The evening times., 1899-07-15
THE DOCUMENT LIBRARY.
Permanent Quarters Suggested for &
Valuable Book Collection.

permanent quarters SusEesteu Ior Il
Valuable Book Collection.
The suggestion is made by high authori-
ty at the Government Printing Office that
permanent quarters should be provided for
the Document Library 1t is said that
after the Library of Congress, the Docu-
ment Library is the most valuable in
Washington.
L. c. Ferrell, superintendent of docu
ments, said to reporter for The Times
today that the library under his charge
is probably the largest of it's character in
the world. The act that created the office
of superintendent of documents did not
authorize the establishment of a Docu-
ment Library. 1t was thought that from
the fact that almost complete sets of pub
lie documents are in the Library of Con-
gress and the libraries of the Senate and
House of Representatives a Document Lii
brary would be of little use. The act pro-
vided, however, that two copies Of each
document printed, not of a confidential
character, should be sent TO the superin
tendent of documents, TO enable him to
prepare catalogue of all government pub
locations.
information by persons all over the world
concerning matters supposed TO have been
treated of in Government publications. In
formation could not be furnished without
the documents, and the work of securing
complete set of Government publications
was entrusted to Miss Adelaide r. Hasse,
who was in charge of all the documents
turned over to the Office by the depart
ments and which were returned by libraries
throughout the country, under the clearing
house system. BY these miscellaneous re-
ceipts and by special requests to libraries
the Document Library was built up from
nothing in January, 1895, TO %, 247 books,
pamphlets, and maps. These figures do not
fully indicate the value of the collection.
Among some of the rare works, some OF
which antedate the adoption of the Consti-
tuition, in the Document Library are the
following:
Forces American archives, volumes
complete SO far as published; Sparks Dip
lomatic correspondence of the Revolution,
II volumes, complete; Wharton's Diplo-
matte correspondence of the American Rev
olution, volumes, complete: Diplomatic
| correspondence of the Revolution, issued
by the State Department, 1887, volumes
complete; journals of the Continental Con-
gress, 4 volumes, complete; Sc
cret journals of the Continen-
tai Congress, volumes, complete;
Elliott's Debates on the adoption OF the
Constitution, volumes, complete; Con-
gressional proceedings and debates, 1889
1898, complete; Congressional documents
| sheep bound seD beginning with the FIT
teenth Congress, consisting Of more thar
8 1900 volumes complete with exception of {
| volumes, of which are believed never tc
have been issued; Executive journals o.
| the Senate 1925: five volumes of Fol
wells edition of the Journals of the Con
tinental Congress, printed in Philadelphia
| 1S00-1S01; Waits State papers, first edi.
| ton, volumes, complete; Waits Stat,
papers, second edition, 10 volumes, com
plete; nine volumes of Waits State pa
pers, third edition, in II volumes; north
eastern boundary arbitration, Washington
1927, printed but not published; roll o
honor, containing the names of the Uniol
soldiers buried in national cemeteries
complete except 1 volume; Proposed revis
ion of laws, 1873; Reports of Commission
er of General Land Office, 1866, 1867, il
French; Case of United States to be lait
before tribunal of arbitration at Geneva
in Spanish; Insect life, volumes and in
dex. complete; Bulletins Is of Bureau o
Rolls and Library of Department of State
complete; Perrys Expedition to Chin
Seas and Japan. 1S52-54, 3 volumes, com
plete; register of Military Academy 1918
| 1883 complete.