REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1920. 19 



or desirable in exhibition halls. Electric lights have also been in- 

 stalled throughout the hall for use on dark days and for police 

 purposes at night. 



In order to make the interior of the building suitable for exhibi- 

 tion of airplanes and accessories, the following important alterations 

 and repairs were made: The wooden floor was removed and a new 

 concrete floor laid; the entire ceiling and side walls of the interior 

 of the building, after being completely sheathed, were covered with 

 Neponset Avail board and painted and the entire exterior of the 

 building painted. 



To prevent condensation ten large, oblong ventilators and louvers 

 were installed in the east and west ends of the building near the roof 

 and the ten small circular ventilators were removed. A concrete plat- 

 form was constructed at the east end of the building and a glazed 

 vestibule with inner and outer double doors built at this end of the 

 building to be used as a public entrance. Sewers along the north and 

 south sides were provided; all sheets of corrugated metal forming 

 exterior roof and side walls were refastened; a large number of 

 broken glass w T ere replaced, and a new comfort room was constructed 

 and ventilating registers installed in the ceiling. The doors on the 

 north side of the building were closed and two doors on the west side 

 remodeled and installed as emergency exits; a workroom was also 

 provided in the southeast corner 15 feet by 10 feet long and 22 feet 

 deep for use as a combination storage, workroom and office. 



There were acquired during the fiscal year 30 exhibition cases and 

 bases, 229 storage cases and pieces of laboratory and office furniture, 

 198 standard unit drawers, 602 insect drawers, and 388 special 

 drawers. 



The inventory of furniture at the close of the year shows 3,585 ex- 

 hibition cases and 11,405 storage cases, laboratory and office furni- 

 iture, 46,065 standard wooden unit drawers, 4,712 metal unit drawers, 

 10,944 insect drawers, 11,059 special drawers with compo bottoms, 

 4,905 special drawers with paper bottoms, 1,047 unit boxes, 224 

 wooden unit boxes, and 752 wing frames. 



The condition of the watch force remains practically the same as 

 during the war. It has been impossible to secure and keep satisfac- 

 tory men owing to the fact that the compensation is entirely inade- 

 quate. The good men leave in a few T months after they are ap- 

 pointed, as they are offered higher wages in private establishments 

 and find it impossible to live in Washington on the pay of a watch- 

 man, which is $720 a year, plus the bonus of $240 provided by 

 Congress. 



Blue prints of museum exhibition and storage cases were supplied 

 to a number of museums in the United States and abroad including 



