NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPIIIC BOARD— BENNETT I9 



Smithsonian made joint application to both the Rockefeller Founda- 

 tion and the Carnegie Corporation for annual grants of »$20,ooo each. 

 A budget of $55,000 to $60,000 for the calendar year 1943 was drawn 

 up, partially on the basis of the first 6 months, but largely on fore- 

 casts of heavily increased demands. The Foundations would provide 

 $40,000 of this and the Sponsors, principally the Smithsonian, would 

 take care of the rest. Fortunately, the Foundations in making their 

 grants did not insist on the calendar limit, but allowed any unexpended 

 balances to carry over, since, at the end of the third year of operation, 

 less than half of the $40,000 had been spent. This unusual situation 

 requires an examination of the actual expenditures. Table i shows 

 these by 6-month periods for the first 2 years. 



The budgeted items for each 6 months refer only to Foundation 

 grants and do not include the Smithsonian's contributions. Each es- 

 timated budget is about three times the actual expenditures for the 

 same period, as is shown graphically in the chart (fig. i). The 

 estimates reflect the Ethnogeographic Board's enthusiastic notion of 

 its own potentialities. The actual expenditures show both the Board's 

 ability to get the jobs paid for elsewhere (namely, by the Smith- 

 sonian), and its inability to execute many projects. The totals for this 

 2-year period are : 



Estimated budgets from grants $47,364.94 



Expended from grants 16,501.00 



Smithsonian contributions 48,563.98 



Total expenditures 65,064.98 



It is obvious that the Smithsonian Institution has borne the lion's 

 share of the cost. At the end of 3 years the Smithsonian's contri- 

 bution had amounted to something over $60,000. This sum went 

 largely for staff salaries, which, it must be noted, except for the Di- 

 rector's stipend would normally have appeared in the Smithsonian's 

 budget. The estimate of $2,500 a year for office space and service 

 is frankly a guess. The Board could not have rented equivalent 

 space and service for this sum, but, on the other hand, the Smith- 

 sonian would have had to maintain it in any case. This is not intended 

 to belittle the Smithsonian's contribution, which, on the contrary, 

 made the work of the Board possible at remarkably low budgetary 

 cost. If the Foundations consider matching funds desirable, they 

 certainly received it in this case. In 3 years the Sponsors matched 

 the grants at a ratio of three to one. 



The grossly overestimated budgets reflect in part the Directorate's 

 concentration on low-cost war service in contrast to the Board's wish- 



