December 19, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



963 



only of the vaguest kind. The amount 

 spent for researches was $4,686, of which 

 $2,151 was for salaries and personal ser- 

 vices, but no specific statement is made of 

 the amount expended on any particular 

 research, nor, in fact, are any researches 

 reported except those made at the expense 

 of the Hodgkins fund. As the available 

 income for this purpose is considerably 

 greater than the whole amount reported 

 as spent in researches, we are left to infer 

 that no researches are made at the expense 

 of the Smithsonian fund proper. Nearly 

 $2,000 was spent for reports, what reports 

 is not stated. There is an additional item 

 of $4,473.51 expended from the Hodgkins 

 fund, but with what object is not stated. 

 It is not necessary to enumerate the other 

 items as given, because they fail to give 

 us any information of interest. Our o'wn 

 reclassification of the reported income and 

 expenditures is as follows : 



INCOME. 



Interest on funds in U. S. Treasury. . $54,720.00 



Interest on West Shore bonds 1,680.00 



Profits on international exchanges . . . 4,482,56 



Cash from sales of publications 188.59 



Total net income $61,071.15 



EXPESTDITUEBS. 



Salaries and services $29,566.06 



Other expenses of administration 12,665.56 



Publications, reports, researches, etc.. 6,621.83 



Expended from Hodgkins' fund 4,473.51 



Surplus for the year 7,744.19 



Total $61,071.15 



The sui-plus of $7,744.19 is the same that 

 follows from the report as the increase in 



cash on hand. The main points in which 

 we have rearranged the statements are the 

 deduction of the expenditure for exchanges 

 from the amount received for freight and 

 the classification by themselves of all pay- 

 ments for salaries and services. 



In the large amount, nearly four fifths 

 of the whole expenditure, for salaries and 

 administrative expenses, and the smallness 

 of the fraction devoted to the increase or 

 diffusion of knowledge in any definable 

 way we are brought face to face with 

 two policies on which views have been 

 divided' since the foundation of the 

 institution. One of these was distinctly 

 the policy of Professor Henry, enforced 

 by him on every opportunity— the de- 

 votion of the institution to the original 

 purpose desired by Smithson, of in- 

 creasing and diffusing knowledge. The 

 other policy was the more popular one of 

 making the institution an auxiliary to 

 government efforts in the same direction, 

 by charging it with the care of the govern- 

 ment collections and improving science and 

 art generally at the national capital. How 

 strong the present tendency in the latter 

 direction may be seen in the preceding 

 analysis. Apart from this it does not 

 look well to see one half the entire Smith- 

 sonian income paid to unknown persons 

 for unknown services. 



The expenditure of so large a sum as 

 the present income of the Smithsonian 

 Institution in increasing and diffusing 

 knowledge is a noble work, and its efficient 

 prosecution demands the entire time and 

 energy of the head of the institution. No 

 more worthy expenditure of that time and 



