102 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. lO/ 



have specific and distinct functions for its board and for its Washing- 

 ton directorate. Some features of the two future units are sketched 

 briefly. 



Board 



i. a board should have the support of the three 

 research councils 



Each Council represents a distinct group of disciplines, so that 

 none of the three is in a position to adopt the cross-disciplinary area 

 approach by itself. Furthermore, a wide range of backers is necessary 

 if for no other reason than prestige, as amply illustrated by the 

 present Ethnogeographic Board. 



2. A BOARD SHOULD BE NON-GOVERNMENTAL 



The Ethnogeographic Board had a great advantage by not being 

 attached to any Government bureau. The Foundations point out 

 frequently that the Government should finance its own needs, but it is 

 difficult to persuade a Government bureau to finance a project which 

 it does not control, although it has happened. The Inter-American 

 Training Centers for language and background instruction to Govern- 

 ment employees working in the Latin American field were financed by 

 the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Afifairs although ad- 

 ministered independently by the American Council of Learned So- 

 cieties. However, irrespective of the source of funds, the operation 

 of the Board should be totally free of Government controls. 



The Ethnogeographic Board was not in competition with any other 

 non-Government group, but it was, in many respects, competing 

 with such Government agencies as the Office of Strategic Services. 

 Had the Ethnogeographic Board been identified with Government 

 this might have caused friction. As it worked out, all agencies were 

 pleased to accept aid from a non-Governmental source to which credit 

 was merely a matter of courtesy if it were offered at all. 



Finally, if scholarly research and Government action programs are 

 not to be kept neatly separated, it is a legitimate function of the 

 academic institutions and their representatives to anticipate and stimu- 

 late Government needs. Often an objective outside group can see the 

 needs far more clearly than those involved in the rush of action. 



3. COOPERATJNG COMMITTEES ARE BirPTER THAN SUBCOMMITTEES 



The relationship of the Ethnogeographic Board to its affiliated 

 committees has been described in detail. From this it seems that co- 



