54 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis 
could be rendered clean and palatable. Perhaps it was 
suggested at this time, too, that real estate values would 
not rise; that merchants could not make so much money; 
that the world’s fair could not be brought to town! Let 
us hope that the propaganda also concerned the citizen 
of St. Louis, and included the possibility that he and his 
children and his children’s children might be happier 
and healthier. 
If we possessed no art museum, we would have diff- 
culty in showing cause why one should be established. 
If we had no Missouri Botanical Garden to brag about, 
we would not know, even as we do not know, wliat this 
institution is all about. If we had no public library, we 
would have great difficulty in convincing our citizens that 
we really needed one. See the number of available maga- 
zines and see how many of them contain pretty pictures! 
The chief difficulty with the Natural History Museum 
movement is that our museum burned down sixty years 
ago. If it had not burned down, we would probably have 
as fine a museum in St. Louis as is found in any large 
city in the country. 
That, I believe, answers the first two questions. We 
have attained so artificial a condition of environment that 
it will take an extraordinary circumstance and a number 
of extraordinary individuals to float the proposition. 
Second, what people don’t know does not worry them! 
Nobody knows much about a Natural History Museum! 
Why have one at all? Of what use is it anyway? 
Now, where do we fall down? We fall down because 
our organization is just another one, and there are too 
many already. What is there in our educational system 
that stimulates a love of nature? Why should anyone 
be interested in a cow when they use canned milk? Why 
should there be an appeal in anything which is natural 
