962 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XVI. No. 416. 



statement of the principal and income of 

 the fund: 



Principal. Income. 



Smithsonian fund proper $650,000 $39,000 



Miscellaneous additions 62,000 3,720 



Hodgkins gift 200,000 12,000 



Hodgkins special fund 42,500 1,680 



Total $954,500 $56,400 



Of the Hodgkins gift the income of $100,- 

 000 is to be especially devoted to increasing 

 and diffusing knowledge of the atmosphere 

 and related subjects connected therewith. 

 Leaving this out of consideration, there is 

 still an annual income of $50,400 available 

 for the general piirposes of the establish- 

 ment. 



Passing to the question of the expendi- 

 ture of this amount, the first item to de- 

 mand our attention is that of international 

 exchanges. The number of packages 

 handled by this bureau during the past 

 year was 121,060. What does this bureau 

 cost the institution annually? If we in- 

 terpret aright the statements in the report, 

 the answer will be, nothing at all. A clear 

 profit seems to be made from it through the 

 fact that the government appropriation for 

 the bureau, together with the payments 

 received from freight, more than balance 

 the cost of the service. The account seems 

 to admit of being stated in the following 

 form, vising only round numbers: The in- 

 stitution expends $5,758.24 in addition to 

 the government appropriation of $24,000. 

 But the repayments for freight, etc., were 

 $10,240.80, leaving a clear profit of 

 $4,482.56. It follows that the bureau in 

 question, instead of being a draft upon the 

 income of the Smithsonian fund, is an im- 



portant source of profit to it. Adding 

 this profit to the regular income, we have 

 a total of more than $58,000 available for 

 other purposes. 



How is this expended? On this point we 

 have few details, only general statements, 

 which tell us very little. Rearranging the 

 statements in our own way, they may be 

 summarized as follows: Somewhat more 

 than $29,000, or fully one half of the whole 

 amount, is reported to have been paid for 

 . salaries and services. What were the ser- 

 vices rendered in return, and what is the 

 outcome of the expenditure? These are 

 questions to which no definite answer is 

 made. Only two officers are given in the 

 annual report, and one of these draws a 

 salary from the government appropriation 

 for the National Museum. The names of 

 individvials are, of course, of no impor- 

 tance, but the offices which they fill and the 

 services which they render are matters of 

 public interest and should be made known 

 with the same fullness that they are in the 

 case of a government bureau. We can only 

 guess that the amounts constitute the 

 salaries of the Secretary and his immediate 

 assistants, and of persons employed in 

 various miscellaneous functions in connec- 

 tion with the National Museum and other 

 government establishments under the con- 

 trol of the institution. 



Under another general head will come 

 about $12,665 for what we may call gen- 

 eral administrative expenses, classified in 

 the report as building, furniture, inciden- 

 tals, books, periodicals, etc. 



The third class includes publications and 

 researches. Here again the information is 



