706 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



A report of the committee on graduate study at Washington, 1 sub- 

 mitted through G. E. MacLeau, introduced a discussion of one of the 

 most important topics taken up by the convention. The report gave 

 a detailed account of the operations of the committee during the past 

 year, with the conclusions that — 



" It is entirely practicable to provide for the use of the Library of Congress and 

 the collections of the Smithsonian Institution, the National Museum, and of the 

 various scientific and other bureaus in the several departments of the General Gov- 

 ernment, by graduate students of the land-grant and other colleges for study and 

 research, and that it is also practicable to organize, coordinate, and direct such 

 work so as to make it eminently effective. . . . 



"It submits tentatively that Congress might be asked to provide for the estab- 

 lishment of an administrative office in Washington, preferably in the Smithsonian 

 Institution, in which graduate students of the institutions we represent, and others 

 as well, might be enrolled and directed to the appropriate departments. 



"To maintain this office, pay the expenses of administration, support graduate 

 courses of research, freely open to the graduate students of the land-grant and 

 other colleges without distinction of race, sex, or color, on such terms as the admin- 

 istrative office should prescribe, and to aid such students in their researches, Con- 

 gress might be asked to make an appropriation of, say, $25,000, to be increased 

 annually $1,000, to be expended under the discretion of the institution or depart- 

 ment in which the office of administration may be located." 



The discussion of this subject was participated in, upon invitation of 

 the chairman, by Mrs. Calvin S. Brice and ex-Governor J. W. Hoyt, 

 who spoke of their interest in the subject and of the efforts of the 

 George Washington Memorial Association to establish a National 

 University in Washington. 



The report was approved and adopted. The committee was con- 

 tinued and empowered, in connection with the executive committee, to 

 propose and secure if practicable such legislation as will carry out the 

 object and purposes of the resolution under which it was appointed. 

 The committee consists of C. Northrop (chairman), Alston Ellis, M. H. 

 Buckham, G. E. MacLean, Alexis Cope, and J. H. Washburn. 



Another subject which provoked lively discussion was the detail of 

 military officers to the agricultural colleges. Much dissatisfaction was 

 expressed with the present condition of affairs in this respect. The 

 matter was finally "referred to the executive committee with power." 



A paper on Land-grant and other colleges and the national defense 2 

 was read by C. W. Dabney. In this paper it was urged that the Gov- 

 ernment take steps to recognize these institutions more fully as agencies 

 for the training of the officers who will be needed for our increased mili- 

 tary establishment. A considerable number of the graduates of these 

 institutions served with distinction in the war just closed, and there is 

 good reason to believe that in the reorganization of our volunteer army 

 it will be necessary to look to these institutions very largely for the 

 trained material needed to put the volunteer army on a more efficient 

 basis. 



1 U. S. Dept. Agr., Office of Experiment Stations Bui. 49, p. 39. 



2 This paper has been published as Circular 40 of the Office of Experiment Stations. 



