Notes and Comments. 83 
it would be most inadvisable? If, and we give every value to 
that word ‘ if,’ our museums were put to military purposes, it 
would certainly offer every inducement to the enemy to bom- 
bard such buildings by air-craft. And such bombardment 
has been shown to be possible. We are not at all sure, not- 
withstanding what has been said by a brilliant writer in The 
Museums Journal, that the enemy would respect our museums 
and art galleries; still they might, but we could not expect 
them to do so if parts of the buildings were used for war 
purposes; and plenty of accommodation could, if it would, 
be found in many of the Clubs in the vicinity of the War Office, 
which are much more suitable for War Office purposes. 
“MUSEUMS AND THE WAR.’ 
On the other hand, most of our museums, metropolitan 
and provincial, have arranged special educational collections 
of value to the soldiers and others in the present crisis. This 
is especially so in the British Museums. In a series of articles 
in The Museums Journal, on ‘Museums and the War,’ Dr. F. A. 
Bather has shown that in many ways our collections are of 
help to the soldiers. In the Natural History Museum at South 
Kensington special exhibits are shown which are of great value 
to our soldiers at the front, as there they have many minor 
friends and enemies of ‘ natural history’ interest ! Mr. J. W. 
Lowther, one of the few supporters of the Government who 
have written to the press, gives us an idea of his knowledge of 
museum work by opining that the museum staff is engaged 
in ‘ deciphering hieroglyphics or cataloguing microlepidoptera.’ 
This apparently belittling suggestion of the nature of the work 
of museum officials is particularly unfortunate, as it is the 
knowledge of the life-history of the micro-lepidoptera which 
has proved of such incalculable service to this country during 
recent wars, in preventing their ravages among our tood 
supplies, ravages which, without the help of those who ‘ cata- 
logue microlepidoptera ’ would have proved as disastrous as 
the worst engagement yet fought. 
THE MORAL EFFECT. 
Another important point which must not be overlooked is 
the moral effect the suggestion will have on our allies and 
on neutral countries. If, with the reputation we hold for the 
help given to the arts and sciences, we close our store-houses 
of knowledge for a comparatively trifling saving, the action 
must be commented upon in other countries. And such 
comment can hardiy be favourable. Another aspect is well 
put forward in a letter to the press by Miss May Morris. She 
states :—‘ Shall we allow the generations to come to remember 
this of us: that, during the great war, we left open our public- 
1916 Mar. 1. 
