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^[[copied]]\^ [[underlined]][[2 plates]][[/underlined]]
^[[file]]
[[stamped]] AMINED BY 
R RATHBUN
MARCH 1[[?]]

Report on section of 
Transportation and Engineering in the
U. S. National Museum 
^[[ 1892]]
by 
J. Elfreth Watkins, Curator.

During the fiscal year ending June 30th, 1892, the time of the Curator has been [[strikeout]] so [[/strikeout]] largely taken up by [[strikeout]] the [[/strikeout]] assignment to other duties, [[strikeout]] that he has been able to devote but[[/strikeout]] ^[[hence]]little attention ^ [[ could be devoted]] to the Section.
Unfortunately for the student of the history of the steamboat and railway, little attention was given in the early days to the preservation of objects which would now be considered [[strikeout]] most [[/strikeout]] ^[[in -]]valuable relics of earl^[[y]] stages of their development.
So far as is known, [[strikeout]]  such [[/strikeout]] ^[[the]] important relics [[strikeout]] as are [[/strikeout]] ^[[now]] in existence, with [[strikeout]]  a [[/strikeout]]  very few exceptions, have been deposited in the [[strikeout]] collection in [[/strikeout]] the U. S. National Museum  [[strikeout]] by [[/ strikeout]] ^[[through the cooperation of the officials  of]] the railway and steamboat companies. 
the future [[strikeout]] extension of the[[/strikeout]] ^[[additions to the ]] Transportation collection must therefore [[strikeout]] be mainly in the line [[/strikeout]] ^[[necessarily consist]] of models and drawings ^[[of historic objects]]. [[strikeout]]  As [[/strikeout]] Since the appropriations ^[[by Congress]]  did not permit