The times., 1899-12-03
pose Of filing gaps. especially in the way

pose Of filing gaps. especially in the way
Of periodicals and newspapers.
One of the curious features of the Libra
~ is the Chinese section. This collection
consists of 23T standard works classics, his
tory. poetry, medicine, and fiction, and g.
AZ unbound volumes. These books were
mainly acquired by purchase from the
library of Caleb Cushing, who was sent tc
China by President Tyler as the first
American envoy to that empire. The col
lection was catalogued under the direction
Of His Eycellency WuTin-Fang. Some OF
the books in this collection. which are most
often called for by the Chinese residents
at Washington, are Shin teen Shing shoo,
or MorriSOn's translation of the Bible;
Teen chCo Keang sang yen hing Ike leo,
or the Life Of Christ" "WO tang kew she
ChoO Yay 500 sine chaou shoe" or the New
Testament. and the poetical works of Luh
Fang ING the religious discourseS of Wei
jim Kung, and the medical writings of lie
She chin. The title of one of the MaRchu
books follows: "Khan-ni arakha nonghime
toctobookha manchu ksconni poolekoo
pitkhe.' The book is a Manchu dictionary.
John Russell YounG's Suggestion.
The circular letter which was sent out
by the late John Russell Young on Febru-
airy Is, 1898, has produced valuable results
for the Library. II was addressed to the
diplomatic and consular representatives OF
this Government, and was as follows:
The Library of Congress has been re-
moved from the Capitol to the new Library
building. The books pamphlets, serials
manuscripts. and other collections are now
in process of arrangement. Its original
classification hv ThaFFaaE IaffarGOu
plated a national library, universal and
representative in its character, with all
knowledge for its province. The policy of
Mr.. Jefferson has been followed until what
under his inception was a collection of less
than eight thousand volumes has become
nearly eight hundred thousand, and ranks
among the great libraries OF the world.
The new Library has space for 4,500, 900
books. The increase from 1861 to the pres
ent day has been more than tenfold. There
is no sign of a diminishing ratio and it is
believed that it could be increased through
the advice and cooperation of gentlemen
in our foreign service. Public documents,
newspapers, serials, pamphlets, manu-
scripts, broadsides, chapbooks, ballads, rec
ords of original research, publications il
Illustrative of the manners, customs, re
sources, and traditions OF communities to
which our foreign representatives are ac-
credited; the proceedings of learned, sci
entifc. or religious bodies; the reports of
corporations, such as railways, canals, or
industrial companies, legislative records
and debates. public DEGREES, church regis
ters, geneaIogy, family and local history,
chronicles of country and parish life folk
lore, fashions, domestic annals. documents
illustrative of the history of those various
nationalities now coming to our shores to
blend in our national life, and which as
part CT our Library archives would be in
estimable TO their Observation-Disclosures
in q word would add to the sum of human
knowledge would be gratefully received
and have due and permanent acknowledg
ment
Opportunities for securing the original
or a copy OF useful manuscripts or rare
editions would be welcome. Those and
ether publications suggested might be
brought to our attention with the view of
purchase from the Library funds or secur-
ing by exchange buying what might have
special value or exchanging from our col
lection of duplicates. In the process of Sc
lection or enquiry. nothing should be deem
ed trivial. remembering that what in its
day was an apparently worthless publica-
tion of the time OF the English common
wealth, the American Revolution, or our
recent civil war may hereafter be priceless
in value.
This is written in the interest in the
National Library and with the belief that
the suggestion alone is necessary to secure
your cooperation in the development OF
one of the most important branches Of our
public service"
This letter has resulted in bringing thou
sands of books into the Library.
The durability of paper is one of the
things which most disturbs the Library
been called before to the questionable
quality OF the paper upon which so much of
the Library material is printed. This same
criticism, it has been said, may apply to
! the paper used in other forms OF Govern
ment records. It is said that the excessive
use OF wood pulp ana chemicals in the
manufacture of cheap paper destroys its
/ texture and durability. There are in the
( Library printed journals of the days OF
Charles II. over 230 years old, and it is
said that the paper IS as sound and the ink
I as clear as when they came from the press
/ The German Government has recently
/ adopted regulations designed TO preserve
the integrity of the German records.
Books Tint Are Called For.
The call for books at the Library is Z
metre Of the popularity Of authors. The
statistics for the present year are po
7 complete, but II Is said that they VIII snow
no radical change in the public taste
! There is a very much stronger demand
than usual for the writings Of Robert G
/ Ingersoll, but this increase, it is said, i:
due in the main to the universal attention
directed toward him at the time Of hi
death. The young men draw deeply OF
the section Of political economy and tht
works of Henry George seem to maintain
7 their hold. There has been, since the clos,
of the Spanish-AmeTcan war, far greater
number of requests for literature of a mil
itary type for books treating Of Spain snC
her lost colonies. and for American histor
ical works. The younger girls who yisi
the Library, and the number is increasing
call largely for text books as aids in thei
school studies, while the girls of maturel
/ years draw from the department of fiction
4 PIucky Young Man.
From the New York Press.j
"Ah you're one of the lucky ones " saiC