Monthly Catalogue

United States Public Documents

No. 164

August, 1908

ISSUED BY THE

SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1908

Common abbreviations for names of States and months are also used.

H. or S. followed by a number stands for House bill or Senate bill, respectively.

* Document for sale by Superintendent of Documents.

† Distribution by office issuing document.

‡ Document not obtainable.

Words and figures inclosed in brackets [] are given for information, but do not appear on the title-pages of the publications catalogued. When size is not given, octavo is to be understood. Size of maps is measured from outer edge of border, excluding margin. The dates, including day, month, and year, given with Senate and House documents and reports, are the dates on which they were ordered to be printed. Usually the printing promptly follows the ordering, but various causes sometimes make delays. When Congress and session are not given with the numbers of Senate and House documents and reports, 60th Congress, 1st session, is to be understood.

The new edition of the Checklist of United States public documents is making gratifying progress. Twenty-two new sheets were printed and issued during August.

Treasury decisions, vol. 15, Army regulations, 1908, and Customs regulations, 1908, are among the more important documents issued during the month.

Dr. Wright's papers in the numbers of the Naval medical bulletin for April and July on the mercurial treatment of tuberculosis have aroused so wide an interest that it has been determined to print a special edition of them for the International Tuberculosis Congress which is to sit in Washington from Sept. 21 to Oct. 12 of the present year. This reprint will also be sold by the Superintendent of Documents.

A new edition of Diplomatic and consular service, corrected to July 27, 1908, has been published.

Mr. Ford's Bibliographical notes on the issues of the Continental Congress in 1779, in quarto form, is the most recent publication of the Library of Congress.

The Bureau of Equipment, Navy Department, wants a blue printer and has asked that an eligible list for employees of that gloomy color be established.

The schedules of the 1st Census of the United States, that of 1790, are now receiving their first printing. Those containing the names of the heads of families in South Carolina are given in the latest volume, which also reproduces a map of the date of 1796 and has an interesting introduction containing facts about census taking in the first years of the Republic.

Plant Industry Bureau Bulletin 129 throws light on that mysterious ailment of horses and cattle in the West, the loco-weed disease.

Of the many classifications of railroad accounting made by the Interstate Commerce Commission, the latest is the first issue of Classification of revenues and expenses for outside operations.

The "International list" of money-order postoffices in foreign countries has just been issued by the Post-Ofiice Department, with models of money orders, rates, instructions, etc.

The 1907 issue of the Yearbook of the Agriculture Department, the book which is printed in a larger edition than any other in this or any country, is just off the press. Though dated 1907, it is really the issue for 1908, the edition being so large that it is always of necessity printed in the recess between the two sessions of Congress, a fact which makes it appear to be late. As a matter of fact, however, its statistics are brought up to the present year and its contents are always fresh and valuable.

May 29, 1798, the House of Representatives resolved "that the Secretary of the Treasury do lay before the House annually a statement of the goods, wares, and merchandises imported into the U. S. in each year from the year 1796," etc. In compliance with this order a statement was annually compiled by the Register of the Treasury, transmitted to the House by the Secretary, and printed as a House document till 1820, usually under a title substantially like this: "Letter from the Secretary of the Treasury transmitting statements of goods, wares, and merchandise imported in American and foreign vessels." Feb. 10, 1820, an act was passed calling for a much more detailed and comprehensive annual statement, giving exports and domestic and foreign tonnage as well as imports. The compilations under this act were also made by the Register of the Treasury, the first being for 1821. In transmitting the 1821 compilation to Congress the then Secretary of the Treasury (Crawford) stated that it was sent in conformity with the act of Feb. 10, 1821; in transmitting the 1822 report he gave the date of the act as Jan. 10, 1820; not till the third attempt, 1823, did he get the correct date, Feb. 10, 1820. Whether these slips helped to inspire confidence in the general accuracy of the work does not appear. The title "Commerce and navigation of the United States" was first used in 1821; it has been continued to the present time. The word "Foreign" was prefixed in 1881 and has been retained, and there have been at times supplemental volumes on "Internal commerce" and on "Immigration," and at times the words "Immigration and tonnage" have been included in the title, but the words "Commerce and navigation," in this order, have been the backbone of the title since 1821, and by them alone the set is known and identified. "Commerce and navigation" has always been included in the Congressional document series, and from 1822 to 1860 it was duplicated, appearing in both the Senate and the House series, except for the years 1831, 1832, 1847, 1848, 1850. For the years 1850-69 it was issued without document number. In 1831, 1832, and 1848 it was a House document only. In 1847 it was a Senate document only. Until 1849 it was a small document, bound up with others. From 1850 to 1875 it was a separate volume, octavo. In 1876 it was in two volumes, 1877 in one, 1878 in two (three in the cloth edition), 1879 in one, 1880 in two, 1881 in one, 1882 in two, 1883 in one, 1884, 1885, 1886, and 1887 in two volumes each year, 1888 in one, 1889, 1890, and 1891 in two, 1892 in one, 1893 in three, 1894 in two, 1895 in three, 1896 in three, 1897 in two, 1898 in one. From 1899 to 1904 two volumes were issued each year. The later issues are in one volume. It was an octavo till 1893, when it became a quarto, and the main volumes have so continued, though the Immigration and passenger movement volumes for 1893-95 are thin octavos. Beginning with 1850, there has also been a cloth-bound edition without document number. The work was compiled by the Register of the Treasury from the beginning till 1865. By act of July 28, 1866, the Bureau of Statistics, Treasury Department, was created, under charge of a Director, and the compilation of the annual report on Commerce and navigation was made a part of its duties. The Director of Statistics issued the reports for 1866 and 1867. The office of the Director was abolished Jan. 1, 1869, but the Bureau remained, and a Deputy Special Commissioner of the Revenue was appointed and put in charge of it. He issued Commerce and navigation for 1868 and 1869. Then a Chief of the Bureau of Statistics was appointed, and by that officer the report has since been annually issued. With but one exception, Commerce and navigation has always been a compilation of the transactions of the fiscal year, which before 1843 ended Sept. 30. By act of Aug. 26, 1842, the fiscal year was changed to end June 30, the act taking effect July 1, 1843. The Commerce and navigation report for 1843 bridged the gap between the old and new fiscal years by covering only nine months, from Sept. 30, 1842, to June 30, 1843.

ANTI-NOBILITY AMENDMENT

Amendment prohibiting acceptance of title, pension, office, or emolument from foreign power by citizens of United States.

This proposed amendment came so near to adoption that for many years it was generally supposed to have been adopted, and in the first volume of the Bioren edition of the Laws of the United States, printed by authority of Congress in Washington, 1815, it is incorporated in the text as the 13th amendment to the Constitution. It was so printed, also, in the official edition of the Constitution supplied to the members of the House of Representatives at the opening of the 15th Congress, Dec. 1817. It was submitted to the States by Congress May 1, 1810, and no further Congressional action was taken till Dec. 31, 1817, when the House passed a resolution calling for information as to the number of States which had ratified the proposed amendment. To this President Monroe responded Feb. 4, 1818, by transmitting a report from the Secretary of State (John Quincy Adams) showing that twelve States (Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Vermont) had ratified, that three States (Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island) had rejected, that South Carolina was in doubt, and that Virginia had not been heard from. The States being then seventeen in number, this completed the roll, and as thirteen (being three-fourths of the whole) were required to make the ratification effective, it fell short one State. Feb. 27, 1818, President Monroe transmitted a further report, showing that South Carolina had failed to ratify by the nonaction of the House branch of the Legislature, the ratification voted by the State Senate being thus made inoperative, and that Virginia was still unheard from. There have been no further official communications on the subject, and Virginia has not been heard from to this day. The proposed anti-nobility amendment therefore remains unratified, but possibly action sufficient for ratification might still lawfully be taken by Virginia or South Carolina. The prohibition which the proposed amendment would have placed upon citizens of the United States had previously been placed upon officials by section 9, Article I, of the Constitution.

The National Asylum for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers was incorporated under an act of Congress approved Mar. 21, 1866, providing for a Board of Managers composed of the President, the Secretary of War, the Chief Justice, and nine others who were appointed by joint resolution approved Apr. 21, 1866. An act had been approved Mar. 3, 1865, naming 100 incorporators for a like purpose, but no action was taken under it. The Board of 12 created by the act of 1866 met for organization May 16 in that year, and chose Gen. B. F. Butler as its first president. Under this organization the various national homes for volunteer soldiers have been created and conducted. The Soldiers' Home at Washington, being for the Regular Army, is not under the jurisdiction of the Board, nor are the various State homes for soldiers. By act of Jan. 23, 1873, it was provided that the name "Asylum" be dropped and the word "Home" be substituted. The first soldiers Were received Oct. 1867, at the Eastern Branch, near Augusta, Me., the first Home to be established. The Board publishes annual reports, which are found in the set of numbered House documents. It also publishes Proceedings, Records, etc., which are not numbered documents. The law prohibits any one who has been in rebellion against the U. S. Government from serving as a member of the Board of Managers. The term of office is six years. The officers are paid for their services, the other Managers receiving only their expenses.

A list, continued from the July Monthly catalogue, of a few of the notable reports and addresses that have been made to Congress, showing where they may be found in the "sheep set":

Gaines, Edmund Pendleton.

Plan for defense of western frontier. 1838. 25th Cong. 2d sess., H. doc. 311.

Gaines, Myra Clark.

Claim of her heirs to her inheritance. 1890. 51st Cong. 1st sess., H. rp. 1888. [This is the last of many reports printed concerning this celebrated case, which it reviews to some extent.]

Garfield, James Abram.

Report on ninth census, with historical sketch. 1870. 41st Cong. 2d sess., H. rp. 3.

Memorial address on death of Garfield, by James Gillespie Blaine. 1882. 47th Cong. 1st sess., S. mis. doc. 123.

Garrett, Richard H.

Claim of Garrett for barn burned in capturing John Wilkes Booth. 1874. 43d Cong. 1st sess., H. rp. 743.

Gass, Patrick.

Report in favor of giving him 320 acres of land. 1854. 33d Cong. 1st sess., H. rp. 215. [Gass was the last survivor of the Lewis and Clark expedition.]

Gayarre, Charles.

Documents relating to early history of Louisiana, belonging to Gayarre, destroyed or removed by Federal soldiers during Civil War. 1880. 46th Cong. 2d sess., H. mis. doc. 22.

Geronimo (Indian chief).

Surrender of Geronimo. 1886. 49th Cong. 2d sess., S. ex. doc. 117.

Giddings, Joshua Reed.

Arrest of Giddings in Montreal while U. S. Consul-general to the British North American provinces. 1864. 38th Cong. 1st sess., H. ex. doc. 39.

Gilliss, James Melville.

Astronomical expedition to southern hemisphere. 1854. 33d Cong. 1st sess., H. ex. doc. 121.

Gilmer, Thomas Walker (Secretary of Navy).

Account of his being killed by bursting of a cannon on U. S. ship Princeton. 1844. 28th Cong. 1st sess., H. doc. 158.

Gordon, Thomas F.

Proposed plan for indexing public documents. 1843. 27th Cong. 3d sess., H. doc. 41.

Gould, Benjamin Apthorp.

Report as American delegate to International Committee on Weights and Measures, Paris, 1888. 50th Cong. 2d sess., S. ex. doc. 79.

Granger, Amos Phelps (Representative).

Assault on Granger by Fayette McMullin (Representative), report of special committee. 1856. 34th Cong. 2d sess., H. rp. 1.

Grant, Ulysses Simpson.

Transfer of military and civil testimonials lately belonging to Grant to U. S. in perpetual trust by Julia Dent Grant and William Henry Vanderbilt. 1885. 48th Cong. 2d sess., S. ex. doc. 60.

Greely, Adolphus Washington.

Report of expedition to Lady Franklin Bay (International Polar Expedition). 1880. 49th Cong. 1st sess., H. mis. doc. 393.

Green, Duff.

Memorial relative to finances. 1874. 43d Cong. 1st sess., S. mis. doc. 11.

Green, Norvin.

Memorial favoring establishment of Government postal-telegraph. 1888. 50th Cong. 1st sess., S. mis. doc. 39.

Greene George Sears.

Military and civil record of Greene. 1892. 52d Cong. 2d sess., S. rp. 783.

Greene, Nathanael.

Monument to Greene and celebration of centennial at Guilford C. H., N. C. 1880. 46th Cong. 2d sess., H. rp. 1772.

Greenhow, Robert.

Historical and political memoir on northwest coast of North America. 1840. 26th Cong. 1st sess., S. doc. 174.

Grenfel, George St. Leger.

Papers relative to conspiracy of Grenfel to release prisoners at Camp Douglas and burn city of Chicago. 39th Cong. 2d sess., H. ex. doc. 50.

Grimes, James Wilson.

Report from select committee to investigate frauds in chartering army transports. 1862. 37th Cong. 3d sess., S. rp. 84.

Grinnell, Josiah Bushnell (Representative).

Assault upon person of Grinnell by Representative Lovell H. Rousseau, in the Capitol, report of special committee. 1866. 39th Cong. 1st sess., H. rp. 90.

Grow, Galusha Aaron.

Addresses on presentation of portrait of Grow to House of Representatives. 1892. 52d Cong. 1st sess., H. mis. doc. 141.

Gurley, Ralph Randall.

Information respecting Liberia. 1850. 31st Cong. 1st sess., S. ex. doc. 75.

Guthrie, Alfred.

Memorial relative to explosion of steam boilers. 1852. 32d Cong. 1st sess., S. mis. doc. 32.

This list will be continued.