ARCHIVIST OF THE HALL OF RECORDS 15

archival agencies cannot function. In practice such divisions are
possible because the searcher who needs an entire series is quite
rare, most research problems having termini a quo and ad quem,

The second reason against centralization is that it discour-
ages the writing of local history by local historians. This is at
best a guess. In Maryland the writing of local history by local
historians took place for the most part between 1860 and 1914.
It does not seem likely that the contemporary lawyer or preacher
will return to this kind of work and if he should, it is ques-
tionable whether modern history ought to be written—as local
history once was—by drawing on local records exclusively. At
best such histories were full local chronicles and need to be done
again. In the meantime, many centers of learning, the Johns Hop-
kins University for example, have encouraged graduate students
in the social sciences to interest themselves in local subjects.
The future local histories, if written at all, will it now seems be
written by this younger generation of trained historians, and for
them the centralization of records is nothing short of a Godsend.

The third reason is that the retention of the records in the
local depository encourages pride in the antiquities of the local-
ity, which is a sentiment highly desirable on all counts. This
pride ultimately finds expression in the providing of better care
for the records, the establishment of innumerable miniature
halls of records. The answer is that while in some cases this
local patriotism exists and may be symbolized on occasion by
special reverence for some of the records, it has never yet to
my knowledge provided for better care of the records. It is at
least worth mentioning in passing that this sort of program
providing new buildings and vaults, expensive equipment and
trained personnel would be certainly expensive and probably
uneconomical. Moreover, waiting for these developments may
postpone record care for a very long time, thereby providing leis-
ure for the normal hazards to continue their work of destruction.
Fires and floods may strike at any time; insects, damp, dry
heat are on the job at all times.

Finally, it is said that centralization of records causes re-
sentment in county seats and this resentment is sometimes ex-
pressed in the Legislature by attacks on the archival agency and
by painful cuts in the budget. Certainly there are people who