ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR. 



1894-1895. 



To the Trustees and Members of the Field Columbian Museum. 



I have the honor to present a report of the operations of the 

 Museum for the year closing September 30, 1895. Much of the 

 work of this first full year has necessarily been of a prepar- 

 atory character and of systematizing the methods for conducting the 

 affairs of the Institution. Necessarily also from the very nature of 

 the circumstances under which the original installation was accom- 

 plished, much re-arrangement and re-adjustment has been carried on 

 in all of the departments. And as to the building itself and its interior 

 arrangement, considerable reconstruction and re-adaptation has been 

 demanded to render the building more fit for the unexpected uses to 

 which it is now devoted. Viewing its present condition, it would 

 seem almost as if nothing had been done. And yet in contem- 

 plating what has been accomplished from the commencement, the 

 criticism of idleness will certainly not fall upon the executive force. 



Income and Maintenance. — In accordance with the instructions 

 of the Executive Committee, the Director prepared in January last a 

 budget of the income and cost of maintenance for the actual year of 

 1895. The total estimated income for the year was ^70,770. The 

 estimated expense for the year was $104,296. An effort has been made 

 to increase the revenue and decrease the expenses, with the result 

 that by taking the actual figures for nine months of the year to Octo- 

 ber I, and estimating very carefully and conservatively the figures 

 likely to be made for the three remaining months, it is found that the 

 income for 1895 will be $74,095, and that the cost of maintenance for 

 1895 will be $80,672, a very gratifying contrast with the estimate 

 made the first of the year. These figures do not include special cash 

 donations, nor do they include special appropriations for material and 

 permanent improvements made by the Executive Committee. 



The Memberships. — The By-laws published elsewhere in this re- 

 port explain the different characters of memberships and disclose the 

 conditions under which they may be secured. Under the direction of 

 the Secretary of the Corporation, nominations for Annual Mem- 



