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SPECIAL
COLLECTIONS
73
.U6
U553
1916
^ £ F .
HC-
ANNUAL REPORT
lo/
/VS 7
OF THE
SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
1916
WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFIC0
1916
CON TEN TS.
(For complete alphabetical Index to th is report see page
249.)
Injustice to traveling employees...............................................................................
Space in Commerce Building....................................................................................
Attendance at trade conventions and meetings......................................................
Civilian crews for Fisheries vessels...........................................................................
Vessels of the Department’s marine services...........................................................
Counting passengers on excursion vessels................................................................
Status of Eastland inquiry.........................................................................................
Inadequate motor-boat law s......................................................................................
Unprecedented foreign trade.....................................................................................
Government-owned building for the Department..................................................
Development of new fish foods— Fisheries laboratory and aquarium..................
Safeguards against foreign unfair competition........................................................
Merchant marine.........................................................................................................
Inspection of foreign-built vessels admitted to American registry......................
Passenger allowance for excursion steamers............................................................
Protection of vessels against fire................................................................................
Load-line and bulkhead regulation..........................................................................
Appropriations and expenditures.............................................................................
Estimates for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1918.................................................
Personnel......................................................................................................................
Printing and binding..................................................................................................
Work of the Solicitor’s Office.....................................................................................
Motor vehicles..............................................................................................................
First-aid outfits needed for Department’s buildings...............................................
Stock and shipping section........................................................................................
Exhibits........................................................................................................................
Authority to make purchases not exceeding S25 without obtaining proposals..
Transfer of Commerce Building................................................................................
Consolidated Department library.............................................................................
Typewriter purchases.................................................................................................
Fire-alarm equipment................................................................................................
Foundation for the Promotion of Industrial Peace.................................................
Status of proposed legislation affecting the Department.......................................
Increased cost of living..............................................................................................
Cooperation with foreign chambers of commerce....... ............................................
Advantages of free ports.............................................................................................
Need for an archives building..................................................................................
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce...........................................................
Functions of the Bureau....................................................................................
Typical results accomplished.............................................................................
Commercial attachés...........................................................................................
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29
33
39
45
46
46
47
48
48
49
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50
50
50
52
54
55
55
56
58
58
58
60
2
CONTENTS.
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce— Continued.
Page.
Commercial agents..............................................................................................
64
District offices of the Bureau.............................................................................
68
Cost of production...............................................................................................
71
Foreign-tariff work..............................................................................................
72
Export statistics..................................................................................................
72
Editorial w ork.....................................................................................................
73
New officers and adequate salaries needed in Washington............................
73
Special tariff study prepared for the Senate....................................................
76
Examinations for eligibles for appointment....................................................
76
Bureau of Standards...................................................................................................
78
Functions of the Bureau....................................................................................
78
Technical conferences at the Bureau................................................................
79
Weights and Measures Conference.....................................................................
80
Cooperation with weights and measures inspectors........................................
81
Weights and measures testing............................................................................
81
Mechanical standards.........................................................................................
82
Temperature scale...............................................................................................
82
Public-utility standards......................................................................................
83
Fire-resisting properties of materials................................................................
84
Investigations of materials.................................................................................
85
Typical investigations for the industries..........................................................
86
Standard-barrel a c t.............................................................................................
86
Optics...................................................................................................................
87
Photometry..........................................................................................................
88
Magnetic research................................................................................................
89
Radium research.................................................................................................
89
Metallurgy............................................................................................................
90
Radio communication research.........................................................................
90
Chemical laboratory............................................................................................
91
Saving industrial wastes....................................................................................
92
Recommendations...............................................................................................
92
Increases in special funds...................................................................................
95
New power plant.................................................................................................
96
Policy as to personnel.........................................................................................
96
Bureau of the Census.................................................................................................
99
Current and completed work on statutory inquiries.......................................
99
Census of manufactures...............................................................................
99
Vital statistics...............................................................................................
100
Financial statistics of cities........................................................................
101
General statistics of cities...........................................................................
101
Cotton and cottonseed.................................................................................
101
Tobacco stocks.............................................................................................
102
Negroes in the United States......................................................................
102
The blind and the deaf...............................................................................
102
prisoners and juvenile delinquents............................................................
102
Estimates of population...............................................................................
103
Special and miscellaneous lines of work...........................................................
103
Life tables......................................................................................................
103
Monograph on cancer...................................................................................
103
Financial statistics of States........................................................................
103
Occupations and child labor.......................................................................
104
Special censuses of population...................................................................
104
Assistance rendered other departments.....................................................
104
CONTENTS.
Bureau of the Census— Continued.
Plans for future work...........................................................................................
Transportation by water..............................................................................
Religious bodies............................................................................................
Marriage and divorce....................................................................................
MonograpL on tuberculosis..........................................................................
Electrical industries.....................................................................................
Executive civil service................................................................................
Census of city distribution..........................................................................
Legislation needed...............................................................................................
Intermediate census of manufactures........................................................
Forest products.............................................................................................
Financial statistics of States.................................................................. ■ ...
Official Register............................................................................................
Express business..............................................................................................
Special statistical compilations...................................................................
Office force............................................................................................................
Equipment...............................................................................................................
Preparation for the census of 1920..............................................................
Storage space........................................................................................................
Bureau of Fisheries.....................................................................................................
Recent achievements of Bureau........................................................................
Alaskan fur seals...................................................................................................
Seal island natives and their support................................................................
Supply vessel..........................................................................................................
Fox herds..............................................................................................................
Minor fur-bearing animals of Alaska..................................................................
Fisheries of Alaska...............................................................................................
Propagation and distribution of food fishes......................................................
Fresh-water mussel propagation.........................................................................
Commercial fisheries............................................................................................
Marine fishery investigations..............................................................................
Fresh-water fishery investigations.....................................................................
Operations at Fisheries laboratories......................................................................
Vessels....................................................................................................................
New building........................................................................................................
Bureau of Lighthouses.................................................................................................
Organization of Service..........................................................................................
Aids to navigation...................................................................................................
Alaska....................................................................................................................
Administrative methods and economies...........................................................
Engineering and construction............................................................................
Improvement of apparatus and equipment......................................................
Appropriations.........................................................................................................
Vessels......................................................................................................................
Cooperation..............................................................................................................
Traveling and subsistence expenses of teachers employed in instructing
the children of keepers of lighthouses..............................................................
Legislation affecting the Lighthouse Service......................................................
Retirement of aged or disabled employees........................................................
Increase in limit of cost of outbuildings at light stations from $200 to $500.
Communication systems to light stations.............................................................
Increase in pay and subsistence allowance of crews of lighthouse vessels...
Inadequate salaries of lighthouse inspectors.......................................................
Saving of life and property....................................................................................
3
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108
108
no
no
in
112
112
115
119
120
122
122
125
127
131
132
136
137
138
139
139
14°
14°
140
143
143
145
146
147
148
131
152
153
155
156
136
137
159
160
4
CONTENTS.
Coast and Geodetic Survey........................................................................................
Office of Assistant in Charge..............................................................................
Division of geodesy..............................................................................................
Division of hydrography and topography.........................................................
Division of charts................................................................................................
Division of terrestrial magnetism......................................................................
Division of accounts............................................................................................
Results of changes in organization...................................................................
Inadequate housing facilities.............................................................................
Reclassification of employees.............................................................................
Mechanical engineer for instrument section.....................................................
Systematic distribution of tire Bureau’s charts and publications.................
Printing office needs............................................................................................
New suboffices......................................................................................................
Two new vessels for the Pacific coast and Alaska...........................................
Government-owned launches needed...............................................................
Increase of pay of men on vessels......................................................................
Need of 48 additional hydrographic and geodetic engineers..........................
Increase in salaries for hydrographic and geodetic engineers........................
Wire-drag work, 1916...........................................................................................
Geodetic work......................................................................................................
Magnetic observatories........................................................................................
Retirement...........................................................................................................
Purchase of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, as a Government base...........................
General summary of operations— Vessels and parties.....................................
Assistance rendered in saving life or property.................................................
New vessels for the Survey................................................................................
Coast Pilot work...................................................................................................
Tidal and current work.......................................................................................
Geodetic work......................................................................................................
Magnetic work......................................................................................................
Menaces to navigation discovered during the year.........................................
Steamboat-Inspection Service...................................................................................
Personnel..............................................................................................................
Summary of activities.........................................................................................
Expansion of the Service....................................................................................
Vessel inspection..................................................................................................
Licensing of men..................................................................................................
Investigations.......................................................................................................
Rehabilitation of the American merchant marine...........................................
Increase of force...................................................................................................
Larger appropriations..........................................................................................
Division of districts..............................................................................................
Eastland inquiry........................................................................
Overloading of passenger excursion steamers...................................................
Transportation of dangerous articles.................................................................
Passengers on ferryboats......................................................................................
Limited authority to investigate marine disasters...........................................
Fusible plugs........................................................................................................
Salaries of assistant inspectors............................................................................
Protection of dredge workers..............................................................................
Work for other departments................................................................................
Archaic state of inspection laws.........................................................................
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273
214
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21s
217
218
218
218
279
219
CONTENTS.
.
5
Pace.
Bureau of Navigation..................................................................................................
Increased duties of the Bureau..........................................................................
Total American merchant marine......................................................................
World’s merchant shipping................................................................................
American shipbuilding.......................................................................................
World’s shipbuilding...........................................................................................
Conditions affecting American maritime interests..........................................
Shipping commissioners......................................................................................
Navigation receipts..............................................................................................
Radiocommunication.........................................................................................
Enforcement of the navigation laws..................................................................
Navigation inspectors..........................................................................................
Repaired wrecks...................................................................................................
Passenger act of 1882...........................................................................................
Seamen’s act of 1915............................................................................................
Conclusion....................................................................................................................
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I n d e x ................................................................................................................................................
249
?
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
D ep a r tm en t op C om m erce ,
O f f ic e o f th e S e c r e t a r y ,
Washington, October 30, 1916.
T o the P r e s id e n t :
I have the honor to submit herewith my fourth annual report,
covering the operations and condition of the Department during
the fiscal year which ended June 30, 1916, and tracing in a general
way its history to October 1, 1916.
The organization of the Department was not altered during the
fiscal year. Soon after the year closed, however, by the act
approved September 8, 1916, the cost of production division of
the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce was ordered to be
transferred to the Tariff Commission created by that act. At this
writing the transfer has not been made because the organization
of the Tariff Commission is not completed.
Injustice to Traveling Employees.
The injustice to certain traveling employees of the Department,
to which I referred in my last report, continues, 'they are still
limited by law to $5 per diem for all subsistence expenses while
required to travel in regions where it is impossible to subsist on
that sum. The matter has been brought during the year before
committees of both Houses of Congress without avail. It remains
true to-day that employees, some of them but modestly paid, are
required to pay out of their own pockets expenses incurred solely
for Government purposes. The practice is wrong and, though
required by law, is without excuse. It is a simple thing to remedy
the evil while providing ample safeguards against extravagance.
The law now takes an unfair advantage of faithful public servants,
and I again enter my earnest protest against it. Publicity and
responsibility are the surest safeguards against improper ex
penditure. The Department welcomes the strictest obligation
7
8
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
in both respects., but it protests against remedying one wrong by
committing another and against the enforced docking of the
salaries of men who must needs contribute out of modest personal
means toward the expenses which a rich and powerful nation
requires them in the course of their duty to it to incur for its
account.
Space in Commerce Building.
An appropriation has been made by Congress, as recommended
in my last report, to provide quarters for the Federal Trade Com
mission. At this writing that body is still housed in the Com
merce Building, greatly to the detriment of the work of the
Department of Commerce. It is my earnest hope that suitable
quarters for the Federal Trade Commission may soon be found
in order to permit this Department to utilize the space in the
building it occupies which its work urgently requires. The
Federal Trade Commission occupies 13,683 square feet. The
Department needs for its own uses not less than 16,000 square
feet more than it now has.
Attendance at Trade Conventions and Meetings.
I renew the protest in my last report against the provision of
law which forbids the payment from any appropriation of “ ex
penses of attendance of any person at any meeting or convention
of members of any society or association, unless such fees, dues,
or expenses are authorized to be paid by specific appropriations
for such purposes or are provided for in express terms in some
general appropriation.” In my report for the year ended June
30, 1914, I said:
It surely was not the intention that the law should prohibit the commercial repre
sentatives of the country from making known directly to business organizations the
information which they have traveled far and labored hard to get, yet this is the effect
of the restriction embodied in the law.
In my report of last year I said:
It is absurd that an officer of the United States, having gathered at public cost
valuable information for the benefit of manufacturers all over the land, should not be
permitted to lay those facts before a convention of such manufacturers except at his
own personal expense or when some other reason for his presence can be contrived.
It still remains true that, although we gather at public expense
all over the world important facts which our merchants and manu
facturers need to know, we are by law placed in the absurd position
that having thus gathered this knowledge we are not permitted at
public cost to go before “ any meeting or convention ” of any busi-
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
9
ness or trade organization to tell them what we have learned in
their behalf. Here, again, to remedy an evil another and a worse
one is done and one which goes far to nullify wise and progressive
laws intended for the benefit of the business and scientific world.
By special provision of law the Bureau of Standards is permitted
to send representatives to such meetings and conventions. The
same authorization should be given to the Bureau of Foreign and
Domestic Commerce, the Coast and Geodetic Survey, the Bureau
of Fisheries, and the Bureau of the Census.
Civilian Crews for Fisheries Vessels.
It is generally known that the Navy requires officers and men,
yet, as I have previously recorded, the steamers Albatross and
Fish Hawk, of the Fisheries Service, are operated by naval crews
commanded by warrant officers of the Navy whose services are
not required to operate those vessels. The work is well done, but
it could be done much more cheaply than it now is. If the
present naval crews were transferred to the regular work of the
Navy Department, and civilian crews replaced them, there would
be an annual saving to the Government of over $27,000 a year.
The matter was brought before Congress during the fiscal year,
but without result.
A wise increase in funds for the maintenance of vessels in the
Fisheries Service has permitted the use of the Albatross in con
nection with the tuna fisheries during the fiscal year.
Vessels of the Department’s Marine Services.
The construction of the lighthouse tender Cedar, at Long Beach,
Cal., has been greatly delayed by a strike and by the difficulty in
securing material. It is now expected that the vessel will be
launched in December. The Cedar will be the largest steamer in
the Service. The medium-draft tender Rose was launched Feb
ruary 19, 1916. Contract for the construction of the shallowdraft tender Palmetto was made on September 27, 1915. Con
tract has also been awarded for the construction of a relief light
vessel, No. 99, for the Great Lakes, at East Boothbay Harbor, Me.
The new Coast Survey steamer Surveyor, under construction at
Manitowoc, Wis., has been launched and will be completed by the
close of the autumn. The steamers Gedney and McArthur, of the
Coast Survey, have been condemned and sold as unfit for further
use. In my last report I pointed out that the steamer Patterson,
of this Service, will hardly last till a new steamer can replace her.
She is 37 years old, weak, underpowered, worn out. The esti
IO
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
mates of the Department for the current fiscal year included two
vessels to replace these old ships. No appropriation was made.
It is certain that just as the Gedney and the McArthur had to be
abandoned before their successors were authorized so the Patter
son must go before a new vessel can be built to take her place.
This, of course, means the holding over of survey work on that
part of our coast which needs it most, namely, the coast of Alaska
and the Pacific coast. Even the Explorer, on account of age,
which has resulted in natural weakness, is unfit for any service
except where she can work in protected waters. Our estimates
for the coming year include the cost of two new ships to replace
the McArthur and Patterson. The Isis has done more than five
times as much work in the year as the vessel she replaced.
The alterations and repairs upon the steamship Roosevelt, bought
last year for the Fisheries Service, have been prolonged by a
strike, by the delay in securing the necessary material, and by
studies to determine accurately the exact condition of the hull
in order to learn what additional work, if any, was required.
The vessel is now substantially completed. Under the Fisheries
Service is given a detailed account of the outlay upon this vessel.
The new steamer Halcyon, of the Fisheries Service, approaches
completion at Boothbay Harbor, Me.
The work of the motor vessels Tarragon and Dixie, of the Navi
gation Service, has resulted in an increased revenue from mitigated
fines for violations of navigation laws during the fiscal year of
$12,000. This increase is one-third more than the cost of the
Dixie. The total number of violations of the navigation laws
reported was 7,825. This is 957 more than the number reported
during the previous fiscal year, which till then was the record.
This increase is principally due to the work of the Dixie, which
went into commission July 1, 1915. Of the 7,825 violations re
ported, over 6,200 were for failures to have the equipment or
crew necessary to the safe navigation of the vessel. In obtaining
these results fully 60,000 separate inspections of vessels were made
by the inspecting officers. The winter work of the motor vessel
Dixie in Chesapeake Bay has resulted in a wonderful improve
ment of conditions, which until this work was vigorously taken
up by us were inhuman and intolerable. The practice of shang
haiing men for the oyster fleet and that of forcing them to live
in unhealthful quarters without sufficient food have been stopped,
while cruel treatment of the crews and the villainous practice of
placing them ashore without payment of their wages have also
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
II
been ended. The thanks of the Department are tendered to the
officers of the Department of Justice, who, working in cooperation
with us, have done a humane work for the benefit of oppressed
sailors on the waters of Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
The Department had the following vessels in its marine services
on October i , 1916:
In opera N ot in
tion.
operation.
Being
built.
Total.
8
2
1
z
IO
Tenders...............................................................................................
46
a
2
50
T o ta l................................................................................................
133
3
6
142
Coast and Geodetic S u r v e y ...................................................................
Bureau of Lighthouses:
2
This is exclusive of 4 vessels loaned to the Coast and Geodetic
Survey by the Philippine government anti of 45 motor boats of
all sizes operated by the Bureau of Fisheries.
Counting Passengers on Excursion Vessels.
The work of the Navigation Service in counting passengers
when entering vessels has been done on a scale never before
attempted. On 8,359 occasions the navigation inspectors counted
3,244,953 passengers. This is an increase of 3,298 counts and of
1,805,680 passengers over the previous year. The officers of the
Customs Service ably cooperated in this matter, and on 5,451
occasions those officers counted 1,867,814 passengers. This is a
decrease of 135 counts from the previous year, but an increase of
248,369 passengers. The total number of counts, 13,810, cover
ing 5,114,351 passengers, is the largest on record and is an increase
of over 2 million persons as compared with the previous year.
On 167 separate occasions the inspectors found it necessary to
stop passengers embarking after the capacity of the vessel had
been reached. These cases involved the safety of 168,178 passen
gers. It is fair to assume that in a majority of these instances
there would have been a violation of law if the Department had
not made this careful inspection. It should be noted that the
above counts are not estimates. The work is done by mechanical
counters and the results are carefully compared and checked.
Never before in the history of the country has this work been
done as generally and as efficiently as during the last fiscal year.
It is treated more fully under the Navigation Service.
12
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Status of “ Eastland” Inquiry.
The completion of the inquiry made pursuant to law (sec.
4450, Rev. Stat.) into the conduct of the licensed officers of the
steamer Eastland was, as my last report stated, adjourned pend
ing the action of the Federal grand jury. It is not practicable to
pursue the inquiry until action shall have been taken by the
State courts under the indictments pending therein. Indictments
were found by the Federal grand jury against two local inspectors
of the Steamboat-Inspection Service, of this Department, located
at Grand Haven, Mich. The Federal authorities sought an order
of removal of these officers to the jurisdiction of the Federal court
in northern Illinois. Meanwhile the two inspectors were sus
pended without pay, subject to reinstatement with accumulated
pay in the event of their exoneration by the court. Argument
for the order of removal was heard at length by Justice Sessions
of the District Court of the United States for the Western District
of Michigan, Southern Division. His decision, rendered February
18, 1916, exonerated the inspectors and denied the order for their
removal. They were restored to duty with accumulated pay.
When the courts shall have acted in the matter of the licensed
officers, the suspended inquiry into their conduct by the local
board of inspectors of Milwaukee will be concluded.
The legislation recommended by the board of inquiry in the
statement printed in my last report was drafted and placed before
Congress. It is treated in detail herein.
I again urge the importance of placing the Steamboat-Inspection
Service on a scientific as well as upon a practical basis through the
establishment of the board of naval architects which the Eastland
board of inquiry recommended, or by such other action to a
similar effect as will provide a scientific staff, now lacking.
Inadequate Motor-Boat Laws.
Repeatedly the Department has stated the dangers to life
arising under the present inadequate motor-boat laws. Three
times before the following statement has been published. It is
renewed now because the facts can not be made too plain.
The Department has no direct power over a motor vessel either as regards passen
gers or machinery. It can inspect the hull, tanks, and piping, but only when the
vessel is of 15 tons measurement or more, and when it carries passengers or freight for
hire. If, for example, the motor vessel is a private vessel of over 15 tons measurement,
the Department can not inspect her in any way. Even if she is a towing motor vessel
of this size, there exists no lawful power to inspect her.
The Department can not limit the number of passengers carried for hire on a motor
vessel, however big, except by fixing the life-saving equipment. Over motor vessels
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
13
smaller than r 5 tons the powers of the Department are limited to seeing them provided
with the necessary life-saving equipment, lights, life preservers, and means of extin
guishing gasoline fires. Here the present powers of the Government stop.
I wish to make this perfectly plain. If a Government inspector stands upon a
dock watching a motor boat sail away with three times as many passengers as she
ought to have and her machinery defective and her hull leaking, he would have no
power in the premises, were she a motor boat under 13 tons measurement, except to
see that there was a life preserver in good order provided for every passenger on board,
that she had the proper lights and the proper means of extinguishing gasoline fires,
with a whistle and a bell of standard dimensions. He could, indeed, require such a
vessel to have a licensed operator, but for that license no examination is required.
* * * At present a person may obtain a license as operator of motor vessels without
being a citizen of the United States or without being 21 years of age, and while being
unable to read or write. Under the law, licenses to operators of motor boats are issued
without any examination whatever. Inspectors are without authority to ask whether
the person applying for such motor-boat license is color blind or whether he under
stands or can read the pilot rules. Y et such persons, having a license so obtained,
may, and in fact do, take charge of motor vessels carrying passengers for hire. Opera
tors of motor boats should be required to show that they are not color blind and have
good vision, that they can read the pilot rules and laws, and that they have a reason
able knowledge of them. The existing conditions are a menace to the lives of innocent
and unsuspecting passengers and should not be permitted to continue.
For the f o u r t h t i m e the Department asks the authority
which it now lacks to protect the lives of innocent passengers on
motor vessels. Here and now it is pointed out that when the
accident which is certain to happen if that authority is not
given shall occur the responsibility for the loss of life will not rest
w'ith the Department.
Bills approved by the Department and by large motor-boat
interests after a full discussion on the subject were introduced
providing for the numbering and recording of undocumented
vessels, for the licensing of operators of motor vessels after a
written examination, and for a certificate of approval from the
local inspectors of steam vessels, for all motor boats carrying 20
passengers or more for hire. Hearings were given on both meas
ures, but the bills have not as yet been reported.
Another bill (H. R. .13831), to which reference is hereinafter
made, gives the local inspectors of steam vessels power to regu
late the number of passengers that may be carried on all inspected
motor boats.
These measures will, if made law, do much to improve existing
conditions.
Unprecedented Foreign Trade.
The balance of trade in favor of the United States on merchan
dise transactions for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1916, was
^2)I35.775,355- The total of our merchandise export trade was
14
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
$4,333,658,865 and of our import trade $2,197,883,510. These
conditions have increased during the three months from the close
of the fiscal year to October 1, in which period the merchandise
exports have been $1,468,196,616, the imports $546,187,765, and
the net visible balance $922,008,851.
Our foreign indebtedness has been reduced possibly 3 billions.
We have loaned abroad a total sum since the war began on August
1, 1914, estimated at $1,500,000,000, and increasing. We are
the wealthiest nation in the world and the most prosperous one.
We have not wasted our men or our means in war. Relatively
to our fiscal power to-day our debts are trifling. Nations less
wealthy than some of our individual States bear a heavier burden
of debt and interest than we. We are the only one of the great
industrial peoples that is at peace. Nations turn to us for goods
and for means with which to pay us for the goods. None of us
in our wildest financial fancies would five years ago have dreamed
that things could be as now they are. To protect our reserve
of gold, which is the ultimate base on which our domestic credits
rest, we must maintain our export trade and must continue and
increase loans and investments abroad. The work of the Bureau
of Foreign and Domestic Commerce is devoted to these important
duties. The report of the chief of that service shows its extraor
dinary expansion and effectiveness. In thousands of business
offices its aid is acknowledged and welcomed. Never has our
Government put at the disposal of our business and industry the
helpful facilities that are now provided.
It is of national importance that the great service which shows
such practical results should be given the men and the money nec~
essary to carry on its great work even more efficiently. The force
of commercial attachés should be enlarged. Further sums should
be provided for the foreign traveling service, and the supervising
and clerical staff should be made adequate to meet the demands
of commerce. The Department acknowledges with keen apprecia
tion the aid which Congress has given. The funds for promoting
the foreign trade of the country are now five times larger than they
were four years ago. The results are many times greater than
the increase in funds. A comparison of present conditions with
those that existed four years ago is like comparing life with death.
Then there were no branch or cooperating offices of the commercial
service. Now in one of the eight offices 2,900 men called in a sin
gle month for business assistance. Then there were no commercial
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
15
attachés and a smaller force of traveling agents. Now from 10
attachés and 22 commercial agents knowledge comes constantly
which results in orders, the profits upon which, estimated on a
low basis, exceed many times the total cost of the entire service
which promotes them.
Government-Owned Building for the Department.
The act of May 30, 1908 (35 Stat., 545), authorized and directed
the Secretary of the Treasury to acquire land for the use and
accommodation of the Departments of State, Justice, and Com
merce and Labor, and the Secretary of the Treasury has done so.
The act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat., 698), authorized and directed
the Secretary of the Treasury to prepare designs and estimates for
a separate fireproof building for each of the Departments of State,
Justice, and Commerce and Labor, to be erected upon the land
acquired under the act of May 30, 1908 (supra), at a cost not to
exceed $8,000,000. On March 3, 1913, the plans for the proposed
building for the Department of Commerce arid Labor were approved
by my predecessor. These plans did not provide for the accom
modation of the Bureau of Fisheries or the Coast and Geodetic
Survey in the proposed new building. In view of the fact, how
ever, that three bureaus which were to be housed in the proposed
new building have been transferred to the Department of Labor
and another bureau to the Federal Trade Commission, I am con
fident that the plans can be so revised that the building can accom
modate the Coast and Geodetic Survey and the administrative
offices of the Bureau of Fisheries.
As the lease for the Commerce Building, which the Department
now occupies, will expire within two years, it will be necessary
to proceed promptly in the matter of providing the new Govern
ment building for this Department if it is to be ready for occu
pancy by that time. The construction of such a building is urged
not only in the interest of efficiency and good administration but
also in the interest of economy. A t the present time the Depart
ment is paying $65,500 for the rental of the enlarged building,
which, although reasonable when compared with other rental
rates in the District of Columbia, represents an income of 3 per
cent on $2,183,333.
I have hitherto pointed out the desirability of having the
bureaus of this Department, except the Bureau of Standards,
housed in one Government building. The experience gained by
having five of our bureaus housed in the same building with the
66776°—16---2
i6
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
divisions of my own immediate office accentuates the loss of money
and effectiveness in having the Bureau of Fisheries and the Coast
and Geodetic Survey separated from the rest of the Department.
It is never good business practice to scatter a department through
several buildings located in different parts of the city. This is a
cause of hourly waste, a producer of delays, and a creator of
inefficiency. If poverty compels such a wasteful course to be
pursued, it should at least be accepted only as a makeshift which
common sense would end as soon as money could be found. I
renew my protest against the policy of paying rent to private
parties for buildings for the public service, especially when this
requires the work of a department to be split into parts at enhanced
cost for operation.
Development of New Fish Foods—Fisheries Laboratory and
Aquarium.
The Bureau of Fisheries needs a practical working laboratory
with an aquarium attached as a part thereof. This Service has
introduced an entirely new food during the fiscal year in the tilefish. It was not known when the year began. Inquiry then in
any fish market throughout the land would have failed to find one.
The Fisheries Service began its work to develop the tilefish in
October, 1915. By the beginning of November the fishery was
actually begun. A t the end of the fiscal year the fishery was
eight months old. During that time 4,125,000 pounds of tilefish
were sold, bringing to the fishermen over $200,000 from a source
theretofore unknown. In July,1916, 2,200,000 additional pounds
of tilefish were taken into New York, 230,000 pounds into Boston,
and smaller loads into Atlantic City, Newport, and elsewhere.
The average catch of this new food fish for recent months is at
the rate of 20 million pounds (10,000 net tons) per annum.
This subject is covered in detail under the Bureau of Fisheries
herein.
What the Fisheries Service has done with the tilefish it is
doing with the grayfish. Over 2,000 persons ate this new food at
the Eastport, Me., fish fair in August, 1916, without a single un
favorable comment. A similar work, though on a smaller scale,
has been done in introducing the wholesome sea mussel. These
are practical attacks upon the high cost of living. It is hard to
imagine a more practical contribution than to find and furnish a
new and cheap food, and it is to develop this work on a larger scale
that the laboratory and aquarium are needed. The aquarium
would indeed have large educational value. The public interest
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
I7
in it appears in the throngs that visited the exhibit of the Bureau
of Fisheries at the Panama-Pacific Exposition and in the urgency
with which the request was pressed for the continued showing of
that exhibit at San Diego. The small temporary aquaria of the
Fisheries Service in Washington and in Woods Hole, Mass., delight
a constant stream of visitors and the public aquaria in different
cities witness to the same general interest. The purpose of the
aquarium, however, would not be to furnish a place for amuse
ment. It would be a working tool to provide new sources of food
supply and to improve those now existing.
It is a singular thing that so practical a people as we talk so
much about the cost of living and do so little about it. There are
huge quantities and a large variety of unused fish foods of excellent
quality of which we hardly know. An acre of water on a farm is
equal to an acre of good land in food-producing value. We wisely
establish agricultural experiment stations; why stop there? It
is quite as possible to improve the breed of fishes in food value as
it is to develop plants in like characteristics. What is true of
plant life, of cattle and horses, as regards improving their quality
and number is just as true of fishes, and the infinite variety of fishes
far surpasses that of all other animals put together.
Three things are possible by the use of such an aquarium which
without it will be long delayed. These are (i) new sources of food
supplies; (2) the improvement of the food supplies now existing;
and (3) the enlargement of the present supply.
A bill (H. R. 764) is now pending to provide a new building
for the Bureau of Fisheries. An amendment has been suggested
to make the bill provide “ that the Secretary of Commerce be, and
he is hereby, authorized to have prepared plans, specifications,
and estimates of cost for the construction of a fireproof steel-frame
building, to cost not to exceed seven hundred and fifty thousand
dollars, for the use and accommodation of the Bureau of Fisheries,
including aquarium and laboratory facilities and an experimental
fish hatchery, to be erected, when appropriated for, on the north
side of the Mall between Fourteenth and Fifteenth Streets; and
there is hereby appropriated the sum of ten thousand dollars, or
as much thereof as may be necessary, to carry into effect the pro
visions of this Act. ”
In my judgment the officers and clerical staff of the Bureau of
Fisheries should be housed in a new Government building for the
Department of Commerce, but the aquarium and its accompanying
laboratories should be separately though conveniently located.
i8
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Safeguards Against Foreign Unfair Competition.
The recommendation in my report for last year that legislation
be enacted providing safeguards against foreign unfair competi
tion has been met by the passage of laws deemed adequate for that
purpose. In that connection a revision of duties upon dyestuffs,
made with the cooperation and approval of this Department, has
also taken place. The two together provide a security, never
before existing, for new industries necessary to our industrial
independence. The recommendation in my annual report that
business concerns should be allowed to cooperate in foreign trade
has found result in the Webb bill, which has passed the House of
Representatives and is now pending in the Senate. It is ear
nestly to be hoped that this will pass early in the coming session.
It has the full approval of this Department. It is quite as essen
tial for the support of our foreign trade as was the law against for
eign unfair competition for our domestic trade. Both are farseeing and wise safeguards for our business which can not be too
soon provided.
I rejoice in the extension of American banks abroad and in the
revision of the law which makes more easily possible the multi
plying of such banks. I regard the extension of American invest
ments abroad as a happy, indeed a necessary, thing for the busi
ness future of the country. With banks in foreign lands under
American control and sympathetic with American commerce,
with investments in foreign lands made by American capital and
looking to America for purchases arising from their operations,
with freedom for our producers to cooperate in the foreign field,
we have three powerful tools long needed but never supplied until
now. It is one thing to criticize and correct business evils. It is
another and a happier thing to give to business a helping hand.
It is well that the latter has come to be the prevailing practice.
Merchant Marine.
The American merchant marine, which is another great weapon
needed for our foreign trade, has never before increased so fast
as during the past two years. In that time we have doubled
our shipping in the foreign trade— from 1,076,152 gross tons to
2,191,715 gross tons. No other nation ever in so short a time so
increased its shipping in foreign trade. Under the Ship Registry
Act admitting foreign-built ships to American registry for foreign
trade, 182 vessels of 616,033 gross tons have been added to our
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
19
merchant marine. On July 1, 1915, our shipyards were building,
or had under contract, 76 steel vessels of 310,089 gross tons. On
October 1, 1916, this had grown to 417 steel merchant vessels of
1,454,270 gross tons. This does not include work in progress or
under contract on wooden ships in many yards. The merchant
shipbuilding thus in progress is not only the greatest in our own
history but greater than any corresponding construction in the
history of any other nation except Great Britain. It includes
195 ocean steel steamers of over 1,000 gross tons each, aggregat
ing 1,037,103 gross tons.
Inspection of Foreign-Built Vessels Admitted to American Registry.
On August 31, 1916, a meeting was held in the office of the
Acting Secretary, at which were present representatives of leading
steamship companies of the United States, who desired to discuss
the matter of inspecting the foreign-built vessels admitted to
American registry, to which inspection they became subject on
September 4, 1916, on the expiration of the term fixed by the
President’s proclamation admitting them to American registry.
The matter was considered in all its phases and ended in the folowing Executive order, which was satisfactory to all concerned:
E xecutive Order .
In pursuance of the authority conferred upon the President of the United States
by Section 2 of the Act approved August 18, 1914, entitled “ An Act to provide for
the admission of foreign-built ships to American registry for the foreign trade, and
for other purposes, ” it is hereby ordered:
1. That the provisions of the law prescribing that the watch officers of vessels of
tlie United States registered for foreign trade shall be citizens of the United States,
are hereby suspended so far and for such length of time as is herein provided, namely:
All watch officers now employed on foreign-built ships which have been admitted
to United States registry under said Act who, heretofore, have declared their inten
tion to become citizens of the United States and watch officers on such ships who,
within six months from this date, shall declare their intention to become such citi
zens shall be entitled to serve on foreign-built ships so registered until the time shall
have expired within which they may become such citizens under their declarations,
and shall be eligible for promotion upon any foreign-built ship so registered.
2. That the provisions of law requiring survey, inspection and measurement, by
officers of the United States, of foreign-built ships admitted to United States registry
under said Act are hereby suspended so far and for such length of time as is herein
provided, namely: The said provisions shall not apply to any such foreign-built ship
during the period of one year from this date provided the Secretary of Commerce is
satisfied in the case of any such ship that the ship is safe and seaworthy and that
proper effort is being made to comply with the said provisions.
Woodrow Wilson
T he W hite H ouse , 1 September, iq i .
[No. 2448.]
6
20
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Passenger Allowance for Excursion Steamers.
Continued study is being given to the problem of better con
trolling the passenger allowance for excursion steamers. The ex
perience of the Department shows that the pressure to carry heavy
loads comes quite as strongly from the public themselves, who
seem to take little or no account of the limit of the number of
passengers fixed, as it does from the desire of vessel owners and
officers to crowd their boats. The problem is to determine a rule
of general application which will not too severely restrict the
opportunities for outdoor recreation eagerly sought by a large por
tion of our people, while at the same time it will provide an eco
nomic basis on which the excursion steamers can continue to run.
The matter is complicated because a rule applying to one portion
of the country does not necessarily hold in another, and a rule for
sheltered waters is not suitable for those that are more exposed.
A t present the matter lies in the hands of the different local boards
of inspectors, so that even with the utmost care on the part of
supervising inspectors to promote uniformity it is possible to have
vessels in one district permitted loads differing from those in an
adjoining district.
The Steamboat-Inspection Service expects to be able to develop
by study of the problem a solution which will be found generally
applicable. In the meantime, as is stated under the heading of
the Bureau of Navigation, exceptional care is being taken to pre
vent loads in excess of the existing limits and to make these last
as safe and uniform as possible.
Protection of Vessels Against Fire.
On May 3, 1916, an advisory conference was held in the office of
the Secretary on the subject of making passenger vessels more
secure from destruction by fire. The object of this conference was
to bring out the latest thought of the best informed men upon the
subject. There were present 35 persons other than the officers
of the Department, representing constructing, operating, labor, and
manufacturing interests. A stenographic report was taken of the
proceedings and the statements made by each person taking part
in the discussions were referred to him for correction or enlarge
ment. The amended papers were printed in a pamphlet embody
ing the entire proceedings which has been widely circulated and
contains the best opinion on this important subject.
At the conference a committee was appointed under whose aus
pices a further conference was held at the Department on May 22,
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
21
1916, on the subject of automatic sprinklers on vessels. This was
attended by representatives of manufacturing and insuring inter
ests, and the proceedings were fully published together with corre
spondence on the subject in another pamphlet which was given
general circulation among parties interested.
It is believed that valuable results have followed and will here
after follow from the interchange of ideas and from the presenta
tion of the best modern thought on these important themes in
available form to those interested in them. The Bureau of Stand
ards is studying the subject of fire-resisting materials for steam
boats, and at its suggestion the committee above named has been
requested to appoint a subcommittee to cooperate with the Bureau
of Standards in the development of the subject.
Load-Line and Bulkhead Regulation.
With a similar purpose a conference was held in the office of the
Secretary on September 27, 1916, on the important subjects of load
lines and of bulkhead legislation. That conference was attended
by 40 persons representing shipbuilding and operating interests
as well as by officers of the Navy Department and those of the
Department of Commerce. The persons attending came from
many parts of the country. The following committee has been
designated as a result of the conference. They will consider the
questions of bulkheads and load lines and report later to me or to
the Shipping Board when it shall have been formed: Stevenson
Taylor, of New York, president of the American Bureau of Ship
ping and of the American Society of Naval Architects and Marine
Engineers; H. C. Sadler, Ann Arbor, Mich., professor of naval
architecture, University of Michigan; H. M. Herriman, Cleveland,
Ohio; C. J. Olson, San Francisco, Cal.; H. H. Raymond, New
York, manager Clyde and Mallory Steamship Cos.; T. M. Cornbrooks, Sparrows Point, Md., chief engineer and naval architect,
Bethlehem Steel Co.’s Maryland shipbuilding plant; William Gatewood, Newport News, Va., naval architect, Newport News Ship
building & Dry Dock Co.; W. A. Dobson, naval architect, Phila
delphia, William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Co.; and
J. W. Powell, Quincy, Mass., president Fore River Shipbuilding Co.
The proceedings of the conference were reported fully and will
be printed for general use after full opportunity for correction and
enlargement as in the former case.
In my last report I pointed out that the number of American
cargo steamers has increased so rapidly that the subject of loadline regulation ought not to be postponed and that if our cargo
22
REPORT OE THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
ships are to compete in foreign trade with those of other nations
our rules should be similar to those adopted by other countries. I
earnestly hope that as the result of the conference a beginning at
least has been made of such study of this question as will lead at
no distant date to definite legislation upon it.
Copies of the publications mentioned in connection with both
conferences will be furnished to the appropriate committees of
Congress.
Appropriations and Expenditures.
The itemized statement of the disbursements from the contin
gent fund of the Department of Commerce and the appropriation
for “ General expenses, Bureau of Standards,’’ for the fiscal year
ended June 30, 1916, required to be submitted to Congress by sec
tion 193 of the Revised Statutes of the United States; the item
ized statement of expenditures under all appropriations for propa
gation of food fishes during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1916,
required by the act of Congress approved March 3, 1887 (24 Stat.,
523), and a statement showing travel on official business by officers
and employees (other than the special agents, inspectors, and em
ployees who, in the discharge of their regular duties, are required
to travel constantly) from Washington to points outside of the
District of Columbia during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1916, as
required by the act of Congress approved May 22, 1908 (35 Stat.,
244), will be transmitted to Congress in the usual form.
The following table shows the total amounts of all appropriations
for the various bureaus and services of the Department of Com
merce for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1916:
Bureau.
Legislative
act.
Sundry civil
act.
$293,980.00
64,030.00 $5,100,000.00
1, 198,740.00
Deficiency
act.
Special act.
Total.
$293.980.00
$200,468.37
5,364.498.37
i, 198,765-09
25.09
Bureau of Foreign and Dom estic
419.280.00
Steam boat-Inspection S erv ice.. .
644.780.00
T o ta l.......................................
A llotm en t for printing and bind-
421.280.00
539.140.00
187.130.00
3,347.080.00
2,625.00
1,365,620.00
l 6o . 447- 57
7.627.56
5,000. 00
7,650,960.00
398,193- S9
90,000.00
1»095»340-00
$5,091.91
559.140.00
194,846.91
895,2.7-57
i, 102,967. 56
1,370,620.00
5.091-91
11,401,325. 50
390,000.00
390,000.00
8,040,960.00
11,791,325-50
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OP COMMERCE.
23
The disbursements by the Disbursing Clerk of the Department
of Commerce during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1916, arranged
according to items of appropriation, are as follows:
OFFICE OF TH E SE C R E T A R Y .
Salaries, Office of Secretary of Commerce, 1915.........................................
Salaries, Office of Secretary of Commerce, 1916.........................................
Contingent expenses, Department of Commerce, 1914..............................
Contingent expenses, Department of Commerce, 1915..............................
Contingent expenses, Department of Commerce, 1916..............................
Rent, Department of Commerce, 1915........................................................
Rent, Department of Commerce, 1916........................................................
Total.....................................................................................................
$6,409. 31
161, 684. 08
2. 31
17, 026. 83
86, 767. 10
5,
708.33
60, 791. 64
338,389.60
B U R E A U OF FO R E IG N AND DOMESTIC COM MERCE.
Salaries, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, 1915....................
Salaries, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, 1916....................
Promoting commerce, Department of Commerce, 1914............................
Promoting commerce, Department of Commerce, 1915............................
Promoting commerce, Department of Commerce, 1916............................
Promoting commerce, South and Central America, 1915.........................
Promoting commerce, South and Central America, 1916.........................
Investigating cost of production, Department of Commerce, 1915.........
Investigating cost of production, Department of Commerce, 1916..........
Commercial attachés, Department of Commerce, 1915.............................
Commercial attachés, Department of Commerce, 1916.............................
5, 096. 03
113, 737. 82
.75
6,887. 08
48,136. 33
1,165. 99
33,103. 43
1,979.12
44, 239. 28
4,894. 44
3, 204. 45
Total.....................................................................................................
262,444. 74
B U R E A U OF STAN D A RD S.
Salaries, Bureau of Standards, 1915.............................................................
Salaries, Bureau of Standards, 1916.............................................................
Laboratory, Bureau of Standards.................................................................
Equipment, Bureau of Standards, 1914......................................................
Equipment, Bureau of Standards, 1915......................................................
Equipment, Bureau of Standards, 1916......................................................
General expenses, Bureau of Standards, 1914............................................
General expenses, Bureau of Standards, 1913..........................................
General expenses, Bureau of Standards, 1916...........................................
Testing machines, Bureau of Standards, 1913..........................................
Testing machines, Bureau of Standards, 1916..........................................
Testing structural materials, Bureau of Standards, 1913.......
13, 498.
Testing structural materials, Bureau of Standards, 1916.......
90,932.
Improvement and care of grounds, Bureau of Standards, 1913........... .
Improvement and care of grounds, Bureau of Standards, 1916...............
Refrigeration constants, Bureau of Standards, 1914..................................
Refrigeration constants, Bureau of Standards, 1915..................................
Refrigeration constants, Bureau of Standards, 1916..................................
Testing railroad scales, Bureau of Standards, 1914...................................
Testing railroad scales, Bureau of Standards, 1913....................................
Testing railroad scales, Bureau of Standards, 1916....................................
Investigation of fire-resisting properties, Bureau of Standards, 1914. . . .
Investigation of fire-resisting properties, Bureau of Standards, 1913. . . .
12,020. 37
271, 570. 47
594- 75
335- 80
17, 245. 28
28, 824. 92
209. 84
3, 292. 00
20, 293. 81
1, 539. 93
26, 727. 42
37
41
356. 80
5,117. 71
8. 86
1, 001. 44
13,903. 43
2,628. 64
21, 161. 13
24,010. 68
3x6. 44
8,968. 72
24
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Investigation of fire-resisting properties, Bureau of Standards, 1916.. ..
High-potential investigations, Bureau of Standards, 1915........................
High-potential investigations, Bureau of Standards, 1916........................
Testing miscellaneous materials, Bureau of Standards, 1915...................
Testing miscellaneous materials, Bureau of Standards, 1916...................
Investigation of railway materials, Bureau of Standards, 1915................
Investigation of railway materials, Bureau of Standards, 1916...............
Investigation of public-utility standards, Bureau of Standards, 1915...
Investigation of public-utility standards, Bureau of Standards, 1916...
Equipping chemical laboratory building, Bureau of Standards, 1916-17.
Workshop and storehouse, Bureau of Standards........................................
Chemical laboratory, Bureau of Standards.................................................
Current-meter testing tank, Bureau of Standards, 1916............................
Radio research, Bureau of Standards, 1916................................................
Heating system, north laboratory, Bureau of Standards, 1916................
$21,070. 64
1, 753. 65
13,647. 09
1, 205. 09
17,401. 06
4,381. 13
i i , 494. 70
6,390. 68
22,949. 31
60. 92
272.11
107,779. 89
2,998. 34
7,709. 58
2,095. 35
Total.....................................................................................................
785, 770. 98
B U R E A U OP N AVIGATION .
Salaries, Bureau of Navigation, 1915...........................................................
Salaries, Bureau of Navigation, 1916...........................................................
Salaries, Shipping Service, 1915..................................................................
Salaries, Shipping Service, 1916..................................................................
Clerk hire, Shipping Service, 1915..............................................................
Clerk hire, Shipping Service, 1916..............................................................
Contingent expenses, Shipping Service, 1915............................................
Contingent expenses, Shipping Service, 1916............................................
Enforcement of navigation laws, 1914.........................................................
Enforcement of navigation laws, 1915.........................................................
Enforcement of navigation laws, 1916.........................................................
Enforcement of wireless-communication law's, 1914.................................
Enforcement of wireless-communication laws, 1915.................................
Enforcement of wireless-communication laws, 1916..................................
Admeasurement of vessels, 1915..................................................................
Admeasurement of vessels, 1916...................................................................
Preventing overcrowding of passenger vessels, 1915..................................
Preventing overcrowding of passenger vessels, 1916.................................
Instruments for counting passengers, 1915..................................................
i, 386. 71
31, 777. 71
2,459. *9
24,646. 31
2,862. 02
32,213. 58
806. 68
4,619. 94
8. 00
905. 83
22,264.94
16.04
2,365.06
39,601. 71
166. 47
2,341.95
4, 219. 58
14,116.97
6. 27
Total.....................................................................................................
186,784.96
STEAM BOAT-IN SPECTION SE R V IC E .
Salaries, Office of Supervising Inspector General, Steamboat-Inspection
Service, 1915...............................................................................................
Salaries, Office of Supervising Inspector General, Steamboat-Inspection
Service, 1916...............................................................................................
Salaries, Steamboat-Inspection Service, 1915............................................
Salaries, Steamboat-Inspection Service, 1916............................................
Cleric hire, Steamboat-Inspection Service, 1915........................................
Clerk hire, Steamboat-Inspection Service, 1916........................................
Contingent expenses, Steamboat-Inspection Service, 1914.....................
Contingent expenses, Steamboat-Inspection Service, 1915.....................
Contingent expenses, Steamboat-Inspection Service, 1916......................
14,767.48
29,066. 20
326, 264. 99
6,868. 41
76,987.00
.35
9,477.47
83, 210. 52
T o t a l....,.................................................................................
547,289.95
647. 53
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
25
BU R E A U OP F ISH ER IE S.
Salaries, Bureau of Fisheries, 1915..............................................................
Salaries, Bureau of Fisheries, 1916..............................................................
Miscellaneous expenses, Bureau of Fisheries, 1914...................................
Miscellaneous expenses, Bureau of Fisheries, 1913...................................
Miscellaneous expenses, Bureau of Fisheries, 1916...................................
Protecting seal and salmon fisheries of Alaska, 1913.................................
Protecting seal and salmon fisheries of Alaska, 1916.................................
Payment to Great Britain and Japan under Art. X I of Fur-Seals Conven
tion of 1911..................................................................................................
Vessels and boats, Alaska fishery service, 1913..........................................
Marine biological station, Florida................................................................
Marine biological station, North Carolina, 1915.........................................
Vessels, fish hatchery, Boothbay Harbor, Me., 1915-16..............................
Distribution cars, Bureau of Fisheries, 1913-16.........................................
Fish hatcheries:
Cape Vincent, N. Y ...............................................................................
Clackamas, Oreg.....................................................................................
Cold Spring, Ga......................................................................................
Edenton, N. C., 1915..............................................................................
Kentucky................................................................................................
Rhode Island..........................................................................................
South Carolina........................................................................................
Upper Mississippi River Valley............................................................
Utah.........................................................................................................
Washington..............................................................................................
Woods Hole, Mass., 1915........................................................................
Wyoming.................................................................................................
Cold-storage plant, fur-seal islands, Alaska, 1913-16.................................
$27,068.19
352,627.98
26. 81
49, 572. 71
386,165. 81
13,474. 31
54, 843. 13
20,000. 00
6,834. 00
6,020. 10
114. 86
469. 35
19,193. 00
6,901. 38
2, 740. 10
5,000. 00
2,888.96
14,439.33
76. 60
8,343.71
764. 49
11,183.6a
3,249.46
16, 284. 80
31,862.3a
349. 63
Total..................................................................................................... 1,042,539.07
B U R E A U OR TH E C E N SU S.
Salaries, Bureau of the Census, 1915...........................................................
Salaries, Bureau of the Census, 1916...........................................................
Collecting statistics, Bureau of the Census, 1914.......................................
Collecting statistics, Bureau of the Census, 1913.......................................
Collecting statistics, Bureau of the Census, 1915-16..................................
Collecting statistics, Bureau of the Census, 1916.......................................
Tabulating machines, Bureau of the Census, 1913....................................
Tabulating machines, Bureau of the Census, 1916....................................
28, 146. 83
636,968. 68
12. 83
63, 079. 74
148, 589. 66
333,303. 18
766. 31
10,364. 88
Total...................................................................................................... 1,241, 232. 33
B U R E A U OP LIGH TH OUSES.
Salaries, Bureau of Lighthouses, 1913..........................................................
Salaries, Bureau of Lighthouses, 1916.........................................................
General expenses, Lighthouse Service, 1914...............................................
General expenses, Lighthouse Service, 1913...............................................
General expenses, Lighthouse Service, 1916...............................................
Salaries, Lighthouse Service, 1913...............................................................
Salaries, Lighthouse Service, 1916...............................................................
Salaries, lighthouse vessels, 1915.................................................................
2,804. 63
60,605. 50
493. 30
48, 837. 14
63, 073. 64
281. 23
11,356. 42
42. 20
26
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Salaries, lighthouse vessels, 1916.................................................................
Salaries, keepers of lighthouses, 1914..........................................................
Salaries, keepers of lighthouses, 1916..........................................................
Aids to navigation:
Alaska......................................................................................................
Atchafalaya Entrance, La......................................................................
Ashtabula Harbor, Ohio........................................................................
Manistique, Mich....................................................................................
Puget Sound, Wash................................................................................
Lorain Harbor, Ohio...............................................................................
Cape Cod Canal lights, Mass.........................................................................
Fort McHenry Channel range lights, M d....................................................
Point Judith Breakwater lights, R. I ..........................................................
Cape St. Elias Light Station, Alaska...........................................................
Navassa Island Light Station, West Indies................................................
Stonington Light Station, Conn...................................................................
Thimble Shoal Light Station, V a ................................................................
Galveston Jetty Light Station, T e x .............................................................
Tender for first lighthouse district...............................................................
Tender for fifteenth lighthouse district.......................................................
Tender for engineer, sixth lighthouse district............................................
Lighthouse tender, general service..............................................................
Point Abino Light Vessel, Lake Erie..........................................................
Southwest Pass Light Vessel, Mississippi River, L a .................................
Light vessels for general service..................................................................
Lighting Norfolk Harbor, V a ........................................................................
Repairing and rebuilding, aids to navigation, Gulf of Mexico................
Cleveland Fog-Signal Station, O hio............................................................
$13, 758- 17
14- 67
22, 215. 99
290. 09
7. 44
17. 50
44. 66
385. 96
6. 46
135. 87
437. 20
.73
7,329. 95
8, 249. 30
6. 74
3. 30
36. 09
86,680. 51
9, 811. 02
211. 96
105, 643. 58
8, 894. 50
59, 743. 79
64,383. 86
32.33
•»
135. 29
12. 87
Total......................................................................................................
S75»98s- 93
Grand total........................................................................................... 4, 980, 437- 58
The following statement shows the expenditures during the
fiscal year ended June 30, 1916, on account of all appropriations
under the control of the Department, giving the total amounts
disbursed by the various disbursing officers of the Department
and miscellaneous receipts for the same period:
B y the Disbursing Clerk, Department of Commerce, on account of
salaries and expenses of the Office of the Secretary of Commerce, the
Bureaus of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Navigation, Standards,
Fisheries, and Lighthouses, the Office of the Supervising Inspector
General, Steamboat-Inspection Service, salaries and expenses of
Steamboat-Inspection Service at large, and public works of the
Lighthouse and Fisheries Services (shown in detail in the foregoing
table of disbursements)............................................................................ $4, 980, 437. 58
By the authorized disbursing officers of the Lighthouse Service......... 5, 031,414. 82
B y the special disbursing agent, Coast and Geodetic Survey, on account
of salaries and expenses of the Coast and Geodetic Survey................ 1, 142,632. 96
B y the commercial agents of the Department investigating trade con
ditions abroad, as special disbursing agents.........................................
142, 033. 98
By special disbursing agents, Bureau of Fisheries...................................
34,331. 20
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
27
B y warrants drawn on the Treasurer of the United States to satisfy
accounts settled by the Auditor for the State and Other Depart
ments, classified as follows:
Coast and Geodetic S u rvey............................................... 24,045. 26
------------Printing and binding...................................................................................
8128,631. 91
• 389, 805. 78
Total.................................................................................................... 11,869,308.23
MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS, FISCAL YEAR 1916.
Coast and Geodetic Survey : Saleof charts, publications, old property,
e tc ...............................................................................................................
Bureau of the Census: Sale of publications, etc......................................
Bureau of Fisheries:
Sale of fox skins.....................................................................................
Sale of furs.............................................................................................
Sale of old property, e t c ......................................................................
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce: Saleof old property, e t c ..
Bureau of Navigation :
Sale of old property..............................................................................
Annual yacht ta x ..................................................................................
Tonnage ta x ...........................................................................................
Navigation fees......................................................................................
Navigation fines.....................................................................................
From deceased passengers....................................................................
Bureau of Lighthouses: Sale of public property, rentals, e tc ................
Bureau of Standards: Standardizing and testing weights, etc..............
Office of the Secretary: Sale of condemned property, e t c .....................
3. 97
19, 849. 71
r, 454, 565. 83
158, 518. 08
52, 38r- 75
220. 00
35, 608. 09
13,837. 82
829. 57
Total....................................................................................................
1,822,608.67
$24, 692. 40
363. 00
56,396. 83
781. 42
4>468. 09
72.11
The following unexpended balances of appropriations were
turned into the surplus fund June 30, 1916, in accordance with
the act of June 20, 1874 (18 Stat., n o -111):
Office of the Secretary:
Salaries, Office of the Secretary of Commerce, 1914.............................
Contingent expenses, Department of Commerce, 1914........................
Bureau of the Census:
Salaries, Bureau of the Census, 1914......................................................
Collecting statistics, Bureau of the Census, 1914.................................
Rent, Bureau of the Census, 1914..........................................................
Tabulating machines, Bureau of the Census, 1914...............................
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce :
Salaries, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, 1914...............
Salaries and expenses, commercial agents, Department of Commerce
and Labor, 1911.....................................................................................
$1,320. 04
726. 01
18,197. 04
20,037. 57
i, 080. 00
1,606. 43
1, 714- 45
8. 28
28
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce— Continued.
.Salaries and expenses, commercial agents, Department of Com
merce and Labor, 1912.........................................................................
Collating tariffs of foreign countries, 1914.............................................
Promoting commerce, Department of Commerce, 1914.......................
Investigating cost of production, Department of Commerce, 1914. .
Steamboat-Inspection Service:
Salaries, Office of the Supervising Inspector General, SteamboatInspection Service, 1914......................................................................
Salaries, Steamboat-Inspection Service, 1914.......................................
Clerk hire, Steamboat-Inspection Service, 1914..................................
Contingent expenses, Steamboat-Inspection Service, 1914................
Steamboat-Inspection Service, Los Angeles, Cal., 1914......................
Bureau of Navigation:
Salaries, Bureau of Navigation, 1914.....................................................
Salaries, Shipping Service, 1914.............................................................
Clerk hire, Shipping Service, 1914.........................................................
Contingent expenses, Shipping Sendee, 1914......................................
Admeasurement of vessels, 1914.............................................................
Enforcement of navigation laws, 1914....................................................
Enforcement of wireless-communication laws, 1914............................
Bureau of Standards:
Salaries, Bureau of Standards, 1914.......................................................
Equipment, Bureau of Standards, 1914.................................................
General expenses, Bureau of Standards, 1914.......................................
Improvement and care of grounds, Bureau of Standards, 1914.........
Electric laboratory equipment, Bureau of Standards, 1913-14..........
Investigation of fire-resisting properties, Bureau of Standards, 1914..
High-potential investigation, Bureau of Standards, 1914....................
Refrigeration constants, Bureau of Standards, 1914.............................
Testing machines, Pittsburgh, Pa..........................................................
Testing machines, Bureau of Standards................................................
Testing machines, Bureau of Standards, 1914......................................
Testing railroad scales, etc., Bureau of Standards, 1914....................
Testing structural materials, Bureau of Standards, 1914.....................
Coast and Geodetic Survey:
Salaries, Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1914............................................
Party expenses, Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1914...............................
General expenses, Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1914...........................
Pay, etc., of officers and men, vessels, Coast Survey, 1914.................
Repairs of vessels, Coast Survey, 1914...................................................
Bureau of Lighthouses:
Salaries, Bureau of Lighthouses, 1914....................................................
General expenses, Lighthouse Service, 1913.........................................
General expenses, Lighthouse Service, 1914.........................................
Salaries, keepers of lighthouses, 1914.....................................................
Salaries, lighthouse vessels, 1913............................................................
Salaries, lighthouse vessels, 1914............................................................
Salaries, Lighthouse Service, 1914.........................................................
Light-keepers’ dwellings..........................................................................
Point Judith Breakwater Lights, R. I ...................................................
Stonington Light Station, Conn..............................................................
Buffalo Breakwater North End Light Station, N. Y ...........................
Staten Island Lighthouse Depot, N. Y ..................................................
$172. 76
332- 9°
318. 25
1,106. 64
144. 99
3 >3d6- 4 i
545- 81
5. 447- 3 i
3. 193- 67
277- 5°
532- 00
492. 80
206. 26
471- 97
83. 86
140. 30
20,816. 12
317. 86
1,409. 29
2. 47
39-34
L 359- °7
36. 29
320. 40
25- °5
129. 77
83- 5°
5d- 3°
379- 51
3. 5°7- °3
9,687. 52
291. 07
2,118. 70
S, 696. 66
1.637. 51
191. 98
21,133- 51
10,424. 65
9 J3- 4°
9. 134- 12
10, 750. 03
2 . 22
71- 46
•63
26. 04
454- 28
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Bureau of Lighthouses— Continued.
Miah Maul Shoal Light Station, Delaware River.................................
Chesapeake Bay lighted buoys...............................................................
Point Abino Light Vessel, Lake Erie....................................................
Oconto Harbor lights, Wis.......................................................................
Kauai Island Light Station, Hawaii......................................................
San Juan Lighthouse Depot, P. R .........................................................
Tender for inspector, eighth lighthouse district...................................
Repairs to lighthouse tender Pansy.......................................................
Bureau of Fisheries:
Salaries, Bureau of Fisheries, 1914.........................................................
Miscellaneous expenses, Bureau of Fisheries, 1913..............................
Miscellaneous expenses, Bureau of Fisheries, 1914..............................
Distribution ecus, Bureau of Fisheries, 1914.........................................
Philippine fisheries report.......................................................................
Protecting seal and salmon fisheries of Alaska, 1913-14......................
Protecting seal and salmon fisheries of Alaska, 1914............................
Steamer A Ibatross, repairs, 1914.............................................................
Total.......................................................................................................
Estimates for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1918.
29
$897. 52
163. 73
1,197. 32
315. 65
31-18
.60
3i 437- 36
1,131. 38
18, 408. 69
18. 00
8, 703. 17
29,936. 27
3.70
1,021. 36
37. 61
99-35
227,941.92
The table below gives a comparison between the items of esti
mates submitted for the fiscal year 1918 and the appropriations
actually made by Congress for the fiscal year 1917.
Ite m .
E s t im a t e s ,
1918.
A p p ro p ria
t io n , 1917.
OFFICE OF TH E SECRETARY.
*19 0 ,4 70
$179,340
6 6,100
57,000
66,500
66,500
2,000
T o t a l ........................................................................................................................
325,070
302,840
LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE.
64,030
64,030
2,850,000
2, 790,000
950.000
940.000
r, 220,000
1,070,000
394.600
3 7 5 .000
P u b lic w o rk s:
150.000
130.000
150.000
14.000
80.000
20.000
85.000
53.000
21.000
4 , 5 oo
5,000
H a w a i i a n I s l a n d s ( n in e t e e n t h d i s t r i c t ) , lig h t h o u s e d e p o t . . .
90.000
30
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Estimates,
Item .
l ig h t h o u s e
s e r v ic e —
1918.
Appropria
tion, 1917.
Increase.
c o n t in u e d .
P u b lic works— Continued.
P o in t Borinquen, P . R ., light station .........................................
Light-keepers’ dw ellings.................................................................
Chicago Harbor, 111., light station................................................
$85,000
75>ooo
Fairport, Ohio, aids to n avigatio n ...............................................
88.000
42.000
Sand H ills, M ich., light statio n .....................................................
M anitowoc Breakwater, W is., light sta tio n ..............................
75.000
21.000
E ast R iver, N . Y ., aids to navigation .........................................
K ew eenaw W aterw ay, M ich., aids to navigation ....................
Cape Charles C ity, V a., aids to n avigatio n ................................
Chesapeake B a y, M d. and V a., aids to navigation ..................
A id s to navigation, A la sk a .............................................................
Indiana Harbor, In d ., aids to navigation ...................................
Great S a lt Pond, R . I., light sta tio n ...........................................
Radio installations on lighthouse ten d ers..................................
W ashington and Oregon, aids to navigation .............................
G ulf coast, L a ., light vessel...........................................................
Sand Island, A la., light sta tio n ....................................................
16.000
110.000
12,800
29.000
60.000
100.000
25.000
60.000
35»°°°
160.000
45»000
Spectacle Reef, M ich., light sta tio n .............................................
D epot for fifth lighthouse d istrict.................................................
28.000
275.000
Tender for third lighthouse d istrict.............................................
Tender for fifth lighthouse d istrict...............................................
180.000
Intercom m unication........................................................................
P o in t Vincente L igh t Station, C a l...............................................
180.000
100.000
$80,000
66.000
A id s to navigation, St. Johns R iver, F la ...................................
W oods H ole Lighthouse Depot, M ass.........................................
50.000
A id s to navigation, F igh tin g Island Channel, D etroit River,
M ich ..................................................................................................
A id s to navigation, F lorida Reefs, F la .......................................
25.000
A id s to navigation, H udson R iver, N . Y ...................................
100.000
50.000
75»000
A id s to navigation, Mississippi R iver, L a ..................................
A id s to navigation, Conneaut H arbor, O h io.............................
63,500
40.000
K e llett B luff L igh t Station, W a sh ...............................................
A id s to navigation, Coquille R iver, O reg.................................
6,000
15.000
A id s to navigation, Toledo H arbor, O h io ...... ..........................
D og Island L igh t, M e......................................................................
A id s to navigation, Delaware R iver, Pa. and D e l...................
3»500
80.000
20.000
125.000
Tender and barge for eighth lighthouse d is tr ic t.......................
R epairing and rebuilding aids to navigation, G ulf of Mexico
Total,
8,082,930
6,038,030
683,060
647,000
673,460
512,000
25,000
$2,044*900
BU R E AU OF TH E CENSUS.
Salaries...........................................................................................
Collecting statistics............................................................
Tabulating machines........................................................
Development of integrating counter.................................
Total.........................................................................
30.000
50.000
1.410,060
1 ,210,460
230,290
250.000
130,640
125,000
225.000 j
100,000
BU R E A U OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE.
Salaries...............................................................................
Promoting commerce........................................................
Commercial attachés.........................................................
199,600
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Item .
Estim ates,
1918.
Appropria
tion, 1917.
31
Increase.
B U R E A U OF FOREIGN AN D DOMESTIC COM M ERCE — Continued.
Prom oting commerce, North, South, and Central Am erica, in-
T o ta l.................................................................................................
$150,000
$100,000
so, 000
85s.290
505,640
$349.650
STEAM BOAT-INSPECTION SERVICE.
21,640
16,440
96,800
412,100
84,000
694,140
612,540
41,180
32,200
37.7S0
28,600
38,400
445»700
T o ta l.................................................................................................
81,600
B U R E A U OF NAVIGATION.
Salaries........................................................................................................
48.300
10.300
3»500
250
42,000
T o ta l.................................................................................................
6,300
250
24,000
57>ooo
45,000
252, 730
201,330
B U R E A U OF STANDARDS.
Salaries........................................................................................................
438,400
60,000
311,720
35.000
28,500
15.000
15,000
30.000
30.000
60.000
25.000
40.000
15.000
15.000
25.000
20.000
25.000
25.000
40,000
50,000
Investigation of textiles, paper, leather, and rubb er......................
Standard m aterials..................................................................................
R adium standardization.........................................................................
Testing m achine........................................................................................
Site for testing laboratory......................................................................
Fireproof building for testing laboratory.........................................
Investigation of optical glass.................................................................
Investigation of th e electrodeposition of m eta ls...............................
66776°—16--- 3
15.000
4,000
20.000
25.000
50.000
25.000
10.000
10.000
51,400
32
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Estim ates,
Item.
bureau
op stan d ard s—
1918.
Appropria
tion, 1917.
Increase.
c o n tin u e d .
Research fellowships__
A ddition al la n d .............
$15,000
25,000
Refrigeration constants.
T o ta l......................
$15,000
1,2 5 8 ,4 0 0
796,220
$462,180
B U R E A U OP FISHERIES.
Salaries.......................................................................................
F ish hatcheries:
489,560
Bozem an, M o n t................................................................
15.000
Cape Vincent, N . Y ........................................................
D u lu th , M in n ....................................................................
Edenton, N . C ...................................................................
15.000
N orthville, M ich ...............................................................
Orangeburg, S . C ..............................................................
3.000
San Marcos, T e x ...............................................................
Saratoga, W y o ..................................................................
W oods Hole, M ass............................................................
Motor vessel to replace launch B lue W in g ................
15.000
Y es B a y , A la s k a ..............................................................
Motor launches a t Y e s B a y and A fogn ak..................
Vessel for use in waters of southeastern A la sk a .......
Diffusion of fishery inform ation...................................
25.000
Gloucester, Mass...............................................................
Miscellaneous expen ses..........................................................
Protecting seal and salmon fisheries of A la sk a ................
Paym ents to Great Britain and Ja p a n ..............................
D istribution ca rs.....................................................................
Lobster-rearing p la n t..............................................................
3.000
3 ,5 0 0
6.000
7.000
5.000
6.000
10.000
50.000
10.000
3.000
572.000
502,500
100.000
75.000
20.000
20.000
15.000
40.000
5.000
Marine Biological Station, F la .............................................
Motor launches, A laska fisheries s e rv ic e ..........................
25.000
Buildings and im provem ents, fur-seal islands, A la s k a ..
Investigating dam ages to fisheries......................................
20.000
Total.
10.000
25.000
1,3 70 ,0 6 0
I , 154*850
COAST AND GEODETIC SU R V EY.
Party expenses................................
Repairs of vessels.............................
Pay, etc., officers and men, vessels..
Salaries.............................................
General expenses.............................
Lithographic presses........................
Paper-cutting machine....................
Fire protection................................
Waterproofing vaults......................
New vessels.....................................
Total.
594,338
56,000
425.320
56,000
337, 500
571,540
395.320
72.500
62,500
15.500
285,000
1,600
1,00 0
2,500
833,000
2 ,4 8 5 ,4 78 ]
1,2 5 8 ,3 3 8
PRINTING AN D BINDING.
Printing and binding....................................
Grand total...........................................
1 7 ,1 8 4 ,1 5 8 !
12 ,44 9,0 5 0
4 ,7 3 5 , 108
33
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Personnel.
The number of the personnel of the Department has been changed
but little during the past fiscal year. There has been a slight ac
cretion, amounting to less than three-tenths of i per cent, though
the work and activities of the Department have been consider
ably augmented.
The accompanying table shows, by bureaus, the number of per
manent positions in the Department on July i, 1916, and the
increase or decrease in each bureau as compared with July 1, 1915.
The figures do not include temporary appointments, nor do they
include the following appointments or employments not made by
the head of tire Department: Persons engaged in rodding, chain
ing, recording, heliotroping, etc., in field parties of the Coast and
Geodetic Survey; temporary employments in field operations of
the Bureau of Fisheries; mechanics, skilled tradesmen, and labor
ers employed under authority of Schedule A, Subdivision I,
section 12, of the civil-service rules in the Lighthouse Service.
Enlisted men on vessels of the Coast Survey in the Philippine
Islands and officers and men of the Navy Department employed
on vessels of the Bureau of Fisheries are also excluded. The total
of these excluded miscellaneous employments and enlistments is
approximately 5,886. A t the close of the fiscal year there were
486 employees in the service of the Department serving under
temporary appointment or employment.
Bureau.
Statu
tory.
B ureau of the Census.........................
Bureau of Foreign and Dom estic
Com m erce..........................................
562
Bureau of S tan d ard s...........................
Bureau of Fisheries.............................
Bureau of L ighthouses.......................
252
Coast and Geodetic S u r v e y ...............
Bureau of N a viga tio n ........................
Steam boat-Inspection S erv ice..........
T o ta l............................................
Nonstatutory.
Total.
In D istrict
of
Columbia.
0 592
698
x, 260
101
171
198
120
423
434
369
80
505
<■ 5.698
770
40
a 280
zi8
69
161
34
233
302
II
2,092
7>3*5
9 >4X7
97
413
56
265
21
5.642
1.697
Outside
Increase ( + )
D istrict of
or
Columbia. decrease ( —)
6 668
-19
78
54
354
+39
5.658
+27
+>5
~94
490
127
-
291
+32
7>720
+ ,8
8
« Em ployees engaged in work in the field for a part of each year, w ith headquarters in W ashington, are
treated as within the D istrict of Colum bia.
& Does not include 36 tem porary special agents em ployed in connection w ith the census of v ita l statis
tics, statistics of cities, etc.
c Includes th e following positions, appointm ent to which is not m ade b y the head of th e Department:
533 (254 classified com petitive and 279 classified excepted) m echanics, skilled tradesmen, and laborers
em ployed in field construction work in the Lighthouse Service and work of a similar character a t the gen
eral lighthouse depot at Tom pkinsville, N . Y ., 1,522 (unclassified) laborers in charge of post lights, and
1,179 (unclassified) m em bers of crews of vessels.
Includes 2 stenographers and typew riters authorized b y law not exceeding six months,
34
REPORT OR THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
The following tables give a summary of changes in the personnel
of the Department for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1916:
A P P O IN T M E N T S , P R O M O T IO N S , A N D R E D U C T IO N S .
Appointments.«
Permanent.
Bureau.
Com
peti
tive.
Bureau of the Census.............................
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic
Com m erce..............................................
U n
classi
fied.
Ex
cepted.
142
28
24
52
14
11
225
49
38
2
Steam boat-Inspection S ervice.............
32
T o t a l...............................................
558
Total.
Prom o Reduc
tions.
tions.
8
45
81
Bureau of Fisheries................................
Bureau of Lighthouses..........................
Coast and Geodetic S u r v e y ..................
Tem po Grand
rary.
total.
■ s?
176
52
102
53
77
18
95
274
42
2
2
93
173
6
154
T39
95
43
9
36
852
91
54
12
824
76
369
3^
32
363
11
43
502
1,326
144
40
6
5
27
2
1,376
121
S E P A R A T I O N S A N D M IS C E L L A N E O U S C H A N G E S .
Separations.*»
From permanent positions.
Bureau.
Com
peti
tive.
Office of th e Secretary...............................
Bureau of th e Census................................
Bureau of Foreign and Dom estic Com
merce .........................................................
Bureau of Stan d ard s.................................
Bureau of Fisheries....................................
Bureau of Lighthouses..............................
Coast and Geodetic S u r v e y .....................
Bureau of N a viga tio n ...............................
Unclas
Ex
cepted. sified. Total.
22
x95
5
27
10
768
963
50
28
8s
43
x13
120
65
11
71
25
78
3
145
19
50
iz
75
37
246
29
15
Steamboat-Inspection S erv ice................
24
T o ta l..................................................
506
Miscel
laneous
changes .0
From
tem
porary
positions.
17
8
2
77
15
60
Si
297
4
2
82
33
79
Grand
total.
376
41
53
53
33
23
25
35
8
755
I»°54
1,809
303
i
18
i
167
20
7
4
0 Includes appointments of the following character: Presidential, b y selection from civil-service certifi
cates, under Execu tive order, to excepted positions, b y reinstatem ent, and b y reason of transfer w ithin th e
Department or from other departments or independent establishm ents.
**Includes separations b y reason of resignations, discontinuances, rem ovals, deaths, transfers w ithin the
Department, and transfers from th e D epartm ent to other departm ents or independent establishments.
c Includes reappointments b y reason of change of station, nam e, designation, or appropriation, exten
sions of tem porary appointments, changes from tem porary to permanent status, etc.
Among the 26 presidential positions in the Department there
have been three changes, the vacancy in each case having been
caused by resignation and filled by recess appointment, which
35
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OP COMMERCE.
the President issued upon recommendation of the Department,
and the appointees having been later nominated to and confirmed
by the Senate. The Superintendent of the Coast and Geodetic
Survey was commissioned under recess appointment March n ,
1915, confirmed by the Senate on December 16, 1915, and perma
nently commissioned December 18, 1915. The Deputy Commis
sioner of Fisheries was commissioned under recess appointment
March 11, 1915, confirmed by the Senate February 7, 1916, and
permanently commissioned February 10, 1916. The supervising
inspector, third district, Steamboat-Inspection Service, was com
missioned under recess appointment September 17, 1915, confirmed
by the Senate on December 16, 1915, and permanently commis
sioned December 18, 1915.
It is the Department’s definite policy, which in the final analysis
acts favorably upon its work as a whole, to afford its employees
every possible means of advancement within its own limits, and
it is the general practice, publicly announced and well understood,
not to fill vacancies in the higher grades by transfer from other
branches of the service so long as there are any employees of its
own who are eligible and capable of performing well the duties
of the higher positions. In carrying out this policy the Depart
ment has expressed the desire that a knowledge of the operations
of the various bureaus and offices be extended as broadly as pos
sible among the entire staff of employees so as to encourage the
junior members of the force to learn the work in all its forms and
to endeavor to develop their natural abilities so as to become
adequately equipped for the proper performance of the duties of
the higher grade positions which may become vacant.
A study of the leave records of the employees of the Depart
ment for the calendar year 1915 indicates that the leave privilege
is being exercised generally in a considerate manner. There is evi
dence of a desire to subserve personal convenience to the demands
of the service, and of a spirit of self-sacrifice both as to leave and
necessary overtime work that is most praiseworthy.
The following statement shows the extent to which leave was
utilized during the calendar year 1915:
Male.
Fem ale.
A ll em
ployees.
D ays.
D ays.
D ays.
27- 64
S-»7
33- 5*
29- 47
10.16
28.09
6.91
39 63
35.00
36
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
One of the bureaus of the Department shows the remarkable
record of having used during the year an average of less than one
day of sick leave per employee.
In June, 1916, the National Guard of the District of Columbia
and the Organized Militia of the several States were called out
for duty In connection with the unsettled conditions in Mexico.
Those employees of the Department who were members of such
organizations and had not been discharged therefrom were granted
30 days of annual leave, and at the expiration of such leave their
services were discontinued without prejudice, with the under
standing that applications for reinstatement at the expiration of
their military service will be given favorable consideration. Up
to the close of July 31, 1916, the Department had discontinued
the services of 18 such employees. It is the declared policy of
the Department to give every proper privilege to those of its em
ployees who have so readily responded to the call of the Govern
ment.
That the efficiency of the executive civil service is seriously
impaired by reason of its superannuated employees, and that the
prompt enactment of some equitable form of retirement law is
one of its greatest needs, are facts conceded by practically all
persons who are at all familiar with the problems of the service.
Efficient service and justice to employees demand a comprehen
sive, wide-reaching, and effective scheme of retirement pensions,
the advantage of which is being more and more widely recognized
by progressive commercial establishments and by foreign govern
ments. While doubtless the cost of a civil-service retirement
scheme would for a few years add to the expense of administra
tion, it would be a good investment, and in a short time the
service would be recouped the additional outlay many times over
by the saving it would render possible. The standard of effi
ciency would be raised, the work could be done with less force,
and this would be accomplished without heartlessly throwing out
of employment men and women who for decades have given their
best service to the Government and who have no means of sub
sistence other than their decreasing salaries.
The efficiency of the service could be materially increased by a
general reclassification of positions and readjustment of salaries.
The duties required in a given position should be the measure of
compensation attached to it, but such is not always the case
under the present classification. The lack of uniformity in sal
aries of positions requiring practically the same qualifications
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
37
does not work to the benefit of the service. The service is em
barrassed at times by the number of declinations of appointment
received and resignations in the lower grade positions. It is
believed that among other things the establishment of a standard
minimum rate of compensation for all clerical positions would
have a beneficial effect upon the service. A better qualified class
of persons would be attracted to these positions and the resigna
tions would be less numerous. Material increases in the wage
scale have been made in recent years in practically all lines of
work in the commercial world. This renders it more difficult for
the Government to obtain persons of the type and qualifications
desired for certain classes of positions. While increases in many
cases are desirable, it is not believed that a horizontal increase
all along the line would solve the problem. It certainly would
not be equitable, for the salaries of some positions are relatively
much less than in others. Before there is any general increase
in salaries there should be a thorough reclassification of positions
and readjustment of salaries so that existing inequalities would
be eliminated.
I have already conveyed to you my approval of the suggestion
that the Saturday half holiday be continued throughout the year.
I urge that this be done. The best industrial opinion has ceased
to estimate the productive value of employees by a mathematical
statement of the total number of hours worked. The productive
ness of human beings can not be confined within mathematical
limits. The forces which control the productivity of men and
women are not such as can be stated in figures. The responsive
ness to leadership, the appreciation of just and considerate treat
ment, the energy which comes with freedom from fatigue— these
are greater forces than the arbitrary number of hours of labor.
In a working force which has such a record as regards the taking
of leave and overtime as that of this Department I believe it is
beyond all question true that the granting of the Saturday half
holiday would result in greater and not less production and in
better rather than worse work.
The following compilation has interest in connection with the
facts relating to the cost of living of Government employees in
Washington. The present scale of wages for clerks in the Gov
ernment service, grouping them into four classes and fixing a
salary of $1,800, $1,600, $1,400, and $1,200, respectively, per
annum, for each of these classes, was fixed by the act of Congress
approved April 22, 1854 (IO Stat., 276; sec. 167, Rev. Stat.), and
has not been changed since that time. For the subclerical grades
38
REPORT OR THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
the rates of compensation were fixed by the acts of Congress
approved July 23, 1866 (14 Stat., 207; sec. 167, Rev. Stat.), and
July 12, 1870 (16 Stat., 250; sec. 167, Rev. Stat.).
For 60 years the rates of compensation to clerks have remained
stationary, and for about 46 years to the subclerical grades. The
available figures on file in the Bureau of Labor Statistics, based
upon wages in selected industries, all of which, however, were not
uniform for the entire period covered, but which can be accepted
as typical, show an increase in daily average wage of 137.4 Per
cent from 1854 to 1915. In other words, daily wages in 1915
were 2jJ times as much as in 1854. These figures were taken from
Senate Report No. 1394, Fifty-second Congress, second session,
Report of Senate Finance Committee on Wholesale Prices, Wages,
and Transportation, which, on page 176, gives the average wage
increase to 1891; Bulletin No. 77 of the Bureau of Labor Statis
tics, which, on page 7, gives the average wage scale from 1891 to
1907; and Bulletin No. 194 of the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
which, on page 20, gives the average wage scale from 1907 to 1915.
The reports on cost of living show that for the same period, 1854
to 1915, the increase has been 14.1 per cent. These figures are
based on wholesale prices, and it is a fair assumption that the
retail-price increases will very closely approximate those of the
wholesale-price increases. Bringing the price figures up to the
latest date for which they are available, the month of September,
1916, by using figures relating to retail prices of food, the increase
over 1854 is 32.4 per cent. In other words, the increase from the
average for 1915, to September 15, 1916, in price of food commodi
ties as a group is greater than the increase of the average price for
the whole period from 1854 to 1915. The increase during the
nine months ended September 15, 1916, over the average price for
the year 1915 is approximately 16 per cent.
For the last few years the figures showing wage increases are
based on the union wage scale. It is a well-known fact that in
many industries to-day wages in excess of the union scale are being
paid.
Interesting in connection with this study are some pertinent
figures shown by the General Review of Crop Conditions on Octo
ber 1, 1916, issued by the Bureau of Crop Estimates of the Depart
ment of Agriculture. From this report it appears that the index
figure of prices paid to the producers of the United States for
principal crops on October 1, 1916, is about 27.6 per cent higher
than a year ago, 19.9 per cent higher than two years ago, and
23.8 per cent higher than the average of the last eight years on
REPORT OF TME SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
39
the same date. This report also shows that the corn crop is esti
mated to be ii per cent below the yield of last year; wheat, 40
per cent; oats, 20 per cent; barley, 22 per cent; rye, 15 per cent;
white potatoes, 16 per cent; and apples, 14 per cent. The index
figures of meat animals on September 15, 1916, show prices paid
to producers of about 23.7 per cent higher than the figures of a
year ago; 10.5 per cent higher than two years ago; and 22.5 per
cent higher than the average of the last six years on the same date.
All these facts point to a still higher charge for food supplies.
Rather startling are the figures compiled by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics relative to wheat and flour for the period from May to
September, 1916. The report on this subject shows that the aver
age retail price of flour increased from $7.62 per barrel in May,
1916, to $9.39 per barrel in September, 1916, and press reports
since that time indicate that the retail price of flour has gone to
$12 per barrel.
From the above statements it clearly appears that wages in all
branches of industries have more than kept pace with the increased
cost of living, but that no increase has been made in the wage
scale of Government employees, notwithstanding the fact that
since 1854 the daily task of all wage earners has been steadily
decreasing, while the Government employee has received increased
hours, with no consequent increase in compensation to offset, in
a measure, the increased living cost.
That living costs in the last few years have gone up to an unprec
edented extent is not shown by governmental reports alone.
The Annalist states that in the year ended September 30, 1916,
the increase in a selected group of commodities, arranged to rep
resent a theoretical family’s food budget, has gone from 135 to
185, or an increase of about 37 per cent. The percentage of
increase in food commodities shown by the Annalist compares with
the official figures of the Bureau of Labor Statistics compiled to
June 30, 1916.
P rin tin g and B in d in g .
The sundry civil act approved March 3, 1915, allotted to the
Department $390,000 for printing and binding during the fiscal
year 1916. Of this allotment $389,805.78 was expended, leaving
an unused balance on June 30 of $194.22. The decrease in expend
itures for printing and binding in 1916 compared with 1915 was
$10,193.69 (or 2.55 per cent), the allotment in 1915 being $400,000
and the expenditures $399,999.47. In 1915, however, $17,000
was expended for the Bureau of Corporations, which has since
been merged into the Federal Trade Commission. Deducting this
40
REPORT OP TU E SECRETARY OP COMMERCE.
amount from the expenditures for that year, and comparing the
remainder ($382,999.47) with expenditures for 1916, it will be
seen that there was an increase for the Department, as at present
constituted, of $6,806.31 (or 1.78 per cent).
The estimated cost of unbilled and uncompleted work of the
Department at the Government Printing Office on July 1, 1916,
was $65,7x8.12, while the actual cost of such work at the Printing
Office on July 1, 1915, was $5 5 >9 9 3 -7 2During the fiscal year 1916 the Department issued on the PublicPrinter 3,709 requisitions for printing and binding, which was an
increase of 618 over 1915 A t the close of business June 30, 1916,
there were at the Government Printing Office 379 requisitions on
which deliveries of completed work had not been made, compared
with 436 on the same date in 1915.
The following table gives the cost of printing and binding for
each of the bureaus, offices, and services of the Department during
the fiscal years 1915 and 1916, as well as the increase or decrease
in 1916 for each bureau, office, and service and the estimated cost
of the work on hand but not completed June 30, 1916:
Cost of work delivered.
Increase (-f ) or de
crease (— ).
Bureau, office, or service.
1915
Cost.
1916
Office of the Secretary (Secretary, Assistan t Secretary, Solicitor, Chief Clerk,
~ $ 2, 9 S5- 87
and D ivision of Publications)................
$19, 537- 58
$16,581.71
D isbursing Office....................................
412.l8
747- 23
Bureau of the Census....................................
122,302. 82
84,766.94
-
Coast and Geodetic S u r v e y .........................
26,345.70
28,795-27
+
37,S 35-88
2, 449-57
IS, 9 l 6 . 27
12,460-20
—
3 , 456-07
Bureau of Fisheries.......................................
Bureau of Foreign and Dom estic Comm erce.............................................................
103,229.74
24,428-15
131,262.35
Bureau of N avigatio n ...................................
Shipping S ervice....................................
5,853-89
14-183.91
2,272.30
7,208. 17
16,928.50
Radio S ervice..........................................
Bureau of S tan d ard s.....................................
705-67
24,876-38
Bureau of Lighthouses.................................
Lighthouse Service................................
Office of th e Supervising Inspector Gen-
21,080-27
4,478-48
894-76
35,792.18
eral, Steam boat-Inspection S ervice. . . .
Steam boat-Inspection S ervice............
9,780- 49
2, 335-03
14,466.86
Custom s Service.............................................
9,287-49
T o ta l......................................................
399»999' 47
2,801.64
+
335-05
+ 28,032.61
- 3 , 347-88
+ 1, 354-28
+ 2,744.59
+ 2,206.l8
+
189.09
+ 10,915.80
Per cent.
Estim ated
cost of
work not
completed
June 30,
1916.
15-13
$1,411.39
+81.29
14.92
-30 .69
9-30
35,496-35
9 »957-13
— 21. 71
903-35
+ 27. l6
8,329.61
- I 3 - 7I
+23.13
637.00
-
+
+ 19-35
+97.09
+ 26-80
+ 43-88
274-12
507. 70
138-84
71-34
4 , 134- 66
11,16 9 .s8
+ 4,686.37
+ X,882.09
+ 47-92
+ 20. 26
33 09
1, 839-73
I,S>68- 89
389,80s-78
— IO, I93.69
“
2-55
65,7l8. 12
—
466.61
— l6. 65
a Includes $4.6x3.24 expended b y th e D epartm ent and $12,386.76 transferred to th e Federal Trade Com
mission on Mar. 15, 1915, in accordance w ith th e requirement of the act creating the Commission, approved
Sept. a6, 1914.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
41
The amount and cost of each class of work called for by requi
sitions on the Public Printer during the fiscal years 1915 and 1916
are comparable in the following statement:
Increase ( 4-) or de
crease (— ).
Class.
ISIS
N u m b e r.
N u m b e r.
N u m b e r.
B lan k form s...............................................................................
Reports, pam phlets, e tc ..........................................................
15,559.6 63
3,370,410
15,859,0:4
Letterheads.................................................................................
E n velopes...................................................................................
3 ,427»500
4,447,984
3,192,000
153,SO©
S4 X, 300
136,675
2,900,900
799,35:
+ 1,077,574
“
235*500
—
16,825
Circulars, summaries, and notices........................................
Index cards.................................................................................
G uide cards and folders..........................................................
Memorandum sheets................................................................
I , 220, 7OO
411,650
5,678,000
B lan k bo o ks...............................................................................
Miscellaneous books (b in d in g)..............................................
28,597
3 »945
Co st.
B lan k form s................................................................................ $51,325.93
Reports, pam phlets, e tc .......................................................... 301,666.94
Letterheads................................................................................
5, 208. 85
En velopes...................................................................................
2 6 5 .9 6
Circulars, summaries, and n otices........................................
19x6
+
2, 359,700
1$133»500
+
—
305,000
3 *355»500
—
106,650
— 2,322,500
19*955
5,398
P e r cent.
+
—
8,642
— 7-14
— 25.91
— 40.90
— 30.22
+
:,953
+
87,200
Co st.
C o st.
$38,128.35
309,652.01
-8:3,097- 58
+ 7,985-07
“
4 *44i -32
4 0 4 .3 8
i. 92
+ 31-97
6.87
— IO.96
4-436-OI
49-51
P e r ce n t.
4-
25.57
2.65
—
767-S3
—
14-74
+
I3 8 . 42
+
5 2 -0 5
2 3 3 -7 7
2 *4 5 5 - 2 5
1 0 4 -7 4
8 , 1 9 4 -7 7
+
5 . 739-S 2
+
9 1 7 -9 7
—
1 8 6 .7 7
—
I 6 .9 O
1 ,9 1 0 .9 8
1 ,2 6 4 .6 9
—
6 4 6 . 29
—
3 3 -8 2
3 , * 7 5 -18
2 ,4 5 4 .0 4
—
82X. I4
—
2 5 .O 7
I I , 2 9 6 .0 6
1 4 * 6 8 6 .9 5
+
3 ,3 9 0 - 8 9
8 ,4 8 l.0 8
9 , 1 7 9 - 56
+
6 9 8 . 48
4-
8 .2 4
7 2 I .7 4
4 8 1 .7 4
~
2 4 O .OO
—
33*25
—
1 0 , 1 9 3 .6 9
Index cards.................................................................................
G uide cards and folders...........................................................
Memorandum sheets................................................................
B lan k books...............................................................................
Miscellaneous books (bin d in g)..............................................
Miscellaneous.............................................................................
Transferred to Federal Trade Commission (Bureau of
T o ta l.................................................................................
3 9 9 *9 9 9 - 4 7
1 ,
389, 805.
78
-h 3 0 .0 2
-
2 .5 5
During the fiscal year 1916 the Department issued 1,945 publi
cations, compared with 1,038 during the fiscal year 1915. Those
issued in 1916 contained a total of 61,702 printed pages, compared
with 61,301 in 1915, and there were printed of them for the Depart
ment a grand total of 7,124,035 copies, against 3,753,795 in the
preceding year, an increase of 3,370,240 copies. While nearly all
bureaus show increases, the Bureau of the Census and the Bureau
of Foreign and Domestic Commerce contributed the larger ones,
due in the case of the former to the printing of several hundred
summaries of the results of the census of manufactures in 1914 and
in the case of the latter mainly to a large edition of a circular
advising the public to save their rags and other paper-making
materials.
42
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
The publication work of each bureau of the Department for the
fiscal years 1915 and 1916 is summarized in the following table:
Publications.
Copies printed for
Department.
Pages.
Cost.b
Bureau or office.“
1915
1916
1915
1916
1915
2,428
157,250
1916
1915
Office of the S ecreta ry... .
64
77
Bureau of th e Census.......
Coast and Geodetic Surv e y ....................................
138
836
19,937
14,165
29
57
56
81
3, i 97
3, i 59
3,960
2,620
494
575
18,708
s?
129
3,348
IS©
2,523
6,662
3,207
8,328
153,400
203,050
12, 154-79
19,408. 79
Bureau of Fish eries..........
Bureau of Foreign and
Dom estic Com m erce.. .
Bureau of L ighthouses...
Bureau of N a viga tio n __
Bureau of Stan d ard s........
17
137
23
2,237
261,850
524,625 1,432,910
5s ,° 6o
68,200
79.750
I 7D 350
4, 359,200
351,175
55,900 59,950
21,645 2,108,460
258,300
4,361
86,055.39
97,830. 49
1916
$6,331.07
54,283.37
21,630. 72
11,902. 88
22, 218. 71
98,937 71
25,188. 70
120,459. 01
21, 646. 99
10,33936
17,483-47
28, 209. 20
Steam boat-Ins p e c t i 0 n
Service..............................
15
18
1,330
988
372,600
204,800
8,511. 22
8,062. 35
T o ta l.........................
1,038
D 945
61,301
61, 702
3 , 753, 795
7,124,035
301,620. 69
2 8 9 ,0 3 3 .5 3
0 In 1915 th e Bureau of Corporations (which has since been merged in the Federal Trade Commission)
issued 10 publications, containing 2,550 pages, of which 24,100 copies, costing $14,319.65, were printed. These
figures, however, are excluded from this table and from com putations based on figures therein in order to
reach more accurate comparisons in the work of th e other bureaus and the D epartm ent as a whole.
b Figures relate to publications actually delivered to th e D epartm ent during th e year; consequently
th ey do not agree w ith sim ilar figures in a preceding table giving th e cost of work done b y th e Governm ent
Printing Office during the fiscal year. F requently the cost of a publication is charged against allotm ents
for tw o or more fiscal years.
During the year 3,648,311 publications and printed circulars of
the Department were distributed to the public tlirough the Division
of Publications, compared with a total of 2,523,994 during the
fiscal year 1915, an increase of 1,124,317, or over 44 per cent. Of
the total number distributed in 1916, 3,239,685 were wrapped and
mailed by the Superintendent of Documents and 408,626 by the
Division of Publications. Those wrapped and mailed by the
Superintendent of Documents comprised a mailing list distribu
tion of 2,834,575 and a distribution in response to individual
requests of 405,110.
The Department during the year received and acted on 104,833
miscellaneous requests, calling for 605,110 copies of publications,
compared with 79,738 requests, calling for 385,208 copies in 1915.
This was an average of 348 requests and 2,010 publications for
each working day, against an average of 265 requests and 1,280
publications during the preceding year.
Roundly, about four-fifths of the Department’s publications are
sent to firms and individuals on regular mailing lists. In addition,
many other classified mailing lists have been made up for use in
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
43
sending typewritten or multigraphed information to persons inter
ested in the various activities of the Department. These lists are
maintained in the Division of Publications.
On July i, 1916, there were in the Division 348 mailing lists,
containing 267,939 names, compared with 314 lists, with 169,595
names, a year ago. During the year 108,435 names were added
to the lists and 10,091 were dropped from them, making a net
increase for the year of 34 lists and 98,344 names. More than
18,000 changes of address of persons on existing mailing lists were
also made.
Stencils or plates are in use for 335 lists, with 254,317 names, of
which the stencils or plates for 209 lists, with 176,419 names, are
preserved in the Division and those for 126 lists, with 77,898 names,
are kept in the Office of the Superintendent of Documents. For
13 lists, comprising 13,622 names, stencils have not been embossed,
the lists being preserved in card form only.
During the past year there was installed in the Division machin
ery for an entirely new addressing system. This required the
cutting or embossing of new address plates for 209 mailing lists,
containing 176,419 names. This work was accomplished under
difficulties, but without any delay or confusion; and the Depart
ment has now in operation one of the most modern, complete, and
efficient addressing and mailing equipments in the country.
This Department has for several years cooperated with the
Superintendent of Documents in testing public sentiment as
regards the selling of Government publications. That the public
is willing to pay a nominal price for them has been evidenced—
if indeed it has not been fully demonstrated— by the large increase
in sales of publications of the Department of Commerce during the
past fiscal year. Figures furnished by the Superintendent of
Documents show that during the year ended June 30, 1916,
89,747 copies of the Department’s publications were distributed
by the Superintendent of Documents through the medium of
miscellaneous sales, compared with 43,370 in 1915. For the same
period 3,280,888 copies were distributed by annual subscriptions,
against 1,348,741 copies in 1915, making a total sales distribution
for the year of 3,370,635 copies, compared with only 1,392,111
copies in 1915— an increase of 1,978,524 copies, or more than 142
per cent. Receipts from these sales and subscriptions increased
from $22,278.05 in 1915 to $44,227.93 in 1916, a gain of $21,949.88,
or nearly 100 per cent.
44
RETORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
The most significant feature of these figures has to do with the
amount saved to the Department in expenditures for printing.
It is safe to say that were the Department’s publications distrib
uted on a strictly free basis four publications would be given away
where now only one is sold. One seldom buys what he does not
want, while, on the other hand, modesty is rarely displayed in
asking for something which may be had for nothing, even though
the free article has no value and is utterly lacking in interest to
the recipient. And as a result, instead of more than $44,000
coming back into the Treasury, probably $175,000 more printing
money would have been required in 1916 for the Department to meet
the free demand, and there would still be the costs of wrapping,
mailing, transportation, and delivery for additional millions of
pamphlets, a large proportion for possible immediate consignment
to waste baskets.
The following summary of sales by the Superintendent of Docu
ments during each of the past six years of publications issued by
the Department is gratifying evidence of the estimate which the
general public places on these publications:
Miscellaneous sales.
Subscriptions.
Total
receipts.«
Y ear.
Copies.
9 , 233
30.071
10,423
40,648
Receipts.«
N um ber.
$14,893.00
s, 70& 44
4,004.90
43.370
7,804. 8s
9,603. 50
6 89,747
6 17,719.84
c
Receipts.
$27.10
539
572
2, 749- 75
1, 958- 55
2,329
5.705
5, 789- 80
12,674.55
11,326
26, 508. 09
$14,92a 10
8,458.19
5,963-45
13, 594- 65
22, 278. 05
844,247.93
«Includes in :9ix, $13,255; in 1912, $2,450; and in 1913, $1,090, received from sales of th e 1911 W orld Trade
Directory, which, b y direction of Congress, was sold a t $5 per copy.
b Prelim inary figures.
c Total num ber of copies of publications distributed, 3,280,888, each subscription being for one copy of
each issue of a publication for a definite period.
One of several very sure indexes to the increasing activities
of the Department is afforded by the product of a duplicating
plant installed in the Division of Publications about four years
ago. Tlfis equipment was designed to aid the bureaus in making
duplicate copies of typewritten letters and documents quickly,
accurately, and in larger numbers than in ordinary manifold opera
tions. The following statement shoving the amount of work
turned out by the plant for each of the last four years indicates
the extent to which it has been utilized by the bureaus and offices
of the Department.
45
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Requisi
tions filled.
Y ear.
Pages du
plicated.
Copies
printed.
882
6 n , 746
3 .15 0
1 ,1 7 6 ,3 6 6
3 .16 9
7 .14 2
3 ,8 16 ,9 3 7
3,260
8,424
S ,813,890
600
9
I? S i
The figures in the table show increases for 1916 over 1915 as
follows: Requisitions filled, 91, or nearly 3 per cent; pages
duplicated, 1,282, or 18 per cent; copies printed, 1,996,953, or
52 per cent.
Three years ago the Department adopted the practice of giving
wide publicity, through newspaper advertisements, to proposed
contracts for materials and supplies. Large sums are expended
each year for such materials and supplies and the publicity given
has resulted in greater competition and more satisfactory contracts
than formerly. The following statement shows the cost of this
advertising for several years:
Year.
A dvertise Authorities
ments in to publish Insertions Total cost.
authorized.
serted.
issued.
49
1911................................................................................................
26
27
1913...............................................................................................
33
159
226
223
238
86
X12
153
526
797
732
715
260
295
434
$i, 721. 36
439- 40
531-38
660. 46
1,408
1,968. 41
2,037
3,058.14
0 2,619. 71
3.M 3
a Figures subject to slight revision, owing to a few estimates of cost h aving been m ade in cases where
newspapers have delayed rendering bills.
Work of the Solicitor’s Office.
During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1916, 245 contracts,
totaling $1,316,163, together with 11 contracts of indeterminate
amounts; 45 leases, amounting to $29,452; 33 revocable licenses,
amounting to $1,600; 14 insurance policies in the sum of $826,400;
and 299 bonds, amounting to $616,050, were examined (approved,
disapproved, drafted, redrafted, or modified).
The number of legal opinions rendered, formal and informal
(memorandum), numbered 341. In addition to the above, 1,278
miscellaneous matters, embracing everything submitted for the
advice or suggestion of the Solicitor, or for the formulation of
departmental action, not included in the foregoing items, were
handled by this Office.
46
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Motor Vehicles.
The two gasoline trucks, one 1,500-pound capacity and one
2,000-pound capacity, have been operated by the Department
for carrying mail and supplies between the Commerce Building,
the city post office, and the various bureaus of the Department
and making miscellaneous trips to the several executive depart
ments, etc.
T he 1,500-pound capacity truck ran 11,076 miles during the
year, averaging 39.2 miles each day and making 11.6 miles on each
gallon of gasoline used. The total cost of maintaining the truck
amounted to $440.66, or less than 4 cents a mile.
The 2,000-pound capacity truck ran 8,444 miles during the year,
averaging 28.3 miles each day and making 11.1 miles on each
gallon of gasoline used. The total cost of maintaining the truck
amounted to $348.72, or slightly in excess of 4 cents a mile.
The Department purchased during the year a 1,000-pound
capacity gasoline truck for hauling mail, the collection of test
samples from various departments, and making miscellaneous
trips between the Commerce Building, the Bureau of Standards,
etc. Early in January a schedule was established providing for
three round trips daily. The truck was put into operation on
January 8, 1916. It covered 6,230 miles up to and including
June 30, averaging 41 miles each day and making approximately
14.7 miles on each gallon of gasoline used. The total cost of
maintaining the truck from January 8, 1916, to June 30, 1916,
amounted to $81.01, or an average of
cents a mile. The low
cost per mile of this truck is due to the fact that as it is new little
extra equipment wTas required for it.
The Department also added a package-carrying motorcycle to
its equipment during the year. This is used to deliver special
packages and letters to the outlying bureaus of the Department,
to the several executive departments, and to the Capitol. It has
proved invaluable for use between the Commerce Building and
the Bureau of Standards, which is far away. The motorcycle
was put into operation May 11, 1916, and up to the close of the
fiscal year ran 830 miles, averaging 20.2 miles a day and making
34.5 miles on each gallon of gasoline used.
First-Aid Outfits Needed for Department’s Buildings.
The necessity of having the Department’s buildings equipped
with first-aid outfits wras brought to my attention during the year
47
REPORT OE THE SECRETARY OP COMMERCE.
by an employee. Upon investigating the matter I found the
Comptroller of the Treasury had decided that in the absence of
an express provision of law such outfits could not be purchased
for the use of employees whose compensation is fixed by law. As
first-aid outfits are furnished by private concerns, there seems no
reason why the Government should be less solicitous about the
welfare of its employees. I am therefore including an item in
the estimates of appropriations for the next fiscal year requesting
Congress to authorize the purchase of such outfits.
Stock and Shipping Section.
There were received and filled by the stock and shipping sec
tion during the year 8,852 requisitions for supplies of all kinds, of
which 3,392 were for the offices and bureaus of the Department
located in Washington and 5,460 were for the outside services.
Of the total number of requisitions received, 4,199 were for blank
forms, 599 were for printed stationery, and 4,054 were for miscel
laneous stationery supplies.
To fill the 5,460 requisitions for the outside services required
the packing and shipping of 7,772 pieces, weighing 204,886 pounds,
or over 102 tons, of which 6,751 pieces, weighing 146,220 pounds,
were sent by ordinary mail, 374 pieces, weighing 4,478 pounds,
were sent by registered mail, and 647 pieces, weighing 54,188
pounds, were sent by freight or express.
The following table shows the number of books and blanks sent
to each of the outside services during the year:
Service.
Blank
books.
Customs Service:
5*876
321
5*556
735
Blank
forms.
774»148
94*500
Service.
Steamboat-Inspection Service.
Blank
books.
Blank
forms.
250*525
7*015
1,090,1x8
1,084,078
534
188,520
248,724
Total.............................
157*474
270,552 3,637,56»
The following table gives the quantity of each class of printed
s t a t io n e r y s u p p lie d d u r in g t h e y e a r :
Envelopes............................. • 4 , 335 , 35 °
Letterheads...........................
574 , °°°
Memorandum sheets............ . 4,073,600
Embossed letterheads.........
24, 500
12, IOO
Embossed envelopes............
3,882
Stenographers’ notebooks...
66776 ° 16— 4
Blank books...................
Blank forms...................
Index cards...................
Guide cards...................
Vertical folders.............
..............
4 ,859
............ 243,942
............ 104, 610
............ 87,650
48
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
In addition to the foregoing there were placed with the con
tractors 523 orders for 4,347,450 envelopes, costing $6,093.73, of
which 3,286,950 were used by the offices and bureaus of the
Department located in Washington and 1,060,500 were used bv
the outside services.
Exhibits.
The bureaus of this Department engaged in work along safetyfirst lines, namely, the Bureaus of Standards, Lighthouses, Coast
and Geodetic Survey, Navigation, and the Steamboat-Inspection
Service, participated in the Safety-First Exposition held at the
New National Museum from February 21 to 26, 1916. The fol
lowing exhibits in particular attracted a great deal of attention:
A direction indicator for wireless messages, invented by an em
ployee of the Bureau of Standards; a revolving lens of the Light
house Service; a series of sketches illustrating the development of
a mariner’s chart, shown by the Coast and Geodetic Survey; a
complete radio set of the type now in general use on passenger
vessels and also a set used in the early days of wireless, exhibited
by the Bureau of Navigation; and models of various types of life
saving equipment, exhibited by the Steamboat-Inspection Service.
The Department refunded $2,500 of the $55,625 allotted to it
by the Government Exhibit Board to make exhibits at the PanamaPacific International Exposition at San Francisco, Cal. The
exposition closed on December 4, 1915, and a portion of the
exhibit material was loaned to the National Exposition of Panama,
held in the City of Panama from January 21 to May 1, 1916, which
material has since been returned to the Department. Other
exhibit material was diverted for use at the Panama-California
International Exposition at San Diego, as provided by Public
Resolution No. 1, approved December 17, 1915.
Authority to Make Purchases not Exceeding $25 Without Obtaining
Proposals.
Section 3709 of the Revised Statutes provides that—
All purchases and contracts for supplies or services, in any of the Departments of
the Government, except for personal services, shall be made by advertising a suffi
cient time previously for proposals respecting the same, when the public exigencies
do not require the immediate delivery of the articles, or performance of the service.
In the estimates submitted to Congress for the current fiscal
year, this Department requested authority to make purchases
not exceeding $25 without complying with this provision of law,
but the request was not given favorable consideration. During
the fiscal year ended June 30, 1916, the Chief Clerk’s Office issued
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
49
244 sets of proposals involving purchases not exceeding $25 each.
The average cost of each purchase amounted only to $7.33. The
number of proposals sent out for each purchase averaged 4. It
is conservative to state that the clerical labor of writing, compar
ing, mailing, listing, receiving, tabulating, and writing awards on
these proposals involved an expenditure almost as great as the
cost of the articles purchased. No modern business concern
would tolerate a system where the purchase cost bears such a
relative value to the cost of the goods purchased. The general
merit of the provision of section 3709 is admitted, but its require
ments serve no useful purpose when applied to the large number
of small purchases that are necessary. Congress has recognized
the wisdom of removing small purchases from the requirements
of this section by provisions similar to the one requested by this
Department which were enacted into the laws applying to the
Department of Agriculture and the District of Columbia. The
matter will therefore be resubmitted to Congress in the estimates
for the fiscal year 1918.
Transfer of Commerce Building.
On March 3, 1916, the Commerce Building, rented and occupied
by this Department, was purchased from the Commerce Building
Co. by Mrs. Henrietta M. Iialliday for a consideration of $800,000.
Consolidated Department Library.
The past year has been one of definite progress in the consoli
dated library in the Commerce Building. The number of volumes
on hand June 30, 1916, was 103,738, against 100,000 last year,
or 3»738 accessions. During the year 952 weekly and monthly
periodicals were currently received, 918 of which are received
in exchange for the Department’s publications; 761 books were
received from the Library of Congress as copyright transfers;
5,961 books were reclassified, which involved changing labels,
making book cards, and changing class numbers on approximately
23,804 catalogue cards; 5,438 volumes, consisting of duplicates
and books no longer required, were disposed of, thus making shelf
room for new material; and 535 volumes were sent to the Gov
ernment Printing Office for binding or rebinding. A very im
portant part of the work accomplished in the library during the
year has been the cataloguing of all available material on the
subject of commerce. This is of particular importance in con
nection with the work of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic
Commerce.
50
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Typewriter Purchases.
The Department purchased during the year 198 typewriters,
115 for use in the District of Columbia and 83 for the outside
services. The total cost was $14,561.50. The allowance for old
machines given in exchange was $3,469.75, making an outlay for
new machines of $11,091.75, an average price of $56.02 paid for
each machine.
Fire-Alarm Equipment.
A selective ringing fire-alarm system, consisting of 24 boxes
and bells, 2 on each floor, was installed in the Commerce Building
during the year. The pulling of a lever on any floor rings all the
bells in the building and indicates the floor on which the alarm
is sounded. Two fire drills were held, one on February 28 and
one on May 8, when the building, occupied by 1,200 employees,
was emptied in eight and six minutes, respectively.
Foundation for the Promotion of Industrial Peace.
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Hon. Theodore Roose
velt, the twenty-sixth President of the United States, on Decem
ber 10, 1906. The Foundation for the Promotion of Industrial
Peace was created by the act of Congress dated March 2, 1907 (34
Stat., 1241), for the purpose of using the Nobel Peace Prize awarded
to Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, as “ the nucleus of a fund the income
of which shall be expended for bringing together in conference at
the city of Washington, especially during the sessions of Congress,
representatives of labor and capital for the purpose of discussing
industrial problems, with the view of arriving at a better under
standing between employers and employees, and thus promoting
industrial peace.”
The following were appointed trustees of the Foundation: The
Chief Justice of the United States; the Secretary of Agriculture;
the Secretary of Commerce (and Labor); John Mitchell, then presi
dent of the United Mine Workers of America, representing labor;
Marvin Plughitt, then president of the Chicago and North-Western
Railway Co., representing capital; and Seth Low and Thomas G.
Bush, representing the general public.
Both representatives of the public are dead. Mr. Thomas G.
Bush died several years ago, and the vacancy has not been filled,
while Hon. Seth Low died on September 17, 1916, so that the fol
lowing gentlemen now constitute the trustees: Hon. Edward D.
White, Chief Justice of the United States; Hon. D. F. Houston,
Secretary of Agriculture; Hon. William C. Redfield, Secretary of
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
51
Commerce; John Mitchell, representing labor; and Marvin Hughitt,
representing capital.
The first meeting of the Foundation during my tenure of office
as Secretary of Commerce was held on May 28, 1914, those present
being Messrs. White, Houston, Redfield, Low, and Mitchell,
together with George C. Havenner, Chief Clerk of the Department
of Commerce, acting as assistant secretary of the Foundation. A t
this meeting the difficulties encountered by the Foundation, due
to the small income from the fund and the fact that the members
of the board of trustees were so widely scattered, were discussed in
detail and a committee consisting of Messrs. Low, Mitchell, and
Redfield was appointed to consider and report on the whole con
stitution and future program of the Foundation, with power to
direct the treasurer to invest the cash on hand.
This special committee submitted its report at the next meeting
of the board of trustees, held in the office of the Secretary of Com
merce on January 16, 1915, Messrs. Edward D. White, William C.
Redfield, Seth Low, and John Mitchell being present, which report
included the following resolution, unanimously adopted:
Resolved, That the Congress be petitioned to permit the return to the Honorable
Theodore Roosevelt of the Nobel Peace Prize Fund, as it may stand in securities and
cash at the time when the transfer is made, and for authority to dissolve the Founda
tion for the Promotion of Industrial Peace.
Resolved, That the special committee have authority to attend to all details growing
out of the foregoing resolution.
No other meeting of the board of trustees has been held.
The Solicitor of the Department of Commerce prepared bills
(S. 7410 and H. R. 21236) to dissolve the Foundation and return
the fund to the donor. These were introduced, but no action was
taken upon them.
A statement received from the American Security and Trust Co.,
of this city, treasurer of the Foundation, shows the condition of
the fund under date of October 1, 1916, to be as follows:
Securities:
New'York City (registered), 4J4 per cent corporate stocks, May 1,1957. S3o, 000. 00
New York City (coupon), 6 per cent revenue bonds, Sept. 1, 1917 . . .
2, 000. 00
American Security & Trust Co. 3 per cent certificate of deposit, Dec.
21, 1916.....................................................................................................
9,135.00
American Security & Trust Co. 3 percent certificate of deposit, Mar.
26, 1917.....................................................................................................
2, 000. 00
Total securities................................................................................ 43,135. 00
Cash on hand, capital account............................................................ Si. 95
Cash on hand, income account............................................................ 890.49
Total cash on hand
892. 44
Total present worth
44 . 027 - 44
52
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Status of Proposed Legislation Affecting the Department.
On page 199 of my report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1915,
is printed the recommendations of the Board of Inquiry into the
Eastland disaster. Every one of the recommendations of that
board have received definite action at the hands of this Depart
ment. The following bills were drafted under my direction and
introduced in both the Senate and the House of Representatives :
House bill 4787, providing for the appointment of a board of
naval architects to be a part of the Steamboat-Inspection Service
of the Department of Commerce and prescribing their duties. This
bill covers paragraphs 1,2, and 5 of the Eastland board’s report. It
has not yet been acted upon by the committees to which it was
referred.
House bills 4781, 4783, and 4785, amending sections 4464 and
4465 of the Revised Statutes and relating to appeals from boards
of local inspectors. The Committee on the Merchant Marine and
Fisheries of the House of Representatives held hearings on these
bills and combined them into House bill 13831, which was passed
by the House of Representatives on June 5, 1916. It went to
the Senate and was referred to the Committee on Commerce, which
has not as yet reported it. This bill covers the recommendations
in paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Eastland board’s report.
The Solicitor of the Department has given his personal care to
the above measures and has done everything within his power to
urge their consideration and passage. The Department earnestly
desires that the foregoing measures shall become laws.
The following legislative matters have also been given the atten
tion of the Department :
House bill 449, providing for 11 supervising inspectors, instead
of 10. This measure is intended to remedy the impossible condi
tions existing in the first steamboat-inspection district, illustrated
and described herein and on pages 193 and 194 of my last report.
The measure passed the House of Representatives February 7,
1916, and is pending in the Senate.
House bill 4782 relates to hydrostatic tests of boilers, and was
prepared by the Steamboat-Inspection Service. No action has
been taken upon it.
House bill 4784 embodies my recommendation to change the
name of the Steamboat-Inspection Service to the Marine Inspec
tion Service. It passed the House of Representatives February
21, 1916, and is pending in the Senate.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
53
House bill 13112 amended section 14 of the seamen’s act to cor
rect an apparent misunderstanding in regard to life buoys. This
bill has become a law.
House bill 11254, commonly known as the “ dogfish bill,” pro
viding an appropriation of $25,000 for developing the fishery of
dogfish and for other economic uses in other directions, is now a
law.
House bill 14338, authorizing aids to navigation and other works
in the Lighthouse Service and the installation of wireless apparatus
on the seagoing vessels of said Service, became a law August 28,
1916.
The bill for the protection, regulation, and conservation of the
fisheries of Alaska was reported to the House of Representatives
by the Committee on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries in the
closing days of the session, and the bill and report were referred to
the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union.
The bill amending section 3 of the organic act creating the leg
islative assembly in the Territory of Alaska, and which will pre
vent the Territory from imposing other and additional taxes on
the fish industry, was referred to the House Committee on Terri
tories, where it is now pending.
I renew the recommendation in my last report that the Govern
ment initiate negotiations to purchase Dutch Harbor, the aban
doned village of the North American Commercial Co. in Alaska.
The condition described on pages 179 and 180 of my report of last
year still prevails, and the suggested purchase can hardly fail to be
one profitable to the Government.
The Department has caused to be prepared a series of compara
tive maps showing certain of the important countries of the world,
imposed upon the United States on the same scale. The object
has been to awaken an intelligent interest in these countries and to
give comparative information concerning them not now known to
be readily available. Copies of these maps have been furnished
to business houses, to schools of business administration, to cham
bers of commerce, and to such other parties as were interested in
the development of trade in the respective countries.
I emphasize the moral obligation which exists to increase the
salaries of the Supervising Inspector General of the SteamboatInspection Service and the Commissioner of Navigation to an equal
basis with the other chiefs of the Department. Congress has im
posed upon each of these Services duties which add greatly to the
burdens and responsibilities of its respective chief. It is not
54
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
equitable to demand a very much larger volume of labor while
providing no compensation for same. The officers in question are
underpaid, and simple justice requires that they be adequately
compensated for the valuable service they perform. Under the
Bureau of Navigation a statement is given of the additional duties
imposed by a series of laws on this Service which have at least
doubled the amount of work required of it.
In my last year’s report, on page 145, I recommended that
lighthouse inspectors be compensated more adequately for their
valuable service. These officers are now paid less than are others
of similar technical standing and responsibility.
comparison of salaries speaks for itself:
T he following
Lighthouse inspectors (except third district), each.............................................. $2,400
Naval officer and Array Engineer officer (part of time) replaced by each light
house inspector, average pay and allowance per district.................................... 5,000
Assistant engineers, War Department, under Engineer officers and not charged
with independent responsibility, average in 16 cities...................................... 3, 300
Captains in Coast Guard (also retirement pension).............................................. 4, 000
Superintendents, Coast Guard (formerly Life-Saving Service), including
longevity pay (also retirement pension)............................................................. 3, 000
Supervising inspectors, Steamboat-Inspection Service........................................ 3, 000
Assistants, Coast and Geodetic Survey, 12 officers receive from..........$2, 500 to 4,000
A provision authorizing the increase of pay for all these inspec
tors, except the third district (already paid $3,600), to not exceed
$3,000 was reported favorably by the Committee on Interstate
and Foreign Commerce of the House of Representatives and by
the Committee on Commerce of the Senate, and the item was in
cluded in the Lighthouse bill as passed by the Senate. It is ear
nestly hoped this may be enacted into law at the next session.
The matter is treated more fully in the report of the Commissioner
of Lighthouses.
The request of the Department for an increase in the number of
commercial attachés from 10 to 20 was declined by Congress. The
request will be renewed at the coming session. The time for in
creasing this invaluable working force is now. To postpone it until
after the war is to lose the golden opportunity. Every day in which
we fail to develop our foreign trade by an enlarged working force
is a day largely wasted and an opportunity lost not to be recovered.
Increased Cost of Living.
The Department is embarrassed in its present operations and
in the preparation of its estimates for the coming fiscal year by
the increased cost of materials and supplies of many kinds, by the
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
55
advances in wages in many directions, and, as regards the adequacy
of salaries paid, by the great increase in the cost of living. Eco
nomic publications report an advance in a single year of 34 per
cent in the cost of the commodities required for the life of a family.
This can only mean that many of those who are depending to-day
upon the same salaries they received one or two years ago must be
cruelly cramped. Such a condition can only react unfavorably
on their effectiveness as workers in the public service.
Such a condition also directly affects the cost of living of the
Government itself. It can not secure men at the same wrages it
has paid in the past, nor can it purchase goods at the prices for
merly paid. For lack of means to run them, arising in large part
from the above causes, two vessels of the Lighthouse Service and
a small ship in Alaska of the Coast and Geodetic Survey have long
been idle. Meanwhile the public work suffers. We must take
our choice in the coming year of paying wages and purchasing
supplies on the current basis or else must still further restrict the
public work.
Cooperation with Foreign Chambers of Commerce.
In many foreign countries there are so-called American chambers
of commerce purporting to serve specially the interchange of trade
between the country in which they are located and our own.
There is no doubt that some of these organizations do good service.
On the other hand, it is possible some of them may not be wholly
disinterested in their work. They have no official or even semi
official relation with our Government of any kind. It would be
well if a semiofficial relation between these international chambers
of commerce and the Department of Commerce could be brought
into being. This would settle the question of disinterestedness,
would provide a useful adjunct to the work of our foreign service,
and provide such a degree of public supervision as the circum
stances seem to require.
Advantages of Free Ports.
Much has been printed about the advantage of free ports, and
the advantages of them are real. Their establishment would
permit a greater employment of American labor and capital in
industries located at the said free ports, whereby the cost of duty
on materials used in the manufacture of articles exported from the
free ports would be reduced, the cost of cartage and railway trans
portation would be lessened, and goods could be manufactured
56
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
for export on the water front in such a way as to save much of the
expense now incurred. There would be no question of rebate of
duties on goods entering for manufacture into a free port, for no
duties would be charged until they emerged from that free port
into the commerce of the country. If reexported, there would be
no question of duty at all. The concentration of industries in
such a free port and the existence of warehouses therein would
form an industrial export unit of high efficiency.
Need for an Archives Building.
The construction of an archives building, of which in recent
years there has been much said, would solve two serious problems
affecting this Department, namely, the provision for the safe
guard of the records of the Bureau of the Census and those of the
Coast and Geodetic Survey. The same is true, indeed, of the
records of all the services of the Department, but has special
weight in the case of the two services concerned. It has been
said and is possibly generally assumed that the old Census records
have no current value. This is far from true. These records con
tain information that is constantly sought and which, if lost,
could not be replaced. In the case of the Coast and Geodetic
Survey, records that have cost millions and on which present and
future millions depend are stored under conditions, hereinafter
described, which would be thought criminally careless if done by
any private concern.
On April 24, 1916, in response to a letter from Senator Miles
Poindexter, I wrote the Senator the following, which is printed
here to emphasize the importance of the matter as it affects this
Department:
It needs but a step from the Capitol into the basement of the building (I had almost
said the alleged building) occupied by the Coast and Geodetic Survey to see condi
tions that are shocking. Land titles all along our seaboard are dependent upon the
accurate and continued knowledge of changes in the ocean and river lines. These
changes are incessant. Because of them the records are constantly consulted. They
go back to colonial days and affect many millions in value. These records, covering
our whole Atlantic front, affecting the accuracy of every water-front title from Canada
south, are in rolls on wooden racks in the old building occupied by the Coast and
Geodetic Survey. It would be impossible to replace these records, and they are, to
be very frank, liable to destruction at any hour. The same is true of the costly
engraved plates. Many of these, costing great sums, through a century past, are
stacked in wooden racks in the basement of the same old structure only to be reached
by involved passages which would make saving them impossible should fire occur and
under such conditions that a small fire occurring near them and lasting but a short
time would destroy property of priceless value which could not be restored. The
same is true of the invaluable scientific working library of the Coast Survey. Two
fires have already occurred in the building. It is not fireproof. Had these fires
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
57
not been accidentally discovered before they had gone far, the building and the
records in it would have been destroyed.
There are many scores of thousands invaluable records of the Bureau of the Census
stored in the old Light Infantry Armory Building, at Fifteenth and E Streets NW.,
where they are exposed to destruction by fire. These records are many of them of
importance as affecting the validity of pensions and are constantly consulted for
genealogical purposes and others.
There are scientific records in the Bureau of Fisheries exposed to loss from fire in
the old building occupied by that Bureau. I think a visit to the upper floor of that
building would satisfy you that no sane industrial manager would allow it to stay
for a day longer than time sufficient to replace it.
There are in the Bureau of Navigation records of our shipping going back to our
earliest days. They are stacked in the basement, and were any serious fire to affect
the Commerce Building they would be destroyed along with many others.
It is hardly necessary to go through all the services of the Department. The facts
are alike in them all with varying degrees of importance. The Bureau of Standards,
located at a distance with substantial buildings, is an exception. If an archives
building were constructed, this Department could use to great advantage 85,000
cubic feet of space therein. It should be borne in mind also that the question of
effective use of the records is involved as well as that of their safety. Much damage
has been done by overhauling records in order to find the one desired in the necessary
confusion and a good deal of time has been wasted that would have been saved could
the records have been properly stored, located, and catalogued. I venture to think
there is no argument for the existence of the Library of Congress that docs not
apply with great force to the establishment of our Government archives in a building
which shall serve for those important records the same purpose that the Library of
Congress does for our printed literature.
BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE.
Unusual demands have been made upon the Bureau of Foreign
and Domestic Commerce during the fiscal year, and it has re
sponded with exceptional service. The year has witnessed an
unprecedented development of American export trade. The
minds of our business men have turned with increasing determi
nation to the rich promise of foreign markets. Expanding
opportunity abroad has created a more vigorous attitude at home.
With these things has come a clearer recognition of the facilities
afforded by this Bureau as a promotive agency in the furtherance
of trade.
Functions of the Bureau.
The primary function of the Bureau is the gathering and giving
out of practical data to enable American manufacturers to culti
vate the markets of the world with the greatest possible effect.
It is constantly watchful at many points in the current of com
mercial life. From the bazaars of Madras it transmits textile
information to the mills of New England. From Bolivia it sends
samples of hardware to be inspected by the exporting houses of
New York. On the farms of South Africa and Australia its
agents investigate the prevailing types of agricultural machinery
that they may bring that knowledge to the manufacturing en
terprises in our Middle West. The representatives of the Bureau
penetrate to the remote regions of the earth that the exporters of
the United States may proceed intelligently, on a basis of definite
facts, to the conquest of new fields.
It aims at the achievement of visible results. To present prac
tical information to those who can use it, to dispel misappre
hensions, to adjust differences, to bring together buyer and seller
in an effective manner— these are the ideals toward which the
efforts of the Bureau are directed in every aspect of its work.
That it has succeeded may be indicated most readily, I tlunk, by
an account of some of the things accomplished in the fiscal year
just past.
Typical Results Accomplished.
Late in 1915 the Bureau undertook to assist in establishing the
smelting of tin in the United States. In January, 1916, an article
was published in Commerce Reports stating that arrangements
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REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
59
had been completed by the American Smelting & Refining Co. to
bring Bolivian tin ore in quantities to the United States for smelt
ing and refining. As the result of representations made by the
State Department at the request of the Bureau, the Bolivian Gov
ernment assured the United States against discrimination in the
matter of export duties on tin or other metal. Under date of
July 25, 1916, the American Smelting & Refining Co. advised the
Bureau that it was getting out about 15 tons of refined tin a day.
It was claimed that the quality of the tin is superior to that which
had formerly been imported.
Through the efforts of Bureau officials the Cliinese Government
decided to equip two cotton mills with American machinery. It
placed orders with American manufacturers and builders for ma
chinery and apparatus valued at more than $700,000.
Through the publication of Foreign Trade Opportunities and
the circulation of plans and specifications throughout the United
States, American manufacturers have secured orders for supplying
railway materials in China aggregating about $1,200,000. A
prominent exporting house in New York was awarded a contract
for supplying railway bridgesvaluedatmorethan$475,000. Alocomotive works secured an order for supplying locomotives valued at
over $289,000. An award w'as made for the supply of freight cars,
valued at $473,000, to another manufacturer. The above are
only the more important items in connection with the orders
placed by the Canton-Hankow Railway. Most of these orders are
now being executed.
These are a few of the things that the Bureau of Foreign and
Domestic Commerce has helped to accomplish. It receives many
letters testifying to the value of its work and expressing apprecia
tion of the practical service that it renders to American manu
facturers and exporters. These communications are nearly all
from firms that have themselves received specific assistance from
the Bureau. The New York representative of a firm in Lisbon,
Portugal, has this to say:
I take much pleasure in informing you that I have concluded very important busi
ness transactions, thanks to the valuable information and precious help I received
from your Bureau. Your Bureau furnished me with a few addresses of manufacturers,
and, thanks to your assistance, I have been able to place an order for §95,000.
One of the largest American companies manufacturing lowpriced automobiles says:
We wish to take this opportunity to inform you that the results we have obtained
through the cooperation of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce have been
very marked, and we find the Bureau a very efficient help in obtaining foreign trade.
6o
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
From another great vehicle corporation this statement comes :
We have noticed a great improvement recently in the material contained in the
daily Commerce Reports, in the special agents reports, and work of the members of
the Consular Service. The present practical value of this we are glad to acknowledge
and want to assure you of our hearty cooperation.
A Chicago publication devoted to the milling interests writes as
follows :
Your regular Commerce Reports are very valuable to us and can not be duplicated
from any source that we know of. The writer wishes to compliment your Bureau on
the splendid way in which you get up this information.
The opinion of the Bureau’s service entertained by the president
of one of the world’s most important hardware concerns is shown
in the following extract from a letter signed by him :
I wish to take this opportunity to express to you, as I have to others in your De
partment, my appreciation of the service that it is rendering and the extent to which
it is constantly developing and improving in that respect in the interest of the mer
chants and manufacturers of the United States.
That the Bureau furnishes precise and usable information in
the great majority of cases is indicated by a statement made by a
manufacturer of Toledo, Ohio:
The service rendered by the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce to the
American manufacturer can not be overestimated. I have used that service in the
interests of my company to great advantage in the saving of time and money. I have
not yet submitted a question on foreign-trade conditions to the Department that was
not fully and satisfactorily answered.
The export manager of a motorcycle company in Michigan ex
presses the opinion that Commerce Reports are worth $25 a year
to a manufacturer interested in export trade. The actual sub
scription price is $2.50.
A Buenos Aires merchant says:
Through your Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce I have been able to get
into direct communication with some of the largest manufacturers of the lines in which
I am interested, and am pleased to say that I have made several contracts on very
agreeable terms.
A firm of St. Louis shoe manufacturers writes as follows :
We find the data very interesting and particularly valuable in our investigations.
We more than appreciate your efforts in our behalf and the comprehensive manner in
which you have placed this information before us. Each day we learn more of the
benefits that accrue in the expansion of our export business through the efficiency of
the local bureau.
Commercial Attachés.
During its second year the problems of the commercial-attaché
service were not unlike those of last year, when the attachés estab
lished themselves at their posts, got in closer touch with the trade
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
6l
conditions and methods in the countries to which they were
accredited, and increased their points of personal contact. This
process continued. There was no scarcity of things to do; the
difficulty was rather to eliminate the smaller details of purely
local matters in order to devote entire time to the larger trade
matters of a national scope.
There were five changes in the fiscal year— one transfer and
four new appointments. Mr. Harrington resigned his post at
Lima to enter private business; Prof. Hutchinson left Rio de
Janeiro to resume his duties at the University of California; Mr.
Baker, at Petrograd, returned to the Consular Service; Mr. Bald
win, former Chief of the Bureau, resigned the London post to enter
private business; Mr. Downs, at Melbourne, was transferred to
Rio de Janeiro, his long experience in trade with Brazil peculiarly
fitting him for that post. The new appointments were as follows:
Philip B. Kennedy, director of the day division of the School of
Commerce and Finance of New York University and a member of
the foreign trade committee of the Merchants’ Association of New
York City, to the Melbourne post; William F. Montavon, of the
Insular Service, to the post at Lima; Pierce C. Williams, a depart
ment head in one of the leading American export houses, to the
London post; and William C. Huntington, agent in charge of the
Chicago district office of the Bureau, to the post at Petrograd.
A distinct achievement to the credit of the commercial attaché
sendee has been the part it lias played in the fostering of American
organizations abroad. It is essential that our commercial interests
in foreign fields should be mutually helpful. For this purpose,
some form of substantial organizations— outposts of American
commerce— which will command the respect of foreign govern
ments and private enterprise is required. It is pleasing to report
that our representatives have been able to give substantial assist
ance in the establishing of such commercial organizations— the
American chambers of commerce and commercial clubs abroad.
Concrete results have been attained in Rio de Janeiro, in Buenos
Aires, in Peking, and in Barcelona. At the suggestion of Com
mercial Attaché Havens, the American Society in Santiago, Chile,
is establishing a commercial section, while in London the move
ment is under way. Incidentally, the American Chamber of Com
merce of China, the American Chamber of Commerce in Rio de
Janeiro, and the American Commercial Club in Buenos Aires are
sufficiently organized to affiliate with the Chamber of Commerce
of the United States of America.
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REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Another important phase of the work of the year was in relation
to the investment of American capital abroad. The Department
has for some time emphasized the important relation between in
vestments and trade and the commercial attachés have done
valuable work on this subject. All the attachés made reports on
foreign investments. From South America, the Far East, and
Australia, and even from Europe, investment opportunities were
reported. Some of these have already been acted upon by Amer
ican banks and corporations; others are now under consideration.
Further to carry on this work, the Bureau has appointed a financial
expert as special agent to investigate and report in detail on in
vestment opportunities in South America, and arrangements are
being made to appoint another for a similar mission in the Far
East.
A new method of investigation was inaugurated this year.
Under the direction of the io attachés, experts in foreign countries
prepared extensive reports, uniform in treatment and practical in
character, on the hardware trade in their respective countries.
These reports cover all phases of the trade, such as credits, pack
ing, styles, methods of distribution, and sources of supplies, the
attachés guiding the work and themselves contributing material of
a general nature.
To supplement the reports and to make them more valuable to
American manufacturers and exporters, each attaché was given an
allotment for the purchase of samples. The samples secured rep
resent the styles and types in common demand and are indicative
of either the progress of local manufacturers or of the competition
to be met from European markets. They have been assembled in
the New York district office and exhibited, together with informa
tion as to prices, import duties, country of origin and market, and
other data of a very practical nature, to hundreds of interested
manufacturers and exporters from all parts of the country. Ar
rangements are now well under way to make them available in the
production centers. When the reports are published, the hard
ware industry of the United States will be in possession of the most
complete information ever furnished by this Government in its
trade-promotion work. The Department plans to continue this
practical method of investigation by a similar study covering the
wearing-apparel trade in South America during the next fiscal
year.
In summarizing the activities of the European representatives,
the main feature is that their work has been very largely deter
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
63
mined and shaped by the war. Mr. Baldwin and, later, Mr.
Williams, at London, have kept the Department and, through the
Department, American business men informed as to war legisla
tion affecting our foreign commerce. The same is true of the
Paris post. Commercial Attaché Veditz, however, found in Spain
a more favorable field for trade promotion and continued to devote
as much of his time as possible to that country. It was quite often
necessary for the attaché to visit Switzerland, to which country he
is also accredited, as Switzerland had its contraband and embargo
difficulties for American trade. Mr. Thompson’s headquarters are
theoretically at Berlin. He has made frequent trips there, and it
is quite likely that during the coming year he will be there a large
portion of his time. Practically, his entire time at The Hague was
devoted to the difficulties arising from contraband and embargo
and with the Netherlands Oversea Trust. A somewhat similar
task at Petrograd confronted Commercial Attachés Baker and
Huntington. Moreover, the services of the attaché at this post
have been in especial demand by American business men, as in
terest has increased notably in the trade with Russia. This in
terest is evidenced by the formation of a strong American-Russian
chamber of commerce and by the organization of big trading com
panies for trade with Russia. The incumbents of the Melbourne
post, Mr. Downs and Prof. Kennedy, have likewise been in a
country where business is under the domination of war conditions.
As far as there has developed a “ war normal ” in all of these
countries, the attachés have been able to devote a larger portion
of their energies to general trade investigations. In the war
countries especially the commercial attachés have worked closely
and cordially with the State Department representatives.
As in the case of Russia, the awakened interest in China as a
potential market for American products was an outstanding feature
of our foreign trade in the last year. The commercial attaché, Mr.
Arnold, had a strenuous year and furnished a wealth of commercial
information about his interesting field. Due to the unsettled
political conditions, the time was not ripe for great trade expansion,
but was suited rather for a survey of the field and the laying of
plans for future development. It is pleasing to note that, while
not neglecting the important countries to the south of us, our
business men have given more attention to the fertile markets of
China and Russia.
In South America there was more opportunity for direct trade
promotion. All of the Department’s representatives have taken
66776°—16— 5
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REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
a prominent part in connection with the “ return visits” commit
tees which have gone to South America during the year. The
attaché at Buenos Aires was of material assistance to the Inter
national High Commission. In addition to the promotion of
American commercial organizations and valuable reports on invest
ment opportunities by these representatives, special mention
should be made of the very careful and thorough study of Brazilian
trade by Commercial Attaché Hutchinson, stationed at Rio de
Janeiro. In connection with this work, the attaché traveled ex
tensively through all parts of the country with his secretary, and
the handbook which is in the course of preparation will be a
notable addition to the Department’s publications.
As urged in my report for the preceding fiscal year, there is
need of an increased appropriation to permit of the appointment
of io more commercial attachés to be stationed in important dis
tricts which deserve attention. Aside from this, I may mention
three deficiencies in the service: (i) The legislative limitation that
forbids the employment by any attaché of more than one clerk;
(2) the lack of funds available for travel; and (3) the lack of any
specific appropriation for the maintenance of a staff in Washington
to direct the movements and activities of the attachés and ade
quately handle the increasing amount of correspondence and
reports. Because of the value of this service in national efforts
for commercial extension abroad, as demonstrated during the past
two years, it is earnestly desired that adequate provision be made
for the removal of these handicaps and the logical expansion of
the work.
Commercial Agents.
The value of the work accomplished by the Bureau’s special
field service has, it is felt, been very materially enhanced during
the fiscal year 1916. A greater variety of subjects has been inves
tigated, and the several phases of the work have been so harmoni
ously coordinated that an increased efficiency has been clearly
observable at all points. A systematic and successful effort has
been made to secure men of special competence for this branch
of the Bureau’s activities. There have been energetic surveys of
foreign markets, careful planning and effective supervision on the
part of the Washington office, and a consistent purpose to make
the resulting data available to American business men in the most
practical form. That the Bureau’s aim in this respect has been,
in large measure, attained is shown by the keen interest and the
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
65
spirit of hearty cooperation manifested by important commercial
houses and trade associations.
During the fiscal year the Bureau has had a total of 19 agents
employed in foreign countries and in the United States. Of these,
3 carried on their work entirely in this country, 3 were concluding
work the principal part of which had been done during the pre
vious year, 3 were starting on extended investigations as the year
closed, and the others performed the greater part of their special
work during the fiscal year. A wide range of subjects was cov
ered, including such diverse topics as banking, cotton goods, lum
ber, commercial laws, ports and port facilities, and the establish
ment of a dyestuffs industry in the United States. The territory
in which the agents traveled embraced Latin America, the Far
East and India, Australasia, and South Africa. The work of 12
of the agents was connected with Latin American markets; 3 with
those of China and Japan; 1 with the Straits Settlements, Dutch
East Indies, and India; 1 with Australasia; and 1 with South
Africa.
Of the Bureau’s inquiries, through its commercial agents, into
the markets for specific lines, that concerned with the trade in
cotton goods has been most extensive. This work was continued
last year by Ralph M. Odell, who has been in the employ of the
Bureau since 1911. A t the beginning of the fiscal year he was
concluding a thorough and comprehensive investigation into the
cotton-goods trade of China, in which market American sales have
become almost negligible in recent years. After finishing in the
great oriental Republic, he went on to Singapore, the Dutch East
Indies, Ceylon, and India, rendering reports on each of the first
three regions and on Madras, in India. A t the close of the year
he was in Calcutta, where the imports of cotton goods amount to
$100,000,000 annually. He purposed to spend some time there,
later visit other parts of India, and then return to the United
States.
The other two agents working in the Far East were Mr. Sams,
on wearing apparel, and Franklin H. Smith, on lumber. The lat
ter had practically completed his work in China, Japan, and the
Philippines when the fiscal year began, and his chief work last
year was in Australasia. The report of Mr. Sams on wearing apparel
in Japan was received in June and has not yet been published.
He will follow much the same route as Mr. Smith, going from the
Far East to Australia and New Zealand.
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REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
In the investigation into agricultural-implement markets, Juan
Homs was assigned to the South African field, with Australia and
New Zealand following on his itinerary, while Frank H. von Motz
undertook a survey of the South American countries. These
regions are among the most promising in all the world with respect
to agricultural development in the near future, and the sale of
farm implements is sure to grow steadily year after year as new
land is opened up or the old more fully cultivated.
In addition to agricultural implements, the special lines that
commanded the Bureau’s attention in South America last year
were fruits and nuts, machinery and machine tools, hardware,
and furniture. The data on the trade in fresh fruits were gathered
at the instance of western fruit growers, but the reports covered,
of course, accounts of the openings for the products of every sec
tion of the United States. A small reciprocal trade in fresh fruits
has already been established between North and South America,
and our apples are fairly well known in the larger cities of the
southern continent. In machinery and machine tools the present
demand, considering the large area and population of South Amer
ica, is small, partly because of the very high cost of fuel (particu
larly in the last year) and partly because of the fact that South
Americans have not turned hitherto to mechanical pursuits. J. A.
Massel, covering this subject, has visited and reported on Argen
tina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, and Venezuela, but only the
last four were included in the work of the fiscal year.
An investigation that is likely to produce immediate and farreaching results is that into the lumber markets of South America
by Roger E. Simmons. It is confidently believed that very sub
stantial benefits to the lumber-export interests of the United States
will accrue from his work. Mr. Simmons, after concluding his
reports, traveled for some weeks in this country, interviewing
lumber manufacturers and officials of lumber associations.
As regards the work of five other agents in the South American
field, it may be said that S. S. Brill, on hardware, and L. L.
Bucklew, on furniture, were concluding in the first part of the fiscal
year 1916 work that had been chiefly conducted in the preceding
fiscal year. W. A. Tucker, on textiles, H. G. Brock, on boots and
shoes, and Philip S. Smith, on electrical goods, began work on
their respective lines in May, starting first in Cuba as a preliminary
to their South American travels.
One of the noteworthy publications issued during the year was
“ Banking Opportunities in South America,” by W. H. Lough,
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
67
the result of a six months’ tour in the first part of 1915. An inquiry
into the commercial laws of South American countries was car
ried on by K. M. Borchard, who spent six months in South America
on a joint mission for this Bureau and the Library of Congress.
The work of one special agent, Garrard Harris, is devoted largely
to the collection of material for commercial handbooks. His
reports on Central American countries were published in a volume
entitled “ Central America as an Export Field,” and his work
since leaving the United States last fall has consisted in part in
gathering data for a similar book on the West Indies. It is also
planned to have him cover Colombia and Venezuela in the same
way, and the whole of the Caribbean district except Mexico will
then have been fully described from a commercial point of view.
With respect to the work of agents in the United States, it may
be noted first that the Bureau last year sent a special representa
tive, Stanley H. Rose, on what might be called a tour of consul
tation through the chief sections of the country interested in
exporting. His particular mission was to interview business men
and advise with them concerning their special problems in export
trade, and to acquaint the business public in general with the
facilities of the Bureau.
The other two agents in the United States, Dr. Thomas H.
Norton and Grosvenor M. Jones, have been engaged on work that
has an exceptional value and significance at this time. The activi
ties of the former have been directed to three ends— the establish
ment of a dyestuffs’ industry in this country, the manufacture of
nitrogen from the air through hydroelectric power, and the secur
ing of a supply of potash to take the place of that usually purchased
from Germany. His efforts along these lines have been uniformly
vigorous and judicious, and they have been attended with a very
marked success.
An elaborate volume on “ Ports of the United States ” represents
the results of a study of port facilities carried on last year by
Grosvenor M. Jones. He subsequently took up the study of ocean
transportation, resulting in the publication of two very timely
reports— one on “ Navigation Laws: A Comparative Study of the
Principal Features of the Laws of the Leading Maritime Countries ”
and the other on “ Government Aid to Merchant Shipping.”
Because of increased appropriations the Bureau has been able
to plan for a notable broadening of the commercial-agent service
during the fiscal year 1917. Among the lines to be studied are
investment opportunities, paper and printing supplies, railway
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REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
supplies, coal, transportation and port facilities, and construction
materials, all in South America, and railway supplies, boots and
shoes, electrical goods, and possibly motor vehicles and investment
opportunities in the Far East and Australasia. With these and
the investigations continuing from the past fiscal year the Bureau
expects to have between 20 and 25 agents in foreign lands during
the fiscal year 1917, and the number may run to 30.
To systematize and facilitate this work, it has been deemed
advisable to establish a separate division of commercial agents,
which will devote its entire time to the direction of the travelingagent service. This division was just being formed at the close
of the fiscal year. For the present it will consist of four men— a
chief, an assistant, an editor, and a clerk and stenographer. It
will have its headquarters in New York, where the principal
exporting houses can be frequently consulted with regard to the
details of export work. Besides working in close cooperation
with the agents from the time they are appointed until they leave
the service, the new division will undertake to push actively in
this country the projects initiated by the men in the field and
endeavor to make their work continually productive of tangible
results.
District Offices of the Bureau.
As explained in my last annual report, the United States has
been divided into eight districts, with district offices in New York,
Boston, Chicago, St. Louis, Atlanta, New Orleans, San Francisco,
and Seattle. This enables the Bureau to maintain more intimate
relations with business men throughout the country.
The district office is first of all a service station, supplied with
stocks of the various circulars, trade lists, publications, etc.,
issued by the Bureau for distribution and equipped with a refer
ence library of publications on foreign trade, commercial direc
tories, and periodicals for the convenience of the business public;
second, it is the headquarters of the commercial agent in charge
of that district. The latter is expected to keep in touch with the
manufacturing and exporting interests in his territory, and to see
that they are fully informed as to the services rendered by the
Bureau. He endeavors to see that the specific opportunities for
the sale of American goods abroad that are received by the Bureau
are brought to the attention of the appropriate firms.
There has been a continuous, and in some cases remarkable,
increase in the number of visitors at the district offices and the
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
69
volume of mail handled. The New York office during the past
year received from 5,000 to 7,000 letters a month, while the
number of callers at that office rose from approximately 1,000 in
June, 1915, to 2,894 in June, 1916.
The district offices serve as headquarters for foreign buyers
visiting the United States and render a very important service in
putting these men in touch with American manufacturers able to
supply their needs. The Bureau’s records show millions of dollars’
worth of American goods purchased by these visitors with the
assistance of its district and cooperative offices. Only a short
time ago a South American business man wrote that, through
connections he effected as the result of assistance given him by
the New York office during his recent visit to the United States,
he has sold more than $250,000 worth of American goods in five
months.
To strengthen the personal bonds between the members of the
field force and to supplement the exchange of ideas by mail, a
special conference was called in Washington at the end of June.
This brought together the managers of the eight district offices,
the men in charge of five of the cooperative offices, and repre
sentatives of four large commercial organizations located in cities
where the Bureau has district offices. These men spent five days
discussing branch-office problems, consulting with the division
chiefs in the home office, with the officers of other Government
services, and with those of semipublic bodies that have to do with
foreign trade.
A feature of trade promotion that has been given care during the
past year is the adjustment of disputes between American export
ers and foreign buyers. The Bureau gives special attention to
every complaint coming from abroad and endeavors to follow it
up to a satisfactory conclusion. There has been a large proportion
of acceptable adjustments. The district offices have been able
also to render valuable assistance to American houses having
difficulties with foreign collections or excessive claims.
On March 1, 1916, the Bureau’s exhibit of foreign-manufactured
goods at the customhouse in New York was opened to the business
public, with an extensive exhibit of hardware and allied lines,
collected through the commercial attachés. This exhibit was
started and will be maintained for the purpose of showing to our
manufacturers possibilities for competing with foreign manufac
turers in foreign markets. Accompanying each sample are tags
showing the countries of sale and of origin, prices, import duties, and
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REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OP COMMERCE.
the volume of sales. There are, in addition, a great many catalogues
of the foreign manufacturers. American manufacturers and
exporters of hardware were quick to perceive the value of our
work and many of them had their representatives make a careful
study of this survey of the world’s markets. Up to the close of the
fiscal year these samples had been exhibited only in New York,
but plans are now well under way to display them in all the im
portant trade centers of the country.
It has been clearly demonstrated that the best results are
obtained only when a full set of samples along some particular
line is exhibited. Instructions have been issued to appropriate
field agents to obtain a complete line of samples of wearing apparel
in South America. Many samples are received from time to time
from consuls and commercial agents. These are exhibited at the
various branch offices and by cooperating commercial organiza
tions. It is realized, however, that such individual samples are
distinctly less useful than are those obtained by concerted effort
and illustrative of an entire industry.
During the fiscal year 1915a plan was formulated for the estab
lishment of “ cooperative offices” of the Bureau, to supplement
the work of its district offices. Under this arrangement the
Bureau extends to any commercial organization that is willing
to maintain a special foreign-trade department in accordance
with the Bureau’s rules, and to the foreign-trade branches of large
railway systems that comply with those rules, exactly the same
information and service that it furnishes to its own district offices.
Seven of these offices are now in existence, being maintained by
the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, the Cleveland Chamber of
Commerce, the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, the Los Angeles
Chamber of Commerce, the Portland (Oreg.) Chamber of Commerce,
the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific Railway Co. at
Cincinnati, and the Southern Railway and allied lines at Chatta
nooga. Arrangements have practically been completed for the
opening of a cooperative office by the Chamber of Commerce in
Dayton, Ohio.
The expansion of the system of cooperative offices has gone on
slowly, as the Bureau prefers to maintain a very high standard of
requirements and develop new offices only where the local organi
zations have sufficient interest in foreign-trade advancement to
give the new office proper support. When competently managed,
these cooperative offices have proved of decided usefulness to the
commercial organizations establishing them, and it is hoped that
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
71
more of the large cities may avail themselves of these aids in the
winning of foreign markets.
This system is of great actual and potential importance, since
the Bureau’s service is thus made readily available to sections of
the country that would otherwise not be able to utilize it in such
a quick, satisfactory way. The cooperative offices represent a
signal step in advance— another movement in the fulfillment of
the Bureau’s purpose to bring its facilities into intimate relation
ship with all the business men of the United States. They effect
a saving of time, introduce the element of personal contact,
arouse a lively local interest, and give rise, in the mind of the
commercial community, to a deeper understanding of the govern
mental efforts that are being made in its behalf.
Cost of Production.
In view of the proposal to create a permanent tariff commission
and to transfer to that body the cost of production division,
the work of the past year has been directed chiefly to the comple
tion of the investigations already undertaken. Five reports were
published dealing with various branches of the clothing industry,
women’s muslin underwear, hosiery, knit underwear, men’s
factory-made clothing, and shirts and collars, and one report
dealing with the cost of production of cotton-spinning machinery.
For all these reports the field work was completed during the
fiscal year 1915.
The criticism of industrial conditions contained in the reports
was constructive throughout. The best methods of operation
were described in full and possible improvements were pointed out.
Opportunity for the development of export trade in several lines
undoubtedly exists. The most promising markets were indicated
statistically and the appropriate means of entering the markets
were shown by extracts from consular reports and references to
publications of the Bureau. The need of more accurate account
ing methods was emphasized and an inexpensive plan of deter
mining cost was given.
Field work during the fiscal year 1916 was devoted chiefly to
cane sugar and glass. A force of special agents visited nearly all
the cane plantations and sugar mills in Hawaii and later made a
similar study in Cuba. The investigation of the glass industry
was begun in January, 1916, the branches studied covering plate
glass, window glass, wire glass, opalescent glass, lamp chimneys,
lighting goods, bottles, fruit jars, and tableware.
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REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Several special studies and reports were prepared, and the
division has answered many inquiries, complaints, and other com
munications concerning the effect of the tariff upon certain in
dustries, high prices, and related subjects. The amount of
original work that has been accomplished by the division with its
comparatively limited force is a matter of congratulation.
Foreign-Tariff Work.
Considerable attention has been devoted during the year to
contemplated changes in commercial and tariff policies due directly
or indirectly to the war. Reports were published dealing with
the proposals of the British Board of Trade, the Association of
British Chambers of Commerce, the Interstate Commission of
Australia, and the proposed customs union between Germany and
Austria-Hungary. While it is quite probable that some of the
extreme measures embodied in those proposals will not be adopted,
it is safe to assume that the war will bring about some radical
changes in the tariff policies of the principal industrial and com
mercial nations of Europe, and such changes may prove of more
than academic interest to the American manufacturer and exporter.
The proposed changes must be closely followed and brought
promptly to the notice of the business public.
The trade-mark work of the Bureau is meeting with gratifying
success and promises to become of most practical value to American
exporters. In addition to giving trade-mark information upon
request, the Bureau has called the attention of some American
firms to the infringement of their marks in certain Latin-American
countries.
Export Statistics.
For the first time substantially complete returns of exports are
now being received. Heretofore, under laws and regulations
framed to meet conditions prevailing a century ago, there was no
real check on the declarations made by exporters. It was a matter
of common knowledge that many shipments left the country with
out any declaration of quantity or value and that for many others
the declaration was purely perfunctory, often made by a forwarder
who had no adequate knowledge of the goods exported. New
regulations issued jointly by the Secretary of the Treasury and the
Secretary of Commerce were put in force February i, 1916, out
lining a procedure that insures the presentation of a declaration
for every shipment from the shipper or his duly authorized agent.
Before they became effective the new regulations were severely
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
73
criticized by shippers as an undue interference with commerce;
but since their enforcement few complaints, and those easily
adjusted, have been received. Accurate export statistics, so
essential to correct planning in foreign trade, have thus been
obtained with no real burden on our exporters.
Editorial Work.
The editorial work was heavier during the last fiscal year than
at any time in the history of the Bureau. Fewer general-trade
studies were undertaken through the consular service, but there
was a very marked increase in the cost of production reports and
in the trade reports submitted by the enlarged field staff of the
Bureau. The wide scope of the Bureau’s activities makes editorial
work difficult. There are hundreds of different reports on hun
dreds of different subjects. The steady improvement in the char
acter and training of the Bureau’s field representatives has made
it possible to give more attention to form and less to content,
because the trained specialist who submits a report can be
depended upon to have his facts correct, and the editorial problem
becomes one of presenting these facts in a clèar and concise style.
New Officers and Adequate Salaries Needed in Washington.
The Bureau is in urgent need of two additional chiefs of divi
sion for service in Washington— (1) a chief of the division of com
mercial attachés and (2) a chief of the division of branch offices.
These two important branches of the service are now in charge of
(1) a translator and (2) an editorial clerk, both of whom have other
duties that at present demand some of their time and attention.
The appropriation for the commercial attachés is so worded as not
to permit the employment of any persons in Washington. It
therefore has been impossible for the Bureau to employ even an
extra clerk to do routine work in connection with the service, and
clerks who have other duties have been called away from them in
order to attend to it. The same is true of the branch-office serv
ice. It is essential that the Bureau have these two places and that
men of ability and initiative give their entire time to them. It is
certain that the work of the two divisions could be considerably
increased if adequate supervision were employed in Washington.
I especially urge that the salaries in this Bureau be brought up
to the level of salaries which have been established in other Gov
ernment departments where men of similar training and ability are
required. The Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce comes
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REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
into active competition, in selecting men and in retaining its present
staff, with other bureaus and commissions, such as the Federal
Trade Commission, Interstate Commerce Commission, Tariff Com
mission, Shipping Board, and other Government departments, to
say nothing of the many business opportunities for which our men
are particularly well qualified on account of the splendid prepara
tion they receive in our service. The highest salaries paid in any
administrative position in the Bureau outside of the Chief of the
Bureau are those of the assistant chiefs, one of whom receives
$3,500 and the other $3,000. Of the chiefs of division one receives
$2,500 and the other but $2,000. Important divisions, for which
no chiefs are provided for by law, are under the direction of officers,
variously styled assistant chief of division, commercial agent,
expert, expert clerk, editorial clerk, and translator, who receive
salaries ranging from $2,000 to $2,500.
In the other departments and especially in the commissions
referred to above administrative officers doing the same type of
work are paid salaries ranging up to $5,000. It will be absolutely
impossible for us to hold some of the best men in our service unless
we are enabled to compete with these commissions and other
departments. Only recently the Bureau found it impossible to
obtain the services of two men simply because another branch of
the Government outbid it. I expect in my estimates for this
Department to ask Congress for authority to establish a higher
scale of salaries, and it is my hope that I shall not only be able to
increase the salaries of those who deserve increases, but also to
bring in new men who could not be attracted at salaries which we
now pay.
The Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce has used its
resources to the full in obtaining the information most needed by
American business men and in bringing this information to them
so as to accomplish the greatest results. But it has not been con
tent with this. The Chief of the Bureau has deemed it his duty
to cooperate with other Government offices and with business
organizations in every question that affected commerce. Through
the cooperation of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce
the National Association of Credit Men has established a foreigncredit division or information service. The Ways and Means Com
mittee called upon the Bureau frequently for information. In con
nection with the revision of the duties on dyestuffs the resources
of the Bureau were placed fully at the command of the committee.
Many other questions relating to cost of production and other fac
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
75
tors connected with the tariff were answered by the Bureau. A t
the request of the Committee on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries
an investigation was made dealing with ocean freight rates.
During the past year this Department through the Chief of the
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce has been cooperating
continuously with the Federal Trade Commission and the Forest
Service for the betterment of the lumber industry of this country.
For some time past the lumber industry of the United States has
been in an unstable and depressed condition. This has been due
to overproduction and unregulated competition. The lumbermen
have appealed to the Government for assistance and have asked
that something be done, either administratively or by legislation, to
improve the condition of the industry. The Chief of the Bureau
of Foreign and Domestic Commerce was, therefore, authorized to
confer and cooperate with representatives of the Federal Trade
Commission and Forest Service to this end, and conferences and
hearings have been held in connection with a direct application
which has been made to the Federal Trade Commission for relief
under the antitrust acts. A t present the Bureau is working on
some far-reaching plans for cooperative activity on the part of this
Department and the lumbermen through their organizations.
In closing this portion of my report it ought again to be empha
sized that the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce finds
itself at a material disadvantage as respects the compensation of
its office staff in comparison with the various commissions which
have been created. These commissions have a comparatively free
hand with reference to salaries because they operate so largely under
lump-sum appropriations. The salaries paid by them average much
higher than the statutory salaries which the Bureau pays. As a
consequence, it is found that we are unable to get the desired men
from registers of eligibles and are not even able to hold those of our
force who happen to be particularly valuable to the commissions.
The inevitable result follows that our men are tempted to accept
places that pay more, and the time and labor put into training
them for our work goes for naught. In cases of this kind, where,
however unconsciously, Government services do actually bid
against one another for men, the result is destructive to the serv
ices which are handicapped by statutory salaries.
This adds emphasis to the suggestion that these salaries should
be made more commensurate with the value of the work done.
There ought, however, to be a certain comity between Government
services in this matter whereby one of them does not for its own
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REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
advantage work injury to another through taking its men away
without notice. The subject is treated in another aspect under
the Bureau of Standards.
Special Tariff Study Prepared for the Senate.
In response to a Senate resolution of January 17, 1916, there was
prepared in the Bureau’s cost of production division a report en
titled “ Foreign Commerce and the Tariff,” which was subsequently
published as Senate Document No. 366, Sixty-fourth Congress,
first session. This pamphlet presents comprehensive statistics of
imports and exports of foodstuffs, raw materials, and manufac
tured articles for a long period of years, traces the immediate
effect on imports of changes in tariff laws, compares for many
articles the ad valorem duty and the labor cost, and contrasts the
growth in imports and exports of manufactures of the United
States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. The period
selected for analysis covers the 17 years from the fiscal year ended
June 30, 1899— the first full year under the Dingley Tariff Act—
to and including the fiscal year ended June 30, 1915. A supple
mentary comparison is made for the nine months October 1, 1912,
to June 30, 1913, and from October 4, 1913, to June 30, 1914,
this latter period beginning with the operation of the present
tariff law and ending one month before the outbreak of the
European war. Although this period was much too short to
permit a fully satisfactory study of the effect of the tariff on
imports or exports, the facts are clearly set forth and the ten
dencies indicated. Twenty-nine tables of detailed statistics
enhance the value of this concise and significant report.
Examinations for Eligibles for Appointment.
Efforts to improve the personnel of the Bureau, both in the main
office in Washington and in the field offices in the United States
and foreign countries, continued along the lines adopted in the
previous year. The examination system, consisting of a written
test to which were admitted all applicants making out a prima
facie case of fitness and an oral test before a board in Washington
where the personal fitness of the successful candidates in the
written examinations were passed upon, worked out very well.
A noticeable improvement in the quality of appointments was
achieved. During the year the United States Civil Service
Commission examined 56 candidates for commercial attaché,
x94 candidates for special agent, and 115 candidates for commercial
agent. Fifty-seven candidates took oral examinations and 18
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
77
appointments resulted. In addition to these special examinations
conducted by the courtesy of the Civil Service Commission, there
were io regular civil-service examinations.
The widest kind of publicity was given to the special examinations
and there was strong competition for practically every place in the
field services. The Bureau received the hearty cooperation of the
United States Civil Service Commission, the associations of manu
facturers and other commercial organizations interested, the news
papers and trade press, and universities, colleges, and schools of
commerce. Technical questions for examinations were in several
instances prepared by the secretaries of associations, and assistance
in correcting the examination papers was rendered by the officers
of the associations, the editors of trade papers, and experts in the
Bureau of Standards. The oral examinations which were con
ducted for the principal appointments were attended by experts
from various Government offices. It is a feature worthy of note
that many of the appointees were men who resigned from posi
tions carrying higher salaries than those paid in the Bureau. It
had become known that appointments were on the “ best m an”
basis, and as a result there were high-grade applicants who would
not otherwise have been interested.
BUREAU OF STANDARDS.
Functions of the Bureau.
The work of the Bureau of Standards is so individual, so
differentiated alike in its character and its location from other
Government services, yet so intimately wrought into the fabric
of our progress, that it is fitting to explain its functions somewhat
in detail and to point out how they bear on our national growth.
It is a testing bureau for the Government. It is a national physical
laboratory. It develops and establishes standards of weights and
measures. But in doing these it does much more. It reaches out
into every walk of life and may be truly said to establish standards
which to a greater or less degree affect the life and work of every
citizen in his domestic, professional, commercial, industrial, or
scientific relations.
There are three important phases of this work. There is the
solid foundation of research into the fields of precise measurements,
of electricity, heat, light, chemistry, metallurgy, and into the
whole subject of structural, engineering, industrial, and miscel
laneous materials, including such as rubber, paper, textiles, and
many others. There is the application of the results of these
scientific researches to the help of all our industries, our public
utilities, our railways, and to the operations of cities, States, and
the National Government itself.
Also, there is the direct application of scientific research directly
and indirectly to human life, to aiding the social advance of our
people. This appears in its development of safety codes, such as
the National Electric Safety Code, the National Gas Safety
Code, and the continuing studies for the prevention of fire, both
on land and water. It appears also in the popular scientific
circulars, such as Measurements for the Household, soon to be
followed by Materials in the Household, and this in its turn by
Safety in the Household. This series of three pamphlets con
stitutes the most effective forward steps yet taken anywhere to
bring the results of scientific research directly into the home. It
is done in such a way that any household may have at its disposal
in simple practical form the latest expression of the scientific
study of all lands in all the past.
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REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
79
Again, the contribution of the Bureau of Standards to our social
life appears in its studies of the safety of materials, especially those
whose misuse or failure would involve danger to life. He would
be bold indeed who would limit the present and future bearing of
the work of this service on any form of human activities in this
Nation. It cooperates with the sculptor in studying the composi
tion of statuary bronze. It enters the brickkiln to advise on mate
rials and processes there carried on. It produces the choicest of
porcelains in exquisite colorings and glazes from new materials
and aids in the construction of glass pots. It cooperates in the
study of paper-making materials and in the application of new
dyes. It joins forces with the electrotyper, the automobile engi
neer, and with those concerned in refrigeration. It provides safe
guards against him who would deceive the humblest purchaser
by a false weight or measure, and furnishes standard specimens
to guide the largest industry. From the home to the greatest
university, from the motor car to the railway system, from the
mechanic at his bench to the largest operation of big business, its
touch is constant, helpful, inspiring.
Its work in optics is not confined to the light visible to the eye.
It has to do with mental optics as well as with the discovery
and correction of industrial waste. It brings light where there
was darkness before. I do not need to sound its praises. That is
daily done by those the broad land over whom it has served. I
merely express my deep appreciation of the public and social value
of this great work and of the men who carry it on.
Technical Conferences at the Bureau.
A unique feature of the Bureau’s work in a cooperative way is
the system of technical conferences which are held almost daily
throughout the year. A t such conferences representatives of
those interested in the subject of the conference participate in
the discussions, thus giving a broad point of view conducive to
the closer cooperation of all factors working for industrial progress.
The Bureau has found these conferences to be of the highest value
not only for their immediate practical results but for the mutual
stimulus resulting from the interchange of experiences of the
Bureau experts in their experimental researches and the engineer
ing and industrial experts in the pressing problems of their work
in the industries.
The value of such cooperation is mentioned here in order to
emphasize the constructive work which is possible for the Govern-
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REPORT OE THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
ment to render to the industries and to science. By such methods
the Bureau is rapidly becoming a coordinating center for scientific
and engineering work. The Bureau unites the forces of physics
and engineering in a manner which can not fail to be of the highest
value to both, facilitating the rapid application of advances in
one field to the needs of the other. A most urgent need to-day is
for the more rapid assimilation of scientific progress by the indus
tries. The lag between the publication of scientific results and
their practical utilization in the industries must be reduced, and
the Bureau of Standards, as shown in the pages of its annual
report, aims to facilitate this in the various fields covered by its
work. The system of conferences referred to is one of the most
effective means to this end.
During the fiscal year 1916 the following societies held sessions
at the Bureau of Standards: American Electrochemical Society,
American Physical Society, Annual Conference of Weights and
Measures (State, city, and national inspectors), Washington
Chemical Society, and Washington Society of Engineers.
Cooperating committees or representatives of the following
societies have met at the Bureau of Standards : American Ceramic
Society, American Foundrymen’s Association, American Institute
of Metals, American Society of Refrigerating Engineers, American
Railway Engineering Association, American Society of Civil Engi
neers, American Society for Testing Materials, National Electric
Light Association, National Lime Manufacturers Association,
National Scale Men’s Association, Secretaries of Commercial
Associations, Society of Automobile Engineers, and Society of
Cotton Products Analysts.
Weights and Measures Conference.
The Eleventh Annual Conference on Weights and Measures was
held at the Bureau of Standards on May 23-26, 1916. Twenty-one
States were officially represented, and delegates were present also
from the District of Columbia, Porto Rico, Philippine Islands, and
55 cities and counties. In addition there were 56 persons present
representing manufacturers of weights and measures, railroads, etc.
At this conference papers on important subjects affecting the work
of weights and measures inspection were read and discussed, such
as publicity, measuring pumps, industrial measuring equipment,
national weights and measures week, methods of selling dry
commodities, testing track scales, and specifications and toler
ances of measuring devices. Important resolutions were passed,
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
8l
and the specifications and tolerances were adopted. These are
now recommended by the Bureau of Standards for adoption by
the several States of the Union. Their early publication in final
form will be of great value in unifying State legislation and local
inspection practice on a basis approved by weights and measures
experts. The fact should here be emphasized that ideal condi
tions as to uniformity of practice can not prevail until the National
Government is given power by legislation to issue binding toler
ances and specifications. This view is indorsed by the majority
of State superintendents of weights and measures.
Cooperation With Weights and Measures Inspectors.
Some States have no State officials charged with the inspection
of weights and measures. The local inspectors of such States
apply to the Bureau for assistance, and the Bureau cooperates on
the technical details of their work in every possible way. By this
means the local inspectors are enabled to begin their work with a
high standard in mind and with an efficiency which would other
wise be gained only after extended experience. In like maimer
newly appointed State superintendents of weights and measures
apply to or visit the Bureau to obtain information as to the tech
nical organization of their work and the selection of suitable
equipment. Through the annual weights and measures conference
such State superintendents are brought together at the Bureau
to discuss the practical problems of their work. In this as in
other fields of its work the Bureau serves as a clearing house of
information and the means of coordinating and unifying inspec
tion practice in all parts of the country.
Weights and Measures Testing.
A few examples may be selected to show the typical standard
ization work in progress at the Bureau. In the weights and meas
ures division during the year, for example, there were tested 3,500
weights, 500 length standards for use in accurate surveys, 1,369
pieces of chemical measuring glassware, 1,138 hydrometers, and
1,200 automatic scales, 50 platform scales, and 325 track scales.
Through such means the service of accuracy is furnished to the
industries, since many of these measuring appliances regulate the
manufacture of other measuring devices and regulate the accuracy
of daily trade.
Of particular interest is the now thoroughly organized testing
by two cars made for the purpose of railroad track scales in coop
eration with the State and municipal weights and measures
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REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OP COMMERCE.
officials, with weight masters, manufacturers, railroads, and
Government departments. The work has been done during the
year in 25 States. Of 325 scales examined, 61.8 per cent failed to
meet the standard of accuracy set. A thorough technical report
of the condition of each scale is furnished to all concerned. The
Bureau cooperates with the inspectors, weight masters, and manu
facturers in improving the methods of construction, maintenance,
and operation of these scales.
Mechanical Standards.
The subject of industrial preparedness has emphasized the need
for mechanical standards and the adequacy of the means for
making and checking such standards. This work is an important
part of the Bureau's function, but the present staff would be
inadequate to handle it if the work is to increase materially.
In view of the large appropriation made by Congress for providing
systematically the gauges and measuring tools and other equip
ment necessary for this purpose, it is probable that the Bureau will
be called upon to greatly increase this work.
The need for mechanical standards for materials has been
brought many times to the attention of the Bureau within the
year, particularly in regard to such products as screws, bolts, nuts,
wire, and sheet metal. The diversity of the gauges and standards
for such materials is confusing in the extreme, and it is very
generally agreed, for example, that a single sheet metal gauge is
highly desirable. The Bureau cooperates with the general move
ments for uniform standards, and it is clear that many engineers
and manufacturers are prepared to make some sacrifice of indi
vidual preference in the interests of the widest possible uniformity
of such standards. With the entrance of the United States into
wider foreign markets of the world, the need for standards upon
an international basis will be more and more keenly felt, and it
need hardly be added that such standards would be less trouble
some and less costly the sooner they are adopted.
Temperature Scale.
The temperature work of the Bureau of Standards is of special
industrial importance. The establishment of the temperature
scale from absolute zero to the highest known temperatures in
volves investigations in the scientific theory of temperature and
heat measurements, la!x>ratory researches of the most exacting
nature, and refined apparatus which can be maintained only by
continued standardization. The results of such work are applied
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
83
in almost every branch of science and industry. The temperature
scale is maintained by certain fixed reference points, the funda
mental being the freezing and boiling points of water. During
the year an important fixed point for lower temperatures was de
termined, namely, the freezing point of mercury. The painstaking
manner in which this was done resulted in an exceptional de
gree of accuracy, the results being expressed to thousandths
of a degree Centigrade. The higher ranges of temperature are
maintained by fixed points, such as the melting points of the
metals and other chemical elements and compounds. During
the year work was done on the sulphur boiling point, which
is one of the fixed points used. The Bureau is about to issue
standard heat samples, consisting of pure copper, pure alumi
num, and pure zinc, the melting points of which are points
that, in part, define the working temperature scale. With these
samples the industries will be enabled to check the accuracy of the
readings of their temperature measuring instruments.
Public-Utility Standards.
The Bureau’s work in connection with public utilities, such as
electric light and power, gas, and street railway and telephone
service, includes scientific and engineering research, formulation
of specifications or standards of practice, performance, and serv
ice, which may be briefly designated as “ public-utility stand
ards. ” The Bureau’s publications on standards for electric
service and standards for gas service, recently published, were
prepared with the nation-wide cooperation of all technical inter
ests concerned. Laboratory research, field investigations, expert
questionnaires, conferences, and correspondence all contributed
to the success of these documents. In developing standards for
gas and electric service, the Bureau has rendered an invaluable
service not only to the local utility commissions charged with
regulating such service but to the gas and electric industries
themselves by making available a national code specifying the
conditions of adequacy and safety. The Bureau’s work in these
subjects will operate to reduce mortality and accidents, promote
uniformity of engineering practice, and result in improved service
to the general public.
In this connection a most important service rendered to the
municipalities and the street railways of the country is the Bu
reau’s researches in the laboratory and in the field on the effects
of electric currents which cause corrosion of underground piping
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REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
and structures with serious property damage. The economic
importance of the Bureau’s system of electrolysis survey and reme
dial measures is realized by the corporations concerned, who
express the keenest appreciation of the effective work of the
Bureau in this field. Practical results of the Bureau’s work are
described in publications now available to those concerned. It
may be added that the total cost of this work to the Government
is justified many times over in the annual saving resulting from the
installation of electrolysis mitigative systems suggested by the
Bureau.
In the general investigation of public-utility standards, for
which provision was made by Congress, the Bureau has investi
gated the extent to which telephone service may be adequately
specified in the series of service specifications or standards. Much
preliminary work will be required, both experimental and in
actual service, and the heartiest cooperation is expected from both
operative interests and the public, as the Bureau’s work, as in the
case of other public-utility standards, will be fundamental to the
technical regulation of telephone service for the general work
on public-utility standards. Some single States appropriate five
to ten times as much as is available for the Bureau’s work on this
subject. The results obtained by the Bureau thus far have proved
the economic value of expenditures for this purpose. It may be
stated that the services required of the Bureau in this connection
have far exceeded its capacity with the funds and staff now
available.
Fire-Resisting Properties of Materials.
An important feature of the heat work of the Bureau has been
the progress in the investigation of fire-resisting properties of
materials. An example of such progress of particular interest is
the installation during the year of the panel-testing equipment,
in which full-size built-up walls and partitions may be tested to
destruction and the failures studied scientifically with respect to
temperatures and other conditions. The Bureau has cooperated
with the Underwriters’ Laboratories of Chicago and the Factory
Mutual Laboratories of the Associated Factory Mutual Fire
Insurance Companies, Boston, Mass., in conducting fire tests of
building columns. The syllabus of proposed tests was submitted
to hundreds of engineers and architects and the resulting sugges
tions used in preparing the final test program. The temperature
measuring equipment to be used in connection with the specially
designed furnace will permit temperature changes in the structural
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
85
columns to be followed throughout the course of the fire test.
The keenest interest is felt by all engineers concerned in structural
work, and it is believed that the results of these tests will be of
great importance in structural engineering and in fire-resisting
construction. Incidental to this investigation is the technical
study of building codes of the world. These codes govern the
construction of houses and other buildings in cities. A basic
study of the provisions of such codes will eventually result in the
formulation of a standard building code. The Bureau’s general
researches upon structural materials make it appropriate that
the formulation of this code should be undertaken in connection
with its work on the fire-resisting properties of materials.
Many of the researches in heat and temperature measurements
are of so highly technical a character that their significance is
appreciated only by specialists in this subject. Such scientific
work, however, is of fundamental importance in technical investi
gations such as just described, as well as in the control of the tem
perature conditions which vitally affect the efficiency of industrial
processes in many industries.
Investigations of Materials.
The Director’s annual report shows a large number of important
investigations completed and in progress relating to the proper
ties of structural, engineering, and miscellaneous materials. Some
details will be found in the report, but reference is made here to
several typical cases illustrating the value of this work. In the
clay-products section of the Bureau leadless glazes have been
developed which avoid the disastrous effects of lead poisoning in
the pottery industries, methods of controlling the quality of clays
were developed to such an extent that American clays may now
be used in making pottery and porcelain ware winch were formerly
imported, and, furthermore, the Bureau has introduced scientific
methods in the manufacture of clay products. Similar investiga
tions of a fundamental character are in progress ih the Bureau lab
oratory devoted to the subjects of cement, lime, stuccos, paper, tex
tiles, rubber, paints, and similar industrial materials. In such work
the Bureau selects the fundamental problems which can best be
done in a Government laboratory where auxiliary equipment and
technical experts in many lines are available. Special mention
should be made of investigations which have proven of economic
importance in the duplication of enamels for ironware, special
kinds of imported papers, refractory materials, and optical glass.
86
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Typical Investigations for the Industries.
The publication by the Bureau of various tables of densities
emphasizes the commercial importance of the measurement of
densities, particularly in checking the strength and controlling
the purity of technical materials. During the year the Bureau
computed and furnished density and volumetric tables for the
United States Pharmacopoeia, which publishes such standards
for the use of the medical profession and the drug and chemical
industries.
A scientific study of the theory underlying lubrication has been
made, and an important contribution to the subject is that the
ordinary laboratory test will not in some cases give the true
viscosity of the lubricant. It need hardly be added that a sci
entifically correct theory of lubrication and a system of testing
lubricating oils based thereon will be of great industrial value.
The Bureau’s investigation of liquid-measuring pumps brought
to light the important subject of the accuracy of such devices.
The results of the Bureau’s investigations made in the field and
in the laboratory have been set forth in a Bureau publication
which has just appeared. Short delivery was found to prevail in
many sections of the country.
The Bureau has cooperated with the local inspectors in the
interest of the users of gasoline and other products measured by
such pumps. With the rapid development of new processes in
commerce and industry, new problems are encountered which in
volve measurements and tests for which suitable methods or
instruments are not available. In many cases the Bureau assists
in developing such methods and equipments.
Standard-Barrel Act.
An act approved by Congress March 4, 1915, establishing
standard barrels for fruits, vegetables, and other dry commodities
went into effect July 1, 1916. The confusing effect on commerce
of the manifold varieties of barrels used for various purposes will
be remedied to a great extent, and the uncertainties of prices and
quantity statistics will be greatly reduced as a result of this act.
As the technical administration of this act will be in the hands of
the Bureau of Standards, the Bureau has been active in studying
the problem at first hand in the industries affected and rendering
the utmost assistance, especially to the manufacturers, packers,
and shippers of barrels, in meeting the requirements of the new law.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Optics.
87
The optical work of the Bureau has very direct technical
applications. Fundamental researches have been completed on
the wave lengths of light in the various portions of the visible
and invisible spectrum of various elements. These values are
as important in speetrographic work as the measurements of
length in mechanical work. It may be added that such work has
been found of value in the analysis of alloy steels, ores, and
slags. The use of the spectroscope for quantitative analysis
of metals is an unexpected and striking use of pure science in
industrial and technical problems. The method is easier and
more sensitive than chemical analysis, and the results show that
accuracy will be possible when the subject has been more fully
studied. Another application of pure science to the industries
is the use of polarimetry in sugar analysis and in developing
methods of grading samples by analysis. Disputes arose about
a year ago between the buyers and sellers of low-grade molasses,
and the Bureau served as referee, using optical methods in
adjusting the basis of settlement. This branch of optics is
known as polarimetry and is the basis for sampling and rating
sugars and other products throughout the world. Many refined
researches are necessary to place this work upon a precise
basis and much of the fundamental work in this field has been
done at the Bureau of Standards. Another optical problem of
great importance is the standardization of colors and the devel
opment of satisfactory methods of color grading for various
industrial products. The Bureau has recently developed inclosed
standards which are relatively constant where the same mate
rials exposed would change color within a short time. The con
ditions of reproducibility and definition of color have been
studied, tests of color blindness conducted, and apparatus devel
oped for applying the methods of color determinations. In the
same laboratory specifications have been prepared for trans
parency and methods devised for measuring turbidity, and the
expansion of materials with temperature has been determined
optically with high precision.
Another branch of the optical work of special interest is the
optical study of internal strains in glassware, particularly that
designed for chemical work which is subjected to heat. A theo
retical and experimental study of the errors of lenses has been
made, and results will be published at an early date. The tests
regularly performed by the Bureau for other departments, includ
88
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OP COMMERCE.
ing the Army and Navy, comprise such instruments as microscopes,
photographic lenses, searchlight mirrors, periscopes, telescopes,
projection lenses, and gun sights. The Bureau is serving as
technical adviser in such matters to various branches of the
Government service. An important branch of experimental
research undertaken at the Bureau includes the most technical
aspects of the subject of radiation. The Bureau has developed
methods and completed researches upon the fundamental constants
of radiation and constructed instruments from io to 20 times more
sensitive than any previously constructed. These instruments are
of practical service in researches in astronomy and in some
cases in psychological laboratory work. The most direct appli
cation, however, of these studies of radiation is in standardizing
the fundamental data involved in expressing the quality and
intensity of radiation in a form suitable for computation. The
practical applications extend to the measurements of high tem
peratures and the development of improved methods of pro
ducing artificial light.
Photometry.
The testing of incandescent electric lamps by the Bureau of
Standards is a typical system of inspection and test used for all
departments of the Federal Government. During the year about
a million and a quarter lamps were inspected and tested under
specifications prepared by the Bureau in cooperation with the
lamp makers and Government representatives. The lamps are
inspected at the factory by the Bureau inspectors, and samples
are selected and submitted to life test at a specified efficiency in
the Bureau laboratories. About 5,000 selected samples are burned
on test annually. The methods used in this work have been
carefully described in a Bureau publication just issued on the
subject. The methods and apparatus devised at the Bureau have
been of the greatest usefulness in the general development of the
lighting industry. Interesting researches at the Bureau have
been completed during the year upon problems involved in the
new high-efficiency gas-filled tungsten lamps, in improved methods
of measuring light, the study of the color factor in comparing
lights from different sources, and the performance of gas-mantle
lamps with various elements. In such cases the Bureau works
in close cooperation with makers of various types of light sources,
illuminating engineers, and gas and electric light companies, as
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
89
well as experts engaged in improving the methods of light pro
duction. On this phase of the Bureau’s work it is felt that the
Bureau could render service of a high economic value to the pub
lic in the better utilization of artificial light, and in many cases
illumination could be greatly improved without increase in cost.
The Bureau’s publications on the subjects of gas and electric
light, especially in the popular circular Measurements for the
Household, have been recognized as being an excellent begin
ning in this direction. This instance is typical of almost every
field of the Bureau’s work which touches materials and appli
ances in general use by the public. The knowledge of their effi
cient use would go far toward promoting the general welfare by
increasing safety, economy, and efficiency.
Magnetic Research.
A practical research of unusual interest has been completed
after several years of painstaking work. This has yielded a method
of determining the properties of irons and steels by magnetiza
tion. The magnetic properties exhibited bear a direct relation to
the physical and mechanical quality and structure of these metals.
Any flaw in the metal promptly shows itself in the graphic curve
automatically plotted by the magnetic instruments used. A
striking application has been made in determining the quality of
steel rails and also of steel to be used for springs and knife blades.
The results of the work have just been published by the Bureau
and give promise of great practical value. The unique advantage
of the method is that the magnetic method tests the whole amount
of the material and not the surface only, and that it leaves the
test piece unaltered so that the actual specimen tested may be
used in a structure after the test has been completed.
Radium Research.
The increasing use of radium and radium products in medical
work and for luminous preparations for watch and clock dials
and in scientific research have accentuated the importance of the
Bureau’s work in standardizing the radioactivity of such prepa
rations. Not having facilities for testing the radioactivity of
specimens purchased, the buyer has formerly been helpless.
Since the Bureau has taken up this work, however, the purchase
price is based upon the strength certified by the Bureau of Stand
ards, and the purchaser may demand a certificate from the
Bureau.
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REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Metallurgy.
The Bureau’s work in metallurgy has resulted in a number of
important practical publications. These cover such subjects as
platinum, structural brass, pure iron, fusible tin boiler plugs, seg
regation in steel, pyrometry, rail specifications, etc. Much of this
work is being done with the close cooperation of technical socie
ties, such as tire American Institute of Metals and the American
Foundrymen’s Association. The metallurgical work ranges from
the quality of materials and the causes of failure to the temper
ature and other conditions for securing uniformity in the product.
The Bureau lias investigated the causes of failures of materials in
large engineering enterprises, such as manganese bronze used in
the great Catskill aqueducts, the tin used in the fusible boiler
plugs, deterioration of tinned copper roofing of the Library of
Congress, and failures of railway materials. Such failures lead
directly to the most fundamental problems of the structure and
reactions of metals under different conditions. Only by metal
lurgical investigations covering every phase of the subject can the
quality of metals be theoretically controlled.
The question of outdoor statuary bronzes was submitted to the
Bureau by the art commissions of New York, Philadelphia, and
Detroit for the purpose of determining the most suitable chemical
composition for such bronze and the requisite conditions for its
care and maintenance. A systematic study will go far toward
improving material and methods of preservation. Likewise the
American Foundrymen’s Association has submitted fundamental
problems; for example, the standardization and testing of molding
sands, uniformity of castings from the same ingot at different
foundries, and similar problems. The metallurgical work includes
the chemistry of the metals, their physical properties, their me
chanical strength, and the important subjects of heat treatment
and microstructure. The Bureau publications issued during the
year on metallurgical subjects contain results of great value to
metallurgical and metal industries.
Radio Communication Research.
Of particular interest is the cooperation of the Bureau of Stand
ards with other Government departments in radio research and
standards. The small appropriation made for this purpose has
been very useful in extending this cooperation, and the new radio
laboratory provided by Congress will offer facilities for still more
effective work. The Bureau has designed and made instru
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
91
ments suitable for the inspection work of the Bureau of Naviga
tion, including auxiliary apparatus. An interesting and useful
application which the Bureau is making of radio communication
is in promoting safety at sea. For this purpose the Bureau ex
perts have designed and constructed small radio sets as experi
mental installations in a lighthouse and in a lighthouse tender.
This will enable the Lighthouse Service to render aid to naviga
tion in a more effective manner than ever before. The Bureau
fog-signaling apparatus is designed to automatically send out
distinctive signals once each minute of short wave length which
may be received by all ships within a few miles of the lighthouse.
When used in conjunction with the new “ direction finder” de
vised at the Bureau, ships will be enabled to get their bearings by
radio communication at all times. This system of radio signaling
would supplement the regular lighthouse service in time of fog and
greatly assist in navigation. The direction finder referred to is a
device of unusual importance. It replaces antenna and is small
enough to use in an ordinary room. Trans-Atlantic signals have
been received, and the direction of the sending stations are found
with high accuracy. This is being adapted for use on battleships
and aeroplanes and gives promise of the highest usefulness.
The Bureau has recently provided standard circuits for radio
calibration work for wave lengths up to 20,000 meters. This
work involved the design of auxiliary apparatus of suitable types.
In connection with the radio work above described the Bureau is
undertaking numerous other researches in the various phases of
radio work, and the practical results of such researches have
already been highly gratifying.
By the bill approved July 1, 1916, an appropriation of $50,000
was made for the construction of a new radio laboratory. The
plans for this building are now complete. In preparing them the
officers in charge of the radio service of the War Department and
the Navy Department were consulted, and the building will be
arranged for cooperative use by these services and by the Bureau
of Standards.
Chemical Laboratory.
Work has progressed well upon the new chemical laboratory,
which at the date of this report is fully inclosed. The work of
installing the necessary equipment and furniture will proceed
during the winter on the expectation of having the laboratory
ready for use in the spring of 1917.
92
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Saving Industrial Wastes.
An interesting example of the saving of industrial wastes has
arisen in connection with paraffin paper. It was found that quan
tities of paraffin-paper scrap or paper stock containing paraffin
paper were either destroyed or sold with difficulty and at a low
price because the material was not available for further use by
reason of the wax in the paper. No commercial process was
known for removing this wax. The matter being brought to the
attention of the Department by an interested manufacturer, it
was referred to the Bureau of Standards. A sample lot of the
waste material being supplied, a simple process for removing the
wax and utilizing the paper stock was developed and put into
practical operation. The Bureau has since issued a special cir
cular letter upon this subject and has sent its expert to supervise
the operation of the method recommended where the process has
been installed.
Most of the work of the Bureau of Standards in materials has
for its ultimate purpose saving waste in materials now used or
now wasted because unused. Such materials include clay which
by proper treatment can be made available for important uses;
materials for making concrete; materials for paper making, in
cluding fibers and clays; the saving of unused materials in button
making, etc. There are hundreds of cases annually in which
manufacturing concerns write or send for specific information to
apply in the improvement of processes, the saving of by-products,
and the elimination of wastes. The Bureau of Standards could
do a great productive work for the country that is badly needed
if it had a special force and equipment to be devoted solely to this
department of saving industrial wastes.
Recommendations.
Pursuant to suggestions made in my last report, an item has
been included in the estimates for the fiscal year ending June 30,
1918, providing for the purchase of the strip of land on the
north side of the present property of the Bureau, between that
property and Van Ness Street, and also for securing the narrow
strip of land between the present property of the Bureau and
Tilden Street on the south side.
The increase in the operations of the War Department give
emphasis to its repeated requests that the Bureau of Standards
vacate the old arsenal buildings in Pittsburgh, which they have
long occupied by courtesy for carrying on their structural-ma-
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
93
terial work. Although the funds available for these vital studies
are barely sufficient to meet the needs of such testing as the
Government itself requires, large equipment has been accumulated
both in Pittsburgh and Washington, and more is needed. The
work is one in which every citizen is interested, and it is essential
that the large testing machines required should be provided and
that these with the furnaces and other heavy apparatus necessary
for the work should be assembled in a building designed for the
purpose and of a sufficient size.
Accurate knowledge of the laws governing the behavior of
girders used in bridges and other construction stops when we
reach a moderate size. It can not be too strongly emphasized
that our knowledge is as yet imperfect as regards the laws govern
ing the action of large girders. We do not know certainly what
we are about when we use them. There is too much guesswork—
too little known fact. If we continue inaction on this important
subject, some accident will, at sad cost, so disclose to everyone
the limits of our present knowledge that we shall under the pres
sure of unhappy circumstances take the step which ought to be
taken now. Foresight calls for prompt action on this subject.
Hindsight will be rather apt to condemn those who fail of fore
sight to-day. I renew the quotation in my last report from the
late Alfred Noble, one of America’s most distinguished engineers:
The use of steel and concrete in girders in the construction of bridges and buildings
is increasing rapidly. The calculations of strength of such girders are to a large extent
based on theory, not well checked b y actual tests; such tests as have been made
were on small girders, and the value of the results in determining the dimensions of
large girders, such as are now in common use, is doubtful. It is questionable whether,
on the one hand, many structures in daily use are not perilously near the breaking
point; or, on the other hand, whether the structures are not built unnecessarily
massive and costly.
There is therefore great need of a large testing machine for actually testing the
strength of girders of large size. Such a machine, oj>crated under the direction of
the Bureau of Standards, would soon repay its cost by inducing more economical and
safer construction.
An item, therefore, is inserted in the estimates for the coming
fiscal year providing for the purchase of a site for a testing
laboratory for structural materials, for commencing the construc
tion of a fireproof building, and for beginning work upon the large
testing machine required for extending our knowledge of these
vital matters beyond the present limits.
The recommendation in my last report- tfyat the scientific staff
of the Bureau of Standards be increased to meet urgent condi
tions then existing is renewed and emphasized. For the past
«
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REPORT OË THE SECRETARY OE COMMERCE.
three years there has been practically no increase in the statu
tory positions of the scientific staff. In the meantime, the calls
upon the Bureau in connection with the scientific work of the
country, and especially the industries, have grown by leaps and
bounds. The demand on the part of the industries for accurate
and reliable scientific data has never been as great or as important
as at present. This demand is a rapidly increasing one. The
growing prosperity of the country, the establishment of new in
dustries, the growing demands of our manufacturers for scientific
knowledge and for the aid of the service have added to the serious
handicap under which the Bureau labored a year ago. As things
now are, it is a hopeless task for the Bureau of Standards to meet
the demands upon it. If things remain as they are, much of the
work for which it was created must be left undone and much of
the help our industries require can not be extended. I therefore
have approved the request of the Director of the Bureau of Stand
ards that items be inserted in the estimates for the coming fiscal
year which shall add a sufficient scientific staff to cope with the
existing demands and which shall provide such further small
additions to the clerical and mechanical staff as are required for
the same purpose. It is evident that the completion of the new
chemical laboratory will itself call for a considerable addition to
the staff.
Never has the demand for scientific and technically trained
men been as great as at present. This has resulted in the loss of
many well-trained men in the Bureau’s staff. The time has come
when some of the salaries paid such experts must be increased or
their services dispensed with. This can not be done without a
loss in quality and the deterioration of the high standard of the
Bureau’s work.
The testing and investigational work of the Bureau is greatly
handicapped by the lack of sufficient instrument makers and me
chanics. Estimates will be submitted for additional assistance of
this kind.
I renew my request of last year for an assistant to the Director,
for an editorial clerk, and for a property clerk. No private busi
ness of similar size would think of hampering its head with minor
details of administration which prevent giving needed time and
attention to the large problems that daily arise. If the work of
the service is to go on as it should, these three posts should be
promptly created and filled. The property of the Government
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
95
in the large group of buildings occupied by the Bureau has no
proper custodian to-day and can not have one until the prop
erty clerk now requested is provided.
Increases in Special Funds.
Increases are urgently needed in several of the special funds
under which the Bureau is carrying on important work. The
structural-material fund is barely sufficient to care for the test
ing work of the Government service. It should be increased by
at least 50 per cent, in order that the Bureau may undertake more
investigational work needed by the Government service and by
the public. The importance of this work can hardly be over
estimated, not only from the standpoint of economy and efficiency
in the structural work of the Government, but from that of the
efficient and economical use of these materials on the part of the
public.
The Bureau’s work in connection with public utilities has
proven of the utmost importance. The fund available is insuffi
cient to cover more than two or three problems. The present ap
propriation might well be increased several fold. It would meet
with the hearty approval of all public-service and municipal bodies
having to do with the regulation of public utilities. It would
contribute greatly to better service on the part of public utilities,
as well as to the conservation of life and property.
The enormous annual loss of property by fire emphasizes the
great necessity for a better knowledge of the fire-resisting prop
erties of materials and construction. To be of value, such work
must be carried on on specimens commensurate with those used
in practice. The Bureau’s work in this direction has been well
organized and much of the apparatus constructed. However,
funds are needed for additional equipment as well as materials
upon which to work, which in such cases are necessarily expensive;
therefore, this fund should be increased by at least 50 per cent.
The fund available during the present year for the investiga
tion of mechanical appliances is not sufficient to meet even the
needs of the Government service. Here again, as in the purchase
of materials, the Government is purchasing machinery and all
sorts of devices in accordance with carefully prepared specifica
tions, and suitable tests are made before their acceptance. The
standards of performance in such cases and the methods of meas
uring the same are equally important to the manufacturer and to
the public. This fund should be increased to at least double its
present amount.
66776°—16----- 7
96
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
In general it has been thought best to submit only such esti
mates as are urgently needed to care for present work rather than
to enter new fields. However, two exceedingly important cases
have arisen for which estimates will be submitted. The first is
that of optical glass. Notwithstanding the importance of this
material in the construction of all sorts of optical instruments, it
has not yet been successfully manufactured in this country in any
considerable quantity. Every effort should be made to assist in
the development of this industry. Estimates will be submitted
for a special fund intended to enable the Bureau to undertake
the important underlying scientific work needed in the produc
tion of optical glass.
The second case is that of electrodeposition of metals. Many
industries are vitally concerned in the fundamental principles of
the electrodeposition of metals, as, for example, the electrotyping
and electroplating industries. Little attention has been paid to
the underlying scientific principles involved. Such information
is urgently needed; therefore, an estimate will be submitted for
this purpose.
New Power Plant.
A new power-plant building has become an urgent necessity.
The total boiler capacity of the present plant is already seriously
overloaded, and the danger of operating with no reserve in case
of breakdown is apparent. The electric generating units are in
good condition, but should be moved to a new location to relieve
the present crowded conditions. Repairs can not now be made
with requisite facility, and many lines are inaccessible for repairs.
Extension of switchboard space is impracticable in the present
location, and for this reason much objectionable and unsafe con
struction has had to be permitted. The space vacated will be
admirably suited to purposes of a general shipping and store
room, which is also badly needed.
Policy as to Personnel.
Transfers from the scientific services of the Department to
other Government and to private scientific services should be
by mutual consent. The Bureau of Standards is constantly
embarrassed because its men are tempted away by other Gov
ernment services and by private concerns. The Bureau is willing
to transfer its men either to improved positions in other Govern
ment departments or in private life, but thinks it proper that it
should be so treated in the matter that its own work shall not be
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
97
thereby suddenly and seriously interrupted. In particular, it
feels that other Government services should not without notice
or consultation take its officers away from the duties for which
they have been specially trained without giving it opportunity
to prepare for the change. The Bureau of Standards is always
ready to take in men and train them for any particular research
work within its scope that is desired. Some large industries and
railroad companies and some Government services take advantage
of this. A t present, however, the custom (for it is no less) of
tempting its men away by privately offering them higher salaries,
without consultation of the Director of the Bureau or without
any notice of any kind to him, is one that works serious harm to
the public through the stoppage of important scientific work and
frequently also works out a serious injustice to the individuals
concerned.
I renew the suggestion in my last report respecting the relative
treatment by the Government of its scientific, its naval, and its
military staffs. The latter, after being educated at great public
cost, are assured permanent employment and are given a retire
ment privilege affording protection in their old age. This is
proper and admirable. It is quite improper, however, to restrict
it to these particular public servants and to refuse it to others
quite as worthy. The scientific staff of the Government is, to
say the least, no less productive. The members of that staff give
their lives to the country quite as truly unless the Government
so ill rewards them for their services that individuals can afford
to pay them better.
There is the closest cooperation between the scientific force and
the officers of the naval and military establishments, yet the man
of science, whose work is embodied in the battleship, in the wire
less telegraph, in the explosive, pays for his own education, has
no certitude of employment, and can look forward to no protection
when he is old. If he wishes the same security that the officer
of the Army or Navy has, he must look elsewhere than to the
Government for it. Serve he the Government never so faithfully,
it extends to him no hand of helpfulness. When our young
scientific men leave college after acquiring an education at private
cost, they start work in our laboratories at $1,000 or $1,200 per
annum, which makes an interesting comparison with the pay
given, for example, at the Naval Academy, plus a free education.
If a young scientific man enters our service at $1,600, it is usually
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REPORT OE THE SECRETARY OP COMMERCE.
because he has spent his own money and time acquiring some
special degree in a university and thereby enhancing his value to
the public. In a service like the Coast and Geodetic Survey men
give their best years to working in remote parts of the United
States, Alaska, and the Philippines, must go to sea in small
vessels, and at the risk of storms and unknown dangers provide
safety for the lives and property of others by surveying waters
for the first time. They also must give up home life and endure
hardships and dangers at least equal to those which a military
service requires. It is not just that with equal education and
productiveness, assuming similar risks in their country’s service,
they should receive unequal treatment. The scientific staff of
the Bureau of Fisheries directly aids in discovering new foods
and in making them available for mankind. Whole industries
also depend upon the fruits of their labors. Y et they receive a
similar lack of recognition at the hands of the public. The prac
tical attitude of the Nation toward the men of productive science
is the reverse of that which it holds to the trained officers, soldiers,
or sailors. All these men are useful, unselfish public servants.
There is no thought of preferring one to another. The compari
son is between the way in which the Government treats the one
and the other and between the way the scientific men are welcomed
in our industries, in our universities, and in Government services.
The men of science in the Government employ do the work on
which our economic structure and our industrial processes in
large part depend. They do not receive a sufficient reward.
BUREAU OF THE CENSUS.
During the fiscal year the Bureau of the Census compiled and
published a considerable part of the primary or fundamental
statistics based on its latest canvass of manufacturing industries
and carried on the compilation of more detailed statistics for
later publication; conducted its regular annual inquiries relating
to mortality, to municipalities, and to cotton and cottonseed;
prepared and published the Official Register of the United States;
completed the preparation of a report on the blind and brought
well toward completion one on the deaf ; made semiannual collec
tions of statistics relating to stocks of leaf tobacco ; issued a set of
tables showing expectation of life for various classes of the popu
lation; carried on the compilation of a monograph giving detailed
statistics relative to deaths from cancer; prepared estimates of
population for States and municipalities; took special censuses of
four cities and towns ; and complied with many requests for infor
mation contained in its records.
CURRENT AND COMPLETED WORK ON STATUTORY INQUIRIES.
Census of Manufactures.
The field work on this investigation, which related to the calendar
year 1914, and was made as of December 31, 1914, was completed
early in the fiscal year. The compilation and publication of the
primary or fundamental statistics based on the inquiry were
brought well toward completion during the year and have been
finished since its close. The work could have been completed
sooner and at less cost if manufacturers throughout the country
had responded more promptly and carefully to the request of the
Director of the Census for the information required by law. After
the reports had been secured, it was found necessary to return
many of them to the manufacturers for correction and verification ;
in some instances this had to be done two or three times. On the
other hand, the thanks of the Department are extended to those
many manufacturers who by filling out and transmitting over
50,000 schedules in correct form permitted my requesting the
Senate Committee on Appropriations to reduce the amount of the
sum allotted for the cost of the manufactures census by $40,000.
99
TOO
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
The statistics relating to all manufacturing industries combined,
for the entire United States, were sent to the printer on July 24,
1916— an earlier date, relatively to the period covered by the
inquiry, than that at which the comparable figures for any pre
ceding similar census had gone to press and fully two months
earlier than the corresponding date in the case of the last pre
ceding census, that of 1909. These statistics show that the total
number of persons engaged in manufactures increased from
7,678,578 in 1909 to 8,265,426 in 1914, or by 7.6 per cent, and
that the gross value of products increased from $20,672,052,000 in
the earlier year to $24,246,323,000 in the later, or by 17.3 per cent.
The remaining work in connection with this census will consist
in the preparation of the analytical tables and the text for the
final reports, which will comprise an abstract in the form of an
octavo volume of about 500 pages and three or four large quarto
volumes of approximately x,000 pages each. (See recommenda
tion relating to “ Intermediate census of manufactures,” under
“ Legislation needed.”)
Vital Statistics.
The work on the report Mortality Statistics, 1915, is progressing
satisfactorily, and the copy will probably be in the hands of the
printer by December 1, 1916. A preliminary statement, in the
form of a press summary, giving the number of deaths and the
death rate for each registration State and each city of more than
100,000 population, has already been issued.
The work on the report Birth Statistics, 1915, is also progressing
in a satisfactory manner, and the copy will be sent to the printer
at about the same time as that for Mortality Statistics.
The census reports presenting vital statistics are, from year to
year, being brought to a higher standard of usefulness. The regis
tration of deaths— which, under the Constitution of the United
States, is necessarily a function of the State and municipal authori
ties— is constantly becoming more nearly complete, the registra
tion area having been extended until it now contains about 70 per
cent of our total population. Until recently the birth-registration
systems of the States and municipalities were in most cases so
inadequate that the Census Bureau did not compile and publish
birth statistics. Now the collection of such statistics has also
been begun; and it is expected that the registration area for births,
which at present contains more than 32 per cent of the population
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
IOI
of the country, will, like the death-registration area, be extended
from year to year.
(See also “ Life tables” and “ Monograph on cancer,” under
“ Special and miscellaneous lines of work.”)
Financial Statistics of Cities.
The annual report presenting financial statistics for cities of
more than 30,000 population, relating, in the case of each city,
to its latest fiscal year terminated prior to July 1, 1915, was
completed and sent to the printer in January, 1916, less than
seven months after the close of the period covered. This report,
which fills 338 pages, presents detailed statistics relating to reve
nues, expenditures, indebtedness, assessed valuation, and value of
municipal properties. The Bureau’s classification of municipal
financial statistics has received the indorsement of the leading
civic organizations of the country, and is now followed to a
greater or less extent by many of the cities having more than
30,000 inhabitants.
General Statistics of Cities.
The report on this inquiry, which also referred, in the case of each
municipality, to its latest fiscal period ended prior to July 1, 1915,
related to the subjects of governmental organization, police de
partments, water-supply systems, and liquor licenses and taxes.
It was completed and sent to the printer in November, 1915, five
months after the close of the period covered. The demand for
this report has been so great as to require a reprint.
The 1916 report on general statistics of cities will present de
tailed data in reference to recreation facilities, such as park areas
and buildings, organization of park administration, playgrounds
and athletics, baths and bathing beaches, zoological parks and
collections, music and entertainment provided by the city, art
galleries, museums, etc. Practically all the data for these subjects
have already been collected, and their compilation is well under
way. The report will probably go to the printer in November,
1916.
Cotton and Cottonseed.
During the year the Census Bureau gathered and published
statistics relating to cotton ginned, consumed, imported, exported,
and on hand, to active spindles, and to cottonseed and linters.
A total of 26 reports, in the form of post cards, were issued during
the year, and in addition an annual bulletin was published.
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REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Under the authority of the act of Congress approved August
7, 1916, the Census Bureau will hereafter collect and publish
monthly statistics relating to cottonseed crushed and cottonseed
products manufactured and to imports and exports of cottonseed
and its products.
The same act authorizes and directs the Census Bureau to col
lect and publish, at quarterly intervals, statistics of raw and
prepared cotton and linters, cotton waste, and hull fiber consumed
in the manufacture of guncotton and explosives of all kinds and
of absorbent and medicated cotton. The first publication of
these statistics will cover the entire calendar year 1915.
Tobacco Stocks.
The collection and publication semiannually of statistics relating
to the quantities of leaf tobacco held by manufacturers and deal
ers have been carried on in accordance with the provisions of the
act of April 30, 1912. Under authority contained in a provision
of the act approved May 10, 1916, these statistics will be gathered
and issued at quarterly intervals, beginning with the report for
October 1, 1916.
The act of May 10, 1916, provides “ that hereafter there shall
be in the official organization of the Bureau [of the Census] a
separate, distinct, and independent division called the Division
of Cotton and Tobacco Statistics,” and the same act also provides
an appropriation “ including $15,000 for collecting tobacco sta
tistics authorized by law in addition to any other fund available
therefor.” Definite arrangements have been made for putting
into effect the above provisions of the act.
Negroes in the United States.
The decennial report on Negroes in the United States is nearly
completed, and a large part of it is already in type.
The Blind and the Deaf.
The decennial report on the blind population in the United States
was completed and that relating to the deaf population was
nearly completed during the fiscal year. Both are in the hands
of the printer.
Prisoners and Juvenile Delinquents.
The work on the decennial report relating to prisoners and
juvenile delinquents was well advanced toward completion during
the fiscal year and will soon be in the hands of the printer.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
IO3
Estimates of Population.
The preparation of a bulletin presenting midyear estimates of
the population of States and cities for the years 1910 to 1916,
inclusive, was practically completed during the fiscal year and has
since been sent to the printer.
SPECIAL AND MISCELLANEOUS LINES OF WORK.
Life Tables.
One of the most important of the special lines of work under
taken by the Bureau was the preparation of a series of tables
showing expectation of life for various elements of the population
in certain States. These tables, compiled under the supervision
of Prof. James W. Glover, of the University of Michigan, are
similar in scope and manner of presentation to those issued by
life insurance companies, but differ from the insurance tables
in that they relate to the entire population of the area covered
instead of being confined to risks selected through medical ex
amination and otherwise. A similar set of tables, based on data
covering a greater period of time, have been computed and will
be published before the end of the current fiscal year. In the
report presenting these tables will be given the original data on
which they are based, together with an explanation of the methods
employed in computing them.
Monograph on Cancer.
A monograph has been prepared and will soon be published in
which are presented, in much greater detail than in the annual
mortality reports issued by the Bureau, statistics in relation to
deaths from cancer.
Financial Statistics of States.
A report on this subject, similar in scope to the Bureau’s annual
reports giving financial statistics of cities, was prepared and pub
lished. This report, which related in the case of each State to its
latest fiscal year ended prior to July i, 1915, was the first ever
published in which the statistics pertaining to revenues, expendi
tures, indebtedness, assessed valuation, and State properties were
given in so great detail. It aroused much interest among State
officials, who are desirous that the investigation be made an
annual one. (See recommendation relating to “ Financial statis
tics of States,’’ under “ Legislation needed.” )
10 4
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Occupations and Child Labor.
Work was done in preparation of supplementary statistics of
occupations, showing certain details not brought out in the general
report on occupations, which formed one of the Thirteenth Census
series. These supplementary occupation figures will include data
relating to child labor. This work was suspended from October,
1914, to October, 1915, in order to provide as large a force as
possible for the work on the current census of manufactures.
Special Censuses of Population.
Special censuses of the population of the following-named
municipalities were taken at local request and expense: Highland
Park, Mich.; St. Clair Heights, Mich.; Hastings, Nebr.; and El
Paso, Tex.
Assistance Rendered Other Departments.
Lists of names and addresses of large manufacturing establish
ments, about 30,000 in number, were furnished the Secretary of
the Navy for use in organizing the industries of the country in
furtherance of the plans for military and naval preparedness.
Lists of this character were also supplied to the Department of
Agriculture and the Federal Trade Commission for use in connec
tion with the activities of those offices.
In this connection it should be noted that the law respecting the
confidential character of data collected by the Bureau of the
Census is of so rigid a character that the Department is without
authority to permit other Government departments to refer to the
Census records and files even when the information is sought solely
for Government use. The provision of the law on this subject
reads, “ nor shall the Director of the Census permit anyone other
than the sworn employees of the Census Office to examine the
individual records.” It is in the highest degree proper that the
confidence reposed by the business public in the inviolable charac
ter of the information given to the Bureau of the Census shall in
no smallest respect be shaken. On the other hand, it is going
very far to rigidly forbid the use of this information by other
Government services who desire to apply it to strictly confidential
public uses, as, for example, the determining of the manufacturers
who are prepared to do work forming a portion of the national
defense. It would seem practicable to place when necessary the
employees of other Government departments under oath, as those
of the Census are, and then upon proper written assurance of the
confidential nature of the purpose for which the information is
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
10 5
required to permit its use by other Government departments
when the good of the public required it.
The Federal Trade Commission has by reason of this law been
obliged to undertake the collection of information at great labor
and expense for confidential public purposes when much if not all
of the information was in public records in the same building but
was unavailable by reason of the law.
PLANS FOR FUTURE WORK.
Transportation by Water.
The preliminary work on this inquiry, which, under the law, is
made at decennial intervals, was begun before the close of the
fiscal year. The actual collection of the statistics, which will
relate to the calendar year 1916, will commence early in 1917.
By reason of the very great increase which has taken place in
the number and tonnage of American-owned craft engaged in
foreign and domestic commerce, and of the changes that have
been made in the methods of conducting the business of water
transportation, this investigation is one of especial interest and
importance. Its scope will be extended, as compared with that
of the 1906 inquiry, so as to cover the shipbuilding industry and
the operations of fishing vessels.
Religious Bodies.
The census of religious bodies, like the water-transportation
inquiry, is, under the law, made at decennial intervals, and the
forthcoming one will relate to the calendar year 1916. The report
will present, for each religious denomination, detailed statistics in
regard to church membership, church property, number and
salaries of ministers, Sunday schools, etc.
Marriage and Divorce.
A joint resolution is now pending in Congress which, if adopted,
will authorize the Bureau of the Census to make an inquiry in
regard to marriage and divorce covering the period from 1907 to
1915, inclusive, and at annual intervals thereafter. In case this
investigation is thus authorized, the field work will begin within a
short time after the adoption of the resolution.
Monograph on Tuberculosis.
A statistical monograph on deaths from tuberculosis covering
the calendar year 1916 will be prepared and published. This
monograph, like that relating to cancer (see “ Monograph on
106
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
cancer,” under “ Special and miscellaneous lines of work”), will
present much more detailed statistics than are given in the
Bureau’s annual reports on mortality.
Electrical Industries.
This inquiry, which, under the law, is taken at quinquennial
intervals, covers central electric light and power stations, electric
railways, and telephones and telegraphs. The forthcoming inves
tigation will relate to the calendar year 1917, and, although the
field work can not begin until after the close of that year, the
preliminary office work will commence in the latter part of 1917.
The quinquennial census reports in regard to electrical industries,
begun in 1902, present a complete history of the development of
these industries, which has been such an important factor in the
industrial progress of the United States.
Executive Civil Service.
A bulletin presenting statistics in regard to the employees in
the Federal service on July 1, 1916, will be compiled and pub
lished. The Census Bureau has already issued two such bulletins,
the first relating to the year 1903 and the second to the year 1907.
Census of City Distribution.
Under my direction the Bureau of the Census is planning an
inquiry in one or more cities into that portion of the cost of dis
tribution which arises from cartage and hauling. There are
three elements in the full act of transportation— the cartage
element, the handling element, and the hauling element, using
the latter to mean actual transportation by rail or water. Of these,
the last is often the least and by comparison with the others
small, though it is the phase which has occupied almost the whole
public attention given to the general subject. Again, the first, or
the cartage, element is frequently the largest of the three and prob
ably is the largest single element in the entire cost of distribution.
It seems probable that it amounts to a great deal more, possibly
many times more, than our total annual freight charge. It is a
remarkable thing that we allow ourselves to remain in ignorance
of this matter. There have been made here and there sporadic
attempts to get some information on the subject, but nothing
continuous and conclusive has been done. The little that has
been learned shows, however, that the problem is larger than is
supposed. It has been indirectly attacked by the development
of the automobile truck and by the making of improved roads,
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
10 7
but this has all been done without any clear knowledge of the
size and weight of the problem to the solution of which it in some
measure contributes. The Office of Public Roads and Rural Engi
neering of the Department of Agriculture has thrown more light
upon this subject than is known to have come from any other
source. It is hoped that the facts to be developed by the prelim
inary inquiry of the Bureau of the Census will lead to a thorough
knowledge of this almost unknown but vital phase of the cost of
living and so to adequate future treatment of it.
LEGISLATION NEEDED.
Intermediate Census of Manufactures.
Under existing law a census of manufactures in the United
States is taken every fifth year. Since the close of the year 1914
conditions have so changed that the statistics for that year are no
indication of the facts for 1916. There is constant demand for
data concerning the annual output of our domestic manufactures
at more frequent intervals than every fifth year. A census show
ing the annual gross value of the products of domestic manufac
tures and the quantity of some of the principal products could be
taken very expeditiously and at small cost and would be of great
value. This census need not include statistics of capital, persons
employed, quantity of power used, or various other details covered
by the regular quinquennial census of manufactures. The in
quiry could be confined to the gross value of all products and the
quantities and values of the principal ones. The purpose would
be to compile and publish these statistics in time to be of current
interest and value. This “ intermediate census” of manufactures
is greatly needed.
It is, therefore, recommended that legislation be enacted au
thorizing the Director of the Census to take an intermediate cen
sus of the quantities and values of domestic manufactures on the
above-described basis for 1916 and for every fifth year thereafter.
Forest Products.
In my last report I recommended the enactment of legislation
providing for the annual collection of statistics of forest products.
Bills having this purpose (S. 4589 and H. R. 12417) are now pend
ing in Congress. Statistics of this character should be collected
and published regularly, since they indicate very closely the extent
to which the forests of the country are being depleted for com
mercial purposes.
10 8
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Financial Statistics of States.
A report presenting, for the fiscal year 1915, financial statistics
of States, similar in scope to the financial statistics of cities now
issued annually by the Bureau, has been published. This report is
the first of its kind which the Bureau has compiled, and State officials
are desirous that the investigation be made annually hereafter.
Legislative authority will be necessary, however, for the continu
ance of the work, and bills to provide such authority (S. 4589
and H. R. 12417) are now pending in Congress. The enactment
of one of them into law is recommended.
Official Register.
The changes in the scope of the Official Register which are
recommended in the annual reports of the Director of the Census
for the fiscal years 1913, 1914, 1915, and 1916 should be authorized
by law.
Express Business.
I renew the recommendation contained in my last annual report
for the repeal of the requirement of the decennial collection of
statistics relating to the business of express companies, now con
tained in the act of June 7, 1906. Annual statistics of this char
acter are collected and published by the Interstate Commerce
Commission, and the decennial conduct of a similar investigation
by the Census Bureau is wholly unnecessary.
Special Statistical Compilations.
I also renew the recommendation contained in my last report to
the effect that express, rather than implied, authority be given
the Director of the Census to furnish transcripts of tables and
other records and to prepare special statistical compilations for
State and local officials and for private concerns and individuals,
and that the provision of law conferring this authority be so
drawn as to make the amounts received for work of this character
actually serviceable to the Bureau instead of only nominally so as
at present. The authority under which the Bureau now performs
this work is found in section 32 of the Thirteenth Census Act.
OFFICE FORCE.
The appropriation act for the fiscal year 1916 provided for 569
permanent officials and employees of the Census Bureau. The
number provided by the act for 1917, under which the Bureau is
now operating, is 562, seven employees having been transferred
by that act to the roll of the Office of the Secretary.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
I0 9
In my last report I set forth in some detail the manner in which
the Census Bureau is handicapped by its low average salary scale,
which has driven many of its more capable employees to resign in
order to accept more lucrative employment elsewhere, both in and
outside the Government service. The appropriation act for the cur
rent year afforded some measure of relief by providing 13 additional
positions in the salary classes above $1,200 per annum, the number
of $1,200 places being correspondingly reduced. The scale of com
pensation still remains low, however, when comparison is made
with many other Federal offices; and in order to bring its average
more nearly to the level prevailing elsewhere it is the intention to
ask Congress for a further increase in the appropriation— an in
crease which, though representing but an insignificant fraction of
the total amount appropriated, would make possible a number of
sorely needed promotions to the salary classes above $1,200.
When once the compensation paid in the Bureau of the Census is
on a par with that paid elsewhere for comparable work, the Bureau
will be able to retain the services of its abler employees— or at
least of most of them— instead of losing them to other branches
of the Federal service and to the commercial world.
The Bureau also suffers by reason of the inadequate size of its
statutory force, which now numbers 562, whereas 10 years ago it
was 649, or 87 more than the present number. A portion of this
reduction (39 employees) was due to the removal of the Census
Bureau to the Commerce Building and the resultant consolidation
of a part of its force with that of the Department. Making allow
ance for this consolidation, the Bureau is now operating with 48
fewer employees than it had 10 years ago. Its work, however, is
materially greater at present than it was at that time, by reason
of the recent addition of the semiannual (now quarterly) tobacco
inquiry to the investigations regularly carried on by the Bureau,
and also because of the general increase of the work along all
lines, due to the growth of the country during the past decade.
It is a fact, therefore, that the Bureau of the Census is doing more
work to-day with a smaller force than it did 10 years ago. The
Bureau has been able, by improvements in methods and mecha
nism, to neutralize in part the effects of this condition, but the
handicap imder which it labors is still a serious one.
In the annual report of the Director of the Census is given a
statement showing the nature and distribution of the office and
I IO
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
field forces of the Census Bureau on September 30, 1916.
following is a summary of these forces on that date:
The
Officials............................................................................................................................. 18
Clerical force.................................................................................................................... 528
Subclerical force............................................................................................................ 18
Mechanical laboratory force........................................................................................... 11
Special agents.................................................................................................................. 19
T otal...................................................................................................................... 594
In addition, there are employed throughout the cotton belt 725
local special agents to collect statistics of cotton. These agents
perform their work only at intervals and are paid on a piece-price
basis.
EQUIPMENT.
Preparation for the Census of 1920.
In respect of tabulating machinery, a great deal of work is
necessary in preparation for the Fourteenth Census, to be taken
in 1920. Reference is made to the full treatment of this subject
on pages 94 to 96 of my last annual report. The sum of $25,000
was granted as the first of four annual installments requisite to
bring the work of the mechanical laboratory up to the standard
required for the work of the Fourteenth Census. A second install
ment of $30,000 is inserted in the estimates for the coming
fiscal year. If the appropriations for the laboratory continue
adequate, it is planned to have the entire machine equipment
completed and thoroughly tested by July 1, 1919— the beginning
of the Fourteenth Census period. With this end in view, a pro
gressive plan of work has already been begun. This includes the
construction of 25 new-model tabulating machines, complete,
and of 5 extra tabulator bases and 114 extra counting units of 10
counters each; the rebuilding of 286 automatic card-punching
machines and of 2 card-sorting machines; and the overhauling of
17 card-sorting machines and of 5 card-counting machines.
This work, together with the maintenance of the machinery in
daily use, will tax the capacity of the machine shop between the
present time and July 1, 1919.
An estimate, in the sum of $50,000, is submitted for the purpose
of developing an “ integrating” counter. This counter will be of
the utmost value in the statistical work of the Government, be
cause it will make possible very much quicker and more accurate
addition of figures representing factors making up the statistical
data published by the Government. It will be used in connection
with the tabulating machines which have been developed and
perfected by the Bureau of the Census.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
I ll
STORAGE SPACE.
The matter of storage space for the Bureau’s old records is
steadily becoming more serious. These records consist in large
part of population, agricultural, and manufactures schedules—
that is, the returns made by the enumerators— of past censuses.
Some of them, especially the population schedules, contain infor
mation of great value to genealogists, applicants for pensions or
increases of pensions, litigants, and others, and their destruction
would mean irreparable loss.
At present these schedules are stored in four places— the eighth
floor of the Commerce Building, the fireproof vault in the base
ment, a portion of the basement outside the vault, and the old
Armory Building in the rear of Poli’s Theater.
One end of the vault is next to the boiler room, and all the steam
pipes for one side of the building pass through it. For this
reason the temperature— although the windows are left open and
the steam shut off from the radiators— can not be kept below 90°
Fahrenheit while the heating plant is in operation. It is, there
fore, impossible for a clerk to work in the vault, and particularly
in the end next to the boiler room, for more than a few minutes
at a time, without much discomfort and inconvenience; and the
records are rapidly deteriorating because of the heat, in spite of
the fact that a large number of buckets of water are kept standing
in the vault in order to moisten the atmosphere.
The roof and walls of the old Armory Building are leaky, and
some of the records there have already been so badly injured by
the rain that portions of them are obliterated.
The Census Bureau is, therefore, in extremely urgent need of
additional storage space for its records.
The serious crowding arising from the presence of the Federal
Trade Commission in the Commerce Building has continued
throughout the fiscal year. Application has been made by the
Census Bureau for over 4,000 square feet of the space which it is
expected the Federal Trade Commission will soon vacate.
66776°—16---- 8
BUREAU OF FISHERIES.
The important and manifold functions of the Bureau of Fish
eries have been extended during the year, new achievements in
behalf of the public are recorded, and plans for enlarged usefulness
have been perfected. The forty-fifth anniversary of the estab
lishment of the Bureau was celebrated on February 9, 1916, with
public exercises, at which a bronze memorial tablet to the founder
and first Commissioner, Spencer Fullerton Baird, was dedicated.
Later it was suitably placed in the building of the Bureau of Fish
eries. The Service sustained a severe loss in the death of Robert
S. Johnson, assistant in charge of the division of fish culture since
September 16, 1909, and an employee of the Bureau of Fisheries
since 1881. Mr. Johnson was succeeded by Henry O’Malley, who
has been in the fish-cultural service of the Bureau since 1897 and
has held the post of field superintendent in charge of Pacific coast
operations since 1913.
Recent Achievements of the Bureau.
He who discovers and introduces a new food at this time deserves
well of his country, and were there no other reason for commending
the work of the Bureau of Fisheries it would on this single ground
deserve the praise of all our people. Among its most important
recent activities have been the introduction of new foods and the
establishment of fisheries to obtain them and of markets to sell
them. In my last report the case of the sea mussel was described.
This abundant and accessible product, formerly wasted, has now
become a staple food. The past year has been marked by another
and a greater success in the introduction of the tilefish. On
October 1, 1915, it was unknown to the public. To-day it is a
staple food. The romantic history of this fish has been widely
told. Discovered in 1879, it seemed exterminated by natural
causes within three years thereafter. Gradually it reappeared
and ultimately became abundant on our Atlantic coast near the
ioo-fathom line. The Bureau has long known the fish to be avail
able, but previous efforts to establish a fishery for it failed. The
task was to get fishermen to catch the fish, to get dealers to sell it,
and consumers to buy it, and to do these three things at the same
time. The methods used were so effective that in one month the
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
I 13
Bureau withdrew from the campaign with the fishery established
and the demand for the new food created. The progress of
the fishery has been extraordinary. It centers as an established
industry in New York, in which port as many as 13 different
vessels have landed tilefish in one month. Tilefish bears shipment
well and is sent all over the eastern half of the country. Some
large lots have gone as far as Kansas City. It is a regular com
modity in the markets of the eastern cities and a usual item on the
menus of hotels, restaurants, and clubs, besides finding general
use in private families. An important feature of the fishery is
that it is conducted at all seasons of the year, and vessels are now
engaging in it at times when they would otherwise be idle.
After years of discussion the present Congress provided means
for relieving the fishermen, particularly those on the Atlantic
coast, of losses sustained through the ravages of dogfishes. These
fishes, which are small sharks, have hitherto had little economic
value and have been regarded as a serious nuisance. They come
in great droves and do vast injury to the fisheries by destroying
nets and lines, consuming bait, and eating or mutilating other
food fish that have been caught with hook or net. They have been
a menace. It is the purpose of the Fisheries Service to make them
useful and to substitute a profit from them for the losses tiiey have
hitherto caused.
On June 21, 1916, an act was approved appropriating $25,000
to enable the Commissioner of Fisheries to conduct investigations
and experiments to ameliorate the damage done by the dogfish
and other predaceous fishes. Work under this law has made no
table progress. No feasible method of exterminating dogfishes or
of seriously reducing their numbers is known. The task before
the Service has been to change a useless article into a useful one;
to make an asset out of a loss. Dogfishes have a known food value
appreciated and utilized in other countries, but here ignored.
While we curse them, others eat them. They are edible fresh,
salted, smoked, and preserved in various wholesome palatable
ways. From them as by-products are obtained oil, gelatin, and
leather. Arrangements have been made with individuals and
corporations for the canning, shltjng, and smoking of large lots of
dogfish for food and for utilizing in other ways parts other than
the flesh.
To obviate a deep-seated prejudice against the name of “ dog
fish,” which is not a distinctive name for any one fish but is applied
1 14
REPORT OE THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
indiscriminately to various other fishes of our fresh and salt waters,
the name “ grayfish” has been adopted for trade purposes. This
is quite in accord with the custom of the business in which the
same fish is regularly sold under different names in different sec
tions of the country. Before opening the public campaign to
introduce this fish as food, it was served to several hundred persons
at Cornell University at the meeting of the Home Economics
Department of New York Agricultural College in 1916. In the
month of August, 1916, it was served to about 2,000 persons in
connection with the Eastport Fish Fair, at Eastport, Me. In both
cases it was pronounced excellent. I have eaten it in different
forms in my own home with satisfaction. A growing market for
the fresh fish is being found in connection with the tile fishery.
There is no reason whatever, save only prejudice, why this abun
dant nutritious fish food should not come into general use.
Continued success has been attained in propagating the dia
mond-back terrapin. The three oldest broods of terrapin hatched
and reared in confinement have produced eggs which have
hatched successfully. The adult breeding stock has increased in
productivity from year to year, and it is believed the climax is not
yet reached. The terrapin that were winter fed the first season
laid eggs at the age of 5 years, while those that hibernated the first
year did not lay eggs until 6 years old. The mortality among
terrapin winter fed with fresh fish was 6 X per cent, while among
those that hibernated the death rate was 13 per cent. The cost
of feeding terrapin during the first critical winter, when the
largest losses occur in nature, is low, varying from 3 to 15 cents
per thousand terrapin per day, depending on whether they are
fed with fresh fish, salt fish, or oysters. If an average of 10 cents
is assumed, the cost of feeding one terrapin for 5 months (the
hibernating period) is but 1 cents. The death rate among im
pounded terrapin is remarkably low. As regards disease and
mortality, the rearing of terrapin is more successful than that of
poultry. About 3,000 terrapin in 25 experiment classes are now
under observation, and the feasibility of terrapin culture is re
garded as established.
The Albatross during the past fiscal year gave three months to
surveying the halibut grounds off the coasts of Oregon and Wash
ington, continuing the work of the previous year. A report on
this work will soon be published. Other work has been done on
tire blackfish grounds off the North Carolina coast. The known
limits of the banks have been extended, and the Bureau continues
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
115
to maintain on the principal ground a conspicuous buoy, which
is of great aid to the fishermen.
The tuna fishery has become of economic importance in south
ern California. The migrations of the tuna are, however, so
erratic and the fishery therefore so uncertain that the canners
suffer from enforced idleness much of the year. A t tire earnest
request of the industry and by virtue of the appropriation in the
urgent deficiency act, the Albatross has been engaged for several
months in an exploration to determine the habitat of the fish after
they have disappeared from the coast. This work is progressing.
A somewhat similar work is being done by the schooner Grampus
in the Atlantic Ocean between Cape Henry and the Bay of Fundy,
embracing the most important fishing grounds off the eastern coast
of the United States. This investigation is broader in its scope,
having for its object the determination of the conditions con
trolling the movements and abundance of migratory fishes in
general, to the end that those due to human agencies and con
trollable may be differentiated from those having natural causes
which can not be regulated, but possibly may be met by modi
fications of fishing methods.
Alaskan Fur Seals.
The Alaskan fur-seal herd continues to show recuperative
capacity under the international arrangement that has been
effective since December 15, 1911.
The census of the herd in 1915 indicated a total of 363,872.
This number was in part estimated, because the enumeration of
certain components of the herd is impossible, and in part was
based on actual count. The newborn pups numbered 103,527,
and the females of breeding age numbered the same. The total
number of animals estimated to be in the herd was not entirely
comparable with the number estimated for previous years be
cause of the adoption of a somewhat different method of calcu
lating the natural mortality. Heretofore the assigned natural
death rate in the different classes of seals had been based on a
purely arbitrary assumption; but in 1915, as the result of exten
sive branding experiments undertaken in 1912, it was possible to
determine the percentage of survival among the branded seals
that came back as 3-year-olds, and a more accurate mortality
curve was thus obtainable. The indications are that in the
former years the actual death rate among certain herd groups was
overestimated.
I 16
REPORT OK THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
The 1916 census, taken under the same conditions as in 1915,
showed a gratifying increase over the previous year. The num
ber of pups born was found by actual count to be 116,977, the
number of breeding cows deducible therefrom was 116,977, the
number of harems was 3,500, the number of full-grown bulls
without harems was 2,632, the average size of the harems was 33
cows, and the estimated total strength of the herd was 417,329.
A conspicuous feature of the herd in 1916 disclosed by this
census was the large number of males of breeding age and the
still larger number of adolescent males that will be passing over
to the breeding class. O11 the basis of the average harem in
1916, the number of idle bulls then on the rookeries was sufficient
for the needs of a herd of 86,500 additional cows. This accumu
lation of surplus breeding males was a normal consequence of the
operation of the existing law, which has prohibited the taking of
any seals during the past four years beyond the limited needs of
the natives of the Pribilof Islands for food.
The experimental branding of seals, in addition to furnishing
more accurate information of natural mortality, has afforded in
valuable data, hitherto lacking, showing in a definite and indis
putable manner the relation between the age of seals and the size
and weight of their skins. The long controversy that has been
waged over the alleged killing by former lessees of the seal islands
of seals of illegal age could never have been precipitated if the
facts disclosed by the recent branding experiments could have
been available. These experiments, and the authenticated skins
resulting therefrom, unmistakably show a wide range in the size
of seals of the same age and prove that the age of any given fur
seal can not be infallibly determined from the size or weight of its
pelt. This important point is clearly brought out in the following
statement showing the London trade categories into which fall the
skins of 100 fur seals branded as pups in 1912 and killed when
3-year-olds in 1915:
Small pups.......................................................................................................................
Middling pups.................................................................................................................
Large pups......................................................................................................................
Smalls...............................................................................................................................
Middlings and smalls......................................................................................................
7
42
42
8
1
Total........ .......................................................................................................... 100
The skins were handled in the regular course of operations at the
dressing and dyeing plant in St. Louis in December, 1915, and were
graded according to the London standards by a person who for
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
117
33 years had been engaged in the same business as the responsible
agent of the principal sealskin dressing and dyeing establishment
in London.
The Department has been approached with reference to insti
tuting a suit against the former lessees of the Pribilof Islands for
alleged violation of law and contract, according to testimony taken
in 19x1-1914 by the House Committee on Expenditures in the
Department of Commerce. Acting under my instructions, the
Solicitor of the Department examined the voluminous testimony
and documents in the case for the special purpose of advising the
Department whether the evidence therein disclosed warranted
the making of a recommendation to the Attorney General that he
enter a suit against the former lessees. After an investigation
extending over many months the Solicitor reported that the facts
did not justify such a course.
In the season of 1915 the quota of surplus male seals that could
be taken for the use of the natives of the Pribilof Islands was fixed
at 5,500. The number actually taken during the regular summer
killing and during the fall and winter after the main body of the
seals had withdrawn from the islands was 3,947. In the season
of 1916 the number that could be taken was tentatively fixed at
5,000 3-year-olds, with the understanding that such additional
seals up to 7,500 as might be required for and by the natives could
be taken. The number utilized up to the close of the regular
season was 5,392, and that number of skins was included in the
shipment on the last vessel leaving the islands in the fall of 1916.
For reasons stated in my last report the fur-seal skins then on
hand resulting from the food killings of the natives in 1914 and
previously were not offered for sale, and the condition of the trade
made it desirable to postpone beyond the limit of the fiscal year
1916 the marketing of those skins and of the additional ones
obtained in 1915. Congress was appealed to for the necessary
authority, and a joint resolution to this end became a law on
June 22, 1916.
Meanwhile the Department has been able to bring about the
establishment in the United States of a plant for the dressing and
dyeing of sealskins according to the best known methods.
The United States is the largest producer of raw sealskins in the
world. It is also the largest consumer of finished seal furs. This
would seem to make it natural that it should sell its own sealskins
and dress and dye its own furs. It never has, however. We have
in the past sent our raw sealskins to London. We have paid
118
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
London for dressing and dyeing them, and we have bought them
back, paying duty on them on their return and the incidental
charges due to double transportation. This added 52 per cent
to the price of the raw skins, so that the fur laid down in America,
ready to be made up into garments, cost over one-half more than
it did when it was purchased as a raw skin.
The Department of Commerce took the first step to end this two
years ago, when the sale of the raw sealskins took place for the
first time in this country. It was a success. Better prices were
had than the foreign ones. The Government got more and it cost
the Government less. Last year there was no sale because there
was no market, and Congress authorized withholding the skins.
On October 21, 1915, a second sale of Government fur skins, this
time fox skins, was made in this country with even greater success.
There were buyers from many foreign lands, and the prices were
higher than ever before obtained. Meanwhile, the Department
has been planning to establish the best known method of dyeing
and dressing raw sealskins in this country in order that the whole
process from beginning to end might be American. This it has now
succeeded in doing.
Acting after the advice of the Attorney General, the Department
has made a contract for a limited term for the sale of its production
of sealskins at auction to all buyers who may come. A considera
tion of this contract is that the best process of dyeing and dressing
seal furs known to the trade shall be promptly established in this
country. This was done to prevent the deterioration of some
thing like 8,000 skins which the Government has now in cold
storage, but means the permanent establishment of the new
industry in the United States. It is expected that it will return
a greater profit to the Government on the sale of its skins, while at
the same time so reducing the expenses incidental to the dyeing
and dressing that the finished fur will be sold at a lower cost to the
American consumer than heretofore.
On September 20, 1916, in the city of St. Louis, the first sale
took place of the fully dressed, dyed, and finished sealskins ever
disposed of by the Government. The lot comprised 1,900 skins. The
prices obtained were such as more than covered the cost of dyeing,
dressing, and finishing the skins, and the goods were generally
approved by a critical class of buyers. The market value of seal
skins as furs is suffering from the substantial withdrawal of the
article from the market by reason of the closed season. If and
when the sale of the furs on a commercial scale shall be resumed,
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
119
it is the expectation of the trade that the prices obtained for them
will be enhanced.
The sale mentioned, which was the first of its kind hi the United
States, is the culmination of an effort to establish a new American
industry.
An American product, the property of the American people,
largely utilized by American women, heretofore shipped across
America to a foreign country for sale and for subsequent prepara
tion, is now being sold in an American market and being dressed
and dyed in an American city for both domestic and foreign
consumption.
The patrol of the north Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea for the
purpose of preventing pelagic sealing has been maintained by
Coast Guard vessels and has been effective. The thanks of the
Department are given the Coast Guard for the manner in which
the patrolling vessels have performed an arduous duty and for
various acts of courtesy and helpfulness in connection with the
movements of persons, mails, and supplies to and from the seal
islands.
The North Pacific Sealing Convention of July 7, 1911, and the
act of Congress approved August 24, 1912, giving effect to that
convention permit certain Indians, Aleuts, and other aborigines
dwelling on the Pacific coast of North America, north of the
thirtieth degree of latitude, to kill fur seals under restricted
conditions. So far as the records of the Department show, no
seals were thus taken in 1915, but several hundred, mostly females,
were killed by Indians of the State of Washington in 1916, as in
19x3 and 1914.
When the commercial killing of fur seals shall be renewed, other
products than the skms must have consideration. The carcasses
contain materials having economic value hitherto wasted and
available not only as possible food but in other directions. The
Fisheries Service is giving careful study to these matters.
Seal Island Natives and Their Support.
The native inhabitants of the Pribilof Islands, who are Govern
ment wards and depend for their existence on the supplies sent to
them by the Department every season, are now generally regarded
as forming one of the best fed, best clothed, best educated, and
best conditioned native communities in Alaska. Their number
remains fairly constant, and in 1915 totaled 314— 193 on St. Paul
Island and 121 on St. George Island. These people render such
120
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
labor as they can and are paid in supplies or cash. In former years,
when commercial sealing was in progress, they received compara
tively large sums for services performed in connection with the
driving and killing of seals and the taking and curing of their skins,
and many of them accumulated funds which were deposited to
their credit in savings banks. In recent years there has been
little opportunity for them to acquire or save money, and their
bank accounts have diminished. A t the present their savings,
amounting to $4,917.91 on June 30, 1916, are on deposit in Wash
ington, D. C., in the names of the individual natives, with the
Commissioner of Fisheries as trustee. These accounts were audited
by the Disbursing Clerk of the Department in September and found
correct.
The health of the natives has been good. Improved housing
and sanitary conditions have resulted in the mitigation of tubercu
losis, which was at one time prevalent. Additional improvements,
for which Congress has in part provided, will further advance the
physical condition of the natives and add to their comfort and
contentment. The making and using of intoxicating liquors has
been suppressed.
The education of the native children is proceeding well, with
stress laid on manual training and on the use of the English
language. The teaching staff is efficient and has the confidence
of the natives.
Supply Vessel.
Because of the delay in finishing the work upon the steamer
Roosevelt, a naval collier took the supplies to the Pribilof Islands
in the fall of 1915, and in the summer of 1916 a private vessel was
chartered for this purpose. The method of purchasing supplies
outlined in my last report has been followed with advantage to
the Government. The work of overhauling the Roosevelt has been
delayed by a serious strike in the shipyard where the work was
proceeding and by the time requisite for making improvements
and changes recommended by the Superintendent of Naval Con
struction of the Lighthouse Service and the Bureau of Construc
tion and Repair of the Navy. Further delay arose from the time
requisite to secure a new tail shaft to replace one found to be bent.
All the work is now nearly complete, and the vessel is expected to
be ready for service by the time this report is printed. The follow
ing statement shows in detail the cost of purchase, of alterations,
and of repairs to the steamer Roosevelt to September 20, 1916:
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Purchase price
I21
$35,000. 00
A L T E R A T IO N S .
Converting vessel from coal to oil burner and general over
hauling........................................................................................ S13,000.00
Removing bulkheads and changing location of
dynamo.....................................................................
$460. 00
Extension of upper deck; moving pilot house,
steering engine, and appurtenances; and alter
ing galley................................................................. 3, 500. 00
Rearranging after quarters.........................................
490.00
Installing bulkheads..................................................
485.00
145.00
Changing coal-bunker d eck .......................................
Toilet furniture...........................................................
62.40
------------5,142. 40
Installing pipe connections, e tc ................................
125. 00
Changing feed-water heater.......................................
45. 00
Changing boiler-feed piping......................................
225. 00
----- ----395- 00
200. 00
Furnishing and installing drains to oiltanks...........
Straps and steel cradles, etc., under oil tanks........
700. 00
Making and installing heaters, etc................................
330.00
------------1,230.00
Increasing height of stack, etc..................................
500. 00
475.00
Installing wireless outfit............................................
Searchlight, furnished and installed........................
345. 00
Davits for motor boat.................................................
400. 00
------------1, 720. 00
Total for alterations.
21,487.40
R E PA IR S.
Renewing propeller and repairing shaft and rudder.
Tail and thrust shafts, etc..........................................
Thrust bearings...........................................................
Tail shaft......................................................................
Repairing propeller...................................................
2, 700. 00
800.00
145.00
1, 700. 00
1,100.00
Adjusting rods of thrust bearing...............................
Renewing sash bar in engine room...........................
New stuffing box.........................................................
Overhauling main engine..........................................
Overhauling valves, e t c .............................................
Examining and repairing pumps..............................
35. 00
20.00
185.37
t, 410. 00
295.00
3 70.00
Repairing smokestack................................................
Repairing boiler..........................................................
Bracket knees on stringers to brace boiler...............
Retubing boiler...........................................................
70. 00
275.00
218. 30
2,205. 00
Renewing hatch coamings.........................................
Renewing sheathing, recalking, and painting.........
Chain plates and smokestack guys...........................
Improvements to fireroom ventilation.,..................
125.00
1, 573. 00
350. 00
405. 00
6,445.00
2,3iS-37
2, 768. 30
Bracket knees and steel straps, etc., on main deck
Repairs, general........................................................
2, 453-00
I,
805. 00
194. 00
Total for repairs..............................................
15, 980. 67
Total expenditures........................................
72, 468. 07
122
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
The vessel as she stands after the above total outlay represents
to the Government an investment of much less than her original
cost and much less also than the sum at which it is believed it
would be possible to sell her for cash.
Fox Herds.
The herds of blue foxes which inhabit the Pribilof Islands con
tinue to flourish and to yield to the Government a revenue that
assists materially in maintaining the natives. The trapping of
the foxes is done in winter, under careful supervision, after a com
putation of the apparent number of foxes available and after
making an adequate reserve for breeding purposes. The trapping
is done by the natives, who are allowed supplies at the rate of $5
for each fox taken and utilized. The skins obtained during the
winter of 1914-15, numbering 253 blue foxes and 40 white foxes,
were sold at public auction in St. Louis on October 21, 1915,
together with the skins brought from the island in the previous
season, whose sale had been deferred on account of the fur market.
These numbered 256 blue foxes and 25 white foxes. The prices
obtained were higher than had ever before been received in any
market for blue-fox skins. Five lots, consisting of four skins each,
brought $1,092, $1,020, $i,oi2, $1,000, and $980, respectively, and
the entire proceeds of the sale were over $56,000.
The take of fox skins during the winter of 1915-16, numbering
420 blue foxes and 20 white foxes, were sold in St. Louis on Sep
tember 20, 1916. The prices obtained were not as high as in the
previous year. The gross receipts from the sale of fox skins
aggregated $20,527.
The Department is under deep obligations to the Navy Depart
ment for the continuous and efficient service rendered through the
operation of the two radio stations on the seal islands. In former
years the islands were completely isolated from the outside world
during the long winter season, but now the Department maintains
easy communication at all times.
Minor Fur-Bearing Animals of Alaska.
The Bureau of Fisheries is still charged with the duty of enforcing
the law and regulations for the protection of all the fur-bearing
animals in Alaska, terrestrial as well as aquatic. The field work
is performed primarily by the seven wardens in the Alaska fishery
patrol for whom provision is made by law. They are assigned to
those districts having the most important output of fur-bearing
animals, but their number is insufficient to cover the Territory
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
1 23
properly. Other members of the Alaska fishery service also render
such assistance as they can.
The recommendations of the interdepartmental committee from
the Departments of Agriculture and Commerce, contained on
page 123 of my last report, are again approved and the attention
of Congress is specially called to them. It is still uncertain
whether a brown bear is a brown bear merely because he is a
brown bear. The whole matter should be taken out of the hands
of the Fisheries Service, which should have nothing to do with
land animals, and should be placed in the care of the Agriculture
Department. House bill 10393, now pending but not reported,
would provide this result and would carry out fully the recommen
dations of the interdepartmental committee.
In October, 1915, Warden Reginald F. Irwin was lost while
engaged in patrol work in southeast Alaska. He left Ketchikan
October 9, 1915, on a hired launch, with two men. The boat was
found wrecked several days later in the Chickamin River, but no
trace of the men was found and no satisfactory explanation of
the cause of their disappearance has ever been given. Careful but
fruitless search was made.
The revised regulations for the protection of fur-bearing animals
in Alaska, which were published in Department Circular No. 246,
third edition, under date of May 24, 1915, have been found quite
satisfactory. These regulations place no special restrictions upon
the shipping of live fur-bearing animals from Alaska or upon the
taking of live animals at any time for use for breeding purposes.
It was with hesitation that the Department removed restrictions
upon shipping live animals from the Territory. While it is felt
that there should be restrictions of this kind, the law does not
clearly authorize the Department to make the regulations. Owing
apparently to the decreased outside demand for fur-bearing ani
mals for use for breeding purposes, particularly foxes, but few were
shipped from Alaska in the calendar year 1915. Records at hand
indicate that 58 foxes, 34 minks, and 1 black bear were exported.
This cessation of demand for live Alaska fur bearers may be tem
porary, and it is earnestly recommended that the Government be
empowered to make proper regulations in regard to the exporta
tion of these animals from the Territory. Bona fide fur farmers
should be permitted to secure breeding animals from wild stock,
and under proper regulation they should not be restricted to the
open season in which to take them, at least until breeding stock
may be obtained under reasonable conditions from other farms.
124
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
The lack of proper regulation of this matter results in abuses
which meet with general disapproval throughout Alaska. It is
hoped that Congress will provide legislation which will enable this
matter to receive proper attention.
The rapid decline in the number of martens in Alaska made it
apparent in the fall of 1915 that further restrictions should be
placed upon the taking of these valuable animals. Early in 1916
the Department issued a regulation that on and after March 15,
1916, the killing of marten is prohibited until November 15, 1921.
Few objections were made to the regulation, and approval was
general among persons familiar with the conditions.
It is noted with regret that the protection which has been
afforded the sea otter for some years has not resulted in any
apparent increase of these valuable animals.
Following violations of the laws and regulations, a number of
seizures of pelts and of prosecutions took place.
Fur farming continues to receive attention in Alaska. The
business is confined almost wholly to breeding foxes, and in this
work the several color phases of the red fox as well as the blue
fox are used. The law does not authorize the Bureau of Fisheries
to exercise jurisdiction over fur farming save so far as the killing
of fur bearers is concerned. No fur-bearing animals may be killed
in Alaska except under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of
Commerce. Acting under this authority the Department has
established a regulation that no fur-bearing animal captured in
the season when its killing is unauthorized may be killed at any
time whatsoever. This regulation is intended to prevent the indis
criminate taking of animals in the close season under the pretext
of using them for breeding purposes but actually with the intention
of holding them until the open season and then killing them.
Fox farming is carried on in the Kodiak-Afognak region, on
islands westward of the Kodiak-Afognak group, in the Copper
River district, along the Yukon and Tanana Rivers, and in south
eastern Alaska.
It is regretted that many have gone into fox farming with in
adequate knowledge, with no facilities for caring for their stock,
and apparently with no serious intention to pursue the business
to any end. Others have gone into the business seriously with
sufficient capital. It is hoped that their efforts will be rewarded
with success.
The Department requires all fur shipments from Alaska to be
reported to the Bureau of Fisheries, and an arrangement with the
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
I 25
Post Office Department obliges all postmasters in Alaska to certify
to the correctness of the reports made of shipments of furs by
mail. Postmasters, agents of commercial companies, and in
dividuals have shown a ready cooperation with the Department
in the matter of collecting these statistics. In the year ended
November 15, 1915, there were shipped from Alaska, exclusive of
the Pribilof Islands, furs having an estimated value of $400,532.
The chief fur bearers represented by this amount are foxes, lynx,
and mink.
No additional islands were leased in the fiscal year 19x6 for the
purpose of propagating foxes and other fur-bearing animals. The
leases for Carlson, Middleton, Simeonof, and Little Koniuji
Islands, which were executed in 1914, remain in effect. In the
summer of 1916 the Department accepted a proposal for the
leasing of Marmot Island, near Afognak Island, for a period of
five years, at an annual rental of $200.
Fisheries of Alaska.
As it was thought desirable to further limit fishing in tlxe waters
of Alaska, a hearing was held in Seattle on October 1, 1915, in
order that persons interested in the fisheries of the waters in
volved might have an opportunity to present their views. The
hearing confirmed the Department’s opinion in the matter; and
on October 25, 1915, an order was issued to be effective January
1, 1916, limiting fishing in the following-described waters: (1) All
waters tributary to Barnes Lake, Prince of Wales Island; (2)
Hetta Creek, its tributary waters, and the region within 500 yards
of the mouth of said creek; (3) Sockeye Creek, its tributary Boca
de Quadra hatchery waters, and the region within 500 yards of the
mouth of said creek.
For the enforcement of the fishery laws there has been main
tained during the active fishing season as adequate a patrol as
the funds and personnel of the Bureau would permit. In addition
to the steamer Osprey, a number of privately owned boats were
used in this work for various periods. There is an appropriation
of $xo,ooo for the fiscal year 1917 for the purchase or construction
of two motor launches for the Alaska fishery patrol. These boats
will be useful, but other and larger boats are urgently needed for
an effective patrol of the various districts.
The census of the salmon entering Wood River (Lake Aleknagik) for spawning was again taken up in 1915 and 1916. The
number of salmon entering the lake in 1916 was 551,959, as com
pared with 259,341 in the previous year.
126
REPORT OE THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
In January, 1916, the Department authorized the PacificAmeriean Fisheries to construct and operate on Unalaska Island
a plant for the canning or salting of salmon or other food fishes
taken in the vicinity of the island. Careful provision was made
to ensure when possible the employment in the operations of the
company of Aleuts or Indians who were residents of the reserva
tion. In January, 1916, a private individual of Unalaska was
authorized to carry on certain limited fishery operations within
the reservation, this permit being a continuation of one issued in
December, 1914. In June, 1916, a permit was issued to the Union
Fish Co., of San Francisco, to engage in cod-fishery operations on
Tigalda Island. In both of these latter cases due provision is
made for the employment of natives of the reservation.
Five privately owned salmon hatcheries were operated in
Alaska in the fiscal year 1916. In the fiscal year ended June 30,
1915, the number of red-salmon fry liberated from these hatch
eries was 79,619,500. The corresponding output from these
hatcheries for the year ended June 30, 1916, omitting that from
the hatchery on the Naha stream in southeast Alaska operated
by the Alaska Packers Association, for which returns are not yet
available, was 42,658,000. The output from the Naha stream
hatchery in the fiscal year ended June 30, 1915, was 20,820,000.
In the fiscal year 1915 the output of the private hatcheries af
forded rebates of taxes amounting to approximately $31,800,
under a provision of law which allows for every 1,000 red or king
salmon fry released a rebate of 40 cents on the license fees or taxes
on canned salmon packed. On June 30, 19x6, the hatchery oper
ated by the Alaska Packers Association on the Karluk River was
permanently closed.
The total investment in the Alaskan fisheries in the calendar
year 1915 was $37,316,560, an increase of $277,928 over the pre
ceding year. Approximately 86 per cent of this investment was
in the salmon industry. The number of persons employed was
22,462, as against 21,200 in 1914. The total value of the products
was $20,999,343, a decrease of $243,632 from the preceding year.
The actual quantity of fishery products in 1915 was greater than
in 1914, but a lower price was obtained for several grades of sal
mon packed and there was a decrease in the pack of the more
valuable red salmon. There was a large increase in the pack of
humpback salmon in southeast Alaska and of pink salmon in
west Alaska. In the commercial fishery there were taken 63,537,244
salmon of all species, as against 54,615,915 in 1914, an increase of
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
127
8,921,329. There were operated 85 salmon canneries, as compared
with 81 canneries in 1914. The pack of canned salmon was the
largest in the history of Alaska, amounting to 4,500,293 cases,
valued at $18,653,015, compared with a pack of 4,056,653 cases,
valued at $18,920,589, in 1914.
The halibut fishery, which is second only to the salmon fishery
in importance, is being adversely affected by the action of the
Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad in connection with its terminus at
Prince Rupert. The matter is now the subject of international
negotiations. This Department has brought the facts strongly
before the attention of the State Department in the confident
expectation that when the injury being wrought to American
interests in Alaska is made clear due action will be taken to cor
rect the difficulty.
A comprehensive revision of the fishery laws of Alaska has been
under consideration by the Committee on the Merchant Marine
and Fisheries of the House of Representatives, and numerous
hearings have been held on the bill (H. R. 9528) introduced by
Chairman Alexander on January 20, 1916. On August 18, 1916,
a revised bill (H. R. 17499) was introduced accompanied by a
favorable report. This important measure should be speedily en
acted into law.
Propagation and Distribution of Food Fishes.
We record another highly successful year in the propagation
and distribution of food fishes. The aggregate output exceeded
that of any previous year by more than 558,500,000. The general
increase represents more intensive work in old fields and the
extension of the work into new fields. What is regarded as a
more satisfactory outcome of the year’s work than the increased
production is the conspicuous gain in the number of fish reared
to the large fingerling sizes before planting, the increase being
nearly 50 per cent over 1915.
The average cost per million of fish produced and planted in
1916 was $117.86, compared with $131.55 in 1915, $146.36 in 1910,
and $239 in 1905.
The hatchery output may be conveniently classified and sum
marized as follows:
Marine species of the Atlantic coast.......................................................... 3,112, 299, 525
Migratory fishes of the Atlantic coast........................................................
443,472, 788
Fishes of the Great Lakes...........................................................................
947,870,217
Migratory fishes of the Pacific coast...........................................................
248,975, 220
Fishes of the interior waters.......................................................................
95,644,816
Total................................................................................................... 4,847,262,566
66776°—16-----9
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REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
The artificial propagation of cod, pollock, and winter flounder
was conducted on a large scale at the three New England hatcheries.
Especially noteworthy was the extent of the work addressed to the
winter flounder, an excellent food species, which now supports a
large fishery. The hatching of the lobster, which is practically
confined to the station in Maine, was less successful than in 1915
owing to weather conditions which affected the eggs carried on
the lobsters impounded through the winter. The precarious state
of the lobster fishery is evidenced by the inability of the two
hatcheries in Massachusetts to obtain eggs except at a prohibitive
cost, by the increasing difficulties encountered in making collections
of brood lobsters, and by the increasing tendency in some places
to violate the laws of nature and man.
The most successful shad-hatching operations on the eastern
seaboard were on the Potomac River, where, in contrast with the
experience of recent years, there was a good run of fish, which permit
ted a fairly large take of eggs. The outcome was attributable in part
to the action of the War Department in maintaining in Chesapeake
Bay and tributaries open passageways for navigation, of which
the fish could take advantage, and in part to large plants of young
shad in 1912, which were due to return as mature fish in 1916. A t
the shad hatchery at the mouth of the Susquehanna River there
was a practical failure, such as has characterized all recent years,
owing to conditions over which the Fisheries Service has no control.
The closure of the hatchery until such time as these conditions
are removed is clearly demanded. A very unfavorable shad season
in the North Carolina sounds and streams, owing in part to
meteorological conditions and in part to rivalry among fishermen
using different kinds of gear, greatly reduced the operations of the
Albemarle hatchery, the output being one of the smallest in
recent years. A t the request of the State authorities and mem
bers of the North Carolina delegation in Congress, the steamer
Fish Hawk was sent to the Cape Fear River to serve as a floating
shad hatchery, and a portable hatchery was established also in
connection therewith on a tributary of that stream. The results
of this experimental work were largely negative, owing to the
scarcity of ripe fish. As an adjunct of the Orangeburg (S. C.)
station, two field shad hatcheries were located on the Edisto
River, largely with a view to determining the possibilities for shad
culture in that region. A t the height of the very short spawning
season the work was suddenly brought to a close by the State fish
warden because of his doubt of the legality of the methods
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
129
employed by the fishermen on whose catch the hatcheries depended
for their eggs. There were the usual successful operations with
the Atlantic salmon on the Penobscot River, the white and yellow
perches in the Chesapeake Basin, and the striped bass on the
Roanoke River.
A third large plant of humpback salmon, hatched in Maine from
eggs sent from Puget Sound, was made in the fall of 1915, and a
fourth deposit, aggregating 229,584 fingerling fish, was made in
1916. The indications for the permanent establishment of this
excellent fish in certain New England waters are promising.
In the Great Lakes, the collections of lake-trout and whitefisli
eggs, while aggregating upward of 547 millions, were less than
last season, owing to boisterous weather during spawning time.
An abnormally cold and late spring likewise resulted in a shortage
in the pike-perch operations, although the output of fry reached
the very considerable total of 436,696,740.
The year’s work in the artificial propagation of the Pacific
salmons eclipsed all records. About 250 million fish, representing
five species, were hatched and planted under favorable conditions,
the bulk of the output being C h in ook s and sockeyes. In pursuance
of the fixed policy, increased facilities for rearing salmon are
provided each year; and in 1916 nearly 55 million salmon were
held at the hatcheries until they reached the fingerling size, an
increase of about 100 per cent over the previous year. Successful
operations were carried on at the Yes Bay (Alaska) hatchery
with the sockeye salmon and on the Columbia River with the
chinook salmon, the work in the latter field being of greater mag
nitude than ever before.
At hatcheries in the interior, where the trouts and basses are
handled, good work has been done. The output of the pond fishes
was somewhat decreased, but fishes of larger size have been
delivered to applicants and the general results have been more
satisfactory than before. Increased attention is given by farm
ers to stocking ponds with desirable food and game fishes.
Several very influential monthly home magazines have been urging
the importance of private fish ponds, and the Bureau has dis
tributed many thousand copies of Fish Ponds on Farms, a
document prepared for the special purpose of giving practical
instruction in making and maintaining fish ponds. Applicants in
all parts of the country have been supplied with suitable fish for
this purpose.
13 0
REPORT OE THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
The hatchery output reached public and private waters in every
State, as shown by the details of distribution published in the
annual report of the Commissioner of Fisheries. The Bureau’s
railway fish cars were in commission throughout the year and were
hauled 149,781 miles while carrying their loads of living freight.
Detached messengers, supplying fish to waters off the main lines
of travel, covered 645,721 miles. About 10X per cent of the
travel of the cars and 19 per cent of the travel of messengers were
furnished gratis by railroads, the remainder being paid for at
varying rates. The new steel fish-transportation car, referred to
in my last report, was completed and placed in service. Two
additional steel cars have been authorized by Congress, but the
increase in the cost of materials and labor makes it impossible to
secure fully equipped cars within the appropriation. Bids will be
obtained and an appeal will be made to Congress for the additional
sum necessary.
Stress must be laid on the important rescue work conducted
in the Mississippi Valley by special seining crews who operate
from Wisconsin and Minnesota to Mississippi and Arkansas. The
season’s collections were larger than for many years, and food
fishes of great value were saved. The total number of fish res
cued was upward of 11,682,000 adults, yearlings, and fingerlings,
of which about 1,180,000 were delivered by cars and messengers
to applicants, while the remainder were returned to the main
streams. A conspicuous public service was rendered in March
and April, 1916, when about 5 million adult and large fingerling
fish were rescued from an area of 11,000 acres along the Illinois
River. This region had been inundated when the fishes were in a
spawning condition, and as the waters subsided the young and
their parents became stranded and were found in great numbers
in drainage ditches and depressions when the rescuing parties
arrived. This field is very large and can be only partly covered
with the present facilities. The work deserves special recognition
and support from Congress.
The Bureau aims to maintain close relations with the State
fishery authorities and to conduct its work in cooperation with
them. The Bureau makes large consignments of fish eggs to
States having hatcheries, and also turns over to the States con
siderable quantities of fry and fingerlings to be planted under
local auspices. In 1916 about 377 million eggs and 11 million
young fish were thus supplied to 28 States.
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
131
The station at Saratoga, Wyo., was opened during the year.
The new station in Utah is in course of construction at Springville,
the site having been acquired after considerable unavoidable delay
about the title. Block Island has been chosen as the site of the
new Rhode Island hatchery, but the necessary land has not yet
been secured. It is a pleasure to note that the hatcheries at Louis
ville, Ky., and Orangeburg, S. C., give promise of great usefulness.
The output of large-mouth black bass at Orangeburg during the
first season of operation was unusually large.
Field stations recently established under the general authority
possessed by the Department have been successfully operated on
the Quinault Indian Reservation, in Washington, and on the
Klamath River, in California, for chinook and silver salmons.
These are demonstrated to be such important sources of eggs that
the establishment of regular hatcheries thereat is warranted.
The extraordinary interest manifested by the public in the exten
sion of governmental fish-cultural work has been shown by the
demand for additional hatcheries in all parts of the country and
by the introduction of numerous fish-hatchery bills in both
Houses of Congress. In May, 1916, the Committee on the Mer
chant Marine and Fisheries of the House of Representatives
made a favorable report on a bill (H. R. 15617) providing for 17
new fish hatcheries and a fishery experiment station. The amount
carried by the bill is $890,000.
Congress has passed a joint resolution authorizing the Secretary
of Commerce to accept from Mary A. Scully the gift of a trout
hatchery in the Berkshire Hills, Mass. The property comprises
about 135 acres, with buildings, ponds, and other accessories
of a modem hatchery, and has an unusually abundant supply of
water from three different sources. The hatchery was operated
for a number of years by the late John S. Scully, and Mrs. Scully’s
noteworthy gift was prompted by a desire to have the property
maintained perpetually for the purpose to which her husband had
dedicated it. The property has passed into the control of the
Bureau of Fisheries, and an item covering the necessary personnel
has been included in the 1918 estimates submitted to Congress.
Fresh-Water Mussel Propagation.
The practical work of mussel propagation on a commercial
scale is proceeding satisfactorily in connection with the Fairport
(Iowa) Biological Station. Field parties operating in the Missis
sippi River, in the Wabash River, and in the Black and White
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REPORT OE THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Rivers, in Arkansas, during the fiscal year 1916 planted upward
of 331,450,000 young mussels, representing seven species used in
making pearl buttons. In the inoculating operations 424,550 fish
were handled, over 300,000 of these being rescued from landlocked
ponds in the overflowed lands and subsequently returned to the
open waters. The average cost of providing, inoculating, and
planting the young mussels was $0.0155 per thousand for actual
production. When allowance is made for overhead charges, the
average cost was $0.0235 per thousand.
The shells of mussels grown from the glochidia stage in the ponds
at the Fairport Station have been made into buttons, and the
practical application of this work has thus been demonstrated.
Commercial Fisheries.
While the Department outside of Alaska has no direct jurisdic
tion over these fisheries, it nevertheless is charged with the duty
of conducting statistical and other investigations thereof, and
through the Bureau’s agents and correspondents it keeps informed
regarding the general condition of all branches of the industry.
It cooperates with the States in collecting data to guide legislation
or regulation, it brings to the attention of the State authorities
various fishery matters that demand legislative consideration,
and it supplies to individuals and firms technical information and
disinterested advice about commercial fishery enterprises.
During the past year the Bureau has conducted canvasses of the
general fisheries of the upper Mississippi River; the crab industry
of Chesapeake Bay; the coastal fisheries of New York and New
Jersey, exclusive of shellfish; and the shad fishery of the Hudson
River. In addition to the foregoing, the investigations of the fresh
water mussel fishery and pearl-button industry of the Mississippi
River and tributaries and of the shad and alewife fisheries of Ches
apeake Bay and tributaries, which had been in progress during
the preceding year, were completed.
The completion of the extensive canvass of the fresh-water
mussel industry has enabled the Bureau, for the first time, to
determine its magnitude, the relative productivity of different
streams, and the relative importance of the various species of
mussels in the different districts. The results of the canvass
were promptly made public through three statistical bulletins,
from which it appears that more than 10,300 men and women were
engaged in gathering mussels for the button factories or in search
of pearls, that they had $540,608 invested in boats and apparatus,
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
133
and that 51,571 tons of mussel shells, valued at $825,776, and pearls
and slugs worth $376,284, were taken in one season.
One of the most important natural resources of Chesapeake
Bay is the blue crab. Nowhere else is this species so abundant and
so important as a source of income to fishermen and of food to
local and distant people. The long continuance and increasing
magnitude of the fishery have raised doubts as to the perpetua
tion of the supply, and the necessity for legislative restrictions
has been discussed in the legislatures of both Maryland and
Virginia, following a recent sharp reduction in the catch. In
order to afford the States full and accurate data on which to
base action, the Bureau placed its agents in the field on Novem
ber 15, 1915, and on December 21, 1915, was able to present a
bulletin giving detailed statistics of the industry for the calendar
year 1915. This bulletin was distributed to State legislators,
fishery officials, crab fishermen, packers, and others, and attracted
much favorable comment. The two chief centers of the indus
try are Crisfield, Md., and Hampton, Va., but every county in
both States having a frontage on salt or brackish water has its
share in the fishery. The canvass showed that 10,290 persons
were engaged, $852,777 were invested, and over 151,000,000
crabs, weighing 50,343,268 pounds, were taken, yielding the fisher
men $981,807. The product in 1915 was the largest for which
statistics are available, and the value of the catch was 50 per
cent more than in 1908, the last previous year for which complete
returns had been gathered. It is known, however, that the 1915
returns fell conspicuously short of those a few years before, and
it is evident that the climax of this fishery came about 1912.
The Department has repeatedly brought to the attention of the
public and the officials and legislatures of the States of Maryland
and Virginia the waning shad supply, and has urged the necessity
of laws that will give the shad a reasonable amount of protection
while the schools are on their way to the spawning grounds. In
order to secure further data to substantiate the contention that
the shad is being neglected and demands serious consideration if
its commerical extinction is to be averted, the Bureau made a
complete canvass of the fishery in the Chesapeake Bay region in
1915, and published the results in a statistical bulletin, which was
sent to the governors and legislators of Maryland and Virginia,
accompanied by a series of three special charts showing the actual
location of pound nets and gill nets set for shad on certain sec
tions of the Virginia shore. This presentation apparently influ
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REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
enced the Virginia Legislature in the passage of an act, effective
in 19x7, which is designed to afford a portion of the shad run a
better opportunity to reach the spawning grounds.
As the fishery for alewives or river herring is intimately asso
ciated with that for shad, the same apparatus being employed and
the fishes being caught at the same season, the canvass included
the alewife as well as the shad fisheries, and the published bulletin
gives the statistical returns for both. It is shown that this indus
try in 1915 gave employment to 8,839 persons and $1,528,824 in
invested capital and yielded products worth $1,155,670 to the
fishermen. Practically all of this is to be credited to Maryland
and Virginia, for the interests of Pennsylvania and Delaware in
the fisheries of the Chesapeake Basin are insignificant. Compared
with 1909, the latest previous year for which complete statistics
were collected, the shad catch of Maryland declined more than
50 per cent and the alewife catch nearly 47 per cent. In the Sus
quehanna River the yield of each of these fishes decreased about
88 per cent. In Virginia in the same period the catch of shad
decreased nearly 22 per cent and of alewives over 29 per cent,
notwithstanding the use of more apparatus. The pound net is
the dominant appliance in both Maryland and Virginia, but
fewer of these nets were operated than in 1909, while the use of
gill nets has decreased in Maryland and greatly increased in Vir
ginia. Compared with 1896, the pound nets have increased about
50 per cent in number and decreased 50 per cent in the quantity
of shad taken; in other words, the amount of netting and labor
required to take a given number of shad in 1915 was four times
the amount in 1896.
There is not the slightest doubt that the waters of Maryland and
Virginia are greatly overfished, and if this condition is allowed to
continue the only conclusion to be drawn is that the people of
these States and their representatives in the legislatures are will
ing that these important food supplies and sources of wealth shall
be dissipated and lost.
In view of recent discussion of the net fisheries of the coastal
waters of New York and New Jersey, the Bureau, at the request
of the State authorities, in the spring of 1916 made a canvass of
the commercial salt-water fisheries of these two States, exclusive
of shellfish, for the calendar year 1915, and of the shad fishery of
the Hudson for 1915 and 1916. The results of the canvass have
been incorporated in a detailed bulletin, which has been generally
distributed in the fishing districts. The data thus obtained will
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
I3 5
be used as a guide by the States in determining if additional re
strictive measures are required in order to protect the food fishes.
The coastal fishery of New York in 1915 gave employment to
2,504 persons, having invested capital of $1,771,166. The chief
items of investment were 166 vessels, valued at $1,326,202. The
principal apparatus of capture was 464 pound nets, 160 seines,
653 gill nets, and 5,373 fykes, together with numerous hand lines.
Upward of 34,000,000 pounds of fish were taken, and for these the
fishermen received $1,121,641. The leading fishes were bluefish, butterfish, cod, flounders, menhaden, scup, sea bass, and
squeteague, the first named being most important, with over
6,107,1x3 pounds, valued at $492,928.
In the corresponding fisheries of New Jersey, 2,303 persons were
employed and the investment was $1,192,057. The vessels num
bered 53, valued at $232,855, and there were 174 pound nets, 132
seines, 1,761 gill nets, 970 fykes, and 90 bag nets. The catch,
amounting to more than 47,856,000 pounds, had a value of $1,348,667. The principal fishes taken were squeteague, ranking
first, with over 14,121,000 pounds, valued at $359,977, followed
by sea bass, bluefish, butterfish, scup, flounders, croaker, men
haden, whiting, and cod, in the order given.
The Hudson was formerly one of our leading shad streams, and
the yearly catch used to run into the hundreds of thousands.
The fishery for years has been dwindling and has now reached a
condition that can best be described as pitiable. The total
number of shad caught on the New York and New Jersey shores
was 15,855 in 1915 and 9,287 in 1916.
The fishery sendee maintained at the two ports of Boston and
Gloucester has given detailed information regarding the extensive
vessel fisheries centering there. This fleet in 1915 included 410
sail, which brought in 7,244 cargoes of fish, aggregating 171,595,000
pounds, valued at $4,738,000. Compared with the previous year,
there was a decrease of 354 trips or fares but an increased produc
tion of 9,000,000 pounds and an increased value of $343,000.
There was a slightly reduced yield of cod, but an increased catch
of practically every other major species. Especially noteworthy
was the increase in halibut, swordfish, and mackerel, the last
named showing an advance over 1914 of 63 per cent in quantity
and 73 per cent in value.
The halibut banks off the coasts of Washington and Oregon,
recently surveyed by the Albatross, have been resorted to by
numerous vessels, and comparatively large catches have been
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REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OP COMMERCE.
made during the spring months. These grounds, however, are
not generally visited after June, as the fish become scarce. The
principal grounds are from Cape Flattery, Wash., to Portlock
Bank, off Alaska. In the calendar year 1915, 100 American
vessels were engaged in the fishery on all grounds. Their catch
was about 50,240,000 pounds, of which about 33,135,000 pounds
were landed in Seattle, 5,782,000 pounds in Alaska, and 11,323,000
pounds in Canada.
Marine Fishery Investigations.
A t the last session of Congress provision was made for the
creation of a number of additional positions in the scientific
staff of the Bureau, particularly for the purpose of permitting
the prosecution of more systematic investigations of the shellfish
and shellfish industries than have heretofore been possible.
Meanwhile, during the past fiscal year, important economic
investigations of the oyster, the hard-shell clam, and the blue
crab have been undertaken, and it is possible to report progress
in various lines of inquiry.
The study of the “ green gill” in oysters, a condition which
renders them unsalable or impairs their sale value and often
deprives the oyster crop of a large district of a market, has been
of unusual interest and value. The condition in our waters has
been found to be due to the same cause as in France, namely, a
particular species of diatom, one of a large number of minute
one-celled plants on which oysters feed. The desire of oyster
growers is that the Bureau shall find a means of preventing
“ green gill” ; but this condition in the Marennes district of
France is welcomed by the oystermen, inasmuch as the oysters
so affected are highly esteemed because of their color and of the
flavor that accompanies the color. It therefore would seem
desirable not to devote further time and money to the devising
of means to prevent the occurrence of “ green gill,” but rather
to make it known to consumers that their prejudice is foolish
and that “ green-gill ” oysters are in the highest state of perfection.
Specific measures for the protection of the blue crab must rest
on a sound biological basis. The Bureau is engaged in an intimate
study of the life history and habits of this valuable crustacean,
in order to be able to give sound advice to the States. Inasmuch
as the crab is migratory, going from the ocean to the bays and
back again, and sometimes passing different stages of its life
cycle in different States, the Federal Government is the logical
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
1 37
agency for conducting the necessary investigations in an effective
manner.
Fresh-Water Fishery Investigations.
There is a growing appreciation on the part of the public of the
necessity for the careful conservation of the fresh-water fishery
resources. This is reflected in the increased demand for fish for
stocking streams and lakes, a more earnest striving for rational
regulation of the fisheries, and greater insistence that sewage and
industrial wastes shall be disposed of otherwise than by discharge
into such waters. The fundamental requisite for a proper policy
in respect to each of these is accurate information concerning the
fishes, their environments, and the means employed in their
capture, all of which have been receiving attention at the hands
of the Bureau.
The food of fishes, which in any particular body of water varies
greatly in character, both seasonally and with the species, age,
and size of the fish, has been under investigation at several places
in the Mississippi Valley. Special attention has been given at
Fairport and Keokuk, Iowa, to the study of fish food in inclosed
or impounded waters, and experiments have been conducted to
determine how it may be multiplied in connection with the culture
and rearing of food fishes in farm ponds.
A t Keokuk, Iowa, the completion of a great dam as a part of a
hydroelectric power plant has afforded an unusual opportunity
for the study of the effects of such obstructions on fish life. This
opportunity has been so used that it is expected within another
year to present a report, with not merely local application but of
general value in showing the effects of such structures and the
means of dealing with them. An activity of still another kind is
the study of fishes in relation to the public health. It is a matter
of general knowledge that certain species of fishes are destructive
of the larvae of mosquitoes, but it is not so well known that not
all of these fish are equally efficacious in waters of any particular
type. The fish must be of a kind adapted to the conditions or
else the characters of the waters under treatment must be modified
to suit the kind of fish which may be available. In still other
cases it may be necessary to introduce several species of fishes to
meet the several conditions obtaining in different parts of one
pond. During the year all phases of the subject were under
investigation in cooperation with the Bureau of Entomology of
the Department of Agriculture.
138
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
The United States has no jurisdiction over the pollution of
waters as affecting the fisheries, but in pursuance of the policy
of aiding in conserving the fisheries wherever possible a practical
service has been rendered by investigating the reported pollution
of important streams. A number of such cases have been studied
during the year and the reports have been of value in showing
the actual conditions. In some cases abuses are found and the
necessity of correcting them is shown. In other instances the
allegations are determined to be unfounded and a statement to that
effect allays dissatisfaction. In either case the general subject is
kept before the public and its importance is becoming more gen
erally appreciated, as is evidenced, in part, by the increasing
demands on the Bureau for work of this nature.
Operations at Fisheries Laboratories.
The laboratory at Woods Hole, Mass., which has no permanent
scientific staff, was opened immediately before the beginning of
the fiscal year and continued in operation until about the middle of
September, the work being conducted through the agency of tem
porary employees recruited from universities and other scientific
institutions. Studies of nutrition, greening, and propagation of
oysters were continued with satisfactory progress. Other re
searches and experiments related to parasites and the effects of
parasitism of fishes; the metabolism and oxygen utilization of
fishes; the effects of mineral salts which constitute either normal
constituents or pollutions of spring waters; and similar phenomena
affecting fish culture and the utilization of fishes.
At the Beaufort (N. C.) laboratory there was the same season of
maximum activity in addition to the work carried on by the too
small permanent staff throughout the year. The results in terra
pin culture and the survey of the fishing grounds carried on under
the auspices of this station have been alluded to elsewhere. In
addition, investigations and experiments were conducted with the
quahog or hard clam and some of the principal crustaceans of the
region, and, in cooperation with the Bureau of Forestry, to discover
means of preventing or controlling the inroads of shipworms and
other marine borers on submerged woodwork. What this station
has accomplished and the opportunities for further work which it
affords promise important economic service to the entire region
served by it.
The laboratory at Fairport, Iowa, and the field parties oper
ating in connection with it planted 331,451,490 larval pearl mussels
during the year, the exceptionally high and prolonged flood stages
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OP COMMERCE.
13 9
of the rivers making it impossible to quite attain the record of the
previous year. Experience in the work and improvements in the
methods made it possible to further reduce the cost of planting
from 2.7 cents per thousand mussels in 1915 to 2.35 cents per thou
sand in 1916. Experiments in rearing have shown that after
two seasons’ growth the shells were of sufficient size to be usable
for the making of buttons, although economy requires that they
should be several years older before being taken for commercial
purposes.
The laboratory has also been active in experimenting with the
hatching and rearing of buffalofish and channel catfish, two im
portant food species of the Mississippi Valley. The results with
the former have been very encouraging, while near the close of the
year the laboratory reported the first successful propagation of the
channel catfish which has been attained anywhere. It is hoped
that when the proper methods have been perfected both species
will be available for stocking farm ponds in a large part of the
almost fishless central part of the country.
This laboratory, which now has a fairly adequate permanent
personnel, is rendering valuable service to a large part of the
Mississippi Valley.
Vessels.
The steamer Osprey is in such bad condition that she has
been ordered to Seattle for final examination to determine whether
she shall be condemned or sold.
The steamer Fish Hawk is in urgent need of extensive repairs,
which will be undertaken so soon as funds are provided.
The other vessels of the Service have continued their regular
work throughout the year.
New Building.
The old building which houses the Fisheries Service is wholly
unfit for its purpose. I earnestly hope that steps may be promptly
taken to provide better quarters in the proposed new Commerce
Building for its clerical staff, and that its scientific force may
have the laboratories in the proposed new aquarium building which
they so greatly need. If regard is given to the wonderful work
of the Bureau of Fisheries in maintaining and developing an im
portant part of the Nation’s food supply, it will be clear that it
ought to be provided with the best of facilities for so vital a work.
It is now seriously handicapped in this respect, and in so far as its
work suffers on that account the food supply of the Nation is in
juriously affected. I ask that this receive the prompt and thought
ful attention it merits.
BUREAU OF LIGHTHOUSES.
The present organization of the Service under the act of June 17,
1910, is as follows:
Organization of Service.
The executive center of the Service is in Washington under the
Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner of Lighthouses.
There are in this office an engineering construction division, under
the chief constructing engineer; a naval construction division,
under the superintendent of naval construction; a hydrographic
division, under an assistant engineer; and the general office force,
under the chief clerk. The Service outside of Washington is
divided into 19 lighthouse districts, each under the charge of a
lighthouse inspector. In each district there is a central office and
one or more lighthouse depots. Each district is provided with
lighthouse tenders for distributing supplies to the various stations
and light vessels, for transportation of materials for construction
or repair, and for care of buoys. In addition, there is in the third
lighthouse district, at Tompkinsville, on Staten Island, in New
York Harbor, a general lighthouse depot, where supplies are
purchased in quantities, special apparatus is designed, manu
factured, and repaired, ships are repaired and refitted, and various
experimental work is conducted.
On June 30, 1916, there were 5,791 authorized positions in the
Lighthouse Service. Of these, 123 were in the technical force,
147 in the clerical and office force, and 5,521 connected with
depots, lighthouses, and vessels. Compared with the previous
year this is a decrease of 1 in the total force.
Aids to Navigation.
During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1916, there was a net
increase of 412 in the total number of aids to navigation main
tained by the Lighthouse Service, including 45 lights above the
order of minor lights, 5 fog signals, 2 submarine bells, 67 daymarks,
33 lighted buoys, 169 unlighted buoys, and 91 minor lights (in
cluding 8 float lights).
Fixed lights were changed to flashing or occulting at 46 stations.
The illuminant of x9 lights was changed to incandescent oil vapor,
the illuminant of 44 lights (including 2 light vessels) was changed
I4O
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
14 1
to acetylene, and the illuminant of 13 lights was changed to
electric incandescent. On June 30, 1916, there were maintained
by the Lighthouse Service 14,984 aids to navigation, including
5,323 lights of all classes and 584 fog signals (not including whistle
and bell buoys), of which 52 are submarine signals. When the
Lighthouse Service was established in its present form on June 30,
1910, there were 11,713 aids to navigation. The record therefore
shows an increase in the six years of 3,271 aids, an average annual
increase of 545 aids.
Following are some of the more important aids established or
materially improved in the past fiscal year:
New fourth-order light stations, each with a fog bell, at Rondout North Dike, Hudson River, N. Y ., and Point au Fer Reef,
Atchafalaya Entrance, La.
Light vessel at Stone Horse Shoal, Nantucket Sound, Mass.,
in place of the vessel formerly stationed at Shovelful Shoal, in
the same locality.
Improved system of lighted aids in the channels leading to
Baltimore, Md.
Fog signals at Windmill Point, Mass, (electric bell); Rondout,
N. Y . (bell); Point au Fer, La. (bell); Cleveland East Entrance,
Ohio (electric sireno); Ashland Breakwater, Wis. (electric sireno);
and Point Hudson, Wash, (reed horn). The former steam whistle
at Cape Ann, Thachers Island, Mass., was changed to a com
pressed-air diaphone.
A submarine bell on Hedge Fence Light Vessel No. 9, Nan
tucket Sound, Mass.
Important lighted buoys in Cape Cod Canal Channel, Mass.
(4 buoys, 1 with bell); Negro Ledge, Buzzards Bay, Mass, (bell);
No Mans Land, Mass, (whistle); Plum Point, Long Island Sound,
N. Y .; Shrewsbury Rocks, N. J. (bell); Cape Fear River Entrance,
N. C. (whistle); Mullet Key, Fla. (bell); Santa Elena Shoal,
Gallardo Shoal (whistle), and Tourmaline Reef, P. R.; Fighting
Island Channel, Detroit River, Mich. (3 buoys); Eagle River
Shoals, Lake Superior, Mich, (bell); Clatsop Spit, Oreg.; South
Jetty, Oreg. (whistle); Blonde Reef, Hawaii (bell), and Lahaina,
Hawaii.
Systems of minor aids and buoyage were extensively rearranged
or improved in the following localities: Plymouth Harbor, Mass.;
Cape Cod Canal Approaches, Mass.; Pawcatuck River, R. I.;
Baltimore Harbor, Md.; Croatan Sound, N. C.; St. Catherine
Sound, Ga.; Nassau Sound, Fla.; Lake Okechobee and connecting
14 2
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
waters, Fla.; Manatee River, Fla.; Inside Route, Fla. and Tex.;
Middle Neebish Channel, St. Marys River, Mich.; Oakland Har
bor, Cal.; and Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii.
Flashing acetylene lights at Pumpkin Island Reef, Me.; Padanaram Breakwater, Mass.; Canal Channel, Mass. (2 lights); Cuttyhunk North Jetty, Mass.; West Breakwater, R. I.; Mattituck
Breakwater, N. Y . ; Mud Island Range, Pa. (2 lights); Raccoon
Creek Range, N. J. (2 lights); Oyster Creek, N. C.; Fort Sumter
Range Front, S. C.; Coon Key, Fla.; Manatee River, Fla. (3
lights); Linda Island, N. Y .; Ballast Island, Ohio; St. Clair
Flats Canal Range, Mich. (2 lights); Manistee South Breakwater,
Mich.; Sheboygan South Pierhead, Wis.; Lewis Reef, Narrow
Point, Middle Point, Point Alexander, Marmion Island, Sheep
Creek, Clear Point, Barlow Islands, Naked Island, Little Island,
Low Point, Kingsmill Point, Point Augusta, Hawk Inlet Entrance,
Hawk Inlet East Shoal, Otstoia Island, McClellan Rock, Grey
Cliff, Anchor Point, East Foreland, East Chugach, Flat Island,
Race Point, and Point Romanoff, Alaska; Iceberg Point, Wash.;
and Waterman Point, Wash.
The fiscal year was marked by three severe tropical hurri
canes on the Gulf coast, all occurring within a period of approxi
mately six weeks. The first of these storms was on August
16-17, 1915, in the vicinity of Galveston, Tex.; the second on
September 3-4, 1915, near Apalachicola, Fla.; and the third on
September 28-29, 1915, near New Orleans, La. No lives of
persons in the Lighthouse Service were lost during these storms,
but the damage to lighthouse property was great and widespread.
A large number of stations and vessels in the eighth lighthouse dis
trict were damaged, and many small lights and other structures
were destroyed. The total damage amounted to about $212,000.
A special appropriation of $200,000 was made by Congress by the
act of February 28, 1916, toward repairing and rebuilding the
aids to navigation affected by these storms. Immediately after
the close of the fiscal year, on July 5-6, 1916, another severe
storm visited the Gulf coast in the general vicinity of Mobile,
Ala., damaging lighthouse property to the extent of approximately
$140,000.
To assist in getting prompt information of defects in aids, a
post card has been devised for the use of mariners, printed in such
form that it is only necessary to insert the name of the aid reported,
with date, time, and by whom observed, and mail it to the proper
lighthouse inspector.
REPORT OR THE SECRETARY OR COMMERCE.
1 43
Arrangements were made to continue a number of buoys on
station throughout the year instead of removing them in winter,
as heretofore, because of ice conditions. This plan has been
very satisfactory to mariners using the waters affected.
On account of the unprecedented movement of shipping on the
Great Lakes, arrangements were made to continue aids to navi
gation as late as possible, consistent with the safety of employees
and property of the Service.
Alaska.
The total number of aids to navigation in Alaska, including
lights, fog signals, buoys, and daymarks, in commission at the
close of the fiscal year ended June 30, 1916, was 388, including
147 lights, representing an increase of n o lights since June 30,
1910, or over 297 per cent. The following table, which gives the
total number of aids to navigation on June 30 of each year named,
illustrates the progress in establishing aids in the Territory:
.•■ 'zasaa
A id s .
I9 IO
19 11
19 12
*9*3
19 14
*9*5
19 16
L i g h t s ..........................................................................................
37
71
8s
93
108
xxa
F o g s i g n a l s ...............................................................................
9
10
IO
IO
IO
IO
XX
B u o y s ..........................................................................................
&*
io s
*32
*36
*57
167
l8 l
D a y m a r k s .................................................................................
30
29
38
40
44
49
49
T o t a l ...............................................................................
160
2*5
265
279
3 19
338
388
*47
The act of October 22, 1913, made an appropriation of $115,000
for a light and fog-signal station at or near Cape St. Elias, and the
sum of $60,000 for the establishment of aids to navigation and the
improvement of existing aids in Alaska was included in the sundry
civil act approved August 1, 1914. Work on both was started
promptly and good progress has been made. Due to exceptional
weather conditions, an entire year has been gained in the building
of the Cape St. Elias lighthouse, which went into commission on
September 6, 1916. Under the appropriation for Alaskan aids,
36 new lights were established, in addition to other needed
improvements.
Pending the completion of the new lighthouse tender Cedar, the
steamers Kukui and Fern care for lighthouse work in Alaska.
Administrative Methods and Economies.
The third annual conference of lighthouse inspectors was held
during January and February, 1916. The program followed the
previous general lines, and the results were beneficial to the Service.
66776°—16----- 10
144
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
A new edition of the Instructions to Employees, conforming to
the revised regulations, was issued during the fiscal year for the
guidance of persons in the Lighthouse Service.
Systematic inspections of the various lighthouse districts by the
general inspector, examiner, and officers of the Bureau were con
tinued as in former years with satisfactory results.
The standard method of cost keeping was continued as usual.
The Medical Handbook for use of Stations and Vessels was
extensively revised and improved by the addition of a chapter on
first-aid methods for the injured. Reprints of this edition have
been ordered by other Government services engaged in maritime
work.
An Executive order was issued on October 6, 1915, upon my
recommendation, permitting laborers in charge of lights whose
duties require only a portion of their time to hold other appoint
ments under State or municipal offices, subject to proper restric
tions.
After careful study, a readjustment of pay of lighthouse keepers
was put into effect during the year, which it is believed has created
more equitable conditions, considering particularly isolated and
undesirable stations.
The usual lists of spare property in lighthouse districts available
for transfer to other districts were issued for the information of
inspectors. Special instructions were also given regarding the
disposition by sale of condemned rope, cordage, and waste paper,
to assist in relieving the shortage of paper material.
In view of the unusual trade conditions existing at this time
and the extraordinary advance in price of many materials used
in the Service, special instructions were issued governing the
preparation of requisitions by inspectors, in order that contracts
might be reduced so as to come within available funds.
Steps were taken in several lighthouse districts to overhaul and
replenish libraries furnished for light stations and vessels in
accordance with instructions heretofore issued on the subject.
A t the conclusion of the Panama-Pacific International Exposi
tion at San Francisco, to which reference was made in my report
for 1915, arrangements were made for the transfer of portions of
the Lighthouse Service exhibit to other expositions at San Diego,
Cal., and Panama.
During the fiscal year small exhibits illustrating particular
features of lighthouse work were shown at the annual meeting of
the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, the “ safety-first”
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
145
exhibit at the National Museum, and an exhibit of graphic meth
ods, all in Washington, D. C.
Officers of the Bureau were designated as delegates to the
Second Pan-American Scientific Congress, held in Washington,
and two papers on lighthouse subjects were presented by the
Commissioner at regular sessions.
During the fiscal year the Department issued a pamphlet
entitled “ The United States Lighthouse Service, 1915,” published
for the purpose of furnishing general information regarding the
organization and operation of the Service and to enable the
Bureau to supply data asked for in inquiries frequently received.
Engineering and Construction.
New works of principal importance under special appropria
tions completed during the fiscal year are as follows: Point Judith
Breakwater lights, R. I.; Fort McHenry Channel lights, Md.;
Norfolk Harbor lights, V a .; Lakes Okechobee and Hicpochee
lights, Fla.; Atchafalaya Entrance lights, La.; and Ashland
Breakwater light and fog signal, Wis.
Other important work in progress at the close of the fiscal year
includes: New carpenter shop at the general depot, Tompkinsville, N. Y . ; Charleston Lighthouse Depot, S. C .; Galveston Jetty
light and fog signal, Tex.; Navassa Island Light Station, West
Indies; Ashtabula, Cleveland, and Lorain Light Stations, Ohio;
Manistique light and fog signal, Mich.; and Cape St. Elias light and
fog signal, Alaska (since completed).
Several improvements and changes at light stations involved
handling unusual weights, which was accomplished without acci
dent. At Sheboygan, Wis., on Lake Michigan, an entire cylin
drical steel tower, weighing approximately 30 tons, was trans
ferred from one pier to another, and near Georgetown, S. C., an
entire keeper's dwelling, with chimneys and piazza complete,
weighing about 115 tons, was moved across Winy ah Bay.
The most important item of construction work now under way
is the new lighthouse on Navassa Island, West Indies. This will
be an unusually tall (152 feet) reinforced-concrete tower built on
a height of 250 feet, showing a double-flashing white light at a
lateral elevation above the sea of 402 feet.
Constant attention has been given in renewals and replace
ments to the use of more permanent materials, such as concrete
beacons for those formerly of timber, asbestos instead of wooden
shingles, etc.
I4 6
REPORT OR THE SECRETARY OE COMMERCE.
Improvement of Apparatus and Equipment.
A standard tool chest for use at light stations, containing all
tools required by keepers for ordinary repair work, has been designed
and equipped at the general depot. A similar chest, fitted with
pipe and machine tools, for use at fog-signal stations, is also under
consideration.
A device for automatically replacing bumt-out incandescent
electric lamps has been developed and is now in use at several sta
tions. It consists, briefly, of three lamp sockets mounted radially
at 1200 on a spring-actuated shaft so that the upper lamp is in the
focus of the lens. Should the lamp in service burn out, an elec
tromagnet releases a latch and the shaft revolves 120°, bringing
the second lamp in service. Should this lamp also bum out, the
third and final lamp is similarly thrown in circuit.
Several remote electrically operated light and fog-signal sta
tions have been placed in operation. Duplicate lamps are pro
vided, with automatic cut-in for the spare lamp, and an arrange
ment of magneto relays in conjunction with a telephone enables
the keeper to use the circuit as a telltale for observing the opera
tion of the fog signal.
Experiments were made to investigate the reliability and degree
of accuracy to be expected in obtaining distances at sea by observ
ing the elapsed time between radio and aerial or radio and subma
rine signals dispatched simultaneously. After several trials it
was found that the comparatively short ranges of the whistle or
submarine bell under service conditions led to such a brief receiv
ing interval between such signals and radio signals as to make
highly accurate observations by a stop watch a necessity, thus
limiting the use of such a method from a practical standpoint.
Standard power boats have been designed and built for use at
various island stations in the Great Lakes, and after a season’s
service have proven to be good sea boats, well adapted for the use
intended.
Two semaphore signals, the first of their kind employed in the
United States Lighthouse Service, have been installed in the
Livingstone Channel, Detroit River, Mich., for the purpose of
assisting vessel masters in obeying a War Department navigation
regulation which requires a time interval of not less than five
minutes between down-bound vessels using that channel. By a
proper arrangement of lights the signals may be used by night as
well as by day.
REPORT OE THE SECRETARY OE COMMERCE.
147
Radio stations have been installed by the Lighthouse Service
in connection with the building of Cape St. Elias and Navassa
Island light stations, to which reference has already been made.
These are of great value in conducting construction operations in
such distant localities.
A small-sized mercury float, weighing about 1,000 pounds, has
been designed and built at the general depot for use in lenses of
the fourth order and smaller sizes.
Electrically operated flashers, intended chiefly for gas lights on
light vessels, have proven very satisfactory, especially for relief
vessels, whereby the exact characteristic of any station vessel may
be quickly reproduced. This is of special benefit in case of accident
to a light vessel, when it may be necessary to relieve the station
ship immediately.
The new type of post lantern, designated “ Type B ,” has been
issued in considerable numbers and has given satisfaction in
withstanding the highest winds, yielding at the same time a satis
factory candlepower. Experiments are in progress toward the
development of a single-wick burner, instead of a double-wick,
for this lantern.
Standardization of apparatus and repair parts has been kept
constantly in mind in planning new installations, and it is believed
that this practice will result in a saving in the expense of future
work.
A new type of gas buoy, designed by the Lighthouse Service,
known as “ Type S,” and intended for shoal water, was completed,
tested, and found satisfactory for use in suitable localities where
a small light is sufficient.
Photolithographic drawings of various types of incandescent oil
vapor lamps, oil-engine torches, and post lanterns were prepared
during the year and issued to the district offices.
In order to plan ahead as far as possible the installation of new
boilers on vessels, special instructions were given in relation to
rigid examination of all boilers now in service, so that repairs might
be conducted at opportune times.
Appropriations.
In addition to the maintenance appropriations for the current
fiscal year, appropriations for the following special works were
made by Congress:
Repairing and rebuilding aids to navigation, Gulf of Mexico......................... $200, 000
Light and fog signal, Point Vincente, C al.........................................................
80,000
Improving aids, St. Johns River, below Jacksonville, Ela..............................
66, 000
148
REPORT OE THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Improvements at Woods Hole Depot, Mass.......................................................
Improving aids, Fighting Island Channel, Detroit River, Mich....................
Additional aids, Florida Reefs, F la.....................................................................
Improving aids, Hudson River, N. Y .................................................................
Eight and fog signal, Conneaut, Ohio.................................................................
Light and fog signal, near Kellett Bluff, Wash.................................................
Improving aids, entrance to Coquille River, Oreg............................................
Improving aids, Toledo Harbor, Ohio................................................................
Light at Dog Island, Me.......................................................................................
Improving aids, Delaware River, Pa. and Del ................................................
Tender and barge, eighth district, Tex. and La................................................
Additional aids, Mississippi River, L a ...............................................................
$50, 000
25,000
75, 000
100, 000
63, 500
40,000
6,000
15,000
3, 500
80,000
20,000
50, 000
It has been necessary in submitting estimates for the fiscal year
1918 to ask for an increase in appropriations. The Lighthouse
Service has urgent need for additional funds. The cost of all mate
rials has greatly increased; salaries and wages have been uniformly
advanced; and in order that the Service may be maintained at a
normal standard of efficiency a corresponding increase in its appro
priations is necessary.
The estimate for the Bureau of Lighthouses in Washington is the
same as the appropriation for the current year. Estimates for
34 special works have been submitted, aggregating $2,604,300,
considering only group 1, of which items amounting to $1,636,300
are authorized by law. This is $1,730,300 more than the appro
priation for special works for the current year and includes a
number of important works for which estimates were submitted
last year but which were not included in the appropriations. The
estimates include 3 new lighthouse tenders, 3 new light vessels,
1 new light and fog-signal station, 1 new light station, 3 new light
house depots, 11 items for establishing or improving aids in general
localities, 1 item for a new system of harbor or channel lights and
other aids, 5 items for improvements of light or fog-signal stations
or of groups of aids to navigation, 3 items for improvement of
lighthouse depots, 1 item for improvement of lighthouse tenders,
1 item for light-keepers’ dwellings, and 1 item for communication
systems to light stations.
In selecting and submitting estimates for those special works
believed to be most important, there were considered estimates
submitted by officers in the various districts for new lighthouse
and ship construction aggregating about $4,650,000.
Vessels.
The tenders of the Service have been employed to good advan
tage during the year. The 45 vessels which have been in com
mission have steamed a total of about 482,000 nautical miles in
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
149
their work of supplying light stations, maintaining the buoyage
system, transporting construction materials, and carrying the
officers and employees of the Service to their stations or on inspec
tion duty.
Under the appropriation of January 25, 1915, of $250,000 for the
construction of the new lighthouse tender Cedar, contract for
building this vessel was awarded May 4, 1915, to the Craig Ship
building Co., Long Beach, Cal., for the sum of $234,500. She was
under construction throughout the fiscal year, and on October 1,
1916, was 70 per cent completed. Work on the vessel has been
delayed by strikes and other causes beyond control of the Light
house Service. The Cedar will be the largest vessel in the Service
and is especially designed for working on the coast of Alaska.
The medium-draft tender Rose, for service in the bays and sounds
of the seventeenth lighthouse district, was launched on February
19, 1916. The vessel was completed after the close of the fiscal
year and was conditionally accepted on August 8, 1916.
The small tender Fern, for service in the inside waters of the
sixteenth lighthouse district, was completed and placed in com
mission on June 20, 1915, proceeding to her station of duty on
July 1, 1915.
The use of oil fuel is provided for the new tenders for the Pacific
coast.
A contract was awarded for a tender, the shallow-draft tender
Palmetto, on September 27, 1915, for service in the inland water
ways of the sixth lighthouse district.
An appropriation of $20,000 was made by the act of July 1,
1916, for a light-draft tender and barge for use in establishing and
maintaining aids along the intercoastal waterways of Texas and
Louisiana.
With the increase in the number of aids to navigation and the
deterioration of older vessels, it will probably be necessary to
construct, on an average, one or two new tenders each year.
Estimates have been submitted for three new lighthouse tend
ers— one to replace the Gardenia, or for general service, at a cost of
$150,000, and two to replace the John Rodgers and Jessamine, or
for general service, as may be found most desirable, at a cost of
$180,000 each. The first of these items was authorized by the act
of August 28, 19x6, but no appropriation has been made for the
purpose.
Radio apparatus was designed and manufactured by the Bureau
of Standards for the tenders Columbine, Cypress, Orchid, Manzanita, and Sequoia. Installation was made on the Columbine
150
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
and Cypress, but deferred on the other vessels owing to lack of
funds in the appropriation “ Salaries, lighthouse vessels.”
The condition of this appropriation also necessitated the laying
up of the tender Lilac until such time as the shortage may be
overcome.
The Lighthouse Service maintains light vessels on 53 stations
and has for this purpose 66 light vessels, of which 13 are relief
vessels. Some of these vessels are old, 11 having been built over
50 years ago. One is 67 years old. Some of the older vessels
are in a condition which does not warrant extensive repairs.
Contracts were awarded for the construction of second-class
light vessels No. 101 and No. 102 on March 6, 1915. No. 101
will be placed on station for the present at Cape Charles, Va., re
lieving No. 49, which is to undergo extensive repairs during the
present fiscal year, and No. 102 is intended for station at South
west Pass Entrance to Mississippi River, La. Good progress had
been made by the builder up to the close of the fiscal year.
Plans and specifications have been completed and bids invited
for the construction of the new third-class light vessel No. 99,
and plans and specifications are in preparation for the new firstclass light vessel No. 100. A contract for the construction of
light vessel No. 99 was awarded on June 29, 1916.
On account of the deterioration of older vessels it will be nec
essary to construct one or more new light vessels each year.
Estimates have been submitted for new light vessels for general
service on the Great Lakes, where they are much needed to
replace vessels which must soon be withdrawn from duty; for a
new light vessel for station off Cape Charles, V a .; and for a light
vessel for the Gulf coast or for general service. The act of August
28, 1916, authorized the vessels for the Great Lakes, at not to
exceed $150,000, and the vessel for Cape Charles, at $130,000,
but no appropriation was made.
The work of raising Buffalo light vessel No. 82, referred to in
the report for 1914, was completed and the vessel successfully
floated on September 17, 1915. The work of repairing and
reconstructing the vessel was nearly completed at the end of
the fiscal year.
Careful attention has been paid in designing and remodeling
light vessels to making all parts of such vessels accessible for
cleaning and painting. The use of internal-combustion engines
has also been extended, which it is believed will effect an economy
in maintenance.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
T51
Cooperation.
In accordance with the established custom of the Service,
every effort has been continued to consult the needs of maritime
interests and to cooperate effectively with other branches of the
Government in matters relating to the work of the Lighthouse
Service.
By my authority, deck officers of lighthouse tenders were
designated to assist in the examination, under the SteamboatInspection Service, of applicants for certificates as lifeboat men
required by the seamen’s act of March 4, 1915.
The Bureau has further cooperated with the Steamboat-Inspec
tion Service in detailing officers to make stability tests of merchant
vessels under examination by that Service.
In connection with marking fishing limits on the Middle Atlantic
coast, representatives of the Lighthouse Service attended various
hearings held by United States Engineer officers and furnished
assistance in the matter of suggestions for lighting fish pounds or
the marking of fishing limits, and since then the Service has aided
the War Department in placing buoys to mark the limits pre
scribed by that Department.
The Lighthouse Service also placed a special buoy to mark the
fishing grounds off Beaufort, N. C., in connection with work of
the Bureau of Fisheries. This Service also assisted the Bureau of
Fisheries in collecting samples of sea water for analysis at desig
nated light stations. The plans and specifications of the Fisheries
steamer Halcyon were prepared in cooperation with the Bureau
of Fisheries, and consulting advice was given that Bureau in
connection with repairs to the Fisheries steamer Roosevelt.
Assistance was rendered the Coast and Geodetic Survey in plac
ing special buoys needed for offshore surveying operations, and
various special buoys were also placed for the Navy Department
in connection with torpedo and gun practice by naval vessels.
The Public Health Service rendered valuable assistance to the
Lighthouse Service in preparing the Medical Handbook and List
of Remedies, referred to elsewhere in this report, and also in the
matter of sanitary advice, inspections, and fumigations at various
stations and vessels of the Lighthouse Service.
The Bureau of Mines continued to assist the Lighthouse Service
in making analyses of coal, and detailed information was furnished
that Bureau, at its request, in reference to coal purchased by the
Lighthouse Service on contracts providing for analysis.
152
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OP COMMERCE.
Arrangements were continued with the War Department for the
use of lighthouse tenders for mine-planting practice, the Depart
ment of Commerce offering the service of such vessels when they
can be spared, without reimbursement where the service does not
exceed two days.
Joint regulations with reference to the matter of the proper
authority to prescribe and supervise lights on certain structures
in navigable waters during their construction period and providing
for the transfer of such authority upon completion of the structures
were issued by the Chief of Engineers, United States Army, and
the Lighthouse Service, with the Department’s approval.
Arrangements were made with the Hydrographic Office of the
Navy Department for the transmission of important reports
received affecting an aid to navigation by telephone or telegraph
to the proper lighthouse inspector.
The Board of Supervising Inspectors of the Steamboat-Inspec
tion Service adopted a resolution providing that service on vessels
of the Lighthouse Service shall be considered, for raise of grade,
equal to similar experience obtained on merchant vessels.
Observations made on various lighthouse reservations created
as bird reservations under the Department of Agriculture indicate
that successful results have been attained in increasing the num
ber of migratory birds frequenting such reserves.
Examinations and reports have been made by the Forest
Service in reference to timber on various lighthouse reservations,
particularly on the Great Lakes, under the authority of the act
of March 3, 1915.
Traveling and Subsistence Expenses of Teachers Employed in
Instructing the Children of Keepers of Lighthouses.
The State of Maine, which is in the first lighthouse district, has
put in operation an arrangement for a traveling school teacher to
visit the outlying light stations in the State where school facilities
for children are lacking to give instruction to the children at
the stations. The State pays the salary of the teacher, who is trans
ported to and from the light stations by lighthouse tenders where
necessary. The State also furnishes books. The keepers, how
ever, are obliged to provide subsistence for the teacher at their
own expense. One teacher at present covers 14 light stations,
following a regular schedule. An objection is the short period
spent by the teacher at each station, which is only about two
weeks. It is hoped this condition may be improved by the State
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
153
providing more teachers. A t Matagorda Island Light Station,
Tex., in the eighth district, a similar system is in effect. If the
United States Government would authorize the payment of sub
sistence of teachers, it would be possible to make the same ar
rangement in other States. I recommend that this be done.
Taking the Lighthouse Service as a whole, it is inevitable from
the nature of the Service that many light stations are situated
where school facilities are not accessible. Under existing law it
is not practicable for the Lighthouse Service to take any direct
measures toward the education of the children of the keepers.
The matter is given careful attention, however, and the Regula
tions of the Service provide that in the event of vacancies permit
ting transfer to light stations convenient to school facilities prefer
ence must be given to keepers and assistant keepers having chil
dren between the ages of 5 and 16 years who have not now access
to schools, provided they desire such transfer and their service
and qualifications entitle them to it. Moreover, when other con
ditions are equal, inspectors are instructed not to recommend for
appointment or transfer to stations not accessible to schools
keepers having children of school age unless such keepers give
assurance that they will make proper provision for the education
of their children. Since this regulation went into effect there has
been a noticeable improvement as to the number of stations where
children of school age are without educational facilities. Inspec
tors are required at stations not accessible to schools to inquire
from time to time into educational conditions for the children and
to encourage any course which will lead to their suitable educa
tion, consulting, when desirable, with State and local educational
authorities. The Lighthouse Service provides circulating libra
ries for the light stations and has recently taken measures to fur
nish a number of stations with a useful dictionary, more of which
will be supplied as funds permit.
Legislation Affecting the Lighthouse Service.
The following is a summary of special legislation affecting the
Lighthouse Service, other than appropriations, enacted during
the fiscal year 1916:
The act of June 28, 1916, authorized the Secretary of Commerce
to exchange the land now occupied by the Schooner Ledge Range
Front Light Station at the mouth of Crum Creek, Pa., for other
lands adjacent thereto, and authorized the removal of the present
station after certain conditions have been complied with.
T54
REPORT OE THE SECRETARY OP COMMERCE.
The act of June 28, 1916, authorized the sale of the former
lighthouse reservation at Scituate, Mass., to the town of Scituate
for maintenance as an historic landmark.
The act of August 28, 1916, subsequent to the close of the fiscal
year, granted authority for the following purposes:
Exchange of rights of way of the United States in connection
with lands pertaining to the Lighthouse Service for such other
rights of way as may be advantageous to the Service, providing
also for the payment of any expenses, not exceeding $500, in
curred by the United States in making such exchange from the
appropriation “ General expenses, Lighthouse Service.”
The establishment and maintenance, in the discretion of the
Commissioner of Lighthouses, of post-lantern lights and other
aids to navigation on the Mobile, Tombigbee, Warrior, and Black
Warrior Rivers, Ala., and Lake Tahoe, Cal. and Nev.
The purchase, necessary equipment, repair, and operation of
one motorcycle for the use of the Lighthouse Service in the Ha
waiian Islands.
Medical relief for light keepers and assistant light keepers with
out charge at hospitals and stations of the Public Health Service,
and providing also for certain physical examinations of persons
who enter the Service hereafter.
The following works were authorized by the same act, at the
limits of cost specified, but no appropriation of funds was made:
Light-keepers’ dwellings, $75,000; light vessels for the Great Lakes,
$150,000; lighthouse depot for second district, $85,000; lighthouse
tender for third district, $150,000; improvements at Great Salt
Pond, R. I., $25,000; improvement of offices and laboratory,
Tompkinsville, N. Y ., $21,000; improving aids, East River, N. Y .,
$16,000; light vessel off Cape Charles, Va., $130,000; improving
aids leading to Cape Charles City, Va., $12,800; improving aids,
eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay, Md. and Va., $29,000; rebuild
ing light station, Point Borinquen, P. R., $85,000; improving aids,
Huron Harbor, Ohio, $4,500; improving aids, Fairport Harbor,
Ohio, $42,000; improving aids, Keweenaw Waterway Harbor of
Refuge, Portage River, Mich., $110,000; improvements at De
troit Depot, Mich., $53,000; light and fog signal, Sand Hills,
Mich., $75,000; improvements, Manitowoc North Breakwater,
Wis., $2i,000; rebuilding light station, Chicago Harbor, 111.,
$142,000; improving aids, Indiana Harbor, Ind., $100,000; aids to
navigation, Alaska, $60,000; establishing and improving aids,
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
155
Washington and Oregon, $35,000; temporary depot at Honolulu,
Hawaii, $5,000; lighthouse depot for nineteenth district, $90,000;
and radio equipment for lighthouse tenders, $60,000.
Retirement of Aged or Disabled Employees.
A marine officer of the Lighthouse Service who has served for
40 years recently told me he hoped for the coming of a retirement
system which would provide something for his old age after so
many years of faithful work. A provision for the retirement of
employees of the Lighthouse Service who after long service have
lost their ability for further active duty by age or disability arising
from their work is essential to full efficiency in administering the
Service. In the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the
Coast Guard, including those who serve on the Coast Guard cutters,
such a retirement system now exists. The result is an unjust and,
I think, an unintentional discrimination against those who serve
in one service and in favor of those who serve in others. The
men who man the lighthouse ships and who serve in the various
light stations give their lives to the Government as truly as does
an Army or Navy officer. Many of them would by reason of
their special knowledge be required to aid our military forces in
time of war.
The Lighthouse Service is in many respects a dangerous service.
By every rule of administration and of humanity and by the
precedent of the practice both in our own Government in other
services and of other governments as respects this particular kind
of work, these men are entitled to retirement pay.
In the annual report of the Commissioner of Lighthouses for the
fiscal year 1912, page 29, is a statement showing the practice of
foreign countries with reference to pensioning employees in other
lighthouse services. This shows that a retirement system is in
force with favorable results in all of the countries mentioned.
The record is one of unenviable isolation and inaction on our part.
On April 24, 1916, the Senate unanimously passed a bill which
in its present form provides for the optional retirement of officers
and employees of the Lighthouse Service at the age of 65 years
after 30 years’ service and for compulsory retirement at the age
of 70 years. The retirement pay would be at the rate of one-for
tieth of the last annual pay for each year of active service, not to
exceed thirty-fortieths. The measure has my cordial approval
and the warm indorsement of the Senate Committee on Commerce
backed by its unanimous passage. It is pending in the House of
156
REPORT OE THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Representatives, and I earnestly hope it may soon be enacted into
law. It has been recommended in the anual reports of the Light
house Service every year since 1910. It ought now to be done
and done quickly.
Increase in Limit of Cost of Outbuildings at Light Stations from
$200 to $500.
The provision, now contained in the appropriation for general
expenses, Lighthouse Service, authorizing the construction of out
buildings at a cost not to exceed $200 at any one light station in
any fiscal year was first enacted in the sundry civil appropriation
act for the fiscal year 1902. Since that time the increase in cost
has been approximately 40 per cent for labor and from 50 per cent
to 125 per cent for the materials used in the construction of such
buildings. It is figured that a building which in 1902 cost $200 to
construct would now cost from $300 to $325.
It is not, however, on account of the increased cost of construc
tion alone that the Department recommends the proposed increase
in the limit of cost for outbuildings at light stations. It has been
found by experience that the maximum of $200, even under the
conditions existing in 1902, was too low to permit erecting build
ings of an economical type. The result has been that several small
buildings for various purposes have been put up at a station in
different years, in order not to exceed the fixed limit of cost.
This saves no money, but loses it. The maintenance is greater, the
efficiency is less, and an unsightly appearance on the station
premises is produced. The total cost of several outbuildings at a
station spread over a period of two or three years is as great as or
greater than that of a single building, of proper construction and
appearance, which would serve all the purposes if constructed at
one time in one fiscal year under the higher limit of cost proposed.
It is also advisable to erect all buildings, so far as practicable, of
fire-resisting materials. This means a higher initial cost than is
the case with wooden structures such as have been used hereto
fore. The increase proposed in the maximum limit of cost will
result in economy and efficiency.
Communication Systems to Light Stations.
A general inquiry was made during the year respecting means
of communication by telegraph and telephone between light
stations and other Government coastal stations and the general
communication system of the country. A t my suggestion a con
ference of representatives of the various departments interested
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
157
in coastwise communication of all kinds was held in the office of
the Commissioner of Lighthouses in December, 1915. As a result
of this conference the President, by Executive order, on February
16, 1916, authorized the Interdepartmental Board on Coastal
Communications, comprised of representatives of the following
departments: Treasury, War, Post Office, Navy, Agriculture,
and Commerce. This board is giving continued consideration to
this important subject.
An item has been included in the estimates for the fiscal year
1918 of $100,000 for use in cooperation with the Coast Guard,
and in harmonious development with broad plans prepared
by them, to furnish telephone or telegraph communication be
tween the more important light stations, Coast Guard stations,
and principal interior points.
An element of this same subject is the equipment of lighthouse
tenders with wireless. Pursuant to existing authority of law, the
sum of $60,000 has been included in the estimates for the next
fiscal year, and the estimate for “ Salaries, lighthouse vessels,”
has been made to include the cost of the necessary operators.
Increase in Pay and Subsistence Allowance of Crews of Lighthouse
Vessels.
There has been much difficulty throughout the year on all the
vessels of the Service in maintaining efficient crews at the wages
which the existing appropriations have made necessary. The
work of the crew of a lighthouse tender is in a true sense technical.
It differs essentially from the ordinary work of the crew of a
steamer. It includes that ordinary work, and a great deal more.
It requires practice over a continued period for crew as well as
for officers to handle in a seaway the large buoys in the regular
work of placing and replacing them at sea. Many of the stations
are in dangerous places, and both life and property are risked if
the crew is inefficient or inexperienced. Continuity of service
means economy of results. Valuable vessels and costly buoys
may at any time be damaged by careless or ignorant handling.
Even life itself has been sacrificed for the same cause.
The landing of supplies at light stations is difficult and some
times dangerous work, not required of crews in the merchant
service. The Bureau of Lighthouses ought to be able to pay at
least the same monthly wage to seamen that they would receive
on a merchant ship. It does not now do so and can not do it, and
the officers of the vessels and of the Service at large are embar
rassed and hampered in their work through this fact and must
15 8
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
continue to be so until sufficient appropriations are given to
correct it.
The officers of the lighthouse vessels deserve commendation for
standing loyally by the Service at a time when they are paid less
than they could obtain elsewhere for the same work or indeed for
work less exacting. In some cases vessel officers have left the
Service to find promotion and larger compensation elsewhere, but
as a whole the officers have stood loyally by their work. The
efficiency of the lighthouse work depends upon these men. They
have a peculiar training valuable in time of peace and invaluable
in time of war. The Lighthouse Service has my approval in its
desire to pay these men what they earn and what they could easily
get elsewhere, but this can not be done without an increase in the
available appropriations.
A respectful petition for an increase in wages was sent to the
Service on September 26, 1916, by the officers of the tenders in
the third (New York) district. This says, truly, “ It is a wellestablished fact that private and municipal corporations have been
paying men who are engaged in similar occupations a much larger
salary than that paid by the Government,” and they add, with
equal force, “ The reason which actuates us to present this petition
arises from the present economic conditions, which are, no doubt,
known.” They are right. They ought to have the increase they
ask.
The question of subsistence of crews is also a serious one. The
prices of all articles of food have greatly advanced, as everybody
knows, but the allowance for subsistence has not changed and
can not change until appropriations are increased. Already
serious complaints are made, and with justice. The seaman’s life
is one of hard labor out of doors in all weathers and subject to
great exposure. He ought to have abundance of good food and a
great Government should not so act as to restrict him in this
respect. I put great stress, therefore, upon a sufficient increase
in our appropriations to enable us to feed our sailors properly.
The Lighthouse Service, by reason of the peculiar nature of
its work, covering all climates from the Arctic Ocean to the
Caribbean Sea, and requiring provisions for homes, for vessels,
and for its own technical and construction work, has to purchase a
great variety of commodities. It is almost needless to say that
every one of these has greatly increased in cost. The appropria
tions remain fixed, but the prices on which goods have to be paid
for out of those appropriations are not so fixed. A dollar appro
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
159
priated in the summer of 1916 for possible expenditure in the
spring of 1917 will not have the same value at the later period
that it had when appropriated. As a matter of fact, it has been
greatly reduced in purchasing power in the interval elapsed.
While the utmost care, therefore, is given in purchasing to buy in
such quantities and by such methods as will make the money go
to the farthest cent, it is still impossible to operate at anything
near the former costs in this respect. For these reasons also
additional appropriations have been asked for the fiscdl year 1918.
Inadequate Salaries of Lighthouse Inspectors.
These officers now receive $2,400 per annum except in the third
district, where the salary is $3,000 per annum. The lighthouse
inspector is charged by the Regulations of the Lighthouse Service
with the following duties:
Supervision of all the work of the district in which he is assigned to duty, and he is
responsible under the Commissioner for its efficient and economical administration.
He is responsible for the proper management of the light stations, fog-signal stations,
light vessels, relief light vessels, lighthouse tenders, and depots; for keeping upon
their stations in proper condition all floating aids to navigation; for the maintenance,
repair, and operation of all lighthouse craft permanently or temporarily in the district;
for the construction of new aids or additions to aids; for the repair, cleanliness, and
efficient condition of all aids to navigation and other property in the district; for keep
ing ready for service at the shortest notice all spare or relief moorings, buoys, buoy ap
pendages, and relief light vessels; for the distribution of supplies; for the efficiency
of the personnel; for the approval of vouchers and accounts covering the disburse
ment of funds as may be authorized on account of the Lighthouse Service; and for
such other duties as are involved in the proper conduct of the district or as may be
from time to time assigned to him.
In carrying out these duties the inspector is to exercise a con
stant and watchful supervision over all district affairs, as well as
over the officers and men in the service, so as to maintain the dis
trict in a high state of efficiency. He shall keep advised of the
needs of navigation as respects aids to navigation in his district.
Each inspector has Government property under his care of an
average value of $3,000,000. Each has under his supervision an
average of 280 employees. Each supervises disbursements that
average $304,000 per annum. They are obliged to have technical
knowledge of their work, business ability to handle that work
economically, vigilance in protecting navigation, engineering
knowledge and experience, nautical knowledge and experience,
ability to act on independent initiative, since they average a
distance of 1,300 miles from headquarters, and there is frequent
occasion for immediate action in emergency. They must also
have ability to cooperate with representative citizens and local
and Government officers in the localities where they are sta66776°—16— -11
i6o
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OP COMMERCE.
tioned to further the needs of navigation. The statement printed
on page 54 shows that these men are paid much less than other
officers of the Government whose responsibilities are no greater
and who have no higher technical education or standards. These
inspectors are technical men, having in their care property of great
value, supervising great areas, making large expenditures, bearing
heavy responsibilities. They are underpaid for the work they do.
These loyal public servants are entitled to a just compensation
for the services they render. They do not now receive it. Our
estimates for the coming fiscal year, therefore, have been made
upon the basis of the advance suggested in my last report, namely,
from $2,400 to $3,000.
Saving of Life and Property.
During the fiscal year 1916 services in saving of life and property
were rendered and acts of heroism performed by employees of the
Lighthouse Service on vessels or at stations on 161 occasions, a
list of which is appended.
In each of these cases a commendatory letter was issued by me,
and in the case of the rescue of the bark British Yeoman by the
lighthouse tender Columbine, Frank T. Warriner, commanding, on
January 17, 1916, near Port Allen, Kauai, Hawaii, under un
usually difficult and dangerous conditions, the President of the
United States expressed his appreciation of the services rendered
by the officers and crew of the Columbine.
S aving of L ife
District.
ist.
P roperty b y V essels or E mployees of the L ighthouse
S ervice D uring the F iscal Y ear 1916.
a n d
Vessel or employee rendering
service.
Vessel, etc., aided.
C. H. Newman, keeper. Pump Motor boat.
kin Island Light Station, Me.
Nature of assistance.
Towed to port disabled motor boat
w ith 2 men on board.
B oat
leaked badly.
Towed to harbor disabled motor
E. T. Holbrook, keeper, Isle au
Haut Light Station, Me.
Do,
.do
.do.
Towed to station disabled m otor
boat w ith 5 men on board. F ur
J. H. Peasley, keeper, Crabtree
Ledge Light Station, Me.
H. G. Sawyer, keeper, Bear Is
land Light Station, Me.
.do.
Towed disabled m otor boat w ith 1
person on board to shore.
.do.
Towed disabled motor boat w ith 1
m an on board distance of 3 miles
boat w ith 4 men on board.
nished men w ith food and shelter.
to harbor.
Tender Hibiscus,
Schooner Hilda Emma.. Prevented schooner, which had
parted anchor chains, with no
one on board, from going on
rocks in Moosabec Reach and
probably becoming total loss.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
l6 l
Saving of Liff, and Property by Vessels or Employees of the Lighthouse
Service During the Fiscal Year 1916—Continued.
District. Vessel oremployee
Natureofassistance.
service. rendering Vessel, etc., aided.
C. F . Chester, keeper, Owlshead
Power launch.
L igh t Station, Me.
Assisted 2 fishermen whose launch
struck ledge and was in sinking
co n d itio n . F u rn is h e d t h e m
food, shelter, and d ry clothing.
J. W . H aley, keeper, Perkins Is
land L ig h t Station , Me.
R ow boat .
Prevented waterlogged rowboat,
loaded w ith lum ber and w ith
m an on board, from capsizing;
lum ber saved.
Furnished p arty w hich had taken
refuge on island during h eavy
thunderstorm w ith d ry clothing
and shelter.
J. K . Purington, keeper, Nash
Island L igh t Station, Me.
Schooner M ain e.
Tender H ibiscus.............................
Cunard Liner Armonia., Recovered anchor and 90 fathom s
Towed schooner w hich had lost her
foremast in squall 3 miles w ith
station boat.
chain lost oil Portland L igh t
O . H ilt, second assistant
Vessel.
Endeavored to save m an who fell
keeper, M atinicus R ock Ligh t
Station, Me.
overboard while hauling nets.
Recovered body.
F.
2d
H . C. Tow le, keeper, T h e Graves
L igh t Station, Mass.
Motor boat.
Towed motor boat, w ith 2 men
aboard, in h eavy sea, to safe
anchorage; repaired boat and
furnished m en food an d shelter.
Rescued sinking power boat, made
E . C. H ad ley, keeper, Bakers
Island L ig h t Station, Mass.
Power boat; W illiam B.
D urand, owner.
E . C. M ott, assistant keeper,
Deer Island L igh t Station ,
Mass.
Power boat A lice; John
M cBride, owner.
Towed disabled boat to station; fed
and lodged 11 men.
Launch N a u t i 11 u s ;
George H . W alker,
owner.
Prevented launch, grounded on
Lovells Islan d , from capsizing.
Catboat T rilb y; Ernest
W . Chaplin, owner.
Towed catboat in distress
anchorage in harbor.
Pow er boat; F . H . Gilè,
owner.
Towed disabled power boat to
M. N . H use, keeper, Narrows
L igh t Station, Mass.
A . A . H oward, keeper, Stage
H arbor L igh t Station, Mass.
J. E . H . Cook, keeper, Cape A nn
L ig h t Station, Mass.
J. B . M cCabe, keeper, and E . C.
M ott, assistant keeper. Deer
Island L igh t Station, Mass.
M. N . H use, keeper, Narrows
repairs, and delivered to owner.
to
Power boat Madeline;
R ichard Brow n, own
Rockport.
Towed disabled motor boat, w ith
4 men on board, to safe anchor
er.
Motor bo at........................
age.
Rendered assistance to motor boat
keeper,
w ith 3 persons on board.
....... d o .................................. Rendered assistance to m otor boat
disabled in breakers. K e p t boat
afloat until coast guards arrived.
Minots Ledge L igh t Station,
Mass.
L . B . Clark, keeper, C u tty hunk
L igh t Station, Mass.
Schooner Childe H arold . Prevented vessel from being driven
farther on shoal b y informing
Tender Azalea
T u g Saddie Ross, w ith
L ig h t Station, Mass.
H . M. B a iley, first assistant
keeper, and C. R . A lbrecht,
second
assistant
barge Sharon in tow.
master of his position.
Towed disabled tug, w ith barge in
tow , to dock.
IÓ2
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Saving op Life and Property by Vessels or Employees of the Lighthouse
Service During the Fiscal Year 1916— C o n tin u e d .
Natureof assistance.
District. Vessel oremployee
service. rendering Vessel, etc., aided.
2d..........
A . F . Snow , m aster, Great
Round Shoal L igh t Vessel No.
U . S . S. San F ra n cisco ...
8 men adrift from stranded ship.
Supplied clothing, food, and
86, Mass.
3d
Rendered assistance to officer and
shelter.
Towed stranded and abandoned
Tender D aisy
Power boat G rit
Tender Gardenia.
James H o w n e s..
power boat to boat club.
Rescued from drowning in Hudson
River.
J. Murdock, keeper, H andout
L igh t Station, N. Y .
Motor
John
boat Natalie;
H . Flannery,
Rendered assistance to disabled
motor boat.
Tender D a isy ..................................
Power boat P o rto ...........
Towed power boat, adrift on Lake
owner.
Cham plain, w ith 6 people on
board, 5 miles to Plattsburg.
Tender Larkspur.
Y a c h t Onward I II; J. A .
Tender Gardenia.
Still, owner.
Schooner H igh lan d .........
Towed yach t, in distress, into
harbor.
Towed schooner, in danger of sink
ing near F o rt W adsw orth, N ew
Y o rk B ay, and beached in safety.
W . F . Rhodes, keeper, Röm er
Shoal Ligh t Station, N. Y .
Thom as F . Iceland and
James H eavy, of Staten
Island.
C. R . R iley, keeper, Stam ford
H arbor L igh t Station, Conn.
G. L . H oxsie, keeper, Castle H ill
L igh t Station, R . I.
F . A . Jordan, sr., keeper, Penfield Reef Lights, Conn.
J. R . Carlsson, keeper, Bergen
Point L igh t Station, N. J.
British schooner W . N.
Zuricker, Capt. J. L.
Priblicover.
Launch Thom as Shea;
port, R . I., owner.
A u xiliary sloop A m elia..
Bergen Point L igh t Sta
tion, N. J.
J. Carlson, m aster, and A . H.
Nelsson, seaman. R am Island
4th
Reef L igh t Vessel, N . J.
A . Johnson, keeper. Sh ip John
Shoal L igh t Station, N. J.
covered.
Rendered assistance to vessel
ashore near Stam ford Harbor.
Towed disabled launch to N ewport.
Assisted in floating vessel aground
on reef.
Saved light station from fire caused
b y burning oil cans and oil barge.
Rescued 2 men from drowning
w hile attending lights.
Power boat Helen.
Stones Ligh t Station, N . Y .
D o ..............................................
ing, food, and lodging; boat re
harbor m aster, New-
E . A . O ttenburgh, keeper,
W hitehall Narrows Lights
Nos. 8, 10, and 12, N. Y .
E . M. Grant, keeper, Stepping
Rescued men whose boat had cap
sized, and supplied w ith cloth
Power b o a t............
Tow ed disabled boat to L ow Barrows.
Towed disabled power boat to sta
tion; furnished men w ith lodging
and food; repaired engine.
do.
Towed disabled boat, containing 3
persons, to Noank, Conn.
.do..
Rescued
disabled
and
leaking
launch and w ith difficu lty towed
it to safe anchorage. Service re
sulted in probable saving from
drowning of occupant.
C. E . R ickards, first assistant
keeper, and C . H . H ickm an,
second assistant keeper. H ar
bor of R efuge L igh t Station,
Del.
Pow er boat of Torpedo
B oat No. 61.
Tow ed disabled launch, w ith 9
men aboard, to torpedo boat;
was drifting o u t to sea.
16 3
Saving of Life and Property by Vessels or Employees of the Lighthouse
Service During the Fiscal Year 19 16 — C o n tin u e d .
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
District. Vessel oremployee
service. rendering
4t h ........
Vessel, etc., aided.
Natureofassistance.
M . A . Duffield, keeper. Deep
w ater Poin t R ange R ear Ligh t
G ave shelter, quilts, and blankets
Station, N . J.
W . Spear, keeper, Deepw ater
W orks burned in an explosion.
Transported b o y w ith fractured
arm to hospital a t W ilm ington,
D el., for treatm ent.
P o in t R ange F ro n t L igh t
Station , N . J.
S . Tessadri, second assistant
keeper. Fourteen F o ot B a n k
L igh t Station , Del.
G . A . Holston, laborer in charge,
Lew es Lighthouse D epot, Del.
W . Spear, keeper, D eepwater
Point R ange F ro n t L igh t
^
Station, N .J .
5 th ........ J. T . Shipp, keeper, Neuse R iver
L ig h t Station and P o in t of
to em ployees of D u P on t Powder
Gasoline ya ch t L illia n V . Cared for crew of launch which
broke shaft in v icin ity of station.
Motor boat.
Towed disabled launch, w ith p arty
of fishermen, driftin g to sea, into
Delaware Breakw ater.
Motor launch Montie, of
Camden, N .J .
M otor boat Clara S .,
Capt. E . B . Pobst.
Tow ed disabled launch in h eavy
squall, containing 4 persons, into
Salem Canal.
Assisted occupants after
boat becam e disabled.
motor
Marsh L igh t, N . C.
A . J . English, keeper, Harbor
Schooner M . L . D avis; Floated loaded schooner grounded
on H arbor Island Bar, N . C.
Island B ar L igh t Station , N. C .
Isaah D avis, owner.
J. T . Shipp, keeper, Neuse R iv er Launch Susie S w in d e ll.. Assisted several men and children
L igh t Station and P o in t of
in disabled launch.
Marsh L igh t, N . C.
T . D . Q uidley, assistant keeper, Gas freight boat Nelson;
Neuse R iv e r L ig h t Station
Capt. M urray Nason,
and P o in t of Marsh L igh t, N. C.
owner.
Rendered assistance to disabled
I. C. M eekins, assistant keeper,
Croatan L igh t Station, etc.,
N .C .
Tender Jessam ine..........................
Rescued keeper from drowning.
W . G . Rollinson, keeper, H attcras In let L igh t Station, N .C .
Peter G . Gallop, keeper,
Croatan L igh t Station,
etc., N . C.
boat.
Schooner James H . H ar Towed derelict from m idchannel to
Cornfield Harbor, M d.
graves.
Fishing bo ats................... Rendered assistance to boats in
distress, each h aving 1 man
Capt.
aboard.
Floated tu g grounded near Long
Tender L a u rel................................. Sloop Silver Sp ray, Capt.
Point, N . C. Furnished water
and provisions.
Towed disabled sloop to harbor.
T . J. W illiam s.
Steam ship M. G . W ale-
Pulled disabled steamship off Hat-
stein; George K . Rol
linson, owner.
teras Reefs; tow ed to harbor and
landed passengers.
Tender M aple..................................
Schooner Lina Jam es__
Pulled schooner clear of ice into free
water.
Tender H o lly ..................................
Schooner D . J. W liealton
Floated schoonef which had gone
ashore on Kennons Flats. James
J. T . Shipp, keeper, Neuse R iver
L igh t Station, etc., N . C.
M otorboat; G. G. Paul.
Rendered assistance to disabled
m otor boat and furnished occu
pant w ith food.
W . J. Tate, keeper, North Land
ing R iver, etc., aids, N . C.
W . G. Rollinson, keeper, Hatteras In let L igh t Station, N. C.
Tug
Adelaide,
W illiam Bonsai.
R iver, Va.
W . H . D avis, jr., keeper, Laza
retto Lighthouse Depot, M d.
H . C. W ingate, watchm an, Laza
retto Lighthouse D epot, Md.
Bayboro, N. C., owner
A ttem pted
man.
Do.
to
rescue drowning
16 4
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Saving of Life and Property by Vessels or Employees of the Lighthouse
Service During the Fiscal Year 1916— C o n tin u e d .
Natureofassistance.
District. Vessel oremployee
service. rendering Vessel, etc., aided.
5th . . . . .\V. J. Tate, keeper, North Land
ing R iver, etc., aids, N . C.
D o ...............................................
S. R . V a n H o u t e r , keeper,
Thom as Point Shoal Ligh t
Station, Md.
6th
O. P . Olsen, assistant keeper,
Baltim ore L igh t Station, Md.
J. Lindquist, keeper, and W .
Lindquist, assistant keeper,
Gasoline freighter G rati
Assisted in floating freighter.
tude.
Gasoline launch R e x ;
John D . Johnson, B al
Saved raft from stranding.
Rendered assistance to disabled
launch.
tim ore, M d., owner.
Y a c h t L o la......................
Rendered
Y a c h t M an a....................
w hich had run ashore.
Assisted in pulling y a ch t off shoal.
assistance
to
yach t
Mosquito Inlet L igh t Station,
Fla.
C. P . H oneyw ell, keeper, Cape
Canaveral L ig h t Station, Fla.
Y a c h t V iola II, of P h ila
delphia, P a .; Marshel
Jones, jr., owner.
Assisted in repairing yach t in dis
H. S . Svendsen, keeper, South
Channel Range Lights, S. C.
W ar Departm ent launch
Tow ed disabled launch in Charles
ton H arbor to wharf a t Fort Moul
I. Larsen, depot keeper, Castle
Pinckney, S . C.
Launch.
C. Seabrook, second assistant
Schooner L uth er F . Gar
rii son.
Transported captain and 7 of crew
w ho had landed on beach to sta
U . S. S . K - s
Searched for U . S. S. K -5 when
com m unication w ith vessel was
keeper. Cape Rom ain Ligh t
Station, S. C.
Tender M angrove..........................
No. 12.
tion; furnished food and clothing.
lost.
Rescued m an in driftin g boat out
side P o rt R o y a l Sound, S. C.;
T u g H en ry B u ck, of
Charleston, S . C.
L . H . Bringloe, keeper, Charles
ton L ig h t Station.
A . A . B u m , first assistant keeper,
T yb ee R ange Fron t, etc.,
Lights, Ga.
7th
8th
trie.
Assisted in mooring launch, ground
ed near depot, in safe place and
transported crew to Charleston.
Do.
Tender Cypress
tress.
Sm all b o a t.
p u t him ashore and boat in safe
anchorage.
Assisted in extinguishing fire.
F oun d bo d y of m an washed ashore
on Morris Island. Reported to
coroner.
Rescued 3 soldiers from F o rt Screv
en, G a., adrift in a sm all boat.
H . S. Svendsen, keeper. South U . S . N a v y la u n ch .......... Pulled n av y ya rd launch off bank
Channel R ange L igh ts, S . C.
in S u llivan s Island Cove.
Tender A rb u tu s.............................. Power ya ch t Bon Tem ps. Tow ed disabled and sinking ya ch t
to safe anchorage, an d furnished
W . B . Thom pson, keeper, and
C. C. Sapp, assistant keeper,
Sabine Pass L ig h t Station,
Tex.
A . B . M odawcll, keeper; J. Brew ,
first assistant keeper; J. W .
Gauthier, second assistant
keeper; and U . M. G unn, third
assistant keeper, Sabine L a n k
L igh t S tation , Tex.
food an d quarters to 10 persons.
M aintained characteristic of light
b y hand during hurricane.
M aintained light during hurricane.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
165
Saving of Life and Property by Vessei.s or Employees of the Lighthouse
Service During the Fiscal Year 1916— C o n tin u e d .
District. Vessel oremployee
Natureofassistance.
service. rendering Vessel, etc., aided.
8th.
H. C. Claiborne, keeper; J. P.
Brooks, first assistant keeper;
and C. T. Morris, second assist
ant keeper, Bolivar Point
Light Station, Tex.
G. R. Smith, keeper, and L. R.
Smith, assistant keeper, Red
Fish Bar Cut Light Station,
Maintained characteristic of light
by hand during hurricane.
S. Gibbon, keeper, and J. D.
Balsillie, assistant keeper,
Brazos River Light Station,
Tex.
W. Hill, keeper, Calcasieu Range
Light Station, La.
Maintained light during hurricane
by hand.
E. Danley, keeper, Pascagoula
River Entrance Lights, Miss.
F. A. Schrieber, keeper, Lake
Borgne Light Station, Miss.
F. H. Johnstons, foreman, eighth
district.
T. Zettwoch, keeper, West Rigolets Light Station, La.
C. Riddle, keeper, New Canal
Light Station, La.
J. P. Groux, keeper, Chcfuncte
River Light Station, La.
H. A. Succow, keeper, and J. W.
Sharp, assistant keeper, Pass
Manchac Light Station, La.
W. W. Bayly, keeper; M. Durabb, first assistant keeper;
and J. C. Welch, second assist
ant keeper, Chandeleur Light
Station, La.
A. Rodi, keeper, and S. Coludrovitch, assistant keeper, South
Pass East Jetty Lieht Station,
etc.. La.
C. W. Heartt, keeper, Cubits
Gap Light Station, La.
J. W. St. G. Gibbon, keeper, and
C. T. Thomassen, assistant
keeper, Head of Passes Light
Station, etc., La.
E. Grandison, laborer in charge,
Ironton Light, La.
Miss A. Meyer, laborer in charge,
Shingle Point Post, La.
Maintained light during hurricane.
Maintained light and made effort
to save Government property
during hurricane.
Displayed energy in making repairs
and recovering Government prop
erty during hurricane.
Maintained light under trying con
ditions during hurricane.
Maintained light and made tempo
rary repairs, replacing storm
panes destroyed in hurricane.
Maintained light under trying con
ditions during hurricane.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Constructed temporary beacon and
exhibited the light during hurri
cane.
Exhibited light from tree in vicin
ity of destroyed beacon during
hurricane.
166
S a v in g
District.
8th.......
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
of Life and Property by Vessels or Employees of the Lighthouse
Service During the Fiscal Year 19 16 — C o n tin u e d .
Vessel oremployee
service. rendering
Vessel, etc., aided.
Natureofassistance.
M aintained light under tryin g con
ditions during hurricane.
R . G. Miller, keeper, Barataría
B a y Ligh t Station, La.
J. C. G ray, keeper, and J. P . A n
Do.
derson, assistant keeper, T im
balier L igh t Station, La.
J. McNam ara, keeper; \V. H.
Oliver, first assistant keeper;
F . J. LeB ouf, second assistant
keeper; and E. F. Burke, third
assistant keeper, Ship Shoal
L igh t Station, La.
H . A . Burns, cadet officer, and
O. Olsen, m achinist, tender
Sunflower.
Maartensdij'k;
Texas
Transport & Term inal
Rendered service in d ivin g to un
w ind the hawser of steamship
Co., agents, N ew Or
leans, La.
M aartensdijk, entangled in pro
peller of the tender Sunflower
while assisting disabled steam
Gasoline launch; owner
unknown.
Brought m an and bo y to station
and furnished them food and
ship.
J. W . S t. G. Gibbon, keeper, and
C. T . Thomassen, assistant
gasoline.
keeper, H ead of Passes Ligh t
Station, La.
J. A splund, keeper, and E. T .
Erick sen, first assistant keeper,
Galveston H arbor L igh t Sta
tion, Tex.
Tender Sunflow er..........................
Launch; owner unknown Tow ed disabled launch for distance
of about 9 miles to G alveston,
Tex.
Steam ship
Turrialba;
U nited
F ru it
N ew Orleans,
Co.,
La.,
Assisted in floating vessel ashore in
South Pass of the Mississippi
R iver.
owners.
Do
Lighter, U . S. Engineer
D epartm ent,
N ew
Orleans, La.
A ttem p ted to p u ll lighter off west
bank of Mississippi R iv e r in
v icin ity of H ead of th e Passes.
Tender C am ellia.............................
Launch Oralie; owner
Towed disabled launch to L ake
Borgne, La.
D o ...............................................
unknown.
Launch Sim on; owners
unknown.
F . A . Schrieber, assistant keeper,
Round Island L igh t Station,
M iss., and N . N ilsen, keeper,
Pascagoula
R iv er
Lights, Miss.
Schooner Henri" M ;
owners unknown.
of safety.
Range
M. M cCluskey, J. Christiansen,
and S. G reve, seamen, South
west Pass L igh t Vessel No. 43,
iot.li.... J. Safe, assistant keeper. South
Southw est Pass L igh t
Vessel N o. 43, La.
Rendered service under hazardous
Airship
Assisted 2 m en who, w ith disabled
airship, had dropped into the
Buffalo L ig h t Station , N . Y .
C.
Tow’ed launch containing 8 persons
to W'harf a t G alveston, T ex .
Furnished crew w ith clothing and
food and tow ed schooner to place
I'itzm orris, keeper. W est
Sister Island L igh t Station,
Ohio.
Y a c h t D orothy E
D o .............................................
Y a c h t Argum ent.
and tryin g
hurricane.
conditions during
water.
Assisted owners in getting proper
anchorage near light station dur
ing gale.
Assisted crew* when ya ch t was
driven ashore on island.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
167
S aving op L ife and P roperty b y V essels or E mployees of the Lighthouse
S ervice D uring the F iscal Y ear 1916— Continued.
District.
10th----
n t h ....
Vessel or em ployee rendering
service.
Vessel, etc., aided.
N ature of assistance.
A . Sh aw , jr., keeper, Presque
Isle L igh t Station, Pa.
T u g H en ry E . G ille n .. . Endeavored to obtain assistance for
Tender C lo v e r.................................
Launch Hoodoo; W m .
P . H . G arraty, keeper; G. J.
H assett, first assistant keeper;
and A . Brock, second assistant
Bousho, owner.
Y a c h t Irvington; E . M .
H ayw ood, owner.
tu g w hich stranded on bar, and
cared for articles washed ashore.
Rescued disabled launch contain
ing s persons.
R em oved women passengers from
vessel aground.
keeper, M iddle Island L igh t
Station, Mich.
W . G. M arshall, keeper, and F .
M cF all,
assistant
keeper,
Motor bo at........................
Towed disabled motor boat to
safety.
Motor boat; L . Cuneaz,
owner.
Towed disabled launch w ith
passengers aboard to shore.
Sm all scow ........................
Towed sm all scow beyond control,
w ith 4 boys aboard, to safety.
Motor boat Leora; John
Rescued disabled m otor boat in
sinking condition.
W indm ill Point L igh t Station,
Mich.
E . V an N atta, keeper, Grassy
Island South Channel Range
8
L igh t Station, and H .W . Noel,
keeper, Grassy Island North
Channel R ange L igh t Station,
Mich.
E . V an N atta, keeper, Grassy
Island South Channel Range
L igh t Station, Mich.
T . E . Dee, keeper; E . B yrne,
first assistant keeper; and
W . S. H all, second assistant
Bourne, owner.
keeper, P o in t Iroquois Ligh t
Station, Mich.
xath. . . .
T . E . R a d d iff, second assistant
keeper, Taw as L igh t Station,
Mich.
R o w b oat............................
Rescued rowboat adrift w ith a boys
aboard.
F . G . Som mer, keeper, and A .
H etu, first assistant keeper.
Detour L ig h t Station , Mich.
T u g Gazelle......................
Brought members of crew of dis
abled vessel ashore for purpose of
m aking repairs.
C. A . Stram , keeper, and M.
W eiss, assistant keeper, Cana
Motor boat M artha S .,
Oconto, W is.
Pulled boat which had run on rocks
Island L igh t Station, W is.
A . C. Erickson, keeper, L ittle
L a u n ch ..............................
Tow ed disabled launch w ith i oc
cupant into harbor.
Rendered assistance to disabled
Traverse L ig h t Station , Mich.
O . C . M cCauley, keeper, Squaw
Island L igh t Station, Mich.
A . C. M ann, second assistant
keeper, Calum et Harbor Ligh t
Station, 111.
F . A . D rew , keeper, Green Island L igh t Station, W is.
W . Ottosen, keeper, and R . G.
Petersen, second assistant
keeper, P ilo t Island L igh t Sta
tion, W is.
S. M. D anielsen, keeper, Chi
cago Harbor L igh t Station,
111.
Fish tu g T w o Sisters,
S t. James, Mich.
Son of H , W entw orth,
out of danger.
tU(T.
Rescued from drowning.
1600 South Dearborn
Street, Chicago, 111.
Gasoline steam er Starlight, of Marinette, W is.
Motor b o at........................
Assisted in getting stranded steamer off reef.
Tow ed disabled m otor boat with
3 occupants o u t of danger and re
paired engine.
Rescued 5 men marooned on break
water during storm and took
them to safe landing.
16 8
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
S a v in g o p L if e a n d P r o p e r t y b y V e s s e l s o r E m p l o y e e s o p t h e L ig h t h o u s e
S e r v i c e D u r i n g t h e F i s c a l Y e a r 1916— C o n tin u e d .
District.
iath.
Vessel or em ployee rendering
service.
. T . Robinson, keeper; J. Erikson,
Vessel, etc., aided.
N ature of assistance.
Assisted in preventing more serious
Sum m er cottages.
fire loss to summer-resort cot
first assistant keeper; and J.
Edlund,
second
assistant ,
keeper, Muskegon Pierhead
tages near station.
Range L igh t Station, Mich.
Rescued from drowning man who
had fallen off pier.
C. S . Grenell, keeper, Chicago
Pierhead R ange L igh t Sta
tion, 111.
C. E . Corlett, m aster, and A .
Motor fish boat W h yn ot.
Towed motor boat to light vessel.
sel No. 56.
J. J. Rollefson, keeper, and E .R .
Ledw ell, assistant keeper,
Chambers Island L igh t Sta
Motor boat Starlight,
Marinette, Wis.
G ave food and clothing to 3 ship
tion, W is.
R . W . Johnson, keeper, and
M. Telgard, first assistant
Motor boat Alice L.
W anke, engineer, L igh t Ves
men over to Marinette, Wis.
Assisted in hauling disabled motor
boat, putting on beach, and re
launching after rudder had been
repaired.
keeper. North Manitou Island
L igh t Station, Mich.
R . W . Johnson, keeper, and M.
wrecked sailors whose m otor boat
was destroyed b y fire, and took
Motor fish boat Whynot. Assisted in rescuing m otor boat.
Telgard, first assistant keeper,
N orth M anitou Island L igh t
Station , Mich.
O . C. M cCauley, keeper, Squaw
Island L ig h t S tation , Mich.
Fish launch Rosa B,
H arbor, Mich.
Rescued 2 men of U . S. Coast G uard
J. Kilgore, keeper, Grand H aven
Pierhead R ange L igh t S ta
in danger of being carried into
L ake M ichigan b y ice.
Rescued 2 men from drowning.
tion, Mich.
T . J. Arm strong, keeper, M ichi
gan C it y E a st Pierhead L igh t
Station , Ind.
T . J. A rm strong, keeper, and E.
D ykem an, second assistant
Tow ed disabled launch to Beaver
Fish tug Eagle
Assisted in releasing vessel from ice.
M otor launch M ary Lee;
A . G. Brandesburg,
6117 Greenwood A v e
Rescued disabled m otor launch in
danger of being crushed against
keeper, M ichigan C ity E ast
Pierhead L igh t Station , Ind.,
and J. E . M uckian, assistant
keeper. Calum et Pierhead
L igh t Station , 111.
J. M. Robinson, keeper; H.
O sby, first assistant keeper;
and A . G . F ichtner, second
assistant keeper, C alum et H ar
bor L ig h t Station , 111.
Tender S u m a c................................
Tender Hyacinth
nue, Chicago,
owner.
111.,
pier.
Steamer
Hennepin; Worked off vessel aground in White
Lake, Mich., into deep water.
Capt. J. A. Braunell,
Lake Shore Steamer
Co., First National
Bank Building, Mil
waukee.
Steamer German........... W orked off vessel ashore on shoal
off R o w ley B a y , W is., in to deep
water.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
169
Saving op Life and Property by Vessels or Employees of the Lighthouse
Service During the Fiscal Year 19 16 — C o n tin u e d .
District.
Vessel or em ployee rendering
sendee.
Vessel, etc., aided.
J. McCormick, keeper; W illiam Motor boat
F . Green, first assistant keeper ;
and R a y H . B uttars, third as
sistan t keeper, South F o x Is
land L ig h t S tatio n , Mich.
Natureofassistance.
Pulled off disabled boat, containing
3 m en, ashore on F o x Island and
tow ed her to fish tug.
16th. . .. Tender K u k u i................................. Gasoline schooner F avor Rescued captain, engineer, and i
ite, of Cordova; B in g
other person from shipwrecked
schooner.
H alleck, captain and
owner.
Tender Fern
Sm all gasoline boat;
W i l l i a m Bowers,
owner.
Tender K u k u i
Three-masted schooner
P . J. Abler; J. E .
Shields, owner.
Do.
Tow ed disabled boat, and owner
suffering from blood poisoning in
arm, to Petersburg, A laska.
Rendered assistance and beached
vessel, which w as afire.
Searched for p a rty of 3 m en and gas
boat Francis R ., em ployed b y
Geo. A . Lee, keeper, Tree P o in t
L ig h t Station.
N . S. Douglas, keeper, and S. L.
Atkinson, assistant keeper,
Lincoln R ock L ig h t Station.
S. A . Ellings, first officer, ten
Launch Violet; Johnson
Russ, owner.
Launch from U . S. S.
Patterson.
Thom as G. N eile...........
der Fern.
17U1...
Furnished food to occupants.
Rescued dem ented m an, who had
plunged overboard, from a t
tem pted suicide.
Rescued 2 men from disabled boat
and k e p t them on board over
Relief Ligh t Vessel No. 92.........
Motor fishing b o at...........
H . P . Score, keeper, Slip Point
M otorboat Bunch; H ugh
W icker sham in charge.
night.
Rescued disabled boat from d an
gerous position and tow ed to safe
L . A . Petterson, keeper, W est
Poin t L igh t Station, W ash.
Sm all sailboat; H arry
Christensen, owner.
anchorage.
Rescued m an from drowning whose
boat had capsized; furnished dry
W . S. Denning, keeper, and
vS. B . Morris, assistant keeper,
Motor boat........................
clothing.
Rescued m an, wife, and 2 small
L igh t Station, W ash., w ith
assistance of sou W alter.
children from disabled boat near
station. Furnished food and
clothing.
Rescued from drowning m an fallen
Robinson P o in t L ig h t S ta
tion, W ash.
18th
Bureau of Fisheries.
Furnished gasoline.
J. A . Picone, launchm an; G . T.
Olsen, keeper; P . Chekles,
or jum ped overboard from pass
ing steamer.
first assistant keeper; and L .
G . M cK a y, second assistant
keeper. M ile R ocks L igh t Sta
tion, Cal.
Rescued fisherman from drowning
L . R . W illard, assistant keeper,
Oakland H arbor L ig h t S ta
tion, Cal.
b y capsizing of boat.
Tender M ad ron o............................
N a v y tug Vigilant,
L igh t Vessel N o. 83, C a l.............
Steam er B ea r........
Towed disabled tu g from city front
to G oat Island wharf.
Cared for 160 passengers and crew
of wrecked steam er Bear; sup
plied d ry clothing and provisions.
170
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
S aving op L ife and P roperty by V essels or E mployees op the L ighthouse
S ervice D uring the F iscal Y ear 1916— Continued.
District.
18th----
Vessel or em ployee rendering
service.
W . M . Greene, second assistant
keeper, San L u is Obispo
Vessel, etc., aided.
N ature of assistance.
Sm all boat from steam-
Sighted and assisted in bringing
in boat from steamship Roanoke;
ship Roanoke.
5 dead and 3 n early unconscious.
L igh t Station , Cal.
R . H . W illiam s, keeper, Point
A rena L igh t Station, Cal.
Gasoline schooner A liiance No. 2.
Bark B ritish Y eo m a n .. .
19th. . . .
Sighted disabled launch near breakers; notified Coast Guard crew;
1 m an rescued.
Saved vessel and all on board from
almost
certain
destruction,
through heroic efforts of officers
and crew of Colum bine, during
progress of a gale off P ort Allen,
D o ...............................................
Hawaii.
Pulled grounded vessel off reef on
exposed shore of Molokai.
Effective Oct. 15, /!J/5.
Revised to Oct./, /9/6.
CHART SHOWING ORGANIZAT ION OF THE
U.S.COAS T AND GEODE:TIC SURVEY
1916
ISUPE.RINTE NDENTI
E. Lester .Jones.
I
ASSISTANT SUPERINTEN DENT!
R.L.Faris
I
I
I
Office
ASSISTANT IN CHARGE
I
f
P.A.Welker
I
Chief
Section
INSTRUMENTS
E .G. F,5cher
I
I
J
Chief
Section
MISC ELLANEOUS
SALES
Chief
Section
LIBRARY
AND.
ARCHIVES
H.C.Allen
R.M.Brown
I
Chief
Section
PRINTING
AND
C.A.Ford
Chief
Division
GEODESY
Chief
Division
HYOROGRAPHY AND TOPOGRAPHY
W. Bowie
H.C.Graves
I
rssi~ta':'t Chief!
D1v1a1on
A.L.Baldwin
I
Assistant Chief
Division and
Chief
Section
FIELD WORK
Chief
Section
rtCLD RECORDS
J. T. Watkins
I
I
I
l
Chief
Section
COAST
PILOT
Chief·
Section
TIDES ANO
CURRENTS
Chief
Section
ENGRAVING
W. F. Peabody
Chief
Section
PHOTOGRAPHY
C. F. 8/ock/idae
RS.Patton
R.F.Luce
Assistant Chief
Division and
Chief
Section
DRAFTING
Inspector
SUBOFFICE
NEW YORK
Inspector
SUB OFFICE
GALVESTON
/. Winston
J.B. Boufe/1~
I
Chief
Section
VESSELS AND
EQUIPMENT
WE.Porker
R.B.Derickson
I
I
I
I
MANILA
Inspector
SUBOFFICE
SEATTLE
F'.Mor:se
J.F.Pratt
Inspector
SUB OFFICE.
SAN FRANCISCO
er. Dickin5
FIG.
O. l.Hazard
0.8. Wainwright
I
Director
COAST SURVEYS
Chief
Division
TERRESTRIAL MAGNETISM
Chief
Division
CHARTS
I
I
I
I
I
I
I.
G.l.rlower
I 1
Assista_n! Chief!
01v1s1on
J.M.Seyboldr
1
Chief
Division
ACCOUNTS
J.M Griffin
COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY.
Since my last annual report the efficiency of this Bureau has
been increased by changes in the organization. The results
accomplished since this reorganization confirm the wisdom of the
step.
The accompanying diagram outlines the units of the divisions
and sections of the Bureau as they are to-day. (See fig. i .) The
work of these units will be understood by the synopsis of the duties
of each which follows:
Office of Assistant in Charge.
This officer has charge of the upkeep and management of the
buildings occupied by the Bureau, approves the purchase and
distribution of all instruments and miscellaneous supplies required,
and receives and accounts for all moneys realized from the sale of
publications and condemned property and for work done for
outside parties. He also has charge of the leave records of the
personnel of the Bureau as well as the shipments to and from the
office at Washington.
Attached to tire office of the assistant in charge are these sections,
each under the supervision of a chief:
x. Instrument section.
2. Printing and sales section.
3. Library and archives section.
4. Miscellaneous section.
The functions of these various sections are outlined below.
Instrument section.— This section designs, makes drawings for,
and supervises the construction of new instruments and parts
thereof which are required in the operations of the Service. The
chief of this section is also charged with the responsibility, care,
upkeep, issue, and accounting for all instruments and general
property of the Service, involving packing, unpacking, shipping,
and receiving instruments and general property.
Printing and sales section.— This section attends to the printing
of charts on plate and lithographic printing presses from the
copper or aluminum plates and the sale and distribution of these
charts and other nautical publications. As a part of the office of
the assistant in charge, and closely related to the printing and
172
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
sales section, there is maintained an electrotype shop, where
electrotypes are made of the copper printing plates.
Library and archives section.— This section has the keeping of
the original records of field observations and the technical library
of books and periodicals maintained by the Bureau.
Miscellaneous section.— This section is charged with the purchase
of supplies and equipment for the field and office work and main
tains a store of stationery for the office and field forces, as well as
the blank books for field observations.
Division of Geodesy.
This division is under a chief and an assistant chief. The
province of the division of geodesy is principally the extension of
the network of precise leveling throughout the United States
and Alaska for the control of levels run by other Government
bureaus, by State and city officials, as well as by private individuals
and corporations; the determination of geographic positions by
triangulation or traverse for the control of Federal, State, and
county boundaries and other engineering work in all parts of the
United States and Alaska; also the determination of field astro
nomic positions and the establishment of stations at which the
intensity of gravity is determined.
The triangulation and traverse done in the interior of the
United States and of Alaska are of a primary nature and are used
as bases of control for the detailed triangulation and traverse by
organizations which make topographic or other surveys. Along
the coast the triangulation done by the Survey comes either directly
or indirectly under the division of geodesy. It is of a detailed
nature, intended for the control of topographic and hydrographic
surveys made by parties of the Bureau in the construction of
nautical charts.
These may be considered the field operations of the division.
In the office the observations made in the field are computed
and adjusted and the results are prepared for publication.
About 90 per cent of the work of the division is purely practical
and of immediate commercial value. Equally important, how
ever, is the work of research into the scientific phases of geodetic
work, such as the determination of the shape and size of the earth
and of the variation of the densities in the outer portion of the
earth.
The Survey has made valuable contributions to science along
these lines in recent years.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
173
Division of Hydrography and Topography.
Under this division are carried on the various hydrographic
and topographic surveys and resurveys along the coasts of the
United States, Alaska, and our insular possessions, which include
Porto Rico, Hawaiian Islands, Philippines, and approaches to the
Panama Canal. This division also supervises the Bureau’s four
suboffices, located at New York, Galveston, San Francisco, and
Seattle.
Under the supervision of the chief of the division of hydrography
and topography are these sections:
1. Section of field work.
2. Section of field records.
3. Section of vessels and equipment.
4. Section of coast pilot.
5. Section of tides and currents.
The duties assigned to these are as follows:
Section of field, work.— The chief of this section prepares outlines
of survey projects, formulates plans for their execution, advises
the division on the conduct of all field operations, and has charge
of the division in the absence of its chief.
Section of field records.— In this section the records of the field
observations made under the direction of the division of hydrog
raphy and topography are reviewed, departures from approved
methods are indicated for correction, and practices worthy of
adoption are noted for the use of the Service. In cooperation with
the other sections of the division, especially the section of field
work, the results of the examination of the field records are utilized
in planning and directing the field work.
Section of vessels and equipment.— This section has charge of the
purchase and maintenance of vessels and all equipment of hydrograpliic and topographic parties. It prepares plans and specifica
tions and supervises the repairs to the fleet and the construction
of new vessels. Its duties include inspection of the vessels, their
equipment and personnel.
Section 0} coast pilot.— This section collects information for and
compiles the coast pilots and inside route pilots for the coasts of
the United States and its insular possessions. The field work of
the section enables its members to advise the chief of the division
of the condition of the surveys and discrepancies in the published
charts.
Section 0} tides and currents.— This section, from data obtained
from observations made at the different tidal and current stations
176
REPORT OE THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
inadequate, and unsanitary. Erected at first for a hotel, a resi
dence, and a stable, always unfitted for their present use, their
unsuitableness was never more emphasized than now. The
greatly increased activities of the Service, creating a greater
volume of work, tend to further demonstrate the unfitness of
these structures as a working tool. By constant care they are
made to look fairly well superficially to a careless eye, but as a
matter of fact they are a burden of expense. It is useless to
spend more money on them, and it is most unfortunate that we
have been obliged to spend nearly $6,000 in providing new boilers
and heating equipment for them. Conditions would be bad
enough if they were office buildings only, but when they contain
a printing plant, a machine shop, a carpenter shop, and a litho
graphic plant, and are also used as storerooms for valuable rec
ords and for goods intended for sale, the condition becomes
serious. It is a daily waste of money to use them. The pro
posed new Commerce Building should be so designed as to take
in all the operations of the Coast and Geodetic Survey and provide
it with ample room and facilities for its important work. Bad as
the structures are as working tools, the danger to invaluable
public records involved in their continued use is more serious.
Eight thousand field sheets are stored among the archives
which have cost and are to-day worth many millions of dollars.
(See figs. 2 and 3.) Every effort is made to protect them, but
it is impossible to do so in the present quarters. The only facil
ities for fire protection are hand fire-extinguishers. There is no
fire hose or water main in the building. The nature of the old
structures obliges much of the work to be handled in an awkward
manner.
Engravers and draftsmen must have good light. This requires
us to scatter them in order to have light sufficient, and hence
time is lost going back and forth for consultation and information.
One room for each section properly lighted should provide ade
quate space for this work.
The engraving section is far removed from the storage for the
copper plates. These plates have to be carried a distance of 300
feet over seven flights of stairs, and during the last year nearly
40 tons of paper had to be carried by hand to the presses because
there was no place for it near them. The accompanying illus
trations (figs. 4 and 5) give an idea of the present conditions.
Some of the rooms used as offices are two stories below street
level and always use artificial light.
F
ig
. 2 . — Original
field sheets of the Coast and Geodetic Survey filed in the archives in
steel racks extending from floor to ceiling. No water systemfor fire protection.
F
ig
. 3 . — Method
of moving original sheets, Coast and Geodetic Survey.
S e v e r a l o f t h e s e 7 0 -p o u n d s a c k :, o f o r i g in a l s h e e t s a r e c a r r ie d e a c h d a y b e t w e e n t h e d r a f t i n g r o o m s a n d
t h e a r c h i v e s , a d i s t a n c e o f 350 fe e t a n d o v e r fo u r f lig h t s o f s t a ir s .
F
ig
. 4
.— C a r r y in g c o p p e r p la te s , C o a s t a n d G e o d e tic
Survey.
T r a n s p o r t i n g e n g r a v e d p la t e f r o m s t o r e r o o m u p o n e o f s e v e n f lig h t s o f s t a ir s a n d
fe e t t o e n g r a v i n g r o o m fo r c o r r e c t i o n .
w e ig h t is t h u s tr a n s p o r te d a n n u a lly .
T h e p la t e s a v e r a g e 42 p o u n d s i n w e i g h t .
a d i s t a n c e o f 300
A b o u t 96 t o n s ’
F
ig
. 5 . — Method
of carrying paper to presses, Coast and Geodetic Survey,
S h o w i n g h o w n e a r l y 80,000 p o u n d s o f c h a r t p a p e r m u s t b e c a r r ie d a n n u a l l y f r o m t h e s t o c k r o o m t o t h e p r e s s e s , a n a v e r a g e d i s t a n c e
o f 170 f e e t a n d d o w n o n e f l i g h t o f s t a ir s , o w i n g t o la c k o f a n e l e v a t o r .
F
ig
. 6 .—
Machine shop, Coast and Geodetic Survey.
Congestion w ith in buildings necessitates assem bly of m achines in th is sm all room. R esult: Insufficient room for efficient operation,
n atural lig h t obstructed b y beltin g, shafting, etc., and depreciation of q u a n tity of output.
I8S6 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1697 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
177
An electric motor has been furnished in the last year to supply
power for the machine shop. (See fig. 6.) The modem method
would, however, be to furnish individual motors for the present
machines, taking away the belting and shafts. A t present to
operate the smallest machine the whole overhead shafting must
be run, using a 7y2 horsepower motor when one of one-half horse
power would suffice.
The hydrographic and topographic draftsmen use drafting tables
nearly 50 years old. Modem tables would greatly increase the
output.
The storerooms are so crowded that they frequently have to be
emptied to obtain a single article desired, thus wasting hours of
labor.
Reclassification of Employees.
There are 39 employees in the Coast and Geodetic Survey rated
as clerks. Of these, however, but 25 are actually engaged on what
is ordinarily known as clerical work. The work of the Service is
highly technical, and as it has developed need has arisen here and
there for a person to take up and assist in the work. This has
from time to time been met by assigning a person rated as a clerk
to do the task, so that the number rated as clerks is not an accurate
hidex compared with an ordinary office force with the amount of
ordinary clerical service used. The demands of the Bureau are
growing so fast that the office personnel is taxed to the utmost.
During the last fiscal year nearly one-third more charts were sold
than during the previous fiscal year. (See fig. 7.) This means an
immense increase in compiling information, drafthig and engraving,
printing, correspondence, accounts, and indeed all the branches
of the Service’s work. Under these conditions the office force has
been able to do only the most pressing current work, and much
that should be kept up has gone into arrears. It is essential that
new positions be provided to keep the work up and that these
should be designated properly in keeping with the class of work
actually performed.
Congress provided three additional computers for the current
fiscal year. This was helpful, but not sufficient to meet the
demands of the work. In the estimates for 1918 eight computers
are asked to make available much geodetic data which otherwise
must remain unused. For a similar reason the estimates for the
next fiscal year ask for eight additional draftsmen and such other
additions to the staff as are requisite to keep the work up.
17«
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
It must be realized, of course, that the rapid growth in the
American merchant marine brings extraordinary demands upon
this Service. One can not reason from a period as recent as 1913
to the conditions which exist to-day. The outlook is for even
greater pressure upon our facilities, for the number of ships build
ing in the United States was never as great as on October 1, 1916.
If the statements made concerning the demands of the work of the
Coast and Geodetic Survey are viewed in the light of the report
herein on the Bureau of Navigation, the conditions will be easily
understood.
Mechanical Engineer for Instrument Section.
It is purposed in the estimates for 1918 to alter the designation
of the chief of the section of instruments to that of “ mechanical
engineer,” with an increase of salary from $2,400 to $3,000.
E- G. Fischer, the present incumbent, is a mechanical engineer
of exceptional ability who has designed many new, delicate, and
intricate instruments. Among those of notable value is the tidepredicting machine used by the Service, which is the admiration of
the world. His latest achievement is the development of a new
electric signal lamp for use in observations for triangulation at
night. This lamp, which is illustrated herein (see fig. 8), has a beam
candlepower of 250,000, a marked advance in efficiency over the
lamp of 1,500 beam candlepower which has heretofore been used.
The new lamp has been adopted by private parties and Govern
ment bureaus, including the United States Navy, the Forest
Service, the Coast Guard, the Aeronautic Service, and by manu
facturers also of mine-rescue apparatus. The modest salary now
asked for a public servant who can do constructive work of this
character is small by comparison with that which would be paid
a man of equal productive value in private service.
Systematic Distribution of the Bureau’s Charts and Publications.
Requests by persons and corporations for such information as
the magnetic variation of the compass at a given point at a period
long past and at the present time, in order to locate land bounda
ries ; for the elevation of a point above the sea level; and for the
Bureau’s nautical charts, etc., are so vaguely and often so inac
curately addressed that it is forced upon us that these people (and
doubtless many others) have a real need but lack information as
to the branch of the Government service that can supply that need.
F
ig
. 8 . — New
electric triangulation signal lamp, Coast and Geodetic Survey.
Y i e l d s a t io o fe e t 250,000 b e a m c a u d le p o w e r , w i t h 9 - v o lt , 2 .5 - a m p e r c s p e c ia l b u l b d e v e l o p e d iu t h e S u r v e y .
1900
1901
1902
1903
1904
1905
1906
1907
1908
1909
(910
(911
(912
F ig . 9.— Annual distribution of Coast Pilots, issued by the Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1900-1916.
1913
1914
1915
1916
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
1 79
To remedy this, and to bring to the public attention the data
that have cost so much and are essential to many public enterprises
and private projects, there is need of a well-thought-out announce
ment regarding each publication as it comes from the press which
will reach the greatest number concerned with the least expenditure
in advertising, and that will prevent the free distribution of expen
sive publications to those who are merely curious.
With the means at hand the Bureau has undertaken in a small .
way to carry on such a campaign of education. Requests were
forwarded to each chamber of commerce of the important coast
cities asking that the Bureau be given lists of the steamship com
panies and wharves located at those ports, as well as of the yacht
clubs there and in the vicinity. Cooperation by everybody was
surprisingly responsive. Since securing this information the
Bureau has sent a letter to each steamship company when a new
chart was published or a new coast pilot was issued. A poster has
been prepared, to be placed on the wharves and in the yacht clubs,
calling attention to the particular publications and charts of the
Bureau and giving a list of agencies where these charts and nauti
cal publications could be purchased.
Heretofore it was the custom of the Bureau to make the sur
veys, compile information, publish a chart, and supply such de
mands for it as came in, leaving the public to learn of the existence
of the chart as best it could. Recently the Bureau published the
usual edition of a chart of Long Island Sound above New York
City. Simultaneously with its publication prepared notices were
sent to the newspapers in the locality of the waters covered by the
chart calling attention to this new chart and giving the particulars
regarding it. Almost instantly the demand for this chart was so
great that the usual edition was exhausted. This chart was first
issued April 29, 1916. Within four months the Bureau had re
ceived orders for nearly 1,700 copies of it. There is no question
that this demand resulted from the newspaper announcements
concerning it.
There are numerous instances of this kind where with proper
public announcement the information that is so necessary and has
cost so much can be in the hands of those whom it benefits rather
than be uselessly stored in Washington. How to do this without
an extravagant distribution of publications to persons ordering
them through curiosity alone is a matter that is being given earnest
consideration.
l8 o
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Printing Office Needs.
The request is renewed for a new printing press, transfer press,
and a modern cutting machine. These new facilities in this office
will greatly increase its efficiency.
New Suboffices.
Suboffices in Boston, Norfolk, and Juneau and funds to main
tain the Galveston office, which now occupies quarters furnished
by local public organizations, are needed. At a small cost it
would be possible to place in each a local inspector, who, by
coming in contact with local conditions and nautical people,
would greatly increase the value of the Bureau to the public and
materially increase the information it could gather in the course
of each year regarding local nautical conditions.
Two New Vessels for the Pacific Coast and Alaska.
In last year’s estimates two new vessels were asked for to take
the place of the Gedney, which was sold a year ago, and the Pat
terson, still in the service, but old, weak, and unfit for the work
that is expected from her in the protection of the waters on the
Pacific coast.
Congress felt that the replacing of these vessels should be de
ferred for the time. This request for these two new vessels for
the Pacific coast is renewed with the earnest hope that the in
creasing need of surveys on the Pacific coast will be recognized.
It may be well to add here that both the Patterson and the Ex
plorer will, necessarily, require repairs this year. In view of the
age of both these vessels, it is unwise to make extensive repairs
to them. It has never been more evident that extraordinary
efforts should be made to keep up with the rapid progress of the
Pacific coast and Alaska and to safeguard the waters on which
they depend for transportation. Alaska up to 1913 had been
in a more or less dormant state. Within three years the Territory
has developed wonderfully; the new railroad is being built to tap
the interior, and her exports and imports have increased from
sixty-one millions of dollars to about one hundred millions of
dollars. The work of making surveys, which was backward before
this increased activity, has not kept pace with the development
of this vast Territory.
It is essential that these new vessels, now asked, be furnished in
order to survey with the least possible delay the great coastal
areas of central and western Alaska.
F
ig
.
io
.
— Coast and Geodetic Survey vessel “ McArthur.”
W ooden steam vessel of 299 tons displacem ent, 220 gross tons, and 130 net tons; registered length 115 feet, breadth 20 feet, draft 12 feet; indicated horsepower
250; speed S.5 knots; coal cap acity 48 tons; com plem ent 7 officers and 30 m en. B u ilt a t th e Mare Island N a v y Y a rd , C al., in the year 1876. Condemned
and sold on F ebru ary S, 1916.
Steel steam vessel of 377 gross tons and 256 net tons; registered length 180.4 feet, breadth 24.8 feet, draft 11.7 feet; indicated horsepower 2,000; speed 15 knots; coal cap acity 120 tons;
com plem ent 8 officers and 44 m en. Purchased Ju ly r, 19x5. Present d u ty , offshore hydrography on th e South A tla n tic coast of th e U n ited States. T h is vessel does five tim es the
w ork of her predecessor ship.
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
l8 l
The Surveyor, the most suitable vessel of her kind ever built
for this Service, will be ready for the Alaska work next spring.
Her keel was laid in the winter of 1915, and she was launched in
July of this year.
In addition to the present work in Alaskan waters, the coasts of
Washington, Oregon, and California are in urgent need of com
pleted surveys and the protection which complete and accurate
charts afford. It has been impossible heretofore to give these
coasts the attention they require. It can not now be done for
lack of ships.
On the Atlantic coast the new vessel Isis (see fig. 11) has done
admirable work during the past season. She, the Bache, and the
Hydrographer are all in good working condition and suited for the
work they are called upon to do. The Matchless, an old sailing
vessel, nearly 60 years old, is used as a house-boat for surveying
parties in some of the inland waters. Extensive repairs on her are
useless, as she will last but a short time longer.
It is earnestly hoped that sufficient funds will be appropriated
to keep these vessels in service twelve months of the year, as their
services are needed on survey work continuously.
Government-Owned Launches Needed.
An appropriation for the purchase of launches for wire-drag
surveys and inshore work on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts is
again urged. The wire-drag parties cost on an average $3,173 per
month, a large part of which is for the hire of launches. Launches
suitable for these operations are scarce, and all that are available
must be modified to meet the needs of the work. The launches
most suitable are the highest priced. For example, the largest
boat for each of the Alaska parties cost nearly $1,000 each per
month. A great deal of time is lost each year in selecting and
remodeling the boats for this particular service. The super
structure has to be removed and at the end of the season put back
in the shape it was found, and the Government has to pay for it.
If, on account of bad weather, the launches have to be laid up, the
cost of their hire still goes on, and, while the officers and men are not
idle, the launches are making no returns.
If the appropriation is made for Government-owned launches,
they can be built not only in the way best adapted for the work,
but they can be used for wire-drag work as well as revision and
inshore work. Considered from the standpoint of economy, it is
certain that as much as 20 per cent would be saved on the in
vestment.
1 82
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Increase of Pay of Men on Vessels.
A serious matter with which the Bureau has had to contend is
the general demand for increase of pay of the men employed on
the vessels of the Survey. On July x, 1916, increases were ap
proved of $8 per month for seamen and quartermasters and $5
a month for other petty officers and men in Alaska in order to
insure the retention of these employees.
In the estimates for 1918 for the Alaska vessels a further increase
of $3 per month per man is included for the lower-paid employees.
Even then the rates proposed in the estimates for 1918 are about
$10 per month below the prevailing wages on the Pacific coast
during the summer of 1916. On the Atlantic coast increases in
pay are urgently needed, but the present appropriation will not
permit it. In the estimates for 1918 increases of $5 to $10 per
month are included.
The commanding officers of the vessels in the Service repeatedly
urge the necessity for advancing wages if crews and officers are to
be retained. They state frankly that it is impossible to get men
for the wages heretofore paid. This agrees with the experience
of the Department in its maritime services.
The officers of our vessels on the Atlantic coast report similar
conditions, stating that it is only with extreme difficulty that they
can keep crews when other services and merchant vessels are
paying higher wages. One officer writes that every day some of
his ltien ask discharges to accept better paying jobs elsewhere,
and that to fill the places these men leave he can only get men
that nobody else will use.
There is no service in the Government where trained seamen are
more absolutely essential to the welfare of the work. An officer in
this Service is a trained specialist, and the same term can be used
in reference to a seaman who has had a term of service in this
Bureau. The demands on him are much more exacting than under
the regular routine on passenger steamers, and liis duties are more
varied and require thoughtfulness and skill. It can be readily
understood that a man who has been trained by an officer of the
Government until he reaches a high degree of efficiency should be
retained from year to year. Conditions should be such that an
employee who proves satisfactory can be given assurance that pro
motion will follow continued effort on his part. Under the present
conditions an inexperienced man is hired in the spring, receives a
partial training during the summer, and is dismissed in the fall
REPORT OE THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
183
because the funds are insufficient to continue his employment
from year to year. Were the funds sufficient, it would be perfectly
feasible to keep these men busy throughout each year on work
that is necessary to be done.
Need of 48 Additional Hydrographic and Geodetic Engineers.
The accompanying table shows the need of additional engineers
to properly and efficiently officer the various parties of the Survey.
Congress very wisely provided additional funds with which to pay
party expenses, and if the Survey is to do the work asked of it in
charting the waters of the country and providing geodetic control
of the interior further funds must be available for party expenses
in the coming year. This means that there must be provided the
necessary hydrographic and geodetic engineers to direct this work.
Our engineers are not only the chiefs of party, but they also
make the observations with sextant, theodolite, plane table, and
level. The men, or nontechnical force, are there to assist the
engineer by rowing the boat, running the launch, heaving the
lead, etc. ; they can not do the instrumental work. Without the
engineers the Survey is in the same condition as a merchant
vessel which has not sufficient officers for its proper navigation.
The result of such a condition upon our work is evident. The
officers become overworked, lose their ambition to do things in
the most efficient manner, and at the end of the season look for
more inviting fields of engineering; or they may accept the con
ditions imposed and drift along, thinking that if those higher in
authority are not sufficiently impressed with the importance of
providing means for securing a well-balanced party that can
secure results at a minimum unit cost they (the officers) would be
exerting futile efforts. We can not blame them.
There will be needed 22 additional officers in the spring of 1917
to carry on the work for which party expenses have been appro
priated.
The Surveyor will need 11 officers; the Yukon will need 3 offi
cers; the Isis will need 4 officers; the Matchless will need 2 officers;
and the Pacific coast triangulation will need 2 officers; total
needed, 22.
There are 48 additional officers asked for in my estimates for
1918. This will provide for the 22 now needed and for 26 who will
be needed if the increases in the party expenses appropriations are
allowed.
18 4
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
F
ie l d
O
f f ic e r s
, C
o a s t
a n d
G
e o d e t ic
S
u r v e y
— P
e r s o n n e l
Sum m er of 1916.
Assignm ent.
A s s is t
ants.
Aids.
Mates.
Deck
officers.
o f
P
a r t ie s
.
Sum m er of 1917.
Total.
Total.
Parties.
Officers.
Parties.
Officers.
6
8
E x p lo r e r
3
4
2
z
z
zo
z
9
and Cosm os..........
3
2
I
I
z
7
z
7
T a k u ....................................
W ire d ra g
W ire d ra g
W ire d rag
6
...................
P a tte rs o n
No. 1
No. 2
N o. 4
............
............
............
x
2
2
I
z
8
z
3
3
7
I
I
2
z
7
z
7
z
7
3
,
2
2
8
z
7
6
6
6
...............
3
Total .................
75
A stronom ical
0 B u ild in g .
29
14
21
6
34
3
3
3
3
53
139
70
187
*> N o t in c o m m is s io n .
Increase in Salaries for Hydrographic and Geodetic Engineers.
The old theory about the civilian appointments in the Govern
ment was that any man was fortunate who retained his job, how
ever small the pay, for more than four years. This was in the
days before there were civil-service laws. Now the Government
considers itself very fortunate if it can retain experts in its service
at salaries much smaller than those ruling in similar work in pri
vate life.
The Government is the largest single employer of skilled service.
It is also the most inefficient employer. It sees 15 per cent or
more of its skilled employees leave each year. These are, as a
general rule, the most able and efficient ones. The least able
employees remain, and on account of long and faithful, but often
not notably efficient, service, they reach the higher positions.
Then we have too much deadwood at the top. How often do we
F
ig
. i2 .—
Comparative diagram of engineers* salaries.
A verage com pensation oi hydrographic and. geodetic engineers of th e U n ited States Coast and Geodetic Su rvey,
com pared w ith th e average com pensation of 4.466 m em bers of th e A m erican Society of C iv il Engineers, as
analyzed in a report of a com m ittee of th a t society, dated D ecem ber, 1914.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
185
hear that remark about a Government organization, especially an
old one. We try to remedy this condition by having a surgical
operation where a much milder treatment given at the right time
would have prevented the trouble.
What is the condition to-day in the field force (assistants and
aids) of the Survey ?
There are 104 engineers in statutory and 14 in nonstatutory
positions. Of the total of 118, there are 62, about 53 per cent,
who have had less than 6X years of service. There are 43, or
about 36 per cent, who have had less than t>1A years of service.
Aside from the inefficiency in costs involved in having inexperi
enced officers, are we not menacing vessels carrying millions of
dollars worth of cargo, besides their own value, and thousands of
the crews and passengers who run the gravest risks from having a
number of inexperienced engineers and surveyors making the
surveys upon which the sailing charts are based? We are; and
this condition should be remedied. We can not make some of the
work easy, nor can we always make the conditions pleasant under
which the men have to live in the field, but we should make our
engineers feel that we (that is, the Government) are fair.
What is necessary to make for greater efficiency in the force is to
have salaries more nearly equal to those paid for similar or less exact
ing duties in other Government services and also in private engi
neering fields. The following tables show the salaries of the officers
of the Survey in contrast with those of some other organizations
and the relative increase of field officers and appropriations (see
also fig. 12):
C
o m p a r is o n
o p
P
E
a y
o p
H
y d r o g r a p h ic
n g in e e r in g
a n d
G
a n d
G
e o d e t ic
o v e r n m e n t
Service.
O
E
n g in e e r s
r g a n iz a t io n s
Average
pay.
Am erican Society of C iv il Engineers................................................
$4,334
41 civil engineers, U nited States N a v y ............................................
3 »439
226 engineers, U nited States A r m y ...................................................
62 Revenue-Cutter officers (retired list)...........................................
249 Revenue-Cutter officers (active lis t)..........................................
Geologists, Geological S u rv e y (73 annual em ployees)..................
3.008
2,921
2,670
Topographers, Geological S u rvey (57 annual em ployees)...........
Bureau of Mines (34 annual em ployees)..........................................
P aten t Office (396 annual em ployees)..............................................
2, 130
2, 164
2,662
2,019
w it h
A
n a l o g o u s
.
Reference.
Report of com m ittee of society,
December, 19x4.
1916 estim ates, p. 1078.
19x6 estimates, p. 292.
1916 estim ates, p. 1120.
19x6 estim ates, p. 1120.
19x6 estim ates, p p. 791-798.
1916 estimates, p . 792*
1916 estimates, p . 806.
H ydrographic and geodetic engineers, Coast and Geodetic Sur
v e y (104 annual em ployees).
x, 720
1916 estimates, p. 95.
1917 sundry civil bill.
H ydrographic and geodetic engineers if granted increase re
quested (152 annual employees).
1,900
19x8 estimates.
N o t e .— W herever information is available in regard to those w ho resigned from the field force, in general
the salary received in the new position is higher than th a t received in th e Coast an d G eodetic Su rvey.
1 86
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
R
e l a t iv e
I
n c r e a s e
o f
F iscal year.
1 9 1 5 .............................................................................................................
1916.......................................................................
F
ie l d
Field
officers.
O
a n d
D eck
officers.
Total
officers.
I*S
123
1 9 1 7 .......................................................................
I l8
19180.....................................................................
I66
A
f f ic e r s
5
13
21
21
p p r o p r ia t io n s
.
Percent
Percent
age of
age of
Appro
increase priation, increase
p arty
over
over
previous expenses. previous
year.
year.
130
0
$308,000
0
136
S
343,000
11
2
35
422,320
187
23
40
139
589,838
« E stim ated.
The increases in the number of positions called for in the 1918
estimates are distributed in such a way as to make the salary list
more attractive to those now in the service and to the graduates of
our engineering schools.
During the past seven years and until July 1, 1916, every man
whose name was placed on the “ aid” register by the Civil Service
Commission was offered a position in the Survey. This is an
unhealthy condition of affairs. We should have so many names
on the register that the appointing officer may always have at
least a choice of three eligibles for each position to be filled. Any
other condition is contrary to the best public policy.
The salary list is designed to provide for lowest unit costs and
maximum safety; in other words, for the greatest efficiency.
Wire-Drag Work, 1916 .
Bowlders, ledges, and other forms of pinnacle rocks have, as usual,
been found by the surveys this year. Perhaps the most striking
illustration during the year proving the value of the wire-drag work
was the development of the main ship channel leading to Salem Har
bor. (See fig. 13.) Numerous rocks were found in this channel,
which very considerably restricted its width for deep-draft vessels,
and this work was fortunately done prior to the visit of one of our
battleships there this summer. A t the request of the commanding
officer of the battleship, one of the wire-drag parties buoyed the
channel and an anchorage for the use of the battleship.
The correspondence upon the subject drew the attention of the
Navy Department to the matter, and, as a result, a request was
received from the Secretary of the Navy that the areas covered
by wire-drag surveys be indicated on special editions of the charts
for the use of naval vessels. Arrangements have been made to
comply with the request of the Secretary of the Navy.
MEAN LOW W A T E R
20
40
60
80
J00
120
J40
160 Y A R D S
F i g . 13 .— O n e r e s u lt o f w ire-d ra g w o rk i n 1 9 1 6 .
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
0
This pinnacle rock rccentlyf ound at the approach to Salem Harbor , Mass., is no less dangerous than submerged pinnacles abounding in Alaskan waters.
00
1 88
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
The General Board of the Navy has also given consideration to
the use of wire-drag surveys as a part of the national defense, and
the Bureau has cooperated with them in planning this work to
meet their most urgent needs. A careful study of the subject was
made, and the estimates submitted to Congress for the fiscal year
1918 have been prepared to carry, also, surveys of two localities
requested by the Navy and which it would not be possible for the
Survey to do with its present appropriations.
Another striking development this season is the use of a drag
15,000 feet long in open areas. It is hoped to increase this length
for ordinary use in open areas as soon as larger reels to hold the
necessary length of wire are available. The delivery of the reels
has been delayed on account of the congested condition of the
market for all steel products.
The numerous submerged pinnacles found in Alaskan waters
and on the New England coast during 1916 clearly demonstrate
again the urgent need of expediting this important work in vast
areas known to be dangerous to human life and commerce. There
is also wire-drag work urgently needed among the coral reefs of
southern Florida, Puget Sound, and San Francisco Harbor, which
is only waiting for the necessary funds.
Geodetic Work.
In my report for 1915 it was shown that the National Govern
ment should do the geodetic work of the United States which
furnishes the fundamental control in elevation and geographic
position for the surveying and mapping and the various engineer
ing operations of the country.
This work consists in the precise leveling which, starting at tire
coasts, extends inland along the principal lines of communication
and forms a network of lines of bench marks of a permanent
nature, which may be used as bases from which leveling of equal
or lower accuracy may at any time in the future be extended for
the detailed surveying and engineering work; also in primary
triangulation which will cover the country with connecting arcs
of stations all substantially monumented. The standard or final
latitude and longitude of each station are determined and pub
lished for the control in horizontal positions of maps and surveys.
This country has an area of about 3,000,000 square miles, and
the extension of tire fundamental control has been necessarily
slow on account of the cost involved. But to-day this work is
done for less than one-half what it cost 20 years ago, and as the
REPORT OE THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
1 89
demands for the results are far greater than hitherto it appears to
be good management, on account of the necessity for the results
and the economy with which it is done, to push to a rapid com
pletion that part of the work which is essential in the proper
development of the country.
The plan that should be carried out during the next few years is
to have such an amount of primary control that no place in the
United States would be more than about 100 miles from a preciseleveling bench mark or a primary triangulation station.
The appeal to Congress during the past session for funds to
extend the geodetic work of the Survey was met by an increase of
70 per cent. This is a good start, but considering the fact that
the previous appropriation was only $31,000 it will be seen that
further increases should be made, as the estimated cost of com
pleting the work which is badly needed now is more than $1,000,000.
If no further increase is made, this work will require from 15 to 20
years. It should be done in one-half that time.
What has been said as to the need for geodetic control in the
United States applies equally to the interior of Alaska. There
is no control, except along the Alaska and Canada boundary and
along a portion of the coast, for an area of over one-half million
square miles of territory, which is becoming more and more
necessary for the operations of several Federal organizations as
well as for private individuals and corporations. The country
can not be properly developed without maps and surveys, which
in the interior are being made by the United States Geological
Survey, the General Land Office, the Forest Service, and the
Alaskan Engineering Commission. Requests for geodetic data
in the interior of Alaska have been made upon the Coast and
Geodetic Survey by officials of those organizations, and I strongly
recommend that funds be provided for starting this important
work.
The precise leveling and primary triangulation which should be
done in the interior of Alaska are indicated on the accompanying
diagrams (see figs. 14 and 15) and in the following statement.
In my report for the previous year there was shown the im
portance of having certain primary triangulation on the Pacific
coast of the United States and Alaska and supplementary trian
gulation on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The increased funds
provided by Congress made it possible to do something on these
lines of work.
190
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
P
r im a r y
T
r ia n g u l a t io n
N
e e d e d
in
A
l a s k a
.
M ile s .
Norton Sound to Eagle, via Yukon R iver.........................................
Yukon River to Kuskokwim B a y ........................................................
Upper part of Kuskokwim River.........................................................
Across Alaskan Peninsula, Cook Inlet to Bristol B ay........................
Susitna River, Cook Inlet to Fairbanks..............................................
Cordova to Tanana, along Copper and Tanana Rivers......................
From Copper River to One hundred and forty-first meridian..........
Total
75°
350
250
120
3O O
7O O
IO O
2,57°
P
r e c is e
L
e v e l in g
N
e e d e d
in
A
l a s k a
.
Norton Sound to Eagle, via Yukon River...............................................................
Yukon River to Kuskokwim B ay.............................................................................
Upper part of Kuskokwim R i v e r ............................................................................
Susitna River, Cook Inlet to Fairbanks...................................................................
Cordova to Tanana, along the Copper and Tanana Rivers....................................
Copper River to One hundred and forty-first meridian.........................................
800
400
300
325
750
no
Total.................................................................................................................. 2, 685
I can not leave this subject of geodetic work without calling
attention to the assistance needed at the office to make the results
of the field work available for the Government and for the public.
For many years the primary triangulation in the interior and
the tertiary triangulation on the coast existed as a number of
detached schemes, each based upon a separate astronomic deter
mination (datum) for the latitudes and longitudes of the stations.
Eventually, in 1901, the systems were sufficiently connected to
justify the adoption of a single datum for the whole country. This
was necessary for the proper utilization of the results. The adop
tion of the single datum for the whole country has been highly
commended by geodesists of Europe, where, in general, each coun
try has its own datum, with consequent confusion in the maps
along the frontiers.
But the adoption of the single datum involved the Survey in
much work, for practically all of the triangulation done previ
ously needed recomputing. But new geodetic work has been
turned in, in increasing amounts, by the vessels and land parties,
due to larger appropriations for field work, so that, at present,
there are thousands of triangulation stations for which the stand
ard or final positions are not available in the proper form for
use by the Government and the public. There has not been a
proportionate increase in the computing force, which is now
just about able to compute and have published each year data
for as many stations as are established in a year, but which is
not able to handle the older but very valuable work. Without
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OP COMMERCE.
66776°—16----- 13
F ig . 14.— Primary and secondary triangulation needed in Alaska now.
( W o r k a l o n g 1 4 1 s t m e r i d i a n h a s b e e n d o n e b y B o u n d a r y C o m m is s io n .)
F ig . 15.— Precise leveling needed in Alaska now.
192
REPORT OE THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
REPORT OE THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
193
an increase in the force of computers much geodetic data must
remain in the archives and be practically unavailable for use.
The establishment of a triangulation station in the field costs,
on an average, about $60, while the cost of computing the obser
vations and preparing the results for printing is only about $7
per station. It will be good business to make this additional
expenditure, in the form of an increased appropriation for addi
tional geodetic computers. Not to do so would be as inefficient
as for the officials of a factory not to provide for sufficient force
for the packing and sale of its products.
Magnetic Observatories.
Most of the leading nations of the world are cooperating in a
study of the earth’s magnetism in an effort to determine its
origin, the causes of its many fluctuations, and the laws which
govern them. In view of the dependence of navigators and land
surveyors upon the compass needle, of which the directive force
is the earth’s magnetism, the practical importance of this study
can not be questioned.
In order that accurate data may be available for these investi
gations, many magnetic observatories are in operation at which
continuous records are made of the changes in direction and in
tensity of the earth’s magnetic force. As the changes are found
to be different in different parts of the earth, it is important to
have the observatories as widely distributed as possible. The
United States, by reason of its large extent of territory, is called
upon to take a large share of this work, and magnetic observa
tories are now being operated by the Coast and Geodetic Survey
at Cheltenham, Md.; Tucson, Ariz.; Vieques, P. R .; Honolulu,
Hawaii; and Sitka, Alaska.
In his address at the celebration of the centennial of the Coast
and Geodetic Survey, Dr. L. A. Bauer, Director of the Department
of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of Wash
ington, urged the establishment by the Coast and Geodetic .Survey
of magnetic observatories in the Canal Zone and at Guam. The
desirability of a magnetic observatory in the Canal Zone had
already been recognized by the Coast and Geodetic Survey, and
in view of the proposed rehabilitation of the Jesuit observatory
near Manila under the auspices of the Carnegie Institution, it is
felt that there is greater need for one there than at Guam. It is
proposed, therefore, as soon as conditions are favorable and the
194
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
necessary funds can be secured, to establish a magnetic observatory
in the Canal Zone.
To insure freedom from the disturbing effect of electric car lines
and similar causes it is necessary to place a magnetic observatory
at least io to 15 miles from such installations. From this it fol
lows that it is usually necessary to provide quarters for the ob
server and means of transportation for supplies from the nearest
supply point.
When the building now in process of construction at the Sitka
observatory is completed, there will be observer’s quarters at each
of the five observatories except Cheltenham. Up to the present
time it has been possible for the observer in charge of that observa
tory to rent suitable quarters. The character of the observatory
work is such that it is important to have the observer in charge
live so near that he can readily make an inspection of the buildings
and instruments at any time of the day or night. A t the present
time there are only two rented houses at Cheltenham, and they
are about a mile from the observatory. Conditions might easily
arise which would compel the observer to go still farther away for
suitable quarters. The present combination of office and observa
tory in one building is also unsatisfactory, because of the danger
that necessary articles of office equipment may have a disturbing
effect on the instruments. Provision therefore has been made in
the estimate for 1918 for a building for office and quarters at Chel
tenham.
A material reduction in the cost of operation of the Tucson and
Honolulu observatories is expected from the substitution of motordriven for horse-drawn vehicles. A small truck has been pur
chased for Tucson, and while the first cost is about $250 greater
than for a horse and wagon it is estimated that there will be a
saving of about $75 a year in the cost of operation (including de
preciation) , and there will also be a material saving of time on the
road and in the care of the horse.
A similar change is being made for Honolulu. The needs of the
observatory will thus be better served.
Retirement.
The serious question of retirement for civil-service employees,
while probably affecting more or less all the bureaus of the Govern
ment, is so specially evident in the Coast and Geodetic Survey that
some specific retirement provision should be made for its engineers.
The Bureau is somewhat handicapped to-day on account of the
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
195
fact that a number of these highly trained men, who have served
the country faithfully for nearly 50 years and have had largely
the same education as the graduates of Annapolis and West Point,
have now reached the age where the duties they once performed
are too irksome for their advanced years. It necessarily results
in a hardship for them to undertake to perform such arduous tasks.
The small salaries these hydrographic and geodetic engineers,
who are also navigators, have received during their tenure of
office have not been adequate for them to save any considerable
amount of money. The result is that in their advancing years
they are forced to attempt to continue at their duties, when at
the age of 64 they should be allowed to retire at a substantial
pension, the same as an Army, Navy, Public Health Service, or
Coast Guard officer. It is not justice, under prevailing conditions,
to ask that tírese men retire from the service. A t the same time,
frankly speaking, the service is handicapped, inasmuch as their
places should naturally be filled by younger men who are better
able to meet the hardships.
To-day in the Coast and Geodetic Survey there are 15 or more
men who have passed the retirement age, and they should be
properly cared for by the Government to which they have devoted
their lives. No one except those in touch with the situation can
realize what their services have meant to this part of the Govern
ment work. Wliile I have particularly dwelt on the question of
retirement for hydrographic and geodetic engineers here, other
aged employees of the Bureau are deserving of recognition under
retirement legislation, but along different lines.
Purchase of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, as a Government Base.
Further attention is called to the desirability of the purchase of
Dutch Harbor, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, as a Federal Government
base. It is a matter that has been advocated by the heads of other
services of the Government, and the value to the Government of
this location in far western Alaska can not be overestimated at this
time. Further, it can be said that it would be a better investment
to the Government than it was a year ago, on account of the
increased activities in Alaska and its waters and the need of a
permanent coal, oil, and supply base on the Bering Sea.
General Summary of Operations—Vessels and Parties.
Atlantic coast.— The steamer Bache was employed on hydrog
raphy extending out to the ioo-fathom curve on a part of the
coast of New Jersey; off the entrance to Chesapeake Bay, Va.;
196
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
and on the coast of Georgia between Brunswick and Savannah.
Revision work was done in Norfolk Harbor and Hampton Roads.
The steamer Hydrographer was employed on hydrography in
New York entrance in the vicinity of Sandy Hook; current
observations at the eastern end of Long Island Sound; hydrography
on the north side of Block Island, including Great Salt Pond;
examination for a reported shoal in Gardiners Bay, N. Y . ; surveys
of Assateague Anchorage, Va., and Port Royal Sound, S. C.
The steamer Isis was purchased on July 1, 1915, and was
employed chiefly on hydrography extending out to the ioo-fathom
curve on the coast of New Jersey, off the entrance to Chesapeake
Bay, and on the coast of South Carolina.
The schooner Matchless completed the resurvey of Roanoke
and Croatan Sounds, N. C .; of Pasquotank River from Albemarle
Sound to a point 2 miles above Elizabeth C ity; and of the easterly
side of Pamlico Sound from the north end of Core Sound to
Ocracoke Inlet.
Wire-drag work in the approaches to Boston Harbor, Mass.,
was completed by wire-drag party No. 1 from Minots Ledge to
Nahant; in Quicks Hole and the nearby part of Buzzards Bay,
Mass.; in the eastern passage of Narragansett Bay in the vicinity
of Newport, R. I.; and in the approaches to Salem, Mass. Chartrevision work was done in Narragansett Bay.
Wire-drag party No. 2 continued the survey of the coast of
Massachusetts between Boston and the Cape Cod Canal; com
pleted tire stretch from Minots Ledge to Plymouth; and began a
survey of East River, N. Y ., completing the examination of the
main channel from Lawrence Point to College Point. Chartrevision work was done in East River and Newark Bay, and
hydrographic examinations were made in the vicinity of Bergen
Point, N. J., and Pollock Rip Slue, Mass. A topographic and
hydrographic survey of Plymouth Harbor, Mass., was begun.
Revision work for the location of prominent natural objects on
the charts and building and location of hydrographic signals were
done on the coast of New Jersey, at the entrance to Chesapeake
Bay, and on the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia between
Charleston and Brunswick.
Field verification was made of coast-pilot information along the
coast from Sandy Hook to Cape Henry, including Delaware and
Chesapeake Bays, and between New York and Key West.
Suboffices of the Survey were maintained at Boston, New York,
and Galveston, Tex.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
19 7
The offices at New York and Galveston are under the charge of
officers of the Survey, and that at Boston is under the charge of a
representative of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce.
At these offices a stock of charts and publications of the Survey is
kept on hand.
At the request of the Navy Department a verification was made
and the beacons renewed on the torpedo-boat trial course at
Provincetown, Mass.
Field work, Pacific coast.— The steamer Explorer was employed
on combined surveys at the entrance to Cook Inlet, Alaska. A
resurvey was made at Port Gamble, Wash.
The steamer Gedney made a complete survey of Bucareli Bay,
Port Real Marina, and Portillo Channel, from the limits of previous
surveys to the seaward entrance between Capes Bartolomé and
Felix, southeast Alaska. This vessel was afterwards condemned
and sold.
The steamer McArthur was engaged on combined surveys of
Sealed Passage, Felice Strait, and the northerly part of Revillagigedo Channel. This vessel was afterwards condemned and sold.
The steamer Patterson was employed on general surveys in the
Shumagin Islands, Alaska Peninsula. Parts of Nagai and Big
Koniuji Islands and all of Spectacle, Bendel, and Turner Islands
were surveyed. Examinations were made of the area about Tuscarora Rock, Unalaska Bay, and in the vicinity of Harvester Island,
Uyak Bay.
During the season of 1916 this vessel was employed in surveys
of the passages in southeast Alaska leading southward from Sumner
Strait, between Kashevarof Passage and Eastern Passage, includ
ing Ernest Sound and Bradfield Canal.
The steamer Taku completed the survey of Port Gravina, the
coast from Knowles Head to Red Head, and Fidalgo Bay, Prince
William Sound, Alaska. In the spring of 19x6 this party took up
the survey of Orca Inlet and the delta from Poiixt Whitshed to
Point Martin. A subparty began a survey of the military reserva
tion at Orca Inlet.
The steamer Yukon continued the survey of the Kuskokwim
River, and an officer of this vessel made a running survey of the
river above Bethel on a river steamer. The Yukon was not put
in commission in 1916 owing to a shortage in funds.
Wire-drag party No. 3 completed the dragging of channel
areas, with depths less than 50 fathoms, in Revillagigedo Channel
from Twin Islands southward to the Canadian boundary, and the
19 8
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
topography from the entrance of Boca de Quadra to Foggy Point,
including Very Inlet. In Clarence Strait the main channel was
dragged from Caamano Point to Lemesurier Point and some
triangulation was done. Work was continued during the season
of 1916 in the passages between Clarence Strait and Eastern
Passage extending southward from Sumner Strait to and in
cluding Ernest Sound.
Wire-drag party No. 4 completed the dragging of the main
channel of Sumner Strait, from Shakan Bay around Point Baker
to Zarembo Island, during the season of 1915, and in the following
season undertook the completion of the entire channel of Sumner
Strait from Wrangell to the sea, including the entrance north
ward of Coronation Island and the passages extending southward
from Sumner Strait to a junction with the work of wire-drag party
No. 3.
A hydrographic examination was made of the bar between
Middle and Stake Points, Suisun Bay, Cal.
An examination was made in the vicinity of Cape Flattery to
locate a reported rock and to develop Neah Bay and the broken
ground near Duncan Rock.
A field revision of the Coast Pilot of California, Oregon, and
Washington was begun and also of the Coast Pilot of Southeastern
Alaska.
SubofTices of the Survey were maintained at Seattle, Wash., and
San Francisco, Cal.
Philippine Islands.— The field work in the Philippine Islands is
under the immediate direction of the director of coast surveys,
an officer of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, who, acting under
authority of the Superintendent, makes plans for the work,
issues detailed instructions to the field parties, and has charge
of the suboffice at Manila.
The steamer Pathfinder was employed on hydrographic surveys
in the easterly approach to San Bernardino Strait and combined
surveys at the entrance of Manila Bay. Lines of soundings were
run across the Sulu Sea to develop a safe route for vessels through
Balabac Strait northward of Borneo. Combined surveys were
begun at the south end of Palawan Island.
The steamer Fathomer was employed on hydrographic surveys
in the north end of the Sulu Sea in the vicinity of the Cuyo Group.
Combined surveys were made in Green Island Bay, east coast of
Palawan. Afterwards the triangulation of the east coast of
Mindanao was begun.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
19 9
The steamer Romblon was employed on combined surveys at
the north end of Palawan Island and in the Cabuluan Islands.
The steamer Marinduque was employed on combined surveys
on the east coast of Coron and Busuanga and the western ap
proaches to Coron Bay and afterwards on the east coast of Pala
wan. A triangulation station was established on Mayon Volcano,
southern Luzon, and connected with the scheme of triangulation
connecting Sorsogon and Lagonoy Bay.
Assistance Rendered in Saving Life or Property.
On June 19, 1916, the steamer Pathfinder, in response to a call
by wireless, went to the assistance of the steamer Fernando Poo,
which had stranded on a reef near Black Rock Light in the Sulu
Sea, Philippine Islands.
The passengers and crew, with the baggage and mails and a
quantity of provisions from the stranded vessel, were taken to
Iloilo by the Pathfinder after several unsuccessful attempts to tow
the Fernando Poo off the reef had been made. The vessel after
wards sank.
Minor assistance was rendered to several vessels by the steamer
Isis while employed in offshore work on the south Atlantic coast.
Among these were the four-masted schooner Augustus Well, bound
to Stamford, Conn., from Buenos Aires, the United States Engi
neers’ dredge Barnard, and the launch North Star.
The steamer Bache rendered minor assistance to the barkentine
Argo, of Nostral, Denmark, bound for Satilla River, G a.; the
steamship Rio Grande, bound for Savannah; the Finnish bark
Vega, bound for Sapelo River; and the topsail schooner Jarstein,
bound for the same place.
New Vessels for the Survey.
An appropriation of $289,000 became available July 1, 1915, for
two new vessels for the Survey, to replace the Endeavor and the
McArthur, which had become unfit for further use.
The Endeavor had been condemned and sold in May, 1915. The
McArthur and Gedney were sold at Seattle in 1916.
The steamer Isis was purchased for the use of the Survey July
U 1915-
Plans were made and a contract awarded to the Manitowoc
Ship Building and Dry Dock Co., of Manitowoc, Wis., for the con
struction of a new steel steamer for the Survey to be called the
Surveyor, and the construction was begun. On June 30, 1916, the
construction of this vessel was reported as 55 per cent completed.
200
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
The Surveyor is a steel steam vessel of 1,000 tons displacement,
186 feet in length, 34 feet beam, and 12 feet draft. She will
have one triple-expansion engine of 1,000 horsepower and is
expected to have a speed of 12 knots. Her engines and boilers
will be of the latest and most approved type, and the boilers
will be fitted to burn fuel oil.
The Surveyor will carry the usual equipment of a surveying
vessel, including machines for sounding at all depths. She will
be fitted with a radio apparatus of a new type.
Coast Pilot Work.
The collection of information in the field for the compilation
of new editions of the Coast Pilot volumes has been continued,
and the office compilation and publication of these volumes have
made good progress.
A new Coast Pilot volume for Alaska was published, two
new editions of Coast Pilot volumes for the Atlantic coast were
prepared, and eight Coast Pilot Supplements were prepared and
published.
Tidal and Current Work.
Tidal observations were made in connection with hydrograpliic
surveys in the United States, Alaska, and the Philippine Islands
and at seven regular stations on the Atlantic coast, three in the
Gulf of Mexico, and three on the Pacific coast.
Tidal indicators, exhibiting automatically the stage and height
of the tide, were maintained at Fort Hamilton and New York,
N. Y., and at Reedy Island, Delaware River.
With the cooperation of the Bureau of Lighthouses, observations
of currents were made at five light vessels on the Atlantic coast,
two on the Gulf of Mexico, and five on the Pacific coast. Current
observations were also made by field parties engaged on hydrographic work.
Two special publications relating to tidal currents on the Atlantic
and Pacific coasts were prepared and published. Special tide tables
for the Kuskokwim River, Alaska, were prepared and published.
The general tide tables for 1917 were prepared and sent to the
printer. These tables have been greatly enlarged and simplified
and much information in regard to the currents has been added.
Tidal information was prepared for use in the Coast Pilots and
for publication in the newspapers.
An effort has been made to greatly improve the tidal bench
marks established by this Service, and a circular on the subject
has been issued.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
201
Geodetic Work.
A reconnoissance for primary triangulation from southern
Utah westward along the Oregon Short Line Railroad through
Oregon was completed and a connection made with stations of
the California-Washington arc in the vicinity of Portland, Oreg.
Observations at the primary triangulation stations in northern
Utah were continued. The work follows the Oregon Short Line
Railroad to its crossing of the Columbia River in northeastern
Oregon. The arc then extends westward down the river to a
junction with the Washington-Oregon arc of triangulation in the
vicinity of Portland, Oreg. A base line was measured at Stanfield,
Oreg., in the spring of 1916, and at the close of the fiscal year
observations were in progress at triangulation stations in the vicin
ity of, and to the eastward of, Portland, Oreg.
The use of motor trucks on these pieces of work proved to be
very efficient in reducing the time of travel between stations,
which were in some cases 100 miles apart. Such a distance
could usually be made in one day by the truck, while the older
method of traveling by freight teams would have required at
least four days.
The use of the motor trucks on the triangulation and the
reconnoissance (selection of the stations) is an innovation in this
country which was inaugurated the last part of the previous
fiscal year.
The primary traverse line between Memphis, Tenu., and Little
Rock, Ark., was measured with invar base tapes. Angles were
measured with the same accuracy as in primary triangulation at
the turning points of this traverse. A primary base line was meas
ured in the vicinity of Argenta, Ark., near the end of the traverse
line, from which a primary triangulation will extend westward.
A reconnoissance for primary triangulation was extended from
the vicinity of Pecos, Tex., northward through New Mexico and
into Colorado, connecting stations of the Texas-California arc
with stations of the transcontinental arc.
A portion of the old traverse line extending from Port Isabel
to Brownsville, Tex., was rerun.
A secondary triangulation was executed on the Patapsco River
and in Baltimore Harbor in compliance with a request of the
United States district engineer officer at Baltimore.
In cooperation with the Chief of the Geodetic Section in Mexico
a connection was made across the Rio Grande of the triangula
tion systems of the United States and Mexico.
202
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Determinations were made of the geographic positions of promi
nent natural objects on the coast of California for use by the Light
house Service in locating aids to navigation.
The line of precise levels between Reno and Las Vegas, Nev.,
begun during the previous year, primarily at the request of the
United States Geological Survey, was completed. This was
needed to coordinate lines of levels which had been run by that
survey in the southern part of Nevada. A spur line was run into
southern California to the town of Laws.
A line of precise levels was run across the State of Florida con
necting the permanent tide gauges at Cedar Keys, St. Augustine,
and Fernandina, with the object of determining whether there is
any relative difference in elevation between the mean sea level of
the Atlantic and that of the Gulf of Mexico. The final computa
tions have not been made, but the preliminary results of this work
indicate that the difference is very slight, with the Gulf the higher.
Another line of levels was extended from the vicinity of Huntley,
Mont., northeastward through Glendive to Snowden, on the Great
Northern Railway, where connection was made with previous
work.
Lines of precise leveling were begun in the States of Indiana and
Michigan which had been requested by the United States Geological
Survey. A t the end of the fiscal year levels had been completed
between Terre Haute and Lawrenceburg and progress made on the
line running to the northward of Indianapolis.
Work was begun on a line of precise levels in Maine to extend
across the State from Boundary to Vanceboro. This line will fur
nish much needed fundamental elevations in the interior of the
State and will form a connecting link in the precise leveling net of
Canada. The Geodetic Survey of Canada and the United States
Coast and Geodetic Survey are cooperating in their geodetic work
to the extent that the leveling and triangulation nets of the two
countries will supplement and strengthen each other.
The efficiency of a precise-leveling party was increased by having
the observations recorded on a listing adding machine, which was
taken to the field and mounted on one of the small motor cars used
in transporting the party during the observing as well as to and
from their headquarters, also by having the tripod and level
mounted on the second car. The machine and instrument
remained on the cars throughout the day, even when the track
was cleared for trains.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
203
These improvements were made during the year, and so far as
known were never employed in any country before.
Gravity stations were established in Michigan, Minnesota, North
and South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Virginia, Dela
ware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania for the purpose of extending
the investigations of the variations in the densities of the materials
in the outer portion of the earth.
A determination was made of the difference of longitude between
the observatory of the Coast and Geodetic Survey Office in Wash
ington and the observatory of the Bausch& Lomb Optical Co., in
Rochester, N. Y. An astronomic latitude was also observed at
Rochester.
The astronomic latitudes of two monuments on the TennesseeKentucky boundary between the town of Hickman, Ky., and
Union City, Tenn., were determined, at the request of the local
authorities, in order to settle the question of the location of a por
tion of the boundary between the two States.
The computation, adjustment, discussion, and preparation for
publication of the results of the work of triangulation, leveling,
gravity, and latitude and longitude determinations were carried on
throughout the year.
The demands for the results of the geodetic work are increasing
from year to year. The calls for such data come from Government,
State, municipal, and private engineers and surveyors. The
geodetic data are used for the fundamental control of the elevations
and geographic positions of their work.
Magnetic Work.
In the continuation of the magnetic survey of the United States,
observations for the determination of the three magnetic elements
were made at 427 stations, of which 250 were new primary stations,
87 were auxiliary stations for the investigation of regions of local
disturbance, and 59 were repeat stations.
At the request of local authorities meridian lines'were estab
lished at 20 places in connection with the magnetic work.
The magnetic survey of the 49th parallel boundary between the
United States and Canada, of which the part west of the Rocky
Mountains was done in 1905, was nearly completed by the close of
the fiscal year.
Magnetic observations have now been made at all but 240 of
the county seats in the United States.
204
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OP COMMERCE.
Magnetic observations in Alaska and the Philippine Islands
were confined to those which could be made in connection with
other surveying operations.
The magnetic observatories at Cheltenham, Md.; Vieques, P. R .;
Tucson, Ariz.; Sitka, Alaska; and near Honolulu, Hawaii, were in
operation throughout the year.
Menaces to Navigation Discovered During the Year.
The following dangers to navigation were discovered, investi
gated, or reported by vessels or parties of the Survey during the
year:
Massachusetts.— Shoals and rocks located with wire drag in
approaches to Boston; shoals and depths less than charted found
with wire drag off Plymouth; shoals and rocks off Scituate dis
covered with wire drag; shoal of small extent and several pinnacle
rocks at entrance to harbor of Salem discovered with wire drag;
shoals off Minots Ledge and in Broad Sound discovered with wire
drag; rocks between Bartlett Rock and Howland Ledge dis
covered with wire drag; shoals off Brant Rock discovered with
wire drag; shoals discovered with wire drag in vicinity of Marble
head Neck; dangerous rock with 19 feet of water near sailing
course into Quicks Hole, with depths of 19 and 20 feet and depth
of 13 feet south of Gull Island.
Rhode Island.— Shoal awash off Newport, discovered by wire
drag.
New York.— Rocks at City Island, New York Harbor, located
with wire drag; shoals and pinnacle rocks in East River located
with wire drag; obstruction in Newtown Creek struck by tug
Alfred J. Murray, reported by New York suboffice.
New Jersey.— Shoal with 5 fathoms of water 25 miles south by
east of Bamegat reported.
Virginia.— Shoal with 221/ 2 feet of water in approaches to Chesa
peake Bay discovered and located.
North Carolina.— Obstruction on Middle Ground southeastward
from Roanoke Marshes Light, with depth of 6 feet, and two other
shoals located.
South Carolina.— Shoal with 27 feet of water between Martins
Industry Light Vessel and Charleston Light Vessel discovered
and developed.
Texas.— Shoals in Gulf of Mexico reported by suboffice at Gal
veston.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
2 05
California.— Shoal with 5% fathoms of water near Sears Rock
and Centissima Rock in Bonita Channel, entrance to San Francisco
Bay, reported by San Francisco suboffice.
Alaska.— Three uncharted rocks in Revillagigedo Channel
discovered with wire drag; rock with 12 feet off Point Stanhope
discovered with wire drag; submerged rock in entrance to Shakan
Bay with depth of 23 feet discovered with wire drag; rock in
Clarence Strait struck by steamship Mariposa, position deter
mined with wire drag; uncharted rock with 6 feet of water dis
covered with wire drag off Point Stanhope; five shoals located
with wire drag in southern and eastern parts of Sumner Strait;
18-foot rock located with wire drag in entrance to Union Bay,
Ernest Sound; four uncharted rocks in Sealed Passage and
Felice Strait discovered and developed; reef 2 miles southeast
of Aiaktalik Island marked by kelp, struck by steamer Pavlof,
reported; rock near midchannel in Grindall Passage located; a
number of uncharted dangers discovered and located in Kashevarof Passage, Clarence Strait; uncharted rock with x foot of
water east of Fire Island, Kashevarof Passage, Clarence Strait,
discovered and reported; three rocks near Wedge Islands, Clarence
Strait, and one rock off Point Halliday, Movia Sound, located;
four rocks located in channel southward of Tongass Island, Dixon
Entrance; rock in Wrangell Strait, struck by steamer Alki,
reported.
Philippine Islands.— Shoal in Iloilo Strait, Panay, reported by
director of coast surveys, Philippine Islands.
Personnel.
STEAMBOAT-INSPECTION SERVICE.
The force of the Steamboat-Inspection Service at the close of
the fiscal year was as follows:
At Washington, D. C.
Supervising Inspector General.......................................................................
Chief clerk (who is Acting Supervising Inspector General in the absence
of that officer)...............................................................................................
Clerks.................................................................................................................
Messenger..........................................................................................................
In the Service at large:
Supervising inspectors.....................................................................................
Traveling inspector..........................................................................................
Local inspectors of hulls.................................................................................
Local inspectors of boilers..............................................................................
Assistant inspectors of hulls...........................................................................
Assistant inspectors of boilers.........................................................................
Clerks to boards of local inspectors................................................................
i
i
7
1
-----
10
10
1
47
47
43
43
69
----- 260
Total...................................................................................................................... 270
Three permanent positions (two assistant inspectors of hulls
and one assistant inspector of boilers at New York) were added to
the Service during the fiscal year. Congress provided for the
current fiscal year 30 additional assistant inspectors, 1 addi
tional traveling inspector, and 1 clerk, making the present total
field force 291 persons and an aggregate force of 302 in the entire
Service. This addition was essential to doing the work of the
Service properly, but the demands upon the force have so largely
increased that even the increased staff is now insufficient and a
further increase is imperatively required. The weakest spot in
the Service is in the clerical staff. It is obvious that an increase
of 31 inspectors will mean additional pressure upon a clerical
force already insufficient and overworked. The urgent need,
therefore, for an increase in the clerical force of not less than 12
will be brought before Congress at its next session. It has re
peatedly been necessary to detail to the Office of the Supervising
Inspector General clerks from other bureaus and offices in order
to keep up with the current work. This means merely the
taking from forces already pressed to add to one that is over
worked. It is robbing Peter to pay Paul.
206
REPORT
OF THE
SECRETARY
OF
COM M ERCE.
207
Summary of Activities.
The force inspected and certificated 7,349 vessels in the fiscal
year 1916, issued licenses to 18,102 officers of all grades, inspected
at the mills 4,553 steel plates for the construction of marine boilers
and a large amount of other boiler material, and examined for
visual defects 4,522 applicants. Passengers to the number of
317,066,553 were carried on vessels which are required by law to
report the number of passengers carried. The number of acci
dents resulting in the loss of life during the fiscal year was 247,
and the number of lives lost was 1,276, including both passengers
and crew. Of the lives lost, 192 were from suicide, accidental
drowning, and other causes beyond the power of the Service to
prevent, leaving a loss of 1,084 lives as fairly chargeable to acci
dents, collisions, explosions, foundering, etc. The lives of 917
passengers were lost, which, compared with the number carried,
shows a ratio of 1 life lost for every 345,765. This compares with
a loss of 107 passengers in the previous year, the excess being due
to the sad loss of lives in the Eastland disaster. There was a
decrease of 204 in the number of vessels inspected, and a decrease
of 348,234 tons in the tonnage of vessels inspected, compared with
the previous fiscal year. There were certificated 5,818 domestic
steamers and 240 foreign passenger steamers. There were in
spected 23 passenger barges, 574 seagoing barges, and 694 motor ves
sels. During the year there were examined and tested 203,017 life
preservers. There were 2,741 reinspections of passenger and ferry
steamers made by boards of local inspectors dining the year, al
though for lack of money all reinspection work had to be stopped on
June 3, during one of the heaviest months of navigation. This was
particularly unfortunate, because reinspections are made without
prior notice to the vessel and afford an invaluable means of super
vision. During the year 28,019 applications were received for cer
tificates of service as able seamen, 2,317 were rejected, and 24,425
certificates were issued. There were 29,323 certificates of efficiency
issued to lifeboat men.
During the year the traveling inspector traveled over 15,080
miles, inspected 368 vessels in use, and found and reported 282
deficiencies of various kinds, which are detailed in the annual
report of the Supervising Inspector General.
Expansion of the Service.
The great prosperity of the country is bringing serious addi
tional demands upon the Service. More people travel, more go
06776°—16--- 14
2
o8
REPORT
OF
TH E
SECRETARY
OF
COM M ERCE.
on excursions, and more freight is shipped. The merchant
marine is rapidly enlarging. The vessels are bigger ; the demands
for exhaustive inspections are greater. The expansion of our
merchant marine is affecting the Service by the increase of the
personnel, the demand for more numerous examinations for
licenses, and the conducting of a larger number of investigations.
All this means more men and more money. The work grows not
only in volume but in quality. The public standard for it is
higher ; the law makes increased demands upon it, as, for example,
by the provisions of the seamen’s act.
Vessel Inspection.
In the old days the inspection of a vessel was a matter of hours,
whereas now it is one sometimes of days. Under the old condi
tions the inspection was superficial, whereas under present condi
tions it goes into minute details to ascertain whether the vessel
is in fact in proper condition to be certificated. To-day the local
inspectors make careful inquiry to satisfy themselves that every
vessel submitted for inspection is of a structure suitable for the
service in which she is to be employed, has suitable accommo
dations for passengers and crew, is in a condition to warrant the
belief that she may be used in navigation as a steamer with
safety to life, and that all the requirements of law in regard to
fire, boats, pumps, hose, life preservers, floats, anchors, cables,
and other things are faithfully complied with. In the same way,
also, the local inspectors give particular attention to the inspection
of the boilers of steamers and their appurtenances before the same
shall be used, and once in every year at the annual inspection
are required to subject all boilers to the hydrostatic pressure.
When a vessel is most carefully inspected with reference to hull,
boilers, equipment, and appurtenances, the inspectors approve the
same and make and subscribe a certificate of approval under oath.
For vessels of over ioo tons, subject to the inspection of the
Service, blue prints are required to be submitted, descriptive of
the hull, for the information of the inspectors, but these blue
prints are not required to be approved by the local inspectors
having jurisdiction. Therefore, in my last annual report recom
mendation was made for the creation of a corps of experts to be
employed in the Office of the Supervising Inspector General whose
business it would be to approve hull construction. For many
years the law has required that blue prints of boilers be submitted
to the local inspectors for approval, but it was recommended in
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
20g
my last annual report that the blue prints shall be approved in
the Office of the Supervising Inspector General, under the direc
tion of a corps of experts to be created for that purpose. The
effect of this would be to have absolute uniformity in both
hull construction and boiler construction. The Office of the
Supervising Inspector General has carefully considered the desira
bility of so arranging its work as to require the local inspectors
to furnish the central office with copies of blue prints of hulls
and copies of blue prints of boilers in order that this information
may be available at one central place, but this can not be done
unless the personnel of the central office is increased, and, also,
unless the personnel of the field service is increased. It is believed,
however, that an increase in force would be justified for this
purpose.
There was a time when it was thought impossible to build a
fireproof excursion steamer, but with a constant demand for
increased safety precautions men have commenced to give their
attention to this most important matter. The subject of fire
proof construction of excursion steamers may still be debated by
some, but the fact remains that such a steamer can be built and
prove a commercial success. If, upon the one hand, it be claimed
that it is impossible to build such steamers absolutely fireproof
and still carry large numbers of persons, the answer to that ob
jection is that it may be necessary eventually to put a limit upon
the number of persons that shall be carried on an excursion
steamer, because, in the last analysis, safety is the first con
sideration and financial profit is the last. I have already referred
to the advisory conference of May 3, 1916, on the subject of
making passenger vessels more secure from destruction by fire.
There was also held in the Department on May 22, 1916, a con
ference on automatic sprinklers on vessels. The idea of the
Department is not to force fireproof construction on excursion
steamers regardless of all other considerations, but rather to pro
ceed in the consideration of the subject with an open mind and to
obtain information, suggestions, and criticisms by those who are
competent to furnish information upon this subject. The time
is one for progress in the construction of vessels as in other matters.
Men are not content to proceed along old beaten paths, but are
seeking to meet new conditions as they actually are and to make
vessel construction as completely up to date as are buildings or
railroad cars.
2 X0
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
The work of the Steamboat-Inspection Service has also ex
panded in connection with the inspection of motor boats. Hence
the Department suggested that the name of the Service should
be changed from Steamboat-Inspection Service to that of “ Marine
Inspection Service,” because the Service touches, in its activities,
not only the inspection of steamers, but also the inspection of
motor boats and sailing vessels, and has to do not only with the
licensing of officers of steamers, but also the licensing of officers of
motor vessels and the certification of seamen and lifeboat men.
Years ago when a steamer was inspected and certificated, that
was the end of it, but to-day not only do the local inspectors follow
up the annual inspection by numerous reinspections, but the work
of the local inspectors is followed by twro traveling inspectors. It
would be hard to overestimate the effect of the work of the travel
ing inspectors, for these men are discovering and correcting mis
takes, oversights, and errors made by the local inspectors. By
this is not meant that the local inspectors are not careful, but they
are human, and it is necessary that there be a rigorous follow-up
system on their work by the traveling inspectors, the supervising
inspectors, and the central office.
Licensing of Men.
The Service licenses not only officers on steamers and motor
boats subject to inspection and on certain classes of sailing vessels,
but, as a result of the seamen’s act, it has become necessary to cer
tificate thousands of able seamen and lifeboat men. In the work
of certificating lifeboat men, the Service has been assisted by other
officers of the Government specially designated for that purpose.
It is the hope and plan of the Department, however, to be able in
the near future to have the work of licensing lifeboat men done
entirely by the inspectors of the Steamboat-Inspection Service.
It will thus be seen that whereas once only the officers of vessels
were licensed now the work of licensing has been expanded so that
it covers the crew as well as the officers. This has resulted in an
immense amount of work and will result ultimately in improved
safety conditions on board ship.
Investigations.
In past years, while there were many investigations conducted,
there was nothing like as many as to-day, for now everything is
investigated. This in the aggregate will obtain good results and
safer conditions, but it is not to be forgotten that the effective
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
211
ness of investigations is impaired if there is not a sufficiently
large personnel to conduct them promptly. It is therefore
necessary that there be a larger number of assistant inspectors
to do the actual work of inspection, while the local inspectors may
give more of their time to conducting the investigations and
trials of licensed officers.
In connection with the work of conducting investigations the
Department believes that it would be well that copies of testimony
of all investigations and trials be forwarded to the central office.
It may seem surprising to some that this has not been done, but
it is due to the fact that the personnel of the Service has not
been sufficiently large to permit of the work being properly
done in the field service by the clerks in transcribing their notes
or for the work of reviewing the testimony being done in the
central office. It is the desire of the Department that the testi
mony in every case shall be carefully reviewed, for in this way
errors can be corrected and the local inspectors can be instructed
accordingly.
Rehabilitation of the American Merchant Marine.
The work of the Service would in any event have increased
from this time forward, because of the fact that the American
merchant marine is again being surely built up. In that work
the Service can have no small part, because, just as intelligent
regulations are made and intelligently and equitably enforced,
just to that same extent does the Service assist or retard the
development of the American merchant marine.
It is not out of place when discussing the subject of the upbuild
ing of American shipping to make reference to a most excellent
pamphlet that was prepared for the Department of Commerce
by E. Platt Stratton, formerly Supervisor of the American Bureau
of Shipping, which is entitled “ Standardization in the Construc
tion of Freight Ships.” The author has ably brought to bear
upon a most interesting and vital subject an immense amount
of information and the results of a peculiarly valuable training
and experience. The suggestions that are made in that pamphlet
may well receive the careful consideration of American shipbuild
ers. It should be the pride of this country that its shipyards
should be the best in the world. As an economic proposi
tion it may be that both shipowners and shipbuilders can learn
fruitful lessons by a careful study of the pamphlet above
referred to.
212
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
The work of the Service has increased immensely as a result,
of admittance to American registry of many foreign-built ships,
and as the time approaches when these vessels will be subject to
the same inspection as American-built ships it can be appre
ciated that the inspectors of the Service on the coasts will be
most busily occupied in examining these vessels preparatory to
the issuance of certificates of inspection.
Increase of Force.
The increase of the inspecting force by 31 was opportune. The
time had come when it was useless for Congress to pass more laws
looking to safety on board ship or for the Board of Supervising
Inspectors to make further regulations in regard to the subject
until a sufficient number of men was furnished to enforce the pro
visions of the laws and the rules and regulations that already
existed. Large as the increase was in the number of inspectors, a
sufficient number has not yet been furnished, and it is necessary
that a material increase be made in the number of inspectors in
the near future in order to carry on the work of the Service
satisfactorily.
As I have already said, when the number of inspectors was in
creased Congress made no corresponding increase in the number
of clerks. Such an increase is a crying need at the present time,
especially in the field service. There should be an increase in the
number of clerks, so that the work that is at present required
may be properly done, and so that the Bureau may undertake new
work that will result in better inspection. The amount of overtime
put in by both inspectors and clerks is large, far too large. Pro
vision must be made for a larger number of men to do the clerical
work unless the Service is to suffer.
Larger Appropriations.
It necessarily follows that inasmuch as the Service is expanding,
as has been referred to in the preceding paragraphs, there must
be more money provided in order that it may properly carry on
its work, and this money should be available not only for the pay
ment of adequate salaries, but also for contingent expenses. If
more money is furnished in the contingent fund, more supervision
could be undertaken of vessels and the work of the local inspectors
could be better followed up by the supervising inspectors, who,
true to their title, should be constantly engaged in supervising
their districts. These men are now kept busy, but their activities
could be directed more effectively if more money was provided.
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OP COMMERCE.
213
Division of Districts.
The absurdity of one supervising inspector on the Pacific coast
charged with the supervision of the vessels of California, Oregon,
Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii, including the Sacramento, Co
lumbia, and Snake Rivers, still continues. The chart herewith, re
printed from my previous report, speaks for itself. No man can
cover such a task. The work is not done and can not be done even
by a superman, as under the existing conditions it is supposed to be.
F ig . 16.— First steamboat-inspection district, now supervised by one inspector.
Let one read the law which says that “ each supervising inspector
shall watch over all parts of the territory assigned to him, shall
visit, confer with, and examine into the doings of the local boards
of inspectors within his district, and shall instruct them in the
proper performance of their duties,” etc., and also provides (sec.
4408, Rev. Stat.) that “ the supervising inspectors shall see that the
several boards of local inspectors within their respective districts
214
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
execute their duties faithfully, promptly, and, as far as possible,
uniformly in all places,” etc.
With this in mind, ask how one supervising inspector can
comply with this law in a district which reaches from the Arctic
Ocean to the Tropics and from Idaho to Hawaii. Were there
such a superman, funds are not sufficient. It is earnestly to be
hoped that this absurd arrangement will be ended by legislation
to provide for two districts on the Pacific.
“ Eastland” Inquiry.
The unusual loss of life reported for the fiscal year arises from the
sad disaster to the Eastland. The action taken in this matter was
fully covered on pages 196 to 200, inclusive, of my last annual
report. Legislation carrying out the recommendations of the
board of inquiry into that disaster was introduced in Congress. I
have already shown that little of it was enacted into law. The
further proceedings in the Eastland case are necessarily suspended
pending the action of the courts on the indictments against the
licensed officers of the vessel.
Overloading of Passenger Excursion Steamers.
To the average person it often seems that more passengers are
on board a steamer than are actually present. There are many
who will sincerely say that on a steamer permitted to carry 2,000
persons there were 4,000 people and that the inspector at the dock
has not correctly counted them. Others, more conservative, will
say that while a larger number of persons wras not on board than
permitted by the certificate of inspection the inspectors have per
mitted too large a number in the certificate. These last persons
are nearer the truth than the former ones. This does not mean
that the local inspectors, who are charged with the responsibility
of passenger allowance, have not exercised care in making that
passenger allowance. They are undoubtedly the best informed
persons as to the number of people that should be permitted to
be carried on excursion steamers subject to their jurisdiction. At
the same time, it is not denied that the local inspectors are human
and that the judgment of men is not the same. Therefore, while
in one instance an inspector may refuse to permit a sufficiently
large number of persons to be carried, in another instance an
inspector may permit too large a number to be carried. The
question therefore arises, What is the solution for this condition
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
215
of affairs ? It would be found if due consideration were given to
this matter that the question would be very difficult to answer with
out taking into consideration many varying conditions. Upon the
one hand, it may be suggested that legislation should be enacted
to control this feature of inspection. Upon the other hand, it
must be said that no matter what legislation is enacted there is
hardly any measure that could be provided that would not work
hardship. Furthermore, it is probable that no matter how care
fully a law might be worded it might overlook some unsafe con
ditions that would result in disaster. The Bureau intends,
however, by suggestions now under study, and which it hopes to
formulate by the spring of 1917, to further control the situation
so as to bring about safer conditions and in many instances to
reduce the passenger allowance on certain classes of vessels.
Transportation of Dangerous Articles.
From time to time recommendations have been made that
some change should be made in the law so as to give some control
over the transportation of dangerous articles on freight vessels,
and also to enable the Bureau to formulate intelligent regula
tions controlling the transportation of certain inflammable and
dangerous articles on steamers carrying passengers. In the pres
ent state of the law there is no control over the transportation of
dangerous articles on freight vessels, and the law sometimes
brings about absurd conditions in the transportation of dangerous
articles on passenger vessels. It is believed, therefore, that it
would be well if the law was so amended as to give the Office of
the Supervising Inspector General authority to formulate regu
lations with reference to the transportation of dangerous articles
on all classes of vessels subject to the inspection of the Service.
Passengers on Ferryboats.
There is at present no legal limit to the number of persons a
ferry steamer may carry, and therefore nothing to prevent a ferry
boat from carrying passengers in excess of a safe limit. The De
partment has urged that this be corrected and favors bill H. R.
4781, introduced for that purpose. The efforts of the Depart
ment have been opposed by the officials of the city of New York,
and so far no action has been taken. While there is no doubt that
the opponents of the measure are sincere in their attitude, the
Department feels that it is both possible and desirable that a
2l6
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
limitation should be authorized. The following correspondence
will show the Department’s attitude:
D
epartm en t of
O f f ic e
Com
m erce,
S
of th e
ecretary
Washington, March
Hon.
D
M
ear
uncan
U. F
i,
,
iq
i
6 .
letch er,
United States Senate.
y
D
S enato r F letch er:
I think a further statement is desirable concerning Senate bill 1222 (H. R. 4781),
in order to make the issue concerning that measure clear. The question raised is this,
to speak plainly: Shall ferryboats continue unlimited and without restriction as to
the number of passengers they can carry and without being obliged to have life pre
servers sufficient to accommodate all on board? This is the condition under the
present law. I disapprove this condition. I am unwilling to assume myself or to
have my associates assume the responsibility for a continuance of this condition.
I do not care to have upon my conscience the possible loss of life in some serious acci
dent because of neglect on my part in a matter of this kind. My duty obliges me to
urge in the strongest way that Ute utmost practicable safeguards of law be placed
upon these vessels, and I earnestly hope you will concur with me.
Ferryboats frequently, and in New York Harbor especially, navigate waters in
which the danger of collision is peculiarly great and in which, as a matter of fact,
collisions do constantly occur. I hand you copy of report dated February 28 of a
collision between two ferryboats in New York Harbor arising from dense fog and
heavy traffic. Fortunately', nothing serious happened. No lives were lost. But you
will observe that this collision took place despite the fact that “ both these vessels
were proceeding carefully, sending the usual fog signals.” The report further says,
“ The necessary lookouts were maintained. The vessels were so close to each other
when sighted that there was little room to answer, and the board is of the opinion
that the collision came about as a result of misunderstanding of signals due to fog with
the accompanying whistle signaling in an area of heavy traffic.”
I am myself familiar with the traffic conditions in New York Harbor. I have
made many trips on the crowded ferryboats, and I think the condition of permitting
them to carry an unlimited number is wrong, and I protest against its continuance.
On the other hand, many of the objections raised are wholly imaginary. It is
quite practicable to handle the matter in such a way as to occasion no material incon
venience, and I assure you that every effort would be bent to this end in the event
that the bill became law.
Whether this shall be the case or not I want this Department to be on record as
favoring every practicable safeguard to life and asking that all be done within reason
for its protection.
A letter similar to this has been sent to Judge Alexander, chairman of the House
Committee on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries.
Yours, very truly,
W i l l i a m C . R e d f i e l d , Secretary.
D
epartm en t of
O f f ic e
Com
of th e
m erce,
S
ecretary
Washington, May 2 6 ,
,
i q i 6.
Mr. R. A. C. S mith,
Commissioner of Docks and Ferries, New York, N . Y .
My D
ear
S ir :
Permit me to quote a letter from the postmaster at San Francisco dated the 19th
instant, as follows:
" I had occasion on Sunday afternoon, May 14, 1916, to cross the bay on the ferry'
steamer plying between Sausalito and San Francisco, a distance of approximately
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
217
six (6) miles. This crossing is made at that point of the bay directly opposite the
Golden Gate, and, due to high winds, fogs, and strong tides, it is the roughest on the
bay.
“ On this occasion my attention was called to the crowded condition of the boat.
Not alone was every seat occupied, but the aisles and decks were crowded with people
standing. I inquired of one of the officers as to the law on the limitation to the
number of passengers that might be carried, and was informed in rather an indifferent
manner that the only restriction was that there should be a life preserver for each
passenger on board. The officer seemed to resent my inquiry and rather taunted me,
saying the present Congress had refused to pass a law safeguarding the lives of
passengers on ferries. ”
I hand you copy of my reply to him. I am informed by a passenger who recently
crossed the Tottcnville ferry that the boat was so crowded there was great difficulty
in getting the front chain fastened across the bow to safeguard the passengers. This
Department regards a limitation upon the number of passengers permitted on a ferry
boat both feasible and necessary. It believes that the present conditions are certain
to result in serious loss of life in some accident. It has, as you know, done all in its
power to secure authority to limit the number of passengers, but largely through your
opposition it has failed to receive that authority. Your attention is called, therefore,
to the complaint herein and to the answer we have to make and to the statement which
I now desire to place on record that the Steamboat-Inspection Service of this Depart
ment, with my full concurrence, regards existing conditions as a menace to safety and
that it must be absolved from all responsibility should any disaster occur in which there
is loss of life arising from an excessive number of passengers on any ferry boat anywhere
in the country, and that those must accept the responsibility through whose opposition
lawful power to prevent such a disaster was withheld.
Yours, very truly,
W i i x i a m C. R B D P I B L D , Secretary.
The Department does not desire to impose any hardships upon
the owners or operators of any ferryboat and believes it quite pos
sible to regulate the matter sufficiently without so doing. It is
conceded that ferry operators are commonly properly solicitous of
the safety of their passengers and that they would not willingly
oppose methods to protect the lives of such passengers. A t the
same time the fact remains that there is now no such lawful pro
tection provided, and this condition ought not to continue. The
Steamboat-Inspection Service has at present no power in the mat
ter, but it is ready to cooperate when it has authority with any
parties interested to bring about the desired result.
Limited Authority to Investigate Marine Disasters.
There is at present no general authority of law for investigating
marine disasters. Authority exists only to inquire into the con
duct of licensed officers on such occasions. If, for example, there
were an accident in which all the licensed officers were killed,
as in the case of the towing steamer Sam Brown on February 2,
1916, the Department has no lawful authority to investigate
the cause of disaster. This would be true of an accident to an
ocean vessel in which the licensed officers were lost. Authority
2l8
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
should be given to the Steamboat-Inspection Service to investigate
marine disasters occurring on any vessels under its supervision.
The experience of the Service confirms the recommendation made
on page 205 of my last report, which said:
A tribunal should be lawfully established for investigations into marine casualties
involving serious loss of life, similar generally to the courts of inquiry provided for in
the British merchant shipping act and the Canadian merchant shipping act.
Fusible Plugs.
Special attention has been given during the year to the safety
conditions created by the use of fusible plugs. In this matter
the Bureau of Standards has ably assisted. The practice of the
Steamboat-Inspection Service as regards the use of fusible plugs
is in advance of that of both the Navy and the Coast Guard and
is setting to them an example of a high standard of safety practice
which is to be commended.
Salaries of Assistant Inspectors.
On July 18, 1916, the assistant inspectors of steam vessels at
San Francisco forwarded to me a respectful petition for an increase
in salary, in which they said, with truth:
The work of the Steamboat-Inspection Service at this port has increased greatly
owing to increase in tonnage of vessels inspected and the higher standard at which
the Service is maintained at this time, whereas the salaries paid assistant inspectors
have remained stationary for many, many years. * * * The cost of living is so much
greater at this time than it wras at the time our present salaries were fixed that we
find it a very hard struggle to properly rear our families.
They add, with equal truth:
The salaries received by men in kindred occupations in the maritime world,
such as masters, mates, and engineers, with whom we come in contact daily in the
performance of our duties, is so much in excess of the salaries received by us it seems
to have a tendency to lessen the respect due inspectors in this Service.
Finally, they add a suggestion that is pertinent for the present
and future good of the Service in saying:
The meagemess of the salaries paid assistant inspectors for the quality of work re
quired is one of the reasons why the best men are not now taking the civil-service
examinations for these positions.
The request of these worthy officers is as forceful as courteous.
It is for the good of the country that their compensation should be
made more commensurate with the value of the duties rendered
by them.
Protection of Dredge Workers.
On May 20, 1916, the president of the International Dredge
Workers Protective Association, at Chicago, wrote me asking
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OP COMMERCE.
21 9
help to get better protection for their men who go out on scows
8 miles into the lake. He said:
These steel scows have no life guards or shelter of any kind for a man to get away
from the storms. * * * The scows are loaded down to a foot above the water, and
the sea sweeps right over them. The tugs let out about 800 feet of cable, and no one
can see if anything has gone wrong on the scows.
To this he adds that about 12 men have been lost from these
scows at different times. In reply, I told Mr. Flannery, the presi
dent of the above association, that I should emphasize the need
of better laws for the protection of these men in my annual
report. I now do so. I regret exceedingly that the law gives
this Department no jurisdiction over such scows or over their
equipment or navigation. A t present the Service is powerless.
I earnestly hope that Congress will realize the humane necessity
of providing for the protection of these men and will give us
power to regulate matters in their behalf.
Work for Other Departments.
The work done by the Steamboat-Inspection Service for other
departments of the Government is constantly increasing until now
it has become a factor to be carefully considered in administer
ing the work of the Bureau. If the demands continue, it will be
necessary to have a larger force of inspectors to do this Govern
ment work, or perhaps a special force assigned to it, or arrange
ments will have to be made for somebody else to undertake
the work.
Archaic State of Inspection Laws.
The laws under which the Steamboat-Inspection Service oper
ates are archaic and should be revised. They are vague, out of
date, and in some respects contradictory. They do not provide
for an organization of the Service suited to modern conditions.
Authority is scattered. Differences of practice on vital matters
are permitted, and until there is a change it is difficult to stand
ardize the Service. An inquiry has been made by a committee
of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, whose report
will, I trust, deal frankly with this phase of the subject. As
things now are, authority has more or less at times to be assumed
to do particular things under general powers. The spirit of the
Service is admirable. Its standards are high. Its practices were
never so efficient as to-day. It can not, however, reach the perfec
tion at which it aims until it has a modernized law behind it and a
sufficient office and field staff to do its work.
BUREAU OF NAVIGATION.
Increased Duties of the Bureau.
In my last annual report I stated that Congress had imposed
serious additional duties upon this Service without giving any
added compensation to the Commissioner of Navigation for these
great additions to his responsibility and without allowing him any
additional force with which to do the larger work. I then said
that it was an act of simple justice that under the onerous condi
tions imposed by law on him his salary should be made equal to
that which others similarly situated receive. I therefore included
in the estimates for the present fiscal year an increase in the salary
of the Commissioner of Navigation from $4,000 to $5,000. It was
not granted. I now specifically state the added burdens placed
upon this Service, as follows:
On August 18, 1914, Congress passed the act permitting the reg
istry of American-owned foreign-built vessels for our foreign trade.
Under this act there have been admitted 187 vessels of 623,717
gross tons. The increase in our foreign fleet has been of vital value
during the war and has involved determination of many new ques
tions and the readjustment of a great deal of work to the new
conditions.
The Hardy Act, of March 3, 1913, increased the number of
licensed officers to be carried on vessels. This brought a serious
additional load to the Service because there was an insufficient
number of licensed officers to meet the condition of the law along
the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. There were hundreds of violations
of this law which the Service has had to handle, and it has been
difficult and laborious to adjust the act to existing conditions.
The wireless communication law of July 23, 1912, and the
radio communication act of August 13, 1912, involved the crea
tion of a new service covering the inspection of every wireless sta
tion in the United States and those on vessels leaving our ports
under certain conditions. It also required licensing shore sta
tions and stations on American ships, the examining of operators,
and the general supervision of a highly technical service.
On February 24, 1915, Congress passed the act admitting as
vessels of the United States foreign vessels wrecked on our coasts
320
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
221
or on adjacent waters and owned by Americans and repaired in
American shipyards. Under this act 7 vessels of 11,630 tons
have come in. Each of these cases requires a careful considera
tion and in some instances the appraisal of the value of the vessel
in her salved condition.
The deficiency appropriation act of July 29, 1914, transferred
to the Bureau of Navigation the employment of 62 navigation in
spectors, requiring the creation of a civil-service register, the
organization of the force, its assignment to various districts, the
supervision of the work, and the handling of the large number of
fine cases reported by these men.
The act of August 22, 19x4, provided for the use of gasoline
engines as emergency power for lights and wireless apparatus on
passenger vessels. This required investigation by the Service
into the efficiency and performance of these auxiliary engines.
The act of March 4, 1915, enables the consular officers to issue
provisional certificates of registry to vessels abroad purchased by
citizens of the United States. The application in detail of this
wholly ixew principle in American legislation has required careful
attention from the Service.
On March 4, 1915, the passage of the seamen’s act placed upon
the Bureau of Navigation a great additional burden of new work.
The adjustment of the law to the conditions then existing was a
matter of long, hard, patient labor.
In addition to the above express requirements of law, the Bureau
of Navigation was called upon to do much of the work of American
preparation for the International Conference on Safety of Life
at Sea, held in London in November and December, 1913, and
January, 1914.
If the above additional duties, none of which formed any part
of the work of the Service when the existing salaries were fixed,
are not sufficient to justify added compensation, it should be noted
that there has been an unprecedented increase in our foreigngoing fleet. In three years the tonnage of this fleet has more than
doubled, and there are to-day building in our shipyards the un
precedented number of 417 steel vessels, being a total of 1,454,270
gross tons of steel ships. Each of these ships must be documented
and admeasured and inspected as regards her radio apparatus
when same is used. Meanwhile the annual number of seamen
shipped and discharged under the supervision of the Service has
grown in two years from 378,772 to 487,524.
222
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OE COMMERCE.
The situation, then, is that, under conditions in which both by
the development of the country and by express acts of Congress
serious additional burdens have been placed upon this Service, no
account has been taken of these things in the compensation of
the men who must do the work. The salary of the Commissioner
and the Deputy Commissioner remain as they were fixed in 1884.
I therefore renew my recommendation that the salary of the Com
missioner of Navigation be made $5,000 and recommend that the
salary of the Deputy Commissioner be increased from $2,400 to
$3,000 and that of the chief clerk from $2,000 to $2,400. Our esti
mates also include a necessary addition for the clerical force of this
Service.
Total American Merchant Marine.
American merchant shipping registered for the foreign trade
and enrolled or licensed for the coasting trade and fisheries on
June 30, 1916, comprised 26,444 vessels of 8,470,946 gross tons.
The following statement shows the condition of our merchant
marine at the close of each of the last four fiscal years, and at a
glance discloses the extent and direction of its development
during this interesting period in the world’s history.
Y e a r e n d e d J u n e 30—
F o r e ig n
tra d e,
r e g is te r e d .
C o a s t in g t r a d e ,
e n r o lle d , lic e n s e d .
T o t a l.
G reat
L ak es.
Sea and
r iv e r s .
Gross tons. Gross tons. Gross Ions. Gross tons.
*9 14 .......................................................................................................................
1,0 2 7 ,7 7 6
3 ,9 39 ,78 6
3 ,9 18 ,9 5 6
1 ,0 7 6 ,1 5 »
2,882,922
3 ,9 6 9 ,6 14
7,92 8 ,68 8
1 ,8 7 1 ,5 4 3
2,818,0 00
3,6 9 9 ,8 8 6
8 ,3 8 9 ,4 2 9
2 ,19 3 ,2 8 6
2, 760,815
3 ,5 1 6 ,8 4 5
8 ,4 7 0 ,9 4 6
7,8 8 6 ,5 18
The increase has been due chiefly, of course, to the facts that
a great portion of the tonnage of the world has been employed
for military purposes and another portion has been destroyed by
acts of war, that merchant shipping of belligerents sought at
the outset of war the shelter of neutral ports and has remained
there, and that the shipyards of the warring powers have turned
their energies to naval and military production and have reduced
their output of merchant shipping. Fortunately, Congress the
day before the war began had taken up a measure necessary to
meet the situation foreshadowed and before the war was a fort
night old had passed the ship-registry act for the admission of
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
223
foreign-built ships to American registry for foreign trade. The
measure was passed in an emergency, but it was not an emer
gency measure, as it rested on a principle adopted years ago by
other maritime nations and repeatedly advocated in recent years
in Congress. The total increase in our merchant shipping during
the past four years has been 584,428 gross tons. Abroad both
belligerent and neutral nations recognized that during the war
the American flag offered apparent advantages, particularly
against submarine attack, and that the ship-registry act of 1914
would increase American shipping at the obvious expense of for
eign shipping. Naturally, therefore, other nations promptly took
measures to prevent the transfer of their merchant ships during
the war period to foreign flags. Between February 12, 1915, and
June 30, 1916, the following nations passed laws or issued decrees
prohibiting, under penalties, during the war the transfer of mer
chant ships under their respective flags to the flags of other
countries: United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, France, Italy,
Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, Austria-Hungary, Denmark, Spain,
Greece, Brazil, and Belgium.
The merchant shipping of these nations in June, 1916, comprised
39,429,471 gross tons out of a world’s total of 42,534,275, ex
cluding American shipping. Possibly other nations have passed
similar laws of which the Department of Commerce has not yet
been advised. An effect of these measures is seen in the small
amount of foreign tonnage transferred to the American flag
during the fiscal year 1916 compared with the fiscal year 1915.
A considerable tonnage, probably over 200,000 gross tons, repre
senting American investment of capital before the war, but owned
in the name of foreign corporations, could not be transferred
in view of these measures of foreign nations. During the past
fiscal year, in fact, while the foreign tonnage transferred to the
American flag has comprised only 34 vessels of 92,439 gross tons,
the American tonnage transferred to foreign flags has comprised
160 vessels of 102,479 gross tons, of which the largest were the
steamships Siberia, 11,306 gross tons, Robert Dollar, 5,356 gross
tons, and Constitución, 3,358 gross tons, transferred to the
Japanese; Oceana, 7,796 gross tons, transferred to the Spanish;
and M. S. Dollar, 4,216 gross tons, transferred to the British
flag. In each of these cases the vessel was actually sold to for
eign owners. Up to October 30, 1916, during the current fiscal
year, 48 American vessels of 76,880 gross tons have been sold to
foreigners.
66776°— 16---- 15
224
REPORT OK THE SECRETARY OE COMMERCE.
The ship-registry act during its brief operation up to June 30,
1916, added, as stated, 615,800 gi-oss tons to our merchant
shipping. Domestic shipbuilding has also added its quota, while
the principal subtractions, of course, are due to the loss or aban
donment of vessels and sales to aliens. The operation of these
causes during the past four fiscal years is indicated briefly in the
following statement:
Y e a r e n d e d J u n e 30—
B u i l t in
U n it e d
S ta tes.
G r o s s to n s .
■ 915.......................................................... ...........................................................................................
T o ta l............................................................................................................
T o s t or
aban
doned.
S o ld to
a lie n s .
G r o s s to n s . G r o s s to n s .
3 4 6 ,15 s
10 1,2 5 6
5**373
316 ,2 50
227,257
36 ,676
2 25,122
2 11.4 2 9
>8,595
325*414
193 »104
102,479
1.2 1 2 ,9 4 1
733,046
209,123
Besides the positive forces adding to or subtracting from our
merchant shipping, other forces under the laws operate to affect
statistical returns, though not affecting the actual volume of ship
ping. In certain trades our laws take cognizance of some types of
vessels and in other trades exempt them from navigation papers.
Thus a barge in a harbor is not required to be enrolled and included
in the returns, while the same barge in trade to another State must
carry papers and will be included in the returns. Such changes,
considerable every year, materially affect the legal total of our
tonnage, but do not, of course, affect the physical facts of shipping.
While American tonnage in foreign trade has more than doubled
in four years, our tonnage in the coasting or domestic trade has
diminished nearly 10 per cent. The heavy ocean freight rates
which foreign nations are willing to pay to secure the products of
our factories, farms, and mines have attracted 10 per cent of our
shipping from transportation service between our own ports to the
transportation service abroad. The ocean trade routes followed
by increased American shipping is indicated by the following state
ment of the tonnage clearances of American ships for foreign ports
in 1914 and 1916, clearances being expressed in net tons of 100
cubic feet available for cargo or passengers, and the same ship, of
course, usually clearing several times during a year and thus appear
ing several times in the total.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
Clearances for—
225
1914 ton
nage.
1916 ton
nage.
447.667
I . 134.952
687, >85
192,479
72,218
131,198
4.263
157,390
79, 4*3
752,874
58,980
128,775
7 4 5 .2 4 2
2,448,305
1,703,063
28,615
945.353
Increase.
75,*49
Trade to the foreign ports of our own continent and to near-by
islands, where the same ship makes many voyages annually, calls
for the following separate statement of American clearances:
Clearances for—
1914 ton
nage.
1916 ton
nage.
1,854,058
1,998,805
138,073
871,506
500,009
266,163
1,810,358
964,553
66,883
T o ta l..........................................................................................................
4,395,082
1,139,889
1,691,412
Increase.
144,747
128,090
938,852
639.880
726,859
390,150
323,267
7,296,777
2,901,695
Of 38,895,261 net tons of shipping cleared on ocean voyages to
foreign ports during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1916, 9,745,082
net tons, or 25 per cent, were American. In the fiscal year 1914,
of 39,622,486 net tons, only 5,141,324, or 13 per cent, were
American.
World’s Merchant Shipping.
The growth of American shipping in foreign trade is satisfactory
not only from our own comparative records but also by compari
son with the changes in the merchant shipping under foreign
flags. To an extent these have been coincident with the opera
tion of the ship-registry act, for transfers which have added to our
tonnage, of course, have decreased tonnage under foreign flags,
particularly the British and the German. The best available
return on the world’s merchant shipping at the present time is in
Lloyd’s Register of Shipping for the year ended June 30, 1916.
The figures include only vessels of 100 gross tons or over and do
not usually include river vessels or unrigged barges, which com
prise a considerable part of American tonnage and of the tonnage
of nations along the banks of the Rhine, the Danube, and other
REPORT OE THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
226
large rivers. The changes effected during the war period are
shown by the following table:
F lag.
In crea se
( 4 - ) o r d e
crease ( —).
916
1914
G r o s s to n s . N u m b e r .
G r o s s to n s .
G r o s s to n s .
11,328
21,045,049
11,141
20,901 ,9 99
—
143,050
S e a ....................................................................................
G re a t L a k e s ..................................................................
P h ilip p in e I s la n d s .....................................................
2,490
610
2,970,28 4
5,587
592
3 ,7 9 0 ,5 7 8
2,318,223
+
-
820,294
74
5,355,76 4
45,146
66
40,060
-
5 ,0 8 6
T o ta l A m e ric a n ......................................................
3,174
5,368,19 4
3)245
6,148,861
4-
780,667
G e r m a n ...................................................................................
N o rw e g ian .............................................................................
5,338
2 , 191
5 ,459,29 6
4 ) i 5 i )552
—i
307,744
F r e n c h .....................................................................................
I ta lia n ......................................................................................
1,576
X, 160
1,103
i )953
2,255
i)5 io
2,771,022
2,216,643
-
X, 210
1,896,53 4
5,847,453
1,508,916
N u m b e r.
B r it is h .....................................................................................
A m erican:
J a p a n e s e ..................................................................................
D u tc h .......................................................................................
R u s s ia n ...................................................................................
S w e d is h ...................................................................................
806
i
»245
1,466
A u s tro -H u n g a ria n ..............................................................
445
D a n is h .....................................................................................
S p a n is h ....................................................................................
822
647
2 , 504,722
5 , 319,438
1,668,296
1,708,38 6
1 , 496 ,455
I , 053 , 8 l 8
I , I l 8,086
1 ) 055)719
1)251
1,380
396
1,068,502
1,025,02 0
4444-
266,300
102 ,795
228,238
139,067
12,461
14,684
-
93 ,066
892,618
857,602
-
1 6 3 , IO I
829,836
-
4-
3 7 )4 2 1
8 2 0 ,181
898,823
854
606
439
1,838
733,576
1,833,375
-
4-
68,987
103,592
97,071
30,167
48,6 8 3 ,1 3 6
-
406,426
G reek...............................................................................
O ther flag s.............................................................................
2,091
836,868
1,736,221
G ra n d t o t a l ..............................................................
30,836
49,089 ,5 55
485
i ) i 5*
792
4-
34 ,541
Judged by international standards our recent maritime growth
is as gratifying as when measured only by our own returns. After
two years of conflict the world’s merchant tonnage is not quite
i per cent less than before hostilities were declared, although
during the interval merchant shipbuilding has been wholly or
partly abandoned by some of the nations at war. During the
two years before the war merchant shipping increased from
44,600,677 tons in 19x2 to 49,089,552 tons in 1914, or about 10
per cent.
American Shipbuilding.
During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1916, all American ship
yards built 937 merchant vessels of 325,414 gross tons, compared
with 1,157 vessels of 225,122 gross tons for the previous year. These
figures cover vessels completed and documented for trade at the
customhouses. It does not include vessels launched but not docu
mented up to the end of the fiscal year. In my report last year
it was estimated that this year’s output doubtless would be 400,000
gross tons. The conditions which obtained in our larger ship
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY O F COMMERCE.
227
yards and, indeed, through our steel industries in the spring and
early summer of 1916 are generally known. The demands upon
such plants taxed them to their maximum capacity, and the de
mand for skilled labor, especially in shipyards, often exceeded
the available supply. Wages generally were increased and strikes
occurred in some shipyards. Delays in construction involving
about 80,000 tons of ship construction were thus inevitable, and
the finished product of our yards, accordingly, is less than was
estimated a year ago. The total volume of construction under
way or undertaken during the year greatly exceeds, however, the
most sanguine expectations of our shipbuilders a year ago.
Since my last annual report the shipbuilding industry of the
United States has ceased to hold the position merely of a domestic
industry, and through the skill and enterprise of our builders,
naval architects, and capitalists has become a matter of prime
international interest and concern, as, for the time at least, it
must be a main source of supply of new ships for the prosecution
of the world’s foreign trade. During the first six months of 1916
American shipyards completed and the Bureau of Navigation
officially numbered 524 vessels of 240,055 gross tons, while
during the same period British shipyards, according to Lloyd’s
returns, launched 160 vessels of 238,255 gross tons. In June,
howrever, British yards more actively resumed merchant ship
building, and during the nine months up to October 1 they had
launched 246 vessels of 430,522 gross tons. In the same period
American yards had completed 846 vessels of 361,113 gross tons
for American owners and 5 vessels of 17,203 gross tons for foreign
owners, a total of 851 vessels of 378,316 gross tons. Some of
the British ships launched await engines and machinery, the
output of which is still delayed by the demands of the munitions
department.
The current fiscal year opened, accordingly, with the promise
of the largest output of American shipyards in our history. On
July 1, 1916, work had actually begun, according to the returns
of shipbuilders, on 186 steel vessels of 699,658 gross tons, and under
normal industrial conditions all this tonnage should be completed
during the current fiscal year. During the calendar year 1915
British yards launched 650,919 gross tons. In addition American
shipbuilders were under contract to build 199 other steel merchant
vessels aggregating 526,126 gross tons, a portion of which will
be completed during the current fiscal year, but the greater part
228
REPORT OE THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
of which will not be completed before the fiscal year ending June 30,
1918.
On October i, 1916, American shipyards were building or under
contract to build 417 steel merchant ships of 1,454,270 gross tons.
Of this tonnage the builders at that date expected to launch 326
ships of 998,035 gross tons before the end of the current fiscal
year. Some yards are working the full 24 hours with three shifts
of men, and in some instances bonuses have been offered to
builders and by builders to their employees for delivery in ad
vance of the contract date. This does not include the wooden
shipbuilding in many smaller yards. This product is usually
about 100,000 gross tons annually and will be greater during the
current year.
I have already stated that the present tonnage building in
American yards includes 195 ocean steel steamers of over 1,000
gross tons each, aggregating 1,037,103 gross tons.
On December 31, 1913, German shipyards were building or
under contract to build 104 ocean steel steamers, each of over
1,000 gross tons, aggregating 810,520 gross tons, the largest vol
ume of work in the Empire’s history. Much of this tonnage, on
account of the war, is not yet completed.
The naval appropriation act of August 29, 1916, provides the
largest building program for the Navy in history. A t an esti
mated cost of $588,000,000, battleships, battle cruisers, scout
cruisers, and other types of warships and auxiliaries, numbering
157 and of approximately 855,000 tons displacement, are to be
built during the next five years in private and Government ship
yards. Of these, 66 of about 382,000 tons displacement are to
be begun as soon as practicable and the remainder before July 1,
1919. The current fiscal year practically opened, accordingly,
with about two and a quarter millions of tons of merchant and
naval shipping, valued roughly at $800,000,000, under construc
tion, ordered, or to be ordered as rapidly as our shipyards, Gov
ernment and private, can undertake the work.
So many uncertain factors enter into the prosecution of this
work that it is inadvisable to make any more precise conjecture
than has already been made as to the merchant shipping which
will be completed dining the current fiscal year. Our steel indus
tries must furnish an extraordinary amount of materials for ship
building, at home and abroad; our shipbuilding plants, already
increasing in number and facilities, must be further extended; and
the number of skilled mechanics must be increased. Transpor
REPORT OK THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
229
tation must be uninterrupted, and capital and labor must work
together on mutually satisfactory terms. Events have combined
to afford the opportunity this year to establish the shipbuilding
industry in the United States in a firm position for years to come.
It is not probable that in the immediate future we shall again
come so nearly to rivaling Great Britain’s primacy as a shipbuild
ing nation as we do at the present time, for shipbuilding is one of
the foundations of the British Empire, while shipbuilding and the
merchant marine can hardly— at least for years to come— equal
the railroads in importance to the development of America. We
are, however, now so far in advance of all other powers than Great
Britain that only the failure to make full use of present oppor
tunities can deprive us of the second place among shipbuilding
nations. It is gratifying that our shipyards are building for foreign
as well as for American owners. This trade, I trust, may be re
tained through the excellence of our work and the reasonableness
of our prices. It will then become a real and abiding source of
national strength as well as an advantage to our labor and capital.
Our shipowners and shipbuilders, wisely, are chiefly devoting
themselves to building cargo boats needed to meet the require
ments of the present time and of the years just ahead. The use of
oil as fuel on ships, on railroads, on motor cars and trucks, and in
manufacturing plants was growing before the conflict broke out
and has received a tremenduous impetus from the conditions of
modem warfare. East year’s report noted the fact that oil tankers
comprised a third of the tonnage brought under the American flag
by the ship-registry act of 1914. Of the tonnage now building in
our shipyards, oil tankers number 80, of 500,000 gross tons, or
nearly half of the total. The export of coal has been one of the sure
sources of strength of British trade and maritime rank, and in the
same fashion to an extent the export of oil from North America is
contributing and will continue after the war to contribute to our
export trade and rank as a sea power.
World’s Shipbuilding.
The world’s merchant shipbuilding reached its maximum in the
calendar year 1913, when, according to Lloyd’s Register, 1,750
ships, of 3,332,882 gross tons, were launched. Lloyd’s returns, as
stated, do not include vessels under 100 tons, river vessels, barges,
etc. The changes wrought in merchant shipbuilding by the war
are shown by the following return for the calendar years 1913,
1914 (for five months of which work in most yards was modified
23O
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
by conditions created by the war), and 1915, when the full effects
of the war are shown :
W here built.
N u m b e r.
U nited K in gd o m ..............................................
British co lon ies................................................
A u str ia-H un g a ry..............................................
1 9 X5
19 14
19 13
T o n s.
N u m b e r.
T o n s.
N u m b e r.
668
1 ,9 3 2 ,1 5 3
656
1 ,6 8 3 ,5 5 3
327
91
4 8 ,3 3 9
80
4 7 ,5 3 4
31
17
61» 757
XX
“ 3 4 ,3 3 5
(6)
To n s.
6 5 0 ,9 1 9
2 2 ,0 x 4
«
3X
4 0 ,9 3 2
25
3 1 ,8 1 s
23
89
1 7 6 ,0 9 s
33
1 x 4 ,0 5 2
6
16 2
4 6 5 ,2 2 6
89
“ 3 8 7 ,1 9 1
47
32
4 2 ,9 8 1
30
22, 132
6 4 ,6 6 4
8 5 ,8 6 1
26
4 9 ,4 0 8
95
74
1 0 4 ,2 9 6
13 0
n s , 153
120
1 X3 , 0 7 5
5 0 ,6 3 7
61
5 4 ,2 0 4
59
6 2 ,0 7 0
O ther countries.................................................
108
6 1 ,9 7 9
61
5i , 3H
37
3 3 ,9 6 0
Foreign to ta l...........................................
1 ,5 4 5
3 ,0 5 6 ,4 3 4
1 ,2 2 5
2 ,6 5 1 ,9 9 1
659
1 , 0 2 4 , X 78
U nited States:
C oast.............................................................
18 2
2 2 8 ,2 3 2
84
,6 3 ,9 3 7
76
1 5 7 ,1 6 7
G reat L a k es................................................
23
4 8 ,2 1 6
IO
3 7 ,8 1 5
8
2 0 ,2 9 3
T o ta l for U nited S ta tes........................
203
276,448
94
200, 762
84
177,460
Grand to ta l.............................................
1 ,7 5 0
3,333,881
1 ,3 1 9
743
1,201,638
D en m ark............................................................
F ran ce.................................................................
G erm an y.............................................................
I t a ly .....................................................................
Ja p a n ...................................................................
38
5 0 ,3 5 6
152
N etherlands.......................................................
N o rw a y...............................................................
« Returns not complete.
1 , 8 5 2 , 7 S3
(6)
4 5 ,1 9 8
2 5 ,4 0 2
C6)
1>R eturns not available.
The output of the world’s shipyards during the calendar year
1916 will exceed that of 1915. During the first ten months of
the year 1916, American yards have completed 963 vessels of
4 3 1>345 gross tons. During the first nine months of 1916 British
yards have launched 246 vessels of 430,522 gross tons, and France
has recently launched the passenger ship Paris, greater in ton
nage than all the merchant shipping she launched in 1915. The
steel merchant ships under construction or contract in the United
States on October 1, 1916, numbered 417 of 1,454,270 gross tons.
On June 30, 1916, the shipyards of the United Kingdom had 440
ships of 1,540,218 tons, nearly all steel steamers, under construc
tion. In the late summer of 1916 Japanese yards had contracts
running into 1918 for 104 ships of 464,370 tons. A t the close of
1915 Dutch yards had under contract to build within three years
71 ships of 251,750 tons, and on the same date Italian yards
were building 12 steamships of 82,500 gross tons.
Conditions Affecting American Maritime Interests.
I have presented the more important facts of the recent growth
of American merchant shipping and the recent changes in the mer
chant shipping of the rest of the world and comparative facts
about the recent growth of American shipbuilding and the changes
in shipbuilding in other maritime countries not merely for the
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
231
satisfaction which our progress must afford to Americans. I am
more concerned with our maintenance of the position now gained
and our improvement of the opportunity afforded by conditions of
to-day and of the future just ahead. While the building of mer
chant ships and the operation of such ships are, of course, wholly
distinct, governed by different conditions, natural and artificial,
the two have been linked together in the case of successful mari
time nations.
One of the first conditions essential to the prosecution of both
of these branches of activity, abundant capital, works now more
strongly in our favor than before, and as the European war con
tinues our capital increases and foreign capital is consumed. Even
after the close of the war the drain on production to raise the taxes
to meet the obligations arising from the war will be very heavy.
Foreign shipbuilding and the operation of foreign merchant ships
must contribute to this taxation and will be handicapped ac
cordingly.
We are equally fortunate in the possession of abundant steel of
domestic production, essential as the prime raw material for ship
building. We have abundant copper, abundant coal, oil, and lum
ber. The other leading maritime nations lack one or more of
these resources.
Under the spur of demands arising during the war the number
of our skilled workers in steel has increased rapidly in the past
two years, and one of the ultimate benefits to the country of the
large amount of steel shipbuilding for commercial and naval pur
poses now engaging American shipyards will be the training of a
proportionately large number of mechanics and laborers in the
diverse branches of labor involved in modern shipbuilding.
The intimate association of a merchant marine under the
national flag with all forms of our national life have been brought
home to the American people during the past two years. Ship
building and shipowning, it has been demonstrated, are on a dif
ferent and a higher plane than other industries, for in a measure
all others are more or less dependent on them, and there is need,
accordingly, for a large and intelligent consideration of their
welfare. Shipbuilding necessarily is conducted here and abroad
under the conditions of the freest international competition. The
prospective shipowner of any nation may purchase a ship in any
market which offers the most favorable terms and sail it under the
colors to which he owes allegiance. This latter opportunity was
extended to Americans by the ship-registry act of 1914. Up to
232
REPORT OE THE SECRETARY
OF
COMMERCE.
that time American capital could be invested in foreign-built ships
only through the organization of a foreign corporation, and the
ship was required to carry the foreign flag of the nation which
created the corporation. In the important matter of the first
cost of a ship, on which depends throughout its lifetime the im
portant annual factors of interest, insurance, and depreciation,
American shipowners are now on equal terms with foreign ship
owners in the competitive foreign trade. The ship-registry act
removed the last of the substantial handicaps in the so-called
“ antiquated navigation laws” upon the operation of American
ships. Others had been removed from time to time during the
previous two decades.
In the maintenance of an American merchant marine in the
competitive foreign trade the United States must meet the disad
vantages of a limited maritime population. In the earlier years
we were a fringe of sparsely settled States along the Atlantic sea
board, and a large part of the population earned its living on the
sea. A t that time we resembled, as to the opportunities open for
employment and a career, nations which are necessarily maritime
for geographical reasons, such as the island empires of Great
Britain and Japan and peninsulas like Norway and Italy.
Many in the growing population of these countries for long years
have had to choose between emigration to foreign shores or colonies
and a life at sea. Half a continent to be developed since the close
of the Civil War still calls Americans from the sea. Then, again,
though the world’s tonnage increases the number of ships decreases.
In 1880 Lloyd’s Register recorded 32,298 ships of 22,151,651 gross
tons, while in 1916 the number is only 30,167 and the tonnage
48,683,136. The chances for an independent command at sea are
diminishing, and, after a fashion, a change is taking place continu
ously in shipping not unlike the change effected ashore by the
establishment of department stores. The naval legislation of the
recent session of Congress provides in effect for 77,000 enlisted men
to man all the ships of the Navy. For obvious reasons all or
nearly all of them should be American citizens. To man the sea
going American merchant ships and yachts of the United States
on June 30, 1915, crews numbering 57,000 were required and to
man the American merchant ships and yachts on the Great Lakes
required 24,000 men, in all 81,000, and, as indicated later, only
about half of these are native or naturalized American citizens.
The seafaring life must be made sufficiently attractive both in its
compensation and surroundings to attract our citizens to our marine.
REPORT
OF THE
SECRETARY
OF
COM M ERCE.
233
One fact is already clear about the conditions under which
competition in the foreign carrying trade will be conducted after
the end of the war. The steamship companies of the principal
maritime nations are already effecting consolidations under their
respective flags by which large fleets of merchant ships are being
placed under the management of men of the largest and most
successful experience in the prosecution of shipping enterprises
and the development of foreign trade. Hardly a week passes
without chronicling the purchase of some British steamship
company by another and larger company, and all of these pur
chases are with the plain view of increasing efficiency in manage
ment and the fullest use of ships available after the war. The
same tendency is to be noted in the Scandinavian countries.
Before the war, in 1913, the Hamburg-American company and
the North German Lloyd owned together 2,215,000 gross tons of
ocean steamships, or half the tonnage of the German Empire,
and a consolidation of the two companies is reported to be under
consideration. If the United States is to compete on the sea with
large maritime companies, effectively organized, it must be pre
pared with equally efficient organizations, for which ample re
sources are unquestionably available.
Shipping Commissioners.
Since the outbreak of the European war the work of shipping
commissioners has steadily grown with the increase of American
shipping in foreign trade. During the year ended June 30, 1914,
the seamen shipped, reshipped, and discharged on American
vessels numbered 378,772, during the year 1915 the number was
414,744, and during the year ended June 30, 1916, shipping
commissioners at 12 seaports shipped, reshipped, and discharged
487,524 seamen on vessels of the United States, an increase of
72,780 over the previous year and a record total of routine work
for this service. The total appropriations for this service for
1914 were $71,350; for 1915, $70,500; for 1916, $69,725; and for
the current year, $73,300, of which $1,300 is for the reestablished
office at Bath, Me. The service can not be maintained effectively
with the present appropriations, and the estimates, accordingly,
provide for increases in the clerical force of the present offices and
for the creation of shipping commissioners at additional ports.
The steady increase in the number of men shipped, reshipped,
and discharged represents only part of the additional work re
quired by present conditions. As the war has progressed the bel
ligerent European powers have naturally issued rigorous regula-
234
REPORT
OF
TH E
SECRETARY
OF
COM M ERCE.
lions concerning the right to land in their seaports, and passports
are now generally required from seamen as a condition to landing.
The shipping commissioners have been employed as far as prac
ticable in assisting American seamen to secure passports and cer
tificates of citizenship. The dangers from submarines and mines
adrift have increased the perils of the sea, and the anxiety of friends
and relatives ashore as to the whereabouts of men afloat has
increased the correspondence on such subjects, which falls within
the line of the shipping commissioner’s duty. The statute (sec. 4508,
Rev. Stat.) requires the shipping commissioner “ to afford facilities
for engaging seamen by keeping a register of their names and char
acters,” and the need of such a register has never in recent time
been greater than under present abnormal conditions. A t most of
the offices, however, it has not been practicable to keep up with
this work, as the actual work of shipping, paying off, and discharg
ing seamen has taken all the time of the small force authorized by
the appropriations. The enactment of the seamen’s law of March
4, 1915, especially sections 2, 3, 4, and 7, in so far as they deal with
wages and deductions therefrom, has for a time at least increased
the occasions for disputes which it is the special function of the
shipping commissioner to arbitrate if practicable. The prosecu
tion of commerce by sea depends to a great extent upon the prompt
despatch of ships and to secure this despatch the shipping commis
sioners’ offices must be adequately and intelligently manned. The
work has grown so rapidly and so unexpectedly that the service at
some points is in danger of breaking down unless reasonable pro
vision be made by Congress to strengthen it.
The Department has practically exhausted temporary expedi
ents in appeals to other branches of the Government to perform
for it duties imposed by law upon the Department of Commerce.
Although the returns of shipping commissioners cover the
repeated shipments and discharges of the same men on various
voyages during the year, they give an approximate idea of the
nationality of the men who compose the crews of our merchant
ships. Out of 252,681 thus shipped last year, 76,956 were reported
as American born and 31,877 as naturalized Americans; in all,
108,833, or 43 Per cent of the total. This percentage is corrobo
rated by a special inquiry conducted by shipping commissioners
into the exact composition of the crews of American steamers
shipped by them from May 1 to July 30, 1916. The steamers
numbered 433, of 1,520,176 gross tons, and were manned by 21,010
men, of whom 5,807 were in the deck department, 8,413 in the
REPORT
OF
TH E
SECRETARY
OF
235
COM M ERCE.
engine department, and 6,790 in the steward’s department and
miscellaneous. Of the total, 6,692 were American born and 2,486
naturalized Americans, a total of 9,178, or about 45 per cent.
From November, 1915, to June 1, 1916, the Steamboat-Inspection
Service issued 20,678 certificates to able seamen, of whom 6,302
were American bora and 2,165 were naturalized Americans, a
total of 8,467, or about 43 per cent, these figures covering men on
vessels of the Great Lakes as well as on ocean vessels. As the
ships now building in American yards are completed from time
to time, there will be an increasing demand for seamen, and there
is no reason to believe that it can be met to any greater extent
than at present from our native-born population. On the con
trary, the great increase in the Navy authorized at the last session
of Congress will call for a large increase in the Navy personnel, and
all are agreed that our warships should be manned throughout by
our own citizens.
Navigation Receipts.
The receipts from tonnage duties during the fiscal year ended
June 30, 1916, amounted to $1,454,565.83 (including $3,455.40
collected for the Philippine Islands’ fund and $4,623.50 alien and
penal tonnage duties). The year’s revenue is the largest from
this source for any year since the Civil War period and may be
compared with $1,315,425.30 collected during the fiscal year 1915
and $1,310,759.03 collected during the fiscal year 19.14. The
receipts last year, accordingly, were 10 per cent greater than during
the year before the outbreak of the war. The increase is wholly
from ships in the overseas trade with Europe, Asia, Africa,
Australia, and South America. Ships from ports in those con
tinents paid $1,325,699.29, compared with $1,165,568.75 in 1914,
while ships from near-by foreign ports of the Western Hemisphere
paid only $124,243.04, compared with $143,136.78 in 1914.
Changes made by two years of world warfare in the flags of the
ships carrying the foreign trade of the United States are shown
by the following comparative table of tonnage duties paid by the
flag during 1914 and 1916:
Flag.
19 14
Increase
( + ) or
decrease
19 16
( - ) .
77. 4 4 5 -0 6
$ 1 6 9 , 7 8 5 .0 2
X4 7 , I O 6 . l 8
3 1 5 ,9 0 7 - 6 5
8 7 5 »7 3 7 - 20
960,
*
T o ta l.................
..............................................................
-f$
9 2 , 3 3 9 -9 6
+ 1 6 8 ,8 0 1 .4 7
7 9 3 - 56
+
2 1 0 ,4 7 0 . 5 9
.7 0
—
8 5 , 0 5 6 .3 6
2 X0 , 4 6 9 . 8 9
7 5 9 -0 3
1 ,4 4 6 ,4 8 6 .9 3
+
1 3 5 . 7 7 9 -9 0
1 ,3 1 0 ,
236
REPORT
OP THE
SECRETARY
OF
COM M ERCE.
American and other neutral ships have thus more than made
good the loss of revenue through the withdrawal of German and
Austro-Hungarian ships.
The receipts from navigation fees during the past year were
$158,518.08, compared with $142,446.37 for the year 1915 and
$152,694.19 for the year ended June 30, 1914. The amount
collected for navigation fees, $158,518.08, and the tonnage dues,
$1,454,565.83, together $1,613,083.91, are all the Federal taxes
imposed on shipping, American and foreign, in ports of the United
States. The value of our exports and imports of merchandise
during the past fiscal year was $6,531,542,375, and the Federal
charges on shipping, accordingly, were only one-fortieth of 1 per
cent of the value of the cargoes carried.
The receipts from navigation lines during the year amounted to
$52,381.75, compared with $41,518.24 for the previous year, and
the current year will probably show a further increase. From the
three sources named the revenues for the fiscal year 1916 were
$1,665,465.66, compared with $1,499,389.91 for the year 1915 and
$1,504,194.60 for the year 19x4.
In addition to the axmual revenues, the sum of $15,540 prin
cipal and $4,309.71 interest, in all $19,849.91, was collected on
three foreign-built yachts under the decision of the Supreme
Court of the United States in the case of Billings v. The United
States (232 U. S., 261) and $220 was collected for deceased pas
sengers under the passenger act of 1882, making the total naviga
tion receipts for the fiscal year $1,685,535.37. The entire cost
of maintaining the Bureau of Navigation was $187,130.
Radio Communication.
The work of the Bureau of Navigation in enforcing the two acts
relating to radio communication and the London International
Radio Telegraphic Convention of 1912 has been carried on through
out the year. This work comprises the inspection of stations on
ships and on land and the licensing of American stations and the
examination and licensing of operators. The inspection of radio
apparatus on shipboard before vessels clear is always an important
feature of this service, and under present conditions, when sub
marines and mines adrift have added to the usual perils of the
sea, such inspection is the more necessary. To meet these con
ditions merchant ships in increasing numbers have been equipped
with wireless apparatus beyond the requirements of the laws of
REPORT O F
TH E
SECRETARY
OF
COM M ERCE.
237
the United States or other nations. During the past year the
radio apparatus on shipboard has been inspected just before 7,236
clearances, compared with 6,155 such inspections during the pre
vious fiscal year. During the past fiscal year in 76 marine casual
ties the wireless apparatus and operators on board contributed
to the saving of life and property. In the case of 45 American
ships and 20 foreign ships, either involved in the disaster or coming
to the rescue, the apparatus had been inspected by the Depart
ment’s officers. The ship-inspection work has been carried on
during the year by 12 inspectors and assistant inspectors at the
principal seaports of the United States. This force has sufficed
to inspect the apparatus on about half the clearances of ships
subject to the radio-inspection laws, but this result has been pos
sible only by concentrating efforts at the principal seaports with
occasional journeys to less important shipping centers. An
increase in the inspection force will be asked for, as it is certain
that the use of wireless on shipboard will increase.
The total number of licenses for stations issued during the year
was 5,601, compared with 4,039 during the previous year. Licenses
hitherto issued have been valid for only one year, owing to the
changes in apparatus due to the rapid development of the art.
Beginning with the current fiscal year, however, licenses issued for
ship stations and amateur stations will be valid for two years.
The total number of operators’ licenses issued during the year was
5,680, compared with 4,859 for the previous year. There are now,
approximately, 3,000 first and second grade licensed commercial
operators and 285 cargo-grade operators. The number of licensed
amateur operators is, approximately, 7,000, and many of these
have recentl}’’ been organized as a reserve force under naval direc
tion. The number of licenses to operators for experiment and
instruction is 57, and extra first commercial-grade licenses have
been issued to 36 men of special attainments.
The London International Radio Telegraphic Conference of 1912
resolved to hold the next international conference in 1917, and
with the approval of the State Department the chairman of the
American delegation invited the conference to meet in Washington.
In view of the European war, however, it is plain that the confer
ence can not be held in 1917.
238
REPORT
OF
THE
SECRETARY
OF
COM M ERCE
Enforcement of the Navigation Laws.
The following table sets forth in detail, by ports and laws violated,
the work of the Department in the enforcement of the navigation
laws during the fiscal year 1916 and a comparison with previous
years.
it h
P
th e
L
r e v io u s
aw s
V
aw s
Y
a t r>
Total.
B oston .................................................
§8
.Q
S i,
si
4I3 122
389
eported
, F
by
V
th e
is c a l
Y
ear
Collectors
a r io u s
E
of
Tu n e 3 0 , 1 9 1 6 ,
nded
ears.
V)
Customs district.«
R
io l a t e d
213
30
46
■m
82
27
5 * «3
li
S"
w^to
tô 0
O w in
‘ö ^
V«
9
6
0
a,-;
si
"S
tn<3
d'w/
f it
R a d io com m unica
tion laws.
W
L
a v ig a t io n
Unlading.
pared
N
h o w in g
! Enrollm ent and license (4336, R . S.).
I E n try and clearance
1 (2774. 4197. R- S.).
N am e on v e ss e l
(4x78. R . S.).
i C h a n g e o f m a s te r
(4335. R- S.).
Com
S
1
3
8
1
1
of
u sto m s,
I Anchorage and S t.
| M arys R iver rules.
C
Surrendered license
(4325-4326, R . S.).
io l a t io n s
M o t o r - b o a t la w ,
“ R u leso f road.”
V
A
I
z
3
2
ii
3
59
6
88
6
T
x8
8
6
8
N ew Y o r k .......................................... I j 3S6 128
N orfolk................................................
64
18
84
983
SO
4
3
13
6
46
68
183
62
2
2
2
X
6
«
3
8
38
. . . .
7
88
24
45
128
26
20
X
6c
15
3
S t. P a u l..............................................
San Francisco...................................
276
Savan n ah ...........................................
8a
4
2
I
T9
« N o violations reported a t ports not nam ed.
& Bills-of-health cases transferred to Treasury D epartm ent Ju ly 24, 1911.
4
9
z
I
5
13
I
it h
P
L
aw s
V
aw s
r e v io u s
Y
S*.
21
T o tal.
S e a ttle .................................................
®
O'
C
J to
+J ^
C/3W
4O 9
.0
333
1909 (64 ports)............................ D I 34 151
852 245
1908 (73 ports)............................
1907 (66 ports)............................
684 209
1906 (77 ports)............................ 670 194
th e
Y
2,783
s
g
3i s
•25
ti-i. « p
^ O' Cl .£
V) M
Si*
0 V
ìO* •c C
CJ H «
37
49
196 125
80
t6j
1910 (74 ports)............................ 1,070 252
by
is c a l
V
ear
C ollectors
a r io u s
E
Ju n e
nded
of
30, 1916,
Continued.
7, 8« 812 5,126
6,868
768
1913 (107 ports).......................... 3,508
, F
95
I37
Total—
1916 (48 ports) « .........................
epo rted
ears—
v>
Custom s district.
R
io l a t e d
2
4
I O^
« *
u , r-.
ï3 fi
2
24
«J
Eco
'S «
»ô
CJ to
fcc to
CA*
.3O
3
3
| Miscellaneous.
W
th e
U nlading.
Com pared
L
a v ig a t io n
I Radio com m unica
tion laws.
N
239
COM M ERCE.
N a m e on v e s s e l
(4x78, R . S.).
of
C u s t o m s , S h o w in g
OF
Passenger act
(A u g. 2, 1882).
j En rollm ent and li1 cense (4336, R . S.).
io l a t io n s
SECRETARY
! Surrendered license
(4325-4326, R .S .) .
B i l l s of h e a l t h
(F eb. 15, 1893)-
V
OF TH E
M o t o r - b o a t laws,
“ R ules of road.”
REPORT
3
2
26
43
90
40
152
28
943
271
I
19
59
23
96
17
24
38
14
13
3
61
21
42
36
6
21
88
18
62
23
9
130 114
41
13
27
10
385
92
17
12
IO
83
81
26
l6
68
12
67
90
8
52
69
33
35
8
23
488
710
28 331
13
7
18
23
6
59
30
52
49
7
27
5
I
2
76
4
63
2
61
5
9
63
72
28
1904 (66 ports)............................
706 «184
93
XOI
48
49
16
29
12
24
X9
(O
131
a Reports are now m ade b y subports through the principal port of th e district.
b Included under “ Miscellaneous” in 1904 report.
Since the Department in 1912 and 1913 began the enforce
ment of the navigation laws through the operation of its own
vessels careful study has been made of the various methods em
ployed to enforce the navigation laws. It has now been clearly
demonstrated that in the case of all laws affecting vessels while
under way it is necessary that our inspecting officers should have
a vessel from which such inspections can be made. When the
vessels are in their docks or at anchor it is not safe to leave the
equipment on board and available for inspection, as it is liable
to be stolen, and it is impossible to tell whether the ship was
manned with the crew required by law. The Tarragon and the
Dixie during the year reported 1,971 violations of law. The
Coast Guard aided by reporting 1,333 such violations. A great
many of the cases reported by the customs officers were dis
covered through the use of motor boats, allotments for the hire
of which were made by this Department. Practically all of the
1,089 cases reported by navigation inspectors were discovered
with the use of such vessels. The inspecting officers should be
66776 °— 1G---- 16
240
REPORT
OF TH E
SECRETARY
OF
COM M ERCE.
men thoroughly familiar with the laws they are enforcing, tact
ful, and with good judgment, and willing to continue their work at
all hours of the day or night. Many of the most flagrant viola
tions are discovered after sunset and on Sundays and holidays.
The service is a difficult one. It is meeting with the approval of
ship publications, associations, and clubs. The assistance of the
United States power squadrons and similar organizations is, to
gether with the Department’s inspection work, resulting in a
material improvement in the equipment and navigation of all
classes of vessels.
Last year the Department asked for an appropriation for the
purchase of a vessel to be operated on the Mississippi River,
where at present there is no Federal patrol in the enforcing of the
navigation laws. The reasons for the use of the vessel on these
waters were set forth in detail in my report for 1915. Request
for this appropriation will be renewed this year.
The following table shows the work of the various agencies of
the Government employed in the enforcement of the navigation
laws.
V io l a t io n s
th e
tors
t io n
ok
N
M otor V
op
a v ig a t io n
essel
Steam
V
“ T
L
aw s,
S iio w
arragon
essels,
R
I n s p e c t o r s , F is c a l Y
,”
W
E
nded
ork
M otor V
I n specto rs, C
a d io
ear
in g t iie
th e
Ju n e
D
Co ast G
one b y th e
essel
u sto m s
“ D ix
ie
uard
,
,” L o cal In spe c
O p f ic e r s ,
and
N
a v ig a
30, 1916.
[The work of tire custom s officers uutler allotm ents m ade b y th e D epartm ent is shown in th e last column.J
Customs d is trict.«
Total.
Coast
Guard.
Tarra
gon.
D ixie.
Cases
N avi
re
Local Radio
Cus
gation
ported
inspec inspec tom s
inspec
under
tors.
tors. officers.
tors.
allot
ments.
142
46
19
53
82
8
81
83
36
18
89
285
4
454
79
G alveston ...................................
H on olulu ...................................
} i
6
6
T73
6
M em phis....................................
89
9
»No violations reported at ports not named.
28
52
50
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
24I
V iolations o f N avigation L aw s , S howing the W ork D one b y the Coast G u a r d ,
the Motor V essel “ T arragon , ” the Motor V essel “ D ix ie ,” L ocal I nspec
tors o p S team V essels , R adio I nspectors , C ustoms Officers , and N aviga
tion I nspectors , F iscal Y ear E nded June 30, 1916.
C u sto m s d is tric t.
M o b ile.............................................
T o ta l.
Coast
G u a rd .
122
116
104
6
20
170
i> 252
578
95
25
7
231
123
293
IS
84
420
435
125
29
9
8
13
305
250
79
50
9
4
17
8
6
170
10
2
2
135
308
67
98
79
131
303
5
50
42
7
93
I
28
7
217
231
60
II
5
47
2
40
38
32
15
4
175
1
4
574
15
151
68
232
139
31
100
7.89s
6
86
12
42
32
ISS
S
Cases
N a v i
reL o c al R a d io
C u s
g
atio
n
ix>rted
in sp e c in sp ec to m s in sp e c
u
n
der
to rs.
to rs .
officers. to rs.
a llo t
m e n ts .
2
489
24
65
238
T a r ra D ix ie .
gon.
I »333
987
136
5
984
5
175
112
IS
64
1
2
5
32
107
15
4
4
267
250
590
36
2,876
78
4
1,089
x, 178
The foregoing statement of the work done by the various in
spection services is based on reports made by collectors of customs
on Cat. 1078 and is approximately correct. A t Chicago and San
Francisco, however, allotments made by the Department were
used by Coast Guard officers, and that Service, as well as the allot
ment, has been credited with the results. The statement of cases
reported under the Department allotments necessarily is approxi
mate only.
There are two facts respecting the Navigation Service which
should cause satisfaction to the public. The first is that the
Sendee, though expanding rapidly by reason of the numerous
demands upon it as already explained, is still operated at a cost of
one-ninth of the revenues which are derived under its supervisionThe second is that the strictly educational work of enforcing the
navigation laws is itself also fully self-sustaining. It not only pays
242
REPORT OR THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
its own way, but it pays for the boats and apparatus with which
the work is done. The following table shows over a period of five
years the outlay for this work, including the cost of vessels and
their maintenance and the receipts derived from the mitigated fines:
Maintenance.
Original
cost.
Total.
1912
$1,316.62
1913
1914
$9,022. 77 S n , 335- 76
*>9,000.00
T o ta l........................
* 3 ,5 0 0 -0 0
Collections from naviga
tion fines........................
« A pril, 1912.
1915
1916
$7, 597- 13
I , 78O. 84
6 , 9 I5 -9 4
$38,885- 54
27,696. 78
66,582.32
$5,113.26
i
1,316- 62
9,022.77
11, 335-76
9 >377-97
22,029. 20
31,578.13
31,987-85
47,162.02
41,518.24
52,381.75
2 0 4 , 627-
99
*>A pril, 1915.
More important than these satisfactory financial results, how
ever, is the fact of the widespread cooperation of vessel owners
and officers in complying with the requirements of the law. The
existing conditions in this respect have radically changed for the
better within the last three years. It is unfortunate that the
operations of the Service have been limited to the Atlantic coast
and the waters directly connected therewith. Nothing has been
practicable for lack of funds on the Gulf, in the Mississippi Valley,
on the Great Takes, or on the Pacific coast. The power-boat asso
ciations in these waters desire the service extended to them. It
is as urgently needed there as experience has shown it was required
on the Atlantic shores. It can be conducted there without cost
to the Government, as it has been conducted elsewhere. It is
earnestly hoped that Congress will at the next session provide
another small motor vessel for the development of this important
service on the waters of the Gulf, the Mississippi Valley, and the
Great Lakes.
Navigation Inspectors.
The work of preventing the overcrowding of passenger vessels
has proceeded during the fiscal year 1916 with increasing efficiency.
The following table show's the w-ork done by customs districts.
243
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
N
um ber op
O
Co u n ts,
v e r c r o w d in g o p
and th e
P
N
assenger
u m ber of
V
essels
P
assen g ers
I nvolved,
D
u r in g
F is c a l Y
th e
in
P
r e v e n t in g
ear
E
nded
June
30, 1916.
Navigation
Service.
Customs
Service.
Total.
Customs district.
Counts.
Passen
gers.
Counts.
Passen
gers.
C oun ts.
Passen
gers.
7io ,947
6
18,779
950
4,656
627,986
1,438
1,032
715,603
646,765
1,311
490,216
2,966
580,295
4,277
1,070,511
Chicago, III................................................................
Cleveland, O h io........................................................
814
3H ,939
145,655
88
288
27, 7S6
184.765
902
367
239,695
330,420
D etroit, M ich............................................................
D uluth, M inn...........................................................
906
784,647
29,522
104
138,430
Baltim ore, M d ..........................................................
Boston, Mass.............................................................
x-432
82
Buffalo, N . Y ............................................................
Indianapolis, In d .....................................................
149
108
52
83
38,546
14
231
58
Louisville, K y ..........................................................
53
Memphis, T e n n ........................................................
178
6,54 t
57,874
N ew Y o rk , N . Y ....................................................
Norfolk, V a ................................................................
184
121
64,78s
28,107
Philadelphia, P a ......................................................
331
X5I»73X
Portland, M e.............................................................
l,s8o
Providence, R . I ......................................................
744
28
120
18
655
12,035
1,010
201
IO, 059
83
122
283
236
8s , 9 h
17,680
6,313
39,324
212
241
18
923,077
4 i ,557
48,605
92,452
75-554
71,098
57, 431
16
6,819
347
212,272
35
6,355
1,615
158,S50
64
218,627
393,392
z
500
745
293,892
83
83
4, *27
T o ta l................................................................
8,359
3 - 244,953
5, 45i
1,867,814
I 3,
8zo
5 , 114,351
T o tal for fiscal year 1915.........................................
5,061
1, 439,373
5,586
1, 619,445
10,647
3,058, 7x8
The Department aims to prevent accidents and violations
rather than to permit violations of law at the risk of accident and
then to inflict penalties.
The table following shows the cases (called shut-oils) in which
inspectors have been obliged to stop vessels from loading to excess
above the legal limit, arranged by months and customs districts.
244
REPORT OE THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
Months D uring the F iscal Y ear E nded J une 30, 1916.
Passen
gers.
December.
Counts.
Passen
gers.
| Counts.
Passen
gers.
Passen
gers.
Counts.
Custom s district.
Septem ber. Novem ber.
Counts.
A ugust.
July.
Passen
gers.
by
Counts.
S hut-offs
8
52s
1 ,5 8 2
1 ,4 0 0
13
2 8 ,2 6 8
484
2 ,2 2 5
484
T
254
550
2 ,9 0 6
2 ,0 7 0
300
6 ,3 6 s
*
M ay.
254
1
June.
1 2
3 a
a.
238
Total.
Counts.
it
A pril.
Counts.
Passen
gers.
Custom s district.
Counts.
January.
3 8 ,0 8 2
Passen
gers.
44
Counts.
74. 8 ,9
Counts.
71
Passen
gers.
T o ta l.....................................................
438
0 </5
1 ö
d to
Ü4
3 .5 8 2
294
6
300
I,800
812
9 ,6 9 3
2 5 ,4 6 4
968
42
43
234
■
592
....
.............
T o ta l.....................................................
N
o t k
. — T otal
for fiscal year ended June
I
228
3 0 , 19 15 , 92
2
counts,
534
9 5 ,2 9 3
ii
is, 409
passengers.
25
3 1 ) 709
766
167
I67, 678
REPORT OK THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
245
In addition to counting these passengers the navigation inspec
tors during their spare time enforce so far as practicable the laws
in regard to the equipment and manning of all classes of vessels.
During the fiscal year 1916 they discovered 1,089 violations of law,
an increase of 90 cases over the work of 1915.
The Department is training these men as rapidly as possible in
order that it may have at the principal ports a force familiar with
the laws they are enforcing and the manner in which the work
should be done. In order to secure the best results, vessel owners
must be satisfied that the purposes of the Department are edu
cational rather than punitive.
Repaired Wrecks.
Under the act of February 24, 1915, the following foreign-built
vessels wrecked and repaired in American shipyards have been
admitted to American enrollment for the coasting trade: Nor
wegian steamer Anita, 1,186 gross tons, wrecked off Turks Island,
repaired at a cost of $64,000, and documented as the steamship
Elizabeth Weems; Italian bark Rosalia d’Ali, 1,432 gross tons,
wrecked in Hampton Roads, repaired at a cost of $15,000, and
documented as the barge Coastwise; Russian bark Hilja, 707 gross
tons, wrecked at Pascagoula, Miss., repaired at a cost of $11,000,
and documented as the barge Choctaw; British steamship Dunholme, 3,675 gross tons, wrecked at Bayonne, N. J., repaired at a
cost of $220,000, and documented as the steamship Campana;
and the British ship Ben Cruachan, wrecked on the Mexican coast,
repaired at a cost of $10,000, and authorized to be documented
as the gasoline schooner Carmela.
Passenger Act of 1882.
During the year ended June 30, 1916, passenger steamers subject
to the act of 1882 on 720 voyages brought 154,057 steerage passen
gers to ports of the United States, compared with 211,509 such
passengers carried on 956 voyages during the fiscal year ended
June 30, 1915. That fiscal year, however, included the month of
July, 1914, before the European war broke out and the month of
August, when many Americans hastened to return home in the
steerage, those two months contributing 322 voyages and 110,021
steerage passengers to the returns for that year. Excluding these
two months from each fiscal year, 133,503 steerage passengers were
brought to the United States on 583 voyages during the past year,
compared with 101,488 passengers on 634 voyages during the fiscal
year 19x5. In the year ended June 30, 1914, on 1,797 voyages
246
REPORT OP THE SECRETARY OP COMMERCE.
i ,0x6,453 steerage passengers were brought to our ports. The act
of 1882 has been enforced carefully during the year as to incoming
and outgoing steamers.
Seamen’s Act of 1915 .
The seamen’s act of March 4, 1915, took effect as to vessels of
the United States on November 4, 1915, and as to foreign vessels
on March 4, 1916, except as to such parts of the act as are in
conflict with articles of any treaty or convention. Such parts of
the act as regards the vessels of such foreign nations took effect
on July 1, 1916. Parts of the act, accordingly, were in effect
during eight months of the past fiscal year, and no part of it ap
plicable to both American and foreign ships was in force for
more than four months of the year, while some parts of the act
relating to foreign ships did not begin to take effect until after
the close of the fiscal year on June 30, 1916. It is clearly imprac
ticable to give a final judgment on the general results of so sweep
ing a measure which has been in force for so short a time and has
been applied under its terms so irregularly to the ships of different
nations. As was to be expected in the case of a measure quite
new in principle and in the application of its i'equirements to the
shipping laws of the United States or other nations, there were
many violations of the act by American ships in the few months
of its operation, and these, in view of the considerations named,
the Department has generally treated leniently, so that commerce
should not be impeded through the lack of familiarity Math the
many provisions of this new law. It has been necessary to obtain
from the Department’s Solicitor a construction of many of the
phrases of the act and in several matters to obtain the opinion
of the Attorney General.
The shipping business has, however, adjusted itself with re
markable facility to the operation of the law. In minor points,
as in the number of life buoys to be carried on small steamers,
the law has required or will require amendment. The Depart
ment, however, believes that it marks a great step forward in
dealing with transportation by shipping on a more humane and
effective basis than heretofore. It is my own conviction that
those who have in the past opposed this measure will in the future
come to consider it as one of the greatest safeguards for our
merchant marine. That marine can never permanently prosper
unless the men upon whose services it depends share in its pros
perity— not merely in accommodations and in food, but in
earning power as well.
CONCLUSION.
The foregoing is respectfully commended to your attention and
to that of Congress.
Respectfully,
W il l ia m C. R e d f ie l d ,
Secretary.
247
f
INDEX
Page.
A c c i d e n t s o n n a v i g a b l e w a t e r s ................................
207
li m it e d a u t h o r i t y f o r i n v e s t i g a t i o n ...................
217
S e e a ls o E a s t l a n d s t e a m s h ip d is a s t e r .
A c c o u n t s d i v i s i o n , C o a s t a n d G e o d e t ic S u r
v e y ................................................................................
A c tu a r ia l
t a b le s ,
c o m p il a t io n
by
174
C en su s
B u r e a u ................................................................... 100,103
A d m in is tr a tiv e ch an ge s.
A d v e r tis in g ,
p r o p o s a ls
S e e P e r s o n n e l.
fo r
m a t e r ia l s
and
s u p p l i e s ......................................................................
A g e n t s , c o m m e r c ia l.
A g r ic u ltu r a l
45
S e e C o m m e r c ia l a g e n ts .
im p le m e n t s ,
in v e s t ig a t io n s
of
f o r e ig n m a r k e t s .....................................................
66
A g r i c u l t u r e D e p a r t m e n t , a s s is t a n c e r e n d e r e d
b y C e n s u s B u r e a u ..............................................
104
b ir d r e s e r v a t io n s o n li g h t h o u s e r e s e r v a t io n s
152
c o o p e r a t io n i n s t u d y o f f r e s h - w a t e r f i s h e s . .
137
fo o d p r i c e s .........................................................................
38
t i m b e r o n li g h t h o u s e r e s e r v a t io n s .....................
152
A i d s t o n a v ig a t io n , A l a s k a ........................................
143
e n g in e e r in g a n d c o n s t r u c t i o n ...............................
145
in c r e a s e s a n d c h a n g e s ...............................................
140
s t o r m d a m a g e ............................................................
142
A l a s k a , a i d s t o n a v i g a t i o n .....................................
14 2 ,14 3
c o n d i t io n o f n a t i v e s o n s e a l i s l a n d s .................
119
d a n g e r s t o n a v i g a t i o n ................................................
205
fis h e r ie s ........................................................................... 12 5 ,1 3 6
f u r f a r m i n g ...................................................................
12 4 ,12 5
g e o d e t ic w o r k ............................................................. 189-193
h y d r o g r a p h ic w o r k ........................................ 18 8 ,19 7,2 0 5
la n d fu r - b e a r in g a n i m a l s ..........................................
122
le g is la t io n f o r p r o t e c t i o n o f fis h e r ie s , s t a t u s .
53
m a g n e t i c o b s e r v a t o r y ........................................... 193,204
p r e c is e le v e l i n g n e e d e d ........................................ 18 9 ,19 2
p r o p o s e d p u r c h a s e o f D u t c h H a r b o r ............
r a d io c o m m u n i c a t io n w i t h s e a l i s l a n d s ___
5 3 ,19 5
122
r e p o r t o n s e a l h e r d ......................................................
115
s a le s o f f u r s ........................................................................
118
s a lm o n p r o p a g a t i o n ....................................................
129
s h ip m e n t s o f f u r s ..........................................................
124
s u b o ff ic e o f C o a s t a n d G e o d e t ic S u r v e y ___
180
t i d a l a n d c u r r e n t w o r k .............................................
200
t r ia n g u la t io n n e e d e d ............................................. 18 9 ,19 1
w ir e - d r a g w o r k .......................................................... 188,205
S e e a ls o F is h e r ie s B u r e a u ; P r i b i l o f I s la n d s ,
e tc.
A lb a t r o s s , F is h e r ie s s t e a m e r , c r e w ........................
9
o p e r a t io n s .......................................................................... 9 ,1 1 4
A le w i v e s , f i s h e r y ...............................................................
A m e r ic a n
E le c t r o c h e m ic a l
S o c ie ty ,
fe r e n c e a t S t a n d a r d s B u r e a u .......................
A m e r ic a n
P h y s ic a l S o c ie ty ,
134
con
c o n fe r e n c e
80
at
S t a n d a r d s B u r e a u ..................................
80
A m e r ic a n S e c u r i t y a n d T r u s t C o ., f in a n c i a l
sta te m e n t of
F o u n d a t io n f o r P r o m o
t i o n o f I n d u s t r i a l P e a c e ..................................
51
Page.
A ppointm ents. S e e Personnel.
Appropriations, aids to navigation, A la s k a ..
143
repairs of storm d am age............................
142
Census Bureau equ ip m en t...........................
no
collection of tobacco statistics......................
102
developm ent of fishery of dogfish............... 5 3 , 113
Lighthouses Bureau, special w orks...........
147
vessels.............................................................
149
m anufactures census, reduction..................
99
Navigation Bureau, shipping commission
ers................................................................
233
radio laboratory...............................................
91
Appropriations and expenditures, b y bureaus
and services............................................... 23-27
m aintenance of D epartm en t........................
22
printing and bin d in g........................................
39
unexpended balances....................................... 27-29
A quarium and laboratory for Fisheries B u
reau ................................................................
16
A rchives building, n eed ...... .............................. 56,111
A tlan tic coast, aids to n avigation ................. 140-142
132
commercial fisheries, re v ie w .........................
hydrographic su rv e y s.....................................
195
propagation and distribution of food fishes.
128
tidal and current w o rk ....................................
200
wire-drag w o rk ....................................... x88,196,204
Attachés, commercial. S e e Comm ercial at
taches.
Australasia, studies of m arkets for American
products.......................................................
65
A utom atic sprinklers on vessels........................
21
Automobiles, cost of operation..........................
46
use in geodetic w o rk.........................................
201
Bache, Coast and Geodetic S u rvey steamer,
condition......................................................
x8i
operations............................................................
19s
saving of life and property..............
199
Baird, Spencer Fullerton, dedication of
ta b le t.............................................................
112
Balance of trade, increase...................................
13
Balances turned back into surplus fund of
T rea su ry....................................................... 27-29
B an kin g Opportunities in South Am erica,
p ublication...................................................
66
Banks, Am erican, extension in foreign trade.
18
Barges inspected (see a ls o Vessels)...................
207
Beaufort, N. C ., Fisheries laboratory, opera
tions ...............................................................
138
Bering Sea. S e e A laska; Pribilof Islands.
Binding. S e e Printin g and binding.
B ird reservations on lighthouse reservations.
15a
Birth s, census statistics.......................................
100
Blackfish, fishing grounds of! North C arolina.
114
Blind in the U nited States, census rep ort---102
Board on Coastal Com m unications, Inter
departm ental..............................................
157
249
250
IN D E X .
Page.
Page.
C ivil S ervice, E x e c u tiv e , C en su s B u re a u
b u ll e ti n .........................................................
106
le g is la t io n a f f e c t in g in s p e c t io n s , s t a t u s ........................ 52
B o o t s a n d s h o e s , i n v e s t ig a t io n s o f m a r k e t s . .
66
C lerks. S e e P e rso n n e l.
B o s t o n , M a s s ., c o m m e r c ia l f i s h e r y ........................
135
C lo th in g in d u s tr y , r e p o r t o n c o st of p ro d u c
s u b o ff ic e o f C o a s t a n d G e o d e t ic S u r v e y . . 18 0 ,19 6
t i o n .................................................................
71
C o ast a n d G eodetic S u rv e y , ac c o u n ts d iv isio n
174
B r a n c h o ffic e s , F o r e i g n a n d D o m e s t ic C o m
m e r c e B u r e a u . See D i s t r i c t o ffic e s .
a p p ro p ria tio n s a n d e x p e n d itu re s .............. 22-29
B r i t i s h Y e o m a n , r e s c u e b y C o l u m b i n e ............................ 160 b u ild in g s ............................................................. 56,175
B u i l d i n g m a t e r ia l s , t e s t s ..............................................
84
c h a rts a n d p u b lic a tio n s , d is tr i b u tio n . . . . 175,178
B u i l d i n g s , a r c h i v e s b u i l d i n g n e e d e d ................... 5 6 ,1 1 1
c h a rts d iv is io n ...................................................
174
C o a s t a n d G e o d e t ic S u r v e y ................................. 5 6 ,1 7 s
C o ast P ilo t w o r k ..............................................
200
c o m p a ra tiv e d ia g ra m of en g in eers’ salaries,
F i s h e r ie s B u r e a u ................................................. 1 6 ,1 7 ,1 3 9
G o v e r n m e n t - o w n e d f o r D e p a r t m e n t ..............
is
fa c in g .............................................................
185
L i g h t h o u s e S e r v i c e .....................................................
156
co o p eratio n w ith L ig h th o u s e S e rv ic e ............
151
S t a n d a r d s B u r e a u ................................................ 9 1 ,9 2 ,9 6
co p p e r p la te s , m e th o d of c a rry in g (illu s
B u l k h e a d r e g u la t i o n , c o n f e r e n c e ............................
21
tr a tio n ) ...............................................facin g ..
176
B u s h , T h o m a s G ., t r u s t e e , F o u n d a t i o n f o r
d a n g e rs to n a v ig a tio n d is c o v e re d .............
204
P r o m o t io n o f I n d u s t r i a l P e a c e ...................
50
e s tim a te s of a p p ro p ria tio n s fo r fiscal y e a r
1918................................................................
32
C a l if o r n ia , d a n g e r s t o n a v i g a t i o n ...........................
205
field sheets, o rig in al, filed in a rch iv es (il
K l a m a t h R i v e r F is h e r i e s s t a t i o n .......................
131
lu s tr a tio n )......................................... fa c in g ..
176
t u n a f i s h e r y ......................................................................
115
m e th o d of m o v in g (illu s tr a tio n ), .f a c in g ..
176
C a n a d a , m a g n e t i c s u r v e y o f b o u n d a r y ............................ 203
geodesy d iv is io n ...............................................
172
C a n c e r , c e n s u s r e p o r t o n d e a t h s ..............................
103
geodetic w o r k ....................................................... 188,201
C a n n e r i e s , A l a s k a , f i s h .............................................. 12 6 ,12 7
h y d ro g ra p h y a n d to p o g ra p h y d iv isio n ........
173
C a p e S t . E l i a s l i g h t s t a t i o n ................................... 14 3 ,14 7
la u n ch es for w ire-d rag a n d in sh o re w o r k . . .
181
C a r s , F is h e r i e s B u r e a u , o p e r a t i o n s .......................
130
m a c h in e sh o p ( il lu s tr a t io n )...............f a c in g ..
177
C a r t a g e a n d h a u lin g , C e n s u s B u r e a u i n q u i r y
m a g n e tic o b s e rv a to rie s ..................................
193
o n c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n ..........................................
106
m a g n e tic w o r k ..................................................
203
C e d a r , lig h t h o u s e t e n d e r , c o n s t r u c t i o n .................9 ,1 4 9
m e ch an ic al en gin eer for in s tr u m e n t d iv isio n
178
C e n s u s B u r e a u , a i d t o o t h e r d e p a r t m e n t s ----104
m iscellaneous re c e ip ts ....................................
27
a p p r o p r i a t io n s a n d e x p e n d i t u r e s ....................... 22-29
n eed of a d d itio n a l e n g in e e rs........................
183
a r c h i v e s b u i l d i n g n e e d e d ...................................... 5 6 , u x
office of a s s is ta n t in c h a rg e ..........................
171
c o t t o n a n d t o b a c c o s t a t i s t i c s d i v i s i o n ............
103
o rg a n iz a tio n c h a r t ................................. f a c in g ..
171
d e c e n n i a l c e n s u s r e p o r t s ..........................................
io a
p a p e r, m e th o d of c a rry in g t o p resses (illu s
e q u i p m e n t .........................................................................
no
t r a t i o n ) ................................................fa c in g ..
176
e s t i m a t e s o f a p p r o p r i a t io n s f o r f i s c a l y e a r
p a y of c rew s.......................................................
182
19 18 ................................................................................
30
p r in tin g office n e e d s .......................................
180
le g is la t io n r e c o m m e n d e d .........................................
107
p u rc h a s e of D u tc h H a rb o r, A la s k a ..........
195
m a n u f a c t u r e s c e n s u s . . . ............................................
99
reclassification of em p lo y e e s .......................
177
m is c e ll a n e o u s r e c e i p t s ...............................................
27
re o rg a n iz a tio n ....................................................
171
o f f ic e f o r c e ..........................................................................
108
re tir e m e n t...........................................................
194
p la n s f o r f u t u r e w o r k .................................................
105
S a fe ty -F irs t E x p o s itio n , p a r tic ip a tio n .........
48
p r o g r e s s o f w o r k .............................................................
99
salaries of field officers...................................
184
s p e c ia l a n d m is c e ll a n e o u s w o r k ..........................
103
sa v in g of life a n d p r o p e r ty ...........................
199
s t o r a g e s p a c e .................................................................... 5 6 ,1 1 1
s ig n a l la m p , e le c tric ........................................
178
See also P e r s o n n e l ; P r i n t i n g a n d b i n d i n g .
suboffices........................................................ 180,196,198
C e n tr a l A m e r ic a a s a n E x p o r t F ie ld , p u b li
s u m m a ry 'o f o p e ra tio n s ..................................
195
c a t i o n ...........................................................................
67
te rre stria l m a g n e tism d iv is io n ...................
174
C e r t if ic a t e s o f in s p e c t io n is s u e d t o v e s s e l s ___
207
tid a l a n d c u rre n t w o r k ..................................
200
C e r t if ic a t e s o f s e r v i c e , a b l e s e a m e n .......................
207
v essels........................................................9> rr» 55» i8o ,i95
C h a m b e r s o f c o m m e r c e . S ee C o m m e r c ia l
w
ire-d
rag
w
o
r
k
..................................................
186
o r g a n iz a t io n s .
S e e a l s o P erso n n el; P r in tin g a n d b in d in g .
C h a r t s a n d p u b lic a t io n s . C o a s t a n d G e o d e t ic
C o ast G u a rd , a ssistan c e in enforcing n a v ig a
S u r v e y , d i s t r i b u t i o n ..................................... 1 7 5 ,1 7 8
tio n la w s ......................................................
240
is s u e o f c h a r t s , 1888-1916 ( i l l u s t r a t i o n ) , .f a c in g 177
c o o p e ra tio n w ith F ish erie s B u r e a u ..........
119
C h a r t s d i v i s i o n , C o a s t a n d G e o d e t ic S u r v e y . .
174
C o ast p ilo ts, a n n u a l d is tr ib u tio n , c h a r t sh o w
C h e s a p e a k e B a y , c r a b i n d u s t r y ..............................
133
in g ......................................................... fa c in g ..
179
in s p e c t io n s o f o y s t e r f l e e t ........................................
10
p u b lic a tio n .........................................................
200
s h a d f i s h e r y ......................................................................
133
C
oastal
C
o
m
m
u
n
ic
a
tio
n
,
I
n
te
r
d
e
p
a
r
tm
e
n
ta
l
C h i l d la b o r , C e n s u s B u r e a u r e p o r t .......................
104
B o a rd o n .....................................................
157
C h i n a , m a r k e t s fo r A m e r ic a n p r o d u c t s .............. 6 3 ,6 5
C o astin g tra d e , e n ro llm e n t of re p a ire d w re c k s
245
C it ie s , c e n s u s s t a t i s t i c s ..................................................
101
to n n a g e re g iste re d ...........................................
222
C i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n . C e n s u s B u r e a u i n q u i r y ___
106
C ollars, c o st of p ro d u c tio n r e p o r t.................
71
C i v i l S e r v i c e C o m m is s io n , c o m p e t i t i v e e x
Collectors of c u sto m s, assistan c e in enforcing
a m i n a t io n s t o f i l l e x c e p t e d p o s it io n s .
F o r e ig n a n d D o m e s tic C o m m e rc e B u
n a v ig a tio n la w s ........................................
238
r e a u ..............................................................................
76
co u n tin g passen g ers o n ex cu rsio n v e s s e ls ...
11
B o il e r s o f v e s s e ls , i n s p e c t i o n s ...................................
207
IN D E X .
251
Page.
Page.
133
C o lo r s t a n d a r d iz a t io n , s t u d y .........................................
87 Crabs, review of fish ery.......................................
C o lu m b in e , li g h t h o u s e t e n d e r , r a d io e q u ip
studies b y Fisheries B u re au ...........................
136
Crews, Coast and Geodetic Su rvey vessels,
m e n t ...........................................................
149
p a y ................................................................
182
r e s c u e o f b a r k B r i t i s h Y e o m a n ............................
160
Fisheries steam ers, cost and com plem ent..
9
C o m m e r c e B u i l d i n g , a m o u n t o f r e n t a l ...............
15
lighthouse vessels, p a y and subsisten ce.. . .
157
c r o w d e d c o n d i t io n s ..................................................... 8, h i
Custom s officers. S e e Collectors of customs.
e x p ir a t io n o f le a s e ........................................................
15
F e d e r a l T r a d e C o m m is s io n q u a r t e r s ...............
8
Dangerous articles, transportation on vessels.
215
Dangers to navigation discovered b y Coast
S u r v e y ..........................................................
C o m m e r c e B u i l d i n g C o ., s a le o f C o m m e r c e
204
B u i l d i n g .........................................................................
49 D ay marks. S e e A id s to navigation.
C o m m e r c e , f o r e ig n . See F o r e i g n t r a d e .
Deaf in the U nited States, census report........
102
C o m m e r c e R e p o r t s , v a l u e t o b u s in e s s m e n
Deaths, census report on m ortality statistics.
100
(see also P r i n t i n g a n d b i n d i n g ) ..................
59
from cancer, census report..............................
103
C o m m e r c ia l a g e n t s d iv is io n , F o r e i g n a n d
D iam ond-back terrapin, propagation and
D o m e s t ic C o m m e r c e B u r e a u , o r g a n i
studies....................................................... 114,138
z a t io n ..........................................................................
Direction finder, radio.........................................
68
91
C o m m e r c ia l a g e n t s , e x a m in a t io n s f o r e lig ib le s
Disbursements. S e e Appropriations and ex
f o r a p p o i n t m e n t ...................................................
76
penditures.
Distribution of publications. S e e Printing
r e v i e w o f w o r k ................... . ......................................... 64-68
and binding.
v a l u e o f w o r k ...................................................................
15
D istrict offices, Foreign and Domestic Com
C o m m e r c ia l a t t a c h é s , c h a n g e s i n s e r v i c e ..........
61
e x a m in a t io n fo r e lig ib le s fo r a p p o i n t m e n t . .
76
merce Bureau, establishm ent of coopera tiv e offices.......................................................
n e e d o f la r g e r f o r c e ....................................................... 14» 54
70
s u m m a r y o f a c t i v i t i e s ................................................ 60-64
rev iew of w o r k ......................................................... 68-70
C o m m e r c ia l la w s o f S o u t h A m e r ic a n c o u n tr ie s ,
D is tric ts , d iv isio n of s tea m b o at-in sp e ctio n ,
i n q u i r y .......................................................................
67
s ta tu s of pro p o sed le g isla tio n ....................
53
C o m m e r c ia l o r g a n iz a t io n s , c o o p e r a t iv e o ffic e s ,
D ivorce, pro p o sed C ensus B u re a u i n q u i r y . . .
105
F o re ig n
and
D o m e s t ic
C o m m erce
D ix ie, N a v ig a tio n B u re a u m o to r b o a t, m a in
te n a n c e ................................................................
34a
B u r e a u ........................................................................
70
f o r e ig n , c o o p e r a t io n o f F o r e i g n a n d D o m e s
o p e ra tio n s ................................................................ 10,239
t i c C o m m e r c e B u r e a u ...................................... 5S> 61
D ogfish. S e e G ray fish .
D rayage, C ensus B u re a u in q u i r y ........................
106
C o m p e t it io n , u n f a i r , s a f e g u a r d s a g a i n s t ............
18
D redge w orkers, p r o te c tio n ....................................
318
C o n d e m n e d p r o p e r t y , r e c e i p t s fr o m s a l e s . . . .
27
C o n fe r e n c e s , c o a s t w i s e c o m m u n i c a t i o n ..............
156
D u p lic a tin g w o r k .......................................................
44
D u tc h H a rb o r, A lask a, p u rc h a s e a s G o v ern
li g h t h o u s e i n s p e c t o r s .................................................
143
m e n t b a s e ........................................................ S3,195
lo a d - lin e a n d b u l k h e a d r e g u l a t i o n ...................
21
D y e s tu ffs ........................................................................ 6 7,74
m a n a g e r s o f d i s t r i c t a n d c o o p e r a t iv e o f f ic e s .
69
fir e - a la r m s y s t e m ..........................................................
50
s a le t o M r s . H . M . H a l l i d a y ..................................
49
p r o t e c t i o n o f v e s s e ls a g a in s t f i r e .........................
20
t e c h n ic a l, a t S t a n d a r d s B u r e a u ..........................
79
w e i g h t s a n d m e a s u r e s ................................................
80
C o n s u la r o ffic e r s , p r o v is io n a l r e g i s t r y o f v e s
s e l s .................................................................................
221
C o n v e n t io n s , c o m m e r c ia l, a t t e n d a n c e o f F e d
e r a l e m p l o y e e s .......................................................
C o o p e r a t iv e o ffic e s ,
F o re ig n
C o m m erce B u re a u .
and
8
D o m e s t ic
S e e D i s t r i c t o ffic e s .
C o s t o f liv in g , D e p a r tm e n t w o r k h a m p e re d b y
i n c r e a s e ......................................................................
54
d e v e l o p m e n t o f li t t l e - k n o w n f is h e s ...................
17
f o o d p r i c e s .........................................................................
38
w a g e s c a le o f G o v e r n m e n t e m p l o y e e s ............
37
C o s t o f p r o d u c t io n d iv is io n , t r a n s f e r t o T a r i f f
C o m m is s io n .............................................................
C o s t o f p r o d u c t io n , in f o r m a t io n f u r n is h e d b y
F o r e ig n
and
D o m e s tic
7» 7 *
C o m m erce
B u r e a u ........................................................................
74
i n v e s t i g a t i o n s ..................................................................
71
r e p o r t s c o n c e r n i n g ........................................................ 7 * j 76
C o t t o n a n d c o t t o n s e e d , c e n s u s r e p o r t s ...............
101
C o t t o n a n d t o b a c c o s t a t i s t i c s d i v i s i o n .................
io s
C o t t o n - g o o d s m a r k e t s , i n v e s t i g a t i o n s .................
65
C o t t o n - s p in n in g m a c h i n e r y , c o s t o f p r o d u c
t io n r e p o r t ................................................................
71
E a s tla n d ste a m s h ip d isaste r, in q u ir y con
c e rn in g .............................................................. 13,314
pro p o sed legislatio n b ased o n B o ard of I n
q u iry re p o r t......................................................
52
E d u c a tio n . child ren of k ee p ers of lig h th o u s e s .
152
E l P aso, T e x ., special c e n su s ................................
104
E le c tric la m p s, sig n al la m p of C oast S u rv e y .
178
te s ts ..............................................................................
88
E le c tric a l goods, foreign m a rk e ts, in v e stig a
tio n s .....................................................................
66
E le c tric a l in d u s trie s , q u in q u e n n ia l c e n s u s ., .
106
E le c tric ity , s ta n d a r d s of se rv ic e ..........................
83
E lectro ly sis, in v e s tig a tio n ......................................
83
E m p lo y ee s. S e e P erso n n el.
E s tim a te s of a p p ro p ria tio n s for fiscal y ea r
1918....................................................................... 29-32
co m m u n ic a tio n w ith lig h t s ta tio n s ................
157
in c rease cau sed b y co st of liv in g .....................
54
L ig h th o u ses B u re a u , special w o r k s ...............
148
ra d io e q u ip m e n t of lig h th o u se te n d e r s .........
157
E s tim a te s of P o p u la tio n , ce n su s b u lle tin ........
103
E u ro p e a n w ar, effects o n w o rk of co m m ercial
a tta c h e s ..............................................................
63
E x a m in a tio n s , c o m p e titiv e , for co m m ercial
a g e n ts a n d a tta c h e s .......................................
76
252
IN D E X .
Page.
Page.
F ish erie s B u re a u , n a tiv e s o n seal is la n d s ___
119
n e w c u ltu ra l s ta t io n s ............................................
131
fir e p r o o f c o n s t r u c t io n .................................................
209
sales of A lask an f u r s ..............................................
11S
o v e r l o a d i n g .......................................................................
214
S cu lly , M a ry A ., g ift of tr o u t h a tc h e r y ........
131
E x e c u t i v e C i v i l S e r v i c e , c e n s u s b u l l e t i n ..........
106
s ta tu s of pro p o sed le g is la tio n ............................
53
E x h i b i t s ....................................................................
4 8 ,6 9 ,14 4
te rra p in p ro p a g a tio n .............................................
114
E x p e n d i t u r e s . See A p p r o p r i a t i o n s a n d e x
vessels, civ ilian c re w s ...........................................
9
p e n d it u r e s .
c o n d itio n ................................................................
139
E x p l o r e r , C o a s t S u r v e y s t e a m e r , c o n d i t i o n . 10 ,18 0
c o n s tru c tio n ..........................................................
10
o p e r a t io n s ..........................................................................
197
E x p o r t s , a c c u r a c y o f s t a t i s t i c s (see also F o r
co st of o p e ra tin g ..................................................
9
n
u
m
b
e
r
in
s
e
rv
ic
e
..............................................
u
e ig n t r a d e ) ...............................................................
72
E x p r e s s b u s in e s s , d e c e n n i a l c e n s u s ......................
108
rep airs to R o o s e v e lt..........................................
120
S e e a lso P erso n n el; P r in tin g a n d b in d in g .
F a i r p o r t , I o w a , F is h e r ie s l a b o r a t o r y .............. 13 7 ,13 8
F o g signals. S e e A id s t o n av ig a tio n ; L ig h t
F a r E a s t , m a r k e t s fo r A m e r i c a n p r o d u c t s . . .
65
houses B u re a u .
F a r m s , fis h p o n d s .............................................................
129
F o o d fishes, b reed in g to im p ro v e food v a lu e .
17
fu r - b e a r in g a n i m a l s ................................................ 12 4 ,12 5
d e v e lo p m e n t of n e w fish eries.......................... 16,112
F a t h o m e r , C o a s t S u r v e y s t e a m e r , o p e r a t io n s .
198
S e e a lso F ish erie s B u rea u ; F is h h atch erie s.
F e d e r a l T r a d e C o m m is s io n , a s s i s t a n c e g iv e n
F o reig n a n d D o m estic C o m m erce B u re a u ,
b y C e n s u s B u r e a u ..............................................
104
a p p ro p ria tio n s a n d e x p e n d itu r e s ............22-29
c o o p e r a t io n i n im p r o v e m e n t o f lu m b e r i n
co m m ercial a g e n ts ..................................... 1 5 ,64-68 ,7 6
d u s t r y .........................................................................
75
co m m ercial a g e n ts d iv isio n , o rg a n iz a tio n . . .
68
q u a r t e r s i n C o m m e r c e B u i l d i n g .........................8, i n
co m m ercial a tta c h é s ................................. 1 4 ,5 4 ,6 0 ,7 6
F e e s , n a v i g a t i o n , r e c e i p t s ............................................
236
c o o p e ra tio n in a d v a n c e m e n t of c o m m e rc e ..
74
F e r n , li g h t h o u s e t e n d e r ........................................... 14 3 ,14 9
co o p e ra tiv e offices..................................................
70
F e r r y b o a t s , p a s s e n g e r s c a r r ie d , n e e d fo r r e g u
co st of p ro d u c tio n d iv isio n , tra n sfe r to
l a t i o n ...........................................................................
215
T a riff C o m m issio n ......................................... 7,71
F i n a n c i a l s t a t is t ic s , r e p o r t fo r c i t i e s .....................
101
co st of p ro d u c tio n w o r k .......................................
71
r e p o r t s fo r S t a t e s ...................................................... 10 3,10 8
d is tric t offices..................................................... 14,68-70
F in e s , n a v i g a t i o n , r e c e i p t s ....................................... 10 ,2 36
e d ito ria l w o r k ...........................................................
73
F ir e - a la r m s y s t e m in C o m m e r c e B u i l d i n g —
50
e s tim a te s of a p p ro p ria tio n s for fiscal y ea r
F ir e p r o o f in g e x c u r s io n s t e a m e r s ............................. 2 1,2 0 9
1918.......................................................................
30
F ir e - r e s i s t in g p r o p e r t ie s o f m a t e r i a l s ............ 2x, 8 4,95
e x a m in a tio n s for a g e n ts a n d a t ta c h é s ...........
76
F ir s t - a i d o u t f i t s ..................................................................
46
e x p o rt s ta tis tic s, a c c u ra c y ..................................
72
F i s h c u l t u r e . See F is h e r ie s B u r e a u .
foreign ta riff w o r k ..................................................
72
F i s h h a t c h e r ie s , e s t im a t e s o f a p p r o p r i a t io n s
foreign tra d e -m a rk in f o rm a tio n .......................
72
fo r fis c a l y e a r 19 18 ...............................................
32
fu n c tio n s .....................................................................
58
e x p e n d it u r e s f r o m s p e c ia l f u n d s ........................
25
n ee d s of se n -ic e ........................................................ 73,75
o p e r a t io n s ..................................................................... 12 7 -13 1
re su lts a c co m p lish ed ..............................................
58
o u t p u t o f A l a s k a n .......................................................
126
sam p les e x h ib its .....................................................
69
S c u lly tr o u t h a tc h e r y , g ift t o G o v e r n m e n t.
131
special ta riff s tu d y for S e n a te ...........................
76
F i s h H a w k , F is h e r ie s s t e a m e r , c o n d i t i o n —
139
v a lu e of w o r k ...........................................................
14
c r e w .......................................................................................
9
S e e a lso P ersonn el; P r in tin g a n d b in d in g .
o p e r a t io n s ..........................................................................
128
F o re ig n C om m erce a n d t h e T a riff, p u b lic a
F is h p o n d s o n f a r m s .......................................................
129
tio n .......................................................................
76
F is h e r ie s B u r e a u , A l a s k a fis h e r ie s ........................
125
F o reig n com m ercial o rg an izatio n s, coopera
a p p r o p r i a t io n s a n d e x p e n d i t u r e s ..........................22-29
tio n .......................................................................
55
b u i l d i n g s ............................................................ 1 6 ,1 7 ,5 7 ,1 3 9
F o reig n in d e b te d n e s s , re d u c tio n .........................
14
c o m m e r c ia l fis h e rie s , r e v i e w .................................
132
F o reig n m a rk e ts . S e e F o re ig n a n d D o m estic
c o o p e r a t io n w i t h L i g h t h o u s e S e r v i c e .............
151
C om m erce B u rea u ; F o re ig n tr a d e , etc.
w i t h S t a t e a u t h o r i t i e s ...........................................
130
F o reig n ta riffs ..............................................................
72
d e d ic a t io n o f t a b l e t t o S p e n c e r F u l le r t o n
F o reig n tra d e , a d ju s tm e n t of d is p u te s .............
69
B a i r d ...........................................................................
1
a d v a n ta g e s of free p o r ts .......................................
55
e s t im a t e s o f a p p r o p r i a t io n s f o r f is c a l y e a r
co m p a ra tiv e m a p s of foreign c o u n trie s .........
53
19 18 ...............................................................................
32
cooperation w ith fo reign c h a m b e rs of com
f o o d fis h e s , p r o p a g a t io n a n d d i s t r i b u t i o n . 1 6 ,1 2 7
m erce ...................................................................
55
f o r t y - f if t h a n n i v e r s a r y e x e r c is e s .........................
112
f o x h e r d s ............................................................................
122
e x p a n sio n ................................................................... 14,58
fr e s h - w a t e r f is h e r y i n v e s t i g a t i o n s ......................
137
e x p o rt s ta tis tic s, a c c u ra c y ..................................
72
f u r f a r m s .....................................................
12 4 ,12 5
ex ten sio n of A m e ric a n b a n k s a b r o a d ............18,66
fu r - s e a l h e r d .....................................................................
115
‘'F o re ig n tr a d e o p p o rtu n itie s ,” re s u lts of
g r a y fi s h f is h e r y d e v e l o p e d ............................ 1 6 ,5 3 ,1 1 3
se rv ic e .................................................................
59
138
la b o r a t o r y ' o p e r a t io n s ................................................
in v e s tm e n ts of A m erican c a p ita l a b r o a d . . .
62
m a r i n e f is h e r y i n v e s t i g a t i o n s .......................... 1 1 2 ,1 3 6
safeguards a g a in s t u n fa ir c o m p e titio n ..........
18
m in o r f u r - b e a r in g a n i m a ls o f A l a s k a ............................. 122
to n n a g e re g iste re d ..................................................
222
m is c e lla n e o u s r e c e i p t s ...............................................
27
S e e a lso F o reig n a n d D o m estic C om m erce
m u s s e l p r o p a g a t i o n .....................................................
131
B u re a u .
E x c u r s i o n s t e a m e r s , a l lo w a n c e o f p a s s e n g e r s .
20
253
IN D E X .
P ag e.
F o re ig n
u n fa ir co m p etitio n ,
safeguards
a g a in s t................................................................
18
F o re ig n vessels a d m itte d to A m erican regis
tr y ( s e e o l s o V esse ls)................................... 19.« 220
F o r e s t p ro d u c ts, proposed a n n u a l collection
of s ta tis tic s ........................................................
107
F o re s t S ervice, c o o p e ra tio n in im p ro v e m e n t
of lu m b e r in d u s t r y ........................................
75
F o u n d a tio n for P ro m o tio n of I n d u s tria l P eac e
50
fin an cial s ta te m e n t fro m A m erican S ecu rity
& T ru s t C o ........................................................
51
F o x es, A lask an h e r d s ...............................................
122
sales of s k in s ......................................................... 118,122
F re e p o rts, d is c u s s io n ...............................................
55
F r u its a n d n u ts , foreign m a rk e ts , in v e stig a
tio n s .....................................................................
66
F u r-b e a rin g an im als, m in o r, A la s k a .................
122
F u r fa rm in g in A la s k a ......................................... 124,125
F u r seals. S e e Seals.
F u r w a rd e n s, A la s k a ................................................
122
F u r n itu r e , foreign m a rk e ts , s tu d ie s ...................
66
F u rs , s h ip m e n ts fro m A la s k a ...............................
124
F u sib le p lu g s ................................................................
218
Page.
H e r r in g f i s h e r y ...................................................................
134
H i g h la n d P a r k , M i c h ., s p e c ia l c e n s u s .................
104
H o n o l u lu , H a w a i i , m a g n e t i c o b s e r v a t o r y . . 193,204
H o s i e r y , c o s t o f p r o d u c t io n r e p o r t ........................
H o u s in g c o n d i t io n s .
H o u s t o n , H o n . D . F . , t r u s t e e o f F o u n d a t io n
f o r P r o m o t io n o f I n d u s t r i a l P e a c e ..........
H alcyon, Fisheries steamer, con struction ... 10,151
H alibut, Pacific coast fish ery........................ 114,*35
A laska fish ery....................................................
127
H allid ay, Mrs. H enrietta M ., purchase of
Com m erce B u ild in g ..................................
49
H ardware, investigations of foreign m a rk ets.. 6 2 , 6 6
H astings, N ebr., special census.........................
104
Hatcheries, fish. S e e F ish hatcheries.
H aw aii, aids to n avigation .................................
141
H eroic acts b y em ployees of Lighthouse
S erv ice..........................................................
160
50
H u g h i t t , M a r v i n , t r u s t e e o f F o u n d a t io n fo r
P r o m o t io n o f I n d u s t r i a l P e a c e ...................
H u l l c o n s t r u c t io n . F e d e r a l s u p e r v i s i o n . .
51
12 ,52 ,2 0 8
H y d r o g r a p h e r , C o a s t S u r v e y v e s s e l , c o n d i
t io n ...............................................................................
181
o p e r a t io n s ..........................................................................
196
H y d r o g r a p h y a n d to p o g r a p h y d iv is io n , C o a s t
S u r v e y ........................................................................
Im p o rts.
I n d e b t e d n e s s , f o r e ig n , r e d u c t i o n ............................
I n d ia ,
173
S e e F o r e ig n tra d e.
m a rk e ts
fo r
A m e r ic a n
14
p ro d u cts,
s t u d i e s ........................................................................
65
I n d u s t r i a l P e a c e , F o u n d a t i o n fo r P r o m o t i o n .
50
I n ju s t ic e t o t r a v e l i n g e m p l o y e e s ............................
7
I n q u i r y i n t o E a s t l a n d s t e a m s h ip d i s a s t e r . . . 1 2 ,2 14
I n s p e c t i o n la w s , v e s s e ls , a r c h a ic s t a t e ................
G alv e sto n , T e x ., suboffice of C oast S u r v e y . ..
196
G as, s ta n d a rd s of s e rv ic e ........................................
83
G aso lin e tru c k s . S e e A utom obiles.
G e d n e y , C o ast S u rv e y s te a m e r, o p e ra tio n s ...
197
s a le ........................................................................ 9 ,1 8 0 ,1 9 9
G eo d esy d iv isio n , C o ast a n d G eo d etic S u rv e y
172
G eo d etic w o rk , C oast a n d G eo d etic S u r
v e y ........................................................... 188-193,201
G lass, in v e stig a tio n of co st of p ro d u c tio n —
71
o p tic a l s tu d y b y S ta n d a rd s B u r e a u ..............
87
G lo u cester, M ass., com m ercial fis h e ry ..............
135
G lo v er, P rof. J a n ie s W ., life ta b le s for C ensus
B u re a u ................................................................
103
G o v e rn m e n t A id T o M e rc h a n t S h ip p in g ,
p u b lic a tio n ........................................................
67
G o v e rn m e n t E x h ib it B o ard , refu n d of u n e x
p e n d e d b alan ce of a llo tm e n t for P a n
a m a-P a cific E x p o s itio n ...............................
48
G ra m p u s , F ish e rie s schooner, o p e ra tio n s ........
115
G ray fish , a p p ro p ria tio n for d ev e lo p in g fish ery
53
d e v e lo p m e n t of fis h e ry ...................................... 16,113
G r e a t T a k e s, a id s to n a v ig a tio n ....................... 140-142
p ro p a g a tio n of food fis h e s .............................. 127,129
reg istered to n n a g e ..................................................
222
tim b e r o n lig h th o u se re s e rv a tio n s ...................
152
G reen gill, s tu d y of d isease in o y s te rs .......... 136,138
G ro u n d s, S ta n d a rd s B u r e a u .................................
92
G ulf of M exico, a id s to n a v ig a tio n ................. 140-142
sto rm d am ag e to lig h th o u se p r o p e r ty ..........
142
tid a l a n d c u rre n t w o r k ........................................
200
w ire-d rag w o rk ........................................................
204
71
S e e B u il d in g s .
In sp e c tio n s.
219
S e e N a v ig a tio n B u r e a u , S te a m
b o a t - I n s p e c t io n S e r v ic e , e t c .
I n s p e c t o r s , L i g h t h o u s e S e r v i c e ...................
5 4 ,1 4 3 ,1 5 9
N a v i g a t i o n s e r v i c e .................................................. 221,242
S t e a m b o a t - I n s p e c t io n S e r v i c e . . . .
5 2 ,2 10 ,2 12 ,2 1 8
w e ig h ts a n d m easu re s, S ta n d a r d s B u r e a u
c o o p e r a t io n ..............................................................
In te rd e p a rtm e n ta l
B oard
on
81
C o a sta l C o m
m u n i c a t i o n ..............................................................
157
I n t e r n a t i o n a l b o u n d a r y , C a n a d ia n , m a g n e t i c
s u r v e y .........................................................................
203
I n t e r n a t i o n a l P a n a m a - P a c if ic E x p o s i t i o n . . 4 8 ,14 4
I n v e s t m e n t s o f A m e r ic a n c a p i t a l a b r o a d .........
62
I o w a , f is h - c u lt u r a l s t u d i e s ..........................................
137
F ., w a r d e n , d e a t h ......................
123
I r w in , R e g in a ld
I s is , C o a s t S u r v e y s t e a m e r , il lu s t r a t i o n . f a c in g 181
o p e r a t io n s .............................................................. io , 18 1,19 6
s a v i n g o f life a n d p r o p e r t y .....................................
199
I s l a n d s , le a s e d , f u r f a r m i n g ........................................
125
Japan,
m a rk e ts
fo r
A m e r ic a n
p ro d u c ts,
s t u d i e s ........................................................................
65
J o h n s o n , R o b e r t S . , a s s i s t a n t in c h a r g e , d i v i
s io n o f fis h c u l t u r e , d e a t h ............................
na
J u n e a u , A l a s k a , s u b o ff ic e o f C o a s t S u r v e y . . .
180
J u s t ic e D e p a r t m e n t , c o o p e r a t io n in e n fo r c in g
la w s in C h e s a p e a k e B a y o y s t e r f l e e t . .
11
J u v e n i l e d e l in q u e n t s , c e n s u s r e p o r t .....................
102
K e o k u k . I o w a , s t u d y o f fis h l i f e .............................
137
K l a m a t h R i v e r , C a l ., F is h e r ie s s t a t i o n .............
131
Labor D epartm ent reports, food prices.......... 38,39
wage scales..............................................................
38
Laboratory and aquarium for Fisheries
B ureau..............................................................
16
Lam ps, Coast S u rvey signal la m p ....................
178
tests b y Standards B u reau .............................
88
Launches for hydrographic w o rk .....................
181
Law s, inspection of vessels, archaic sta te.......
219
Leases, Commerce B u ild in g ...................................
15
islands for fur farm ing......................................
125
L eave of absence granted to em ployees..........
35
254
IN D E X .
Page.
Page.
M a c h i n e r y , n e e d s o f C e n s u s B u r e a u ..............
jio
L e g islatio n , affec tin g D e p a rtm e n t, s ta t u s -----52-54
s t u d ie s o f f o r e ig n m a r k e t s ................................
66
affec tin g L ig h th o u s e S e rv ic e .............................
153
M a g n e t ic o b s e r v a t i o n s ............................................
203
n ee d ed for C ensus B u re a u w o r k ......................
107
M a g n e t ic o b s e r v a t o r ie s ...........................................
193
L e v elin g , precise. S e e P recise leveling.
M a g n e t i c t e s t s b y S t a n d a r d s B u r e a u ...........
89
L ib r a ry , d e p a rtm e n ta l.............................................
49
Licenses, officers of v essels................................. 207,220
M a i lin g l i s t s ...................................................................
43
M a i n e , s a lm o n p l a n t i n g .........................................
129
m o to r-b o a t o p e ra to rs ............................................
13
M a n u fa c t u r e s , c e n s u s e s ............................................... 9 9 ,10 7
rad io o p e ra to rs .................................................... 220,237
M a p s , c o m p a r a t iv e , f o r e ig n t r a d e in f o r m a t io n
53
210
L icen sin g of s e a m e n ..................................................
M a r in d u q u e , C o a s t S u r v e y s te a m e r, o p e ra
L ife a n d p ro p e rty sav ed , C o ast S u rv e y vessels
199
t io n s .............................................................................
199
L ig h th o u se S e n d e e ................................................
160
M a r k e t s , fo r e ig n . S e e C o m m e r c ia l a g e n t s ;
serv ice of ra d io te le g ra p h y ...................................
237
F o r e i g n t r a d e , e tc .
L ife b u o y s on vessels, a m e n d m e n t of s e a m e n ’s
a c t .........................................................................
53 M a r r ia g e a n d d iv o r c e , p r o p o s e d C e n s u s B u
r e a u i n q u i r y ....................................................
105
L ife T a b les, C ensus B u re a u p u b lic a tio n ....................... 103
M a r t e n s , s c a r c i t y i n A l a s k a ................................
124
L ig h th o u ses B u re a u , a d m in is tra tiv e m e th o d s
M a r y l a n d fis h e r ie s .....................................................
133
a n d econom ies..................................................
143
M a s s a c h u s e t t s , c o a s t a l f i s h e r y ...........................
135
a id s to n a v ig a tio n ...................................................
140
d a n g e r s t o n a v i g a t i o n .........................................
204
a p p ro p ria tio n s a n d e x p e n d itu re s ................... 22-29
M a t c h le s s , C o a s t S u r v e y v e s s e l, c o n d i t io n . . .
181
a p p ro p ria tio n s for sp ecial w o rk s ......................
147
o p e r a t io n s ..................................................
196
co m m u n ic atio n w ith lig h t s ta tio n s ................
156
M a t e r ia l s a n d s u p p lie s , p r o p o s a ls , a d v e r t i s i n g
45
co o p e ra tio n w ith o th e r F e d e ra l o rganiza
M ea su re s. S e e S ta n d a rd s B u re a u .
tio n s .....................................................................
151
M e c h a n ic a l s t a n d a r d s .............................................
82
co st of o u tb u ild in g s a t s ta tio n s .......................
156
M e r c h a n t m a r i n e , c o n d i t io n s a f f e c t in g A m e r i
en g in eerin g a n d c o n s tru c tio n ............................
14$
230
c a n m a r i t i m e in t e r e s t s .....................................
e s tim a te s of a p p ro p ria tio n s fo r fiscal y e a r
e n r o llm e n t o f r e p a ir e d w r e c k s f o r c o a s t in g
1918.......................................................................
29
t r a d e ............................................................................
245
e x h ib its ..................................................................... 48,144
i n c r e a s e .............................................................................. 18 ,2 2 1
fog-signaling a p p a ra tu s ........................................
91
r e v i e w ...................................................................................
222
im p ro v e m e n t of a p p a ra tu s a n d e q u ip m e n t
146
s e a m e n ’s a c t , e f f e c t s ...................................................
246
in sp ectors, q u alific atio n s a n d s a la rie s .......... 54,159
s h i p b u i ld i n g i n A m e r i c a n y a r d s ........................
226
leg islation affec tin g S e rv ic e ............................. 53, *53
27
w o r k o f S t e a m b o a t - I n s p e c t io n S e r v i c e .........
211
m iscellaneous re c e ip ts ..........................................
M e r c h a n t s h ip p i n g , w o r l d 's , c h a n g e s ..................
225
o rg a n iz a tio n ..............................................................
140
M e t a l l u r g y , S t a n d a r d s B u r e a u in v e s t ig a t io n s
90
rad io c o m m u n ic a tio n ................................. 91,149 ,1 56
M e t a ls , s p e c tr o s c o p ic a n a l y s i s ..................................
87
re tire m e n t of em p lo y e e s......................................
155
M in e s B u r e a u , c o o p e r a t io n w i t h L i g h t h o u s e
sa v in g of life a n d p r o p e r ty .................................
160
S e r v i c e ........................................................................
151
special w o rk s a u th o riz e d w ith o u t a p p ro
M is c e lla n e o u s r e c e i p t s o f D e p a r t m e n t ................
27
p r i a t i o n s . . . .......... ............................................
154
M is s is s ip p i R i v e r , n e e d fo r v e s s e l t o e n fo r c e
s to rm d a m a g e to p r o p e r t y ..................................
142
n a v i g a t i o n l a w s ....................................................
240
teach ers for c h ild re n of lig h t k e e p e rs .............
152
M is s i s s ip p i
V a lle y ,
m u ssel
c u ltu r e
and
vessels, c o n s tru c tio n .............................................. 9 ,1 4 8
f i s h e r y .................................................................... 131» 132
n u m b e r in serv ic e............................................. 11,150
p r o p a g a t io n o f fo o d f is h e s ........................................
137
157
p a y a n d su b sisten ce of c re w s ........................
r e s c u e o f fis h f r o m o v e r f lo w e d l a n d s .................
130
S e e a lso P ersonnel; P r in tin g a n d b in d in g .
M it c h e l l, J o h n , t r u s t e e o f F o u n d a t i o n f o r
L ig h ts. S e e A id s to n av ig a tio n .
P r o m o t io n o f I n d u s t r i a l P e a c e ...................
51
L ilac, lig h th o u se te n d e r, id le for lack of f u n d s .
150
M o r t a l i t y s t a t is t ic s , r e p o r t ..........................................
ic o
L in te rs, s ta tis tic s of c o n s u m p tio n .......................
101
M o t o r b o a t s , b ill s a f f e c t in g r e g u la t i o n .................
23
L iq u id -m e a su rin g p u m p s , in v e s tig a tio n .........
86
i n a d e q u a c y o f la w s r e g u l a t i n g ..............................
12
L iv es lo st in s te a m s h ip a c c id e n ts ........................
207
in s p e c t io n s ..................................................................... 12 ,2 10
L o a d -lin e a n d b u lk h e a d re g u la tio n , con
lic e n s e s f o r o p e r a t o r s ..................................................
13
feren c e.................................................................
21
M o t o r c y c l e , c o s t o f o p e r a t i o n ...................................
46
L o b ste rs, p ro p a g a tio n ...............................................
128
M o t o r v e h i c l e s , c o s t o f o p e r a t i o n ............................
46
L o w , H o n . S e th , tru s te e of F o u n d a tio n for
M u s s e ls , c u l t u r e ............................................................. 1 3 1 ,1 3 8
P ro m o tio n of I n d u s tria l P e a c e ...............
50
f i s h e r y ..................................................................................
132
L u b ric a n ts a n d lu b ric a tio n , s tu d ie s ...................
86
L u m b e r, cooperation in im p ro v e m e n t of in
N a t i o n a l E x p o s i t i o n o f P a n a m a .............................
48
d u s tr y ..................................................................
75
N a t i o n a l G u a r d . S e e O r g a n i z e d M il it ia .
foreign m a rk e ts , in v e stig a tio n s ....................... 6 5,66
N a v a l a r c h i t e c t s , b o a r d o f ........................................... 1 2 ,5 2
M c A rth u r, C o ast S u rv e y stea m er, illu s tra
t i o n ...........................................................facing
180
o p e ra tio n s ..................................................................
197
s a le ................................................................................ 9 ,199
M ach in ery , co tto n -sp in n in g , co st of p ro d u c
tio n r e p o r t.........................................................
71
N a v a s s a I s l a n d l i g h t s t a t i o n ................................. 14 5 ,14 7
N a v ig a tio n a id s.
S e e A id s to n a v ig a tio n .
N a v i g a t i o n B u r e a u , a p p r o p r i a t io n s a n d e x
p e n d i t u r e s ................................................................ 22-29
c o u n t i n g o f p a s s e n g e r s o n v e s s e l s .................... 11,2 4 3
e n f o r c e m e n t o f n a v ig a t io n l a w s ........................ 10 ,238
255
IN D E X .
Page.
N a v ig a tio n B u re a u , e s tim a te s of a p p ro p ria
tio n s for fiscal y e a r 1 9 1 8 ..............................
31
in c reased d u ti e s ......................................................
220
in c reased sala ries a n d force re c o m m e n d e d . 53,222
in sp e c tio n s, foreign vessels a d m itte d to
A m erican r e g is try ..........................................
19
o y s te r f le e t.............................................................
10
in sp ec to rs, s u m m a ry of w o r k ............................
242
m isc ellan eo u s re c e ip ts ..........................................
27
n ee d fo r a rc h iv e s b u ild in g ..................................
57
p assen g er a c t of 18S2..............................................
245
p re v e n tio n of o v ercro w d in g of excursion
s te a m e rs .............................................................
20
ra d io c o m m u n ic a tio n ............................................ 9**236
re c e ip ts fro m d u tie s , fees, a n d fin e s ...............
235
re p a ire d w recks, r e g is try .....................................
245
S a fe ty -F irs t E x p o s itio n , p a r tic ip a tio n .........
48
s e a m e n ’s a c t of 1915...............................................
246
s h ip b u ild in g in A m erican y a r d s ......................
226
s h ip p in g co m m issio n ers.......................................
233
s u m m a ry of w o rld ’s s h ip b u ild in g ...................
229
v essels in in s p e c tio n s e rv ic e ...................... 10, 11, 239
S e e a lso P ersonnel; P rin tin g a n d b in d in g .
N a v ig a tio n , d a n g e rs discovered b y C oast
S u r v e y ................................................................
204
N a v ig a tio n fees a n d fin e s........................................
235
N a v ig a tio n law s, c o m p a ra tiv e s tu d y of for
eign, p u b lic a tio n ............................................
67
e n fo rc e m e n t............................................................ 10,238
N a v y crew s on F ish erie s s te a m e rs .....................
9
N a v y D e p a rtm e n t, a id b y C ensus B u r e a u ...
104
co o p eratio n w ith L ig h th o u se S e n d e e ...........
152
rad io s e n d e e on seal is la n d s ...............................
122
N egroes in U n ite d S ta te s, census r e p o r t........
102
N e w Jersey , coastal fis h e ry ....................................
135
d a n g e rs to n a v ig a tio n ...........................................
204
N ew Y o rk C ity , co m m ercial ag e n ts d iv isio n ,
F o reig n a n d
D o m estic C om m erce
B u r e a u ................................................................
68
d is tr ic t office, F o reig n a n d D o m estic C om
m e rc e B u r e a u ..................................................
69
p assen g ers on fe rry b o a ts ......................................
215
suboffice of C o ast S u n e y ....................................
196
N ew Y o rk , co a stal fis h e ry .....................................
135
d a n g e rs to n a v ig a tio n ...........................................
204
N itro g e n , in q u ir y co n c ern in g m a n u f a c tu r e .. .
67
N o b e l P eac e P rize , F o u n d a tio n for P ro m o
tio n of I n d u s tria l P e a c e ..............................
50
N o rfo lk , V a., suboffice of C o ast S u r v e y ...........
180
N o r th C aro lina, b la ck fish fis h e ry ........................
114
d a n g e rs to n a v ig a tio n ...........................................
204
N o r th P acific S e a lin g C o n v e n tio n , k illin g of
seals b y n a tiv e s ...............................................
119
O b se rv ato rie s, m a g n e tic ..........................................
193
O c c u p a tio n s a n d ch ild la b o r, r e p o rt b y C en
su s B u r e a u ........................................................
104
O fficers of vessels, licen ses................................. 207,220
O fficial reg ister, p ro p o sed c h a n g e s ......................
108
O ’M alley , H e n ry , a p p o in tm e n t a s a s s is ta n t
in ch arge, d iv isio n of fish c u ltu r e ...........
112
O p e ra to rs, rad io , lic e n s e d ................................... 220,237
O p tic s, S ta n d a rd s B u re a u s t u d y .........................
78
O rg an iza tio n , D e p a r tm e n t.....................................
7
L ig h th o u se s B u r e a u ..............................................
140
O rg an iza tio n s, com m ercial. S e e C om m ercial
o rg an izations.
66776°— 16---- 17.
Page.
O r g a n i z e d M il it ia , e m p lo y e e s o f D e p a r t m e n t
i n s e r v i c e ...................................................................
O sp rey,
F is h e r ie s
ste a m e r,
A la s k a
36
f is h e r y
p a t r o l ..........................................................................
125
c o n d i t i o n ............................................................................
139
O v e r lo a d in g o f p a s s e n g e r v e s s e l s ....................... 2 14 ,24 3
O y s t e r f le e t, i n s p e c t i o n s . ............................................
O y s t e r s , c u l t u r a l s t u d i e s .........................................
10
13 6 ,13 8
P a c i f i c c o a s t, a i d s t o n a v i g a t i o n ............................140 -142
A l a s k a f is h e r ie s ..............................................................
125
c o d f i s h e r y .........................................................................
126
h a l i b u t f i s h e r y ...........................................................
1 1 4 ,1 3 5
p r o p a g a t io n o f fo o d f is h e s ................................... 1 2 7 ,1 2 9
s u m m a r y o f f ie ld w o r k o f C o a s t S u r v e y -----
19 7
t i d a l a n d c u r r e n t w o r k ............................................
200
t u n a f i s h e r y ......................................................................
11 5
w ir e - d r a g w o r k ...............................................................
205
P a l m e t t o , li g h t h o u s e t e n d e r , c o n t r a c t fo r c o n
s t r u c t io n a w a r d e d ............................................
9 ,1 4 9
P a n a m a - C a l if o m ia I n t e r n a t i o n a l E x p o s i t i o n ,
lo a n o f e x h i b i t m a t e r i a l fr o m P a n a m a P a c i f i c E x p o s i t i o n ..........................................
48
P a n a m a C i t y , lo a n o f e x h i b i t m a t e r i a l t o e x
p o s it io n ......................................................................
P a n a m a -P a c ific
In te rn a tio n a l
48
E x p o s it i o n ,
e x h i b i t m a t e r i a l lo a n e d t o o t h e r e x p o s i
t io n s .............................................................................
48
r e fu n d o f u n e x p e n d e d b a la n c e o f a llo t m e n t .
48
P a p e r , s a v i n g i n d u s t r i a l w a s t e ............................
92
P a s s e n g e r a c t o f 1882, e n f o r c e m e n t ...................
245
P a s s e n g e r s , a l lo w a n c e fo r e x c u r s io n s t e a m e r s .
20
c a r r ie d in s t e e r a g e ...................................................
245
c a r r ie d o n v e s s e l s .....................................................
207
c o u n t i n g o n e x c u r s io n v e s s e l s ............................ i x , 243
o n f e r r y b o a t s ...............................................................
215
o v e r l o a d in g o f e x c u r s io n s t e a m e r s ................
214
P a t h f i n d e r , C o a s t S u r v e y v e s s e l , o p e r a t io n s . .
s a v i n g o f li fe a n d p r o p e r t y ................................
198
199
P a t t e r s o n , C o a s t S u r v e y v e s s e l , c o n d i t i o n -- 9 ,18 0
o p e r a t io n s .....................................................................
19 7
P e a r l- b u t t o n i n d u s t r y , F is h e r ie s B u r e a u re
p o r t ...............................................................................
P e a r l- m u s s e l c u l t u r e ..................................................
13a
132
P e l a g i c s e a lin g , p r e v e n t i o n ...................................
119
P e r s o n n e l, C e n s u s B u r e a u .....................................
108
c h a n g e s d u r i n g y e a r ..............................................
34
C o a s t a n d G e o d e t ic S u r v e y ..................... 1 7 7 ,1 8 3 ,1 9 4
c o m m e r c ia l a t t a c h é s e r v i c e ............................... 6 1 ,6 4
D e p a r t m e n t ’s p o l i c y in f illin g v a c a n c i e s . . . .
e m p lo y e e s b y b u r e a u s a n d s e r v i c e s ............
35
33
e m p lo y e e s in s e r v i c e o f O r g a n i z e d M i l i t i a . . .
F is h e r ie s B u r e a u .....................................................
le a v e o f a b s e n c e t a k e n d u r i n g y e a r .............
36
na
35-
r e c la s s if ic a t io n o f p o s it io n s ...............................
36
S t a n d a r d s B u r e a u ........................................................ 9 3 ,9 6 '
S t e a m b o a t - I n s p e c t io n S e r v i c e ................ 2 0 6 ,2 12 ,2 18
s u p e r a n n u a t io n a n d r e t i r e m e n t .................... 3 6 ,1 9 4
P h i l i p p i n e I s l a n d s , h y d r o g r a p h i c w o r k ..............
198
t i d a l a n d c u r r e n t w o r k ........................................
200
w ir e - d r a g w o r k .........................................................
205
P h o t o m e t r y , S t a n d a r d s B u r e a u s t u d y ................
88
P i t t s b u r g h , P a . , la b o r a t o r y o f S t a n d a r d s B u
r e a u ...............................................................................
92
P o i n d e x t e r , S e n a t o r M ile s , le t t e r r e g a r d in g
n e e d fo r a r c h i v e s b u i l d i n g .......................
56
P o l a r i m e t r y , a n a ly s is o f s u g a r ............................
87
256
IN D E X .
Page.
P o llu tio n of w a te rs a s affec tin g fish eries...........
138
P o n d s, fish, o n fa rm s ................................................
129
P o p u la tio n E s tim a te s , census b u lle tin .............
103
P o r ts of th e U n ite d S ta te s , p u b lic a tio n ..........
67
P o ta s h , in v e stig a tio n of s u p p ly ...........................
67
P recise leveling, s u rv e y s n eed ed iu A lask a 189,192
w o rk of C oast a n d G eodetic S u rv e y .......... 188,202
P rib ilo f Is la n d s , rad io c o m m u n ic a tio n ............
122
re p o rt on seal h e r d .................................................
116
social a n d econom ic c o n d itio n of n a t iv e s ...
119
s u its a g a in s t form er lessees.................................
117
P r in tin g a n d b in d in g , a llo tm e n t a n d e x p e n d i
tu re s ............................................................... 2 2 ,2 7 ,3 9
b in d in g for D e p a rtm e n t lib ra ry .......................
49
d is tr ib u tio n of p u b lic a tio n s ...............................
42
d u p lic a tin g w o rk ....................................................
44
e s tim a te of a p p ro p ria tio n s for fiscal y e a r
1918.......................................................................
32
m a ilin g lis ts ..............................................................
43
p u b lic a tio n s is s u e d .................................................
42
sales cf p u b lic a tio n s ...............................................
43
s ta tio n e ry , etc., d is trib u te d b y s to c k a n d
s h ip p in g s e c tio n ..............................................
47
v o lu m e a n d c o s t........................................................ 39-42
P r in tin g office, C o ast a n d G eo d etic S u r v e y ..
180
P ris o n e rs a n d ju v e n ile d e lin q u e n ts, census re
p o r t .......................................................................
102
P ro d u c tio n costs, in v e stig a tio n s a n d r e p o rts ..
71
P ro m o tio n of em ployees. S e e P erso n n el.
P ro m o tio n of I n d u s tr ia l P eace, F o u n d a tio n
fo r..........................................................................
50
P r o p e r ty , rece ip ts fro m sales of c o n d e m n e d ..
27
P ro p o sa ls for m a te ria ls a n d su p p lies, a d v e r
tis in g ......................
45
P ro te c tio n of vessels a g a in s t fire, conferences.
20
P u b lic H e a lth S ervice, c o o p e ra tio n w ith
L ig h th o u se S e rv ic e ........................................
151
P u b lic u tilitie s , q u in q u e n n ia l census of elec
tric a l in d u s trie s ...............................................
106
s ta n d a rd s of s e rv ic e .. ........................................
83
w o rk of S ta n d a rd s B u re a u .................................
95
Publication work of D epartm ent. S e e P rint
ing and binding.
Publications, D ivision of. S e e Printing and
binding.
Purchases, D epartm ent’s m ethods...................
typ ew riters..........................................................
w ith out proposals..............................................
45
50
48
Quarters for Federal Trade Com m ission.........
Q uin ault Indian R eservation, Fisheries sta
tio n .................................................................
8
Page.
R e a d j u s t m e n t o f s a la r ie s , d is c u s s io n
(see also
S a l a r i e s ) .....................................................................
36
R e c e i p t s , m is c e lla n e o u s , o f D e p a r t m e n t ...........
27
n a v i g a t i o n d u t i e s , fe e s, a n d
f in e s .................. 10 ,2 35
s a le s o f p u b l i c a t i o n s ....................................................
R e c la s s ific a t io n
of
p o s it io n s
s o n n e l ) ..................................................................... 3 6 ,1 7 7
R e d fi e ld , H o n . W i l l i a m C ., t r u s t e e o f F o u n
d a t io n
fo r
P r o m o t io n
of
I n d u s t r ia l
P e a c e ...........................................................................
50
R e d u c t i o n o f f o r e ig n in d e b t e d n e s s ........................
14
R e g i s t r y o f v e s s e ls , A m e r ic a n t r a n s f e r r e d t o
f o r e i g n .........................................................................
R adio apparatus, gasoline engines for emer
gency pow er.................................................
221
tigh t statio n s.......................................................
147
Lighthouse Service vessels..................... 53,149,157
research b y Standards B ureau.......................
90
R a d io com m unication, inspections.............. 220,236
licenses issued................................................ 220,23 7
operators 1icensed..............................................
237
Pribilof Islands..................................................
122
service in m arine disasters.............................
237
R ad io la b o ratory...................................................
91
R ad iu m , s tu d y b y Standards B ureau............
89
R a ilw ay cars, Fisheries, operations.................
130
Rations. S e e Subsistence.
223
f o r e i g n - b u ilt ................................................................... 18 ,2 20
p r o v is io n a l b y c o n s u la r o f f ic e r s ..........................
221
r e p a ir e d w r e c k s ..............................................................
220
t o t a l A m e r i c a n ...............................................................
222
R e l ig io u s b o d ie s , d e c e n n ia l c e n s u s ........................
105
R e n t s , s u m p a id b y D e p a r t m e n t ..........................
15
R e p a ir e d w r e c k s , r e g i s t r y ....................................... 220,245
R e t i r e m e n t o f e m p lo y e e s
(see also P e r s o n -
n e l ) .................................................................... 3 6 ,1 5 5 .1 9 4
R h o d e I s l a n d , d a n g e r s t o n a v i g a t i o n ..................
204
R o m b lo n , C o a s t S u r v e y s t e a m e r , o p e r a t i o n s . .
R o o s e v e l t , F is h e r ie s s t e a m e r , r e p a ir s __
199
1 0 ,1 2 0 ,1 5 1
R o o s e v e l t , H o n . T h e o d o r e , F o u n d a t i o n fo r
P r o m o t io n o f I n d u s t r i a l P e a c e ...................
50
R o s e , li g h t h o u s e t e n d e r , la u n c h e d ........................ 9 ,1 4 9
R u s s ia , m a r k e t s f o r A m e r i c a n p r o d u c t s ............
63
S a f e g u a r d s a g a in s t f o r e ig n u n f a i r c o m p e t i t i o n .
18
S a f e t y - F i r s t E x p o s i t i o n , e x h i b i t s .......................... 4 8 ,1 4 4
S t . C la ir H e ig h t s , M ic h ., s p e c ia l c e n s u s ........................... 104
S t . L o u is , M o ., d y e i n g a n d d r e s s in g o f s e a l
s k i n s ........................................................................ 1 1 6 ,1 1 7
s a le s o f A l a s k a n f u r s ..............................................
11 8 ,12 2
S a la r ie s , C e n s u s B u r e a u ...............................................
109
C o a s t a n d G e o d e t ic S u r v e y ...................................
184
F o r e i g n a n d D o m e s t ic C o m m e r c e B u r e a u . . 7 3 ,7 5
L i g h t h o u s e S e r v i c e ................................................... 5 4 ,15 9
N a v i g a t i o n B u r e a u ................................................... 53,2 22
r e a d ju s t m e n t , d is c u s s io n .........................................
36
s c a le o f wra g e s o f G o v e r n m e n t e m p l o y e e s . . .
37
S t a n d a r d s B u r e a u ........................................................
94
S t e a m b o a t - I n s p e c t io n S e r v i c e ........................... 5 3 ,2 18
S a l e m , M a s s ., w ir e - d r a g d is c o v e r ie s ................. 18 6 ,18 7
S a le s . A l a s k a n f u r s ...................................................... 11 8 ,12 2
C o a s t S u r v e y c h a r t s ....................................................
131
43
(see also P e r
175
c o n d e m n e d p r o p e r t y ..................................................
27
D e p a r t m e n t p u b l i c a t i o n s ........................................
43
S a l m o n , A l a s k a f is h e r y r e p o r t ................................
125
p r o p a g a t io n a n d d i s t r i b u t i o n ...............................
129
S a m p le s , c o lle c t io n b y fie ld a g e n t s ........................ 6 2 ,7 0
e x h i b i t , N e w Y o r k d i s t r i c t o f f ic e .......................
69
S a n D i e g o , C a l ., lo a n o f e x h i b i t m a t e r ia l t o
P a n a m a - C a l if o m ia E x p o s i t i o n ...................
48
S a n F r a n c i s c o , C a l ., d is p o s a l o f D e p a r t m e n t ’ s
e x h ib it a t P a n a m a -P a c ific E x p o s itio n .
48
s u b o ff ic e o f C o a s t S u r v e y ........................................
198
S a t u r d a y h a lf h o l i d a y ....................................................
37
S a v i n g o f li fe a n d p r o p e r t y , C o a s t a n d G e o
d e t i c S u r v e y v e s s e l s ...........................................
199
L i g h t h o u s e S e r v i c e .....................................................
160
s e r v i c e o f r a d i o t e l e g r a p h y .......................................
237
S c u l l y , M a r y A . , g i f t o f t r o u t h a t c h e r y ............................ 13 1
IN D E X .
Page.
S e a l s , c e n s u s o f A l a s k a h e r d ......................................
115
k i l l i n g s f o r fo o d , P r i b i l o f I s l a n d s n a t i v e s . . .
117
N o r t h P a c i f i c S e a l i n g C o n v e n t i o n ....................
119
p r e v e n t i o n o f p e la g ic k i l l i n g .................................
119
S e a l s k in s , d y e i n g a n d d r e s s i n g ...........................
i r 6 , 11 7
s a l e .........................................................................................
118
S e a m e n , c e r t if ic a t e s o f s e r v i c e .................... 2 0 7 ,2 1 0 ,23s
n a t i o n a l i t y o n A m e r i c a n v e s s e l s ........................
234
s h ip p e d , r e s h ip p e d , a n d d i s c h a r g e d ............ 221,233
S e a m e n ’s a c t , a m e n d m e n t i n r e g a r d t o life
b u o y s ...........................................................................
S3
d is c u s s io n o f e f f e c t s .....................................................
246
in c r e a s e d w o r k f o r N a v i g a t i o n B u r e a u .........
221
S e a t t l e , W a s h . , s u b o ff ic e o f C o a s t S u r v e y -----
198
S e c r e ta r y ’s
O f fic e ,
a p p r o p r i a t io n s
and
ex
p e n d i t u r e s ................................................................ 22-29
e s t im a t e s o f a p p r o p r i a t io n s f o r f is c a l y e a r
19 1 8 ...............................................................................
29
m is c e lla n e o u s r e c e i p t s ...............................................
27
S h a d , d e c l in e o f C h e s a p e a k e B a y f i s h e r y .........
133
p r o p a g a t io n a n d d i s t r i b u t i o n ...............................
128
S h e ll f is h , f r e s h - w a t e r m u s s e l s ..................... 1 3 1 ,1 3 2 ,1 3 8
o y s t e r s ............................................................................. 13 6 ,13 8
S h ip - r e g is t r y a c t , in c r e a s e s i n A m e r i c a n t o n
n a g e ................................................................... 18 ,2 20 ,224
S h ip b u ild in g ,
C en su s
B u reau
in q u ir y
on
t r a n s p o r t a t io n b y w a t e r .................................
o u t p u t o f A m e r i c a n y a r d s ..........................
105
19 ,2 2 1,2 2 6
s u m m a r y o f w o r l d ’s ....................................................
229
w r e c k s r e p a i r e d .............................................................
221
S k ip p in g , C e n su s B u r e a u in q u ir y o n tra n s
p o r t a t io n b y w a t e r .........................
105
c h a n g e s in w o r l d ’s m e r c h a n t ................................
225
c o n d i t io n s a f f e c t in g A m e r ic a n i n t e r e s t s -----
230
G o v e r n m e n t A i d t o M e r c h a n t , p u b li c a t i o n .
67
P o r ts o f th e U n ite d S ta te s , p u b lic a t io n .. . .
67
S h i p p i n g c o m m is s io n e r s , s u m m a r y o f a c t i v i
t i e s .................................................................................
233
S h i r t s a n d c o lla r s , c o s t o f p r o d u c t io n r e p o r t . .
71
S h o e s , s t u d i e s o f f o r e ig n m a r k e t s ...........................
66
S i g n a l la m p , C o a s t a n d G e o d e t ic S u r v e y .........
178
S i t k a , A l a s k a , m a g n e t i c o b s e r v a t o r y ..................
193
S o li c it o r ,
p r e p a r a t io n
F o u n d a tio n
of
b ills
to
fo r P r o m o t io n
d is s o lv e
of In d u s
t r i a l P e a c e ................................................................
p ro p o sed
le g is la t io n
based
on
Si
E a s t la n d
B o a r d o f I n q u i r y r e p o r t .................................
52
s u m m a r y o f w o r k .........................................................
45
S o u t h A f r i c a , m a r k e t s f o r A m e r i c a n p r o d u c t s . 6 5,66
S o u t h A m e r ic a , c o m m e r c ia l la w s , i n q u i r y . . .
67
b a n k i n g o p p o r t u n it ie s , r e p o r t o n ......................
66
m a r k e t s f o r A m e r ic a n p r o d u c t s , i n v e s t ig a
t i o n s .............................................................................
66
w e a r in g a p p a r e l, c o l le c t i o n o f s a m p le s ..........
70
w o r k o f c o m m e r c ia l a t t a c h é s ................................
63
S o u t h C a r o lin a , d a n g e r s t o n a v i g a t i o n ...............
204
S p e c ia l a g e n t s .
See C o m m e r c ia l a g e n t s .
S t a n d a r d - b a r r e l a c t ..........................................................
S t a n d a r d iz a t i o n
in
th e
C o n s t r u c t io n
F r e i g h t S h ip s , p u b l i c a t i o n ............................
S ta n d a rd s
B u reau ,
a p p r o p r i a t io n s a n d
86
of
211
ex
p e n d i t u r e s ................................................................
22-29
b u il d in g s a n d g r o u n d s ....................................... 9 1 ,9 2 ,9 6
c o n f e r e n c e s ........................................................................
c o o p e r a t io n in s t u d i e s .................................
79
7 9 ,8 0 ,8 1,9 0
257
Page.
Standards B ureau, estimates ol appropria tio n s for fiscal y e a r 1918..........................
31
fire-resisting p ro p e rtie s of m a te ria ls , s tu d ie s 21,84
78
fu n c tio n s ....................................................................
in v e stig a tio n s for th e in d u s trie s .......................
86
in v e stig a tio n s of m a te r ia ls ..................................
85
m a g n e tic re s e a rc h ...................................................
89
m e ch an ic al s ta n d a r d s ...........................................
8a
m e ta llu rg y .................................................................
90
m i scellaneou s r e c e i p ts ..........................................
27
o p tics, researches a n d te s t s ................................
87
p h o to m e try , te s t s ...................................................
88
ra d io co m m u n ic atio n re s e a rc h ..........................
90
ra d iu m re s e a rc h .................................................
89
S a fe ty -F irs t E x p o s itio n , p a r tic ip a tio n ........
48
sa v in g in d u s tria l w a s te s ......................................
92
s ta n d a rd -b a rre l a c t, a d m in is tr a tio n ...............
86
te m p e ra tu re -s c a le s t u d y ......................................
82
te s ts for th e G o v e r n m e n t....................... 8 2 ,8 8 ,9 1 ,9 5
w eig h ts a n d m e asu res te s tin g ...........................
81
w ork in connectio n w ith p u b lic u tilitie s ___
83
S e e a lso P erso n n el; P r in tin g a n d b in d in g .
S ta te s , fin a n cial s ta tis tic s, cen su s r e p o r ts . . . 103,108
S te a m b o a t-In s p e c tio n S erv ice, a p p ro p ria tio n s
a n d e x p e n d itu re s ............................................ 22-29
arc h a ic s ta te of in sp ec tio n la w s ........................
219
ce rtific atio n of s e a m e n ..................................... 210,235
cooperation w ith L ig h th o u se S e rv ic e ........ 151,152
E a s tla n d s te a m s h ip d isa ste r i n q u i r y ......... 12,214
e stim ates of a p p ro p ria tio n s for fiscal y ea r
1918.......................................................................
31
ex p a n sio n of th e S e rv ic e ................................. 207,212
firs t d is tric t, pro p o sed d iv is io n ........................
213
fu sib le p lu g s ..............................................................
218
h u ll c o n s tru c tio n , a u th o r ity o v e r ................. 13,208
in v e stig a tio n s of a c c id e n ts ............................. 210,217
n ee d s of S e rv ic e .......................................................
212
p a r t in u p b u ild in g of m e r c h a n t m a r in e .. . .
211
passengers, allo w an ce for ex cu rsio n s te a m
e r s ....................................................................... 20,214
on f e rry b o a ts ........................................................
215
p ro te c tio n of d re d g e w o rk e rs.............................
218
S a fe ty -F irs t E x p o s itio n , p a r tic ip a tio n ....................... 48
s a la rie s ...................................................................... 53 ; « 8
s ta tu s of pro p o sed le g is la tio n ............................
52
s u m m a ry of a c tiv itie s ...........................................
207
tra n s p o rta tio n of d an g e ro u s a rtic le s ...............
2x5
v essel in s p e c tio n .....................................................
208
w o rk for o th e r d e p a rtm e n ts ...............................
219
S e e a lso P ersonn el; P r in tin g a n d b in d in g .
S tee rag e passen g ers c a r r i e d ...................................
24s
S to ck a n d s h ip p in g sectio n , s u m m a r y of
w o r k ....................................................................
47
S to c k s of tobacco, ce n su s s ta tis tic s ....................
102
S to rag e space, n e e d s of C en su s B u r e a u ............
in
S to rm d a m a g e t o lig h th o u se p r o p e r t y ..............
142
S tr a tto n , E . P l a t t , p u b lic a tio n o n fre ig h ts h ip c o n s tru c tio n ...........................................
211
Suboffices, C o ast a n d G eo d etic S u r v e y . 180,19 6,198
S u b siste n c e , crew s of lig h t v essels......................
157
te a c h e rs , L ig h th o u se S e rv ic e ............................
152
tra v e lin g e m p lo y e e s ..............................................
7
S u g ar, in v e stig a tio n of co st of p r o d u c tio n ----71
p o la rim e tric a n a ly s is ............................................
87
S u p e ra n n u a tio n (see a lso P e r s o n n e l).................
36
258
IN D E X .
Page.
Page.
Supplies and m aterials, proposals, advertisi n g .................................................................................
S u r v e y o r , C o a s t S u r v e y v e s s e l, d e s c r ip tio n ..
45
199
Tucson, A riz., m agnetic observatory...............
T u n a fishery of southern California...................
Typew riters, purchases........................................
193
115
50
p r o g r e s s o f c o n s t r u c t i o n .................................. 9» 18 1, 199
S u rveys.
S e e C o a s t a n d G e o d e tic S u r v e y .
T a k u , C o a s t S u r v e y v e s s e l , o p e r a t i o n s ..............
197
T a r i f f C o m m is s io n , t r a n s f e r o f c o s t o f p r o
d u c t i o n d i v i s i o n ..................................................
7 >7 i
T a r if f s , F o r e i g n C o m m e r c e a n d t h e T a r i f f ,
p u b l i c a t i o n ..............................................................
76
f o r e ig n , s t u d i e s ..............................................................
72
T a r r a g o n , N a v ig a tio n
B u reau
m o to r
b o a t,
m a i n t e n a n c e ...........................................................
o p e r a t i o n s . .....................................................................
T each ers,
e d u c a t io n
of
c h il d r e n
of
242
10 ,239
li g h t
k e e p e r s .......................................................................
152
T e l e p h o n e , s t a n d a r d s o f s e r v i c e ..............................
84
T e m p e r a t u r e s c a le , S t a n d a r d s B u r e a u s t u d y .
82
T e n d e r s , li g h t h o u s e .
S e e V e s s e ls .
T e r r a p i n , p r o p a g a t i o n ..............................................
T e r r e s tr ia l m a g n e tis m
1 1 4 ,1 3 8
d iv is io n , C o a s t a n d
G e o d e t ic S u r v e y ..................................................
174
T e x a s , d a n g e r s t o n a v i g a t i o n ...................................
204
T e x t i l e s , f o r e ig n m a r k e t s , i n v e s t i g a t i o n s .........
66
T i d a l a n d c u r r e n t w o r k , C o a s t a n d G e o d e t ic
S u r v e y ........................................................................
200
T i l e f i s h , e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f f i s h e r y ......................... 16 ,1 1 2
T i m b e r o n li g h t h o u s e r e s e r v a t i o n s .......................
152
T o b a c c o s t o c k s , c e n s u s s t a t i s t i c s ............................
102
T o n n a g e , A m e r i c a n s h i p b u i l d i n g ..........................
226
m e r c h a n t m a r i n e o f U n i t e d S t a t e s .............. 220,222
r e c e i p t s f r o m d u t i e s ....................................................
235
w o r l d ’s m e r c h a n t s h i p p i n g ....................................
225
w o r l d ’ s s h i p b u i l d i n g ..................................................
229
T o p o g r a p h y , h y d r o g r a p h y a n d , d i v i s i o n o f,
C o a s t a n d G e o d e t ic S u r v e y ..........................
173
T o u r o f U n i t e d S t a t e s b y c o m m e r c ia l a g e n t . .
67
T r a d e b a l a n c e .......................
13
T r a d e , f o r e ig n .
S e e F o re ig n tr a d e .
T r a d e - m a r k in f o r m a t io n , f o r e i g n ............................
T r a d e o p p o r t u n it ie s .
72
S e e F o re ig n tra d e .
T r a n s p o r t a t io n , c i t y d is t r ib u t io n , C e n s u s B u
r e a u i n q u i r y ............................................................
106
c le a r a n c e s o f v e s s e ls fo r fo r e ig n p o r t s .................
224
d a n g e r o u s a r t i c le s o n v e s s e l s .................................
215
d e c e n n i a l c e n s u s o f e x p r e s s b u s i n e s s ...............
108
fis h a n d fis h e g g s ...........................................................
130
G o v ern m en t A id
to
M e r c h a n t S h ip p in g ,
p u b l i c a t i o n ...............................................................
67
N a v i g a t i o n L a w 's : A C o m p a r a t i v e S t u d y o f
th e P r in c ip a l F e a tu r e s o f th e L a w s o f
t h e L e a d i n g M a r i t im e C o u n t r ie s , p u b l i
c a t i o n ..........................................................................
67
p a s s e n g e r s .........................................................................
207
r e d u c t io n o f c o s t t h r o u g h fr e e p o r t s .................
55
w a t e r . C e n s u s B u r e a u i n q u i r y ............................
105
T r a v e l e x p e n s e s . F e d e r a l e m p lo y e e s a t t e n d
i n g c o m m e r c ia l c o n v e n t io n s .........................
8
in s u f f ic ie n t a l lo w a n c e .................................................
7
T r i a n g u l a t i o n , s u r v e y s n e e d e d in A l a s k a . . . 18 9 ,19 *
w o r k o f C o a s t a n d G e o d e t ic S u r v e y .................
T ru cks.
U nderwear, cost of production reports............
71
U nexpended balances turned back into sur
plus fund of T reasu ry................................ 27-29
U nfair com petition, safeguards against foreign
18
201
S e e A u t o m o b il e s .
Vacancies. S e e Personnel.
Vessels, accidents resulting in loss of life 207,210,217
am endm ent of seam en’s act in regard to life
b u o y s ...................................................................
53
C ensus B u re a u in q u ir y o n tr a n s p o r ta tio n b y
w a te r ....................................................................
105
clearances for foreign p o r ts .................................
224
C o ast a n d G eo d etic S u rv e y , c o n stru c tio n
a n d r e p a ir .................................................... 9 ,1 8 0 ,1 9 9
la u n ch es for in sh o re a n d w ire-d rag w o r k .
181
o p e ra tio n s ..............................................................
195
p a y of c re w s ..........................................................
182
sav in g of life a n d p r o p e r ty .............................
199
S u rv e y o r la u n c h e d ............... .................... 9 ,1 8 1 ,1 9 9
im s e a w o rth y ......................................................... 9 ,1 8 0
co n s tru c tio n in A m e ric a n y a r d s ..................... 19,226
co u n tin g of passen g ers o n e x c u rs io n ............ n , 243
E a s tla n d s te a m s h ip d is a s te r i n q u i r y ........... 12,214
F e d e ra l su p erv isio n of h u ll c o n s tru c tio n 12,52,20 8
fireproof c o n s tru c tio n .................................... 2 0 ,8 4 ,2 0 9
F ish e rie s B u re a u , c o n d itio n of O sp re y a n d
F is h H a w k ........................................................
139
c o n stru c tio n of H a lc y o n ..................................
10
c rew s........................................................................
9
o p e ra tio n s .................................................. 1 1 4,12 5,128
re p a irs to R o o s e v e lt......................................... 10,120
fu sib le p lugs, u s e .....................................................
218
gasoline engin es fo r em erg en cy p o w er for
lig h ts a n d w ireless..............................................
221
in sp e c tio n law s, a rch a ic s t a t e ...........................
219
in s p e c tio n s ............................................................ 207,208
licensed officers r e q u ire d .....................................
220
licenses to officers...................................................
207
L ig h th o u se s B u re a u , c o n s tru c tio n a n d re
p a ir ..................................................................... 9 ,1 4 8
id le for la ck of fu n d s ........................................ 5 5 ,150
p a y a n d su b sisten ce of c re w s........................
157
rad io in s ta lla tio n s ............................................ 53,149
load-line a n d b u lk h e a d r e g u la tio n ..................
21
m e rc h a n t to n n a g e, re c e n t c h a n g e s . 1 8 ,2 2 0 -2 3 0 ,24s
N av ig a tio n B u re a u , o p e ra tio n s ...................... 10,239
1r
n u m b e r in se rv ic e ..................................................
o v erlo ad in g of p assen g er.... 2 0 ,214 ,2 15,243
passengers c a rr ie d .............................................. 207,245
proposed legislatio n , s t a t u s ............................
52
p ro te c tio n of d red g e w o rk e rs .............................
218
ra d io in s p e c tio n s ................................................. 220,236
se a m e n ’s a c t, effec ts..............................................
246
tra n s p o rta tio n of d an g e ro u s a rtic le s...............
215
v io latio n s of n a v ig a tio n la w s .............................
238
V ieques, P . R ., m a g n e tic o b s e rv a to ry ..............
193
V irg in ia, d a n g e rs to n a v ig a tio n ...........................
204
fisheries.......................................................................
135
V ita l s ta tis tic s, re p o r ts ........................................ 100,103
T r u s t e e s , F o u n d a t io n fo r P r o m o t io n o f I n d u s
t r i a l P e a c e ................................................................
T u b e r c u l o s is , s t a t i s t i c s o f d e a t h s , c e n s u s r e
50
p o r t ...............................................................................
105
W a r D e p a rtm e n t, co o p eratio n w ith L ig h t
house S e rv ic e ............................................... 157,152
W a rd e n s in A la s k a ....................................................
122
IN D E X .
Page.
W ashington Chem ical Society, conference at
Bureau of Stan d ard s.................................
80
Washington, killing of seals b y natives..........
Quinault Fisheries station............................
119
131
W ashington Society of Engineers, conference
a t Bureau of Standards............................
W ater terminals, report o n .................................
W ater transportation. S e e Transportation.
W earing apparel, foreign m arkets, in vesti
gations...........................................................
reports on cost of production..........................
samples from South A m erica.........................
80
67
6s
71
259
Page.
W eights and measures conference.....................
80
W h ite, H on. E d w ard D ., trustee of F ou n da
tion for Promotion of Industrial Peace.
50
W ire-drag surveys...................................... 186,196,204
rock found in Salem H arbor, Mass, (illus
tration) ............................................. facing
187
W ireless. S e e Radio.
W oods Hole, Mass., Fisheries laboratory.......
138
W orld’s m erchant shipping, changes...............
225
W recks repaired, registry................................ 220,245
Y u k o n , Coast Su rvey steamer, operations—
70
O
197
