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[[preprinted]] SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 766 [[/preprinted]] [[separate page inserted over page 766]] Page 12. D. To Experiment and Explore, etc. (Continued) on which all life depends, the Smithsonian found the best place for measurement to be in the dry Chilean Andes. To set up an observatory there, it obtained funds from a friend. One of the little known areas of the world promising most valuable information on new species of plants and animals, and on primitive peoples, is Dutch New Guinea. In 1926-7, M. W. Stirling, a Smithsonian ethnologist, though without the support of the Institution which had no funds, penetrated this area where no white man had ever been before, visiting the unknown pygmies and bringing back invaluable information. E. [[underlined]]To Seek Knowledge Without Aiming at Immediate Utilities[[/underlined]]. About 1850 the Smithsonian began to encourage and assist Army officers, surveyors, travellers wherever they might be going, but especially in the newly opened West, to collect for the Museum specimens of Natural History of all kinds. The knowledge gained from the study of these collections led directly to the creation of the Bureau of Fisheries and strongly influenced investigations of the Department of Agriculture,as well as other activities which are invaluable to the country now. About 1895 Röntgen studied the discharge of electricity in gases, with no thought of application to dentistry or hospital practice. Yet X-ray diagnosis today save thousands of lives, entirely as a result of his experiments. But utilities that comfort the body are by no means the foremost aspects of knowledge. The liberation of the mind from the fetters of superstition and fear, and the substitution of interesting subjects inspiring uplifting influences of thought, in place of the drab emptiness of an existence of ignorance – these are the higher values. F. [[underlined]]To Employ and Retain Men of Genius[[/underlined]]. Institutions cannot increase knowledge by rule anymore than schools can write Shakespeare or paint Rambrandts. Men of genius there must be in all departments to guide and inspire the plodding workers. The spark of genius is rare and invaluable and must be cherished when found, if the Institution is to flourish. One member of our staff, considered among the first six in his line, is lost to the Smithsonian this year because another institution can greatly increase his compensation. The widow of a former leading scientific member of the Smithsonian staff now has to support herself in privation as a clerk, because the Institution could neither adequately compensate her husband during his life, nor provide a pension after his death. G. [[underline ]]To Publish Data Essential to Further Advances[[/underline ]]. For years meteorology has suffered from non-availability of world wide data on which to base studies. Weather records existed but they had [[/separate page inserted over page 766]]
