Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-30

| me WoPil< as Sclentlnc library
| center
Among = avn researches, includ-
ing work in r1echa meal fight. in SOAR
and terrestrial rad.ation, in Cambrian
paleontology, in Indian archaeology
| and ethno;ogy, in its study collections
in zoology and botany, and it's un-
aqualed collections of mi1era 'o%y and
Far Eastern art the Smithsonian
| stands unrivaled.
But TO get the greatest men there
must first be provided adequate means.
In the case OF the Smthvon IN Institu
ton. the disposab,e income is only
S IS 900 :, year. This inadeGunte n
come effectively prevents it from in.
viting TO Washington the men who
| could undertake the researches which
! Smithsonian prestige. Smithsonian
| laboratories and Smithson an collec-
| tions justify.
eff Washington is to realize it's OPP
portunities in the field of science, it
must increase the means for getting
and holding leading men. 1t has prac-
| tically all the other qualifications nee
essary to bring it to complete leader
ship. The Smithsonians campaign
| for an endowment of S10.000.000 is for
! the purpose of providing an income
| that will permit the wider activities
| desired
DIR. Merriam's Views Given.
I'm some respects Washington is
| unique among the great capitals of
| the world said Dr. Merriam of the
Carnegie Institution, lin that it's
| physical structure and its government
| have been planned for the specific
| purpose of giving 1t the highest pos
rible effectiveness as headquarters of
| the executive, judicial and legislative
branches of the Federal Government.
| The enormous Importance of develop
| ing fact-finding machinery within the
Government, or in other agencies
it, is manifest
washington should be the place
where the best that human intellect
| affords, and the results of age-long ac-
cumulations of social inheritance, can
| be made available quickly and easily
| for those who guide the destinies of the
| Nation, for in that guidance every
| phase of knowledge is called upon at
some time or other.
I'm connection with the operation
| of the Government, there are bureaus
established on non.partisan basis
which continue their work regardless
of the shift in political parties. They
have extremely important functions
in accommodating and interpreting data
in almost every field of knowledge.
Body OF Students Large.
In nearly every department of
science we find the body of students
in Washington relatively large COM
pared to most other centers in Amer
lea. Such agencies as the Pan-Ameri
can Union, the American Council on
Education, the Chamber of Commerce
of the United States, the Institute
of Economics, the Carnegie Endow-
rnent for International Peace, the
American Forestry Association, and
many. others l could name have
definite scientific function, inasmuch
as they conduct researches i'm their
respective fields and give the Nation
vital facts upon which to shape its
course.
Probably no other city in the
United States has SO large group
of agencies of an investigational type
focusing upon particular problems in
the fields Of economies, sociology, law,
political science, education, engineer.
ing and so forth. The result is the
making Of Washington a center of the
most advanced ideas in many fields,
and in touch with the highest ideas
In all fields
Zone of the great tasks of wash
Ast6 eRt 10 thC COnbiillllfE duvdHCG Oh ID
great group of intellectual leaders,
both those connected with the Govern
ment and others in private life, who
may assist in solving the Govern
ment's problems.
Purposes Of Institution.
"As for the Carnegie Institution.
we have available an income of nearly
81 $780, 600 annually for conducting our
activities, which may be defined broad.
~ in three ways. The first is the
formation of departments of research
to attack large problems in the realm
of the unknown requiring the col
alteration of several. investigators,
special equipment and continued eli.
fort. The second provides means
whereby individuals or groups of in.
vestigators may undertake and carry
to completion investigations requiring
less special equipment. The third aims
to provide adequate publication of the
results OF research coming from the
first two and to a. limited extent for
worthy works originating outside the
| Institution.
indicating the variety of our work
Is the department of historical re-
search. Besides the work done in
American archives a large part of the
departments work has consisted In
exploring and cataloguing the copious
materials for United States history in
foreign archives. We are doing
fundamental research in genetics.
| evolution, eugenics, plant physiology.
embryology, nutrition, terrestrial mag
netism, geology, seismology, astron-
omy, archaeology. geology and in other
| subjects.
1T is our policy to make the re-
suit of our researches ineligible
to the public as well as to inyesti-
gators in other lines than ours.
/, To this end public lectures are
. given and publications issued which
VIII diffuse the knowledge in the
widest way. For investigators and
students interested in the more
technical aspects of discoveries a large
/, number of publications are issued an
nualiy on the results of the institu.
tlon's activities. and these are dis
trlbuted in this country and abroad
to libraries and related agencies.
Some Researches Here.
! Some of these investigations are
| conferred here in Washington, such as
historical research, the department of
terrestrial magnetism and the geo.
physical laboratory, but their work
necessarily carries them far from
Washington at times. We have. for
instance, magnetic obaervatories in
Australia and Peru. while two ships
we sent out covered 364,523 miles In
a magnetic survey of the ocean areas
The Mount Y lSon Observatory in
California is doubtless one of the best
known activities of the institution.
Earthquake research is being car
ried on with results that lead us to be-
lieve that while earthquakes will con-
tinue for millions Of years, we can at
least come to understand them fully
lnnd thus avoid or IN aaf III cir lia N arn,.s,