The Elbert County tribune., 1908-08-27
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| lications, on the ancient monuments
of the Mississippi valley, by Squier
and Davis, was issued In 1848, and
distributed In this country and abroad.
The germs of the present exchange
system are evident in the words of the
first secretary, Joseph Henry. who
wrote as early as 1882:
THE worth and Importance Of the
institution are not to be estimated by
what 1t accumulates within the walls
of its building, but by what it sends
forth to the world. Its great mission
is to facilitate the use of all the i'm
plements of research, and to dinuse
knowledge, which this use may de-
velop. The Smithsonian publications
are sent to some institutions abroad,
and to the great majority OF those
at home, without any return receipt,
save in some cases that of co-opera-
ton in meteorological and other OBJ
servations."
AS now conducted, the rules for the
control of the exchange service pro-
vide in addition to the distribution OF
the United States government publica-
tions to foreign libraries, for the dis
tribution abroad of books, pamphlets,
charts and other printed matter sent
as gifts or exchanges from literary and
scientific societies or individuals to
correspondents abroad. without ex-
pense to the sender beyond that of de-
livery to the Smithsonian institution
in Washington. No charge is made
to the receiver except in some in
stances the cost of delivery from the
Smithsonian agent or correspondent
nearest to him. Similar material sent
from abroad to this country Is for
warded to the recipient without ex-
pense to him, the packages having
been delivered free of freight charges
to the foreign agent or correspondent
of the institution.
The international exchange service
has now grown to huge proportions.
Three paid agencies abroad are main
tanned in London. in Leipsic and in
Budapest. The shipments sent abroad
by the Smithsonian exchange service
include practically every organized
community in the world, from Ireland
to South Africa They are made in
uniform packages or boxes. and ship
ments to smaller communities are sent
whenever enough material has accu-
mulated to warrant its transmission.
To larger agencies the service is
weekly. To France, in 1907, went i53
boxes and 12,061 packages; to Great
Britain and Ireland, 30S boxes and 90
213 packages, and similar amounts to
other large agencies, supplying in all
nearly 10000 correspondents. In re-
turn France sent 1857 packages of
books. Great Britain and ireland T.
937, British America 309, and so on.
1t may be seen from the larger fig
ures on the shipment side that the
United States government is more
generous than any other nation in the
matter of publishing and giving away
literature of scientific and an educa-
tional nature.
The exchange service is limited to
voluntary contributions from recog-
nized societies, institutions or facul-
ties. The United States does not un-
dertake to ship free of charge books
purchased in different countries, nor
scientific apparatus nor Instruments
The exchanges are still administered
for the same purpose as at their begin
ming, for the diffusion of knowledge
among men,"