LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

August 15, 1946.
To THE HONORABLE

HALL OF RECORDS COMMISSION,
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND

Gentlemen:

The past year has been one of the most productive in the his-
tory of the Hall of Records. The pages which follow will give ample
evidence of this judgment. They will show that every department,
and in our case that means every employee, contributed in full meas-
ure to this good record. During the course of the year the Hall of
Records has sent two books to the publisher. We have exceeded any
previous year in the amount of photostating of land records done
for the counties; our repair room has again exceeded its best past
efforts; we have been of more assistance to other State offices; we
have given more service then ever before to individuals in need of
our records.

It is with a good conscience, therefore, that I submit to you this
Eleventh Annual Report of the Archivist of the Hall of Records. But
I should be delinquent in my duty if I did not emphasize that, more
than almost any other office of the State Government, the Hall of
Records is dependent for the quality and quantity of its work on the
experience of its personnel. The Archivist has never been able—as
have institutions of this kind in other states—to seek out and em-
ploy the best-trained persons in this field. The reluctance of the
State Government to pay professional salaries to the Hall of Re-
cords staff has made it necessary to find talented and responsible
people and to train them on the job. Last year we were very for-
tunate in having a staff which for the most part had two or more
years of training. The coming year will find us almost entirely
stripped of our experienced workers.

In addition to the resignations of Miss Ruth Vermillion, Miss
Agnes Howard, and Dr. Elisabeth Hartsook, which are recorded in
the section of this report entitled "Staff, " I wish to call to your at-
tention the resignation of Mrs. Louise Hall Pledger which has al-
ready occurred at this writing and that of Miss Lulu V. Ebaugh