﻿REPORT 
  OF 
  THE 
  SECRETARY 
  6 
  

  

  not 
  included 
  in 
  the 
  record. 
  The 
  great 
  majority 
  of 
  these 
  were 
  not 
  

   simple 
  questions 
  that 
  could 
  be 
  answered 
  on 
  the 
  spot, 
  but 
  were 
  of 
  

   such 
  a 
  nature 
  that 
  considerable 
  time 
  was 
  required 
  to 
  provide 
  a 
  com- 
  

   plete 
  answer. 
  Many 
  inquiries 
  involved 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  conferences 
  or 
  

   the 
  writing 
  of 
  extended 
  illustrated 
  reports. 
  A 
  list 
  of 
  selected 
  ex- 
  

   amples 
  tabulated 
  by 
  the 
  War 
  Committee 
  shows 
  not 
  only 
  the 
  very 
  

   wide 
  range 
  of 
  these 
  questions, 
  but 
  also 
  the 
  extent 
  to 
  which 
  modern 
  

   total 
  war 
  depends 
  on 
  scientific 
  knowledge. 
  The 
  Institution 
  was 
  in 
  

   a 
  peculiarly 
  favorable 
  position 
  to 
  render 
  this 
  type 
  of 
  service 
  because 
  

   of 
  its 
  location 
  in 
  Washington, 
  the 
  headquarters 
  also 
  of 
  the 
  War 
  and 
  

   Navy 
  Departments 
  and 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  war 
  agencies. 
  It 
  had 
  the 
  further 
  

   advantage 
  of 
  being 
  closely 
  associated 
  with 
  the 
  Ethnogeographic 
  

   Board, 
  discussed 
  in 
  the 
  next 
  paragraph. 
  

  

  Ethnogeographic 
  Board. 
  — 
  Early 
  in 
  the 
  fiscal 
  year 
  the 
  Institution 
  

   joined 
  with 
  the 
  American 
  Council 
  of 
  Learned 
  Societies, 
  the 
  Social 
  

   Science 
  Research 
  Council, 
  and 
  the 
  National 
  Research 
  Council 
  in 
  

   sponsoring 
  the 
  Ethnogeographic 
  Board, 
  a 
  nongovernmental 
  agency 
  

   whose 
  function 
  is 
  to 
  act 
  as 
  a 
  clearinghouse 
  between 
  the 
  above 
  insti- 
  

   tutions 
  and 
  other 
  scientific 
  and 
  educational 
  organizations 
  throughout 
  

   the 
  country, 
  and 
  the 
  Army, 
  Navy, 
  and 
  war 
  agencies 
  within 
  the 
  

   Government. 
  The 
  Director 
  of 
  the 
  Board 
  is 
  Dr. 
  William 
  Duncan 
  

   Strong, 
  formerly 
  of 
  the 
  Smithsonian 
  Bureau 
  of 
  American 
  Ethnology 
  

   and 
  at 
  present 
  on 
  leave 
  from 
  Columbia 
  University. 
  The 
  offices 
  of 
  

   the 
  Board 
  are 
  in 
  the 
  Smithsonian 
  building, 
  a 
  portion 
  of 
  its 
  operating 
  

   costs 
  have 
  been 
  defrayed 
  by 
  the 
  Institution, 
  and 
  three 
  members 
  of 
  

   the 
  scientific 
  staff 
  of 
  the 
  Bureau 
  of 
  American 
  Ethnology 
  have 
  been 
  

   detailed 
  to 
  assist 
  the 
  Director 
  of 
  the 
  Board. 
  The 
  War 
  and 
  Navy 
  

   Departments 
  assigned 
  liaison 
  officers, 
  and 
  under 
  the 
  energetic 
  leader- 
  

   ship 
  of 
  Dr. 
  Strong 
  the 
  Board 
  has 
  become 
  the 
  focal 
  point 
  for 
  the 
  

   finding 
  of 
  the 
  best 
  sources 
  of 
  strategic 
  information 
  in 
  the 
  fields 
  of 
  

   science 
  within 
  its 
  scope. 
  

  

  War 
  research 
  projects. 
  — 
  A 
  number 
  of 
  research 
  and 
  consultation 
  

   projects 
  have 
  come 
  to 
  the 
  Institution 
  through 
  the 
  Ethnogeographic 
  

   Board, 
  the 
  Smithsonian 
  War 
  Committee, 
  and 
  contacts 
  of 
  various 
  

   officials 
  of 
  the 
  Institution. 
  As 
  these 
  were 
  all 
  of 
  a 
  strictly 
  confiden- 
  

   tial 
  character, 
  nothing 
  can 
  be 
  said 
  about 
  them 
  except 
  that 
  they 
  were 
  

   concerned 
  with 
  many 
  different 
  branches 
  of 
  science, 
  including 
  an- 
  

   thropology, 
  biology, 
  geology, 
  physics, 
  and 
  meteorology. 
  These 
  proj- 
  

   ects 
  occupied 
  practically 
  the 
  entire 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  instrument 
  and 
  

   mechanical 
  shops 
  of 
  the 
  Astrophysical 
  Observatory, 
  the 
  division 
  of 
  

   radiation 
  and 
  organisms, 
  and 
  the 
  division 
  of 
  engineering, 
  as 
  well 
  

   as 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  numerous 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  scientific 
  staff. 
  

  

  Inter- 
  American 
  cooperation. 
  — 
  For 
  many 
  years 
  the 
  Institution 
  has 
  

   been 
  in 
  close 
  contact 
  with 
  scientists 
  and 
  cultural 
  organizations 
  in 
  the 
  

  

  