REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1924 23 



rious subjects in which it is vitally interested. It is, however, ever 

 ready to assist so far as it can other institutions and societies in thus 

 disseminating knowledge. Its facilities afford accommodations for 

 governmental, scientific, patriotic, and local meetings on many 

 subjects, all of which are, of course, open free to the general public. 

 In response to the invitation of the President of the United 

 States, a National Conference on Outdoor Recreation was held in 

 Washington, from May 22 to 24. The main purpose of this meet- 

 ing was to bring together Federal and State agencies engaged in pro- 

 moting various phases of outdoor recreational activities with a view 

 to eliminating wasteful duplication of effort and to develop close 

 cooperation and coordination between the Federal and State work of 

 this character. 



The Federal Government is already involved in promoting out- 

 door recreation on a scale that is not generally appreciated. During 

 1923 more than 1,280,000 persons visited the national parks, which 

 are administered by the Department of the Interior. About 11,000,- 

 000 people visited the national forests, administered by the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture. More than 5,500,000 hunters went afield in 

 pursuit of game, the supply of which in part is being maintained 

 through the administration of the Federal game laws and by the 

 maintenance of large numbers of bird and game refuges on public 

 domain. In addition the success of approximately 5,000,000 anglers 

 depended in part on the work of the Bureau of Fisheries in restock- 

 ing our waters with game fish. 



The National Conference on Outdoor Recreation held all its 

 sessions in the Natural History Building of the Museum, using the 

 auditorium and council rooms, together with office space in various 

 parts of the buildings for its 2 general and 17 special committees. 

 Several hundred delegates, representing all parts of the country, 

 were in attendance — leaders in many fields of endeavor. The Presi- 

 dent's committee, composed of Hon. John W. Weeks, Secretary of 

 War; Hon. Hubert Work, Secretary of the Interior; Hon. Henry 

 C. Wallace, Secretary of Agriculture; Hon. Herbert Hoover, Sec- 

 retary of Commerce; Hon. James J. Davis, Secretary of Labor; 

 and Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, took 

 active part in the conference, each Cabinet member presiding as 

 honorary chairman at one session and the Assistant Secretary of 

 the Navy as the executive chairman at all sessions. 



The program of the opening session, held on Thursday morning, 

 May 22, consisted of an invocation by the Chaplain of the House of 

 Representatives, Rev. Dr. James Shera Montgomery; the singing 

 of "America " by the audience ; an address by the President of the 

 United States, Hon. Calvin Coolidge; an address by the executive 

 chairman of the conference, Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, and the 

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