SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 
UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 
WASHINGTON, D. C. 
Z'A 
May 16, 1932. 
Dr. A. Wetmore, 
Bigelow Hotel, 
Ogden, Utah. 
Dear Dr. Wetmore: 
I have not written you since your departure from 
Washington because nothing has happened that I thought would 
interest you very greatly. Apparently, the skull of the bow- 
head whale is going to cost us approximately $600, plus the 
freight from Seattle, which Mr. Bryant indicates will not be 
very much. Captain Backhand originally indicated that he 
would bring the skull do?m for $20.00 a ton, but in vie?/ of 
later information he got on it, he wanted $25.00 per ton cubic 
measurement. He was notified that the head was 8 x 6 x 13 
feet, and in checking over we find that this measurement is 
probably wrong, a mistake that was made at the time the radio 
message was phoned to the Museum. On the receipt of the 
original message the following day, it was 20 x 8 x 6, a total 
of 960 cubic feet or on the basis of 40 cubic feet to the ton, 
would amount to 24 tons and at the rate of $25.00 per ton, the 
amount is $600.00. Mr. Kellogg indicated that this v/as a rare 
bargain, and we went ahead and closed the deal with Captain 
Backland giving him at the same time the revised estimates of 
size and asking him for a rough estimate of the cost of hauling 
it. We wanted to be sure that he ?;as figuring on the same basis 
that we were. Mr. Bryant just advised me that he has received a 
wire from the Captain estimating $600.00 as the cost, and we are 
going ahead on this basis. It may interest you in this connec¬ 
tion to know that our freight allotment is in good shape, $ 2 , 400 , 
and in view of the rarity of the'specimen, I consider it a very 
fine opportunity. 
As to appropriations, there is no news at all. The 
Senate has now formed an Economy Committee, and they are working 
entirely quietly. No one knows what they are considering beyond 
the fact that they have stopped working on appropriation bills, 
pending, I suppose, a report by their Economy Committee. The 
Senate itself is debating the tax bill. I vrould not be at all 
