Evening star., 1935-11-26

from start to finish: everything that
has gone into 1.-THE materials Of
which 1t Is built, the ideas expressed
In its design, the mechanical skill that
has constructed it-are all American
products.
The building has been designed, in
side and out, in monumental propor-
tions. with the aim always In mind to
impress upon the general public
proper realization Of its importance
end significance as the shrine OF the
history and patriotism of the Ameri-
can people. Here in dozen enormous
concrete vaults, or stock areas, as the
years pass will be preserved some
2,500,000 cubic feet Of records-the
most priceless property Of the United
States Government, because they are
absolutely essential to its activities,
and If destroyed or lost could never
be replaced. Each of these stack
areas will be equipped with filing
cases especially designed for this
building and each will be like sealed
room into which no person except en-
ployes Of the national archives will
be permitted to enter. Any unau-
thorized person attempting to do so
will Immediately set Off an electric
alarm that will give warning in the
Office of the captain Of the guard.
Adequate protection against fire is Of
course provided. Moreover, the build
ing Is air conditioned throughout SO
that the temperature, the humidity,
and the chemical contents Of the air
can be regulated to prevent damage
to the documents. Sunlight, which,
of course, Is damaging to paper, Is
excluded from all areas where docu-
ments are stored. BY these and other
devices it Is believed that the chances
Of loss Of valuable records by theft,
fire, insects, dampness, exposure to
light. or in any other way. have been
reduced to an absolute minimum.
Films to Be Preserved.
Records Of parchment and paper
are not the only kinds of archives
that will be preserved here. The
building contains eight concrete
vaults in which will be stored and
preserved motion picture films and
sound recordings illustrative Of Amer
ican history; and beautiful little
projection room in which these films
and records may be used by students
for historical purposes and study.
The possibilities which motion pic
lures and sound records open up for
the historian are too obvious to re-
quire any comment, but perhaps 1t
may not be amiss to ask you. who
may be listening in on this broadcast,
how much would you give if you could
see an actuaEnot an imaginary
movie Of Washington crossing the
Delaware, or to hear the voice Of
Lincoln as he delivered his first in
augural address? We cannot now re-
produce those events. but motion pic
lures of the Inauguration of McKin-
ley, OF Woodrow Wilson at the Peace
Conference, and Of other important
historical events can be shown: and
a hundred years from now your
grandchildren will be able to see
real movie Of the Inauguration Of the
next President Of the United States
and to hear his voice as he speaks his
inaugural address. And may remind
you that the motion picture industry
is still in its infancy? What its de-
velopments may be within the next
quarter of a century no man dare
predict. We do dare predict, how
ever, that the future American citizen
will study the history Of his country
not only from the printed page, but
also from the screen and from the
sound record.
viii Issue Register.
Another duty imposed upon the
National archives by an act Of Con-
gress, passed at its last session, is that
of issuing THE Federal Register" a
periodical that will be somewhat like
the Congressional Record, although 1t
will contain very different sorts Of
material. A brief explanation Of its
purpose may be Of some interest.
In a Government such as ours, with
its numerous complex problems, 1t