720 



CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS. 



the institution bas always resisted the tendency to keep up 

 and increase this museum at the expense of this fund. 



Recently the institution has given over to the Library of 

 Congress a collection of fifty thousand volumes, constituting 

 probably the most perfect scientific library in the world. 

 But we are still charged as an institution with the cost of 

 this rapidly-increasing museum. Now, the Regents would 

 be glad if Congress would take this museum off their hands 

 and provide otherwise for the care of it. It is a charge im- 

 posed upon the institution by law, a charge which it never 

 sought and is not desirous to retain. At the time wljen this 

 museum was first placed in the custody of the institution it 

 cost but $4,000 a year to keep it in the Patent Office. Xow 

 the care of that museum costs three times that amount. I 

 hope therefore that the committee will vote $10,000 instead 

 of $4,000 for this purpose. 



Mr. Spalding. Mr. Chairman, I am very sorry to find 

 the Smithsonian Institution among the leeches that are all 

 the while crying to the Treasury of the United States, 

 " Give, give ! " The Smithsonian is a wealthy institution. 

 The Government of the United States is continually paying 

 it gold interest on the large fund belonging to the institu- 

 tion ; but the institution is not willing to bear this little 

 additional expense, as it is called, from its own means, but 

 wishes to obtain the money from the public Treasury. The 

 men who pay the taxes must contribute the additional sum 

 to this wealthy institution. 



Sir, we have loaned to that institution the National Mu- 

 seum. We have paid the institution for a series of years 

 $4,000 annuall}' in cash for taking care of that museum. 

 The institution has been content with that sum heretofore ; 

 but now it comes in and asks an appropriation of $10,000 

 for this purpose. Sir, we had better take away the museum 

 from the care of that institution. I had almost said we 

 had better throw it into the Potomac than be constantly 

 paying these increased demands from the Smithsonian In- 

 stitution. That is the light in which the committee have 

 viewed the subject; and in that light they protest against 

 this increase. 



The amendment was not agreed to. 



March 2, 1869. — Joint resolution reappointing Louis 

 Agassiz a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution, passed. 



