Memoir of- George Brmvit Goode. 45 



leading authoritj'. . . . He has been one of the most frnitfitl and vahied con- 

 tributors to the reports and bulletins of the Fish Commission, and in his death the 

 fishing interests of the country have sustained a severe loss. 



As I have before said, his connection with the Smithsonian Institution 

 followed shortly after the acquaintance with Professor Baird, who invited 

 him to spend the winter of 1873 in Washington for the purpose of arrang- 

 ing the iclith3^ological specimens and with the understanding that as a 

 payment for this servdce he was to be allowed to select duplicates for the 

 museum at Middletown. At that time he had the title of Assistant Cura- 

 tor, which was later changed to Cttrator, and although the relations to 

 Middletown contintted , the ties with the Institution were becoming stronger 

 and stronger. He now met Professor Henry for the first time, and became 

 one of the small coterie of Smithsonian men who at that time lived in the 

 Smithsonian building and formed a part of the hospitable household which 

 Professor Henry maintained. In these early days the staff was an 

 extremely small one, being only thirteen persons, including honorary 

 collaborators and subordinates. Doctor Goode threw himself into this 

 work with uncalculating devotion. Professor Baird' s duties were becom- 

 ing more and more niunerous, and after he became Secretary of the Insti- 

 tution Doctor Goode took the Museum work upon his willing shoulders. 

 In 1 88 1, when the new Museum building was completed and the United 

 States National Museum really organized, Mr. Goode, then thirty 3'ears 

 of age, was made Assistant Director. In that )'ear he prepared a circular, 

 known as Circular No. i of the National Museum, which set forth a 

 scheme of administration for the Museum so comprehensive in its scope, 

 so exact in its details, so practical in its ideas that it is with but few 

 modifications still the guide for the Museum staff. On January 12, 1887, 

 Professor Baird, whose health was then failing, appointed Mr. Goode as 

 Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in charge of the National 

 Museum, and from that time until his death he had the fullest charge of 

 the entire administration of the Museum. 



It is hard to say whether Mr. Goode was best known as a museum 

 director or a naturalist. I, of course, had more occasion to see his work 

 from the administrative side. It would be impossible to understand his 

 success in this field without thinking of the character of the man, and 

 here I may repeat what I have said elsewhere, that if there was one 

 quality more than another which formed the basis of his character it was 

 sincerity — a sincerity which was the ground of a trust and confidence 

 such as could be instinctively given even from the first only to an 

 absolutely lo3^al and truthful nature. 



I do not know whether a power of reading character is more intuitive 

 or acquired, but at any rate without it men may be governed, but not in 

 harmony, and must be driven rather than led. Doctor Goode was in 

 this sense a leader, quite apart from his scientific competence. Kvery 

 member of the force he controlled, not only among his scientific asso- 



