by many European governments, who long ago saw the necessity for placing reasonable restrictions on the free distribution of their reports, and it has been occasionally resorted to by our own Government, although it has not been adopted as a general policy.

OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR.

CONDENSED SUMMARY OF WORK.

The following is a condensed summary of work done by the Office of the Solicitor during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1912:

Legal opinions rendered, formal and informal (memorandum)__
Claims, injured employees' compensation act (involving examinations as
to law and facts) received by this office‒‒‒‒

577

2, 059

Contracts examined (approved, disapproved, drafted, redrafted, modified; involving expenditures amounting to $1,455,776.70).

308

Contracts examined (indeterminate amounts; fuel, supplies, etc.)-

58

Leases examined (approved, disapproved, etc.; involving expenditures amounting to $71,073.28).

64

Bonds, contract, examined (approved, disapproved, etc.; amounting to $563,287.50)

Bonds, official, examined (approved, disapproved; amounting to $308,000) – Bonds, alien immigrants, examined (approved, disapproved; amounting to $848,300).

Miscellaneous matters, embracing everything submitted for the advice or suggestion of the Solicitor, or for the formulation of departmental action, not included in the foregoing items__.

Total number of matters disposed of...

COMPENSATION TO INJURED GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.

154

76

1, 294

833

5,423

The subject of compensation to workmen for injuries received by them in the course of employment has attracted much and favorable attention in late years. The administration of the act of Congress of May 30, 1908, applying the principle of compensation to certain. employees of the United States, has constituted one of the Department's more important functions. This act was a pioneer among compensation acts in the United States. Since its enactment, 16 States have passed laws of a similar character, and this number is likely to be increased. Although the scope of the act is limited, the benefits conferred within such limits have been many and real. The legislation in question is of a type involving a decided departure from long established rules of legal liability, thus giving rise to new questions of right and obligation. In passing upon several thousand claims for compensation under the act, the questions arising for determination on legal grounds have naturally been numerous and varied, and the opinions of the Solicitor, dealing with these questions as the legal adviser of the Department, might fairly be assumed to be of some positive interest and value to those concerned with the interpretation and application of this and similar laws. These considerations, in addition to the general interest in the subject, led me to authorize the publication of the Solicitor's opinions in book form, so that the principles governing the Department in the administration of the act might be available to persons outside the Department. This collection of opinions, moreover, by marking the scope of the present law and thus indicating the cases which are not covered thereby, as well as those which are covered, is calculated to serve a useful purpose in connection with framing further legislation with a view to extending the benefits of the act. The act now applies only to artisans or laborers, and to such persons only when employed in specified branches of the public service. The fact that over 17,000 accidents were reported under the act during the first three years of its operation, whereas but about 8,000 claims were filed, suggests the need of supplementary laws.

BUREAU OF THE CENSUS.

Much the greater part of the work of the Bureau of the Census during the fiscal year has been on the tabulation and publication of the results of the Thirteenth Decennial Census. The usual annual investigations regarding statistics of cities, production and consumption of cotton, vital statistics, and forest products have been carried on, but there has been no special investigation under the authority of the permanent census act, such special investigations being intended primarily to occupy intercensus periods. The only field work which has been performed by the Bureau during the fiscal year is that with relation to statistics of cities and production and consumption of cotton.

GENERAL PROGRESS OF DECENNIAL CENSUS.

In August, 1911, the Director submitted a request for a further appropriation by Congress of $1,000,000 for the fiscal year 1912, to enable the Census Bureau to complete the Thirteenth Census work, with certain specified exceptions, by the end of that fiscal year, as required by law. In December, 1911, Congress appropriated $500,000 in response to this request. As was pointed out at the time the matter was considered by Congress, this sum was not sufficient to enable the Bureau to complete and publish the results of the decennial census by the close of the fiscal year. It was found necessary therefore to defer substantially all work with relation to the subjects of occupations, statistics cf the foreign born according to country of birth, and defective, delinquent, and dependent classes until the fiscal year 1913. These branches of the work being less advanced than any others, it was considered wisest to concentrate the use of the available funds upon other lines of work.

It was not found possible to complete entirely even the other lines of work within the fiscal year 1912, but such progress was made that it is expected that the Abstract of the Census, including the reports on all subjects except the three specified above, will be published about December 1. In the meantime, through press announcements and preliminary bulletins, practically all of the results of the Thirteenth Census have been made public except for the subjects mentioned above.

The Bureau had, prior to the close of the fiscal year 1912, issued a complete series of State bulletins giving the full results of the census

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