Evening star., 1933-03-26
LIBRARY CREATES
GEOGRAPHY CHAIR
Trust Fund Given by James
Benjamin Wilbur to Be
Used.

DR.. Herbert Putnam, Librarian Of
Congress. has announced the creation
OF new trust fund, established by the
late James Benjamin Wilbur of Man.
chester, VT, the money to be used
mainly, by decision of the Library of
Congress Trust Fund Board. to support
chair Of geography. The sum in
volved is 100000.
Mr.. Wilbur was q member Of the
Trust Fund Board from its inception
in 1925 until his death. April 20, 1929.
He was native OF Cleveland and was
successfully railroad officer, q ranch
owner and a banker. After retiring
from business. he devoted himself to the
study Of history and was active in the
American Antiquarian, the New York
Historical and the Massachusetts, His
torical Societies.
The donation he left the Library Of
Congress was the second contribution
which he made to its work. He al
ready had given 100000 to constitute an
endowment for the acquisition Of source
material in American history
Money Left in Trust.
No formal will was prepared by Mr.
Wilbur. Instead, he left an indenture
Of trust whereby the Bankers Trust Co.,
New York, received all his personal
property, with instruction to pay an
nuities to certain individuals and to de-
Liver specified sums Of cash to certain
institutions, including the Library of
Congress. The residue Of the estate.
DR.. Putnam says, as we'll as the principal
OF each annuity eventually was to go to
the University Of Vermont "for the ed
ucation Of the youth of Vermont" pro-
Nding, however, that the university
should permanently limit its student
body to 1000 attending at any one time.
In case this condition should not be full
filled. the principal Of the various funds
was to go to the Library Of Congress
Trust Fund Board for the benefit of the
Library Of Congress.
promptly voted acceptance Of the trust
and of the condition" DR.. Putnam
states, "and asserted that it was already
being fulfilled in the College of Arts
and Sciences, which they contended the
limitation to have solely in view. Doubt
as to this and some other questions un-
der the indenture caused the Bankers
Trust Co. to arrange for an interpre-
tation of the entire instrument That
State of Vermont against the COM
pany for the collection of certain
taxes alleged to be due from the
estate. Under a decree by the chan
cellor the contention Of the trustees of
the university was upheld and all I'M
certainties about the document were
cleared. The trust company since then
has made distribution of the sums spec
n1ed in the indenture. The one to the
Library of Congress Trust Fund Board
Is in amount of 100000. Mr.. Wilbur
directed that the money should consti-
tute an endowment for a chair in the
Library Of Congress, but if no further
chair be needed, then for such other
purposes as the board may determine
Chair Already Provided.
THE donors personal interest and
enthusiasm were particularly for Ameri-
can history, but the Library already by
his generosity had a chair for that field
of knowledge. The Trust Fund Board.
therefore, has decided that $4,000 rep
resenting the standard sum for q chair,
shall be applied to chair Of geography,
associated with the conduct of the
division of maps in the Library, and
that the remaining $4,000 is to con-
stitute an endowment. of which the in
come will be applicable to the expert
treatment Of source material for Ameri-
can history, of which large quantities,
originals and reproductions, are ac-
cumulating In the division Of manu-
scripts through Mr.. Wilburs earlier
gift and through other means, including
particularly the great resource-$45O,-
goo over five-year period-due to John
D. Rockefeller, jr."
The Library now has total Of five
so-called chairs, the first four being
those of music, American history, fine
arts and aeronautics In q university"
DR.. Putnam notes, the incumbent of a
chair usually is either engaged in teach
Ing or in research. In the Library Of
Congress, however, the incumbent Is an
aide In research enterprise. His serv-
ice Is OF two kinds. He assists the Ii
Drary itself in perfecting its collections
by judicious selection Of material, and
he assists the public by helping any in
quirer in the use of the collections and
OF the photographic apparatus avail
able. In the latter relation the service
OF the holders Of the chairs Is an in
terpretative service. And the value of 1t
can be guessed when one realizes the
uncertainties OF even mature investi-
gator approaching the 100000 items
IN the Library without previous ac-
quaintance with them, or with the ap-
paratus into the language of which his
need must be translated
Col. Martin Gets Post.
DR.. Putnam indicates that the imme-
diate incumbent of the new chair of
geography will be the chief Of the d.
vision Of MAPS Col. Lawrence Martin.
"an accomplished geographer, with de-
grees from Cornell and Harvard, q va
ried experience in teaching and in field
work and in the research required in
disputes involving questions of cartog-
raphy. in the litigation of which he
has frequently been summoned as an
expert" He has been chief of the di-
vision since 1924.