1420 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS. 
President, members of Congress, and citizens who reside in distant 
States, gentlemen who, in my judgment, are about as little fitted, by 
reason of their positions, for such a trust as anybody could be. My 
opinion is that members of the board do not know anything about 
what is done with the money, except as they get the information from 
the reports of their officers. They have no practical knowledge of 
the matter committed to them, and they pay little or no attention to 
what is done. 
Mr. Miturcen. If it does not take too much of the gentleman’s 
time, I would like to know what his resolution is which is now before 
the House. 
Mr. Entor. The gentleman should understand that there is no res- 
olution now before the House. 
Mr. Mirirken. The gentleman seems to be finding fault, and it 
seems to me that there is something in the fault which he finds, but 
what remedy does he propose? It seems to me that all this business 
should be done by the Supervising Architect of the Treasury, and he 
might be held responsible for it. 
Mr. Entor. That would require another act of Congress directing 
that it should be placed under his control. At the time this bill was 
before Congress great anxiety was manifested to get it disposed of as 
quickly as possible. 
A letter on the subject was addressed, I believe, to the gentleman 
from Maine himself [Mr. Milliken], stating the necessity for early 
action, so that the animals in the zoo at the Smithsonian Institution 
might be got away from those pens there and put into this park. 
Congress was urged to act upon the matter immediately, but I under- 
stand the.Secretary says there has been so much difficulty in getting 
title to the land that the accommodations for the animals were still! 
unprovided, and the animals themselves are still in their pens and are 
likely to be there during the remainder of the winter. 
Now, it is a very interesting thing 
Mr. Mruuiken. I would simply suggest to my friend that if it is 
proposed to get title to these lands in the same way as has been done 
in other cases of which I haye some knowledge—by condemnation— 
the chances are that the animals now existing will be dead by the time 
the land is acquired, and another generation of animals hereafter to 
be born will have an opportunity to occupy this park. 
Mr. Curcuron. The condemnation has been completed. 
Mr. Entor. I understand that the condemnation proceedings are 
completed, and that now the title to the property is vested in the 
Government. The commission appointed to make the purchase has 
made its final report. 
Mr. Miiurken. Then this case is contrary to my observations in 
other cases. 
