6 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



The Regents also hold certain approved railroad bonds, forming part 

 of the fund established by Mr. Hodgkins for investigations of the 

 properties of atmospheric air. 



By act of Congress approved b}^ the President March 12, 1894, an 

 amendment was made to section 5591 of the Revised Statutes, the fun- 

 damental act organizing the Institution, as follows: 



The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to receive 

 into the Treasury, on the same terms as the original bequest of James 

 Smithson, such sums as the Regents may, from time to time, see tit to 

 deposit, not exceeding with the original bequest the sum of $1,000,000: 

 Provided^ That this shall not operate as a limitation on the power of 

 the Smithsonian Institution to receive money or other property by 

 gift, bequest, or devise, and to hold and dispose of the same in pro 

 motion of the purposes thereof. 



Under this provision the above fund of $912,000 is deposited in the 

 Treasury of the United States, bearing interest at per cent per 

 annum, the interest alone being used in carrying out the aims of the 

 Institution. 



The unexpended balance at the beginning of the fiscal year, July 1, 

 1898, as stated in my last annual report, was $65,803.02. The total 

 receipts for the year were $60,023.00, being $56,1:00 derived from the 

 interest on the permanent fund in the Treasury and elsewhere, and 

 $9,623.60. received from miscellaneous sources. 



The disbursements for the year amounted to $57,123.20, the details 

 of which are given in the report of the executive committee. The 

 balance remaining to the credit of the Secretary on June 30, 1899, for 

 the expenses of the Institution was $71, 703.1:2, which, it will be remem- 

 bered, includes $10,000 referred to in previous reports, $5,000 of which 

 was received from the estate of Dr. J. H. Kidder, and a like sum from 

 Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, the latter a gift made personally to the 

 Secretar}^ to promote certain physical researches. This latter sum 

 was, with the donor's consent, deposited by the Secretary to the credit 

 of the current funds of the Institution. 



This balance also includes the interest accumulated on the Hodgkins 

 and other funds, which is held against certain contingent obligations, 

 besides relatively considerable sums held to meet obligations which 

 may be expected to mature as a result of various scientific investiga 

 tions and publications in progress. 



During the fiscal year 1898-99 Congress charged the Institution 

 with the disbursement of the following appropriations: 



International Exchanges, Smithsonian Institution $21 ,000 



American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution 50,000 



United States National Museum: 



Preservation of Collections 165,000 



Furniture and fixtures 35,000 



Heating and lighting 14,000 



