670 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS. 



March 2, 1869 House. 



Joint resolution reappointing Louis Agassi/ a Regent of the Smith- 

 sonian Institution, passed. 



March 3, 1869. 



Resol/oed, etc., That Louis Agassiz, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, 

 be, and he is hereby, reappointed a Regent of the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion to fill the vacancy occasioned by the expiration of his present term. 



(Stat., XV, 349.) 



CARE OF GOVERNMENT COLLECTIONS. 



February 27, 1868 House. 



The civil appropriation bill being under consideration, the clerk 

 read: 



Smithsonian Institution: "For the preservation of the collections of the exploring 

 and surveying expeditions of the Government, $1,000." 



Mr. L. P. POLAND. I move to amend the paragraph just read by 

 striking out "$1,000" and inserting "$6,000." I apprehend that 

 the Committee on Appropriations had not, probably, looked into the 

 history of this annual appropriation to the Smithsonian Institution 

 for taking care of these collections of the Government when they con- 

 cluded to report this sum. These collections were kept in the Patent 

 Office building up to 1857, and were then much smaller than they are 

 now. An annual appropriation of $4,000 for the purpose of taking 

 care of these collections was made from 1842 to 1857. In 1857 the 

 room occupied for that purpose in the Patent Office building was 

 needed for other purposes, for models, etc., and these collections 

 were then removed to the Smithsonian building, where they have since 

 been kept. An annual appropriation of $4,000 for their preservation 

 was made from 1857 to last year, when the sum was increased to 

 $10,000. These collections have been very largely increased; they 

 have been doubled; in fact, they have been quadrupled since they 

 were removed to the Smithsonian building, and the expense of taking 

 care of them has been very largely increased in consequence of the 

 general increase of the prices of labor, fuel, and everything that goes 

 to make up that expense. Even if the amount of labor had not been 

 increased in consequence of the increase of the collections, the appro- 

 priation, which from 1842 to 1866 was $4,000, ought to be increased to 

 at least $6,000. 



The fund of the Smithsonian Institution, whatever it ma} r be, is a 

 fixed sum, and in consequence of the great increase in the prices of 

 everything, it is not now worth more than half as much to the 

 Institution as it was formerly. A very large portion of the income 

 from the fund for the Institution for the last two years has had to be 

 expended in refitting and repairing the building, rendered necessary 



