Evening star., 1928-09-09

departments of the Government, with
bureaus engaged in work of scientific
character, the Capital of the Nation be-
came the seat of learning in grander,
more comprehensive, and more cosnIo-
politan way-than if its work we're con-
fined to the walls of a prescribed insti-
tuition of higher education. The Fed
eral departments fulfill many of the
agencies of postgraduate institution
pursued. Washington, as the seat of
Government, offers peculiar advantages
for the study of civics and governmental
administration. Washington" says a
brilliant writer, sis the library, the
storehouse, and at the same time the
distributing center of the Nations
knowledge and accomplishments. There
is no science, no branch of learning, no
vital feature of national life that is
not embodied in the Government at
Washington. Libraries, scientific bu-
reaus, experiment stations, laboratories,
museums, all form an essential and i'm
portant part of the Government S
equipment"
The scientific bureaus of the Federal
Government may be likened to the
schools or departments of a university
in their functions of disseminating
knowledge, though of course the
methods and the sources of material
are different. Universities impart in
formation directly to small bodies of
students; the Government scientific
bureaus make their knowledge available
to the entire public through their
printed reports, bulletins, correspond
ence, lectures and personal interviews
Congress Orders Availability.
In the year 1892 the Fifty-second
Congress passed a joint resolution Ito
encourage the establishment and en-
dowment of institutions of learning at
the National Capital by defining the
policy of the Government with refer
ence to the use of its literary and
scientific collections by students" II
was resolved that "the facilities for re.
search and illustration in the following
and any other governmental collection:
now existing or hereafter to be estab-
lished in the city of Washington fol
the promotion of knowledge shall be
accessible under such rules and restric-
tions as the officers in charge of each
collection may prescribe" ETC., to the
scientific investigators and students of
any institution of higher education now
incorporated or hereafter to be incorpo-
rated under the laws of Congress or
of the District of Columbia, to wit: a.
OF the Library of Congress; (2) of the
National Museum; 90 of the Patent
Office: a. of the Bureau of Education:
80 of the Bureau of Ethnology; (6) of
the Army Medical Museum; (O of the
Department of Agriculture; (3) of the
Bureau of Fisheries; 90 of the Botanic
Garden; U0) of the Coast and Geo
detic Survey; U1 of the Geological
Survey, and Q2) of the Naval Observa-
tory. Nine years later the foregoing
was supplemented by further resolu-
ton, approved March 8, 1901, which
extended "the facilities for study and
research in the Government depart
ments to scientific investigators and tn
duly qualified individuals, students, and
graduates of institutions of learning in
the several States and Territories, as
we'll as the District of Columbia"
The first of these acts was avowedlv
an attempt to encourage the incorpora =
ton of educational institutions In the
District of Columbia; the second. an
attempt to extend privileges to ndl-
vidual students without reference. 70
their connection with any organized
educational body.
Quotes HadIey Of Yale.
President A. T. Hadley of Yale Uni
versity. in summing up the facilities for
study and research in Washington. pub
lished in Bulletin, 1909, No. l, OF tee
United States Bureau of Education,
says:
research divide themselves into three
groups: % Facilities open to the gen.
eral public, to wit libraries ana mu-
seurns. (2) training schools for class m
str,lction in preparation for specltc de-
nartments of the Government service:
e31 laboratory facilities and personal
obstruction available to individual IN
vestioators in the various Government
offices whether these Investigators De
actually in the employ OF the Govern
ment or not" .,,. =, ~.
THE students now enrolled IN tne
various colleges and universities IN tne
National Capital, such as George!owl
University, George washington univer.
sity, American University. tne CatIloi;o TI'i;
I1riversitv of America, Howard Uni
vers;tv and other institutions of learn
inc to saw nothing of specialists who
come to the city to pursue postgraduate
investigations. are afforded unlimited
opportunities for study and research
work. such as exist in no other city IN
the United States. The Library OF Con-
gress is the great nucleus around which
revolve the educational interests OF the
CITY, for it is the repository OF the hnest
collection of books to be found any
where.
Saws President Hadley: I'm the year
1900, when the seat of Government was
established at Washington, provision
was at once made for creating Library
of Congress, under the direct control OF
the United States authorities, which
should be the best institution OF Its
kind In the Western Hemisphere. In
spite of two flres-one in 1914 and the
other in 1851-by which the collections
of books were destroyed or greatly I'M
paired. these intentions have been con-
sistently realized. The Library OF Con-
gress is not only the largest collection
of books in the country; 1t is, OF all the
large libraries in the world, the one
whose collections are made most read
ily available for the scientific investt-
gator of every grade" 1t contains
more than $500, 900 volumes under one
roof and about 100000 volumes under
It's supervision in other places. Among
this vast collection of books are thou
sands of valuable prints, engravings,
and manuscripts relating to the history
of the United States, and students are
afforded facilities for copying and re-
producing these rare treasures. BY q
system of interlibrary loans the mate
rial In the Library of Congress is actu-