believes that when the distinction between the different classes of the Endowment's publications is known, and the depository library system is placed in full operation, the requests for free copies of publications which are not published for gratuitous distribution will diminish, although it can hardly be expected

to cease.

Publications in Foreign Languages

The Secretary believes that the time has come for the adoption by the Endowment of a definite policy regarding the languages in which its publications shall appear. With one exception all of the publications which have thus far appeared are printed in the English language and no provision has been made for their publication in other languages, except the limited number of publications which will appear in the French language and are included in the Bibliothèque Internationale du Droit des Gens. This applies to publications originally prepared in foreign languages which have been translated for publication purposes into the English language.

Of the six works of the Division of Economics and History thus far published, two were originally written in English and four are translations of manuscripts written two in French and two in German.

The Secretary's office has now in its possession a number of manuscripts of the Division of Economics and History which are ready for publication, but have not been sent to the printer for reasons similar to those which have temporarily interfered with the normal working of the contract with the Clarendon Press.

Many of these manuscripts were originally written in one of the languages of continental Europe, and are primarily intended for circulation in European countries, with whose economic and historical conditions they are chiefly concerned. Several works have already been published in English translation which under normal conditions would have first appeared in the language in which written. An illustration is Grunzel's treatise on Economic Protectionism, the publication of which in the original French has been authorized by the Executive Committee, but has been postponed because at the present time its publication in French can command little attention abroad, notwithstanding its merits. Public attention is generally concentrated upon new books immediately at the date of their announcement and publication; later on the demand is lessened by the flood of other books. The Grunzel volume in the original French, carrying the date 1916 upon its title page, would have lost the benefit of this natural law, because at present there can be but little demand for it in the country of its author.

The same situation exists in regard to the complete series of essays on "The Attitude of the Socialists towards War and Peace," which has been prepared and completed under the supervision of Lujo Brentano, the distinguished

professor of economics in the University of Munich. The series comprises two papers in English, three in French, eight in German, and one each in Dutch and Spanish. Its first publication should be in the German or French languagepreferably simultaneously in both; its prior publication in English would prejudice its circulation and influence on the continent, and the present times are not propitious for the publication of any Endowment books in any European language.

Printing

The Secretary's office has continued to be charged with the supervision of the printing of all three of the divisions of the Endowment. There are many advantages in this concentration of the printing in one office. It makes possible uniformity in the typographical style and appearance of all the publications. It enables a close oversight of the cost of printing, and in that way results in economies. It saves transportation charges, since the main distribution of publications is made from the Secretary's office.

An exception to the rule above stated occurs in the case of those publications which are handled under the contract between the Endowment and the Clarendon Press of Oxford, England. Many of the advantages which will ordinarily result from this contract have not been realized as yet, by reason of the universal disruption of the course of business affairs caused by the European War. The safety of valuable manuscripts transmitted across the ocean can no longer be assured; and for a number of months the Secretary's office has sent no manuscripts to England. Instead, it has made a very satisfactory arrangement with the American Branch of the Clarendon Press (known as the Oxford Press, 35 West 32d Street, New York), whereby that establishment has undertaken the publication of many of the volumes prepared during the past year by the Division of International Law. In general appearance, the volumes published by the Oxford Press compare very favorably with the unsurpassed work of the Clarendon Press. It has thus far published six volumes for the Division of International Law, of which 12,867 copies have been printed, and has others in hand. At the same time, these publications have the advantage of inclusion in the catalogs and announcements of the Clarendon Press.

In this connection, attention may be directed to the remarkable increases in the cost of printing which have occurred. In the last year, the price of the paper used in Endowment publications has more than doubled; the price of ink has also doubled; the cost of binding has increased twenty per cent, and the wages paid by the printing offices twenty per cent. These abnormal increases are manifest in the printing and the stationery bills, and there is no present indication of a return to the prices which existed in the earlier years of the Endowment.

Translation

In this connection, reference may be made to the important question of translation. The Endowment is an international institution in the broadest sense of the word. Its most limited field, from the point of view of the efficacy of its work, is the English-speaking part of the world. It involves no disparagement to the nations of other tongues, as certainly none is intended, to say that the ideas and principles for which the Endowment stands, and to the propagation of which it is devoted, are more widely understood and more generally accepted in these English-speaking countries than in others.

The accumulation of valuable manuscripts in foreign languages makes it evident that on the restoration of normal conditions, the work of translation will greatly increase, and that the number of translators must be increased correspondingly. All this translation should hereafter be made in the Secretary's office. The conversion of highly technical, scientific treatises from one language into another is an extremely difficult task. It will be a great advantage if the corps of translators is located in the same office, where they can consult together and exchange views as to the most accurate rendition of involved technical statements. The impression created abroad by the work of the Endowment depends in very considerable degree upon the accuracy of the translations for which it makes itself sponsor.

When the European war ends, the Division of Economics and History will no doubt be early in receipt of many manuscripts, for which contracts were made before the war began, and the completion or transmission of which has been delayed. The recommendation now made for the concentration of all translation work in the Secretary's office will then become more important than at any time since the organization of the Endowment.

Storage

A serious proposition confronting the Headquarters buildings of the Endowment, is the limited space available for the handling and storage of books. The two houses now occupied lack facilities for the shipping of large editions of books. During the year, 70,732 volumes were received in the office of the Endowment. These books of various editions and size, have to be handled through a basement doorway of small size and are temporarily stored in a small room. The process of distribution of a particular publication is then attended to, and the remaining volumes are stored. Of an edition of 12,000 volumes (Year Book), the handling and temporary storage is an impossible proposition, and it is necessary to store part of the publications outside the Headquarters building, and call for cases as the space permits. The boxing, wrapping and preparing books for distribution is all done in the clerks' room, which means the carting of the large number of volumes to the first floor by means of a narrow stairway, and

after they are prepared for shipment, another hauling to the front of the building for delivery to the mail collector. This primitive way of handling the distribution of the publications of the Endowment answered every purpose in the early work of the association, but at a glance it will be seen that this system will have to be improved to keep up with the rapid increase in the publication of books, with a corresponding increase in the work of the shipping and mailing department.

The basements of the two buildings are cut up into small rooms that formed the equipment of former residences, namely, pantries, furnace rooms and coal bins, with two large rooms that formerly were servants' quarters. These with the addition of a hallway, represent the storage facilities. Of this space, a considerable part of one of the large rooms has to be kept for the receipt of incoming shipments. The seriousness of this situation has been increased during the year by the taking over by the Endowment of the publications included in the series of the Classics of International Law. Fully to appreciate this, it is only necessary to state that 10,489 volumes were added to the publications of the Endowment, as a result of this transfer. When the surplus stock of these books was received from the Carnegie Institution of Washington, it represented a delivery of thirty-one large shipping cases. The unused space in the upper floors of the Headquarters building is not available for the storage of books. The floors of the old houses will not stand the enormous weight of the books and of the shelving necessary for this purpose.

Library Facilities

Conditions in the Library are equally unsatisfactory. The Library has grown rapidly, and contains 12,000 volumes, many of them expensive. The space available for these books is so limited that it is necessary to crowd the shelving so that the alley-ways are too narrow for convenience, and there is not sufficient room for the accommodation of readers who are increasingly resorting to the library to consult authorities, some of which are not available in other libraries. Many students come to Washington from distant parts of the country, for the purpose of consulting the Endowment library, which has come to be one of the most important agencies for promoting the objects for which the Endowment was founded. An increase in accommodations for this increasing use of the library will soon become imperative. Attention is also directed to the fact that the building in which the library is housed is not fire-proof; on the contrary, it is subject to unusual risks, by reason of its age, and the network of electric and other wires it has been necessary to install in a structure never intended for such modern accessories.

A Bureau of Information

In the report for last year the Secretary referred to the service which the Endowment is performing as a general bureau of information to those interested

in international peace. During the preceding year the demands upon the Endowment of this kind have considerably increased, especially the requests for information regarding questions of international law. These requests are complied with as promptly and as fully as the work of the office permits, but the Secretary feels that he should again refer to the suggestion made last year that a bureau of information be established in the headquarters building, in charge of a competent person, who can devote his whole time to requests of this kind, so that it will not be necessary to interrupt the regular routine of work in the Secretary's office and in the Division of International Law in order to comply with them.

A Seal for the Endowment

The by-laws of the Endowment provide for a seal and its custody by the Secretary. Repeated efforts have been made to secure a design for a seal that would be satisfactory to the Executive Committee. Three well-known artists were first invited to submit designs, in the expectation that out of that number there would be one that would meet the approval of the Committee. The designs were submitted simultaneously, and they were all rejected, an honorarium of $100 being paid to each artist. A well-known English medalist was then invited to submit a design, which met with the same fate. Within the last year, an American sculptor was asked to attempt a seal, and again the design did not commend itself. Thus $500 has been expended in five unsuccessful attempts to secure a seal.

The difficulty arises in the unwillingness of the Committee to approve a design for a seal which embodies the customary and rather commonplace symbolism of the peace idea and movement,-the dove, the olive branch, the draped female figure, etc. The artists invited have been informed of this feeling, but have not been successful in their efforts to escape from this hackneyed symbolism. In consequence the Endowment still remains without a seal.

Autumn Meeting of the Trustees

But one autumn meeting of the Board of Trustees has been held since the organization of the Endowment. That was in New York, on November 13, 1914, at which considerable business was transacted. In 1915, the Executive Committee, at its session on October 9, considered carefully the advisability of holding an autumn session of the Board. In the absence of any special business to be brought before the Board, it was agreed that such a meeting could only be devoted to a discussion of the general situation and the attitude of the Endowment, which had been fully discussed at the autumn meeting of 1914, when it was decided that it would be unwise for the Endowment to attempt to take any unusual action until after the end of the European war, when its