Oct.  1896.  Annual  Report  of  the  Director. 
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building,  including  the  basement  and  main  dome  is  continued.  The 
annual  report  of  the  Captain  of  the  Fire  Department  conveys  every 
indication  of  an  efficient  service  in  this  important  direction.  The 
guard  service  has  been  very  satisfactory  during  the  year.  So  satis- 
factory in  fact,  that  no  changes  have  been  made  either  in  members  or 
methods.  There  has  been  no  complaint  filed  against  the  guard  from 
the  many  thousands  of  visitors.  The  discipline  and  orderlin 
of  the  building  has  been  carefully  maintained,  and  no  thefts 
reported. 
Personal  Property  and  Intrinsically  Valuable  Material. — A  list  of 
the  office  furniture,  desk  supplies,  of  all  tools,  appliances,  and  acces- 
sories so  far  purchased  by  the  Museum,  has  been  taken  from  the 
vouchers  and  records,  as  a  basis  for  the  personal  property  inventory, 
which  it  is  proposed  to  make  each  six  months  or  year  as  circum- 
stances may  dictate.  These  lists  were  checked  by  the  head  of  each 
department  or  division  on  whose  account  the  material  was  purchased. 
The  items  unaccounted  for  will  be  erased  from  the  inventory  and  here- 
after new  purchases  will  be  added  as  made,  and  it  is  believed  this  sys- 
tem of  searching  for  property  of  this  character,  will  cause  all  con- 
cerned to  exercise  more  care  in  its  custody.  The  intrinsically  valuable 
exhibition  material  has  also  been  checked  from  the  records,  with  sat- 
isfactory results,  although  it  is  contemplated  to  re-check  the  material 
in  Higinbotham  Hall  in  February  when  the  services  of  an  expert  in 
jewels  will  be  available. 
Admissions. — The  admissions  for  the  year  have  diminished  about 
98,000,  and  this  decrease  seems  to  have  affected  all  of  the  classes  of 
visitors.  There  are  several  minor  reasons  for  this  falling  off,  but 
the  emphatic  cause  is  that  people  who  the  first  year  visited  the 
Museum  under  the  impression  that  it  was  a  miniature  World's  Fair, 
have  discovered  their  error,  and  being  uninterested  in  the  real  scope 
of  the  Museum,  have  passed  their  vacation  hours  in  pursuits  that 
promised  greater  amusement  and  excitement  than  was  furnished  by 
the  Museum.  This  is  especially  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  there 
have  been  no  great  crowds  on  any  one  day,  as  was  often  the  occur- 
rence the  first  year.  Visitors  to  the  Museum  now  come  for  edification, 
instruction  and  study.  There  is  one  point,  however,  to  which  special 
attention  should  be  directed  in  this  connection,  and  that  is  the  sharp 
decrease  in  the  attendance  of  school  children  and  students.  Of 
course  no  record  is  kept  of  those  school  children  and  students  who 
attend  on  the  free  days,  as  no  tickets  are  issued  and  there  are  no 
means  of  distinguishing  one^visitor  from  another.     But  it  is  fair 
