Evening star., 1926-10-23
RY G. w. KERNODLE. NJ. ID.


guished chemist of England, made
his will. naming the United State!
of America as trustee of his fortune
more than half a million dollars, "tt
found an establishment for the in
crease and diffusion of knowledge
among men,"
1t would be interesting to know
just why he did this great thing. i
may be that, in the work his hand:
had found to do, he was greatly
handicapped on account of the lacl
of equipment and facilities and fel
the need of data and information
he did not have and could not get
in order to expedite his undertakings
To be able to appreciate this point
we have only to contemplate the
crude apparatus with which scien
fists had to work 100 years ago and
the scant records of observations
made and facts determined by scien-
lists and investigators.
Or it may be that he was a prophet
and. standing at the threshold OF
what he saw as a great opportunity
along the line of his endeavors, de-
cided to provide for his successors
means to carry on" where he soon
would have to leave off. Anyhow, he
must have had a broad vision OF
things possible. a strong faith in the
young Republic, regarded at thai
time as an uncertain experiment, and
an unusual appreciation of knowl-
edge
Little knowledge Classified.
When Smithson was in his prime
little of the worlds knowledge had
hQon ola fiad intn irI Coi-
ences. Back of that time it was the
ambition of scholars to cover the
entire field of knowledge, as illus
trated by Francis Bacon in his mo
yum Organum," essays and Shake
spearean plays. Before the invention
and use of modern instruments and
appliances and the discovery and ap-
plication of scientific methods, the
schooling Of the race was at the
hand, largely, of experience-a hard
master and expensive teacher.
The scientific discoveries and won
derful inventions, within the last 10C
years, would have staggered the
imaginationS of Bacon and Smithson
though Bacon, in his New Atlantis, u
did portray a partial vision of much
that is in evidence around the Smith
sonian Institution. No other institu-
ton has done as much to increase
and diffuse knowledge as the Smith
sonian. Through it's service many OF
our Government bureaus have been
established. technical schools, colleges
and universities have been very much
aided and other countries have been
greatly benefited.
While SmithSon deserves all honor
in the establishment of the institution
which bears his name, a lasting monu-
ment to his memory, the growth and
development of the Smithsonian has
been due, in no small degree. to the
wisdom. forethought and effort OF
Joseph Henry, it's first secretary, ap-
pointed by Congress in 1916, who
planned the institution and devoted
his life to promoting it's operations
in it's early history.
Opportunity Needed.
Henry needed just such an oppor-
tunity to exercise his inventive genius
and demonstrate his organizing abil-
ity. He it was who laid the founda-
tions of many of our Government
bureaus, and under his management
and the management of his success
sors the Smithsonian Institution has
become a great clearing house" of
facts and information throughout the
world. The observations, experiments
and investigations made, the collec-
ton and exhibition of objects and
specimens, and the questions answer
ed. are almost beyond comprehension
BY means of publications. correspond
ence, the collection and distribution of
scientific papers, every group of or
ganized thinkers is or may be reached
Eighty years ago Joseph Henry in
itiated Investigations which resulted
in the establishment of the United
States Weather Bureau. He organ
iZed volunteer weather observers
throughout the country. supplied
them, where necessary, with instru-
ments and conscripted the telegraph
to collect data from them daily. When
military expeditions and railroads be-
gan opening up the West. scientific
staffs of these enterprises were or
ganized into geologists, botanists
biologists and ethnologists. In this
way the Smithsonian primarily made
this continents resources available to
science and scientific development
and preserved records of their primi-
tive state for posterity.
Ten Million Specimens.
This service graduated into the
United States Geological Survey and
the United States National Museum
with more than 100000 specimens
covering almost the entire field of
human interests, and the Bureau of
American Ethnology, which has pre-
served what is known of the Ameri
can Indians. The end of the last cen
tury saw that many of the larger wild
animals of our continent were being
hunted almost to the point of extinc-
tion. To assist in preserving them
the Smithsonian Institution organized
what later became the National
Geological Park, which serves as an
educational factor in displaying wild
animals from all parts Of the world
From the pioneering activities OF
the second secretary of the Smithso
nian, Spencer r. Baird in the study of
food, fishes and river, and ocear
products, sprang the United States
Fish Commission, now under the De
partment of Commerce. The ocean
and our bays, lakes and rivers fur
nish nearly 100000 pounds OF
fish year to the United States ant
Alaska alone, besides other products
Some of the finest and toughest
from fish scales is obtained an es
sence which enters into the manu-
facture Of artificial pearls. and from
fish scrap is obtained thousands and
thousands of tons of fertilizer. All OF
this is a gift of nature without much
thought or consideration and as three
fourths of the earth's surface is GOV
tired with water, there will continue tC
be, most likely, as there has been. ar
abundant supply. though contamina
ton OF our land streams, sin and a
shame. is destroying and driving fish
from many of our creeks and rivers
Exhaustive Research Planned.
Notwithstanding the importance OF
these products. no comprehensive, co
ordinated study of oceans, bays. lakes
and rivers has been completed. With