DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS AND SOCIOLOGY.* 



Henry W. Farnam, Chairman. 



As chairman of the Department of Economics and Sociology, I beg to 

 submit the following report for the year ending September 30, 1909 : 



The past year has been a sad one for our Department, owing to the death 

 of our Director, Dr. Carroll D. Wright, which occurred on the 20th of Feb- 

 ruary. Colonel Wright was the originator and organizer of this department 

 of work of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. It was through him 

 that the group of collaborators was formed, and it was under his inspiration 

 and guidance that the general plan of work was framed and put into oper- 

 ation. I may also add that his faith in its utility, his optimism, his wonderful 

 power of enlisting the interest and cooperation of others have been of inesti- 

 mable benefit to this Department from the beginning. His death was a double 

 bereavement to us, inasmuch as it robbed us at once of our Director and of 

 the head of the Division of Labor. 



In view of the problems which arose in consequence of Colonel Wright's 

 death. President Woodward invited the collaborators to meet for consultation 

 regarding the future of the Department, in Washington, March 20, 1909. 

 Full reports regarding the progress of the work of the various divisions were 

 made at this conference, and at its conclusion the collaborators voted to 

 recommend to the Executive Committee of the Carnegie Institution of Wash- 

 ington the appointment of the undersigned as chairman of the board. It 

 was understood, and indeed requested, by the writer that he should not be 

 called Director, but simply Chairman of the Board of Collaborators, that he 

 should receive no salary, and that payments of expenses should be made 

 through the office in Washington. This recommendation was accepted and 

 ratified by the Executive Committee, April 19. 



The collaborators also recommended that Prof. John R. Commons, of the 

 University of Wisconsin, be appointed to carry on the work of the Division 

 of Labor in the place of Colonel Wright. A more detailed account of what 

 has been done in pursuance of this vote will be found under Division VIII. 



The work of the several divisions has been prosecuted steadily during the 

 past year, and the following summary statements are based upon detailed 

 reports made to the chairman by the collaborators : 



*Address, Yale University, New Haven, Conn. (For previous reports see Year 

 Books Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.) 



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