UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 
ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY 
NATIONAL AIR MUSEUM 
NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK 
NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART 
NATIONAL COLLECTION OF FINE ARTS 
FREER GALLERY OF ART 
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE SERVICE 
CANAL ZONE BIOLOGICAL AREA 
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 
VIA ATR MAIL 
May 28 , 1953 
Dr. A. Wetmore 
Sona, Veraguas 
Republic of Panama 
Dear Alex: 
I was very glad to get your letter and to learn that you are well 
established in the field and going strong. I've seen the Stirlings 
several times since they returned, and while they had a very satis¬ 
factory season from some points of view, the big job, - that in Madden 
Lake, was untouchable owing to the high water level. This, of course, 
was a great disappointment. 
I have had^a few letters from some of the BCI "Alumni” - some 
with rather veiled criticism of the way the Island is run, and one has 
come out pretty aggressively in favor of some rather drastic changes 
in management. The latter even suggested a change of Ratibore Hartman 
for Chichi. Apparently Chichi has put several noses out of joint by 
his techniques. I think you know Ratibore very well and were highly 
impressed by him, but does he possess the knowledge to run the electric 
plant, repair the boats, and do those thousands of jobs that require 
more than just woodsman experience? Also, Chichi has very fine 
relations with the PanCan people and has obtained much material as a 
gift or at a very low price, - all adding up, I should say, to a 
considerable saving over the years. 'Whoever is on the Island day in 
and day out cannot also be popular with all of the scientists because 
he has to say "no" to unreasonable demands. If every scientist could 
do as he pleased, I feel certain that the situation would soon become 
much worse than it could possibly be now even under the worst conditions. 
I hope we can have a meeting of a small group in Washington sometime 
this summer to discuss ways and means of financing the place properly. 
This would also give them a chance to blow off a little steam on their 
own personal gripes, which would suit me all ri^t, - we might as well 
get it out in the open. 
The Arthur Lecture went off very well, good crowd, and an excellent 
speech by Mees of Eastman Kodak. Arch Wenley inaugurated a policy of 
opening Friday from two p.m. to 10 p.m. The first opening under this 
plan occurred last Tuesday. He gave a dinner in the Freer to some 20 
