JUNE 28, 1901.] 
be permitted by law, to the scientific investigators and 
to students of any institution of higher education 
now incorporated or hereafter to be incorporated un- 
der the laws of Congress or the District of Columbia, 
to wit: 
One. Of the Library of Congress. 
Two. Of the National Museum. 
Three. Of the Patent Office. 
Four. Of the Bureau of Education. 
Five. Of the Bureau of Ethnology. 
Six. Of the Army Medical Museum. 
Seven. Of the Department of Agriculture. 
Eight. Of the Fish Commission. 
Nine. Of the Botanic Gardens. 
Ten. Of the Coast and Geodetic Survey. 
Eleven. Of the Geological Survey. 
Twelve. Of the Naval Observatory. 
The privileges of this act, it will be noted, 
are limited to scientific investigators and 
students of institutions incorporated un- 
der the laws of Congress or the District of 
Columbia. This limitation was removed 
by an act approved March 3, 1901, which 
reads as follows: 
Joint resolution to facilitate the utilization of the 
Government Departments for the purposes of research, 
in extension of the policy enunciated by Congress in 
the joint resolution approved April 12, 1892. 
WHEREAS * * * 
Resolved, That facilities for study and research in the 
Government departments, the Library of Congress, the 
National Museum, the Zoological Park, the Bureau 
of Enthnology, the Fish Commission, the Botanic 
Gardens and similar institutions hereafter estab- 
lished shall be afforded to scientific investigators and 
to duly qualified individual students, and graduates 
of institutions of learning in the several States and 
Territories, as well as in the District of Columbia, 
under such rules and restrictions as the heads of the 
departments and bureaus mentioned may prescribe. 
DISCUSSION AND ACTION IN RECENT YEARS. 
Dr. Daniel C. Gilman, in 1897, summa- 
rized the situation in relation to the estab- 
lishment of a national university, as fol- 
lows :* 
First, there is a strong desire, not only among the 
residents of the Federal city, but among the lovers 
and promoters of learning throughout the country, 
that the libraries, collections, instruments, and appa- 
* Century Magazine, November, 1897. 
SCIENCE. 
1005 
ratus belonging to the Government should be opened 
to students, not as a favor, nor by exception, nor as a 
passing entertainment, but for study and experiment, 
according to suitable regulations, and especially under 
the guidance of such able teachers as may be already 
engaged in the service of the Government, or may be 
enlisted hereafter for the particular offices of educa- 
tion. So far as this there would be a unanimous, or 
nearly unanimous, assent. 
Second, the universities existing in Washington 
and near to it, including those of New England, 
would regard with disfavor, and probably with dis- 
trust, an effort to establish, by congressional action, 
the University of the United States. In some places 
there would be positive opposition. * * * 
Third, outside of academic circles, as well as in- 
side, there is a great distrust of the principle that 
Congress should provide for and direct university 
education. The fears may be foolish. It is easy to 
laugh at them. Apprehensions may be pronounced 
groundless ; nevertheless it will be difficult to get rid 
of them. There will be an ever-present expectation 
of political interference, first in the governing body, 
then in the faculty, and finally in the subjects and 
methods of instruction. It is true that partisan en- 
tanglement may be avoided, but it will be difficult 
indeed to escape the thraldom. 
In the same article it is suggested that 
the Smithsonian Institution take charge, so 
that— 
The literary and scientific institutions of Washing- 
ton may be associated and correlated so far, and so 
far only, as relates to the instruction and assistance, 
under proper restrictions, of qualified students. * * * 
Such a learned society may be developed more readily 
around the Smithsonian Institution, with less fric- 
tion, less expense, less peril, and with the prospect of 
more permanent and widespread advantages to the 
country, than by a dozen denominational seminaries 
or one colossal University of the United States. 
In February, 1899, Dr. William H. Dall, 
of the Geological Survey, outlined very 
clearly the conditions and possibilities for 
post-graduate work in Washington, and 
urged that if any organization was at- 
tempted it should be free from Government 
control.* 
Little, if any, advantage was taken of 
the congressional resolution of 1892, which 
restricted opportunities for study and re- 
* American Naturalist, Vol. 33, pp. 97-107. 
