ill 
 
 UC-NRLF 
 

REPORT 
 
 REGARDING THH 
 
 DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 
 
 VVASTTTXGTOX: 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
 1880. 
 
V/. AC / 
 
 REPORT 
 
 REGARDING THE 
 
 DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 GOVERNMENT FEINTING OFFICE. 
 1886. 
 

 : 
 
49TH CONGRESS, ) 
 1st Session. J 
 
 SENATE. 
 
 ( Ex. Doc. 
 \ No. 165. 
 
 
 
 
 UITIVERSITY 
 
 LETTER 
 
 FROM 
 
 THE SECRETARY OF THE IK TER, 
 
 TRANSMITTING, 
 
 In response to Senate resolution of April 5, 1886, information relative t<y 
 the means and cost of distributing public documents. 
 
 JUNE 17, 1886. Referred to the Committee on Printing and ordered to be printed. 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, 
 
 Washington, June 1C, 1886. 
 
 SIR: In response to the resolution of the Senate of the 5th of 
 April 
 
 Resolved, That the Secretary of the Interior be directed to furnish to the Senate 
 the name of each person employed in receiving, folding, and distributing public doc- 
 uments, together with their compensation, and all other expenditures made on that 
 account for the fiscal years 1883, 1884, and 1885. And also to communicate to the 
 Senate such additional information or suggestions as in his judgment will be of ad- 
 vantage to Congress in the matter of legislation touching the printing and distribu- 
 tion of public documents 
 
 I have the honor to submit the following report. 
 
 The force employed in receiving', folding, and distributing public doc- 
 uments during the period above noted and compensation paid the same 
 were : 
 
 During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1883. 
 
 John G. Ames, superintendent of documents $2,000 00 
 
 John Long, clerk 1,200 00 
 
 Mrs. Mary Fuller, copyist 900 00 
 
 Mrs. Mary P. Winslow, copyist and stenographer 885 00 
 
 Miss A. H. Beals, copyist, 4 months 300 00 
 
 Miss H. S. Murray, copyist, 4 months 315 00 
 
 Miss J.W. Turner, copyist, 4| months 315 00 
 
 Mrs. M. B. Crouch, copyist, 3 mouths 265 00 
 
 John F. Ford, iu charge of folding- rooms 900 00 
 
 John K. Brown, packer 720 00 
 
 Johu Wood, packer 720 00 
 
 Henry M. Middleton, laborer, 4| months 248 33 
 
 Thomas H. Anderson, laborer, 2 months 100 00 
 
 G. McC. Fenwick, laborer, 3| months 141 60 
 
 James H. Pitts, laborer, 2f months 147 00 
 
 Cyrus B. Galhard, assistant messenger, 3 months 202 00 
 
 Pierce Lafayette, assistant messenger 720 00 
 
 During the fiscal year ending' June 30, 1884. 
 
 John G. Ames, superintendent of documents 2, 000 00 
 
 John Long, clerk 1,200 00 
 
 *Mrs. Mary Fuller, copyist 900 00 
 
 M69204 
 
2 MEANS AND COST OF DISTRIBUTING PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 
 
 .Mrs. Mary P. Winslow, stenographer and type-writer, 3 months $'225 00 
 
 Mrs. Anna L. Barr, stenographer and type- writer, 9 months 675 00 
 
 Mrs. M. B. Crouch, copyist, 13 days 31 80 
 
 Miss A. H. Bealf, copyist .' 900 00 
 
 Miss H. S. Murray, copyist 880 00 
 
 Miss J. W. Turner, copyist 900 00 
 
 Miss N. C. Crosby, copyist.fi mouths 450 00 
 
 Mrs. W. M. E. Smith, copyist, 11 months 865 00 
 
 Miss S. G. Browne, copxist, 6 months 450 00 
 
 Miss E. 15. Foote, ropyisj., .";.', months 320 00 
 
 Charles W. Chapman, copyist, 5^ mouths 3*20 00 
 
 John ( F. Ford, i.u ch ;.);; of fold ing-rooms 900 00 
 
 Johu'K. lirov/ii, packer 720 00 
 
 John Wood, packer 720 00 
 
 T. H. Anderson, laborer 660 00 
 
 G. McC. Fen wick, laborer 660 00 
 
 C. B. Galliard, laborer 660 00 
 
 J. H. Pendergrass, laboier, 11J mouths 622 95 
 
 Henry M. Middletou, laborer, 15 days 24 00 
 
 Pierce Lafayette, assistant messenger 720 00 
 
 During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1885. 
 
 John G. Ames, superintendent of documents $2,000 00 
 
 John Long, clerk 1,200 00 
 
 Mrs. Mary Fuller, copyist 900 00 
 
 Mrs. W. M.E. Smith, copyist 900 00 
 
 Mrs. Anna L. Barr, stenographer and type- writer 900 00 
 
 Miss H. S. Murray, copyist "... 900 00 
 
 Miss J. W. Turner, copyist 900 00 
 
 MissS. G. Brown, copyist 900 00 
 
 Miss L. M. Gibbs, copyist, 8 months 708 00 
 
 Miss A. H. Beals, copyist S months 60000 
 
 Miss L. J. Rav, copyist, 3 months 250 00 
 
 Miss E. B. Foote, copyist, 10 days 
 
 John F. Ford, in charge of folding-rooms , 1, 193 00 
 
 John Wood , packer 660 00 
 
 .John K. Brown, packer, 24 days 44 85 
 
 T. H. Anderson, packer 660 00 
 
 G.McC. Fenwick, packer 660 00 
 
 C. W. Scipio, packer, 11 mouths 605 00 
 
 C. B. Galliard, laborer 660 00 
 
 C. W. Chapman, laborer 
 
 J. rf. Pendergrass, laborer 660 00 
 
 Pie'rce Lafayette, assistant messenger 720 00 
 
 The other expenditures on the part of this office, connected with the 
 reception, storing, and distribution of public documents during the fiscal 
 .years 1883, 1884, and 1885 were as follows: 
 
 Rent of rooms $465 00 
 
 Printing, including blank books, blanks, &c 2, 470 00 
 
 ^Stationery, including wrapping paper, twine, &c 5, 944 00 
 
 The cost of tran sporting documents to the city post office cannot be 
 definitely stated, this work being done in connection with the general 
 delivery service of the Department. 
 
 A register is kept showing the disposition made of every bound 
 volume distributed, so arranged that it is possible in a moment to as- 
 certain whether any individual or library in the world has been sup- 
 plied by the office with any particular document, and, if so, the dateol 
 its transmission, upon whose order or request it was furnished, and. in 
 most cases, the date of its reception by the party to whom it was sent. 
 
 It is only by such careful registration that duplication in the distri- 
 bution of documents can be prevented as required by law. Under this 
 system the duplication of more than 25,000 volumes of reports of the 
 Tenth Census has been prevented. 
 
MEANS AND COST OF DISTRIBUTING PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. d 
 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 Regarding " additional information or suggestions" that may be of 
 advantage to Congress in the matter of legislation touching public doc- 
 uments, it may be said that in the interest of economy and of the con- 
 venience both of members of Congress and of the public at large, there- 
 ought to be established some better system of distribution of the pub- 
 lications of the Government than that which has hitherto for the most: 
 part obtained. Were this work systemized. and certain changes not 
 interfering with any public interest made in the standing orders of" 
 Congress for printing, a saving of $200,000 per Congress could be ef- 
 fected, and results obtained equally as beneficial as those secured under 
 present methods. 
 
 From $600,000 to $800,000 of the public money are now expended an- 
 nually in printing and binding documents for gratuitous distribution,, 
 chiefly by members of Congress. It is probable that a much smaller 
 expenditure and fewer documents would meet all reasonable demands- 
 on the part of the public. But if the past policy is to be continued, and 
 from two million to three million volumes per Congress published to be 
 given away, some plan ought to be devised which should effectually 
 prevent the giving of two or more copies to the same party, while others- 
 equally deserving are thereby left unsupplied. One great evil connected 
 with the present methods of distribution is this duplication of documents,, 
 an evil that cannot possibly be avoided as long as documents are dis- 
 tributed from different offices, each in ignorance of what the others are 
 doing. The extent of such duplication is clearly shown by the data 
 given above in regard to the reports of the Tenth Census. These reports- 
 were made distributable from one office in order to test this very ques- 
 tion, and also that of the practicability of applying the same system to- 
 all public documents. 
 
 Duplication in the distribution of public documents is shown also by 
 the fact that in the effort to supply deficiencies iu sets of the Globe and. 
 Eecord in our public libraries, more than 6,000 volumes that were held 
 in duplicate by these libraries have already been voluntarily turned 
 over to the Department to aid in this work. Above 600 copies of the 
 Agricultural Report have been received from a single library, and from 
 another 400 copies of Patent Office Reports. These facts sufficiently in- 
 dicate the extent to which duplication occurs under the present methods- 
 of distribution. 
 
 It is not probable that the proportion of duplication to the entire 
 edition is less in the case of other documents ordered (as are most doc- 
 uments) for distribution by the Senate, the House of Representatives,, 
 and the Department or Bureau, and sometimes both, from which they 
 emanate. The cost of a document does not apparently enter as an ele- 
 ment into the consideration of the manner in which it shall be distrib- 
 uted, the same rule being applied to nearly all documents, let the cost 
 per copy be what it may. Examples may be cited in the instance of 
 the very large and valuable works recently issued on Vertebrata of the' 
 Tertiary Formations of the West, by Professor Cope, costing $10 per 
 copy, and on Cretaceous and Tertiary Floras of the Western Territories, 
 by Professor Lesqnereux, costing $5 per copy, which are distributed 
 from the Senate folding rooms, the House folding-rooms, the Depart- 
 ment of the Interior, and the Geological Survey ; so that it is possible 
 for the same parties to secure four copies of these volumes, while in a 
 short time it will be impossible for any one to obtain a single copy ex- 
 cept on the payment of a large price. 
 
4 MEANS AND COST OF DISTRIBUTING PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 
 
 Duplication does not, however, result solely from the fact that docu- 
 ments are distributed from two or more offices. It is occasioned also 
 by the fact that in many cases the same document is issued in two or 
 more different editions, which are characterized by different titles. The 
 Annual Report of the Director of the Geological Survey may be taken 
 as an example in point, issued first as an executive document in the 
 "usual number" edition of 1,900 copies, 806 copies being delivered un- 
 bound, the remainder bound in leather and delivered to the Senate, the 
 House, and the Department of the Interior; issued again by the stand- 
 ing order of Congress, as one of the regular series of executive docu- 
 ments in cloth, 1,000 copies for the use of the Senate and 2,000 copies for 
 the use of the House, and bearing on its back the title " Message and 
 Documents Interior Department, Vol. 3, Report of the Director of the 
 United States Geological Survey, "and on the title page, "Report of 
 the Secretary of the Interior; being part of the Message and Docu- 
 ments communicated to the two houses of Congress at the beginning 
 of the first session of the Forty-eighth Congress. In four volumes. 
 Volume 3." Issued again in a special edition by special order of Con- 
 gress, that for 1883, 3,500 copies for the use of the Senate, 7,000 for the 
 use of the House, and 5,000 for the use of the Geological Survey, and 
 bearing on its back the title "United States Geological Survey, J. W. 
 Powell, Director, Fourth Annual Report," and on its title-page, "Fourth 
 Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey to tbe Secretary 
 of the Interior, by J. W. Powell, Director." 
 
 TLie Annual Report of the Commissioner of Education may be cited 
 as another example, issued in the "usual number" edition of 1,900 
 copies, denominated on the back "Executive Documents, &c., Vol. 13, 
 Education Report, 1883," again, in the regular cloth bound edition of 
 3,000 copies, denominated on the back, " Message and Documents, In- 
 terior Department, Vol. 4," and on the title-page, " Report of the Sec- 
 retary of the Interior, being part of the Message and Documents, &c., 
 Vol. 4"; and issued also in a special edition, that for 1882-'83, 7,000 
 copies for the use of the Senate, 14,000 for the use of the House, and 
 20,000 for the use of the Bureau of Education, and denominated, "Re- 
 port of the Commissioner of Education, 1882-'83." A fourth edition of 
 these volumes is issued by the Department itself. 
 
 Of the annual reports of all the Executive Departments and Bureaus, 
 the first two editions above named are issued, though of many the 
 regular edition is much larger than that given, while it is probable that 
 most of the Departments issue an edition for their own use. 
 
 This multiplicity of issues and variety of titles very largely increase 
 duplication. It doubtless often happens that members of Congress mis- 
 led thereby inadvertently send two or more copies of the same docu- 
 ment to a constituent or library, while it is rendered easily practicable 
 for parties desiring extra copies of any of tbese documents for per- 
 sonal ends to secure them. 
 
 Some better system in the matter of giving title to these several edi- 
 tions of the same document, and of other documents as well, would in 
 part remedy this evil and also remove other inconveniences very often 
 experienced by those consulting the reports of the Government. 
 
 It is undoubtedly true that many documents must be delivered in un- 
 bound-form for the immediate use of Congress in current legislation, but, 
 in the aggregate, these form only a small portion of those thus issued, 
 chiefly reports of committees and certain of the current executive and 
 miscellaneous documents. But that 800 or 900 copies each of the quarto 
 volumes of the Tenth Census, of Records of the Rebellion, of the Offi- 
 
MEANS AND COST OF DISTRIBUTING PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 5 
 
 cial Register of the United States, of the Annual Reports of the Bureau 
 of Ethnology, of the Geological Survey, and of other costly scientific 
 publications of the Govern men t, and of such Annual Reports of Execu- 
 tive Departments as form each a separate and entire volume should be 
 issued in unbound form, for such disposition as usually befalls these 
 documents seems wholly unnecessary. 
 
 Reform in this matter will consist either in largely reducing the num- 
 ber issued unbound, carefully discriminating between those that are 
 and those that are not required for immediate use in legislation, or in 
 binding all documents which constitute each by itself an independent 
 volume before they are sent from the Printing Office, thus making them 
 available for general distribution. Had the latter been done during the 
 last three Congresses, probably not less than 150,000 volumes would have 
 been saved for public use. 
 
 DEPOSITORIES OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 
 
 Provision is now made for one depository of public documents in 
 each Congressional district, designated by its Representative, and two 
 at large in each State, designated by Senators, additional to the several 
 State and Territorial libraries. These depositories receive a copy each 
 of nearly every document ordered by Congress, the notable exceptions 
 being the Congressional Record, Statutes at Large, and bound volumes 
 of the Official Gazette. It is probable that most of them receive the 
 Gazette, as issued weekly, by designation of members of Congress to 
 the Commissioner of Patents. But the receipt by depositories of the 
 Record and Statutes is very precarious, depending upon the courtesy 
 of members of Congress, by whom alone they are gratuitously distrib- 
 uted. These documents, however, are amongst the most important 
 issued, the certain and regular receipt of \vhich is mosr earnestly de- 
 sired by those libraries in which they are in constant demand for pur- 
 poses of reference. It is therefore recommended that they be added 
 by special resolution of Congress to the documents now being by law 
 regularly supplied to depositories. 
 
 It is very much to be desired that documents designated for deposi- 
 tories should be furnished as soon as practicable alter they are printed 
 to such depositories, as many of them are amongst the most prominent 
 libraries in the country. Under existing arrangements, however, from 
 one to two or more years usually elapse after printing before they are 
 bound, and so available for distribution. Of all the documents of thfe 
 first and second sessions of the Forty eighth Congress, numbering not 
 less than 175 volumes, only 36 volumes of the first session have yet been 
 received from the Public Printer. In view of the fact that it is more im- 
 portant, so far as public interests and convenience are concerned, that 
 public libraries rather than private individuals be supplied promptly with 
 the current publications of the Government, it would seem that those 
 designed for depositories ought to be given precedence in the matter of 
 binding over others, excepting those required by Congress for legisla- 
 tive purposes. It is therefore suggested that such action be taken by 
 Congress as will secure this result. 
 
 If delay is occasioned by the fact that the index designed 'for inser- 
 tion in each volume cannot be prepared till the last volume of each 
 series is printed, then it is suggested whether it would not better sub- 
 serve the public convenience to have the indexes published separately, 
 in a volume by themselves, and thus allow the individual volumes to be 
 bound as soon as printed. It is to be noted that the indexes referred 
 to are not those of each separate volume, but of the series of executive 
 
6 MEANS AND COST OF DISTRIBUTING PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 
 
 or miscellaneous documents or reports, as the case may be, so that the 
 absence of the index from each volume is not of material consequence, 
 provided it be supplied in separate bound form as soon as the series is 
 completed. 
 
 Already quite a large number of documents appertaining to the Forty- 
 ninth Congress, each document forming a volume by itself, for example, 
 the Official Register, Vol. 1 ; Annual Reports of Executive Departments, 
 Report on Tariif Revision, Report on Ordnance and War Ships, Consu- 
 lar Reports, &c., have been printed, but if no new law or regulation 
 shall be adopted the "reserved" edition of these volumes will not be 
 bound for eighteen months or two yeans, until which time depositories 
 must wait for their supply, though in many cases the chief advantage 
 of having them at all lies in their being promptly received and thus 
 made available for public use immediately after publication. 
 
 PUBLIC LIBRARIES NOT DEPOSITORIES. 
 
 There are. exclusive of depositories, many large public university and 
 college libraries in all sections of the country that are but partially and 
 in the most desultory manner supplied with public documents. These 
 libraries are for the most part permanent institutions, and in their pos- 
 session documents are of manifold and continuous service. No argu- 
 ment is needed in support of the proposition that definite provision 
 should be made for their being supplied regularly with such publica- 
 tions of the Government as are of permanent interest and value to the 
 public. 
 
 During the past year inquiries disclosed the fact that of 370 libraries 
 reporting, excluding those supplied directly by this office, the docu- 
 ments named below had been received in the proportion noted: 
 
 Hayden's Twelfth Annual Report by 1 in 4 
 
 Vertebrata of the Tertiary Formations of the West by 1 in 12 
 
 Cretaceous and Tertiary Floras of the Western Territories, Lesquereux by 1 in 9 
 
 Second Annual Report of the Geological Survey by 1 in 6 
 
 Third Annual Report of the Geological Survey by 1 in 5 
 
 Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology by 1 in 3 
 
 Congressional Record, Forty-eighth Congress: 
 
 First session by 1 in 
 
 Second session by 1 in 5 
 
 Of each of these valuable publications, a large edition has been printed 
 for distribution by Congress from the folding-rooms at the Capitol, only a 
 sinall portion of which has apparently been used in supplying libraries, 
 though there is hardly a well-established library in the country that 
 would not be glad to receive them, nor one in whose possession they 
 would not be of greater public service than in the hands of ordinary in- 
 dividuals. 
 
 It is probable that some of these libraries were supplied each with 
 two or more copies of certain of these documents, which would slightly 
 reduce the proportion named, but at the same time illustrate anew the 
 fact of duplication and of one of its attendant evils, namely, the failure 
 of other libraries to secure even a single copy. 
 
 These facts indicate the importance of some permanent provision of 
 law in behalf of libraries. Such provision might well have as one of 
 its results a decrease in the number of documents ordered for distribu- 
 tion. As they will thus be brought within the reach of all citizens in 
 communities where libraries are located, it becomes unnecessary to sup- 
 ply individuals. All libraries receiving documents free of cost should 
 be required to hold them accessible to the public for purposes of refer- 
 ence free of cost. 
 
 Adequate provision in this regard can be made without the least ad- 
 
MEANS AND COST OF DISTRIBUTING PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 7 
 
 ditional expense to the Government. There need be no increase in the 
 number of documents printed. 
 
 It is only necessary that of those ordered by Congress a sufficient 
 number shall, by act of Congress, be set aside for this special purpose, 
 to be forwarded upon their publication to such libraries as from their 
 prominence seem entitled to receive them, thus putting them in posses- 
 sion of the same at the earliest practicable moment, rather than com- 
 pelling them to wait, as is now too often the case, for months and even 
 years after the publication of documents before they receive thorn, if 
 they do not altogether fail of this. If it is deemed unwise to set apart 
 a portion of the ordinary edition for this specific purpose, then it is sug- 
 gested whether it would not be altogether practicable to utilize the doc- 
 uments above referred to as published in unbound form, and, by making 
 provision for their being bound in cloth and devoted to the use of 
 libraries, save them, at small expense, for the public service. This will 
 go not a little way towards supplying important libraries, not depos- 
 itories, with the more valuable publications of the Government. 
 
 Another source from which they might be supplied, without increas- 
 ing expenditure, is the surplusage, after the distribution provided by 
 law to Senators and Representatives, remaining in the folding-rooms at 
 the Capitol and elsewhere, regarding the specific use of which no pro- 
 vision by law has been made. 
 
 This surplus in the documents of the Forty fifth Congress, after the 
 proper Congressional allotments had been made, exceeded 30,000 vol- 
 umes, in those of the Forty sixth Congress 25,000, and it is probably 
 not less in those of the Forty seventh and Forty-eighth Congresses. 
 What disposition is usually made of these surplus documents is un- 
 known to this office. If, however, they can be rendered available for 
 the use of libraries, it will be putting them to the best possible use. 
 
 THE SALE OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 
 
 In my judgment, some more adequate provision than now exists 
 should be made for supplying parties who desire to purchase the pub- 
 lications of the Government. The present provisions, as far as they 
 relate to documents generally, are of no practical utility to the public 
 at large, it being required that the party desiring to purchase shall de- 
 posit with the Public Printer in advance of its publication the esti- 
 mated price of the document in question, while at the same time no 
 special information is given to the public as to the documents about to 
 be issued by the Government. Repeated applications are made to this 
 office for the purchase of documents, often of documents in its posses- 
 sion, but, having no authority to sell, it is obliged to decline the prof- 
 fered payment for the same, and, if supplied at all, to furnish them 
 gratuitously. There is little doubt that, were the office authorized to 
 sell at cost price any public document, the edition of which was not ex- 
 hausted, a large number of parties would be found ready to purchase, 
 many of whom would prefer to buy rather than to solicit gratuitously 
 from members of Congress or the Department?. 
 
 In connection with such provision for sale, there should also be made 
 provision for communicating to the public information regarding the doc- 
 uments issued by the Printing Office, either through the Congressional 
 Record during sessions of Congress, or the Patent Office Gazette, which 
 is supplied weekly to nearly all the public libraries of the country, or 
 both publications. V.ery little expense would be involved, while said 
 provision would, it is believed, be very highly appreciated by a large 
 number both of private individuals and of libraries. It very frequently 
 happens that the attention of scientific students is not called to a Gov- 
 
8 MEANS AND COST OF DISTRIBUTING PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 
 
 ernmeut publication directly in 'their line of work until the edition printed 
 for distribution is exhausted and it is then too late to secure the work, 
 except from some book-dealer, who is at liberty to put whatever price he 
 pleases upon it. 
 
 It is very desirable that of the scientific publications of the Govern- 
 ment of permanent value an edition of, say, five hundred copies each 
 should be printed exclusively for sale, so that those to whom they would 
 be of special service might have the opportunity of supplying them- 
 selves if they fail to obtain a copy gratuitously. 
 
 INDEX OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 
 
 The publication of the Descriptive Catalogue of Government Publi- 
 cations, prepared under the supervision of Major Poore, supplies a need 
 which was seriously felt by every one having occasion to consult pub- 
 lic documents. This catalogue, however, extends only to 1881, since 
 which date no general and comprehensive catalogue or index has been 
 prepared. 
 
 In the interest of Congress and of all the Departments of the Gov- 
 ernment, and of the public at large, such a catalogue ought at once to 
 be compiled, covering the interval since 1881, and provision be made 
 for continuing the work from session to session of Congress, so as here- 
 after to avoid all breaks, and also the necessity, from time to time in 
 the future, of large appropriations for doing a work which for the con- 
 venience of all concerned ought to be done year by year, if not mouth 
 by month, as documents issue from the Printing Office. 
 
 REVISION OF LAWS RELATING TO THE PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION 
 OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 
 
 Great inconvenience is now experienced by members of Congress and 
 all other parties who have occasion to consult laws governing the issue 
 of public documents, arising in large part from the fact that these laws, 
 whether they are those continuous in their operation, or those relating 
 to a single issue of a particular document, are nowhere brought together 
 in compact form, and can be found only by careful searching through 
 volume after volume of Statutes, while the concurrent resolutions pro- 
 viding for the printing of documents cannot be found even in the Stat- 
 utes at Large. For these, resort must be had to the Congressional 
 Record. One result is, that very fewmembers of Congress are informed 
 as to what are the existing provisions in the premises, accounting for 
 the contusion and errors so frequently attending discussions of this 
 matter in Congress. 
 
 This evil can be remedied only by a thorough revision of all laws 
 intended to be of permanent force, bringing them together, if practica- 
 ble, under one single act of Congress, while provision for printing a 
 special edition of any document should take in all cases the form of an 
 act or joint resolution, or else all concurrent resolutions should be in- 
 cluded in the Session Laws issued annually and in the Statutes at Large 
 issued biennially, so as to render them all of easy reference. Such a 
 revision could not fail to be of special advantage to the Committees on 
 Printing of the two houses of Congress, and would doubtless result in 
 some decrease in the expenditure for public documents. 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 L. Q. C. LAMAB, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 The PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE PRO TEMPORE. 
 
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 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY