FIFTY-FIRST CONGRESS, 1889-1891. 1313 
- everything that relates to the primitive inhabitants of North America, Eskimo as 
. well as Indian, these collections are by far the richest in the world, and with the 
necessary amount of exhibition space the material on hand will be arranged in a 
manner which will produce the most impressive and magnificent effect, the educa- - 
_ tional importance of which can not be overestimated. Again there are collections 
of considerable extent which illustrate the processes and products of the various arts 
and industries, as well as what are termed the historical collections, which are of 
especial interest to a very large number of the visitors to the Museum on account of 
the associations of the objects exhibited with the personal history of representative 
-men, or with important events in the history of America. 
The collections illustrating the arts and the art industries are relatively small, and, 
although in themselves of great interest and value, not to be compared in importance 
with those in natural history.and ethnology. 
In a letter addressed on June 7, 1888, to the Hon. Justin 8. Morrill, and which 
will be found in a report of June 12 of the same year from the Senate Committee on 
Public Buildings and Grounds, I made a statement of the rapidity of the recent growth 
of the Museum, mentioning that in the five years from 1882 to 1887 the number of speci- 
mens in the collection have multiplied no less than sixteen times, and endeavored 
to give an idea, though perhaps an inadequate one, of the extent to which the 
pressure for want of space was felt. The evil has grown rapidly worse, and, as I 
have had occasion to mention, it has been felt in the last year in a partial arrest of 
the growth of the collections, which emphasizes the demand for more room. The 
present Museum building is not large enough even for the natural history collections 
alone, a number of which are without any exhibition space whatever. The proposed 
building will afford accommodations for the ethnological and technological material 
already on hand, and for a large part of the natural history material also. 
The collections are still increasing, and the number of specimens, as estimated, is 
now not far from 3,000,000. The appended table (A) shows the annual increase since 
1882. The increase during the last year was comparatively small. This may be 
accounted for by the fact that our exhibition halls and storage rooms being filled 
to their utmost capacity, it has. seemed necessary to cease in a large degree the cus- 
tomary efforts for the increase of the Museum. 
Unless more space is soon provided the development of the Government collections 
will of necessity be almost completely arrested. 
So long as there was room for storage, collections not immediately required could. 
be received and packed away for future use. This can not longer be done. 
The Armory building, since 1877 assigned to the Museum for storage and work- 
shops, is now entirely occupied by the U.S. Fish Commission, with the exception of 
four rooms, and by some of the Museum taxidermists, who are now working in yery 
contracted space, and whom it is impossible to accommodate elsewhere. _ 
Increased space in the exhibition halls is needed, the educational value of the collec- 
tions being seriously diminished by the present crowded system of installation. Still 
more necessary, however, is room for storage, for rearranging the great reserve col-, 
lections, for eliminating duplicate material for distribution to college and school 
museums, and for the use of the taxidermists and preparators engaged in preparing 
objects for exhibition. Space is also required for the proper handling of the costly 
outfit of the museum cases and appliances for installation, of which there is always a 
considerable amount temporarily out of use or in process of construction. 
The appended table (B) shows the amount of floor space now assigned to the 
various collections and the amount required for the proper display of material already 
in hand, making a reasonable allowance for the expansion during the three years 
which would probably pass before a new building could be completed and proyided 
with necessary cases. 
H. Doc. 732——83 
