162 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 19 3 



The secretary spoke of the development of his researches on the 

 radiation of the sun, and then called attention to the provisions of 

 the new civil service retirement act, which makes possible the con- 

 tinuance in the service of the Institution of certain members of the 

 staff who would otherwise have to retire on August 20, 1930. 



The secretary stated that beginning in 1911, letters had been re- 

 ceived from a Mr. James Arthur, of New York City, asking certain 

 information, including problems in mathematics, which had been 

 carefully answered. Recently, word had been received that Mr. 

 Arthur had bequeathed to the Institution the sum of $75,000, the 

 income of which was to be used for (a) the investigation and study of 

 the sun; (6) to provide annually a lecture to be known as the James 

 Arthur Annual Lecture on the Sun. Mr. Lloyd N. Scott, a director 

 and the counsel of the Research Corporation of New York, had been 

 designated as the legal representative of the Institution in connec- 

 tion with matters pertaining to this bequest. 



The secretary said that the Senate had passed a bill authorizing 

 the preparation of plans for the construction of \\dngs on either side 

 of the museum building at a cost of $6,500,000. The bill as passed 

 was an authorization only, but had not yet been brought before the 

 House. On motion, the secretary was requested to prepare a resolu- 

 tion embodying the sense of the board as to the urgency of the matter, 

 and requesting that the chancellor present the same to the President. 



The secretary added that efforts had been made to fix a date for the 

 presentation of the Langley gold medals to Admiral Byrd and (post- 

 humously) to Charles M. Manly, but that this had not yet been 

 accomplished. 



