In recent digests of this fine list, prompted by a query about naturalization records on the surname Kerkmann, there have been several points that I would like to address. (1) There are about 180,000 index cards to naturalization records in St. Louis. These were created by WPA workers in the 1930s. They are (make that were) in three sets, and were indeed in somewhat of a mess. Some of those were microfilmed by LDS. Currently, in cooperation with St. Louis Circuit Courts and Missouri Archives, all those cards are in the temporary possession of the St. Louis Genealogical Society. That organization, of which I am a member and volunteer, is in the process of merging the sets, sorting them by surname/first_name/date, eliminatiing duplicates, and replacing cards that are no longer physical viable. Then the resulting single set will be hardcopied, the set will be microfilmed by Missouri Archives, and an electronic index will be created and posted on the Internet. This project should be completed in May or June. (2) Although the merge is NOT complete, the team is past the "KER" place. I checked ALL the cards in that set and found none with a surname close to Kerkmann. One caveat here is that when I was working recently on the set of roughly sorted surnames beginning with "ME", I found surnames starting with the letters "A", "P", and "R". So, until the project is complete, my lack of finding should be considered tentative. When the project IS complete, each person will be able to do her/his own search. (3) A lot of the postings have focused on the Circuit Court. Prior to the federal era, naturalization steps could have occurred in ANY court - including circuit, criminal, probate, civil, etc. The index cards reflect this. (4) I am looking only at the index cards and not at original court records; however, note that I have seen NO cards that identify an area of origin any finer than a country. I am under the impression that the index cards (at least by design) reflect what was/is on the actual court record. So, looking for more detail than (for example) Germany may not be fruitful. (5) Although I am as frustrated as anyone by records ANYWHERE that have been destroyed (or whatever reason), I am reluctant to castigate the decision makers on anecdotal evidence without knowing all the pressures under which that person was operating. (6) A lot of comments, both pro and con, have been made on this list about Mel Connolly (sp?). I had no personal dealings with her and therefore have nothing to add to the specifics. However, ... It is entirely inappropriate for posters on this, or any other such list, to be criticizing or taking to task ANY public servant by name. If one wishes to complain about the level of service or response received by the XYZ office in ABC city, county, or state, that is good information for other genealogists. When we allow the discussion to reduce to the merits of an identified individual, we diminish ourselves as genealogical researchers. If we REALLY have a problem with an individual or office, there are nearly always people above that person to whom we may complain - and that is both more appropriate and likely more effective than airing our gripes on e-lists. Bob Emnett