Fkbruaey 20, 1903.] 



SCIENCE. 



285 



The regents of the Smithsonian Institution 

 are men of eminence, who meet once a year 

 for an hour or two at Washington, and 

 who can scarcely be expected to give the 

 time or to secure the information needful 

 for the conduct of the institution. Its 

 organization is somewhat similar to that 

 of our universities with one important ex- 

 ception—it lacks any body corresponding 

 to the faculty. We bave in most of our 

 learned and educational institutions a 

 board of trustees, who represent the au- 

 thoritative and conservative classes. They 

 do not give much attention to the conduct 

 of the institution, delegating their powers 

 largely to an executive officer. But our 

 universities have faculties of experts, 

 whose legal powers are unduly limited, 

 but whose moral influence determines 

 largely the policy and new appointments. 

 The Smithsonian Institution and" the Car- 

 negie Institution lack such bodies of expert 

 advisers, and if the executive officer is not 

 in touch with the scientific men of the 

 country, there is no way to bring the con- 

 sensus of opinion before the regents or 

 the trustees. It seems important that the 

 board of regents should have more freqeut 

 meetings; and that the scientific men of 

 the country should have the opportunity 

 of appearing before it and discussing mat- 

 ters with the regents and with the secre- 

 tary. The difficulty seems to be that there 

 are but few members of the board of re- 

 gents who could afford the time necessary. 

 The executive committee, however, might 

 hold sittings for the purpose of conferring 

 with men of science, and act as the medium 

 by which scientific public opinion could be 



brought to the attention of the regents. 

 Perhaps it would be possible for the Smith- 

 sonian Institution to appoint a visiting 

 committee or a board of advisers who would 

 give more attention to the detailed man- 

 agement of the institution than it is pos- 

 sible for the regents themselves to aiford. 

 There is every reason to suppose that the 

 regents and the secretary would be glad 

 to learn the opinion of scientific men, and 

 we suggest that those who have given atten- 

 tion to the subject should write to Secre- 

 tary Langley or to the regents with whom 

 they are personally acquainted or to whom 

 they are known by reputation, making sug- 

 gestions as to policy. The points which 

 appear to need special attention are: (1) 

 How the regents and secretary can be 

 brought in contact with the scientific senti- 

 ment of the country; (2) whether it would 

 not be advisable for the National Museum 

 and the Bureau of American Ethnology to 

 be given greater autonomy, and (3) if the 

 institution is released from the conduct of 

 government bureaus, in what directions its 

 activities should be turned. The board of 

 regents consists of : 



Hon. M. W. Fuller, Chief Justice of the United 

 States, Chancellor; Hon. W. P. Frye, President 

 pro tempore of the United States Senate; Senator 

 S. M. Cullom; Senator 0. H. Piatt; Senator 

 Francis M. Cockerell; Representative Hugh A. 

 Dinsmore; Representative Robert R. Hitt; Repre- 

 sentative Robert Adams, Jr. ; Dr. James B. Angell, 

 Ann Arbor, Mich.; Dr. Andrew D. White, Ithaca, 

 N. Y., at present abroad; Hon. J. B. Henderson, 

 Washington, D. C. ; Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, 

 Washington, D. C. ; Hon. Richard Olney, Boston, 

 Mass.; Hon. George Gray, Wilmington, Del.; Dr. 

 S. P. Langley, Secretary of the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution. 



