House of Representatives,

Washington, D. C., July 9th, 1884.

Professor O. C. Marsh,

President of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dear Sir:

I beg leave to call your attention to the
following clause in the Sundry Civil Bill
which has just been passed by Congress:

1478 That a joint commission, consisting of three Senators,  
1479 to be appointed by the President of the Senate, and three  
1480 members of the House, to be appointed by the Speaker of  
1481 the House of Representatives, shall consider the present  
1482 organizations of the Signal Service, Geological Survey,  
1483 Coast and Geodetic Survey, and the Hydrographic Office of  
1484 the Navy Department, with the view to secure greater  
1485 efficiency and economy of administration of the public  
1486 service in said Bureaus; and said joint commission shall re-  
1487 port to their respective Houses on the third Monday in De-  
1488 cember, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, their conclu-  
1489 sions, by bill or report.

(Copy)

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

Washington, D.C., July 9th, 1884.

Professor O.C.Marsh,

President of the National Academy of Sciences,

Dear Sir:

"1478 That a joint commission, consisting of three Senators,  
1479 to be appointed by the President of the Senate, and three  
1480 members of the House, to be appointed by the Speaker of  
1481 the House of Representatives, shall consider the present  
1482 organizations of the Signal Service, Geological Survey,  
1483 Coast and Geodetic Survey, and the Hydrographic Office of  
1484 the Navy Department, with the view to secure greater  
1485 efficiency and economy of administration of the public  
1486 service in said Bureaus; and said joint commission shall re-  
1487 port to their respective Houses on the third Monday in De-  
1488 cember, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, their conclu-  
1489 sions, by bill or report."

The Members appointed under this act are

You will observe that there is involved nothing less than an
investigation of four important Branches of our Government, all
of them scientific in their character. With the exception of the
Coast Survey these Branches have taken on especial importance
only within the last few years. They have grown rapidly, and
have reached a position, where they, in some respects, impinge
one on another, in such a way as to threaten, in certain cases
a duplication of work and perhaps some waste and confusion.

The members of the Joint Commission feel that in a matter of
such importance, they should have the counsel of all men who
have special knowledge of the questions involved. They are of
the opinion that in addition to the information which the

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Departments can furnish, they should have the advice of a
committee of the National Academy of Sciences.

You are therefore requested to appoint, at your early
convenience, such a committee, whose duty it shall be to report
on the subject of the clause in the Sundry Civil Bill, already
quoted.

As a guide in this investigation, the following points are
suggested for your consideration.

First: What is the organization of the Government Surveys
and of the Signal Service in the chief countries of Europe,
and could any part of this organization be advantageously
adopted in this country?

Secondly: In what way can the scientific Branches above
referred to be best coordinated?

Thirdly: What changes in or additions to these Branches are
desirable?

Except as illustrating the general subject, it will not be
necessary for the Committee to enter in detail into the expenses
of these Branches or the number of their employes.

As the Joint Commission are directed to report on the third
Monday in December, the report of the Committee of the National

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Academy should, if possible, be ready by the first day of next
October. The report may be forwarded to me in Brookline, Mass.
By order of the Commission,