The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-08-28

larger than in many other cities of tho North and East. Nearly all these book racks are open to the student with the proper credentials.
 The Department Libraries. The thirty-eight department libraries of Washington form system that in~ cludes every branch of knowledge. The system employed in them is very close ! to perfection.
 Each of the department libraries began with the publications of its department as a nucleus. Exchanges with home and | foreign libraries increased their circula- | tion. Congressional appropriations have ,helped a great deal. The greatest of l these is. of course. the Library of Con Eress. This magnificent library has one defect that spells everything else. It is so beautiful that the reader forgets his book in admiration of his surroundings. | It's special feature is the quick distribu- tioE of books. which Prince Henry of Prussia found so interesting when he paid us hls last visit
 There arc two reference libraries in the Capitol Building of 40,GO0 books each. The
 emergency hospital is on the ground floor, just off the House. and members have found It one of the most convenient l institutions of the entire building Elegantly Finished Book Shelves. An air of fine dignity pervades the li- | brary in the State, War and Navy De- | pn rtment building. The State CepArt- ment Library Is devoted almost exclu- | sively to works on diplomacy and law. | The Navy Department library is beau- tifully housed the reading room being paneled in malachite. sienna and por- phyry adorned with Mexican onyx. with superb bronze groups in each corner, and l a handsome piece of verde antique above
 the doorway The floor IS of Mlnton til-
 ing. The books are catalogued under eleven heads. and the shelves always con | tain the latest publications on scientific
 subjects pertaining to the navy, such as
 engineering, medicine, chemistry, naval
 architecture. seamanship courtsmartial,
 international law. naval surveying, as l trononiy, navigation. meteorology. and | compasses. few books of biography | and history are added from time to time. | Of these the volumes relating to Napo- leon are by far the most popular. As a | rule, naval officers seem to take un- i wearying interest in the doings of the Little Corporal.
 The War Department Library. 1 No less perfectly kept, though not so magnificently housed. Is the library of
 the War Department A history of the l Spanish War, made up of newspaper clip pings, forms its most interesting volume. General Greedy inaugurated a circulating
 system, by which officers stationed in Texas and Porto Rico can dIaw books without expense except the return reg
 istration This privilege does not extend
 to the Philippines as yet. Across the l street is the Bureau of Latin American l Republics.
 The Supreme Court found that 1t need-
 ed data on the laws of South America
 and information concerning ths customs l which could not be had in the city To meet this want the bureau referred to was established in 1890. Information up-
 on the agriculture. laws, customs, com ! lnerce, colonization and history Of the countries south of the Rio Grande and
 the isthmus was accumulated. The first IPan-AmeTican Congress suggested that l every country send duplicates of all its public documents to this bureau. It was a suggestion worthy of being followed, but no action was taken in the matter. Eighteen countries pledged themselves to send the documents at the last Pan American Congress. held in the City of Mexico. This would add SOC volumes
 to the library in q short time. Its larg- est patronage at present comes from the diplomats of the SraEish-American coun-
 tries, who take especial interest in the newspapers. It Is hoped that some gem leral literature from thc4eiuthors of these
 countries may be added.
 A Splendid Equipped Stack.
 At the Bureau of Education the most
 interesting feature of thoroughly
 equipped and splendidly arranged library lis the department where publications from Europe are catalogued. College and
 university magazines from every part of
 the country are catalogued by the libra
 rian. For this task a working knowledge
 of sixteen languages is required The
 model library of 5000 volumes exhibited at the worlds fair in Chicago is an in
 teresting feature of this library.
 The library of the Smithsonian Insti- Tuition with Its S57,O0O books ana S,O0O periodicals easily ranks next to the IL