136 ANNUAL EEPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1924 



ESTIMATES FOR NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK 



The secretary stated that — 



Estimates are at present submitted by the Smithsonian Institution to the 

 District Commissioners (a copy is forwarded direct to the Bureau of the 

 Budget) for inclusion in the District of Columbia estimates. The commissioners 

 forward these to the Bureau of the Budget with all other estimates intended for 

 the District of Columbia appropriation bill. The Director of the Budget 

 returns the complete estiniates to the District Commissioners with a state- 

 ment as to the maximum figures that will be allowed the District for the whole 

 bill. It is the duty of the commissioners to reduce the estimates to this 

 figure and return to the Bureau of the Budget. 



The District Commissioners have their own troubles and urgent require- 

 ments, and, since the allotment made is far under their o\Yn estimates, it is 

 only natural that they should give first consideration to items for which 

 they are directly responsible — streets, sewers, fire and police protection, 

 schools, etc. In the three years since the Zoological Park has been included 

 in the District bill, no hearings of any kind have been given the Institution 

 on the Zoo estimates by the District Commissioners. For two years the 

 estimates were simply reduced to the figures for the previous year and re- 

 turned to the Budget without the Institution even knowing the amount thus 

 approved by the commissioners. The commissioners even changed all figures 

 in the detailed statement accompanying the estimates to agree exactly with 

 those of the preceding j-ear, thus presenting to the Budget and later to Con- 

 gress useless and misleading figures in explanation of the proposed ex- 

 penditures. 



I do not think that the District Commissioners should be given the arbi- 

 trary power to control the finances of the National Zoological Park, which is 

 placed by law under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution. 



It should be practicable to include the estimate for the Zoological Park in 

 the independent offices bill along with the other estimates for Government 

 bureaus administered under the direction of the Board of Regents of the 

 Smithsonian Institution. The latter are held responsible for the care and 

 administration of the park and there should be no divided responsibility in 

 matters bearing upon its administration. 



After discussion, on motion of Mr. Newton, the following resolu- 

 tion was adopted: 



Resolved, That it is the sense of this meeting of the Board of Regents that 

 the appropriation for the National Zoological Park should be carried in the 

 independent oflJices bill, as are the items for the other Government bureaus 

 administered under the direction of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian 

 Institution. 



