ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 



1904-1905 



To the Trustees of the Field Columbian Museum : 



I have the honor to present a report of the operations of the 

 Museum for the year ending September 30, 1905. 



In some respects the year just closed has been the most im- 

 portant and interesting in the history of the institution. The con- 

 sideration by the Staff of the plans of the new building ; the acquisi- 

 tion of a large amount of valuable material from the Louisiana Pur- 

 chase Exposition, the expeditions and the several important collec- 

 tions purchased have all been factors in making the period covered 

 by the last twelve months noteworthy. The building has been 

 inspected for safety by experts appointed by the architects and 

 repaired and strengthened in accordance with their recommendations. 

 The exterior of the building has been replastered and will be repainted 

 early in the Spring. 



The Director attended the International Congress on Economics 

 and Expansion at Mons, Belgium, in September. The Convention 

 had a distinct ethnological and sociological tendency, and the pro- 

 ceedings in the more important sections were largely dominated by 

 scientific men who gave a scholarly tone to the sessions and placed 

 the records of the Congress on an academic basis. The most im- 

 portant action of the Congress as relates to the scope of the Field 

 Institution, was the adoption of a Memorial for the formation of 

 a permanent organization to be termed the International Bureau of 

 Ethnography. 



Maintenance. — The cost of maintenance for the year 1904— 1905 

 was $122,880, an increase over the previous year of approximately 

 $13,000. The excess was occasioned by an increase in the cost of 

 repairs and alterations to the building of $3,500; additions to the 

 general staff accounting for an increase in salaries of $4,000, and 

 $5,000 due to extraordinary expenses in connection with the installa- 

 tion of new material obtained chiefly from the Louisiana Purchase 

 Exposition. The total amount expended as shown by the financial 



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