PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS. 109 



Smithsonian fund. — Your committee is pleased to report that the 

 Smithsonian fund in the United States Treasury has reached the 

 maximum sum authorized by law of $1,000,000. 



On motion, the permanent committee's report was accepted. 



ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



The secretary presented his report of the operations of the Insti- 

 tution for the year ending June 30, 1917, which was accepted. 



THE SECRETARY'S SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT. 



The secretary made the following statement in relation to recent 

 operations in the various lines of the Institution's activities: 



National Museum. — Attention is called to the necessity for in- 

 creased appropriations for the Museum. Under heating and light- 

 ing a deficiency of $5,824 has been requested for this year, due to 

 the increased cost of coal — which is about 66 per cent greater than 

 last year — and to the additional amount of coal required for properly 

 heating and lighting the spaces occupied by the Bureau of War 

 Risk Insurance. Under preservation of collections, Congress has 

 been requested unsuccessfully to give sufficient funds not only for 

 additional members of the staff for the department of arts and 

 industries, but for some additional assistance in ethnology and bi- 

 ology. Particular stress, however, should be laid on the fact that 

 the salaries for the watchmen, laborers, and certain classes of clerks 

 and preparators are inadequate in view of the extremely high cost 

 of living. The Museum is constantly losing members of its staff 

 to the new bureaus of the Government where salaries are much 

 larger, and also to private firms. It is urged that Congress take 

 steps to increase the salaries of the watchmen and laborers, as well 

 as to continue the 5 per cent and 10 per cent increases granted for 

 the present fiscal year to employees receiving $1,800 and less. 



There are two notable historical acquisitions. One consists of a 

 number of personal relics of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, United 

 States Army, including swords, uniforms, and other military para- 

 phernalia owned by him during the war with Mexico and the Civil 

 War, presented to the Museum by his son, Maj. George B. McClellan, 

 U. S. R. The second is the well-known Robert Hewitt Collection of 

 Medallic Lincolniana, donated by Mrs. Robert Hewitt. This contains 

 some 1,200 medallions, medals, tokens, and badges commemorating 

 the life and services of President Lincoln, and is an exceptionally 

 complete aggregation of medallic souvenirs of that President, dating 

 from the period of the Civil War to the early part of the twentieth 

 century. 



In biology several hundred mammals and birds have been received 

 from the Collins-Garner expedition in Africa, and by gift of Dr. 



