THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 225 



themselves the public expression of views on religious 

 subjects calculated to excite antagonism from people 

 more given to the formulation than to the practice of 

 religion. 



The Board of Regents, and especially Robert Dale 

 Owen, were strongly prepossessed with the idea of erecting, 

 and did erect, a monumental building, in many respects 

 unfitted for the purposes of the Institution. In this way 

 the income of the fund was for some years largely diverted 

 from scientific uses. 



What remained was scanty for the plans of the 

 Secretary, who had to exercise the most unbounded 

 patience. Economy was the order of the day in all he 

 or his subordinates undertook. To be sure, money went 

 further in those days, but its elasticity was stretched by 

 him to the utmost. He foresaw that the support of a 

 vast library or of a great museum was beyond the possi- 

 bilities of the Smithsonian income and did his best to 

 restrain them within due limits. He became expert in 

 unloading the burden of expensive projects on other 

 supporters. His rule in regard to publications was that 

 the Institution should publish nothing that other agencies 

 would undertake; but a paper of importance to Science 

 which no one would print at their own risk on account 

 of its small appeal to readers; that would be seriously 

 considered and printed if found worthy. In the matter 

 of the museum prescribed by Congress in the charter, 

 his feeling was that as soon as the scientific data were 

 extracted from a collection it should be distributed among 

 other museums so far as possible. This not only relieved 

 the Smithsonian of the storage and expenses of preserva- 

 tion, but allayed any envious feelings on the part of those 



conducting other museums. 

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