The loss of time in making such a removal will be great; the loss of convenience almost entire; and the labor and money required for this purpose will be considerable. The foregoing observations are not presented as my theory of the matter, or from any personal objection to removing to the Pension Building, but are the result of the past experience of the Bureau in a somewhat similar position. Eleven years ago Congress caused the Bureau of Education to be moved from the present building to a joint occupancy with the Pension Office of the building on the corner of Twelfth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. The Pension Office then, as now, was the first occupant of the building, and the quarters assigned to this Bureau were so inadequate in extent, inconvenient of access, and unsuited for its work, that prac tically no efficient work was done by this Office during the year that the joint tenancy continued. The growth of the Pension Oflice forced the Bureau out of its unwelcome quarters, and Congress removed it back to the present building, the two changes in location costing somewhat more than the present rent of this building for one year. The Twelfth Street building, like the present Pension Building, consisted of large rooms on each floor, suitable, perhaps, for the large divisions and sections of the Pension Office, but absolutely destructive to the repose, the quiet, and the seclusion found essential to the proper performance of the duty of the Bureau of Education. The plan of the present Pension Building, the great number of employés already in that office, and the very large number proposed to be added by the transfer of other offices, will repeat, and doubtless aggravate, the history of that change. Another view of the relations of this Bureau to its work would not occur to the ordinary thinker. It was established chiefly for the purpose of supplying the teachers and people of the United States with information as to the methods most useful for the promotion of public and other education. The performance of this duty has made it proper to open the library and museum of the Office to persons interested in education, and such persons, under present circumstances, subject to proper regulations, have made frequent and valuable use of them. If the Bureau and its collections are to be moved to a building where the necessities of another kind of service will render access to the library and museum dificult or uncertain, the use of them by persons not connected with the Bureau would necessarily be greatly disturbed or prevented. In this connection I would invite your attention to the wise and liberal action of Congress a few years ago, when a specially constructed building for the Medical Library and Medical Museum was authorized. By this measure the great working tools of that magnificent Bureau were put into a condition for most cllective use, both by that Office and by those for whom that Oflice chiefly labors. The reasons that justified the construction of that building are equally cogent for the permanent and suitable lodgment of the Bureau of Education separate from other Offices of dissimilar size and purpose. The Wright Building, now occupied by the Bureau, is situated very near the office of the Secretary of the Interior, and close to lines of cars by which persons desiring to visit it for consultation and study may have easy access; and yet the location is one sufficiently quiet and retired to allow the work of the Office to be done in comfort and with considerable efficiency. Though too small for the needs of the Bureau, it can be made to serve for some time longer by a judicious use of the present space. It contains about 11,000 square feet and has a basement and four other stories. Briefly described, the basement is for the storage of fuel and the documents of the Office; the first story is used by the Statistical Division, the second floor by the Commissioner, chief clerk, and Record Division, and the third floor by the library and the clerks employed in connection therewith; while the upper floor is devoted to the museum. It will be seen that the constructive divisions of the building correspond to the administrative divisions of the Office, while the six rooms on each floor permit that subdivision and seclusion which the nature of its work requires. In case of the removal of the Bureau to the Pension Building, there is no possibility of securing even an equal floor space; a reduction of this would be disastrous to the Bureau in every conceivable way. If any change is made at all, the one dictated by a regard for the purpose and usefulness of the Bureau, would be to provide it with a building specially adapted for the safe and proper storage and use and display of its valuable collections and the efficient service of its employés, and until such a change can be made, it would seem wise, economical, and expedient to retain it in its present quarters. DELAY IN THE PUBLICATION OF THE REPORT. It has been my endeavor to expedite the publication of the Annual Report. I am informed that, as a general rule, of late years it has not been received from the Public Printer until about a year and nine months after the close of the period to which it relates. After so long a delay much of the statistical and other information which it contains is stale, and the value of the whole Report is seriously impaired. Many causes conspire to produce this delay. The Bureau is in immediate correspondence with every known educational institution in the United States, sending its forms of inquiry at the end of each year to State superintendents of public instruction, superintendents of city schools, presidents and principals of academies, normal schools, kindergartens, professional, agricultural, and scientific colleges, colleges and universities, and to managers of libraries and museums, and receiving from them reports covering every phase and feature of the in terests under their charge. This, however, can not be done until after the close of the school year in June, when the work of preparing the Report commences. The statistical tables are made up mainly from the voluntary replies received after this date from these correspondents. Some of them, notably the State superintendents of public instruction, are themselves subjected to delay in receiving and collating the reports of their subordinates, so that their returns are frequently not received. until many months after the close of the school year. The importance of early returns to this Office has been urged upon these gentlemen, and it gives me pleasure to say that they have responded promptly to my appeals as far as lay in their power. In some instances, however, they have not been able to give the desired information until seven or eight months after the close of the school year. The work of digesting, tabulating, and summarizing the statistical returns, when once under the control of this Office, with accuracy and expedition, has been the object of constant solicitude. The employés of the Office constitute a force of experts, trained to handle the material thus collected. From their constant and intelligent study of the subject, and the accumulated experience of the past, they have learned what information is of most value to the educational world, how best to present their inquiries, and the breadth and scope to give them. As a result of the efforts made in this direction, the preparation of the manuscript of the Annual Report for the Printer has been advanced some six months during the last two years. This Report is now sent to the Printer in ten months after the close of the school year. It is not probable, for the reasons assigned above, that much further improvement can be made in this respect. It is greatly to be desired that the printing and binding of the Report should be conducted with greater dispatch. The Office is now furnished with 20,000 copies of its Annual Report for distribution among its correspondents. When it is remembered that this Report is sent to all of the State, county, city, and town superintendents, to colleges and universities, secondary schools, public libraries, and a large number of teachers and others interested in education in the United States, and also to foreign Governments and institutions of learning, it will readily appear that this number is entirely too small to supply the demand. There are nearly three hundred thousand teachers in the schools of the United States. If only ten per cent. of these were supplied with a copy of this Report, thirty thousand copies would be necessary. On account of this limited supply a great many most worthy appli cations have to be declined. The Reports of other Bureaus, certainly not more valuable to the people than those of the Office of Education, are given a large and liberal circulation. The claims and wants of the educational classes of the country would seem to deserve the same generous recognition and consideration at the hands of Congress. The manuscript of this Report was sent to the Printer May 16, 1888. CONCLUSION. In bringing this Report to a close, I beg to express my obligation to the large number of correspondents who have voluntarily furnished the greater portion of the material for its preparation. Without fee and without reward many thousand educationists promptly and cheerfully responded to all the inquiries and demands that have been made. upon them. Without their valuable assistance and co-operation the Ann nal Reports of this Office could not be prepared. I would also acknowledge my indebtedness to the employés and clerical corps of the Office, who have zealously, intelligently, and cheerfully performed the labors and duties of their respective positions. To the chief clerk and the chiefs of divisions I am under renewed obligations for their hearty aid and respectful kindness and consideration, while to you I must return my thanks for the interest which you have always taken in the work of the Office and for the uniform courtesy shown me personally and officially. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, |