NO. I ETHNOGEOGRAPHIC BOARD BENNETT bl 



project depend largely on the competence and integrity of the indi- 

 vidual or group which undertakes it. The few projects sponsored by 

 the Ethnogeographic Board have been competently handled and have 

 resulted in contributions of long-term value. Only five were completed 

 in a period of over 3 years, although several others were initiated and 

 then discontinued. Most projects are expensive, and during a war 

 competent personnel is difficult to find. Both factors help to explain 

 why there were so few projects. If the formulation and direction of 

 projects had been a function of the Board as a whole, more might 

 have been carried out. The Washington ofifice was too occupied by 

 other activities to pay much attention to projects. The true need for a 

 clearly defined division of labor between Board and Directorate is 

 demonstrated in the next chapter which reviews the incompleted 

 projects and the failures. 



DEAD ENDS 



The previous chapters have described the concrete activities of the 

 Board ; its files, materials, techniques, services, and projects. Some 

 left-overs remain, some tag ends, miscellaneous in character, of proj- 

 ects and programs initiated but not completed, of research proposals 

 neglected or rejected, of techniques considered but never actually 

 tested. All these are brought together under the lugubrious title of 

 "Dead Ends," because an examination of the contents of this figura- 

 tive wastebasket is an important part of the analysis. Was anything 

 thrown out that might have been of value? What were the blocks 

 that killed some projects and made other proposals unacceptable? 

 Some of the rejects are important enough for individual discussion ; 

 others can be grouped. 



Pacific Survey Project 



The most ambitious project undertaken by the Ethnogeographic 

 Board was the organization of a comprehensive survey of all branches 

 of science in reference to the islands of the Western Pacific Ocean. 

 The Board struggled with this for a year, during 6 months of which 

 the full-time services of Homer Barnett, research associate, were 

 assigned exclusively to the program. Then the Board withdrew, 

 leaving the project still in the discussion stage. An explanation of this 

 requires a brief historical summary. 



The Committee on the Anthropology of Oceania had considered 

 the need for a survey at several of its meetings. The interest in this 



