﻿REPORT 
  OF 
  THE 
  SECRETARY 
  OF 
  THE 
  

   SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION 
  

  

  C. 
  G. 
  ABBOT 
  

  

  FOR 
  THE 
  YEAR 
  ENDED 
  JUNE 
  30, 
  1943 
  

  

  To 
  the 
  Board 
  of 
  Regents 
  of 
  the 
  Smithsonian 
  Institution. 
  

  

  Gentlemen 
  : 
  I 
  have 
  the 
  honor 
  to 
  submit 
  herewith 
  my 
  report 
  show- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  activities 
  and 
  condition 
  of 
  the 
  Smithsonian 
  Institution 
  and 
  

   the 
  Government 
  bureaus 
  under 
  its 
  administrative 
  charge 
  during 
  the 
  

   fiscal 
  year 
  ended 
  June 
  30, 
  1943. 
  The 
  first 
  12 
  pages 
  contain 
  a 
  sum- 
  

   mary 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  affairs 
  of 
  the 
  Institution; 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  noted 
  that 
  

   many 
  activities 
  usually 
  included 
  in 
  this 
  section 
  are 
  missing, 
  wartime 
  

   conditions 
  having 
  forced 
  their 
  suspension. 
  Appendixes 
  1 
  to 
  10 
  give 
  

   more 
  detailed 
  reports 
  of 
  the 
  operations 
  of 
  the 
  National 
  Museum, 
  

   the 
  National 
  Gallery 
  of 
  Art, 
  the 
  National 
  Collection 
  of 
  Fine 
  Arts, 
  the 
  

   Freer 
  Gallery 
  of 
  Art, 
  the 
  Bureau 
  of 
  American 
  Ethnology, 
  the 
  In- 
  

   ternational 
  Exchanges, 
  the 
  National 
  Zoological 
  Park, 
  the 
  Astro- 
  

   physical 
  Observatory, 
  which 
  now 
  includes 
  the 
  divisions 
  of 
  astro- 
  

   physical 
  research 
  and 
  radiation 
  and 
  organisms, 
  the 
  Smithsonian 
  

   library, 
  and 
  of 
  the 
  publications 
  issued 
  under 
  the 
  direction 
  of 
  the 
  

   Institution. 
  On 
  page 
  89 
  is 
  the 
  financial 
  report 
  of 
  the 
  executive 
  com- 
  

   mittee 
  of 
  the 
  Board 
  of 
  Regents. 
  

  

  THE 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  IN 
  WARTIME 
  

  

  At 
  the 
  close 
  of 
  the 
  fiscal 
  year, 
  33 
  employees 
  of 
  the 
  Institution 
  had 
  

   joined 
  the 
  armed 
  forces 
  and 
  5 
  had 
  left 
  to 
  serve 
  in 
  special 
  capacities 
  

   in 
  the 
  various 
  war 
  agencies. 
  Those 
  leaving 
  included 
  10 
  members 
  

   of 
  the 
  scientific 
  staff. 
  Many 
  of 
  those 
  remaining 
  at 
  the 
  Institution 
  

   devoted 
  100 
  percent 
  of 
  their 
  time 
  to 
  war 
  projects 
  assigned 
  by 
  the 
  

   Army, 
  Navy, 
  or 
  war 
  agencies, 
  and 
  all 
  other 
  staff 
  members 
  were 
  oc- 
  

   cupied 
  in 
  varying 
  degree 
  with 
  such 
  projects, 
  depending 
  on 
  the 
  extent 
  

   to 
  which 
  their 
  special 
  knowledge 
  was 
  in 
  demand. 
  In 
  short, 
  all 
  per- 
  

   sonnel 
  and 
  facilities 
  of 
  the 
  Institution 
  and 
  its 
  branches 
  were 
  made 
  

   available 
  and 
  were 
  extensively 
  used 
  in 
  the 
  prosecution 
  of 
  the 
  war. 
  

  

  The 
  Institution's 
  normal 
  activities 
  were 
  kept 
  alive 
  to 
  the 
  extent 
  of 
  

   continuing 
  observations 
  the 
  cessation 
  of 
  which 
  would 
  leave 
  perma- 
  

   nent 
  gaps 
  in 
  records 
  essential 
  to 
  future 
  investigations, 
  and 
  of 
  main- 
  

   taining 
  and 
  caring 
  for 
  the 
  National 
  collections. 
  All 
  other 
  research 
  

  

  