The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1910-02-23
sM|7HSoN'S REQUEST
Origin Of the Famous Smjthso-
Man Institution.
THE CONTROL OF ITS FUNDS
Uncle Sans Treasury Holds lts Mon
~, Which Can Be Used Only on Ap.
preparation by Consress-lts Peeul.
lar Relation to the Government.

P'~P''es'S" ny Non9r0S9-ItS PecuI-
lar Relation to the Government.
Although the name Of the Smithso-
MAN institution is a common house.
hold word In America and millions
Of persons have visited the great build
ings In Washington where are stored
b contributions Of science which
have been gathered under its auspices,
few understand the real relation Of the
institution to the national government.
Most persons believe that it is a part
OF the government.
The Smithsonian institution, says the
washington Times. occupies a peculiar
relation to this government. It is q
part Of II, and yet it Is not q part. Its
moneys are in the United States treas
/ ury and can be used only on appro-
priation by congress. and yet this
money does not belong to the govern
ment. 1t is to the government only
as the money of a ward Is to a guard.
ian.
James Smithson who contributed
the bulk of thu fund in the hands Of
the institution, was an Englishman.
the son Of a peer Of the realm. He
was a man who could trace his ances-
try back to royal blood. He Wis.
tied In America and was never known
to have any particular partially for
America until he wrote his will in
1925. He died ut Genoa in 1929, and
when they opened his will this il what
they read:
II bequeathed the whole of my prop
erty to the United States Of America
to found at Washington. under the
name Of the Smithsonian institution,
an establishment for the increase and
diffusion of knowledge among men,"
This property amounted to about
100000, which was in that day a
princely fortune. Six years after his
death the United States legation at
London was informed that there was
about $5OO,0OO in the possession of the
adjutant general Of the British court
of chancery awaiting claimant.
Immediately there arose in America
all kinds of opposition to the accept.
ance of the money. John G. Calhoun
and William &. Preston urged with
all the fire of their %eloquence that it
was beneath the dignity of this gov.
eminent to accept such a gift. But
John Quincy Adams and others pre-
vailed. and Richard Rush was sent to
England to prosecute the claim of this
government,
He was successful. and on Sept. /,
1909 thn r,nnnv u,oc dn1irnrol ~ kbo
mint In Philadelphia in the shape of
TO-. 800 gold sovereigns, which were
minted into $5OS.3lS.46 in American
money.
This sum by careful management
and by additions from other charitably
Inclined persons has now become about
$1,00O,OOO. which the government keeps
tenance of the institution.
For the first eight years the money
lay in the treasury while plans were
being formulated for the permanent
establishment described by Smithson
In his will. Thousands of letters were
received. and there were schemes
enough proposed to bankrupt several
6oNNA AASACS SOA6k CSSU1Ou OCUulcu
over this fund repeatedly. and hun
dreds of pages of the Congressional
Globe were given up to it.
The institution has been worked out |
on such broad lines as to be one Of
the greatest forces in scientific re- |
search in the world.
The board of regents is composed of
the vice president Of the United States, |
the chief justice of the United States,
three United States senator's, three
representatives and six citizens of the |
United States at large.
The National museum, the weather |
bureau. the geological park at Wash.
ington. the fisheries bureau and the
a~strophysical observatory have been
developed by the institution.
The objects of the institution, as
described by its first secretary. Joseph
Henry, have been adhered to through |
the years of its existence, They are
to increase knowledge by original in.
vestigattons and study either in sci. |
ence or literature and to diffuse knowl. |
edge not only through the United
SS~SNs ~ WY 1CAV, SSRC(l0Iy Uy |
promoting an interchange of thought
among those prominent in learning in
all nations. No restriction is made
in favor Of any one branch of knowl.
edge.
The leading features of the plan Of
Professor Henry were. in his own
words:
TT assist men Of science in making
original researches, to publish them in
q series of volumes and to give a copy
Of them to every first class library in
the world"
Books. laboratory accommodations
and apparatus have been supplied to
thousands of Investigators throughout
the United States.
O~nprineipIed Wretch.
you simply cannot trust anybody
the 1a6v MN ,noi6 u,ho~ 7