Opinions of the Solicitor for the Department.-(2) That the Department has no authority to grant leave of absence, without loss of pay or time, to officers and employees called upon to perform military service in connection with the organized militia of the several States. (3) That the Department would not be warranted in changing the form of bond of special disbursing agent so as to include a continuing liability clause where an officer or employee is appointed to a new office, although at the same time redesignated a special disbursing agent. (4) That a retired officer of the Navy is not eligible for appointment as inspector of lighthouses. (5) That there is no legal objection to the transfer of a clerk in the office of the Chief of the Division of Naturalization to the position and duties of an examiner in the " District of Columbia, Maryland, and such of the unassigned States as the best interests of the service require." (6) That an employee of the Northampton laboratory of the Bureau of Standards, injured in the course of his employment, is not entitled to compensation under the Government liability act. (7) That the Chief of Division of Alaska Fisheries, in the Bureau of Fisheries, is a clerk within the meaning of section 169, Revised Statutes, and may therefore be appointed by the Secretary. DESIGNATION OF OFFICIALS TO ACT AS CHIEFS OF BUREAUS DURING THE LATTER'S ABSENCE. Remedial steps have been taken during the past year to offset the effect on certain bureaus in this Department of section 178, Revised Statutes, which designates the officer who shall act in the absence of the chief of a bureau or service whose appointment is vested in the President. Under the terms of this statute, during the absence of the chief, "the assistant or deputy of such chief or of such officer, or if there be none, then the chief clerk of such bureau" is authorized to perform his duties. Thus, no provision is made to cover bureaus and offices where there are neither deputies nor chief clerks, such as, for instance, the Bureau of Standards and the offices of the different districts of the Steamboat-Inspection Service, and those in which, although there may be a chief clerk, the chief and his assistant happen to be absent at the same time, as has occasionally happened in the Bureau of Corporations and the Bureau of Fisheries. Congress, at the request of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, incorporated certain legislation in the last legislative, executive, and judicial appropriation act authorizing him to designate some employee to act as chief in bureaus where this action was thought necessary. In the other bureaus, the Secretary suggested to the chiefs that they arrange with their deputies so that in case of leave of absence and necessary absence on official business of either of them, the other be present to take charge of the office. FILES. By reason of the constant increase in volume and the limited space available for files, it has been necessary to resort to every practical expediency for the economizing of filing space in order to keep within the Division those files which it is necessary to have readily available. During the year the files have been reviewed and all papers of no permanent value or which are not needed in the transaction of the current business of the Department were removed and destroyed. The space thus acquired has greatly relieved the congested condition. In furtherance of the Department's policy toward economy in expenditures, this Division has replaced a part of its filing equipment with a new type of filing case which, although not so ornamental, is thought to be practically as durable and useful. The cases installed afford about the same filing space and cost only about one-fifth as much as those formerly used. While they are not so convenient as the more expensive type, they are nevertheless not so inconvenient as to offset the difference in cost, and can be used quite as well as a repository for files of former employees of the Department, which are used less frequently than those used for other purposes. SERVICE RECORDS. During the year general improvement has been made in the card records of the personnel by enlarging upon and introducing new features to the record of positions in the various bureaus and services. The reorganization of the Lighthouse Service afforded opportunity for a careful check of the Department's card records for this service with the record of positions kept by the inspectors in charge of the districts. Unremitting effort is made to classify and record any information relative to the personnel that may be of value to the Department in the compilation of statistical statements and reports, and as a basis for prompt replies to inquiries relative to the employees or positions. Respectfully submitted. To Hon. CHARLES NAGEL, GEO. W. LEADLEY, Chief of Appointment Division. Secretary of Commerce and Labor. REPORT OF THE CHIEF, DIVISION OF PUBLICATIONS. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND LABOR, DIVISION OF PUBLICATIONS, SIR: I have the honor to present herewith my annual report as Chief of the Division of Publications for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1911. During the year the Department issued 3,337 requisitions on the Public Printer, calling for the printing of nearly 12,400,000 blank forms, 5,276,000 reports and pamphlets, 2,254,000 letterheads, 98,000 envelopes, 371,000 circulars and decisions, and 3,507,000 memorandum sheets; the making of about 2,268,000 index and guide cards and folders, and 28,000 blank books, and the binding of nearly 3,000 miscellaneous volumes. Of blank forms there was an increase during the year in the number printed of nearly 2,750,000, or 28.40 per cent; of reports, pamphlets, etc., there was an increase of about 2,160,000, or 69.16 per cent; of letterheads an increase of 197,500, or 9.60 per cent; of envelopes an increase of 12,700, or 14.81 per cent; of circulars and decisions an increase of 19,750, or 5.63 per cent; of index cards an increase of 650,500, or 65.44 per cent, and of guide cards and folders an increase of 197,000, or 46.18 per cent. There were slight decreases in the number of miscellaneous books bound and in the number of memorandum sheets printed, while of blank books made there was a decrease of 24,908, or 47.02 per cent, due to the increased use of blank forms for record and index purposes. In addition, orders to the number of 500 were placed with the envelope contractors for the making and printing of about 7,200,000 penalty envelopes, while orders were placed with the contractors for the making of 182,855 sheets of special watermarked papers on which to print declarations of intention and petitions for naturalization, and 59,929 sheets of the distinctive safety paper on which to print certificates of naturalization. During the year there were received from the various outside services of the Department 11,918 requisitions for blank forms and 329 requisitions for printed stationery and from the bureaus and offices of the Department located in Washington 380 requisitions for printed stationery. The 11,918 requisitions for blank forms called for 8,822,000 blanks and 344,000 books and pamphlets, and the 709 requisitions for printed stationery for 7,200,000 envelopes, 2,250,000 letterheads, 3,300,000 memorandum sheets, 8,000 ste 26321° -C & L 1911- 48 753 |