Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-12-29
SECRETARY OF THE DISTRICT
DIR. TINDALL SUBMITS HIS ANNUAL
REPORT TO COMMISSIONERS.
Municipal Correspondence and How 1t
is CHARACTERIZATION of the Office
of Librarian Advised.

DR.. William Tindall. secretary to the board
of District Commissioners, today submitted
his report for the fiscal year ended June
80, 1860, stating that the record system in
operation in the executive office appears to
meet all the practical requirements Of the
business Of the office, and to be sufficiently
adapted to the character of the work per-
formed to justify its retention until it shall
be thought advisable to rearrange the whole
method of keeping the correspondence rec
ords of the District government.
A One Record Office Proposition.
"A number of propositions says DR.. Tin
dali, ION the subject have been considered.
The most alluring of these plans is to have
one record office for the entire municipal
correspondence system, with a single nu-
mer1cai series of letters received and another
of the letters sent. AT present nearly every
office or department has a separate series
of its own While single-series system
might be productive OF delay and embar-
rassment n an organization having
branches SubordinateS doing business in
parts of the whole country parts of the
District remote from the central office. the
fact that it is practicable to have all of the
offices of the District government in the
same CITY, and nearly all IN the same build
ing, seems to render the project feasible.
AS an alternative to such a record sys-
tenn, the correspondence records of all of
tIlc SeN SId Offices uuuGF edcn commissioner
could have a series distinct from those of
the offices under the other Commissioners,
as is now the case in the engineer depart
ment. AT present the record of the one en-
try clerk in the secretarys office, with the
work of the clerk who keeps the account
OF papers in transit between the Commits
sioners and The system provided by the
order OF july l, 1897, suffice to obviate en-
barrassment in the premises, but must be
regarded as a tentative provision.
A Card Index.
DR.. Tindan says it is very desirable that
a card index OF the minutes and orders of
the Commissioners from July ), 1874 and
caro- index OF the opinions of the several
attorneys of the District of Columbia
should be prepared as early as practicable,
and thereafter Kept up TO date; also that,
"A ike index of the letters received from
the same date until the date of the adop-
ton OF the present card system for those
recoruS should be made.
Large portions OF the indexes of those
RECORDS, states DIR. Tlndall which are
now in use, as we'll as the records them
selves, are in many respects, not only I'M
satisfactory and defective, but discred-
liable 10 the Office. some of the persons
" 40 were engaged at different times in
the preparation of those indexes were ma
LerIaiiy united to adequately perform the
work inruSted to them. The results of
their employment were such as TO lend
emphatic Endorsement to the Commission
ers recommendations for civil service re-
qu.rementS in the matter of appointments
OF District officials, which wOuId preclude
repetition of such a state of affairs but
am gIad to state that this criticism is not
applicable to any of the clerks at present
employed in the executive office. Not only
was the character of the work done under
those circumstances defective, but in con-
sequence OF the insufficient clerical force in
the executive office for years many forms
of records Indispensable to a proper stand
a 81 OF get
Guided.
Office Of Librarian.
THE accumulation of laws, reports and
documents of various kinds, and the neces-
sity for frequent reference thereto, as well
as to the old records of former munich
palit!es in the District, has reached the
stage when the creation of the office of Ii
Drarian advisable. The librarian might.
in addition to ordinary duties of arrang ng
and caring for the books, be subject to the
duty of organizing and preparing statistical
information and other miscellaneous work.
The compensation should be sufficient to
obtain incumbent having capabilities
commensurate with the character of the
service he would be expected to perform.
With the $500 provided in the deficiency
appropriation of June q, 1900, for cOmpiet
,ng an index of the laws affecting the mu-
nicipal government Of the District of Co
!umb.a, very encouraging progress was
made upon a system of card indexes to the
municipal laws, ordinances and regulations
in force in the District, and 10 other facts
of current and historical Importance to
which a means of ready reference is de-
srabe.
An item for $500 more for the same pur
pose was included in the Commissioners
annual estimates for the fiscal year to end
June 30, 1902. and, 1t is believed, VIII com
plete the work to date, after which it can
be kept up by the regular office force.
During the year systems Of card indexes to
appointments made by the Commissioners
and TO the correspondence between the
Comm toner's and Congress were devised
and established and are very satisfactory
media of reference.
TIE report concludes by complimentins
the force under the secretary for efficiency
and industry.
ENGLISH cot NTRY LIFE.