REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1908. 13 
distinguished personages and important events as well as the domestic 
life of the country from the colonial period to the present day. 
It has been deemed appropriate to present the foregoing brief re- 
view of the scope of the national collections in this connection, since 
the time is near when they may be given an orderly arrangement and 
when the subjects least developed from lack of space may have the 
opportunity for growth. By transferring to the new building, as 
proposed to Congress, the subjects which are best represented, which 
have been as a whole most completely classified and can, therefore, 
be most advantageously exhibited for the benefit of the public, 
namely, ethnology, archeology, natural history, and geology, the pres- 
ent Museum building may be given over to the arts and industries. 
In several branches of this subject the collections are already im- 
portant and extensive, and arrangements are under way for large and 
valuable additions. Certain halls in the Smithsonian building were 
originally planned for the gallery of fine arts, and with a moderate 
expenditure they can be adjusted to suit the requirements of to-day. 
With its collections thus distributed between the three buildings, 
all fireproof and of substantial construction, the National Museum 
may be expected to enter upon an era of renewed prosperity and 
usefulness. 
While it is the primary duty of a museum to preserve the objects 
confided to its care, as it is that of a library to preserve its books and 
manuscripts, yet the importance of public collections rests not upon 
the mere basis of custodianship, nor upon the number of specimens 
assembled and their money value, but upon the use to which they are 
put. Judged by this standard, the National Museum may claim to 
have reached a high state of efficiency. From an educational point of 
view it is of great value to those persons who are so fortunate as to 
reside in Washington or who are able to visit the nation’s capital. In 
its well-designed cases, in which every detail of structure, appoint- 
ments, and color is considered, a selection of representative objects is 
placed upon view to the public, all being carefully labeled individu- 
ally and in groups. The child as well as the adult has been provided 
for, and the kindergarten pupil and the high-school scholar can be 
seen here, supplementing their class-room games or studies. Under 
authority from Congress, the small colleges and higher grades of 
schools and academies throughout the land, especially in places where 
museums do not exist, are also being aided in their educational work 
by sets of duplicate specimens, selected and labeled to meet the needs 
of both teachers and pupils. 
Nor has the elementary or even the higher education been by any 
means the sole gainer from the work of the Museum. To advance 
knowledge, to gradually extend the boundaries of learning, has been 
one of the great tasks to which the Museum, in consonance with the 
