RECOMMENDATIONS

A new building, equipped to meet the present needs of the Patent Office, or a remodeling and enlarging of the present building is an absolute necessity.

During the year the examining corps suffered a loss of 87 members by resignation, retirement, or death. Appropriations should be increased so that the technical force may be paid salaries as high as the average, rather than below the average, as they now are. As an example, of the 60 principal and law examiners, only 1 exceeds the 66 average " and all but 3 receive no more than the second step of the 6-salary levels, although all have been in the office at least 20 years.

Congress has provided a temporary force consisting of 3 principal and 97 junior examiners. It is urged that the three principals be made permanent and that an appropriation of $60,000 be made for the coming year in order to make it possible to retain the trained temporary examiners a few months so that they may be appointed in the permanent force as resignations occur therein, instead of bringing in untrained men.

Now that the public search room has been equipped with new steel stacks, it is urged that an appropriation of $25,000 be made to make it possible to check up the 2,000,000 patents in the only place in the United States where the general public can make searches affecting patent matters.

It is also recommended that appeals should be shortened by abolishing appeals to the commissioner in "interference" cases, so that such appeals will go direct from the examiners in chief to the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia.

The work of replacing wooden shelves to house the millions of copies of patents has been progressing rapidly and should be continued until all the wooden shelves are replaced. This should also be done with respect to the patented files.

Very truly yours,

THOMAS E. ROBERTSON,
Commissioner.

66548-25-15

INTER AMERICAN HIGH COMMISSION

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INTER AMERICAN HIGH COMMISSION, the tra

Hon. HERBERT HOOVER, Chairman,

Washington, July 1, 19

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As rela

United States Section, Inter American High Commissionear, it 1924-25 the activities of the commission were chiefly concetter An MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: During the first part of the fiscation

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tson of (C

upon the preparation for the First Pan American Conference ent Uniformity of Specifications, held at Lima, Peru, from DiRegar 23, 1924, to January 6, 1925.

The commission was charged with the drawing up of the

which necessitated consultation with the Pan American Unin First other departments of the Government, and with the severa ission sections of the commission in Latin American countries. mmend mission also drafted the regulations governing the proced ference

conference. Technical preparation, including the issue of

1. Cuba,

reports and the study of the technical problems to be discust repo

conference, was also performed by the commission.

a convention looking to the establishment of common ste Chilea The conference recommended that the American nationsesident nomenclature, uniform quality bases, simplified classificn of cus standard specifications for raw materials and industriala, Cost In order to maintain inter-American communication on 'mended t and to secure the establishment of inter-American staress.

conference recommended that

T

ments ha

country and the central executive council (be) charged with the of Chile The Inter American High Commission, through the national satification

lers' conv wiroved by

distributing of information relating to the work done in each commission will direct or perform such studies as it may bel will draw up proposals, and will take all necessary measures

of action to promote the establishment of inter-American standa cation was The commission was also instructed to study and d Congress.

vention resulting from this work.

various e

commission was charged with the appointment of a costries an In connection with the uniformity of weights and vention. which all American countries are to be represented, "ance wit..

report at the next conference.

Panama the

cial Department of Commerce committee on standardi In the Do Since the conference the commission has been assist ocedure an

these matters.

As a result of the commission's activities there ha lished in some countries bureaus similar in organizati to the United States Bureau of Standards. This off every assistance possible to these newly established ally in the furnishing of information concerning th methods of the United States Bureau of Standards.

In accordance with the instructions of the Fifth International Conference, the commission has made preparations for the Pan American Congress on Highways to be held in Buenos Aires, October 3 to 13, 1925.

The commission has assisted in drafting the program and regulations governing the proceedings at the congress, and has endeavored to secure proper representation of the other American countries at the congress. This office has also helped the United States delegation in the translation of papers and in the handling of other details. The commission has continued to procure the effectuation of the proposals relating to the subjects included in its program. During the last year, it has issued the following pamphlets:

1. Preparation of Hides and Skins in the United States.

2. The Inter American High Commission-Its Rôle in the Economic Studies of the Continent.

3. Report Regarding the Laws Governing Stock Corporations on the American Continent. (Complete report to be in five volumes.)

4. Comparison of American Legislation on Bills of Exchange and Promissory Notes.

5. Report on First Pan American Conference on Uniformity of Specifications. The commission has continued its efforts to obtain acceptance of the various recommendations and resolutions passed by the Fifth International Conference of American States held at Santiago, Chile, in

1923.

Since the last report the convention on trade-marks has been ratified by Brazil, Cuba, Guatemala, Paraguay, and the United States, while the President of Chile recommended its ratification at the opening of the Chilean Congress. The convention for uniformity of classification of customs statistics has been ratified by Brazil, Cuba, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Paraguay, while the President of Chile recommended this convention in his message at the opening of the last Congress. The convention providing for the publicity of customs documents has been ratified by Guatemala, Cuba, and Paraguay; the ratification of this convention, too, was recommended by the President of Chile in his annual message to Congress. The commercial travelers' convention was ratified by Peru on June 15, 1924. It was approved by the Congress of Costa Rica on June 3, 1924, and its ratification was recommended by the President of Chile at the opening of Congress. In Paraguay the Minister of Finance is conferring with various commercial bodies in that country with reference to this convention. In Guatemala the Director of the General Bureau of Industries and Commerce is now drawing up the regulations in accordance with which the convention is to operate in that country. In Panama the treasury department is at present working upon the procedure and regulations necessary to make the convention effective. In the Dominican Republic the convention is now before the Dominican Government for final action.

Respectfully,

GUILLERMO A. SHERWELL, Secretary.