THE DIRECTOR S REPORT. 19 



At a special meeting of the Board of Trustees held on January 

 7, 1924, a Committee of three members was appointed to draw 

 up official acknowledgments expressing appreciation of the 

 Trustees to the donors of the funds and to the National Research 

 Council. The Trustees also authorized the construction of the 

 new building at Woods Hole in general accord with the plans 

 submitted by Dr. Drew to the meeting and within the limits of 

 the gifts and pledges made for the purpose, and appointed the 

 Director, Assistant Director and Treasurer as a Building Com- 

 mittee to supervise the construction. The Director and Treas- 

 urer were moreover especially authorized to sign the contracts 

 relating to the building. Provision was also made for Trustee- 

 ship of funds given for endowment. 



In the Director's Report for 1921 the question of endowment 

 is referred to. It is there stated that we were not asking for a 

 large endowment, but only for enough so that the operation of 

 the new addition should not be unduly burdensome. It should 

 be realized by all of our members that the income from the new 

 endowment is not sufficient to release us from those customary 

 sources of support that are won by our own cooperation and 

 endeavors; indeed the administration of the new laboratory 

 and the enlarged library may easily put upon us the need for 

 greater efforts than we have made before. The endowment 

 merely provides a more assured financial foundation upon which 

 to build. It is an argument for increase of efforts, not for 

 decrease an incentive to stronger morale in our membership, 

 not an excuse for its weakening. 



The new building and endowment came to us without any 

 conditions attached. The Director, however, with the concur- 

 rence of the Board of Trustees, requested the donors to place the 

 endowment funds in trust. The reasons for this request are 

 given in the Director's Report for 1921 as follows : "The member- 

 ship of our Corporation and Board of Trustees is composed 

 almost entirely of scientific men; such a body is not usually 

 considered well qualified to deal with matters of investment 

 connected with relatively large endowments. On the other hand, 

 to create another body, as an integral part of the Laboratory, 

 that would have control of finances, would inevitably weaken 

 the control of the scientific men over the policies of the Labora- 



