APPENDIX TO THE REPORT OP THE SECRETARY. 79 



of the United States will favor the foregoing proposition ; that he will 

 delay the dispersion of the exhibit from the several Executive Depart- 

 ments until Congress has assembled, and that he will recommend to 

 that body to provide for the transfer of the Government collection to 

 the city of Washington, and for its subsequent permanent support.' 



"In transroitting these resolutions to your Excellency, I beg leave, in 

 favor of the proposition, to suggest, first, that the exhibit would form a 

 fitting memorial of the centennial condition of the country; second, 

 that it would illustrate in a striking manner the appliances used by the 

 Government in carrying on its various and complex operations; third, 

 that it would be a repository in which the natural resources of each 

 State would be exhibited; fourth, that it would give information, in 

 one view, of importance to the statesman, legislator, scientist, educator, 

 and the capitalist of our own and of foreign countries ; fifth, it would be 

 of interest to the intelligent public at large, and would meet the appro- 

 bation of all who regard the prosperity of the country, and take pride 

 in the condition of the national capital. 



"In conclusion, it may not perhaps be improper to remark that I do 

 not advocate this i)roposition for the purpose of extending the power 

 and influence of the Smithsonian Institution. On the contrary, I think 

 the exhibit should be made a truly national one, and be immediately 

 under the control of the Government. 



"I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 



"JOSEPH HENRY, 

 ^President National Academy of Sciences.''^ 



Economical value of the collection. — Embracing as these donations do 

 the essential portion of the displays of foreign nations, such as their 

 natural products, general industries and educational and scientific 

 methods, &c., it is clearly evident that the element of the Centennial 

 Exhibition of most importance to the American people, has thus been 

 left to it, in the closing of the Centennial, and if properly administered 

 must conduce in a very great degree to the material and mental ad- 

 vance of the nation. By re-arranging it in a systematic manner, in 

 connection with the articles already shown, a most instructive and im- 

 portant museum can be made available to the people of the United 

 States. We are assured that no such collection as this is to be found 

 in any part of the world ; and it is very doubtful whether it can ever 

 again be reproduced, as many of the nations represented at the Centen- 

 nial have intimated their intention of not taking part in the Paris or 

 any future exposition. 



Distribution of duplicates. — As might be expected, a large amount of 

 duplicate material accompanies these donations to the United States 

 from American and foreign sources, which, when a final arrangement is 

 accomplished, can, if Congress so direct, be distributed to various edu- 

 cational and industrial establishments throughout the United States. 



Commercial value. — The expenditures of the United States, for an ex- 



