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SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION   684
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MADE BY BAKER-VAWTER CO.
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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PERMANENT COMMITTEE.

December 9, 1926

To the Board Of Regents Of the Smithsonian Institution.

Gentlemen:

Your Permanent Committee has had frequent meetings during the last year to consider questions of interest to the Institution coming under their supervision.  These matters have been fully treated in the Annual Report of the Executive Committee, upon which the Board has just acted.  It is thought, however, that it might be of interest to mention here more specifically a few of these items, as well as certain matters of importance:–

[[underlined]]Solar Radiation Researches[[/underlined]] – This work, which has been conducted under a Hodgkins Grant supplementing the Congressional appropriation for several years under the direction of Dr. C. G. Abbot, Assistant Secretary of the Institution and Director of the Astrophysical Observatory, has been steadily continued.

The National Geographic Society, appreciating the world-wide significance of this research, very generously granted, in March, 1925, the sum of $55,000 to Dr. Abbot for the purpose of installing a new solar radiation station in cooperation with those already existing at Washington, D.C., Mt.Montezuma, Chile, and Mt.Wilson and Table Mountain, in California.  After a careful survey of the available sites, the new station has been established on Mount Brukkaros, in Southwest Africa, and observations were begun there in October, 1926.

[[underlined]]Smithsonian-Chrysler Expedition[[/underlined]] – Mr. Walter P. Chrysler, of the Chrysler Corporation, very generously placed at the disposal of the Institution the sum of $50,000 to be used in connection with an expedition to Africa under the personal supervision of Dr.William M. Mann, Director of the National Zoological Park.

The Expedition returned October 26 with two express cars of animals, the remainder – those requiring to be quarantined – being left at the Army Base in Boston for two weeks when they were brought to Washington.

This ends the expedition, which brought to the Park an addition of about 1700 live animals, including a considerable number of duplicates, which are being exchanged with other zoological parks in return for specimens desired by the National Zoological Park.

[[underlined]]Freer Endowment[[/underlined]] – The Board will recall that at the time of Mr. Freer's death, the endowment for the Freer Gallery included 20,465 shares of Parke, Davis x Company's stock; and also that subsequently, this Company declared a 100p.c. dividend on its stock, but owing to the condition of the market, it has been impossible, up to 1926 to sell the stock without great sacrifice. 

Under these conditions, the Committee set aside a certain portion of the income each year as a Sinking Fund, the total of which on June 30, 1926, was $350,261.25.

During the present calendar year the Committee has sold 20,000 shares of the stock, which thus far has netted $2,054,681.38. This, when fully invested, along with smaller investments, and with the amount of the Sinking Fund, will yield an estimated income of $124,166.00.

In view of the fact that the above investments represent more than the value of the Parke Davis x Company stock at the time of Mr. Freer's death,
[[initialed]] CDW [[/initialed]]