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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



the institution. The conditions are 

 somewhat similar in many of our uni- 

 versities, but there the faculties have 

 a certain moral control, however lim- 

 ited their statutory rights. So far as 

 appears in the annual reports, there is 

 not a single scientific man, except the 

 secretary, on the Smithsonian founda- 

 tion, and the scientific men employed 

 in the dependencies are likely to receive 

 the salaries and treatment of depart- 

 mental clerks. Thus the late secretary 

 could write in his annual report in re- 

 gard to the Bureau of American Eth- 

 nology : ' The actual conduct of these 

 investigations has been continued by 

 the secretary in the hands of Major 

 Powell,' and he could appoint a suc- 

 cessor to Major Powell and alter the 

 title from director to chief without the 

 advice of the regents or of any body 

 of scientific experts. 



It is well known that a large part of 

 the scientific work under the govern- 

 ment had its origin in the Smithsonian 

 Institution, but Henry, the first secre- 

 tary, was always ready to relinquish 

 work that could be done elsewhere, 

 leaving to the Smithsonian what it 

 only could do. The opposite policy has 

 been followed in recent years, and the 

 National Museum and other agencies 

 supported by the government have not 

 only been kept under the Smithsonian, 

 but have been subordinated to the per- 

 sonal control of the secretary. The 

 propriety of using Smithson's unique 

 bequest for the support of govern- 

 mental institutions is doubtful, and the 

 result has not been favorable. The 

 National Museum, for example, whether 

 regarded as an educational or research 

 institution, is insignificant when com- 

 pared with the Museums of Natural 

 History and Fine Arts in New York 

 City, or the similar institutions of 

 foreign nations. 



It may be unwise to detach the vari- 

 ous governmental agencies from the 

 control of the Smithsonian regents at 

 present, or so long as we have no de- 

 partment of science and education. Di- 

 rectors should, however, be found for 



the National Museum and other agen- 

 cies, and scientific men of high stand- 

 ing should be attracted to these institu- 

 tions, who should be permitted to guide 

 their policies, subject only to the ulti- 

 mate control of the regents, which 

 should naturally be exercised only on 

 rare occasions and under competent ad- 

 vice. We should like to see the Smith- 

 sonian Institution itself devoted to the 

 broad purposes of its foundation ' the 

 increase and diffusion of knowledge 

 among men,' and under existing condi- 

 tions this could perhaps best be accom- 

 plished by some form of cooperation 

 and affiliation between it and the scien- 

 tific men and scholars of the country 

 and the world. 



THE REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT 

 OF THE CARNEGIE INSTI- 

 TUTION 



When the Carnegie Institution was 

 established five years ago, many Amer- 

 ican men of science hoped that it would 

 fill the position that the Smithsonian 

 Institution had relinquished, and be- 

 come a center for the higher scientific 

 and intellectual life of the country. 

 But such vague visions are difficult to 

 realize in concrete performance. It is 

 disappointing that the Carnegie Insti- 

 tution has been able to do nothing be- 

 yond making grants to certain scientific 

 men and founding certain research in- 

 stitutions along well-established lines, 

 but it may none the less be difficult to 

 say what else it could do to better 

 advantage. Money spent on scientific 

 research is almost surely well spent. 

 If the undertakings of the Carnegie 

 Institution are what in commercial life 

 would be called three-per-cent. invest- 

 ments, in science they bring a material 

 return manyfold as large, and the ideal 

 results are not to be measured. 



It is somewhat surprising, therefore, 

 to read in the report of President Wood- 

 ward that " after careful examination 

 of the facts at hand I think it safe to 

 state that no direct return may be 

 anticipated from more than half of the 



