FORTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1873-1875. 709 



if 1 occupy a few minutes in stating the purpose of the Smithsonian 

 Institution, for in view of that purpose I am sure the gentleman from 

 Tennessee [Mr. Maynard] himself will commend the wisdom of the 

 recommendations we make. The Smithsonian Institution has for its 

 Board of Regents three persons appointed from the members of this 

 House, three persons appointed from the Senate, the President of the 

 United States, the Chief Justice of the United States, and certain 

 other officers of the Government are Regents ex officio. These offi- 

 cers give the regency of the Institution its national character. The 

 whole nation, of course, has its voice in their selection. There are 

 six other Regents who are specially appointed by joint resolution of 

 Congress, and it is to fill vacancies in this number that this resolution 

 is designed. 



The purpose of the Smithsonian Institution is the " advancement of 

 knowledge among men," and after very full and very thorough debate 

 at the time of its origin tfoe authorities of that day determined that 

 it was best to devote the fund at their disposal not to the mere dis- 

 semination of knowledge, as is done by the publication and distribution 

 of books, nor to mere educational purposes, as would be done by the 

 endowment and support of institutions for instruction, but that the 

 fund should be applied to promoting and publishing the results of 

 such original investigations as may tend to advance and increase the 

 pure scientific knowledge of mankind. To this end a fund of about 

 $700,000, part of which is invested in buildings, leaving an income- 

 bearing fund of about $500,000, is within the control of the Institution. 



The income of that fund is appropriated in this way: Suppose, for 

 instance, an eminent mathematician says that he desires to have made 

 a computation in connection with certain investigations to determine 

 the cause of the perturbation of a planet, such as those of Leverrier 

 which led to the discovery of the planet Neptune. If those investi- 

 gations require a large amount of mathematical computation which 

 may almost be termed mechanical, this would involve a good deal of 

 expense to hin>. Suppose the Smithsonian Institution decides that 

 the result of such investigation will advance scientific knowledge, it 

 will advance a sum of money to pay for such computations, if it does not 

 pay anything to the scientific man himself as compensation, or for 

 support. So if a scientific man wishes to make a certain inquiry into 

 the laws of optics or of electricity, and if the Smithsonian Institution 

 is satisfied of the capacity of the parson and of the usefulness of the 

 results likely to be obtained, it appropriates such sum of money as 

 may be necessary to obtain the requisite apparatus and lets him have 

 the use of it; and then, if the result of that investigation is found to 

 be of value to science, it appropriates the money for its publication. 



Now, everybody knows the familiar instance when Morse invented 

 his alphabet for recording telegraphy. The knowledge of the laws 



