COMMITTEES ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT 31I 



the same as modified by Squibb, Stillwell's modification of the 

 Fliickiger-Squibb method, and the so-called " Helfenberg 

 Method " devised by Dietrich. Each of these methods is de- 

 scribed in the report of the committee, and afterwards the results 

 obtained from two or more analyses of the sample of opium 

 received from the Treasury Department by the use of each 

 method. The conclusion reached was that the Pharmacopoeia 

 method was far from accurate, while Stillwell's method was in 

 every way the most satisfactory. A modification of the latter 

 was devised which shortened the time required for making the 

 estimations. The opium, which was a thick, black, semi-liquid 

 mass was found to contain an average amount of 12.16 per cent 

 of morphine. The report was submitted on August 16, 1887, and 

 was transmitted to the Secretary of the Treasury two days later.""' 



COMMITTEE TO FORMULATE A PLAN FOR A SYSTEMATIC 

 SEARCH FOR THE MAGNETIC NORTH POLE. 1890 



The idea of organizing an expedition to search for the Mag- 

 netic North Pole originated with Colonel W. H. Gilder, United 

 States Army. Col. Gilder was a member of the expedition sent 

 out by the American Geographical Society in 1879 to search for 

 the papers of Sir John Franklin. In 1881 he was a volunteer 

 on the ship Rodgers, which was sent out by the Government to 

 search for the Jeannette. 



His suggestion of the desirability of sending out an expedition 

 for the purpose of locating the Magnetic North Pole was made 

 in 1890 to Professor T. C. Mendenhall, then Superintendent of 

 the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, who put him into 

 communication with Professor C. A. Schott.^"' On May 28 

 of the same year Professor Mendenhall addressed a letter to the 

 Secretary of the Treasury in which he expressed the opinion that 

 any properly-organized expedition for the purpose ought to 

 receive the encouragement of the Government, and suggested 



"°Rep. Nat. Acad. Sci. for 1887, pp. 31-35. 



'"'See Jour. Araer. Geogr. Soc, vol. 24, pp. 215-261. 



