Index to com- Owing to the small force available for indexing, however, the parative foreign legislation. index is not exhaustive. It can only be representative of the most important legislation. The material is selected with a view to meeting the actual or expected demand for data bearing on legislation pending in Congress. Subjects of recurring interest are covered with particular care, for example: Aliens, corporations, disabled, finance, merchant marine, pensions, railroads, reconstruction, soldier settlement, taxation, wages, etc. The number of entries under certain headings is as follows: Taxation, 1,300; finance, 300; merchant marine, 300; railroads, 500; reconstruction, 250.

The bulk of the publications indexed is in English. The most important of these are: The United States Commerce Reports; the “Contributions of the Comparative Law Bureau of the American Bar Association," published by the American Bar Association Journal; the Economic Review, London; the publications of the League of Nations, of the International Labour Office, and of the International Institute of Agriculture; the Board of Trade Journal, London; the Journal of Comparative Legislation and International Law, London; the Journal of Conational Law, New York; the Journal of the Parliaments of the Empire, London; the South American Review, London; the Parliamentary debates of the House of Commons.

The publications in the French language come next in importance. They include, in addition to the purely French publications, those printed and issued outside of France. To this class belong many international publications and the Government publications of certain countries, such as Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Roumania, etc.

The following international and foreign publications printed in French are indexed: Annuaire international de législation agricole, published yearly by the International Institute of Agriculture; Annuaire de législation étrangère, published yearly by the Société de législation comparée,

parative foreign

Paris (other publications of that Society indexed are its Index to comBulletin mensuel and its Annuaire de législation française); legislation. Bulletin de l'Institut Intermédiaire International, The Hague; Correspondance économique; Bulletin officiel du Ministère de l'industrie et du commerce, Roumania; Exposé sommaire des travaux législatifs de l'Assemblée Nationale Tchécoslovaque, published at the end of each session of the legislature; Pasinomie (Belgian laws); Bulletin de documentation économique, published by the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The following are French publications indexed: Bulletin du Ministère du travail et de la prévoyance sociale; Bulletin de presse étrangère and Recueil de documents étrangers, published by the Ministère des affaires étrangères; Bulletin analytique des principaux documents parlementaires étrangers; transmis à la présidence de la Chambre des députés (publication temporarily suspended); Bulletin de statistique et de législation comparée, published by the Ministère des finances; Documents parlementaires of the Senate and of the Chamber of Deputies; Journal officiel de la République Française; Revue de science et de législation financières; Bulletin de la Société d'études législatives; L'économiste français; Journal des économistes; Revue politique et parlementaire; Journal du droit international (Clunet).

Italian publications indexed: Collezione celerifera (session laws); Bollettino della emigrazione; Bollettino di legislazione e statistica doganale e commerciale; Bollettino di legislazione fiscale; Bollettino di statistica e di legislazione comparata; Gazzetta ufficiale del Regno d'Italia; parliamentary documents of the Senate and of the Chamber of Deputies.

Spanish publications indexed: Boletín mensual de la Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional, Argentine Republic; Revista parlamentaria de Cuba; Boletín analítico de los principales documentos extranjeros, published by the Secre

Newspaper in

dex.

taría del Congreso de los Diputados, Spain; Gaceta de Madrid; Boletín oficial de la Cámara de comercio de la provincia de Madrid.

German publications indexed: The German Official Gazette (Reichs-Gesetzblatt) and the Soziale Praxis und Archiv für Volkswohlfahrt are regularly indexed. The latter contains references, outlines, and commentaries on the most important and recent laws passed in the principal countries of Europe.

We have also in the course of preparation an international law index showing the most recent developments, interpretations, and decisions in the field of international law, diplomacy and arbitration.

During the past year we have been carrying on an index to the speeches, addresses and other public utterances of prominent men on the questions of the day. This is necessarily extremely limited in its scope but it has proved of the greatest value in enabling the service to locate such material for which there is a great demand.

A classified list of the more important questions is, as usual, appended to the report, but is omitted from publication as the scope and character of them has been sufficiently illustrated by the lists given in the reports for several years past.

Respectfully submitted.

HERBERT PUTNAM,
Librarian of Congress.

The honorable the PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE.

The honorable the SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

REPORT OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

AND DISBURSING OFFICER.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS,

Washington, D. C., September 17, 1923.

SIR: As administrative assistant and disbursing officer I beg to submit the following report as to the Library Building for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1923, being the first fiscal year under the new organization prescribed by the act of June 29, 1922.

Under the Librarian, the duties of this office included the custody, care, and maintenance of the Library Building; the accounting and disbursement of the appropriations for the Library of Congress, and the disbursement of the appropriations for the Botanic Garden.

HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT.

As the building becomes older more care is required each year to keep it in good condition with our limited funds. In addition to the regular cleaning force, one decorator and one painter were constantly employed, but a great deal more of such work is urgently needed.

Some of the work accomplished during the year was the cleaning and, where necessary, the repairing of all the decorative marble and mural painting in the west main hall, second story; redecorating the walls and laying new floor runners in the visitors' gallery, and cleaning the colossal white figures around this gallery; repainting the main room of the copyright office (south curtain basement); repairing the inlaid hardwood floors of the Senate and House reading rooms, and equipping all the furniture with slides instead of rolling casters so that these floors can not be defaced in future; replacing glass in 42 windows; supply

ing glass soap containers for entire building; cutting the names of the Librarians of Congress in a marble panel in the north corridor just off the west main hall, first, floor; adding marble baseboards under the windows in the west, north and south curtains, first floor, where, in floor scrubbing, the paint was constantly washed off of the iron bases; and a special effort was made to keep all polished brass door fittings in perfect condition.

LAUNDRY EQUIPMENT.

The installation of the new laundry equipment was completed and the enlarged plant is proving efficient and economical.

REVOLVING ENTRANCE DOOR.

The revolving door at the west main entrance, first floor, added to the comfort of the halls and main reading room and simplified the heating problem during the winter. When funds are available such a door, but less expensive, should be placed at the west basement entrance.

ENGINEER DEPARTMENT.

The personnel of this department is now controlled and paid by the Architect of the Capitol, but is still located at the Library under the immediate direction of this office. As usual, this department was occupied throughout the year with improvements and repairs to the building and mechanical equipment and in the repair and construction of furniture.

A satisfactory type of noiseless truck wheel has been found and the book trucks are being equipped with the silent wheels as rapidly as possible, 40 sets having already been secured.

The carpenter and paint shops were moved to the new space provided under the east driveway and a new cement floor was laid in the machine shop.