El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-03-05
RENE BACHE'S BUDGET
NEW MUSEUM FOR NATION
HUGE STRUCTURE HAS COST THREE AND A HALF
MILLIONS
Covers More Ground Than Any Other Building in Wash
ington Except the Capitol Crowded With Marves
Interesting to the Pubc-How 1t Grew to Be
What It Is Today-A Temple
of Science.

Except the capitol, having an area of
400,OO0 square feet on its four floors
or, approximately. 10 acres OF white
granite, and so substantial that it might
we'll be expected to last for all time to
come, it IS almost literally walled with
glass, so that every one OF its rooms
and exhibition halls is flooded with
light
Bernard R. Green, the man who put
up the library of congress built this new
structure also; but the latter was plan
ned and worked out as an architectural
problem by Richard Rathbun. assistant
secretary OF the Smithsonian Institu-
ton. who has been in executive charge
of the old National Museum for
number of years
Mr.. Rathbun; indeed, may be said to
have grown up in the establishment.
when the great Prof. Baird, at that
time secretary of the Smithsonian in
stltution, started the enterprise which
mas since developed into the bureau of
fisheries, he took under his official
patronage a boy from Buffalo. who was
himself destined to become one of the
foremost living authorities on all sub-
Jects connected with physics and biology
OF the ocean. This was young Rat6-
DUN, who in later days assumed general
charge OF the scientific work of the
bureau, and had much to do with the
exploration and development of fishing
grounds on the Atlantic and Pacif3c
COASTS, 1t was III 1896 that he went
over to the Smithsonian. as assistant
secretary
Established in 1886.
When the Smithsonian. (richl1 en-
lowed by the natural son of an Englisb
duke was established by an act of CON
gress, IN 1876, provision was made fba4
1t should be entrusted with the custodv
OF the national collections of art and
natural history objects. Up to that time
sucn collections, which had for their
nucleus an assenIblage of cllrjosjfies
oiolsSiit PACK by the famous glo6e-encir
ing exploring expedition of Wilkes.
iliu peen housed IN the patent office.
pedltlons sent out by the Srifbso,,;a,,
ltself and from other sources also 60 !
tnat, before very long. there was neeG
OF separate building to contain ali
u 11ese Instructive and wonderful thino- I,
i nus 1T came about that congress- 49,
?ZoV,VUV, which was spent in construct
ing the National Museum. Nii' u 't''-
Department Heads.
IN TINS year there entered lIDor tho
scene three men who are still very prom |
lnently connected with the establisb-
nenI- One of them was DR. Freder;cL /;
\. true, who took charge of the nam. /
mas de is said to know more abont !
Uhat class OF animals than any other /
person IN America. His learning is en-
cyclopedle! Whales, however. are his
most particular study. Today he is head !
curator of biology-the museum being !
a qiV1aed into three great departments /
oi3r3gy, geology and anthropology.
. Inc head curator of geology is DIR |
'eorge +. Merrill. who has been con /
nected with this department of the mn
scum ever since 1881. He is a great an /.
monty on building stones and meteor !
he third man is Norwegian bv
Olrtn-Dr. Leonhard Stejneger- He came !
20 81 the United States from Norway in |
1901 and, entering the employ of the |
\ as a naturalist. was sent to !,
beTlng island and Kamtchatka to make !
corrections for the establishment. Later /
On ne was made curator of birds in the ].
and, incidentally, he made q
Trip to Alaska to dig up skeletons of /
me recently extinct Arctic sea cow-a !
huge creature weighing 5000 pounds. In