JOURNAL OF PKOCEEDINGS. XXI 



special meeting of the hoard of regents. 



March 29, 1892. 



A special meeting of the Board of Regents was liekl to-day at a 

 quarter before 10 o'clock A. m. Present: The Chancellor — Mr. Chief- 

 Justice Fuller, in the Chair; the Hon. Levi P. Morton, Vice- 

 President; the Hon. S. M. Culloiu; the Hon. E. L. Gibson; the Hon. 

 Joseph AVheeler; the Hon. H. C. Lodge; the Hon. W. C. P. Breckin- 

 ridge; Dr. J. C. Welling, and the Secretary. 



The reading of the minutes of the last meeting was dispensed with, 

 and the Secretary read a telegram from Dr. Copi)ee, expressing his 

 regret at his inability to be jiresent. 



The Secretary stated that the meeting had been called at the reipiest 

 of three of the Eegents chietly on account of the action of the Appro- 

 priations Committee of the House of Representatives — a matter in 

 which the good name of the Institution was in some measure involved, 

 — whereby the ai)propriations for vaiious Gov'ernment interests undei- 

 the charge of the Regents had been reduced to such an extent that the 

 prosperity of all these departments Avould receive a blow from which 

 they could not hope to recover for years to come. 



Especial stress was laid upon the inadequacy of the appropriations 

 for the I^ational Zoological Paik and attention was also called to the 

 fact that the park is already visited on fair days by thousands not 

 oidy of adults but of children, while dangerous animals are there with- 

 out sufrtcient buildings or cages or inclosures, and without means to 

 ])i(»vide thenL and that the only protection of the public and esjjecially 

 of children n)ust be from incessant guardianship, which the present 

 small and overworked force is unable to ])ro])erly render. 



The S«'cretary stated that he was unable to carry on tlie jyark with 

 less expenditure for maintenance than i2(),()00, or with a less total 

 a])])i'oi)riation than 850,000, in case it were made in one item. 



Tlie following resolutions were introduced by Mr. Wheeler: 



livnolnd, Tliat tlio Board of Ki-gcuts of tin- Siiiitlisoiiiaii Institution would ro- 

 s]»t'ctfiilly represent 1o Congress tin; iiu])()ssil)ility of niaintaininj; tlu'adiuiuistratiou 

 of the I'nited States National /oJllosieal Park, re(|uire(l by the act of Con-iress of 

 April ;M), 1890, with a less a])])ropriation for maintenance than $2(;,()()(), or with a less 

 total appropriation than $50,000. 



Jhaolrt'd, That the Soeretary of the Institution l)e recinested to couiniunicate this 

 resolution to the President of the .Senate and Speaker of the House of Ke])re8enta- 

 tives, with a preliminary statement oi' the reasons and considerations on which it is 

 based. 



Aftei- sonu' Inrtlier discussion, the resolntions weie adoi)ted, with 

 the understanding that such limited moditication of the wording might 

 be made as to meet any technicality suggested by the Treasury De- 

 partnuMit. 



There was a general exinessionof opinion among the Regents that the 



