42 MICHAEL A. LANE 



To the work in pure science done by the Smithsonian 

 institution we owe the existence of the United States geo- 

 logical surv^ey, of the weather bureau, of the bureau of fish- 

 eries, and of the bureau of ethnology. 



Professor Samuel Pierpont Langley was one day inspired 

 with the idea that he could invent a flying machine. And 

 now congress gives him a substantial sum every year to 

 experiment with his idea. Mr. Langley may never succeed. 

 But congress takes no account of that possibility. On the 

 other hand, if it should turn out that he can make good, 

 nobody will object to the expenditure of this insignificant 

 sum for such a big desideratum. 



Mr. Langley is the godfather of ''the new astronomy" 

 and some of his discoveries are highly important, although 

 it would be hard to imagine their practical uses. For in- 

 stance, as one of the research men of the Smithsonian, Mr. 

 Langley is looking into the ultra-red of the solar spectrum — 

 the unseen part of the rainbow at the red end — from which 

 most of the sun's energy proceeds. He has invented a 

 method by which he can trace the spectrum a distance of 

 forty feet beyond the red — a performance the importance 

 of which can be better understood if we assign to the visible 

 spectrum a length say of 40 inches. 



Another step in the right direction is the appropria- 

 tion of $40,000 a year which congress makes for the ethnolog- 

 ical work of the institution. Not much practical use can 

 be made of a thorough knowledge of the folk lore, the insti- 

 tutions, and the somatic and sociological characters of the 

 American Indians, and yet congress pays the bill for this 

 work. The result of this generosity is the high reputation 

 which America has abroad for the genuine ethnological 

 work it has done. Dr. Deniker, the great French anthro- 

 pologist, mentions this work in his latest published text 

 book in which he accepts the theories of the American eth- 

 nographers concerning the existence of the mounds. 



The casual visitor to St. Louis seldom expresses a desire 

 to be shown the wonderful structures which have given St. 

 Louis its name of Mound City. And yet, perhaps, there 

 is nothing in St. Louis, in the way of sights as interesting 



