OcToBER 8, 1897.] 
Year. Dr. Whitman’s Figures. Actual Figures. * 
1888 $1320. $2205. 
1889 1554. 2377. 
1890 2430. 3041. 
1891 3498. 3346. 
1892 4132. 4049. 
1893 4264. 4110. 
1894 4882. 6940. 
1895 8010. 8474. 
He failed also to note that with each 
new building, since 1891, the confidence in 
the Laboratory diminished and thereafter 
the gifts to the institution decreased. 
Year. New Building. Gifts. 
1888 (first) $9926 
1889 — 5400 
1890 one 2984 
1891 — 5875 
1892 one 5113 
1893 one 3613 
1894 one 2977 
1895 — 2368 
1896 one 1122 
1897 — 1651+ 
As an illustration of Dr. Whitman’s 
views as to the finances of the Laboratory, 
he maintained that the last new building 
paid for itself because the rooms were oc- 
cupied, but was unable to recognize that he 
had used the privilege of inviting guests to 
the Laboratory so liberally that if these 
workers, who paid nothing, had been 
dropped, the extra rooms provided in the 
new building would have been unneces- 
sary. The charge for an investigator’s 
room is $100. The number of non-paying 
guests invited by Dr. Whitman was four- 
teen in 1896 and eleven in 1897. 
Again, last winter the Laboratory was in 
debt, a debt which the trustees were obliged 
to meet. The Assistant Director held cer- 
tain sums which he had collected from sales 
of supplies. The Treasurer called in these 
* Compiled from the Treasurer’s Reports. As cer- 
tain items, such as postage, printing, etc., which rep- 
resent regular annual expenses are not included, sey- 
eral of these amounts are Jess than they should be. 
} Includes Mr. Nunn’s payment of $398. 
SCIENCE. 
531 
sums, but was met by a refusal because the 
Assistant Director had been told by Dr. 
Whitman to retain the money, subject to 
his order. 
Other illustrations of the embarrassments 
caused by Dr. Whitman in the financial 
management of the Laboratory might be 
enumerated. 
The lack of financial ability, demonstra- 
ted by the Director, rendered it in the 
judgment of the Trustees, imperative to 
protect the interests of the Laboratory. 
The Trustees therefore appointed a trained 
business man as Bursar, who received or- 
ders to pay all bills approved by Dr. Whit- 
man, up to the limit of the appropriations. 
The Bursar proved very efficient and satis- 
factory, and furnished the trustees with clear 
and definite summaries of the receipts and 
expenditures during the summer. 
3. The trustees as a body were desirous 
of making the Laboratory a truly national 
institution, while Dr. Whitman apparently 
wished to convert it into an organization 
under his own exclusive control. The trus- 
tees decided to insist upon their authority 
as the fulfilment of a trust confided to them 
by the subscribers to the funds of the Lab- 
oratory. 
At the close of the session of 1896 the 
trustees were confronted by a deficit of 
about $1,500,* according to the written 
official statement of the Treasurer. This 
deficit was due to two causes: jirst, Dr. 
Whitman had greatly exceeded the income 
at his disposal; second, he used nearly 
$400 necessary for covering the running 
expenses, and spent it for an unauthorized 
purpose, disregarding a vote of the trus- 
tees. 
He justified this act by stating, after- 
wards, that Mr. Nunn had promised this 
sum for that use. To offset this deficiency 
the trustees had only certain expected fees 
*The exact amount could not be given, as certain 
bills had not been sent in. 
