REPORT 



OF THE 



SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 



Charles D. Walcott 

 FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1917. 



To the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution: 



Gentlemen: I have the honor to submit herewith the customary 

 annual report on the operations of the Smithsonion Institution and 

 its branches during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1917, including 

 work placed by Congress under the direction of the Board of Regents 

 in the United States National Museum, the Bureau of American 

 Ethnology, the International Exchanges, the National Zoological 

 Park, the Astrophysical Observatory, and the United States Bureau 

 of the International Catalogue of Scientific Literature. 



The general report reviews the affairs of the Institution proper and 

 briefly summarizes the operations of its several branches, while the 

 appendices contain detailed reports by the assistant secretary and 

 others directly in charge of various activities. The reports on opera- 

 tions of the National Museum and the Bureau of American Ethnology 

 will also be published as independent volumes. 



THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 



THE ESTABLISHMENT. 



The Smithsonian Institution was created an establishment by act 

 of Congress approved August 10, 1846. Its statutory members are 

 the President of the United States, the Vice President, the Chief 

 Justice, and the heads of the executive departments. 



THE BOARD OP REGENTS. 



The Board of Regents, which is charged with the administration of 

 the Institution, consists of the Vice President and the Chief Justice 

 of the United States as ex officio members, three Members of the 

 Senate, three Members of the House of Representatives, and six citi- 

 zens, " two of whom shall be residents in the city of "Washington and 



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