KARL L. TREVER, Editor The National Archives ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SOCIETY OF AMERICAN The tenth annual meeting of the Society of American Archivists will be held in Washington, D.C. October 24-25. The meeting of the American Association for State and Local History will be held October 25-26 with a joint meeting on the overlapping date. Headquarters will be at the National Archives Building, 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue. All meetings except the dinner meetings will be held there. The dinner meetings will be held at the dining hall of the American University. It has not yet been decided whether any luncheon meetings will be held. Hotels reserving quarters for members of both Societies include the Raleigh, the Washington, the Willard and the Mayflower. Committee on Local Arrangements include, in addition to Herbert Angel, chairman, Martin Claussen, the Reverend John Tracy Ellis, Luther H. Evans, Lyle Holverstott, Waldo G. Leland, Thornton Mitchell and Ernst Posner. The chairman for the American Association for State and Local History is Lillian Kessler. SOCIETY OF AMERICAN ARCHIVISTS At one of the sessions of the Council held at Indianapolis last year, Dr. Buck suggested that a List of the Committees of the Society of American Archivists and Their Functions might prove useful to members of the Society and others. Such a list, prepared by Secretary Cappon, follows: Archival Bibliography: Compilation of the annual list of "Writings on Archives and Manuscripts" was begun for the year July 1942-June 1943 and is published in each October issue of THE AMERICAN ARCHIVIST. The Committee is also preparing a select list of publications on archives and manuscripts issued prior to June 30, 1942. Auditing: The treasurer's books and financial statement for the year are audited by this Committee which makes a report at the annual business meeting. Buildings: Consulting service is rendered to inquirers concerning the initiation or improvement of facilities for housing archival records. The Committee keeps abreast of building plans and construction in this field and makes special studies of related problems. Filing Equipment: Present conditions and needs of filing equipment in various kinds of archival establishments are the concern of this Committee, along with the possibility of finding common ground on which the needs of the archivist and the product of the manufacturer can be better accommodated. Finance: According to Section 17 of the Constitution of the Society, "The president, the secretary, and the treasurer shall constitute a finance committee, which shall approve all investments and shall prepare a budget for submission to the council and the Society at each annual meeting." Information: Promotional and publicity work is the function of this Committee, which carries on a clipping service in connection with THE AMERICAN ARCHIVIST, stimulates reprinting or abstracting from the magazine, and secures newspaper publicity in advance of each annual meeting of the Society and publication of a summary of the meeting in a score of professional journals. Institutional and Business Archives: The work of this Committee embraces a survey of the archives of educational institutions, churches, labor unions, fraternal organizations, business corporations, etc., to determine to what extent their records are adequately preserved and made accessible, and to provide practical instructions for planning the organization of such archives or the improvement of those already established. International Relations: Through this Committee the Society endeavors to establish and maintain closer relations between archivists in the United States and those in foreign countries by exchange of publications, correspondence, cooperative undertakings, and personal contacts through individual and group meetings. Postwar problems provide special incentive for this Committee's activities. It also seeks to increase the foreign membership of the Society. Local Arrangements: Provisions for local facilities and accommodations in connection with the annual meeting of the Society are the responsibility of this Committee. Local Records: Set up to work with local officials who have legal responsibilities for keeping county and other records and "to explore ways and means of educating lay custodians of archival material," the Committee has a manual in preparation for this purpose. It also endeavors to encourage closer relations between the state archivists and local records officers in each state. Membership: In order to increase the membership of the Society, individual and institutional, this Committee is organized on a geographical basis. Special attention is also given to prospective foreign members, in cooperation with the Committee on International Relations. Municipal Archives: A survey of the preservation and accessibility of records in certain selected cities in the United States by this Committee will provide the basis for a plan whereby the Society may be able to do constructive work in this relatively unexploited field of archives. Nominations: The retiring member of the Council each year is ex officio chairman of this Committee. It submits a slate of officers for consideration in the election at the annual business meeting of the Society. Photographic Techniques: Photographic reproduction by various methods and related problems are investigated, and consultation is available by conferences and correspondence so that the Society can keep abreast of developments in this important field. Program: Organization of the program and selection of speakers for the annual meeting of the Society constitute the duties of this Committee, along with the preparation of a report of the meeting by the chairman for publication in THE AMERICAN ARCHIVIST. Special committees on programs for joint sessions of the Society with other organizations held at times other than the date of its annual meeting are appointed. Publication Policies: This Committee is collecting information on publication policies and techniques of various archival agencies and manuscript repositories so that the Society may be able to offer recommendations on methods and practice based upon a study of comparative data. Records Administration: The province of this Committee embraces all phases of the life history of official records that develop before those of enduring value are deposited in archival agencies, in order to meet the urgent need of arousing the intelligent interest of administrators in the importance of economical records administration. A bulletin on this subject for state and local government is in preparation. Research: By stimulating archivists and others to prepare papers on subjects along lines of their special interest and competence for possible publication in THE AMERICAN ARCHIVIST, this Committee serves to augment the stock of articles on hand in the editor's office, and in general to encourage the filling of gaps in archival literature. Resolutions: This Committee submits to the annual business meetings resolutions on matters of immediate concern drafted by the Committee or by other members of the Society who may request the submission of such documents. Uniform Legislation: The drafting of model acts for archival agencies to give them essential authority and responsibility with respect to the records of the government provides a guide to the states in framing and supporting adequate laws of this kind. The personnel of the following committees of the Society, supplements the list of committee appointments printed in the April issue: Local Arrangements: 10th Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., October 2425: Herbert E. Angel, chairman; Martin P. Claussen, John Tracy Ellis, Luther H. Evans, Lyle Holverstott, Waldo G. Leland, Thornton W. Mitchell, Ernst Posner. Local Records: Harold S. Burt, chairman; Virgil V. Peterson, Herman F. Robinton, John Clement. Membership: Virgil V. Peterson, chairman; Eugene B. Barnes, Francis L. Berkeley, Jr., Herbert O. Brayer, Philip C. Brooks, David C. Duniway, Robert W. Hill, G. R. Lomer, William D. McCain, Margaret Pierson, Herbert C. Schulz, Mary T. Quinn. Municipal Archives: Richard B. Morris, chairman; Beatrice Decker, John H. Powell, Louise Rau. Program: 10th Annual Meeting: Robert H. Bahmer, chairman; Philip O. Brooks, Everett E. Edwards, Hugh M. Flick, Bertha Josephson, Thomas H. Spence, Eleeine H. Jones, James N. Young. THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES The National Historical Publications Commission, at its meeting on April 2, requested the archivist of the United States to endeavor to obtain authorization for the publication by the National Archives of documents relating to the ratification of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. This project was planned and proposed to Congress by the Commission in 1936, but Congress has never acted on it. Dr. Philip M. Hamer, records control officer in the National Archives, was elected secretary of the Commission and was directed to prepare plans and estimates with reference to a number of other proposals for the publication of historical materials by the Government. The National Archives continues to receive substantial quantities of records of World War II. Among those recently received are the records of the United States Ballot Commission; the records of the Fair Employment Practices Committee, except a few papers being used in liquidating the agency; the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter files and other field records of the War Relocation Authority; additional records of the Foreign Broadcast Intelligence Service, consisting chiefly of 11,000 recordings of enemy broadcasts; recordings of Office of War Information broadcasts to Japan, including those made by Navy Captain E. M. Zacharias; records of the New Delhi and Stockholm offices of the Office of Strategic Services; and enemy motion pictures captured in Europe and the Pacific. Of note among other accessions are records of United States delegations at various international conferences, 1923-38, and scattered pardon records, 1800-1850, which have been missing from the State Department's pardon files and which were found in the custody of another agency. In order to expedite retirement of voluminous types of records common to all Federal agencies, the National Archives has issued five general schedules under the authority provided in the Federal Disposal Act of July 7, 1943, as amended July 6, 1945. These schedules permit the disposal after stated periods of time of fiscal and accounting, personnel, informational service, and mail records and those pertaining to draft deferment of Federal employees. They apply principally to the copies of these documents held in all the agencies depending, by and large, upon the retention of master files of the basic series in each class. On the eve of its adjournment, Congress approved the mail schedule and the fiscal schedule, which was worked out in cooperation with the General Accounting Office and the Treasury Department. Recent publications of the National Archives include an essay on The Appraisal of Current and Recent Records, by G. Philip Bauer, a revised edition of How to Dispose of Records, and a brief guide to the holdings of the National Archives, entitled Your Government's Records in the National Archives. Copies may be obtained from the Assistant Administrative Secretary of the National Archives. The archivist of the United States has announced the return to the staff of the National Archives of Major Seymour J. Pomerenze, who has been in charge of the Offenbach Archival Collecting Depot in the American Zone of Military Government, Mr. Pomerenze is now librarian of the National Archives, succeeding Matilda F. Hanson, who resigned. Other recent resignations include those of Marion Rice, editor-writer, and Carl Louis Gregory, motion-picture engineer. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT LIBRARY AT HYDE PARK, N. Y. The Franklin D. Roosevelt Library has recently received from the executors of the Roosevelt estate a number of papers from the late President's naval history collection. Among them are correspondence and other papers relating to Mr. Roosevelt's service as assistant secretary of the Navy from 1913 to 1920. These materials touch on every phase of his conduct of that office, including matters relating to national preparedness and the conduct of the war with Germany; the campaign to obtain binoculars and telescopes for the Navy; the management of the navy yards, with particular reference to wage disputes and other controversies; volunteer defense organizations; appointments, transfers, and promotions in the Navy; the obtaining of navy yard personnel; and his two trips to Europe in 1918-19. A body of miscellaneous manuscripts relating to the history of the Navy, including letters of and other documents concerning prominent Revolutionary War leaders and Navy secretaries of the period 1775-1865, was also received. Mrs. Roosevelt has given the Library correspondence and other papers relating to her activities as delegate to the United Nations conference held in London in January 1946. They include personal letters from the British people; agenda of Conference meetings; lists of members; reports of proceedings; press releases, progress reports, and policy statements of the United States delegation; petitions, memoranda, and other papers regarding displaced persons; copies of articles and pamphlets on United Nations matters; official publications including the "Journal"; letters from individuals and organizations on United Nations matters; and a scrapbook of clippings from British newspapers. She has also given the Library a number of diary-notebooks kept by her late husband's father, James Roosevelt, Sr., from 1881 to 1899 and a collection of documents relating to the family seat of her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Valentine G. Hall, at Tivoli, N. Y. Miss Mary W. Dewson, formerly director of the Women's Division of the Democratic National Committee, has presented two large scrapbooks containing samples of campaign literature issued by the Democratic National Committee in 1932 and 1936 and printed copies of radio talks made by her during the latter year. Manuscripts holdings now available to searchers, in addition to those announced last May, include papers relating to Mr. Roosevelt's service as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 1913-20; the correspondence and other papers of Louis McHenry Howe while secretary to Mr. Roosevelt during his Navy Department period; and White House papers relating to education, |