12 EEPOKT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1921. 



form a unique and notable agency for the increase and diffusion of 

 knowledge, for the direction of research, for cooperation with depart- 

 ments of the Government and with universities and scientific societies 

 in America, and likewise afford a definite correspondent to all scien- 

 tific institutions and men abroad who seek interchange of views or 

 knowledge with men of science in the United States. 



Since that early day the only material changes in the scope of the 

 Government museum have been the addition of a department of 

 American history, intended to illustrate by an appropriate assem- 

 blage of objects the lives of distinguished personages, important 

 events, and the domestic life of the country from the colonial period 

 to the present time, and provision for the separate administration of 

 the National Gallery of Art as a coordinate unit under the Smith- 

 sonian Institution. From 1906 to 1920 the Gallery was adminis- 

 tered as the department of fine arts of the Museum. 



The development of the Museum has been greatest in those subjects 

 which the conditions of the past three-quarters of a century have 

 made most fruitful — the natural history, geology, ethnology, and 

 archeology of the United States, supplemented by many collections 

 from other countries. The opportunities for acquisition in these 

 directions have been mainly brought about through the activities of 

 the scientific and economic surveys of the Government, many of 

 which are the direct outgrowths of earlier explorations, stimulated or 

 directed by the Smithsonian Institution. The Centennial Exhibition 

 of 1876 afforded the first opportunity for establishing a department 

 of the industrial arts, of which the fullest advantage has been taken, 

 but the department or gallery of the fine arts made little progress, 

 though not from lack of desire or appreciation, until 1906, when cir- 

 cumstances led to its definite recognition. The historical collections 

 have been greatly augmented within the past few years by large col- 

 lections illustrative of the World War, including a' comprehensive 

 series of aircrafts and their accessories. 



While it is the primary duty of a museum to preserve the objects 

 confided to its care, as it is that of a library to preserve its books and 

 manuscripts, yet the importance of public collections rests not upon 

 the mere basis of custodianship nor upon the number of specimens 

 assembled and their money value, but upon the use to which they are 

 put. Judged by this standard, the National Museum may claim to 

 have reached a high state of efficiency. From an educational point 

 of view it is of great value to those persons who are so fortunate 

 as to reside in Washington or who are able to visit the Nation's Capi- 

 tal. In its well-designated cases, in which every detail of structure, 

 appointment, and color is considered, a selection of representative 

 objects is placed on view to the public, all being carefully labeled in- 

 dividually and in groups. The child as well as the adult has been 



