no SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. IO7 



would be useful in the further investigation of these and similar 

 problems. This is a purely hypothetical question, since the Sponsors 

 on October 19, 1944, agreed that they "do not intend to continue 

 the Ethnogeographic Board after it has performed the emergency 

 functions for which it was created," Furthermore, a plan has been 

 formulated for the liquidation of the Washington office within the 

 coming year (1946), and with its departure the Board will undoubt- 

 edly expire. However, the Sponsors, in requesting the historical ac- 

 count of the Board, asked also for suggestions on how to organize the 

 scholarly knowledge and meet some of the outstanding problems. 



Everyone connected with the Ethnogeographic Board agrees that 

 its present organization is not suitable for undertalyng the types of 

 activities which the immediate future demands. What the board should 

 be like in the next emergency has already been outlined. However, 

 postponement does not solve problems, and plans for the immediate 

 future, that is, today, should not be lightly disregarded. There is no 

 group primarily devoted to pursuing and integrating work on the 

 area approach. No council or academic institution has indicated that 

 area is one of its major interests. It is logical, then, that this history 

 conclude with a plea for the establishment of some organization 

 which will face the problems raised by the experience of the Eth- 

 nogeographic Board. (The Conference Board of Associated Research 

 Councils appointed a temporary committee to explore possibilities in 

 December 1945.) 



The Ethnogeographic Board not only performed a highly valuable 

 service to the war, but also served as a unique experiment in the in- 

 tegration of academic research. That it made mistakes and did not 

 always attain its full potential is easy to point out in retrospect, diffi- 

 cult to see at the time. It in no way detracts from the over-all merits 

 of the organization and its truly important accomplishments. It has 

 been the purpose of this history to see that the contributions, and the 

 lessons learned from the experience, are not immediately forgotten. 



