286 BEPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1903. 



ble for the i)uri)oseH inciitioiu'd, ))at the majority liave to he iiHed as storerooms, 

 laboratories, and offices, and are therefore too mucli crowiled to serve in any one 

 of these capacities. Owinuj to the pressure for .si)act', courts, halls, and galh'ricH 

 intended for exhibition purposes, both in the Smithsonian building and in tiic 

 Museum building, are unavoidably occupied to a considerable extent as lal)oratorieH 

 and storerooms. Tliis lack of laboratory space is extremely detrimental to the 

 interests of the Museum. 



Beyond six small basement rooms imdertwoof the corner j)avilions the present 

 building has absolutely no provision in the way of basement or other rooms for the 

 storage of collections which come in from dav to day from Government field collect- 

 ors or private donors, or such as are separated for distribution or held for the use of 

 students. To remedy this defect many expedients have necessarily Ijeen resorted 

 to, such as placing storage cases (faced with mahogany to make them presentable) in 

 the exhibition halls, hiring storage rooms in private ])uildings, and filling up offices, 

 entrances, staircase landings, and passageways not aljsolutely indispensal)le. The 

 ingenuity which lias })een exercised in this direction by some of the curators is very 

 great, and the annoyances that are daily enchn-ed in tlie interest of preserving the 

 collections deserve notice. What is needed is a series of spacious fireproof ))asements 

 for the less perishal)le objects, the collections preserved in alccihol, and the ordinary 

 stores and tools, and equally spacious dry lofts and rooms for those collections and 

 stores which require protection from dampness. 



The present Museum building, though large in extent, is overcrowded. It was 

 built with the cheapest materials and under the cheapest system of construction. Its 

 lack of an'hitectural dignity and the indifferent character of the materials of which 

 it is constructed give it the ajipearance of a tenqiorary structure and tend tocheajjen 

 the effect of the really good cases and the very valuable collections which it contains. 

 The visitor is everywhere confronted with rough walls, unfinished ceilings, and 

 obtrusive trusses and supports. It should also be rememl)ered that a considerable 

 portion of the collections are still in the Smithsonian building, where the crowding 

 is scarcely less than in the Museum building. 



The following arc pr()])ii))ly the last ])ul)lislied remarks l)y Senator 

 Morrill on the Hii))ject t(^ whicli so iniicii of iiis oiiero y had been given. 

 They were made at a meeting- of the Board of Regents on f January 2i\ 



1898: 



As some of you know, I have ])een urging a new Museum building for about ten 

 years. The bills I have introduced have passed through .the Senate several times, 

 but never through the House. I may say now that I shall not live long enough to 

 get the measure completed. It was heretofore contemiilated that there should be a 

 Museum building on the west of the Smithsonian building, in a position correspond- 

 ing with the present Museum building, and these two were to be connected by a 

 building on B street, thus making the largest museum in the country. I have now 

 about decided to abandon that ]ilan and try to secure the building on B street first. 

 I merely state this in order to ascertain whether the change of plan is favored by the 

 Board of Regents. 



The suggestion was adopted l)y the Board, but was subse(j[uently 

 abandoned when the present plans were started. 



The report upon the V. S. National Museum for ii>Oi contains the 

 following condensed accoiuit of the condition and requirements of the 

 collections, b}^ the present assistant secretar}' in charge: 



Attention has repeatedly been called to the inadequacy of the present accommo- 

 dations for the national collections. The Smithsonian building had become fully 



