REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 37 



tember and October, in the course of which two lectures on the sal- 

 suon industry of the Pacific coast, illustrated by moving pictures, 

 were given. xVccommodations were furnished for two conventions. 

 The first was the twelfth annual convention of the National Rural 

 Letter Carriers' Association, held in August, and the second a joint 

 convention of postmasters from Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and 

 North and South Carolina, which met in October. Two special ex- 

 hibitions of exceptional interest on July 16, consisted of illustra- 

 tions of marine life below the surface of the sea at the Bahama Is- 

 lands by means of moving pictures. The films were the first of their 

 kind known to have been taken, and this was the first occasion of their 

 public display, arranged through the courtesy of the Submarine Film 

 Corporation. 



Two receptions were given by the Regents and Secretary of the 

 Institution, the first, on April 17, in honor of the National Society of 

 the Daughters of the American Revolution, the second, on May 13, to 

 the delegates to The American Federation of Arts, then in session in 

 the cit3^ The auditorium and other rooms were used on a number of 

 occasions by branches of the Department of Agriculture for hearings 

 and meetings, including a series of 12 Saturday lectures under the 

 auspices of the Bureau of Plant Industry. 



Outside of the National Gallery of Art, the only special loan exhi- 

 bition of importance held during the year was one assemliled under 

 the auspices of The American Federation of Arts. It relates wholly 

 to industrial art in the United States, was opened on May 13, and 

 v/ill continue until the middle of September of the current year. 

 Favored by a very large number of contributors, including manu- 

 facturers, craftsmen, artists, and schools, it has proved one of the 

 most notable displays of its kind ever held in this country, and, while 

 not claiming to be complete, it is remarkably comprehensive and rep- 

 resentative. The standard upheld is extremely high, and two things 

 are especially emphasized — the value of beauty in design and the fine 

 quality of artistic products now being made in America. 



The Museum is participating in the two California expositions, 

 which, beginning in January and February, respectively, Avill continue 

 until the close of the calendar year 1915. For preparing Government 

 exhibits to be shown at the larger of these, the Panama-Pacific Inter- 

 national Exposition at San Francisco, Congress gave $500,000, of 

 which amount the small and inadequate sum of $23,750 was allotted 

 to the Smithsonian Institution and its branches. The repre- 

 sentative of these, by designation of the Secretary, is Mr. W. de C. 

 Ravenel, administrative assistant of the Museum. The display made 

 by the Museum has, in view of the circumstance, been almost entirely 

 restricted to ethnology, of which the most prominent features are 



