NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT 43 



Being an anthropologist, he found colleagues in practically every 

 Government agency. Members of that relatively small and intimate 

 profession were in great demand because of their knowledge of areas 

 outside the continental United States. The Director entertained at 

 small lunches and at his home, and on each such occasion explained 

 the nature of the Ethnogeographic Board and its services. He at- 

 tended conferences arranged by the war agencies and the Sponsors, 

 where he not only met new people, but also told how the Board 

 might assist. The records show his attendance at ii major confer- 

 ences between December 1942 and February 1943. A name and ad- 

 dress file listed those individuals known personally by the Director 

 and considered to be potential customers or valuable sources of in- 

 formation. By 1943 the file contained over 400 names, represent- 

 ing every major military and Government agency. 



2. LIAISON OFFICERS 



The Board established formal liaison with the Army, Navy, and 

 some of the war agencies. Although this was an old, established 

 technique, it was still efifective, as demonstrated by the cooperating 

 committees. In May 1942 the Smithsonian War Committee had ar- 

 ranged with Military Intelligence Service for a formal representa- 

 tive and, when the Board was established, the services of this officer 

 were immediately transferred to it. The Director made a similar 

 arrangement with the Navy within the first 2 months. Liaison was 

 also established with Air Intelligence, Army Map Service, the 

 Office of Strategic Services, and the Surgeon General's Office and 

 was discussed, at least, with several other agencies. 



The technique of establishing such liaison with the Navy is an 

 example. Following a visit by the Director, Naval Intelligence 

 asked the Board to prepare a report on a Pacific area. The Navy 

 was impressed by the quality of the report and the speed of the ser- 

 vice. This gave the Director an opportunity to present an argument 

 for the advantages of permanent liaison. Such appointments were 

 more than gestures on the part of the Army and Navy Intelligence 

 Branches. For example, the Army followed up with a memorandum 

 "For the Chiefs, All Groups, Branches and Sections, MIS." This 

 included a statement about the Ethnogeographic Board and the ser- 

 vices it might render, and indicated the procedure for utilizing these. 

 The liaison officers held frequent consultations with the stafif, in 

 which they presented requests from their offices and in turn took 

 the Board's reports for distribution in their own branches. In this 



