NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT 73 



be kept for the initial meetings. Discussion is freer among strangers 

 if the meeting is closed, and if there is no fear of being held respon- 

 sible for comments at a later time. In subsequent meetings the ques- 

 tion of the type of record can be decided by the participants. 



With the exception of the Colonial Problems Conferences, in which 

 the Board was but a collaborator, no follow-up conferences were held. 

 A single meeting is insufficient even for orientation, and in dealing 

 with problems a series of conferences would be more advantageous 

 than a single one. The follow-up conferences need more careful plan- 

 ning and selection of participants. It is not difficult to determine at 

 the first meeting which guests are contributors and which essentially 

 dead weight. A blanket invitation to reconvene at a later date blocks 

 the possibility of eliminating participants and makes it difficult to add 

 new guests without overloading the practical size of the group. Con- 

 sequently even follow-up conferences should be by renewed individual 

 invitations. The point may seem obvious, but the mistake is commonly 

 made. 



The above suggestions apply to dinner conferences aimed pri- 

 marily at stimulation and exploration. The Ethnogeographic Board 

 participated in some problem conferences, and called one of its own on 

 the Bolivian Indians. This type of conference is described in a 

 later section. 



PROJECTS 



Five major undertakings were of sufficient magnitude to be desig- 

 nated as projects rather than reports in the sense used here. All 

 these involved either the cooperation of a number of specialists or 

 were assigned to one man for execution. Each. project is a distinct 

 unit : The preparation of a booklet on survival ; a problem conference ; 

 two surveys ; and an analytical history. Besides these, the Board par- 

 ticipated in a few large projects sponsored by other groups. 



"Survival on Land and Sea" 



At the request of the United States Navy the Ethnogeographic 

 Board and the staff of the Smithsonian Institution prepared the 187- 

 page, pocket-size manual "Survival on Land and Sea" (Publication 

 Branch, Office of Naval Intelligence, United States Navy, cover map 

 and 64 text figures, Washington, 1943. Not for sale). By December 

 1944, 970,000 copies had been printed on waterproof paper for dis- 

 tribution directly to the armed forces in the Pacific theater. The 

 6 



