l8 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8o 



both inspiration and dismay to some of his associates ; he did both 

 jobs so well. 



The period of 13 years, from 1894 to 1907, in which Doctor 

 Walcott was Director, was the period of the Geological Survey's 

 greatest growth. The large increase in Congressional support and 

 the continued advance in popular appreciation of its varied activities 

 in fact-finding together gave this scientific bureau an ever-expanding 

 sphere of usefulness. As defined by Director Walcott, the public to 

 be served included Western rancher and miner, Eastern landowner 

 and investor, as well as student, teacher, and research specialist. He 

 united the scientific and the practical, without compromise, in effective 

 service of a type that won acceptance and approval by the many even 

 if not by the few. 



With his rare combination of executive ability, business sense, and 

 personal tact, Director Walcott let his talents contribute to larger 

 endeavors connected with the work of his bureau. In the fashioning 

 of government policy bearing on the settlement of the public domain 

 and the wise utilization of its great resources, he was the trusted 

 adviser of Presidents and Congresses — a wise counselor, for he knew 

 his West at first hand. Reclamation projects, national forests, national 

 parks, fuel-testing plants, and mine-safety stations — all these were 

 the visible evidence of new activities in federal engineering that 

 benefited by Director Walcott's early sponsorship and became great 

 national undertakings as they were later expanded under four im- 

 portant federal bureaus — in a way, children of the Geological Survey. 

 It was fortunate for the nation that the obvious genius for business 

 early displayed by Charles Walcott had been turned into channels of 

 public service. 



This notably successful career in which scientific endeavor and 

 public service were happily and fruitfully combined also had its 

 personal side ; after all, it is the man behind the career that counts. 

 Charles Walcott was great as the scientist famed the world over ; 

 he was great as the public official honored the length and breadth of 

 his own country ; he was also great as the man in his home, among his 

 friends, in this community. His record in the United States Geological 

 Survey as scientific worker and executive head will stand, but it is 

 most of all to the man his associates would pay tribute. His inspiring 

 fellowship and his helpful friendship have left us his debtors. 



