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 L 17, 1885.] S Cj

— Nautical alntaoBc office, A. — Naval observatory and chronometers.

A. — CompaBs and magnetic observatory. Bureau of steaia engineering.

Bureau of conslruclian and repairs.

B. — Bweait of medicine and surgery. B. — Museum of hygiene.

POST-OPFICK SEPARTUBKT.

A. — Topographical division.

��A. — General land-office.

C. — Patent-office (deals with all the

aud their applications). D — Bureau of education. Commissioner of railroads. Geological and geographical survey.

D. — Census office Kiitcmological National

��Agriculture bureau. B. — Department of statistician and meteor-

ologtst. B. — Department of entomologist. B — Department of botanist. B. — Department of chemist. B. — Department of microacopist. B. — Department of forester. B. — Department of experimental gardener. B. — National board of health. 77. C. ~ Cml-service comminsion.

Comntimonerg for the government nf the Ditlricl of Columbia. B. — Health office. A. — Engineer's office.

A. — Surveyor's office. D. — Superintendent of public schools. Satilhiionian inalilulion,

B. — U. S. Ssh-cora mission (report to senate directly).

B. — Bureau of ethnology.

D. — National museum.

D. — Collections of U. S. geological surveys,

A. — Polaris report.

This list is sufficiently impressive. It is evident, that, in the growth of our nation and government, it has been necessary to undertake many works of general utility to the country, and to attack many questions in the sciences and the arts on which i[i- formatioii is needed, either for the benefit of the

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legislative and the executive departments directly, or else with a view of distributing accurate infor- mation of immediate value broadcast throughout the land, for the benefit of the people at large.

Every thing relating to state relations, — diplo- macy, war, law, finance, — it was easily seen in the beginning, must be conducted by the federal gov- ernment. But matters of public domain — health, internal commerce, post-office, education, agiicul- ture, patents, etc. -—also demanded attention; and the departments of tlie interior, the !and-offioe. and the bureau of agiiculture, were provided. These special matters have so increased and subdivided, and have been so promiscuously assigned to vaiious government bureaus, that often it is difficult to see any necessary connection between the nature of the work and the general character of the department under which it is now being conducted. If we were to re-arrange these eighty-seven items accord- ing to some approilmate estimate of the intrinsic correlation of work, we should probably put the items marked A into one group; these all relate to surveys of land, with attending geodesy, standards of measurement, a.stronoraical, physical, meteoro- logical, oceanic, and geological work, and t« such internal improvements as utilize the preceding.

In a second group, B, we should place all that relate to life and growth, health and disease, in the animal and vegetable kingdoms.

We should make a third group, C, of all that relates to manufacture of currency.

In the fourth group, D, we put all relating to the statistics and dissemination of useful knowledge.

This classiHcation is theoretical or philosophical. If, on the other hand, we attempt something merely practical, we will perhaps re-arrange our subjects by simply selectiug for the chief of each group that office which has at present the most successful organization, or which, being the largest, could most easily bear the addition of other branches. This would redistribute govemmeut work into the following bureaus: —

X. Bureau of surveys (including geodesy, as- tronomy, economic and military topogra- phy, geology, mineralogy, ethnology).

2. Bureau of hydrography and coast defence

(including lighthouse and life-saviug ser- Tioe).

3. Bureau of standards and adulterations (in-

cluding physical and chemical laboratories for testing).

4. Bureau of hygiene. 5 Bureau of statistics, a. Bureau of agriculture

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