No. 30       June, 1897

Catalogue of United States Public Documents

Issued Monthly

BY THE

Government Printing Office

Washington

Government Printing Office

1897

NOTE.—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.

This Monthly Catalogue is issued in accordance with the provisions of section 69 of the Act providing for the public printing and binding and the distribution of public documents, approved January 12, 1895, which is as follows:

"Sec. 69. A catalogue of Government publications shall be prepared by the Superintendent of Documents on the first day of each month, which shall show the documents printed during the preceding month, where obtainable, and the price thereof. Two thousand copies of such catalogue shall be printed in pamphlet form for distribution."

There is no direction as to who shall make the distribution, nor to whom it shall be made. Thus far the Superintendent of Documents has exercised his own discretion in the premises. In pursuance of this discretion copies of each issue have been sent to Senators, Representatives, and Delegates in Congress, to the designated depository libraries, to those Government Departments, bureaus, and offices which issue public documents, to the officers of the Engineer Corps, U. S. A. (by request of the Chief of the Corps), and, finally, to those citizens who have asked for them. No arbitrary list of names of people who have expressed no interest in public documents has been made up. Only those unofficial citizens who were known to want the Catalogue have been supplied with it. By pursuing this course the small edition has thus far been saved from entire exhaustion, and it is still possible, in special cases, to supply all the numbers except the first. It will, however, soon be found necessary to increase the number printed or to adopt some more restrictive rule than that of "first come, first served," which has thus far been followed. Requests for the regular receipt of the Catalogue have been received from every part of this country and from several foreign countries, and additional requests are continually received.

Section 61 of the Act hereinbefore quoted provides as follows:

"The Superintendent of Documents is hereby authorized to sell at cost any public document in his charge, the distribution of which is not herein specifically directed, said cost to be estimated by the Public Printer and based upon printing from stereotyped plates; but only one copy of any document shall be sold to the same person, excepting libraries or schools by which additional copies are desired for separate departments thereof, and Members of Congress; and whenever any officer of the Government having in his charge documents published for sale shall desire to be relieved of the same, he is hereby authorized to turn them over to the Superintendent of Documents, who shall receive and sell them under the provisions of this section."

In accordance with the foregoing provisions, prices are fixed on the documents named in the Catalogue. In those cases where publications are offered for sale by the Departments issuing them, and price lists have been issued, those prices have been adopted here. In other cases the prices have been computed on the basis fixed in the law as above quoted. Except as otherwise stated in the body of the Catalogue, these computed juices call for paper or cloth covers, and a corresponding increase will be made for books bound in leather or half leather. The cost of paper coven is about 1c. per volume; of cloth cases, from 10c. to 50c. per volume; of full sheep binding, from 75c. to $1.15 per volume for octavos and $1.50 for quartos; of half russia or half turkey, $1.00 per volume.

It is the apparent intention of the new printing law (approved January 12, 1895) that the sales of public documents shall ultimately be concentrated mainly if not wholly in the office of the Superintendent of Documents. The provisions that 500 copies of each of the various departmental publications of every kind, as well as of the numbered Congressional documents, shall be sent to him (sec. 58); that all the accumulated documents in the Departments not needed for official use be sent to him now and annually (sec. 67); that any public officer having documents for sale may turn them over to him (sec. 61);—all point to such an intention. But thus far the law has been only partially operative. No officer except the Public Printer has sufficiently desired to be relieved of the sale of books to induce him to turn them over to this office. The collection of the accumulations from the Departments is not yet completed. The decision that 500 additional departmental publications shall be printed for this office has not been made to cover all such publications. Consequently many of the current documents noted in the Monthly Catalogue can not be supplied, while of the older documents, of which many thousands are here on sale, no catalogue can be furnished. Thus the selling function of the office of the Superintendent of Documents is comparatively undeveloped. But its development is progressing steadily, if not rapidly.

The arrangements for disposing of public documents which existed before the passage of the new law are still in operation. They are extremely varied, and before the advent of the Monthly Catalogue no attempt had been made to collect them and publish a comprehensive statement for the benefit of general buyers. It is believed that the following statement describes most of their important features. It is made, however, subject to correction as further information may be received.

The Congressional Record, containing the proceedings and debates of Congress, is issued daily when Congress is in session, and indexes thereto are published semimonthly It is sold by the Public Printer on the following terms: Single copy, 3c. if not more than 24 pp., and 1c. more for each additional 8 pp.; per month, $1.50; per short session, $4.00; per long session, $8.00. Subscriptions are payable in advance.

The volumes of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States, perhaps the most important of all public documents, have never been published by the Government. They are published by the official reporter of the Court, through a private publishing house. There is a statutory provision that a number of copies, amounting to 300 in all, shall be furnished to various Departments of the Government free of cost, and that the price to the public shall not exceed $2.00 per volume. The cases in suits in which the United States are not plaintiff in error or appellant are also printed by contract at a private printing house. Those documents of the Supreme Court which are printed at the Government Printing Office are but a small part of the whole. They are printed in very limited editions for the use of the Court and attorneys, and no provision is made for their distribution or sale. By far the greater part of the publications used in the proceedings of the Court are printed by private litigants at their own cost. Occasionally, when a litigant pleads poverty, the Court makes an order that his printing shall be done at the Government Printing Office at public expense.

The documents of the Court of Claims are printed at the Government Printing Office, but only for the use of the Court, and in very limited editions. They are not accessible to the public except by consent of the attorneys in interest. The Court makes an annual report to Congress, which is a public document, and its findings are printed in annual volumes, of which only a limited edition, for official use, is issued by the Court. Private publishers, however, may, and usually do, order from the Public Printer separate editions, which they offer for sale.

Senators and Representatives in Congress have allotments, often very limited in number, of nearly all the more important Government publications, which are distributed on their order from the Senate and House folding and document rooms.

The State Department distributes the Consular Reports and other departmental publications gratuitously, but sells the Revised Statutes, Statutes at Large, and pamphlet laws. Address Disbursing Clerk, State Department. If drafts are sent, make them payable to his order.

The American Republics Bureau sells its own monthly bulletins, handbooks, etc., at prices usually ranging from 5c. to 60c. Address the Director of the Bureau.

The Charts, Coast Pilots, and Tide Tables of the Coast and Geodetic Survey are sold at the office of the Survey, in Washington, and also by one or more sales agents in each of the important American seaports. The monthly Notice to Mariners may be had free at these agencies, at all United States custom-houses, at the branch hydrographic offices of the Navy Department, and at the office of the Coast Survey.

Public Health Reports, issued weekly, showing health conditions in various parts of this and other countries, as reported by the officers of the Marine Hospital Service and others, is for gratuitous distribution, but the edition is limited, and the document is intended only for health officers and other persons interested in sanitary affairs. To obtain it application should be made to the Supervising Surgeon-General of the Marine Hospital Service, Treasury Department.

The weekly Catalogue of Copyrights, prepared by the Librarian of Congress, is published by the Treasury Department, but is not sold by that Department, nor by the Librarian. Those desiring it must subscribe at the office of the collector of customs for the district in which they live. The price is $5.00 per year.

The volumes of the Records of the War of the Rebellion are sold at 35c. to 90c. per part. The atlas is furnished unbound for $14.50, and the plates composing it are sold separately at 10c. each. Address Maj. George W. Davis, War Records Office, War Department.

The Navy Department will sell the surplus copies of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies after the distribution ordered by law has been made. No copies are now available from this source. The officer in immediate charge of the publication, to whom inquiries may be addressed, is the Superintendent of Naval War Records, Navy Department.

The Charts, Sailing Directions, etc., of the Hydrographic Office are sold by the Office in Washington, and also by agents at the principal American and foreign seaports and American lake ports. Copies of the Notice to Mariners, Hydrographic Bulletin, and Notice to Mariners for the Great Lakes are supplied free on application at the Hydrographic Office in Washington and at the branch offices in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Norfolk, Savannah, New Orleans, San Francisco, Portland (Oreg.), Port Townsend, Buffalo, Chicago, and Cleveland. The same offices also supply the Light List and the Beacon and Buoy List issued by the Light-House Board.

The Notice to Mariners contains information of newly discovered dangers to navigation and of establishment and changes of lights and other aids. For economy and convenience in distribution, the items in each number relating to different geographical sections are reprinted separately, as Notice to Mariners 19, sec. 1, etc. The information relating to the Great Lakes appears only in the Notice to Mariners for the Great Lakes, issued monthly except January and February.

It should be noted that there are four kinds of Notices to Mariners— one issued at frequent but irregular intervals by the Light-House Board (Treasury Department); one issued monthly by the Coast Survey (Treasury Department); and two by the Hydrographic Office (Navy Department), one of these last being weekly for the ocean and the other monthly for the Great Lakes.

The American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac, the Nautical Almanac extracted from this publication, and other astronomical publications of the Nautical Almanac Office, are sold by the Director of the Nautical Almanac, U. S. Naval Observatory, Washington, D. C., and by agents of that office in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, New Orleans, Portland (Oreg.), Baltimore, San Francisco, Washington, and Port Townsend. The price of the Ephemeris is $1.00, and it is issued three years in advance. The Nautical Almanac is sold for half this price by the agents.

The Post-Office Department sells the volume of Postal Laws and Regulations at 42c.

The post-route maps of the different States and Territories, showing post-offices, with intermediate distances and mail routes in operation, are compiled by the Topographer, corrected quarterly, and issued on the last day of March, June, September, and December. For a list of the maps composing the set, with prices, see December, 1896, Catalogue. Orders for the maps should be addressed to the Disbursing Clerk, Post-Office Department, and money orders should be made payable to him. Prices range from 80c. to $4.20.

The Official Postal Guide is sold by the printers, the Metropolitan Job Print, 226 West 26th street, New York City.

The Decisions of the Interior Department in land cases and in pension cases are issued in slips and signatures, and in bound volumes at prices ranging from $1.05 to $1.45 per volume. Subscribers may deposit $1.00, and receive the contents of a volume of the Decisions in separate parts as they appear. Of the Land Decisions usually two volumes are issued yearly, while the Pension-Decision volumes appear at longer intervals, sometimes more than two years apart.

Orders for the publications of the Tenth and Eleventh Censuses (1880 and 1890) should be sent to the Chief Clerk of the Interior Department, indorsed "Document Division."

The various bureaus of the Interior Department have extensive and important lists of publications, which may be ordered from the Department or directly from the bureaus. These include the issues of the Pension, Patent, and Land offices, the Geological Survey, and the Education Bureau.

The publications of the United States Geological Survey include annual reports and Water-Supply and Irrigation Papers, which are intended for free distribution; and Monographs, Bulletins, and folios of the Geologic Atlas of the United States, which are sold at prices ranging from 5c. to $11.00 each.

The Geological Survey is making a topographic map of the United States. The sheets of which it is composed are projected without reference to political divisions, and are designated by some prominent feature found on them. Three scales are used, 1:62,500, 1:125,000, and 1:250,000. These correspond, approximately, to 1 mile, 2 miles, and 4 miles to 1 linear inch on the map. The size, unless otherwise given, is abont 17½ inches in height by 11½ to 16 inches in width, exclusive of the margin, the width varying with the latitude. A description of the topographic map is printed on the reverse of each sheet. About one-fifth of the area of the country, excluding Alaska, has been mapped, nearly every State being represented. Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia are completely mapped. Sheets of the regular size are sold by the Survey at 5c. each; but in lots of 100 or more copies, whether of the same sheet or of different sheets, the price is 2c. each. Address the Director of the Geological Survey, Washington.

The Patent Office publishes specifications and drawings of patents, both in single copies and monthly volumes, the former at 5c. and the latter at $5.00. The former are not enumerated in this catalogue. For certified copies of patents, including specification, drawing, certificate, and grant, the price is 80c. A variety of indexes, giving a complete view of the work of the office from 1790 to date, are published at prices ranging from 25c. to $10.00 per volume. The Rules of Practice and pamphlet Patent Laws an furnished free. The weekly Official Gazette is sold at 10c. a copy or $5.00 a year. It contains lists of the new patents, numbering about 450 a week. The Patent Office issues coupon orders in packages of 20 at $1.00 per package, or in books containing 100 coupons, at $5.00 per book. One coupon will procure a specification with drawings, and two coupons a copy of the Official Gazette. They are good until used. Address Chief Clerk, Patent Office.

Such publications of the Education Bureau as are in print may be had gratuituously by addressing the Commissioner of Education. The separates from the Commissioner's report, however, except the report on education in Alaska, are now issued in a limited edition, which is retained by the Bureau for reference and loan purposes and is not available for distribution.

The General Land Office publishes separate State maps of the States in which public lands are to be found, and also a large general map of the United States, which is sold at $1.00. Address the Chief Clerk of the Interior Department.

Those publications of the Department of Agriculture which are for sale, except those of the Weather Bureau, will hereafter be supplied by the Superintendent of Documents, Union Building, Washington, D. C. The Department has no list of addresses to which all its publications are sent. It issues a monthly list of publications, which is mailed to all applicants, enabling them to select such reports and bulletins as interest them. For the publications of the Weather Bureau application should be made to the Chief of that Bureau. The serial publications of the Department are not intended for general distribution. Requests for them are referred to the divisions from which they are issued, and instructions are then sent as to how the publications may be regularly secured.

In its latest published catalogue and price list the Smithsonian Institution publishes this note: "The publications of the Smithsonian Institution consist of Contributions to Knowledge, Miscellaneous Collections, and annual reports. No sets of these are for sale, and most of the volumes are out of print. The edition of volumes of Contributions and Collections is limited, and is distributed to designated public libraries and to learned institutions in this country and abroad. A small edition of some of the papers in the above publications is printed for sale or exchange. For reports of the Institution or of the National Museum or Bureau of Ethnology, application should be made to Members of Congress or to the Director of the Bureau." Separates from the reports of the Institution are for exchange only. The annual report is the only Smithsonian publication that is a public document. All the others are paid for from the private funds of the Institution.

The publications of the Department of Labor and of the Fish Commission are distributed gratuitously through the heads of those Bureaus and through Members of Congress. They are in much demand, and complete sets can not much longer be supplied.

The Interstate Commerce Commission sends its reports free to all applicants.

Remittances to the Public Printer and the Superintendent of Documents should be made by postal money order, express money order, or draft on New York. The Geological Survey and the War Records Office will receive currency as well as postal orders if the exact amount be sent. The State Department will receive drafts on New York or Washington banks, as well as money orders or currency. None of the Departments or Bureaus will receive individual checks or postage stamps in payment for books.

All the Government offices which have books for sale issue price lists, which will be sent free to all applicants. The prices charged are never more than cost and 10 per cent added, and frequently much less than that.

All public documents, from whatever Department or Bureau they may be bought, will be forwarded free of postage to all points in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.