ANNUAL  REPORT  OF  THE  DIRECTOR. 
1894-1895. 
To  the  Trustees  and  Members  of  the  Field  Columbian  Museum. 
I  have  the  honor  to  present  a  report  of  the  operations  of  the 
Museum  for  the  year  closing  September  30,  1895.  Much  of  the 
work  of  this  first  full  year  has  necessarily  been  of  a  prepar- 
atory character  and  of  systematizing  the  methods  for  conducting  the 
affairs  of  the  Institution.  Necessarily  also  from  the  very  nature  of 
the  circumstances  under  which  the  original  installation  was  accom- 
plished, much  re-arrangement  and  re-adjustment  has  been  carried  on 
in  all  of  the  departments.  And  as  to  the  building  itself  and  its  interior 
arrangement,  considerable  reconstruction  and  re-adaptation  has  been 
demanded  to  render  the  building  more  fit  for  the  unexpected  uses  to 
which  it  is  now  devoted.  Viewing  its  present  condition,  it  would 
seem  almost  as  if  nothing  had  been  done.  And  yet  in  contem- 
plating what  has  been  accomplished  from  the  commencement,  the 
criticism  of  idleness  will  certainly  not  fall  upon  the  executive  force. 
Income  and  Maintenance. — In  accordance  with  the  instructions 
of  the  Executive  Committee,  the  Director  prepared  in  January  last  a 
budget  of  the  income  and  cost  of  maintenance  for  the  actual  year  of 
1895.  The  total  estimated  income  for  the  year  was  $70,770.  The 
estimated  expense  for  the  year  was  $104,296.  An  effort  has  been  made 
to  increase  the  revenue  and  decrease  the  expenses,  with  the  result 
that  by  taking  the  actual  figures  for  nine  months  of  the  year  to  Octo- 
ber 1,  and  estimating  very  carefully  and  conservatively  the  figures 
likely  to  be  made  for  the  three  remaining  months,  it  is  found  that  the 
income  for  1895  will  be  $74,095,  and  that  the  cost  of  maintenance  for 
1895  will  be  $80,672,  a  very  gratifying  contrast  with  the  estimate 
made  the  first  of  the  year.  These  figures  do  not  include  special  cash 
donations,  nor  do  they  include  special  appropriations  for  material  and 
permanent  improvements  made  by  the  Executive  Committee. 
The  Memberships. — The  By-laws  published  elsewhere  in  this  re- 
port explain  the  different  characters  of  memberships  and  disclose  the 
conditions  under  which  they  may  be  secured.  Under  the  direction  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Corporation,   nominations  for  Annual  Mem- 
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