furnishing homes for over four thousand families.

Of these villages, or colonies as they are called, the latest and most interesting are those of Alfredshof, begun in 1894, and of Altenhof. Here every attempt has been made to give picturesqueness to the settlements. The latter colony is devoted to the housing of old employes of the company having families and now incapacitated for work.

A more unusual method of providing for the housing of workingmen is that of the co-operative boarding house for unmarried workmen. Mr. Krupp appreciated that among his workmen there were a certain number of the better class to whom life in a boarding house was distasteful. In 1893 he accordingly inaugurated the extremely interesting plan of erecting a small, compact house specially constructed for the accommodation of thirty un

He appoints a housekeeper, who takes care of the building, does the cooking, etc. The determination of the cost of the meals rests entirely with the members themselves. They determine how much they will pay, and the general manager makes the best use of the money he can.

There is no compulsion upon the employes to live in the houses provided by the firm. Every facility, indeed, is offered for the employes to become the owners of their own homes. For this purpose Herr Krupp in 1889 set aside a sum of 500,000 marks ($119,000) to be employed in loans to workingmen with which to build. A large number of houses have been erected through the assistance given by the fund, and, as a modest interest is charged, its usefulness is constantly increasing. It was not enough thus to provide for the housing of employes. Through the efforts of

married men.

The idea as exemplified in this house was the provision of a house that could be taken by a club of thirty men and run practically as are the fraternity houses of our great universities, on a co-operative plan. The house as built is a handsome building of three stories. On the ground floor are the dining room and kitchen. There are three reading and studying rooms, dressing rooms, a bath, lavatories, etc. On the upper floors are the living rooms for thirty men. Part of the rooms are single and part double-bedded rooms. the writing rooms each member has a special drawer in the table, provided with lock and key. Thirty men club together and agree to take this house. The rent paid is 10 marks ($2.38) per month by those occupying single, and 8 marks ($1.90) by those occupying double bedded rooms. A general manager is then elected by the members from among their number, who has entire charge of the building.

In

the firm a co-operative society for the sale of all articles of household consumption was started in 1868, which is now one of the most important co-operative undertakings in the kingdom. Though the store is under the control of the firm, all profits are divided among the members according to the Rochdale system of dividends on purchases. The central store is magnificently housed in one of the best buildings of Essen, and there are branch stores at different places. Some idea of the importance of this store may be gained from the statement that for its management are required more than 150 salesmen and helpers. As departments of the store are bakeries, a flour mill, slaughter houses and butcher shops, a brush factory, tailoring shop, paper bag factory, laundry, etc. These shops are of great service in offering opportunities for the employment of the widows and dependents of deceased workmen, the preference always

being given to them in taking on new hands. Nearly 500 widows and daughters of deceased workmen are employed in this way.

It is impossible to do more than barely mention the thousand and one other ways in which Krupp has taken action for the benefit of his employes. In 1888 Mr. Krupp, in accordance with the wishes of his late father, set aside one million marks ($238,000) as a permanent fund, the earnings of which were to be used for the benefit of the workingmen. In 1887 Mr. Alfred Krupp created a similar fund of 500,000 marks, the income from which was to be devoted to the general betterment of conditions in the city of Essen. An elaborate system of schools for the children of employes has long been maintained. The public health and hospital service is on an advanced scale. There is a general hospital and two special hospitals for epidemic cases. Between one and two thousand patients are treated annually. The unusual extent to which bathing facilities have been provided should be specially commented upon. In addition to central bathing establishments, with appliances for different kinds of baths, there are bathrooms at the exits of most of the shops.

Finally, and most important from the standpoint of the workmen, is the system of insurance funds, by which all the workingmen are insured against accidents, sickness, and invalidity resulting from old age. Every employe knows that if for any reason he becomes physically disabled for work he will receive a pension as long as his incapacity lasts, and that upon reaching the age of 70 years he can retire on a pension for the remainder of his life. This system of insurance is now, as is well known, compulsory upon all workingmen proper of the Empire. Krupp, however, had organized such a service long before the law made such action obligatory, and the

scheme as now organized is far more liberal than the requirement of the law.

In conclusion a word should be said regarding the spirit which animates all this work. The paternal idea has been kept in the background as much as possible. A study of the institutions in their practical workings shows that they have been conceived in the most liberal spirit as regards the participation of the workmen themselves in their management. In spite of the great prominence of the firm, the independence of the individual has been sacrificed as little as possible. That the laborers constitute a contented class is shown by the almost absolute absence of labor difficulties and the high degree of stability of employment. Twenty-one per cent. of all employes have been continuously employed over fifteen years, and an additional twenty-three per cent. have been employed more than five but less than fifteen years. W. F. WILLOUGHBY, PH. L., Expert U. S. Department of Labor, Washington, D. C.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, THE.-The Library of Congress stored not many years ago in what seemed to be studied disorder in a few dingy and dusty rooms of the Capitol, from which the casual visitor shrank back in dismay, and the scholar entered with many misgivings, is now one of the first buildings in the nation's capital to which the tourist directs his steps, and is becoming more and more the mecca of scholars from all parts of the country. It owes its changed position to its transfer in 1897 from grossly inadequate quarters, to the monumental building which is now the chief pride of the city, and to the more generous treatment of Congress which has enabled it to fill better than ever before its functions as the national library of the United States.

For years the eminent librarian of Congress

Dr. Ainsworth R. Spofford, pleaded with Congress for a suitable structure for the accommodation of the library. In the cramped space of the old library where every device of ingenuity could not prevent thousands of books from accumulating on the floor for lack of storage room, it was only the ability of the Librarian and his phenomenal memory, to which the users of the library have paid many tributes, which made conditions even tolerable.

As early as 1873 a commission was appointed to procure plans. It was not, however, till 1886 that a definite site was selected and a commission appointed to purchase the same, and proceed with the erection of the structure in accordance with plans submitted by the architects. John L. Smithmyer and Paul J. Pelz, to whom the artistic conception of the building is

act of March 2, 1889, limited the cost to $6,500,000 it will be seen that the cost was well within the limit. On July 1, 1897, the removal of the books from the Capitol began and November 1, 1897, the Library was open to public use in the new building.

The building is of granite and is of the Italian Renaissance style of architecture. In form it is a huge rectangle covering nearly four acres, enclosing and connected with a central structure terminating in a gilded dome and lantern which rise above the surrounding parts. At the four corners and in the center of the west front the outer lines of the building are broken by pavilions, whose arches and arched windows and pillared porticos, lend a variety to the exterior.

The central pavilion or main entrance hall is

due. Two city squares opposite the Capitol building were obtained at a cost of $585,000. In October, 1882, the construction of the building was taken from the commission and entrusted to the Chief of Engineers of the Army. The incumbent of that office Gen. Thomas L. Casey, was continued in charge after his retirement from the War Department. With General Casey was associated the present Superintendent of the Building and Grounds, Mr. Bernard R. Green, who on Gen. Casey's death in 1896 was placed in charge of the construction of the building. To General Casey and Mr. Green are due the elaboration of the interior and the engineering work in connection with the building which includes many unique features. The building was completed in February 1897, at a cost exclusive of site of $6,344,585.34. As the

one of the chief architectural features of the interior. It forms an open court surrounded by wide corridors, on both the first and second floors. From the latter rise pillars in pairs which support the roof. Broad staircases lead from the first to the second story where a balustrade surrounds the court. Polished Italian marble has been employed in this part of the structure. The main reading room vies with the entrance hall in its architectural attraction. It is a great octagonal hall surmounted by the dome. Eight piers of dark Numidian marble support the roof. They are connected by loggias constructed of yellow Siena marble. The upper story of the latter forms a gallery from which visitors may view the room. Of the wealth of mural decoration, the frescos and sculpture, which adorns the building it is not

possible to speak in detail. Suffice it to say that all the arts have been combined to make the building a worthy storehouse of the learning of mankind.

For working purposes the library consists of three main floors. Of these, the basement floor, with the exception of one room used as a reading room for the blind, is devoted to offices. The copyright division occupies a large portion of the space, and here are found also the offices of the Superintendent of Buildings and his force, that of the Chief Clerk, and the printing and binding plants. The latter, a branch of the Government Printing Office, does all the printing and binding of the Library for which the annual appropriation is $75,000.

On the main floor in addition to the entrance hall and reading room already described are found the reading rooms of the Representatives and Senators, the office of the Librarian, and the quarters of the Maps and Charts, Periodical Manuscript, Bibliography and Order Divisions. On the second floor the rooms and pavilions of the west and south front are devoted to exhibition purposes. Here there are displayed rare old specimens of bookmaking, many curious and artistic prints and interesting manuscripts. On this floor are also the Prints, Music and Document Divisions.

The collections of the Library of Congress are exceedingly rich. According to the last report of the Librarian, they included on July 30, 1900:

books and other articles upon which copyright protection is to be claimed are entered in the Library of Congress. This branch of the Library work, under the supervision of the Register of Copyrights, employs a force numbering 48 persons. In the year ending June 30, 1900, the number of entries recorded was 94,798. Of these a large number were books. Upon publiIcation of the works entered two copies are sent to the Library, one of which usually remains for the purpose of record in the Copyright Office, while the second goes to enrich the collections of the Library proper. In this way provision is made for the receipt by the Library of practically all books which figure in the book trade of the country.

It need hardly be mentioned that the Library of Congress receives the publications of the United States Government, but it is worth while to note that the government sets aside annually a large number of sets of its publications for exchange with foreign nations. Through this exchange the Library acquires many publications of foreign nations, which constitute a collection not to be paralleled in the United States. The care of these documents, as well as those of the United States and of the several States and cities, is under the supervision of a separate division of the Library recently created.

Another source of supply is the Smithsonian Institution. Early in its history this body entered into an extensive system of exchanges with learned bodies throughout the world. Its library having been partially destroyed by fire, provision was made in 1866 by which the library of the Institution should be deposited

HERBERT PUTNAM. Librarian of Congress.

in the Library of Congress. The Smithsonian deposit constitutes an important and comprehensive collection of a class of scientific literature not ordinarily found in libraries, to which several thousand volumes are annually added.

The existence of these sources of supply absolves the Library from the necessity of purchasing many books which other libraries must buy, and leaves it free to expend its funds in other directions. The purchases of the Library consist, therefore, largely of foreign books and of books printed in the United States before the copyright law inured to the benefit of the Library. The acquisition of books by purchase is the principal function of the Order Division. Here, however, are received all books, whether acquired through the copyright, by exchange, gift, deposit or purchase.

The Library of Congress is a reference library, open week days from 9 a. m. till 10 p. m. to all who desire to avail themselves of its resources, without restriction and without introduction.

In the year ending June 30, 1900, the average number of readers in the main reading room was 403 daily, and the average number of books supplied for reference use was 1,154 daily. The reading room offers every facility for the convenience of the public. Numbered desks, arranged in circles, surround the distribution desk. Applications for books are sent by pneumatic tube to the various parts of the stacks in which the books are located. From the stacks automatic carriers bring the books to the main desk, whence they are distributed to the numbered desks at which the applicants are seated. By

means of these mechanical devices the service is much quicker than in other large libraries. The privileges described are accessible to all, but the Library of Congress naturally offers special facilities to members of the two houses of Congress and to other high officials of the government, who enjoy the privilege of withdrawing books for home use. Books are delivered at their residences by the automobile of the Library. Special reading rooms, already alluded to, are set aside for the use of Senators and Representatives. A tunnel connects the Library building with the Capitol, in which an automatic carrier transports books from one building to the other. If a work is wanted for reference upon the floor of the House, or for use in the Supreme Court, it can be obtained with but slight delay by the aid of these me chanical devices.

Special features of the Library work which require notice are found in the divisions devoted to periodicals, manuscripts, maps and charts, music and bibliography. It is suggestive of the scope of the Library's work to note the fact that upward of five hundred daily papers and some 4,500 periodicals of all classes are taken by the Library and are available for reference. About half of them are on tables, racks or special shelves in the periodical reading room, and directly accessible to the public. Counts made from time to time show that the average number of persons at any one time using these facilities exceeds sixty. The manuscript division contains collections of great value from a historical standpoint, and devotes particular care to the preservation of this class of material. The music division contains a large and growing collection of musical compositions, and offers every facility for the study of its resources. The division of maps and charts is not only unique in the extent of its collections, but in the methods devised for keeping its material and rendering it accessible. Finally, the bibliographical division renders important services to the special student in pointing out the sources of information and