The evening times., 1900-06-11

The Librarian OF Congress with the aid
OF the American Historical Association is
gathering data relating 10 the character
and condition Of the archives and public
records Of the several States and Terrific
ries and Of the United States The neces-
sity for making adequate provision for
the preservation Of the public records has,
it is said been more than once empha-
sized and the action of Congress solicited
in that behalf Thus far. however, Con-
gress has not taken the affirmative action
necessary to bring about the result de-
sired.
In 1887 a commission, composed Of the
Secretary of state. the Librarian of Con-
grezs. and the Secretary Of the Smithso-
nian Institution. and their successors in
office. was appointed and directed to re-
port to Congress rthe character of the his
torical and other manuscripts belonging to
the National Government and the method
and policy TO be pursued in editing and
publishing the same. or any Of them. 1t
does not appear however that this Com
mission ever met and the report contem-
plated by Congress was never admitted.
In 1884 ii was ordered that the military
records in the various executive DEPART
ments relating TO the field operations dur
ing the Revolutionary War and the War Of
1872 be transferred to the custody OF the
Secretary of War; and the indexing OF these
valuable papers has since been successfully
carried through. BY the same act, the
Secretary of State was directed TO cause
the Revolutionary archives in his depart
ment to be examined and TO report TO Con-
gress what portions OF them were worthy
OF publication, the number OF printed vol
umes they would make and the estimated
cost OF editing and publishing them.
In response to this direction the Sec
retary Of State recommended that the doc
uments in question be printed in fifty vol
umes and estimated the cost at SI00. .750-
This work has not yet received the favCra-
bic consideration Of Congress.
Delay Would Be Dangerous
II is said that a cursory examination Of
the condition Of the national archives at
Washington shows that any further delay
in the matter of their preservation viii
be dangerous Documents Of the utmost
legal Importance affecting personal and
governmental interests Of great magni-
tude are scattered about among the differ
ent executive departments and bureaus
and are often stored under conditions
which not only make access 10 them dIfil-
cult but also open the way to the mutt
lation or loss Of the documents them
selves. With the exception Of naval and
military records no sufficient provision
has yet been made by law for preserving
the material indicated or for making il
available to those who have a right to
use il.
Moreover. it is shown that records re-
lating to the same general subject are in
some cases divided between two or more
custodians, while important portions of
valuable papers are found not infreqUent-
ly TO have disappeared altogether. or 10
be in possession of some individual or So
ciety in another part of the country.
Il is said OF competent authority that
at present no lawyer or historical student
desiring TO consult the archives of the Ma
tiOnal Government can feel in advance any
assurance that the papers to which he
wishes access are to be found in the place
in Washington where they would naturally
be supposed TO be, or even that they are
in the possession Of the United States
Only by long and detailed correspondence,
or by coming TO the National CAPITAL and
making the rounds of the different de-
partments and repositories can the mate
rial in question commonly be got at and
money and labor the documents sought
may not turn out to have been lost or the
custody Of them have become vested in
somebody else
There are not lacking illustrations OF the
impairment or loss or national records
which have resulted from the lack of suita
bic provisions for their arrangement and
safe keeping Until very recently, great
quantities Of manuscripts have been stor-
o. in rf0 Of II
ing, without order or system, exposed to
the ravaSes OF mice. dirt and damp, and
subject 10 mutilation and theft by inter
ested persons. These papers have now
been committed to the custody OF the Ii
br2ry of Congress. where they will. il the
course of time. be cleaned, catalogued and
suitably preserved.
Librarians say that 1t is a matter Of COM
mon observation that manuscripts Of Off
cial documents. especially those Of the
years prior to 1851. are constantly appear
ing at auction sales in the large cities.
and are being sought by Librarians, histo-
rical societies and individuals. and scatter
ed in this way about the country. The
United States has itself bought at a cost
OF many thousands of dollors various col
lectlons OF papers many of which were OF
an official and public character
The conditions which prevail in the sew
er2i States are. as a whole. even more IN
sat sfactory than those which characterize
the archives Of the United States With
a few exceptions the disadvantages which
exist in the one field exist also in the
other. Scarcely any State possesses at
present complete files, either in manu-
script or in print. Of its own records
Some Of the records appear never to have
been Systematically preserved. Some have
been lost -i-
Many New Hampshire documents. noted
as lacking in the official edition of the
State Papers, are in the Library of Con-
gress. having been acquired when the Ii
brary of Peter Force was purchased in
1867
Very many Of the early Maryland docu-
ments seem to have disappeared as shown
by the researches of Seharf. the historian
Of the State. Some. OF these papers were
found in the Libraries of Peter Force and
Joseph Sparks and are now in the Library
Of Congress. ~-
Jefferson's Two Collections
The Yicissitudes which the archives Of
Virginia have undergone illustrate the way
in which State papers disappear. afterward
In some instances coming to light in an
other Jurisdiction. jefferson. approaching
their value to the State and to the Init
ed states. collected all the early legal and