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SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION   752
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MADE BY BAKER-VAWTER CO.
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owns the Smithsonian building and the ground it stands on, besides much other property. As in its original foundation, its initiating soul, its motivating spirit, is based on private endowment. As there seems to be general misunderstanding of this point outside the Institution, it will be well to quote from the remarks of the Chancellor, Honorable William Howard Taft, Chief Justice of the United States, delivered at the Conference on the Future of the Smithsonian Institution, February 11, 1927:-

"I must make clear, gentlemen, that the Smithsonian Institution is not, and has never been considered, a Government bureau. It is a private Institution under the guardianship of the Government. That point was clearly made in the first report of the House Judiciary Committee in 1836, when it said: 'The sum given to the United States by Mr. Smithson's will is no wise and never can become part of their revenue. They cannot claim or take it for their own benefit. They can only take it as trustees to apply to the charitable purpose for which it was intended by the donor'.

"Relying upon the permanence of the Smithsonian, generous donors have added largely to its collections, and have doubled its private unrestricted endowment. The Institution also owns the Freer Gallery and the great Freer Bequest for the promotion of studies of the Far Eastern civilization and of the appreciation of high ideals of beauty.

"It might be supposed that the mixture of private and public ownerships and functions just explained would be prejudicial. Not so. The Institution works strongly, harmoniously and influentially to the great advantage of the Government, the steady advance of science, and the wide diffusion of knowledge. The independent character of the Smithsonian organization gives it freedom of action. Government guardianship gives it security and stability. Private funds support many desirable enterprises which the rules of Government prohibit.

"That the unrestricted income, which is now about $65,000 annually, has not been greatly augmented by gifts and bequests is due to the common misconception that the Smithsonian is a Government bureau. This must be corrected. The crying need of unrestricted funds was strongly stressed 40 years ago by Secretary

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