knowledges and skills which they may have acquired while in the service.

A personnel conference was held the week of June 4, in Washington, bringing together the personnel officers of all of the bureaus, including those in the field, for a review of policies and programs and for a look ahead to the reconversion period.

At the close of the fiscal year the Department had 44,453 compensated employees, 4,686 in the Washington metropolitan area, and 39,767 in the field; in addition, there were 1,546 uncompensated personnel.

H. L. RAUL, Museum Curator

THE HE Interior Department Museum maintains constant and direct contact with the public, through its modern visual educational techniques. It is an efficient instrument to visualize the manifold functions of the Department. More than 100 display cases exhibit material of great historic and scientific interest. They reflect the history, aims, and current activities of the Department, from its beginning, almost a century ago, to the present. Some of them refer to the Department's contributions toward victory.

ATTENDANCE AND FOREIGN VISITORS

During the past year approximately 46,000 persons visited the museum. The Visitors' Register records visitors from every State in the Union with the exception of Delaware. Registrations were received also from Alaska, Hawaii, Philippine Islands, and Puerto Rico. Many visitors from foreign countries also have demonstrated interest in the activities of the Department as illustrated in the museum, and registrations were received from Barbados, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Czechoslovakia, Dominican Republic, England, France, Haiti, Honduras, Italy, Malaya, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, and Romania.

COLLABORATION WITH BUREAUS

With the assistance of the Bureau of Reclamation, five display cases were completely revised and new material designed to illustrate the double use of water for irrigation and power production, and for war, domestic, and industrial uses. Featured also are methods of flood control, improved navigation, wildlife refuges, and recreational opportunities. Among the revised displays are colorful representations of Central Valley project and building Grand Coulee Dam. One of the recent additions is a new scale model of a modern, 80-acre irrigated farm, showing how water is brought from Reclamation reservoirs to operate an irrigated farm on a year-round basis, and electric fences which separate rotation pastures.

An engraved brass bar, 3 feet in length, designated as the Standard Yard, is exhibited in the General Land Office gallery. This is the original standard which was sent to the Territory of Nevada by the Office of United States Weights and Measures, in June 1861, for the purpose of establishing and checking standard measurements. It was formerly used by the Office of the Surveyor General to check surveyors' chains in surveying the public land. Three large silhouettes entitled "Steamboat and Canal Days," "The Roundup," and "The Sheepherder," totaling 22 feet in length, designed and completed in the museum, were installed in riches over related display cases in the General Land Office gallery. These complete the series of seven historical subjects portrayed by silhouette in this gallery.

A panoramic pictorial enlargement, approximately 12 feet long, portraying the Wyoming Elk Herd, is a new display in the Fish and Wildlife gallery.

In collaboration with the Geological Survey, new material for three display cases and three large wall niches are in preparation.

A large photo-mural, in full color, illustrates the numerous outdoor activities and recreational facilities provided by the National Park Service for residents of the District of Columbia and neighboring communities. This is particularly interesting during the present period of wartime travel restrictions.

Among the special exhibits is a photostat copy of a chart of the northern portion of Luzon Strait, Philippine Islands, which was seized from the Japanese in the Central Pacific, and insignia taken from members of the Nazi armed forces.

COOPERATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES

During the past year the museum has served many organizations, including the San Joaquin Pioneer Museum and the Haggin Memorial Art Galleries of Stockton, Calif.; American and Canadian Sportsmen's Show, Cleveland, Ohio; University of Oregon; State Department; War Department; Navy Department (Office of Naval Records and Library, Taylor Model Basin, and Bureau of Ships). The majority of these services concerned modern display methods, scale model, and diorama techniques. Services in connection with training methods and materials used in visual education and in veterans' rehabilitation programs were rendered to the American Red Cross; Walter Reed General Hospital; and the Disabled Veterans Educational and Reconditioning Service of the Newton D. Baker General Hospital, Martinsburg, W. Va.

Suggestions were outlined in last year's annual report for possible use of the museum's facilities for postwar rehabilitation work, particularly for returning veterans who were on military furlough from this Department.

LOAN EXHIBITS AND ACCESSIONS

Last October the museum accepted, for an indefinite period, a lifesize bust of Thomas Ewing, first Secretary of the Interior, who served from 1849-50. It was loaned to the museum by Mr. Sherman Ewing, a representative of the Thomas Ewing estate. A marble pedestal and bronze inscription plate are also included in this loan exhibit.

A collection of 13 Indian rugs, blankets, saddle blankets, and a dance drum, selected from the Gibson collection, is displayed as a temporary loan exhibit in the radio studio of this Department.

The museum's book collection has been augmented by "Expressions and Impressions," the autobiography of the late A. A. Anderson, which contains many references to early days in the Yellowstone region. This book was presented by the author's daughter, Dr. Eleanor A. Campbell.

SCHOOL CLASSES

In cooperation with various teacher groups and school organizations, the museum has assisted in planning courses in conservation and other activities represented by the Department. Included in these organizations were the Office of Visual Education of the Providence, R. I., Public Schools, and the Fairfax County, Va., Public School System. The museum's special exhibit of strategic minerals has been duplicated, at private expense, for circulation among the schools of Fairfax County, The Virginia Academy of Sciences, and other similar institutions.

ORIENTATION PROGRAMS

During the year the museum added two important services to established governmental employee relations activities. The departmental orientation program for all new employees, managed by the Training Section, Division of Personnel Supervision and Management, was expanded to include explanatory tours of the museum. The administrative intern program, sponsored by the United States Civil Service Commission to promote the development of junior administrative personnel, also included the explanatory tour service in its course of instruction. These students of government administration represented more than 13 agencies.

Conducted tours were given throughout the year to school classes and many other organizations. In some instances unusually large groups attended. For example, the evening tour of 150 persons from the United States Signal Corps, and the Baptist women's organization group of 500 members.

Inquiries were handled daily at the information desk and special services rendered whenever requested. The museum is attractive to the public and of service to the Department. The assistance extended by the officers of the Department and the cooperation given by the bures us is gratefully acknowledged.