The Dolores star., 1923-01-12

svey to the preservation of the
ords of the races which were living in the western
world when Columbus reached these shores The
great problems to which it is dedicated include the
unveiIing of the mystery of the origin of the
called Red men themselves 1t is within the range
of possibility in the opinion of George C. Heye.
the founder and the director Of the museum that
this goal may be reached.
The investigation which the Institution is car
rying on is based not mere theorizng, but on
patient analysis of all the facts and factors. For
this reason students and scholars and enthusiasts
everywhere are invited to study the many thou
sands of objects, for only by careful comparisons
and the tracing of condolences can any progress
be made. The relatively small staff of the museum
Is colating its stores of information in the inter
ests of all those Of inquiring minds The public
is welcomed to view the collections as a means
of recreation and education. while the same
time the quest for the secret of origins proceeds
The building of the Museum of the American In
dian is situated in Broadway at One Hundred
and Ffty-ffth street, in close proximity to the
museums of the Hispanic society and of the Amer
lean Numismatc society and the quarters of the
American Geographic society The rearing of the
whole important group due primarily to the
zeal of Archer NJ. Huntington, who gave the site
for the Museum of the American Indian and as
one of its trustees gave literally to its building
fund.
In appearance. the structure is like that of the
Others of the group-a dignifed and massive Ionic
is the style Of architecture. The material is In
dian limestone and the construction Is absolutely
hreproOf. The museum Is four stories high and
occupies site 50 by 12J feet. As there is light
from three sides, and the windows are especially
large, the collections in ordinary weather can be
examined without the aid of artificial illumination
The specimens shown on three floors and
at the top of the building is a COmnOdous work
room given to the cleaning and preparation of the
collections for display. The office of the director
Is TO the right on the first floor also the
quarters of the scientific staff. To the left are
administrative offices of various kinds
Although this museum is devoted to deIvIng into
the past, it is in every way conducted in accord
ance with the principles of modern business eff
cheney. The installations are in the latest types
of cases, and many of the old time theories of
museum arrangement have been abandoned Ii is
manifestly impossible show any great number
of the objects at once. for already the storage
vaults in the basement are filed and many of the
bulky specimens which cannot be shown at pres
ent, are housed in another building in St Nicholas
avenue, which is almost as large as the rnusau,n
itself.
Some exponents of visual education have sup
gested that all specimens should be so placed thar
they may be actually handled by the visitors This
is manifestly impossible in dealing with specimens
which are all valuable evidences of the origins of
races but in the Museum of the American Indian
there is a novel system of installation intr,lpced
for the first rme in the United States throug,
which the public what is not in view and
that without asking for it.
phdef many cases, thefe are drawers which the
visitors may pull out and look through the glass
tops of these containers at objects which are ar
ranged according to the general scheme followed
I'm the visible installations. The students and the
research nvestiga tors also have access to the COL
lections in storage, all of which have been syste
matcaly catalogued by the director himself There
is not bit of bone potsllerd in the whole in
stitutiOn which cannot be Instantly found for pur
poses of comparison and research, so efficiently
has the museum been arranged for the purpose Of
making its treasures available for the use of the
seekers after truth.
IT, for example, should come in with
a fanCful theory that the Australian bushmen and
the American Indians had some relationships be-
cause both used boomerangs he would see that