per cent of the total, while manufacturers' raw material, which in 1880 formed less than 20 per cent of the imports, formed in 1911 33 per cent of the greatly enlarged total. The actual value of manufactures exported in 1911 (including in this term both manufactures ready for use and those for further use in manufacturing) amounted to $907,519,841, against $465,777,992 in 1901, having thus practically doubled in a single decade, while the value of manufacturers' raw material imported increased from $248,006,751 in 1901 to $511,362,140 in 1911. Meantime the value of foodstuffs exported has fallen from $582,999,518 in 1901 to $385,418,436 in 1911, despite the advance in prices during the decade. The share which foodstuffs formed of the exports of domestic merchandise has fallen from 56 per cent in 1880 and 42 per cent in 1890 to less than 20 per cent in 1911.

ness.

NEEDED EXTENSION IN RANGE OF STATISTICS.

These changes in the character of the imports and exports have materially affected trade currents, the share of our exports which is sent to Europe having fallen from approximately 80 per cent a quarter of a century ago to less than 64 per cent in 1911, and that to other parts of the world proportionately increased. These changes in the character of the commerce and its movements, as well as the increase in the volume of both imports and exports, have stimulated the desire on the part of the public for commercial information in much greater detail and to be presented with much greater promptSuch increases in the detail of the statistics and the process of presentation could only be obtained by a material enlargement of the force now assigned to their preparation in this Department and presumably also in the customs service of the Treasury Department, by which the figures of imports and exports are now supplied. In order to fully and intelligently consider this subject of a material enlargement of the statistical statements of our commerce, committees have been appointed by this Department and the Treasury Department to jointly consider the entire subject, including a comparison of our own methods with those of other countries, and these committees have already entered upon a consideration of the subject.

QUARTERLY STATEMENT OF IMPORTS FOR CONSUMPTION.

The statement entitled "Imports for consumption," which shows about 3,000 articles imported, stating value in each case, quantity wherever possible, rate of duty, and duty collected on each, formerly issued as an annual statement only, is now issued in quarterly as well as annual form and distributed to importers, customhouses, trade bodies, the daily and commercial press, and others interested in the details of the import trade of the country.

The preparation and publication of this statement in quarterly form has materially increased the labor of the Bureau and also added considerably to the expense of its publications. The monthly statement of foreign commerce was, at the close of the fiscal year, so enlarged as to increase by about 20 per cent the number of articles enumerated in both the import and export statements, an increase which will add considerably to the work and in some degree to the expense of the Bureau. Both these enlargements of the work were made as a result of numerous requests from trade bodies and individuals engaged in commerce, requests which were so numerous and urgent as apparently to justify the increased expense of preparation and publication.

The increase in the labor of the Bureau consequent upon the enlargement of its statistical statements, coupled with the unusually large demands upon it for special information for the legislative and executive branches of the Government, renders necessary a small addition to its working force, the details of which are shown in the annual estimates for the expenses of the Department of Commerce and Labor, forwarded to Congress by the Secretary of the Treasury.

BUREAU OF STANDARDS.

CUSTODY OF THE STANDARDS.

The standards of the Bureau include those used in the measurement of length, mass, volume, temperature, quantity of heat, light, electrical quantities, and the properties of materials. Many of these are based upon standards adopted by international agreement. The custody of these standards comprises not merely their care and preservation, but also comparisons and researches necessary to maintain their constancy. The standards are of great variety. Some standards, such as the platinum-iridium standards of length and mass, are very permanent in character and are preserved in the standards vault of the Bureau. The duplicates of these reference standards are used for ordinary work. Others, such as electrical and photometric standards and standard thermometers and pyrometers, require constant study and comparison to maintain their constancy. For example, the standards of electrical pressure are kept in an underground vault in an oil bath and maintained at constant temperature, not varying more than one hundredth of a degree. The conditions necessary to insure the perfect constancy of such standards are studied with the greatest care, and the Bureau is provided with unique facilities required for the most exacting systems of control. The construction and maintenance of such standards becomes an important part of the Bureau's work. For example, the standards of light intensity now consist of specially prepared electric lamps whose values are accurately known. Their values change very slightly with use, and frequent comparisons are made to detect and reject any lamp showing appreciable change. Every effort is made to prevent possible drift in the value of the standard candlepower. Similar care is required in maintaining the constancy of the other standards. It has been found by the Bureau that electrical resistance standards should be protected from the effects of atmospheric moisture, that standards of electrical capacity may be affected by changes of atmospheric pressure, and that the heating and reheating of thermometers affects their zero points. Precautions must be taken against such changes or exact allowance made therefor.

In addition to the instrument standards, the Bureau has also the custody of certain standard materials used in industrial work. These comprise 37 different standards, such as steels, irons, ores, brasses, limestone, sugar, and others. During the year nearly 1,500 of these standards of materials of known composition were furnished to the

various industrial plants and laboratories, affording reliable means of checking the accuracy of industrial analyses. The Bureau also prepares and maintains the standards of combustion, used in standardizing calorimeters, consisting of highly purified materials of constant heating values, such as naphthalene and benzoic acid. The distribution of nearly 100 standard combustion samples during the year has already done much to place the testing of fuels upon a uniform and comparable basis.

COMPARISON OF THE STANDARDS.

The comparison of standards has been carried on for the general public, including those engaged in engineering, manufacturing, and commerce, as well as those engaged in scientific and technical work. Many comparisons of length standards were made during the year for municipal and State governments. The capacity standards tested included those for Porto Rico, a set for the Panama Railroad, and sets for the States of Wisconsin and Alabama.

The purpose of comparing standards is to enable the manufacturers to make instruments of the highest grade, according to the most approved specifications. By testing the manufacturers' standards the public is assured of accuracy, since by this means precision is established at the outset, namely, in the factory. It is also possible for the manufacturers and the public to have such instruments retested from time to time to check their accuracy. The Bureau is constantly engaged in intercomparing its standards with those of standardizing institutions of other nations, since international trade demands that the units of measure shall be to the highest degree uniform throughout the world. Only recently have such comparisons given promise of a substantial uniformity.

During the year, by act of Congress, the old troy pound of the Mint was superseded by the standard of the Bureau. This places all measures of mass in the United States upon the basis of the standard kilogram.

CONSTRUCTION OF STANDARDS.

The Bureau now has excellent facilities for the construction of standards. A corps of expert mechanicians, with a well-equipped shop, are available for such work, which may be done under the direct supervision of the experts who design the standards and instruments. New standards are based upon careful study of the best practice, and in some cases the construction is prescribed by internation. congresses. Multiples and subdivisions of the standards are constructed to provide for all ranges of measurement. Their values must be established by comparison with the primary standards. During the year four separate standards of electrical resistance, con

structed at the Bureau, agreed within 5 parts in 1,000,000-a highly gratifying degree of precision.

On January 1 the Bureau adopted, by international agreement, the new value for the international volt. This creates uniformity between England, France, Germany, and other countries.

During the year a number of new photometric standards were prepared and studied as to their reproducibility and constancy. Carbon-lamp standards have been prepared as standards of light and intensity and distributed to the various departments of the Govern

ment.

TESTING AND CALIBRATION OF STANDARDS AND INSTRUMENTS.

The testing and calibration of standard measuring apparatus during the year included a wide variety-length measures, from microscopic scales to geodetic tapes; balances; sealers' measures; chemical measuring apparatus; standard instruments for temperature measurements, adapted to ranges from liquid hydrogen to the highest attainable temperatures, flash-point apparatus, etc.; standards of composition for materials; standards of light intensity, such as electric lamps, gas-flame standards, and many others.

The testing of such standards and measuring apparatus is in many cases for the purpose of insuring compliance with contract specifications. In other cases the tests are made because the required precision is not attainable elsewhere, and in still more important cases the manufacturers themselves are establishing, by means of the Bureau, standards of measurement for their industries. By cooperation with the manufacturers, for example, the thermometer industry and the lighting industry have been placed upon an industrial uniformity heretofore impossible.

There is being published the results of an extended investigation of electric switchboard instruments. This was undertaken at the request of the Navy Department, and the results will be made public with the approval of the manufacturers concerned.

During the year a comparative test has been made of various systems of master clocks and their secondaries. The test covered the leading makes and continued for six months. The results were placed at the disposal of the Treasury Department for use in selecting the most efficient system for Government buildings.

As to the extent of this work, 853 electrical standards and measuring instruments have been tested; nearly 19,000 thermometers were tested during the year, besides tests of 90 high-temperature measuring instruments and materials; 240 standards of length and length-measuring instruments were compared; 2,400 hydrometers, used to determine the density of liquids, were tested, largely for the Internal-Revenue Service; 9,000 volumetric measures were tested