American Museum of Natural History 
For some months it has been an open secret 
that friction has existed in the administration of 
the American Museum of Natural History. This 
has now been ended. Prof. Hermon C. Bumpus 
has tendered his resignation as director and, it 
is announced, has accepted the office of business 
manager for the University of Wisconsin, one 
of the great educational institutions of the 
Middle West. 
Prof. Bumpus entered the service of the 
museum as director in 1901. In many ways he 
has given the museum a most efficient direction, 
being energetic and resourceful, and introducing 
many new and valuable ideas, especially in the 
line of exhibition. The difficulties which he had 
prior to 1907 with some members of the anthro¬ 
pological staff arose in part fronf the fact that 
some of the distinguished men who composed 
that staff, such as Prof. Franz Boas, did not 
sympathize fully with the ideas and policy of the 
museum regarding popular education, and the 
arrangement and exhibition of their collections. 
This matter formed a prominent feature of Mr. 
Jesup s administrative policy. In connection 
with the resignation of several of these officers, 
personal feeling was developed which led to 
the withdrawal, not only of the scientific sup¬ 
port of these men, but of the patronage of sev¬ 
eral excellent friends of the Anthropological 
Department. There thus developed in some 
of its former friends a spirit of antagonism to 
the musetim which might have been avoided by 
the exercise of more tact and judgment. In the 
closing years of his administration, President Jesup 
was in bad health, and left matters more and more 
in the hands of the director; thus it came about 
that some of the powers', rights and duties of 
the curators as defined in the rules and regu¬ 
lations of the museum were disregarded, and the 
administration became more a personal one. On 
the other hand Dr. Bumpus made many admir¬ 
able appointments and recommendations, so that 
the staff was re-enforced by the addition of some 
of the best men in the country in various de¬ 
partments. However, the staff of the museum 
b.ecame divided into two parties, those who were 
working with the director, and those who were 
silently accepting the situation and surrendering 
some of their rights and prerogatives. 
1 he case of Curator Dean, who was promoted 
from the position in charge of fossil fishes, to 
that of full curator of fishes and reptiles, brought 
about the recent difficulty, because Curator Dean 
stood on his rights of independent judgment in 
the matter of the detailed supervision of his de¬ 
partmental affairs. The suspension of Curator 
Dean from active Service occurred during Presi¬ 
dent Osborn’s absence in the West, and brought 
up before the executive committee the question 
as to the respective rights and duties of the 
curators, with relation to the office of director, 
as well as the powers of the director with rela¬ 
tion to the president, who by the constitution of 
the museum is its administrative head. 
Curator Dean had rendered the museum ad¬ 
mirable service and was eminently qualified for 
his position, and in fact possessed exceptional 
experience and capacity for museum affairs. 
Moreover, he had never had any administrative 
difficulties either with his subordinates or su¬ 
perior officers in other institutions. The ques¬ 
tion raised by his suspension was such a large 
one that it seemed best to accept his resignation 
without further investigation during a period in 
which the internal administration of the museum 
could be carefully reconsidered by the trustees, 
and if necessary more precise definitions made 
of the duties and powers of the members of the 
staff and of the director respectively. Curator 
Dean s resignation in no way reflects upon his 
capacity, and it is likely that in the near future 
he will be the most prominent candidate for 
his former post, provided he is willing to accept 
a fresh call from the trustees. 
Pending the solution of this question it was 
deemed advisable that Direct6r Bumpus should 
also withdraw from his position, and he was 
granted a leave of absence beginning June 13. 
In the meantime the New York Zoological So¬ 
ciety generously came to the aid of the museum 
as a sister civic institution, and temporarily sur¬ 
rendered Director Charles H. Townsend, of the 
New York Aquarium, who was appointed by 
President Osborn, acting director of the 
museum, and for a period of eight months has 
filled the office with great ability and success. 
The original system of the internal adminis¬ 
tration of the museum was laid down by Prof. 
Osborn in 1901 while assistant tq the president, 
at the request of President Jesup, and forms 
the basis of the existing rules and regulations 
whereby certain clearly defined duties are as¬ 
signed to the curators, to the faculty as a repre¬ 
sentative body of curators, and to a publication 
committee, chosen from the heads of the various 
departments. This system was reinstituted with 
full force on July-i, 1910. It is working with 
entire satisfaction to the staff, and it does not 
appear probable that any material changes will 
be recommended by the investigating committee. 
No personal differences now exist within the 
walls of the institution. At the time Acting Di¬ 
rector Townsend assumed his office, it was 
clearly agreed with the New York Zoological 
Society that he should return to his duties as 
director of the Aquarium, which, under the 
energetic management of the New York Zoo¬ 
logical Society is about to enter upon a period 
of great expansion in connection with the build¬ 
ing of a monumental new Aquarium, the pre¬ 
liminary plans for which have already been pre¬ 
pared and published. 
1 he action of the board of trustees in accept¬ 
ing the resignation of Director Bumpus indicates 
their conclusion that someone can be found of 
equal ability in the line of general museum ad¬ 
ministration, who will carry forward the work 
of this great institution under President Osborn 
harmoniously, and in the best interests of science 
and the cause of popular education to which the 
museum is devoted. 
Broad plans for the enlargement of the museum 
on the zoological and geological as well as on 
the anthropological side are now before the 
trustees, as is also an elaborate report by Presi¬ 
dent Osborn on the future plan and scope of 
the institution. 1 his will soon be issued and gives 
an ideal of development for the future, embracing 
several branches of science, such as astronomy, 
oceanography and geography, which heretofore 
have not been embraced within the plans of 
natural history museums, but will become im¬ 
portant parts for the completely rounded and 
developed museum, in which is embraced not 
only animal life in all its manifold aspects, but 
the terrestrial and cosmical environment of life 
as well. Beginnings in astronomy have already 
been made under the advice of Director Bumpus, 
and have proved most interesting to the public. 
The trustees of the museum are contributing 
to the support of the various departments more 
liberdlly than ever before.. Expeditions are now 
in progress in Asia, Africa, South America, as 
well as in all parts of North America, and there 
is every reason to expect that the museum is 
entering the brightest period of its history. 
European Widgeon in Wisconsin. 
Green Bay, Wis., Jan. 18.—Editor Forest and 
Stream: Regarding European widgeon reported 
in your last issue, I may say that I killed a very 
perfect male this fall on the 23d of October, and 
that two more were killed on Green Bay this 
last season. 
During the past ten years I have killed three 
males and two females, and while a scarce duck, 
they are found here from time to time, and are 
often thought to be a hybrid by the ordinary 
hunter unacquainted with the various ducks. 
The bird I killed was a chance shot made 
after the pair of birds had passed over one blind 
too high for the gunners to shoot at. I picked 
up a big ten-gauge gun loaded with No. 2 shot 
for geese and killed the bird which fell eighty- 
eight measured yards back on the land, and 
when shot was high in the air. One No. 2 
shot had broken the neck- and one hit the body. 
As the distance was figured by the gunners in 
the other blind, it was one of Almo’s .old time 
shots, but it was not made with No. 10’s as he 
used to do. A. G. Holmes. 
London Market for Feathers. 
The London market for the importation of 
plumage for ladies’ hats is the largest in the 
world, and it is estimated that 5,000 people are 
employed in the manufacturing and other work 
incidental to this trade. The value of the im¬ 
ports is said to be seven or eight hundred thou¬ 
sand pounds ($3,500,000 to $4,000,000) a year. 
Labshanicar Laxmidas, of Junagad, India, 
under date of June 17, 1910, has addressed to 
the President of the United State a printed 
“Prayer for Mercy,” asking that the United 
States pass a law “for the protection of millions 
of birds in this country [India] from the hor¬ 
rible cruelties inseparably connected with the 
trade in live wild birds.” 
