REPORT OF THE SECRETARY v4 
History Building of the National Museum. There were felicitations 
by Dr. L. P. Eisenhart for the American Philosophical Society, 
and by Dr. F. B. Jewett for the National Academy of Sciences, with 
a response on behalf of the Institution by the Secretary, and an illus- 
trated lecture by Dr. M. W. Stirling, Chief of the Bureau of American 
Ethnology, on the La Venta culture of southern Mexico, reviewing 
the scientific results of his 8 years of archeological work in that region 
in cooperation with the National Geographic Society. The addresses 
were followed by a reception to the National Academy and Ameri- 
can Philosophical Society members and some 1,000 other scientists, 
educators, and Government officials. 
Public notice of the Centennial—On August 10, 1946, the White 
House issued as a news release a statement by President Harry S. 
Truman, who is ex officio Presiding Officer of the Institution. The 
statement is here quoted in full: 
“On August 10, 1846, James K. Polk, eleventh President of the 
United States, put his signature on the act of Congress establishing 
the Smithsonian Institution. Today, August 10, 1946, we celebrate 
the one-hundredth anniversary of this venerable organization that is 
an American tradition. 
“As presiding officer of the Institution, it is fitting that I, as Presi- 
dent of the United States, should publicly take cognizance of this 
occasion. 
“When James Smithson, an English chemist and mineralogist, died 
in 1829, it was found that he had left his fortune to the United States 
to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Insti- 
tution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge 
among men. When Congress was notified of the unusual bequest, there 
arose a storm of debate, at times highly acrimonious, as to what to do 
with the gift. But finally, after some 8 years of discussion, sane 
counsel prevailed, the bequest was accepted, and the Smithsonian 
Institution was formally established under a broad definition of its 
proper functions. 
“The act of foundation provides that the Smithsonian establishment 
shall consist of the President, the Vice President, and the Chief Jus- 
tice of the United States, together with the heads of the Executive 
Departments. The managing body of the Institution is the Board of 
Regents, composed of the Vice President of the United States and 
the Chief Justice of the United States, ex officio, three Senators, three 
Representatives, and six eminent citizens. The executive officer di- 
rectly in charge of the Institution’s activities is the Secretary, chosen by 
the Board. There have been six eminent Secretaries: Joseph Henry, 
physicist ; Spencer Fullerton Baird, biologist ; Samuel Pierpont Lang- 
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