REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 17 



is no share of credit for this condition to be given to the National 

 Museum? It plays an important part in this great programme of 

 which it is supremely proud, and while Congress may not yet fully 

 realize what it accomplishes in this respect, the public does, and 

 demands more than it can perform. 



For the conduct of its technical work the Museum is able to employ 

 less than 35 persons of all grades. Nearly as many more employees 

 of the Government give as much of their time as can he spared in the 

 interest of the classification of the collections and their supervision. 

 For the proper installation and maintenance of the exhibition collec- 

 tions, in which Congress places much store, further skilled help is 

 required, and a supervision which has long been inadequate. The 

 force of watchmen employed for the safety of the collections, both by 

 day and night, would be scarcely equal to the task of protecting, under 

 the same circumstances, even the contents of a large jewelry store. 

 The Museum contains objects whose intrinsic value mounts into the 

 hundreds of thousands of dollars, many of which are so small that 

 several could be carried away in a man's pocket. In a jewelry estab- 

 lishment the valuables are packed away each evening in large safes. 

 Such a course is impossible in the Museum, owing to the number of 

 its treasures. They must be left in the cases, and }et the appropria- 

 tions permit of so small a force of watchmen that they are kept under 

 great and constant strain to prevent the abstraction of what could 

 never be replaced. 



Beginning years ago Congress, in the interest of their. constituents, 

 looked to the Museum for the anal} T sis of mining products and for the 

 identification of objects of every kind. These demands have increased 

 rapidly, and their satisfaction has alwa}s been regarded as within the 

 legitimate province of the Museum. The fact, however, is not appre- 

 ciated that work of this character requires the attention of trained 

 experts, and the time of the scientific staff is largely occupied in 

 complying with such requests. In preparing the letters of repby, in 

 registering the specimens received, in cataloguing, in taking down 

 the notes of investigators, in arranging and keeping track of the 

 collections, a comparatively large intelligent clerical force is required. 

 In the preparation of duplicate collections, in the shipping and receiv- 

 ing room, in the library, in the making of cases and the installation of 

 specimens, in the keeping clean of all the large halls, there must be 

 help, and at the minimum this is no small item. 



The U. S. National Museum is like no other museum in this country, 

 and it has no parallel in the world. Elsewhere, with few exceptions, 

 museums exist solely for what may be termed museum purposes. They 

 promote science and they promote the arts. Many are powerful factors 

 in education and in the improvement of industries. The l\ 8. National 



NAT MUS 1904 2 



