Viewing page 80 of 488

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

[[preprinted]]
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 530 
[[/preprinted]]

[[preprinted left margin]]
MADE BY BAKER-VAWTER CO.
[[/preprinted left margin]]

If the payment of the annual interest on the million dollars now in the Treasury becomes a matter of specific appropriation each year, than any Appropriation Committee can reduce the appropriation, or place such limitations upon its use as may seem wise to them at the moment, and practically take out of the hands of the Board of Regents the control of the income of the fund.

In my conversation with Mr. Madden he seemed inclined to think that by inserting the annual appropriation, the people of the United States would then know exactly what the annual demands upon the Treasury are. I find on looking the matter up that all of the perpetual allotments are stated in the Book of Estimates that go to Congress, a copy of which is available to every member of Congress and to anyone seeking information from it, but it does not appear that this particular class of appropriations are made annually, which appears to be what Mr. Madden and the "efficiency" experts deem to be desirable.

I cannot but feel but that the course suggested will be practically a vote on the part of Congress of a lack of confidence in the Board of Regents, and also place the Institution in a position as a purely Government establishment sustained by an appropriation from the Government and not from the income of a trust fund accepted by the Government. If this was done it would be a great handicap in attempting to secure private funds for carrying on the work of the Institution. At present we tell any person we approach for assistance, that the Institution is entirely dependent upon private income, and that no appropriations are made for its activities by the Government except for the Annual Report which the law compels it to make to Congress. It would be practically impossible to claim that the Institution was independent of political and Congressional control if its trust fund income was handled by a Congressional Committee.

A full report is made annually of the receipts and expenditures of all funds of the Institution, and copies of this printed report are widely distributed and are available for anyone who wishes to consult it.

With the tremendous responsibilities that you now have, I have hesitated to write to you or to ask you to take any action in this matter, but it is of such vital importance to the future of the Institution that I feel it is my duty to call the attention of the members of the Board of Regents to it. Two of the House members of the Board will speak to Mr. Madden about it, and both suggested that it would be very helpful if you could say a word to him in relation to it. 
[[initialed]] CDW [[/initialed]]