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iv Agreement Series, and certain other agreements not printed in the "Malloy" series.

The present series begins with several volumes of multilateral treaties and other agreements, arranged chronologically according to date of signature, to be followed by approximately 11 volumes of bilateral treaties and other agreements grouped under the names of the countries with which they were concluded. Each volume will have a relatively brief index. Cumulative analytical indexes of the texts of both multilateral and bilateral treaties and other agreements are planned.

Although this compilation contains headnotes and annotations covering all significant U.S. actions, it remains essentially a collection of texts. For current information regarding the status of the agreements printed herein, the reader will find it helpful to consult the publication Treaties in Force, which is issued by the Department of State under the date January 1 each year, and the Department of State Bulletin, which reports current actions week by week.

The merit of this work rests upon the comprehensive records maintained by the Treaty Staff and upon the labor of many devoted civil servants who have carefully surveyed the available records, collected the documents, added the annotations, and performed the essential editorial functions. It is, in every sense of the word, a cooperative product, and it has been made possible by the understanding and generous support of the Legal Adviser of the Department, Leonard C. Meeker.

Those of the Treaty Staff who have contributed especially in the preparation of this publication up to the time the first volume goes to press are Helen J. Zilch, who compiled much of the manuscript, Eunice W. Shafferman, who established editorial standards for the series and completed the first volume, her coworker and successor Madeline S. Patton, who has continued the compilation, Adeline D. Bencsik, who has begun work on the bilateral agreements, and Eleanor C. McDowell and William V. Whittington, who have resolved many difficult questions on texts and annotations.

Jerome H. Perlmutter, Chief of the Division of Publishing and Reproduction Services, and Dorothy M. Hine and Anne Katherine Pond of his Editorial Section, have contributed exceptional managerial and publishing skill in bringing this publication to a reality.

To all those named and to others who have contributed to this compilation or will be doing so in completing it, I express my sincere appreciation. I am confident that all will feel rewarded for their efforts by the continuing usefulness and convenience of this publication.

July 31, 1968