MINUTES OF SECOND MEETING OF THE BOARD OF 



TRUSTEES. 



[Abstract. ] 



The meeting was held in Washington, at the New Willard Hotel, on 

 Tuesday, December 13, 1904, at 10 o'clock a. m. At 12.55 a recess 

 was taken until 2 p. m. 



The Chairman, Mr. Billings, occupied the chair. 



The Secretary called the roll, and the following Trustees responded: 

 Messrs. Billings, Cadwalader, Dodge, Frew, Oilman, Hay, Higginson, 

 Hitchcock, Hutchinson, Eangley, Lindsay, Low, MacVeagh, Mills, 

 Mitchell, Morrow, Root, Walcott, White, and Wright. 



Absent : Messrs. Agassiz, How^e, Gage, and Spooner. 



Letters were received from Messrs. Agassiz, Gage, and Howe 

 regretting their inability to be present. 



The minutes of the last meeting of the Board were presented, and 

 on motion full reading was dispensed with and they were approved 

 as per abstract furnished each member. 



The President presented his resignation, as follows : 



Carnegie Institution of Washington, 



December /j, igo^. 

 To the Trustees of the Carnegie Institution. 



Gentlemen : At your meeting on December 8, 1903, I presented 

 a letter saying : 



' ' When I had the honor of being chosen the first President of the 

 Carnegie Institution, I said to the Trustees that from the nature of 

 the case my tenure of office must be short, for, having passed the 

 age of seventy years, I was looking forward to a release from serious 

 official responsibilities. The term of five years was fixed in the by- 

 laws, and three of them will have passed at the next annual meet- 

 ing of the Board. It is my intention at that time to resign the office 

 of President, and this early notice is given in order that the Trustees 

 may be prepared then to take such action as may seem to them wise. ' ' 



In accordance with this intimation, I now resign the office of 

 President of the Carnegie Institution, and, as the title of the chief 

 executive may perhaps be changed, I will add that I am not a 

 candidate for reappointment under any other designation. 



In taking this step, I beg leave to assure the Board of my con- 

 tinued interest in the development of this Institution according to 

 the purposes of the founder ; and I express to the members of the 

 Board, collectively and individually, my highest respect. 



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