I^^liT I. REPORT UPON THE CONDITION AND PROGRESS OF THE U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM DURING THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1903. BY RICHARD RATHBUN, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, IN CHARGE OF THE U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM. NAT MUS 1903 1 — UPON THE CONDITION AND PROGRESS OF THE U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM DURING THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1908. Richard Rathbun, Assistant Secretary uf the Siiuthsuidaa Institution, in charge of tlic U. S. National Museum. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. Tlie United States National Museum had its origin in the act of Congress of 1846 founding the Smithsonian Institution, which made the formation of a museum one of the principal functions of the hitter, and provided that Whenever suitable arrangements can be made from time to time for their recep- tion, all ol)jects of art and of foreign and curious researcli, and all objects of natural history, plants, and geological and mineralogical specimens belonging to the United States, Avhich may be in the city of Washington, in whosesoever custody they may be, shall be delivered to such persons as may be authorized by the Board of Regents to receive them, and shall be so arranged and classified in the building erected for the Institution as best to facilitate the examination and study of them; and when- ever new specimens in natural history, geology, or mineralogy are obtained for the museum of the Institution, by exchanges of duplicate specimens, which the Regents may in then- discretion make, or by donation, which they may receive, or otherwise, the Regents shall cause such new specimens to be appropriately classed and arranged. The principal and accumulated interest of the Smithsonian fund amounted at that time to about $750,000, a sum considered ample to meet the needs of the various operations in which it was proposed that the Smithsonian Institution should engage. In 18-t6 probably not more than one or two universities or learned establishments in Amer- ica had so large an endowment, and it was apparently the idea of Congress that the fund was sufficient both for the erection of a build- ing and for the care of the collections which would be turned over to it or acquired by the national surveys, and in other ways. The Museum thus began as an integral part of the Institution, coordinate with its library, and was required b}' law to provide for the Govern- ment collections which had previously accuumlated, a duty which the 3 MUSEUM, 1903. 4 REPORT OB' NATIONAL to fulHU until 185S, when Con- Institution did not sec its way clear appropriations to aid in this purpose. uress l)eo-un to make small yearly voted that for many years the So inadeiiuate, however, were the sums to be drawn upon to insure slender income of the Institution contiiuied justly called the 'Smithsonian the maintenance of what was then Smithson fund, a Museum, since the building was paid for out of the the property of con8idera))lo portion of the collections was and still is of the offi- the Institution, through exploration and gift, and a number its expense. cials connected with the Museum were employed at into the possession of the Insti- The tir.st scientitic collection to come tution—and, in fact, it accompanied the bequest—was the small but valuable mineralogical cabinet of James Smithson, the founder, who was himself a chemist and mineralogist of repute and a Fellow of the Royal Society of London. The nucleus of the National Museum was, however, virtually acquired by the National Institute, a society organized in Washington about 1840, having for its avowed purpose the direction of the Smithson bequest and the pursuit of objects in consonance with the terms of that foundation. One of these objects was the gathering of historical and natural history specimens from both official and private sources, most prominent among the former having been the United States Exploring Expedition around the world from 1838 to 1842. Rooms in the Patent Office building were secured for the museum of the society, which was practically recognized as the appropriate place of deposit for all Gov- ermncnt collections retained in Washington. Another important serv- ice rendered b}' the society was, as the late Dr. G. Brown Goode has said, in the direction of educating public opinion "to consider the estabh'shment of such an institution worthy of the Government of the United States."' Failing, however, to secure the public recognition at which it aimed, it became inactive upon the establishment of the Smith- sonian Institution in 1846, and its charter, which expired in 1861, was not renewed. The Government collections in its possession, which came practically under the care of the Commissioner of Patents, were turned over to the Smithsonian Institution in 1858. Other material directly under the control of the National Institute remained at the Patent Office until 1862, and a part of the historical objects were held there until 1883. Previous to 1858, however, important materials for a museum were being accumulated at the Smithsonian Institution, at its own cost and through the activities of its assistant secretary, Prof. Spencer F. Baird, beginning even before his appointment to that office in 1850. The personal bent of Professor Baird was toward the collection of natural history specimens for purposes of study. With the approval of Secretary Henry he put into operation plans for the accomplish- ment of this object, which, fostered and encouraged, were soon yield- REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 5 ing regular and abundant returns. Professor Baird's own vacations were spent in field ^oi'k. Officers of the Arm}' and Nav}' and of other branches of the (rovennnent service, fishermen, fur traders, private explorers, and such powerful organizations as the Hudson's Bay Com- pany and the Western Union Telegraph Companj', were enlisted in the work and rendered valuable assistance. The influence exerted by these beginnings has been lasting and widespread, as shown in the extensi\'e natural history operations of subsequent National and vState surveys, the organization of the Fish Commission and Bureau of Eth- nology, and the support given to scientific collecting by many other bureaus of the Government. The discussion of plans for the organization of the Smithsonian Institution, which devolved upon the first Board of Regents, led, in Januar}'^, 1847, to the unanimous adoption of the following resolution expressing approval of the museum feature as one of its important functions: Resolved, That it is the intention of the act of Congress establishing the Institution, and in accordance with the design of Mr. Smithson, as expressed in his will, that one of the principal modes of executing the act and the trust is the accumulation of collections of specimens and objects of natural history and of elegant art, and the gradual formation of a library of valuable works pertaining to all dej^artments of human knowledge, to the end that a copious storehouse of materials of science, literature, and art may be provided, which shall excite and diffuse the love of learn- ing among men, and shall assist the original investigations and efforts of those who may devote themselves to the pursuit of any branch of knowledge, ^f- The policy thus announced has prevailed to the present day. In 1879, when most of the existing Government surveys, whose work included the collecting of specimens in the field, had been estab- lished. Congress deemed it important to practically reenforce the pro- visions of the act founding the Institution, in order that there might be no doubt as to the proper disposition of the material certain to 1)e derived from these various sources, by the following enactment in the sundry civil appropriation act for 1880: All collections of rocks, minerals, soils, fossils, and objects of natural history, archeology, and ethnology, made by the Coast and Interior Survey, the Geological Survey, or by any other parties for the Government of the United States, when no longer needed for investigations in progress shall be deposited in the National Museum. Although the name "National Museum" was sometimes used in the earlier reports of the Smithsonian Institution, it did not appear in an}' of the laws of Congress until 1875. Its general employment may be said to date from the time of the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1870, the first exposition in this country in which the Government participated, and the first to make known to vast numbers of the people of the United States the existence of national collections at "Report of Committee on Organization, p. 20. NATIONAL MUSEUM, 190.3. Q REPORT OF installing and exhibiting Washington, as well as new methods of from the older calnnets ot col- nniseuni materials, differing radicalb" had prevailed up to that period. Atter U«<.e or local museums, which exhibits brought back to Washington, its close the Government to the United States by private too-ether with the extensive gifts made rendered necessary the early.erec- p(M-s()ns and foreign governments, devoted entirely to musemn tion of a new and separate building, mainly provided for the purposes. Since that time Congress has remains, by the maintenance of the Museum, but its management of the Smithso- fundamental act, under the authority of the Regents Secretary, who is ex ((jjjclo nian Institution, administered through their consistent uniform the keeper—a form of government insuring a and greater policy and a nonpartisan administration of its affairs. The part of the Smithsonian building is still used for museum purposes, and the Institution, as well as most of the scientific ])ureaus at Wash- ington, cooperate, ])oth through men and material, in enlarging and caring for the national collections.