112 AN^-UAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 191!). 
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 
The secretary presented his report of the operations of the In- 
stitution for the year ending June 30, 1918, which was accepted. 
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE USE OF THE MUSEUM BUILDINGS. 
The report of the chairman of the committee, Mr. Henry White, 
was presented by the secretary, as follows : 
November 29, 1918. 
To the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. 
Gentlemen : I submit herewith my report as chairman of the committee 
on the use of the museum buildings by the departments of the Government, 
which was created by resolution of the board of regents, adopted at the annual 
meeting of the board on December 13, 1917, as follows : 
Resolved, That there shall be a committee of the board of regents on the use 
of the National Museum buildings by the departments of the Government, and 
the erection of structures on the Smithsonian grounds, which committee shall 
act for the board with full power on all matters comprehended by this reso- 
lution. 
Resolved, That such committee shall be appointed by the chancellor, who 
shall be ex officio a member thereof. 
The chancellor appointed the following as members of the committee: Mr. 
Henry White, the chancellor, Senator Lodge, Senator Stone, Representative 
Ferris, Mr. Henderson ; the secretary of the Institution to act as secretary of 
the committee. 
The immediate occasion for the creation of the committee was the request 
of the President that certain portions of the new building for the National 
Museum be allotted to the Bureau of War Risk Insurance for administrative 
and office purposes. Prior to the meeting of the board, some 25,000 square feet 
of space had been assigned to this purpose by the secretary, whose action was 
ratified by the board. 
As urgent requests had been received for additional space, this committee 
was charged with the duty of examining into the matter and of deciding upon 
the action to be taken. 
The committee was convinced that no obstacle should be placed in the way 
of the proper conduct of the important work of the bureau, whose function is 
to provide insurance and indemnity for the enlisted men of the Army and Navy ; 
and so at meetings held from time to time additional space was allotted until 
at the close of the fiscal year, June 30, 1918, the bureau occupied 69,286 square 
feet, thus providing accommodations for over 3,000 employees of the bureau. 
The need for space continued to grow, and the President, on July 5, re- 
quested that the building be closed to the public and that all remaining ex- 
hibition space be placed at the disposal of the bureau. This was done, thereby 
making available for the use of the bureau in the basement, or ground floor, 
and in the two exhibition floors, a total of 138,600 square feet, accommodating 
between 5,000 and 6,000 of the bureau employees. Much of the expense in- 
cident to the adaptation of this space to the purposes of office and administra- 
tive work was borne by the bureau. 
In view of the action described above, the committee authorized the sec- 
retary to open to the public on Sunday afternoons, if considered desirable. 
