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INDEPENDENT OFFICES APPROPRIATION BILL, 194 7

(The justification is as follows:)

JUSTIFICA'l'ION OF 1947 REQUEST

Expenditures, 1945 $1, 222, 704

Appropriation, 1946 1, (>r.4, (l61

Supplemental appropriation, 1946 47, 0(X)

Federal Pay Act, 1946 246, 082

Total, annual and supplemental appropriation, 1946 1, 347,143

Deduction of overtime and other nonrecurring items 92, 070

Base for 1947 1,255,073

Increases for 1947:

40-hour week (Public Law 106) 74,676

Reemployment of veterans and other employees returning from

war service 52, 687

New positions 76,476

1946 in-grade promotions on annual basis 5, 78S

Other obligations 32,100

Estimate, 1947 1, 496, 800

Summary of increases and decreases by projects

(1) National Museum

(2) Astrophysical Ob?ervation

(3) Bureau American Ethnology^

(4) National Collection Fine Arts

(5) International exchanges

(6) General administration

(7) Service Division...

(8) Maintenance and operation...

(9) Printing and binding-.

3ase for 1946

$383, 514

51,039

53,1)99

16, 030

1 68, 492

44. 927

102, 764

451, 393

88, 500

Base for 1947

$167, 204 66,124 .59, 719 29,160 .59. 923 .52,414 118,861 551,011 88, 500

1 Includes supplemental appropriation for 1946 ($47,000).

2 Deducted in base for 1947.

For 1947 the increase in personnel requested by the Smithi^onian Institution can be divided into three classes as follows: (1) 43.7 man-years ($74,676) to place the agency's 24 hour-a-day and fixed-duty custodial staff on the 40-hoiir week; (2) 17.1 man-years ($52,687) for reemployment of veterans and other employees returning from war service; (3) 30 man-years ($76,476) for new positions to cope with our ever-increasing backlogs of work. The remaining increases include $5,788 to place 1946 in-grade promotions on an annual basis, and $32,100 for other obligations, mostly supplies, materials, and ofpiipment. The total amount requested for 1947 for other obligations is still about one-third less than the amount appropriated for that purpose in 1931; while recent increases in prices still further reduce the quantity of goods and services which may be purchased with available funds.

The major research programs planned to be undertaken by the several bureaus of the Institution in 1947 are described below.

(1) The United States National Museum is now the greatest depository of natural science study collections in the world due to damage and destruction of other national collections by war. These collections constitute the original source material for fundamental studies relating to man and nature. What these collections hold in new scientific knowledge useful to mankind nuist be developed steadily from the unknown to the known. For example, methods are continually being developed for preventing epidemics through knowledge of the life hi.stories of mammal and insect carriers of human diseases. Studies of fossils, rocks, and minerals continue to lay bare the earth's underground structures and the means of location and detection of new bodies of natural gas, petroleum, and ores for industry. In such work it is necessary to know the nature and the kinds of animals, plants, rocks and materials that are concerned. Only through improved arrangement, classification, and study of our national collections can

further benefits or dangers, now unknown, continue to be brought to light. Studies of the ethnology, art, engineering and industrial collections are being continued to increase knowledge of the history and progress of our material civilization. By direct contact, by correspondence and by publication, this knowledge is transmitted to educational institutions and teachers, publishers and private research workers, and thus is made available.

At the present time there is a backlog of about 500 man-years in classifying and recording incoming specimens, a task preliminary to their study and utilization in the development of useful knowledge. Other backlogs of work for which estimates are to be presented in subsequent fiscal years include (1) improved preservation of the collections, (2) extension of basic research to develop new knowledge, (3) the modernization of the present array of exhibits in accordance with the latest museum techniques and to coincide with new approaches to the teaching of science, and (4) establishment of a systematic educational program to meet the needs of the tens of thousands of school children and the great numbers of students, scholars, and the general public who come annually from all over the United States.

For the National Museum, the following additional funds are requested:

Personal services $76, 490

Other obligations 7, 200

Total 83,690

The sum of $76,490 for personal services includes $2,167 for payment of 1946 promotions on a full-year basis in 1947, and $74,323 for 23.7 additional man-years, the latter being explained in detail below.

There is requested for the Division of Physical Anthropology one P-3 curator, $3,860. This Division has one of the world's most extensive collections of human skeletal material (37,208 specimens, mainly of ancient man). It has 3 positions (one P-5, one CAF-4, and SP-2). The additional position is requested because only the bare essentials of cataloging these specimens have been accomplished, while their scientific study is greatly impeded, since a systematic arrangement of the material has yet to be done. Important phases of this work are the tracing of pathological lesions in the skeletal material in order to establish the history of disease, thereby aiding modern medical research in its efforts better to understand those diseases, and identification of human bones for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This is the restoration of a veteran's position.

There are requested for the Division of Ethnology (195,238 specimens) restoration of the position of one P-3 curator, $3,640; one scientific aid, SP-6, $2,320; and one skilled laborer, CPC-3, $1,572. This Division has 3 positions (one, P-5, one P-2, one CAF-4). Restoration of the curator position is required to resume the study and preservation of an enormous quantity of perishable material which has been postponed during the war period. There is also a very large backlog of work to be done on field reports and on descriptive material on the ethnology collection, in addition to the need for improvements in iDublic exhibitions. The scientific aide is required to assist tlie associate curator in processing an accumulation of diverse specimens, the restoration and preservation of the entire collection, and in cataloging the specimens. The laborer is required to assist in cleaning, treating, numbering, and placing specimens in their repositories and to aid in handling bulky and heavy objects.

There is requested for the Division of Archeology (486,887 specimens) a P-3 curator, $3,340. This Division has 5 positions (one P-5, one P^, one SP-6, one SP-2, one CAF^). The curator position is required to assist in the work on a 7% man-year backlog of classification, preservation, and cataloging of collections received from Alaska and from 24 States in the Union.

There is requested for the Division of Fishes (1,300,000 specimens) one P-3 curator, $3,640. This Division has three positions (one P-5, one CAF-4, one CPC-3). The curator position is required to keep the cataloging and classifying of specimens from falling further behind, which it is now doing at the rate of 6,500 specimens per annum. The cumulative backlog includes 372,000 specimens incompletely cataloged and classified and 600.000 incompletely identified. The work of this Division is extremely valuable as it constitutes an indispensable basic service to our Federal and State fishery agencies and to our commercial fishermen.

There are requested for the Division of Plants a P-5 curator, $5,180, and a scientific aid, SP-5, $2,100. This Division has seven positions (one P-5, one P^, three P-2, one CAF-4, one CPC-2). During the war the grass herbarium (250,000

specimens), which is part of the Division of Plants and which is the greatest grass collection in the world, has been supervised by a retired scientist without compensation. This collection is of great economic importance to the United States in that it is the source of all basic information on grasses in connection with investigations of hay, pasture, and soil-holding and soil-conserving plants. A replacement for the retired employee is an absolute necessity. The scientific aid is needed to reduce a backlog of 30,000 unmounted specimens, to repair accessioned specimens, and to maintain records.

There are requested for the Division of Marine Invertebrates one P-.! curator, $5,180, and one P-3 curator, $3,640. Both iX)sitions constitute restorations of positions which were abolished during the war period. At the present time the Division has only four positions (one P^, one P-1. one CAF—4, one CPC-3) to handle over 1,050,000 specimens in the collection. Over 7(X),000 specimens have yet to be identified and cataloged, while 500,000 are incompletely classified. Requested identifications, totaling 2,297, were made in 1945, but only about 60 percent of the annual requests can be acted upon. Requests for identifications are made by the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, State fish commissions, commercial fishery corporations, and foreign governments. This work is (^■f great importance to nur commercial fisheries becau.se the fish, crab, and shrimp industries are dependent upon technical information concerning the character and abundance of the marine life in our coastal waters.

There are requested for the Division of Insects (5,642.448 specimens) a P-3 curator, $8,640; one scientific aide, SP-4, $1,902; and one laborer, CPC-3, $1,572. At the present time there are four positions in the Division (one P-5, one P-3, one SP-5, one CAF-4). The Division has a huge backlog of preparatorial work involving 5,000 specimens incompletely cataloged and classified, 100.000 incompletely classified, and 2,000,000 incompletely identified, for which the curator is requested. The scientific aid is I'equested for sorting, mounting, arranging, and repairing great quantities of insects now stored in boxes awaiting incorporation into the collection. A laborer is required to care for annual increments to the collection, requiring the preparation of 10,000 cardboard trays per anmun; the checking of the collection and replacing of naphthalene as required; and assistance in packaging specimens for outgoing shipments, unwi-apping and sorting incoming shipments, and maintaining the Division's supply needs.

There is requested for the Division of Vertebrate Paleontology (29,000 specimens) the restoration of a veteran's position of P-4 curator, $4,300. abolished during the war period. There are at present five employees in this division (one P-5, one SP-7, one SP-6, one SP-4, one CAF-4). The work of the division is organized in two sections, one for manunals and one for reptiles. The curator in charge of the division is also chief of the section of reptiles (10,000 specimens), and the position is requested to be restored is to direct the work involving mammals. There are 19.000 specimens in the collection of mammals without anyone assigned thereto at the present time to supervise the identification, preservation, and exhibition of them.

There are reque.sted for the Division of Invertebrate Paleontology (2,500,000 specimens) one P-4 curator, $4,300; one P-3 ciarator. .$3,(540; and one scientific aid. SP-3, $1,704. The division at present has one P-5 curator and one clerk (CAF-4. The P-4 curator requested constitutes restoration of a position abolished during the war period, while the P-3 curator is a new position. Both positions are required because of this division's collections. 1.875.(H^»0 specimens await pi'eliminary cataloging and classifying. The lack of identification of these specimens which are the index to geological formations, diminishes the probabilities of new discoveries and retards development of new sources of oil, gas. coal, ores, and other minerals. This backlog particularly concerns the invertebrate fossil collection from Alaska which covers all the geological ages from the beginning of the formation of the earth to the present time, and is of basic importance to the economic future of that territory. The ix)sition of scientific aid also constitutes a new position, which is required in connection with preparing specimens for study and for sorting, cataloging, numbering, and ticketing specimens. There is requested for the Division of Mineralogy and Petrology (250,000 specimens) one laborer, CPC-3, $1,572. The division has four positions (one P-5. one P-4, one SP-6. one CAF-4). The laborer position is required to clean laboratory equipment, (make up supplies of simple reagents, and dust and clean collections, both those for study and those on exhibitions. At the present time,.

the scientific staff has to perform these low-grade but essential duties to the detriment of their professional work.

There are requested for the Division of Engineering (17,500 specimens) one P-5 curator, $6,020 (restoration of veteran's position) ; one P-3 curator, $3,640 (new); and one laborer, CPO-3, $1,572 (new). The division has one P-3 ■curator and two scientific aides, SP-6 and SP-4, respectively. Due to the absence in the war of the former division chief, very large bacldogs of work have resulted, including cataloging and classifying materials, preparing exhibits, and scientific research. The restoration of the division chief position and the adding of a new curator position are, therefore essential to bring tliis back work under some control. The laborer is required to assist in installing, inspecting, and preserving the collections, and cleaning and maintaining exhibits.

There are requested for the Division of Grafts and Industries (77,000 specimens) one P-3 curator, $3,640; one clerk-stenographer, CAF-4, $2,100; one scientific aide SP-4, $1,902; and one laborer, CPC-3, $1,572. The division staff now consists of one P-5 curator, one P-4 curator, one P-2 curator, and two scientific aides. SP-6 and SP-5, respectively. The P-3 curator constitutes a restoration of a position abolished during the war period. The position is Chief of the Chemical Industries Section (23,0C0 specimens), which includes the original type and file specimens of tlae earliest United States patents granted for synthetic and organic chemicals. The large backlog of work due to the loss of this employee during • the war requires that the position be restored as soon as possible. The clerk-stenographer is required to prepare letters, reports, and manuscripts, to assist in the accessioning and cataloging, and to maintain the division and library records. At the present time there is no clerk-stenographer available to the division. The scientific aide is requested for the preparation and preservation of the collection of woods. Knowledge of woods is of prime importance because of their wide use in industry. Wood identification heretofore has been greatly hampered because •of the lack of manpower to prepare standard study specimens from log sections, a technical task. There is a backlog of 2,000 log sections from various Latin-American countries alone which represents two man-years of work. In addition, the aide would be engaged in cataloging and preserving the collection. The laborer is required for the installation or alteration of exhibits, the opening and closing of exhibition cases, the preservation of existing collections, and inspecting and systematically cleaning and maintaining the collections.

The sum of $1,200 for travel expenses is to permit staff of the departments of geology, anthropology, and biology to travel in this country on field trips to study the fauna, flora, geology, and anthropology of designated localities and to increase the collections. This type of travel was discontinued during the war period, and it is imperative to resume this work, which is fundamental to the increase of knowledge. The sum of $1,0C0 for other contractual services is for mounting plants, tanning skins, cleaning skeletons, and preparing technical manuscripts by recognized authorities. This contract work, during the war years, has been reduced almost to nothing and has fallen very much in arrears. The sum of $2,0C0 for supplies is to replace stocks which have become almost exhausted because of lack of funds. These include stationery, paper for mounting plants, chemicals, fumigants, and specimen preservatives. The amount of $3,000 for equipment is for scientific equipment such as microscopes, binoculars, a power drill, a diamond saw, for books, and for the replacement of a truck which is used on field trips taken by members of the staff. This truck is a 1938 Chevrolet, has gone 66,000 miles, has had repairs totaling over $200, and would require considerable additional expenditure to put it in shape to run another year.

(2) The Astrophysical Observatory investigates solar phenomena and makes such data available to meteorologists and physicists throughout the world. From three solar stations, in California, New Mexico, and Chile, observations are . obtained of the quantity and quality of radiation emitted by the sun, thus producing a continuous record of the changes in solar radiation. This record is fundamental to all research concerned with the effects of sunlight on plants, animals and various terrestrial phenomena. For example, from the pioneering and continuing exploration and mapping of the infra-red spectrum, there has grown the present day use of infra-red radiation in the medical field. In pro-tography, and in communication devices. Again, our studies of the effects of light radiation on military fabrics, now under way, will find application to civilian textiles. Furthermore, our fundamental studies of the influence of light on the formaton of food of plants, and on the growth of organisms, will find future application in agriculture, forestry, medicine, and public health.

For the Astrophysical Observatorj", the following additional funds are requested :

Personal services $11, 085

Other obligations . 4, 000

Total 15.085

The sum of $11,085 for personal servit^es includes $310 for payment of 1946 promotions on a full-year basis in 1947, and $10,775 for the restoration of four positions dropped on account of the war.

The restoration of the position of a pliysicist is requested to resume the development of spectro.scopic and other radiation measuring devices, essential to advance research in the basic mechanisms and sti'ucture of plants and animals. The restoration of thi-ee assistant observers, one of whom is a veteran, is required to relieve the observers at the field observatories in the liigh altitudes of Chile, New Mexico, and southern (?'alifornia. During the war, tlie assistant positions were vacated and the observers had to work from sunrise to sunset to carry on continuous observations and recordings of sunlight.

The sum of $l,f 00 for other contractual services is for repair and rehabilitation work and contract hauling of supplies at the field observatories. The sum of $1,500 for supplies includes metals, glass, plastics, and other scientific supplies for mnking special types of equipment, which are required to carry on studies in solar radiation. Two men are engaged throughout the year in making this special equipment, the supplies for which are almost exhausted. The sum of $1,500 for equipment includes galvanometers, rheostats, resistance boxes, standard cells, a potentiometer, electric oven, centrifuge, and other scientific equipment indispensable to the study of radiation.

(3) The Bureau of American Ethnology continues to develop for intensive study and utilization its tremendous store of information on early American civilizations, the earliest of which go back thousands of years, some comparing favorably in many aspects with the ancient civilizations of Egypt and the Near East. This wealth of basic material covers the prehistory, historv, native arts, crafts, institutions, and social customs of the original Americans. In this hemisphere in a large body of agricultural scientists, irrigation engineers, and technologists, numerous textbook writers, the sorMal science faculties of several hundred colleges and universities, and thousands of lay persons interested in the oi'igins of their localities and surrounding regions, are constantly enlarging their demands for this new knowledge of the original peoples and civilizations of the Americas, heretofore a limited field of .specialized research. Furthermore, large numbers of anthropologists are utilizing this information to reconstruct in greater and greater detail the American civilizations of the past in order to learn how the earliest Americans originated, developed, and i)rospered in a previously uninhabited hemisphere. These studies in turn are ilisclosing how the earliest Americans came to adapt themselves successfully to environmental extremes, devised ingenious ways and means to facilitate the art of living, developed industry and trade, and contimially effected successful adjustmonts in their social, economic, and political institutions in ther intertribal relations. In addition, these studies are contributing to the development of Improved techniques for the promotions and protection of agriculture, irrigation, the industrial arts, and public health, and new procedures for improving race relationships and the administration of national minorities, all of which are of increasing significance to the agronomy, technology, medical science, and governments of the Americas.

For the Bureau of American Ethnology, the following additional funds are requested:

Personal services $4,120

Other obligations 2, 500

Total 6,620

The sum of $4,120 for i)ersonal services include.s $227 for payment of 1946 promotions on a full-year basis in 1947, and $3,893 for a photographer (CAF-4) and a clerk (CAF-2).

The photographer is needed to restore and preserve the priceless collection of original negntives of Indians and old Indian days in the West made by such famous early American photographers as Jackson, Hiller, and Brady. The

work load involved is estimated to be over 5 man-years. The restoration of the clerk position is requested to reemploy a veteran to cope vpith the backlog of work in the Bureau's library section which has piled up in his absence. The sum of $500 for travel is required to permit the staff: to resume its field investigations in Colorado, New Mexico, and Alaska. The sum of $400 for other contractual services is for services incidental to the conduct of its field investigations. The sum of $800 for equipment is to replace a typewriter, a bookcase, a filing cabinet, books, tents, beds, c'amping equipment, and field tools. The sum of $800 for supplies includes stationery and sundry office supplies, the stocks on hand being very low.

(4) The National Collection of Fine Arts, which embraces the Freer Gallery of Art, is responsible for the custody and exhibition of many notable examples of far eastern, near eastern, European, and American art, including paintings, sculpture, miniatures, ceramics, glassware, and jewelry which stimulate and satisfy the public interest in the fine arts. In addition through special exhibitions it sponsors the woi'k of contemporary artists of the Americas. The availability for education and publication of great quantities of illustrative and research material, embracing the world of art and its history, is of immeasurable value not only to the Nation's cultural institutions but also to the printing, publishing, and photographic industries. The expansion in the postwar period of this activity is inevitable and requires additional funds to provide not only for this public service but also to honor the Government's pledged word to former donors to preserve for future generations the millions of dollars worth of art objects committed to it by public-spirited private citizens.

For the National Collection of Fine Arts the following additional funds are requested:

Personal services $11, 830

Other obligations 1, 300

Total , 13,130

The sum of $11,830 for personal services includes $48 for payment of 1946 promotions on a full-year basis in 1947, and $11,782 for three positions : 0.8 Director, $5,915; 1 P-4 curator, $3,942; and 1 SP-5 scientific aide, $1,925.

Since July 1, 1932, the position of Director of the National Collection of Fine Arts has been occupied on a part-time basis by the curator of graphic arts in the National Museum. Both activities have suffered administratively under this arrangement, while at the same time large and notable additions have been made to the National Collection of Fine Arts, thus greatly increasing the responsibility of the Acting Director. In 1932 the collection included 2,700 objects of art, while today it has approximately 5,700 items. At the same time, the graphic arts collection in the National Museum has increased by more than 10,000 specimens. Both of these increments constitute small museums in themselves, and each requires the full-time services of a professional man.

The supervisory and custodial work of the National Collection of Fine Arts, however, has increased to such an extent that it will require not only a full-time director but also a curator to serve as a professional assistant. For example, nearly 1,600 persons interested in the fine arts called at the office for special information in 1945, over 600 letters were sent out, 225 specimens received for identification, and 8 special exhibitions were held. The scientific aide is required to arrange, record, clean, and preserve paintings and other art objects, many of which have to be located in the corridors and offices for lack of exhibition and storage space. The sum of $100 for travel is required to permit the Director to visit prospective donors to determine whether or not the Institution cares to accept contemplated gifts of objects of art. The item of $1,000 for supplies is principally for filing supplies, monk's cloth for exhibits, and light bulbs. The unit's stock of supplies is almost exhausted. The item of $200 is to replace one typewriter and procure three additional filing cabinets.

(5) The International Exchange Service, which in accordance with the terms of the Treaty of Brussels is responsible for the interchange of published information with foreign governments, institutions, and investigators, will at the beginning of 1947 have on hand and awaiting shipment from various parts of the country, 1,057,000 packages of publications to be forwarded abroad. During 1947, it is estimated that 700.000 additional packages of publications will accumulate for shipment abroad. While no additional funds are requested for 1947, in view of the contemplated approval in Congress of a supplemental appropriation for

this purpose in 1946, continuation of tlie service in 1947 at approximately the 1946 rate is requiretl, not only because of the need for compliance with the terms of the treaty, but also in order to collaborate with the State Department's cultural and informational divisions and scientific agencies abroad in the furtherance of international cultural relations, peace, and good will.

(6) For general administration the following additional funds are requested:

Personal services ?3, 887

Other obligations 4,100

TotaJ 7,487

The sum of $3,387 for personal services includes $77 for payment of 1946 promotions on a full-year basis in 1947, and $3,310 for an assistant (CAF-8) to the Assistant Secretary responsible for budget work.

The assistant is requested to handle the details in connection with the preparation, execution and control of the Institution's budget. All budget work is done at present by officers and clerks at an extra part-time job. The sum of $3,000 i'or i)enalty mail is based on an estimated numl)er of 332,0(X) packages at $15 per thousand. The total number of packages was liroken down as follows: 3,000 for administrative purposes; 80,000 for informational purposes; and 249,000 in connection with operations, principally for International Exchange Sers'ice. The supply item of $400 is for additional stationery, and sundry otiice supplies, the stocks on hand being almost exhausted. The equipment item of $700 is to replace three typewriters, five wooden filing cases, eight ancient office chairs, and a desk.

(7) For the Service Division the following additional funds are requested:

Personal services $16, 097

Other obligations 0

Total 16,097

The sum of $16,097 for personal services includes $647 for payment of 1946 promotions on a full-year basis in 1947 and $lo,450 for additional i>ersonal services explained below.

There is requested $1,902 for a clerk-stenographer (CAF-8) to assist in the personnel office. The present staff consists of a personnel officer (CAF-8), a i)er-sonnel a.ssistant (CAF-5), and a clerk-typist (CAF-3) to serve an organization totaling 507 permanent employees. The great increase in personnel work under recent legislation makes it imperative that an additional employee be granted to this section.

There are requested eight additional positions for the libraiT, $2,320 for a professional cataloger (P-1), $2,320 for one accessions assistant (P-1), $1,704 for one cataloger (SP-3), $1,968 for one book repairer (CPC-5), $8,144 for two messengers (CPC-3), and $3,144 for two laborers (CPC-3). The Smithsonian library consists of 918,460 items. Accessions in 1945 numbered 17,2r)3. Circulation in 1945 from the main library was 10,833 (exclusive of circulation from sectional libraries). In this large scientific collection there is an estimated backlog of 177,000 volumes awaiting cataloging and classifying. In the sectional libraries 5,000 volumes are unclassified and uucataloged and 4.3,000 volumes unclassified and incompletely cataloged, while in the central collection there are 129,000 volumes classified but without author numbers and incompletely cataloged. The librarian estimates that this backlog represents some 25 man-years of work. The junior professional cataloger and the cataloger positions are required to begin work on this backlog. The book repairer is required for the repairing of volumes estimated to number a minimum of 10,000 per annum. It is estimated that the book repairer can repair 2.500 volumes per annum, and thus radically reduce its rebinding costs on irreplaceable books. The 2 messengers are required properly to service a professional staff of 150. There is only one messenger at the pre.sent time, .so that .scientists perform most of their es.sential messenger duties. Two laborers are required to clean and dust regularly the library books in the three buildings in which the library is hou.sed. The dusting of library books is essential if they are to be maintained in decent condition in buildings which are not air-conditioned and which consequently collect an unusual amount of dust. These laborers are also required to help in packing and unpacking boxes, w-rapping and unwrapping packages of books. The number of packages received or transferred to other Government libraries is estimated to be 4,500 per annum.

(8) For the Maintenance and Operation Division, the following additional funds are requested:

Personal services $86, 618

Other obligations 13, 000

Total 99,618

The sum of $86,618 for personal services includes $2,312 for payment of 1946 promotions on a full-year basis in 1947, and $84,306 for additional personal services, practically all of which are occasioned by the 40^hour week, and are described below:

A telephone operator, CAF-2, $1,704, is requested to be added to the present staff of 1 supervisor (CAF-8) and 2 operators (CAF-2), handling 10 trunk lines, 1 tie line, and 233 stations. Total hours of operator service required is 4,944 which, divided by 1,736 hours (single operator's time), equals 3 operators less 264 hours or 33 working days. The remainder of the time is required on clerical work in the office of the superintendent of buildings which handles the attendance and time records of over 200 employees.

One electrician, CPC-7, $2,364, is required to be restored to the present force of three. Through the year, 7,080 hours of service are required which, divided by 1,736 hours (one man's time) shows four are necessary under the 40-hour week.

An additional lieutenant, CPC-7, $2,364, and an additional sergeant, CPC-6, $2,168, are required to supervise the guard foi'ce. Ten guard officers are now on duty and work 48 hours per week, a total of 80 hours beyond the 40-hour week per man. This will require two additional officers.

There are five operating engineers, and six are needed for the 40'-hour week. This is based on 11,648 hours of service required per year, divided by 1,736 hours per person.

There are requested 26 additional guards, CPC-4, $46,020, to establish the 40-hour week and to restore 3 posts as follows: 1 in the National Collection of Fine Arts since 1 man cannot give adequate protection to the several alcoves; 1 at the east exit of the Arts and Industries Building to reopen this exit in order to relieve the crowded condition of the building; and 1 at the south basement door of the Smithsonian Building to give mechanics and technicians ready access to and from the shops in the basement and the adjoining buildings. Adding these 3 posts to the 62 now active gives 65 posts, requiring 189,280 hours of guard duty per year. That number divided by 1,736 (hours per man per year) equals 109 guards required under conditions of the 40-hour week. Tlie superintendent of buildings, after a survey, feels that 108 guards can fill present requirements.

There is requested $3,540 to restore two under mechanic positions, CPC-4. One is needed to assist the engineers now without any assistants, and the other will be assigned to the electricians, providing 2 helpers to the 4 electricians. Both will be available to stand relief in emergencies in the 2 thinly manned groups. These are restorations of positions which were available under the 44-hour week.

Under the shortened workweek there are requested 9 additional cleaning laborers (CPC-2), making a total of 31 for cleaning 354,000 square feet of floor space. Public Buildings Administration cleaning standards indicate the need of 35 laborers for an equivalent area. The addition of 9 laborers will still leave cleaning in the Smithsonian Institution below Public Buildings standards.

Seven laborers, CPC-2, $10,080, are needed because of the 40-hour week. The present labor force of 33 new works 13,728 hours in excess of tlie 40-hour week. That number of hours divided by 1,736 equals 7 additional laborers; these 7 laborers will be distributed as follows: Natural History Building, 2; Art* and Industries Building, 2; mechanical shops, 2; men's comfort room, 1; but all will be available for relief when and where required.

The sum of $1,440 is required for an additional elevator operator (CPC-2). At present four operators (CPC-2) run two passenger elevators and one freight elevator full time and one freight elevator part time, 16 hours over 40 hours in each week. This does not include provision for leave which has been provided by relief help from other groups and which totals 2,240 hours per year. This is considerably in excess of the operator here requested.

The sum of $1,440 is required for an additional attendant (CPC-2). The Institution has five attendants (CPC-2) for six comfort rooms on.a 48-hour Aveek. Under the 40-hour week, one additional is required. y

(396 INDEPENDENT OFFICES APPROPRIATION BILL, 194 7

The sum of $4,900 for other contractual services is chiefly for coustructing storage cases and exhibition furniture and for certain minor repairs to the buildings which the regular maintenance force cannot do. The sum of $2,10Q for supplies includes principally mechanics' supplies and glass, lumber, and sheet metal for the making of exhibition cases and storage boxes in our shops. The stocks of glass are very low at the present time and the supplies of seasoned lumber, which have to be held for several years in order to obviate any possibility of shrinkage, are exhausted. The sum of $0,000 for equipment for the National Museum includes the replacement of 14 tyi>ewriters and procurement of 6 new ones, 29 filing cabinets, steel shelving, office furniture, and containers for specimens, mostly glass vials, jars, and cardboard trays.

GENERAL STATEMENT

Mr. Hendricks. Do you have a brief statement you wish to make, Dr. Wetmore? We get our information mostly from questioning; but if you have a brief statement you ^YOuld like to make for the record, you ma_v proceed.

Dr. WicTMORE. For the information of the committee, the Smithsonian Institution, founded in 1846, is now in the ninety-ninth year of its history. During the period of the war the Smithsonian had no increase in personnel, as was the case in many agencies; in fact, it was reduced in number of staff. We were not classified as a war agency, although we did a great deal of concrete and constructive work concerned with the war, as the statement we have submitted will show you. We released our younger men for war service whei-ever they were needed—men who often were specially trained to perform highly complicated duties. We kept on with our own necessary activities through our older staff members, and, tlirough them, we carried on whatever war work came to us, while at the same time we maintained our obligations in the care of the vast collections that are our responsibility.

The result is that now, at the close of hostilities, we find ourselves, in the situation of personnel and in funds in general, considerably below the level at which we were when this country entered the war. I have here a graph which I would like to submit to the committee for its consideration, which will explain briefly our situation.

The curves shown on this sheet are in percentages. They run from 1905 up to 1945. You will note in regard to personnel that in 1940, which was our high, we had 478 authorized positions. In the beginning of 1945, we were down to 399. At the same time, during this period from 1905 to the present, our obligations have grown definitely until they are practically double. These obligations are expressed here first, in terms of space occupied by us. In 1915 we had 689,631 square feet of floor space; at the present time, we have 845,699 square feet of floor space.

Ttie specimens included in the national collections, which are one of the important parts of the cultural heritage of this Nation, are the only national scientific collections of the kind that have come through this great war undamaged. If anything should happen to them, they could not be replaced. They have grown over a period of 100 years and contain the highest values of any such group of materials that exists anywhere in the world at the present time. You will note in the graph a steady upswing in the line marked

"Specimens" from a little over 9,000,000 in 1915 to where they exceed 18,000,000 at the present time. But our present level of personnel remains that of 1915 though our obligations have doubled.

As another illustration of our responsibilities, we operate museums and galleries that are highly attractive to visitors who come here to Washington; our responsibility in this regard has increased tremendously. In 1915, the register of visitors showed 578.559. The number began to go up immediately and from 1925 on there was a tremendous increase. In fact, by 1928, the number was so high that it could not be shown on this graph without unduly distorting it. The prewar annual total was over 2,500,000, which is a considerable number of people. It represented at that time nearly three times the total population of Washington. Our visitors come from the entire country; in fact, from all over the world.

At the beginning of the war, with the cessation of tourist travel, naturally there was a decline in the number of visitors. It dropped down to a low point of 1,117,470 in 1944, and now in 1945 it has started to climb again and will go up steadily. It is now averaging over 2,-000,000 and will soon reach or exceed its former high of over 2,500,000 people.

As I have said, our growth in personnel, as represented by the heavy black line at the bottom of the chart, has not been proportionate at all to the increase in our responsibilities. With the imposition of the 48-hour week at the beginning of the war, we were assigned a personnel ceiling of 408, or a decrease of 70 positions.

As you gentleman know, from the testimony that is offered here before you, under such a limitation it is not practicable to keep a staff directly at the personnel ceiling. There are bound to be changes in personnel, and the regiilations say that no pay roll may carry more names than the number assigned under the personnel ceiling; so naturally we are always a little below the permissible total.

Mr. Hendricks. You had 399 in 1945; is that correct ?

Dr. Wetmore. Three hundred and ninety-nine was our low point, in 1945.

Mr. Hendricks. Have you gone up since then ?

Dr. Wetmore. At the present time our ceiling is 415, and we are running 2 or 3 under that in our regular operations.

Mr. Hendricks. How was that ceiling set?

Dr. Wetmore. It was established by the Bureau of the Budget to provide for the 48-hour week. At the present time we are under the 40-hour week. Necessarily that means an increase in our maintenance personnel, that is, in the guards, char, and cleaning forces, mechanics, and some others who operate on a 24-hour or fixed work load basis. Obviously, where we can demand only 40 hours, we must have more people for this service than we did under the 48-hour week. This accounts for an increase in personnel in our estimates amounting to 43.7 man-years—$74,676.

At the same time, the younger members of our staff who went into war service now are being released and are coming back to us. The money formerly available for their positions, through these war years has been absorbed or taken out in various ways as new annual appropriations were made. Now we are under the necessity of restoring

those places, so that as required by law these men may come back to their positions. This covers an addition of 17.1 man-years—$52,G87. There is also an additional increase in the estimates for personnel for some additional responsibilities that we have that cannot be met with our existing staff . This amounts to 30 man-years—74,476—that is absolutely essential in our operations. All of this is explained in detail in the justifications.

That, briefly, is the story of our personnel picture.

PERIOD INSTITUTION IS OPEN TO VISITORS

Mr. Hendricks. What hours and days of the week are you open to visitors now? I believe that was changed a little during the war.

Dr. Wetmore. Yes, sir.

]\Ir. Hendricks. Have you gone back to j^our old schedule?

Dr. Wetmore. No, sir; we have not. We are open still under the arrangement established during the war, from 9 a. m. U) 4: 30 p. m, every day of the week. We close only on Christmas Da}'. At the beginning of the war we were closed for a half day, with the half day of closing on Sunday morning. It was soon evident that with this city filled with service people in uniform here on brief week-end furloughs, this scheme made a hardship on this group, so that we opened all da}^ Sunday and closed Monday morning.

After a short time it became evident to me that we were also working a hardship on many persons under this plan. The entrances to our buildings were croAvded with people waiting to get in long before the opening hour at 1 p. m. on Monday. So through an arrangement with the Bureau of the Budget we put on the three additional guards that were necessary to open for the entire da}^ on IMondaj'^, and have been operating tliat way since then.

Periodically I have made a check to determine whether this was worth while. I am satisfied it is, and that it should be maintained.

Mr. Hendricks. You said a moment ago you were not operating on your regidar schedule. How would the schedule be different in peacetime than from 9 a. m. to 4: 30 p. m. ?

Dr. AVetmore. What I meant to imply, Mr. Chairman, was that we are still operating full time. We are not closed for half a day each week as we had been before the war.

Mr. Hendricks. In other words, you aie now on the prewar schedule, in spite of the fact you did tiy to make some changes?

Dr. Wetmore. As I say, I have a check made from time to time of those who enter our buildings between 9 a. m. and 1 p. m. on Monday, when under the earlier arrangement we would have been closed; for the 9-week period ])rior to the 15th of September 1945 that numb^' was 27,000—in other words, an average of 3,000 people per Monday forenoon who would have been kept out if we were closed on that half day.

Mr. Hendricks. You say now the visitors have gone up to over 2,000,000?

Dr. Wetmore. Yes, sir.

Mr. Hendricks, And in order to get the daily average you have to divide that by the number of days in the year?

Dr. Wetmore. No, sir; we record our visitors each day as they enter.

ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR PERSONAL SERVICES

Mr. Hendricks. Now, on page 13 of your justifications, I note the increase this fiscal year total $241,727. The first increase is for $74,676, to put your custodial staff on a 40-hour week.

Dr. Wetmore. Yes, sir.

Mr. Graf. This is to place the custodial staff on the 40-hour basis.

KEEMPLOYMENT OF VETERANS

Mr. Hendricks. The next item is reemployment of veterans and other employees returning from war service, $52,687.

Dr. Wetmore. Yes, sir.

Mr. Hendricks. Maybe you can clarify that a little. Are you going to be able to take back all of these veterans and former employees? How are you going to manage that ?

Dr. Wetmore. By the grace of this committee in giving us the funds that will allow us to reestablish those positions; that is, these men have been away for periods of 3 years or more. In submitting the intervening budgets the funds for those positions have been lost in the adjustments made in the budget, incident to the imposition of the personnel ceiling. We are now under the necessity of reestablishing the positions through additional funds, in order to provide for our veterans.

Mr. Hendricks. When those men went out, of course, you did not fill all of their places, I know, but did you take in some additional employees, and if so, is there any law that interferes with releasing them and putting the veterans back in ?

Mr. Graf. That will be done when the job still exists. The veterans have a right to their prewar positions where these positions are still in existence.

Mr. Hendricks. The veterans will come back in ?

Dr. Wetmore. Yes. But in many cases we did not make any attempt to fill positions left vacant through entry in the war. Those were skilled people with special training; the only replacements for them would be men in the same age group who were also in the service and so were not available. From time to time, we did put on temporaries who could perform part of the work for a limited time.

Mr. Hendricks. Is this $52,000 you are asking for entirely to replace those you had at the prewar level ?

Dr. Wetmore. That is true.

Mr. Graf. Those are positions that went out under the ceiling. They were vacant when the ceiling was imposed and so were canceled. They were part of the prew^ar staff.

Mr. Hendricks. In other words, if these are given to you and you put these men back as they come back, then you are up to your prewar standard for your employees; is that right?

Mr. Graf. That is right, except for the 40-hour week.

Mr. Hendricks. Do you anticipate all these veterans and former employees will return?

Dr. Wetmore. We anticipate that they will.

Mr. Hendricks. How many of them are coming back now, do you have any idea ?

Mr. Graf. About 10 are back alread3% and we have been in contact M'ith others. The last letter we had regarding this was from Okinawa, from one of the scientists who intends to return.

Those men want to come back to the work they are especially trained for, and we expect them back.

Mr. Hendricks. What about salaries? In these days they are getting much better salaries than they were getting and may have finer offers.

Mr. Graf. I am not so sure. A man w^ho is museum trained has little choice except between teaching and museum work. Most of these men have been with us for several years. They are part of the museum; they built up the collections, and they have an interest in them that they could not duplicate in any other place. This is esj^ecially true of the scientists, but the desire to return to the Smithsonian is not limited to them.

Mr. Hendricks. Before we get ready to mark up the bill, will you submit a brief statement of how many have already applied for reinstatement and how many communications you have had from others ?

Mr. Graf. Yes, sir.

(The following was inserted later:)

AH told beyond those who have already come back we know now that 16 others are planning to return : This number is not to be taken too literally, since all veterans know their rights, are protected and that they do not have to apply in advance. Just yesterday one of our veterans who had not communicated with the Institution during his period of service came to the personnel office and announced that he was ready to begin work.

FUNDS REQUESTED FOR NEW POSITIONS

Mr. Hendricks. The next increase, I believe, is $76,476 for new positions. How do you justify such a sharp increase, Doctor? If you are going to take back $52,000 worth of former employees and veterans and want $76,000 for new ones, you are going to have to give us some good reasons.

Dr. Wetmore. These positions are described in detail in the statements we have submitted to you. They include 10 professional places, necessary in every way for our scientific work, 7 subprofessional, 4 clerical places, and 9 custodial as minor assistants in our scientific laboratories. We have always been short-handed in the scientific positions in the Smithsonian Institution. Prior to submitting this budget we made a very careful survey of our most pressing needs and submitted these to the Bureau of the Budget, where they were scrutinized very carefully. In fact, the Budget has made a very careful survey of our entire service in allowing these increases.

Mr. Hendricks. Of course, you realize, as I do, that because there is a vacancy you might not necessarily have to fill it; and if we can get along without it, Ave are going to. What I am getting at is this— somebody has to cut the expense of operating this Government.

Dr. Wetmore. We appreciate the need for economy and have always operated in accordance with this. The Bureau of the Budget inquired into this in detail. We had to justify each position on the necessity for the performance of the required duties, the size and nature of the work load, its-urgency and importance.

Mr. Hendricks. Not just your agency but every one; and we are not going just to fill a vacancy because it was filled before the war, if it is not needed.

Mr. Graf. These are all needed. We had to prove that need to the Bureau of the Budget. They were not interested in restoring old positions for the sake of restoration.

Mr. Hendricks. They are all needed?

Dr. Wetmore. Yes, sir. Our professionals, for example, include a curator for the plant collections of forage crops which are of great importance to our Nation and concerning which we have constant inquiries. Also curators for marine invertebrates and for fishes, all places that concern important food sources. Scientific information must be sought constantly in all these.

Mr. Hendricks. But, at the same time, we must think of the load we are carrying. Now, will this $76,000 plus the $52,000 bring you above what you had prior to the war ?

Dr. Wetmore. In employment?

Mr. Hendricks. Yes.

Dr. Wetmore. No, sir; it will not bring us up to what we were prior to the war. Our prewar maximum under the old work hours was 478 positions.

Mr. Hendricks. You will have more positions

Mr. Graf. Yes; over all; but almost 50 of those will be owing^ entirely to the 40-hour week. Leaving out of consideration the 40-hour group, we will have fewer positions than before the war.

Mr. Hendricks. Which makes it more expensive for the same personnel ?

Mr. Graf. That is right. Mind you, Mr. Chairman, we are asking^ only for additional custodial positions on the 40-hour-week basis. In the case of professionals, subprofessional, and clerical, we are accepting the loss in service.

Mr. Hendricks. Do you have any custodials in the new positions?

Mr. Graf. No. They are all 40-hour, except

Mr. Hendricks. You confuse me just a little, because a moment ago you spoke of the custodial positions as being the only ones under the 40-hour week; is that right ?

Mr. Graf. Yes, sir.

Mr. Hendricks. Then I asked you if you had any custodials under the new positions, and you said, "No"; that practically all of them would be because of the 40-hour week.

Mr. Graf. I misunderstood you. There are nine custodial positions under the heading of new positions.

Mr. Hendricks. Under that increase ^

Mr. Graf. Under the new positions. These include five minor laboratory helpers and four minor custodial helpers in the library, one of the latter to repair books, the others to keep the books clean, wrap packages for shipment, and similar tasks.

Mr. Hendricks. Do you have a classification there of the others?

Mr. Graf. You mean of those three ?

Mr. Hendricks. Yes; of the $76,000 item?

Mr. Graf. Beginning at the bottom of the list, there are five laboratory helpers. They are skilled laborers to relieve the professional

INDEPENDENT OFFICES APPROPRIATION BILL, 194 7

staff of routine work. Two are assigned to the Department of Engineering in the Museum; one

Mr. Hendricks. It is evident to me you do not at the moment have that at hand; and will you submit to us a list of the new employees under this $76,000 item, before we go into marking up the bill i

Mr. Graf. Yes, sir.

Mr. Hendricks. Just classify each and every one of them and send it to us.

Mr. Graf. Including all new positions ?

Mr. Hendricks. Under the $76,000 item you have new positions, $76,476.

Mr. Graf. Yes, sir.

Mr. Hendricks. Give a classification of those employees.

Mr. Graf. Yes, sir.

(The requested material follows:)

Exhibit 1.— Service class and grade of new positions requested for 1947

WITHIN-GHADE PROMOTIONS

Mr. Hendricks. Of course, the $5,788 for within-grade promotions you cannot help.

Dr. AVetmore. That is true, sir.

Mr. Hendricks. I believe the law sets forth the period of service required for eligibility for promotion?

Dr. Wetmore. Yes, sir.

Mr. Hendricks. Do you recall just what that is?

Dr. Wetmore. Twelve months.

Mr. Hendricks. Twelve months and eighteen months.

Dr. Wetmore. Twelve and eighteen months, depending on the salary status.

TRAVEL expenses

Ml". Hendricks. Under the heading "Other obligations" you have $32,100. Will you please explain that increase?

Dr. Wetmore. The fii'st increase requested is for travel expenses. where we are asking for an additional $1,800. I may explain that for the fiscal year 1945 we were able to expend only $380 under that item, and for 1946 we are restricted to $300. During the war period.

there lias not been occasion for official travel to any extent, but our normal expenditures under this head in 1938 were $4,324; for 1939, $5,946; and for 1940, $4,057.

In the last 2 years, there has been an item included in the appropriation bill restricting- the amount that may be expended for travel to the green sheet estimate, that is, to the estimate that is set up before you. I never just told you what the normal prewar expenditures under travel have been. In addition to the $300 authorized for the present fiscal year, we have set up for 1947, $1,200 additional for the National Museum; $500 for the Bureau of American Ethnology; and $100 for the National Collection of Fine Arts, an increase of $1,800, making a total of $2,100, which you will note is hardly half

Mr. Hendricks. Do 3^ou have that explanation in your justifications ?

Dr. Wetmore. Yes, sir; hardly half of what we found it necessary to use before the war period.

TRANSPORTATION OF THINGS

]\Ir. Hendricks. Under "Other obligations," the next item is "Transportation of things, $28,000" for this year, and you had $10,552 for

1945, and $8,000 for 1946. Dr. Wetmore. Yes, sir.

Mr. Hendricks. What about the expenditures in 1945 and 1946; did you use up all of those funds ?

Dr. Wetmore. In 1945, the figure of $10,552 is the actual expenditure for that fiscal year. The estimate for the present fiscal year,

1946, is $8,000, of which we will use the entire amount plus $20,000 that is carried in a deficiency item.

Mr. Hendricks. In the supplemental?

Dr. Wetmore. In the supplemental that passed the House last week.

Mr. Hendricks. In other words, you have $28,000 instead of $8,000.

Dr. Wetmore. Yes, sir.

Mr. Hendricks. And you are using all of that ?

Dr. Wetmore. Yes, sir.

COMMUNICATION SERVICES

Mr. Hendricks. For "Communication services," you have $3,000, which is the same. I suppose you need all that? Dr. Wetmore. Yes, sir,

RENTS AND UTILITY SERVICES

Mr. Hendricks. For "Eents and utility services," you have $16,000. Dr. Wetmore. No change.

PRINTING AND BINDING

Mr, Hendricks. For "Printing and binding," you have the same thing—$88,500.

Dr. Wetmore. No. change.

80490—46 45

OTHER CONTRACTUAL SERVICES

Mr. Hendricks. For "Other contractual services," you may explain the difference there of $7,300.

Dr. Wetmore. Of this sum $1,000 for the National ]\Iuseum is to cover services for mounting plant specimens, tanning skins for preservation, cleaning skeletons of animals for preservation, and similar contractual expenditures. There is also $1,000 for the Astrophysical Observatory for repair and rehabilitation work in connection with our laboratories. For the Bureau of American Ethnology there is $400 needed in its field investigations, and for maintenance and operation $4,900 is urgently required for additional cabinets for new specimens, and for building repairs.

Mr. Hendricks. Do you know how that compares with the prewar allocation from this appropriation for that purpose?

Dr. Wetmore. This item varies widely. On an average it runs about two-thirds of what we have had.

Mr. Hendricks. About two-thirds of the prewar ?

Dr. Wetmore. Yes, sir.

SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS

Mr. Hendricks. For "Supplies and materials," you are asking for about $8,500 more.

Dr. Wet:more. That actual increase there is $7,800. The supplemental appropriation mentioned above for the International Exchange Service carries $700 additional, making a total of $8,500. This is divided into $2,000 for the National Museum for the purchase of supplies to replace our stocks of all kinds which are now, at the end of the war, practically exhausted. That includes stationery, a special grade of j)aper that we must use for mounting plant specimens; chemicals for the preservation of specimens; the fumigants that we use in our stored collections, to keep them free of insect pests; alcohol, and similar expenditures. And there is $1,500 for the Astrophysical Observatory for the purchase of supplies, including metals, glass, and plastics.

Mr. Hendricks. Those supplies are available?

Dr. Wetmore. Yes, sir. $800 is for the Bureau of American Ethnology; $1,000 for the National Collection of Fine Arts; $400 for general administration; $2,100 under maintenance and operation for mechanics' supplies, glass, lumber, light bulbs, office supplies, and similar necessities. I can give you further details, if you wish; but let me say these sums are all absolutely essential to us. "^As you knoAv, the costs of materials have increased tremendously, and this will not put us back to where we were before the war.

EQUIPMENT

Mr. Hendricks. I suppose we have the same picture on equipment that we had on "Other supplies and materials" ?

Dr. Wetmore. The total increase there is $12,200 plus $2,000 for the International Exchange Service in the supplemental item. This covers replacement of old typewriters, additional filing cabinets, laboratory apparatus to replace worn-out or ancient items, and similar matters vitally essential to us.

Mr. Graf. Might I make a very brief statement on that? By taking "Printing and binding" out of this item for "Other obligations," you have left supplies and equipment, and miscellaneous expenses needed to run the Institution and care for the collections. In 1937 we had about $123,000 for this purpose; in 1938, $131,000; in 1939, $126,000; in 1941, $148,000; in 1942, $140,000. That is the last of the prewar years.

Then as we go into the war period, we drop down in 1943 to $81,000 ; in 1944 to $79,000; in 1945 to $82,000; estimated for 1946, about $70,000. In the meantime the things we need have gone up in price in the war period. Alcohol, for instance, one of our important needs for the preservation of specimens, has gone up 110 percent; fumigants, 30 percent; cleaning supplies, 110 percent; storage cases, 100 percent. In other words, we have been cut almost in half as to funds and at the same time materials have increased in price. You can see that we are very much worse off now than we were before the war.

NUMBER OF PERSONNEL

Mr. Thomas. Doctor, in looking over your budget, it appears that approximately two-thirds of the total amount requested is for personal services.

Dr. Wetmore. Yes, sir; that is true.

Mr. Thomas. How many positions did you have appropriated for in 1946?

Dr. Wetmore. Four hundred and four.

Mr. Thomas. Is that man-years or actual positions ?

Mr. Graf. Man-years.

Mr. Thomas. What about actual positions?

Mr. Graf. That would run about nine above that—about 413, roughly.

Mr. Thomas. How many positions do you actually have on the pay roll as of today ?

Mr. Graf. Last Saturday there were 414.

Mr. Thomas. Four hunclred and fourteen; and you had appropriated money for 413 ?

Mr. Graf. Four hundred and fourteen includes our South American work in cooperation with the State Department. Actually, our ceiling for the Smithsonian proper is 411, and we had 410 on Saturday, or 1 below our ceiling.

Mr. Thomas. How many jobs are you seeking funds for, for the fiscal year 1947 ?

Mr. Graf. 97.7 man-years, about 102 positions.

Mr. Thomas. You mean 512, do you not ?

Mr. Graf. Added to the 404 permanent positions that we have now

Mr. Thomas. How many are you asking for the fiscal year 1947 ?

Dr. Wetmore. There are 95 additional positions, sir, with 7 more that are carried in this supplemental that just passed the House, a total of 102. Ninety-five additional are shown in the present estimate.

Mr. Thomas. My question is, for the fiscal year as compared with 1947 fiscal, exclusive of your supplemental for 1946, you show an increase of 102 jobs, making a total of 512 for 1947; is that correct?

Dr. Wetmore. Are you speaking of positions, sir, or nmn-years*

Mr. Thomas. Positions.

Dr. ^^'ETMORE. Yes, sir.

Mr. Thomas. How much of a supplemental did you get for 1946 for jobs?

Dr. AVetmore. The bill as it just passed the House carried seven positions for a total of $11,434, all in the Bureau of International Exchanges.

Mr. Thomas. Then for the fiscal year 1946, including your regular and su])pleniental, you will onh^ have 417 positions; is that correct?

Dr. Wetmore. That is right.

Mr. Thomas. That gives you a net total of new jobs requested for 1947 of 95, over and above your entire appropriation for 1946—regular and supplemental.

Dr. \Vetmore. Yes, sir; that is correct.

BRE.\K-DOWNS OF POSITIONS

Mr. Thomas. The 517 positions requested for 1947—how many of those fall in the classification of scientific, how many custodial, and how many clerical or secretarial ? Will you break them down in those three subheads ?

Dr. AVetmore. I can give j^ou that figure.

Mr. Thomas. What is that figure ?

Dr. Wetmore. Nineteen in the professional class, ten in the sub-professional class, and six in the clerical group.

Mr. Thomas. That is a total of 29 in the scientific classification?

Dr. Wetmore. That is correct.

Mr. Thomas. Out of a total of 517.

Dr. Wetmore. That is right. The remainder are in the custodial service.

]\Ir. Thomas. How many did you say were in the clerical group ?

Dr. Wetmore. Six. That does not include those positions carried in the supplemental.

Mr. Thomas. That is for 1947?

Dr. Wetmore. Yes, sir.

Mr. Thomas. The remainder would be 480 custodial employees for the fiscal year 1947; is that correct?

Dr. Wetmore. I am in error. I thought you were asking only for the new positions.

]Mr. Thomas. Doctor, I do not want to be tedious about this, but what T am trying to get into my own mind is a break-down into three classifications of your total personnel for 1947; one, is the number of personnel that fall into the scientific classification for 1947; two, the number tliat fall into the clerical classification; and three, the number that fill! into the custodial classification.

Dr. AA^ETMORE. I am very sorry I misunderstood your question. I thought you were asking regarding the new positions. May we submit that information ?

Mr. Thomas. Do you not have it available right now ?

Mr, Graf. We can take the information from the green sheets. It is just a question of adding them, because they are separated into groups.

INDEPENDENT OFFICES APPROPRIATION BIT^L, 194 7

707

Mr. Thomas. Will you put the information in the record at this point?

Mr. Graf. Yes, sir.

(The information follows:)

Exhibit 2.— Available personal services by classes — Permanent personnel

Clerical, administrative and fiscal

Professional

Subprofessional

Crafts, protective and custodial..

Total

1939 positions

71.7

67.5

50

270.5

459.7

1945 man-years

62.7 72

46.8 217.5

399

1947 estimated man-years

78.4

89.6

53.9

279.8

501.7

COMPARATIVE BRE^K-DOWN OF PERSONNEL, 1939 AND 194 7

Mr. Thomas. I wonder if you will be good enough to insert in the record at this point a complete table beginning with 1940 and bringing it down through your request for 1947, showing total personnel in the three classifications I have just referred to; also insert in the table travel costs for those years from 1940 through 1947; transportation of things; communication service; penalty mail; rents and utilitj^ services; printing and binding, other contractual services, supplies and materials, and equipment.

Dr. Wetmore. Yes, sir.

(The information follows:)

Exhibit 3.— Expenditures and estimates, 19Jt.0-Jf7.

01 Personal services

OTHER OBLIGATIONS

02 Travel

03 Transportation of things.

04 Communication services.

05 Rents and utility serv-

ices

06 Printing and binding

07 Other contractual serv-

ices

08 Supplies and materials...

09 Equipment

Total other obligations. Grand total obligations.

Actual, 1940

$846,329

4.057

20, 838

3,123

' 19, 235 72, 000

7,395 34,143 38, 965

199, 756 1, 046, 085

Actual, 1941

$847, 461

2,617 15, 931 3,017

19,890 64,500

36, 552 34, 579 36,123

213, 209 1, 060, 670

Actual, 1942

$866, 529

2,014 13, 476 3,455

17, 090

88, 500

11,803 48,828 43, 539

228, 705 1, 095, 234

Actual, 1943

$972, 082

381 9,191 2. 964

15, 975 •88, 500

6,800 29,017 17, 394

170, 222 1,142, 304

Actual, 1944

$1,009,686

262 9,052 3,501

16, 474 88, 500

5,181 24,432 20,691

168, 093 1,177, 779

Actual, 1945

$1,051,233

380 10, 552 5,309

16, 640 88, 500

4,854 22, 750 22, 486

171,471 1, 222, 704

Estimated, 1946

$1,142,222

300 8,000 5,000

16, 000 88, 500

4,000 19, 000 17,121

157, 921 1, 300,143

Estimated, 1947

$1,284,079

2,100 28, 000 8,000

16, 000 88, 500

11, 300 27, 500 31, 321

212, 721 1,496, 800

Mr. Thomas. Of course, you are now on the 40-hour week, is that correct ?

Dr. Wetmore. That is correct.

Mr. Thomas. What workweek were you on in 1940 and 1941, before the war?

Mr. Graf. Forty-four hours for custodial, and thirty-nine for office workers.

Mr. Thomas. What about your scientific employees ?

Mr. Graf. The same hours as office workers.

Mr. Thomas. And they were on a

Mr. Graf. Thirty-nine-honr week.

Mr. Thomas. So the only increase that yon will have, as far as a mandatory pay scale is concerned, for your personnel, will be for the custodial personnel and that would reflect a difference between a 44-hour workweek before the war and a 40-hour week now ?

Mr. Graf. That is right.

Mr. Thomas. For my own information, what was the total budget for the fiscal year 1940 ? Do you have that available ?

Mr. Graf. I can give you 1939.

Mr. Thomas. Give me 1939.

Mr. Graf. The Bureau of the Budget asked that we work the schedule out on the basis of 1939.

Mr. Thomas. Give it to me for 1939 or 1940.

Mr. Graf. It was $1,021,165 for 1939.

Mr. Thomas. How much'is that less than the amount requested for 1947?

Mr. Graf. About $475,000 less, roughly.

Mr. Thomas. I got the impression, in response to an answer to the chairman's question, that your prewar budget was less than the budget that you are requesting for 1947; perhaps I misunderstood you.

Mr. Graf. No ; I think the question the chairman asked Dr. Wetmore was as to the number of personnel, not the cost.

Mr. Thomas. In other words, your total budget requested for 1947 is in excess by about $200,000 over 1939 or 1940 ?

Dr. Wetmore. I think if we analyzed it, we would find

Mr. Thomas. Doctor, I am just asking the general question, and I do not want to go into an analysis of it at this time. Is my assumption correct, that it is greater for 1947 than it was for the prewar year ?

Mr. Graf. As to amount, yes. In 1939 we had 459 people-

Mr. Thomas. Let me go into that question a little later. I just wanted to get the other answer for the record at this time. We will get an explanation of it later; I do not mean to shut you off.

maintenaxce and operation of buildings

I notice you have here a "Maintenance and operation'' item of $554,895 for 1947, when the amount for that item was $462,258 for 1945, and $526,476 for 1946. Does the item "Maintenance and operation" mean just exactly what it says? Does maintenance include upkeep and repair of all your buildings?

INIr. Graf. That is right.

Mr. Thomas. How many buildings do you

Mr. Graf. Five principal buildings.

iNIr. Thomas. And they are all located here in the District of Columbia?

Mr. Gr4f. Yes.

Mr. Thomas. What was your maintenance item for those five buildings for 1945 and 1946, and what is it estimated for 1947?

Mr. (traf. We have it estimated here as costing

Mr. Thomas. First, what was it for 1945 ?

Mr. Graf. $462,000, roughly; and $526,000, estimated in 1946; and $554,891, for 1947.

Mr. Thomas. Jnst what is included in your "Maintenance and operation" item? Operation does not include salaries or anything like that, does it?

Mr. Grat. Yes, it does; the guard force, char force, and mechanical force.

Mr. Thomas. Then you have not given us the information that I am seeking. I am asking, what were your actual expenditures for maintenance ? I did not include operation. I want to know how much you spent in 1945 and in 1946 and how much you intend to spend in 1947 on the actual maintenance of your five buildings; I mean upkeep and repair and what not. I am referring to the physical buildings themselves.

Mr. Graf. We would have to get that for you from the superintendent's report. We do not have figures on that at hand.

Mr. Thomas. That is pretty important information, is it not. Doctor? You are requesting in excess of half a million dollars, and you certainly ought to have that information with you.

Mr. Graf. I can give you a break-down, year by year; which year are you interested in now ?

Mr. Thomas. I asked for 1945,1946, and 1947.

Mr. Graf. For 1945 we had 214 people on that project.

Mr. Thomas. I am not talking about people; I am talking about actual maintenance. Do you emj^loy your own carpenters and your own painters?

Mr. Graf. Yes.

Mr. Thomas. All right, then.

Mr. Graf. The total cost of personnel on that roll will run about $412,377.

Mr. Thomas. You hire your own painters and your own carpenters; they are regular civil-service employees ?

Mr, Graf. That is right. Whenever we have any jobs to do beyond the equipment or capacity of our men we contract them. We do not have a force that would enable us to take care of every emergency in repairs, but we can manage most of the repairs with our own force.

Mr. Thomas. When you go outside of your own force—you call these custodial employees, do you not ?

Mr. Graf. Yes.

Mr. Thomas. When you go outside your own force, you let the work out by contract?

Mr. Graf. That is right, by bid.

Mr. Thomas. You are not helping me very much here; it is all Greek to me. I do not know how you are spending this money, and I would like to find out.

Mr. Graf. We expended about $50,000 for all other obligations in 1945. Included in that are communication services, $3,000.

Mr. Thomas. Certainly you are not going to charge communication service up to the maintenance of your buildings, are you ?

Mr. Graf. That is part of the operation of the buildings. Maintenance and operation of the buildings are lumped into this one project.

Mr. Thomas. See if you cannot unlump it, then. How much did you spend in 1945 for the repair of your five buildings ?

Mr. Gkaf. I could not give you that figure right off-hand. I tak«, it you would want the amount of lumber and paint, personal services, and other expenditures related directly to building repairs. We can get that information for you from the superintendent's report.

Dr. Wetmore. We maintain our own maintenance units for the greater part of our work. We have a force of carpenters, several painters, and they do all the routine repair work. In fact, we contract very little in the way of major repairs.

Mr. Thomas. Did j^ou conti-act anything during the fiscal year 1946 for re]iairs?

Dr. Wetmore. I do not recall any items for that year. We have done all this work ourselves, as we find we can do it much more economically. Tlie only contract work has been to call in a steei)lejack to repair a flagpole and one or two other minor jobs.

Mr. Thomas. Let me approach it from another angle. How many employees do you have on the pay roll for the fiscal year 194(5, and how many do you contemplate having for 1947 who are going to be engaged exclusively in the repair and maintenance of your five buildings?

Mr. Graf. When you say "maintenance," you still want us to leave out the cliar force and the guard force?

Mr. Thomas. That is right.

Mv. Graf. The only new ones would be the electrician and the engineer. I mean the new ones. You are asking only for the new ones, are you not ?

JNIr. Thomas. No. I wanted to know how many you had in 1946 and how many you will have in 1947.

Dr. Wetmore. This item of "ISIaintenance and operation" is set up as a function for the whole institution. We have never been called on heretofore to break it d(jwn just in the form in which you are asking for it. We will be glad to prepare such a statement, however.

Mr. Thomas. That is not a very difficult question to answer. Doctor.

Mr. Hexdricks. It is a little difficult. Mr. Thomas, because these employees work on more than one operation: part of it may be maintenance, part of it may be something else. They have never been asked to break it down in that way and that is wh}^ it is difficult to answer it in that way at this moment.

Mr. Thomas. You should know how many electricians you have and how many carpenters you have.

Mr. Hendricks, The electrians might do something on maintenance, and something else that is not on maintenance: that is the trouble. I think, if you give them time, the}^ can break it down the way vou want it. '

Mr. Thomas. What is the sum total of your employees who repair and maintain your buildings and do nothing but that ?

Mr. Graf. You have a difficult question there. Our carpenter shop makes exhilntion and storage cases for the collections, as well as repairs to buildings. The information can only be obtained from the superintendent's report. We cannot give it at the moment at this hearing. We can get it for you.

Mr. Thomas. What I am trying to get is some information about this. You have five very large buildings, and some of them are quite old.

INDEPENDENT OFFICES APPROPRIATION BILL, 194 7

711

Dr. Wetmore. They are all quite old.

Mr. Thomas. Yoii have hundreds of thousands of people who come in and go out of your buildings during the year. You certainly ought to have some information, without fumbling all over the lot to get it, showing what it costs you to keep those buildings in decent, usable condition. It is bound to be a sizable sum of money. You lump it in here for 1947 in an amount of $554,895. You do not saj^ how much of that goes for lumber and other classifications of materials. It is bound to run up into a lot of money.

Dr. Wetmore. We will be very glad to put in a statement on that, Mr. Thomas. We do not have that information with us at the moment. Our buildings are old, as you say; the newest one was completed for occupation in 1920, so there is now 25 years on it, and the next newest in 1910.

Mr. Thomas. Certainly in the preparation of your budget in the future, you ought to have that information and put it down in black and white, in understandable form. If you do not know anything about it, certainly the committee will not know anything about it.

Dr. Wetmore. We have the figures annually, and we know exactly where we stand on these matters. I may explain that 20 years ago maintenance and operation was divided between three large items, and building repair was a separate appropriation; furniture and fixtures—really, the purchase of supplies—was also a separate item. Then the matter of guards and cleaning was carried under still another heading. But in the interest of simplicity, they were grouped.

(The material requested is as follows:)

Exhibit 4.— Cost of repairs to buildings of Smithsonian group

1944

1945

Smithsonian Bldg

Arts and Industries Bldg

Aircraft Bldg

South shed and Astrophysical Observatory.

Natural History Bldg

Freer Bldg

$5,175

8,850

500

150

11,000

$8, 950

4,990

200

830

18, 575 627

$10, 500

9,226

100

5,240

13, 370

Total.

25, 675

34,172

38,436

Note. —Building repair personnel inchides 2 carpenters, 3 painters, 1 stonemason, 2 sheet-meta] workers 1 under mechanic (helper).

INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE

Mr. Thomas. If I may interrupt 5^011, Doctor, here is an item I want to ask a question about: "International exchange, $59,923" against $21,787 for 1946. What is that item? What does it cover, and why the increase ?

Mr. DoRSEY. Under the Treaty of Brussels we are charged with the international exchange of scientific and literary publications between this country and all other countries. During the war the operations of the exchange service, of course, were greatly reduced. We could not ship, and so, with the imposition of the employee ceiling, the Exchange Bureau was cut down to about 6 people. This item of $59,000, is to provide for seven more employees to put us back to a prewar status and to enable us to ship a great accumulation of publications

that has been issued during the war and that is coming in to us now. We have requests every day from institutions in this country and abroad for the exchange of publications; to hurry up, to hurry up. We have a supplemental item for that in this deficiency bill—for those seven positions, which will put us back to prewar status and enable us to pay for the freight on these accumulations of documents that have been held back at the source during the war period.

Mr. Thomas. Where are these employees domiciled, in the District of Columbia?

Mr. Dorset. They are located in the Smithsonian Building in the District of Columbia; yes, sir.

CULTURAL RELATIONS "\^^TH AMERICAX REPUBLICS

Mr. Thomas. I believe Dr. Wetmore said something about some funds from the State Department, and I wonder if I understood the purport of his statement.

Dr. Wetmore. Through a cooperative arrangement with the State Department, we carry on certain work in the promotion of cultural relations in Latin America. The funds to cover this are transferred to us from the State Department.

Mr, Thomas. Over and above and in addition to this budget ?

Dr. Wetmore. Yes, sir; they are not shown in tliis budget.

Mr. Thomas. How much are those funds ?

Dr. Wetmore. They are transferred to us on a yearly basis, from year to j^ear; about $78,000.

Mr. Graf. This is concerned with cultural cooperation with the American Republics.

Mr. Thomas. That money is appropriated to the State Department, and they in turn transfer it to you ?

Dr. Wetmore. Yes, sir.

Mr. Thomas. Wliat other funds does the Institution have besides those from the State Department that are not shown in this budget?

Dr. Wetmore. There are none that come from Federal sources, sir.

Mr. Thomas. Those are funds that you receive from the State Department. How are they expended by the Institution ?

Dr. Wetmore. AVe have a unit in the Bureau of American Ethnology called the Institute of Social Anthropology that is carrying on work in Latin America in training students in certain countries in methods of studying Indian or aboriginal populations. That is one of the very important postwar problems all through Latin America. There is an Indian population south of the Rio Grande of upwards of 30,000,-000. These 30,000,000 will come more definitely in contact with the modern white man's civilization in the postwar period than they ever have before. The problem is one of assimilation. We are operating at the present time in Mexico, and to a limited degree in Peru, in Colombia, and in Brazil.

Mr. Thomas. How long have you been receiving those funds from the State Department, Doctor ?

Dr. Wetmore. Since 1940.

Mr. Thomas. That must be a Rockefeller project.

Dr. Wetmore. No, sir.

Mr. Graf. No, sir. It was always set up as a division in the State Department. The CIAA, to which you refer, originated as a separate, appropriation.

Mr. Thomas. Do I understand you correctly that you have been receiving this appropriation only since 1940 ?

Dr. Wetmore. Yes, sir.

Mr. Thomas. At the beginning of the emergency?

Dr. Wetmore. Yes, sir.

Mr. Thomas. Theretofore had the State Department been carrying on that work itself ?

Dr. Wetmore. No, sir.

Mr. Graf. That is when it started.

Dr. Wetmore. It was started in 1940.

Mr. Thomas. Then I say, it still sounds like a Rockefeller project.

Dr. Wetmore. This is under the Division of Cultural Relations in the State Department and covers quite a program that spreads into several of the old-line departments in Government service. Our share in it is very small.

Mr. Thomas. Thank you very much. I have no further questions.

comparative figures, 1939 AND 1947

Mr. Case. I would like to ask Mr. Graf or Dr. Wetmore if they know why the Bureau of the Budget took 1939 as a base year for comparison rather than some other year; for example, the fiscal year 1940 or 1941.

Dr. Wetmore. Well, 1939 was considered a standard year for before-the-war operation. By 1940 we were beginning to feel more the impact of the war and, not being a war agency, necessarily our operations were declining.

Mr. Case. Do you know whether the year 1939 was used for all agencies or just for yours?

Dr. Wetmore. I have no information on that.

Mr. Graf. I think it was a general request.

Mr. Case. Mr. Chairman, I wonder if we could have a statement, sent to the clerk of this committee, showing, for all of the agencies that will come before us during the balance of the hearings, figures indicating, first, any increments to their funds obtained in the deficiency bill now pending in the Senate or proposed to be given there in addition to these shown in the printed estimates here which cover merely, apparently, the regular bill. The reason for that is that we may then have an actual comparison between funds actually appropriated to the Institution in this fiscal year and what they are proposing for the new fiscal year. Further, if we may have a break-down of their figures on the various objects of expenditure for the fiscal year 1939 and also the fiscal year 1947.

The reason is that we thus far in these hearings have been referred back to 1939. But the committee does not have those 1939 figures before us. All we have is the figures for 1946 and for 1945. To make a satisfactory comparison we ought to have those figures for all of the agencies that come before us.

Mr. Hendricks. I think we should have them, too.

(The statement follows:)

Exhibit 5.— Comparative datemenl of Budget estimates

' Man-years not estimated in11939.

2 E.xcludes overtime of $170,373.

3 Includes cost of penalty mail.

BASIC FUNCTIONS OF SMITH.SONIAN INSTITUTION

Mr. Case. Dr. Wetniore, agencies that are established and tliat have been goinc; a lono- time, such as yours, are moi-e or less taken for granted, and I think the committee, through familiarity with the project and because of general background, frequently gets into the habit of asking a certain line of questions; yet, once in a while, it might be wise to go back and review the fundamental work of the agency.

In that connection, I thought of asking you a few questions that have to do with the way in which the Smithsonian Institution is carrying out its basic functions and also what adjustments it may or may not be making toward the probable use of the Institution in the postwar years. I had in mind asking you a few questions that are more or less general, and yet relate to your general appropriation bill. Some of tliese questions I have in mind may not be questions that you can answer oflhand. If so, you can supply the answers later.

Fir.st, how is the Smithsonian Institution as such organized? Do }'ou have divisions, departments, or what?

Dr. Wetmoke. The Institution as a whole is organized under a scheme of bureaus.

The divisions are as follows: The largest is the National Museum, ^\hich covers the handling of the great scientific collections in natural hi.story, the engineering industries, and American history.

According to law, all such objects in the possession of the Government come eventually into our custody. In this capacity the Museum at the present time has upward of 18,000,000 catalog entries.

The Astrophysical Observatory, another unit of the Smithsonian, is given over principally to the study of solar radiation both as to its source and to its effects on animals and plants.

The Bureau of American Ethnology is organized for study and research on the aborigines of the New World and the Hawaiian Islands.

The National Collection of Fine Arts covers those art interests of the Smithsonian that are not embraced under the National Gallery of Art, which will be heard separately before this committee.

The International Exchange Service is carried forward under treaties made at Brussels in 1886 for the exchange of governmental documents of various kinds, and scientific documents from institutions of this country, with foreign countries throughout the world, and the receipt of similar materials from these countries and their distribution here in the United States.

The National Zoological Park, which is not included in this bill, is also administered by the Smithsonian Institution. Because of its location here in the District of Columbia, the Bureau of the Budget has assigned its appropriations to the District of Columbia appropriation bill. The Federal Government, therefore, shares in the expenditures for the Zoo only to the extent of its participation in those expenditures in the total amount assigned from Federal funds to the District of Columbia.

Th'.se are our ])rincipal bureaus. In connection with them, we have an extensive library that is maintained in connection with our re-seai'ch work. We receive thousands of volumes in exchange for our publications every year from throughout the world. Those which are of concern to our own investigations we retain at the Smithsonian and the others, which now number many hundreds of thousands, are placed in the Library of Congress.

Mr. Case. Do you have some further division or separation of your organization functionally? What you have been speaking of would appear to be units.

Dr. Wetmore. They are. They have the relation of bureaus of the Institution. Functionally, we have set up over all a- unit for general administration.

Mr. Case. That is headed by ?

Dr. Wetmore. By the Secretary. It includes administrative duties such as you would find under the head office of any organization. In addition to that, functionally, we operate what is known as a Service Division that relates to all of these activities I have just outlined. This Service Division includes our library, which I have already mentioned ; our editorial office for the handling of publications; our photographic laboratory, which services the entire Institution; the shipping-office ; and the property office.

Functionally, also, we have a Division of Maintenance and Operation, which covers the guarding, cleaning, and general maintenance and repair of our buildings, and items of that kind.

Mr. Case. Those are all institutional activities ?

Dr. Wetmore. Yes, sir.

Mr. Case, Do you have any division that goes to the purposes of the Institution, separated as they relate to such activities as geological, biological, engineering, and entomology?

Dr. Wetmore. Those are units under the National Museum which I have mentioned in the beginning. The National Museum is organized under the follovring departments: (1) Anthropology, which includes physical anthropology, ethnology, and archeology; (2) geology, which covers those sections relating to geology in general, min-erology, and paleontology; (3) biology in all of its branches relating to living animals and plants; (4) engineering and industry, which includes the historical aspects of industry in this country; (5) and American history.

METHOD OF PREPARING BUDGET

Mr. Case. Now, when you prepare your budget how do you prepare it? How do you get the estimates and determine you are going to need so much money for this branch or that branch?

Dr. Wetmore. We call in the heads of the different units for consultation.

Mr. Case. That is, the head of the National INIuseum, the head of the Astrophj^sical Observatory, and so forth?

Dr. Wetmore. In the case of the National Museum we go further down than the head. We call in the heads of the departments of the National Museum, the head of the Astrophysical Observatory, the Bureau of American Ethnology, the National Collection of Fine Arts, international exchanges, the editor, the librarian, and the superintendent (under whose office maintenance an'd operation is handled). We have them submit what they think their needs will be. Those needs are discussed with them thoroughly in the form of a hearing such as we are holding here today, and decision is then made as to what seems to be the more urgent items to be included.

Mr. Case. And on the basis of those several amounts, you determine your over-all request ?

Dr. Wetmore. Yes, sir. Then that is submitted to the Bureau of the Budget, which goes into the whole question in great detail; and the outcome of the Budget hearings is here before you today, so far as the 1947 estimates are concerned.

monthly BREAK-DOAVN of EXPENDirURES, FISCAL YEAR 194 5

Mr. Case. For the purpose of this record and as an illustration of how it is done, will you submit for the record a break-down by bureaus and within the bureaus of the National Museum, since we have used that for illustration, a break-down of the several component parts of the different objectives of expenditure for which you are asking this money?

Dr. Wetmore, You mean you want that for the total appropriation or for the new items?

Mr, Case. I would like to have it for the total appropriation, so that we can see how this total over-all request is made up of its various components.

Mr. Graf. That includes the total plus the increase? In other words, you want the total for 1947; not just the increase ?

Mr. Case. Yes; I want the total for 1947 and would like the comparative figures for a year or two back. I do not care particularly what year, but let us go back, say, at least 2 years and see if you can give us that break-down; or let us make it for 1945 and 1946 and accompany that by a monthly break-down of your disbursements under each head.

Dr. Wetmoke. A monthly break-down ?

Mr. Case. Yes. I want to find out how your money is spent by months during the year and how you come out at the end of the year in relation to the objects for which the money was requested.

Dr. Wetmoke. You said 1946, and you are talking of the present fiscal year; you are not going into the estimates for 1947?

Mr. Case, I want to get a year of actual experience compared with the way you built it up for that year. In your bookkeeping, do not you carry a running account of what your allocation is for certain obligation expenditures and keep your withdrawals against that?

Mr. Graf. It would be by projects.

(After discussion off the record:)

Dr. Wetmoke. I can say, in general the allocations of the funds are very definite. There is very little leeway one way or another. We set up a plan of operations at the beginning of each fiscal year covering estimated expenditures throughout that year. This is our guide in administration of our funds.

Mr. Case. Suppose you give us a table showing what the allocations were for at the beginning of the year and how you came out at the end of the year; what transfers were made, or what adjustments were made.

Dr. Wetmoke. We can do that very readily, because there is very little transfer of funds between these different functions as we set them up. The major part of our obligation is in the salary roll, as you can readily see, and the other funds are applied in general in connection with the different agencies as they are required.

Mr. Case. Then for that same j^ear that you give those figures, I would like to have the figures showing the disbursements by months under the different objects or headings, or whatever you use.

Dr. Wetmoke. I am not certain how soon we can get that. We can give you the data by projects, as our bookkeeping is set up in that way.

Mr. Graf. For what year did you want that ?

Mr. Case. I would say 1945 or 1946, where we can get a clear picture of it. We have the 1945 and 1946 figures here.

Mr. Graf. 1946, however, is largely an estimate.

Mr. Case. Yes. I think 1945 might be better, because that is history.

Dr. Wetmoke. We have, like all other agencies, a system of allotments that are set up at the beginning of each new fiscal year that go to the Bureau of the Budget and to the Treasury Department, in Congress. These are so arranged as to cover the routine expenditures. The Bureau of the Budget keeps close watch on these. If, for any reason, there is any change in policy—for example, the imposition of the 48-hour week over the previous period of service, then the Bureau of the Budget goes over our figures to determine how they can be reduced.

INDEPENDENT OFFICES APPROPRIATION BILL, 194 7

Mr. Case. I have no doubt the Bureau of the Budget does, but I just wanted to get something to show the picture here. Dr. Wetmore. It will be placed in the record. (The matter referred to is as follows:)

Exhibit 6.— Monthly expenditures by projects, fiscal year 1945

Month

July.--

August

September-.

October

November.. December..

January

February..

March

April

May

June

Cieneral administration

International exchanges

$3, 2d9. 98 4,319.09 4, 210. 26 4, 268. 83 4,321.35 4, 284. 04

4, 537. 69

5, 350. 97

3. 974. 83

4, 778. 29 5,150. 02

6, 257. 35

$3. 632. 13 2, 363. 23 1, 726. 33 3,369. 23

1, 987. 73

2, 804. 21

1, 994. 79

2, 377. 21 3,614.15 1,408.54

3, 096. 08 1, 563. 33

54,698.70 29,936.96

Bureau of .American Ethnology

$3,711.86

4, 685. 86 5,016.99

5, 036. 56 5.257

5, 200. 95 5,120.91

6, 252. 22 5,112.71 5,187. 38 5, 237. 03 5, 237. 46

61, 057. 87

Astro-physical Observatory

$3, 606. 51 4. 280. 07 4, 209. 79 4, 315. 28 4, 454. 96 4, ."09. 03 4,091.28 4, 788. 86 4, 236. 58 4. 305. 67 4, 589. 66 4,473. 99

National CoJec-tion of

Fine Arts

51,861.68

1, 066. 1, 219. 1,370. 1, 356. 1,408. 1,297. 1,642. 1,648. 1 722. l!846! 1,811.

17, 229. 50

National Museum

$28. 547.

37, 370. .37,971.

38, 181. 38,116. 38, 409. 38. 852. 48,477. 38, 219. 36,330. 37. 593. 37,671.

Maintenance

and operation

Printing

and binding

56 $30. 71 .37, 97 .37, 561 38.

455, 742. 64

039. 37 625. 98 000. 53 459.51 783. 49 091. 54 103.52 889. 07 738. 35 850. 53 .329. 15 762. 38

463,676. 42

$1,986.76

1, 489. 59 2,210.59 2.075. 40

16, 253. 29 6, 9.'32. 71 1,149.05 1,608.31

2, 485. 91 967. 26

9, 420. 00 38,901. 12

88, 500.00

Exhibit 7.— Comparison of estimates and expenditure^, 1945

ESTIMATED EXPENDITURES BY PROJECTy^

01 Personal services Other obligations

Total

neneral administration

International

changes

11,601 $12,788 5, 912 9, .550

47,513 22,3.38

Bureau

of

American

Ethnology

$33, 997 1,200

55, 197

.\stro-phvsi-cal Ob-.scrva-tory

$17, 513 3,350

.50.863

National Colkc-tion of Fine Arts

Na-tif.nal

Museum

Service. Division

$12, 904 $370,669'$102, 838 1,2U0! 14.2251

14,104 390,894 102,838

Maintenance and operation

$405,921 45,922

451,843

Printing and binding

.$88,500

88,500

ACTUAL EXPENDITURES BY PROJECT

I^/

Mr. C.vsE. Xow. YOU s])oke about the funds that had formerly gone to pay the positions which were vacated b}' men going into the service. You said those funds had been absorbed, as I caught it, which would mean the item of $52,687 was in effect the amount that had been absorbed, since that is the figure you are requesting for rehiring veterans. Is that correct ?

Dr. Wetmore. That is the figure, subject to adjustment in connection with the new pay rates.

Mr. Case. I understand.

Dr. Wetmore. When I say "absorbed," by that I mean it has either been eliminated or has been utilized in the pay adjustments for those positions that were retained. I do not mean it has been absorbed in our other. exi3enditures in anj^ way. The positions covered have actually been cut out.

Mr. Case. You used the term "absorbed'' and I wondered bj;' what it had been absorbed.

Dr. Wetmore. It has not been absorbed by us from other expenditures.

Mr. Graf. It was lost by the imposition of the ceiling.

Mr. Case. You are asking $76,476 for new positions and $74,676 for additional positions which you state are made necessary by applying the 40-hour \veek.

Dr. Wetmore. Yes, sir.

Mr. Case. How do you fill vacancies in the Smithsonian ?

Dr. Wetmore. Through the Civil Service Commission, sir.

PROCEDURE IN FILLING OF VACANCIES AND PROMOTIONS

Mr. Case. Do you have any particular policy of filling vacancies by promoting within the Institution or do you hire from the outside?

Dr. Wetmore. When a position is vacant, our first concern is to determine whether in tlie Institution there is some person in a lower grade who may be promoted into it. When we have ascertained that is possible, the position is filled, and then we go on with the lower position. If we have no one available within the Institution, then we go outside, either by transfer or through the Civil Service Commission.

Mr. Case. Will you have your personnel people make up a table and submit it for the record showing for the last 3 years, let us say, by the various classifications and grades, the number of vacancies you have had in each and how thoge vacancies have been filled—whether by promotion from within the Institution or from outside employment ?

Dr. Wetmore. -We fill from inside whenever we can, especially when we have a vacancy in one of the higher positions. Then eventually we get clown to a place where we have no one available and go outside.

Mr. Case. Well, the table will give us the picture about that, and I am trying to assemble a little material here with a vieAV to asking some questions of the Civil Service Commission, not with respect only to you, but to other agencies, and see how it works out.

80490—46 46

INDEPENDENT OFFICES APPROPRIATION BILL, 1947

(The statement is as follows:)

Exhibit 8

1 Vacancies filled by promotions within the Smithsonian Institution.

2 Vacancies filled by new appointments, transfers, and reinstatements from outside the organization.

ADDITIONS TO EXHIBITS

Mr. Case. Have you made any particular additions to your exhibits during the war years ?

Dr, Wetmore. The exhibition changes have concerned principally materials that have come to us relating to the war. Shortage of help and funds needed in such work has prevented extensive revision in the exhibition series. Our principal activities have been necessarily limited to renovation and cleaning, and other work required to keep the collections in proper condition and prevent deterioration.

We have had a good many special exhibits relating particularly to the war during that period. I might say, Mr. Case, that I had anticipated at the beginning of the war a verj^ decided drop in new materials that would be offered to us for the collections; but, to my surprise, the average has kept up to just about what it is normally in peacetimes. A large part of that has come from the fact that hundreds of thousands of men in our services who have been stationed throughout the world are interested in those things comprised in the Smithsonian Institution, and they have offered us hundreds of thousands of specimens.'

Mr. Case, Do you revalue your exhibits periodically ?

Dr. Wetmore. In what way?

Mr. Case. As to what you are displaying ?

Dr. Wetmoke. Yes; we are continually at work at that. Of course, our exhibition is large, our funds are small, and our staff is not extensive, so that the work goes more slowly than we should like.

Mr, Case. Are the heads of the different divisions or rooms encouraged to give a little face lifting once in awhile ?

Dr. Wetmore. That is done continually within our means. Wlien I spoke a moment ago of "renovation" and conditioning during the war period, I had that very thing in mind.

Mr. Case. I was visiting with a party the other day who had not been to Washington for some years, and he said he had been down to the Smithsonian before and when he came back the Smithsonian looked just as it had 15 years ago.

Dr. Wetmore. I would like to show him some of the improvements. I think I could show him many improvements.

Mr. Case. What occurred to me at the time was this: obviously if you just keep adding to it, you will have to have more floor space all the time; but, as time goes on, the historical value of items would mature and some things could be relegated to the ash can or the garret, whereas others would be featured.

Dr. Wetmoee. That is done constantly. We are continually making changes of that kind.

Prior to the war I had started a program of installing what are known as habitat groups of North American animals; that is, groups in which the animals are shown against a background of foliage work and painting. We had installed four such large groups in the period immediately previous to the war but that work we. stopped immediately on the outbreak of hostilities. When the attack on Pearl Harbor came I had the plans in my office for the renovation of our groups of Indians on the same scheme, but those were laid aside. They will be taken up now as soon as the materials are available. In fact, some of our preparators are working on the accessories for such installations at the present time to have them ready.

We are constantly bringing in new things and putting them on exhibition. Within the last few weeks we have installed one of the Japanese paper balloons that came over here from Japan, with the various equipment that came with it, now made harmless, of course. Beside it there hangs a German parachute, and we have a Japanese parachute that is going up on the other side.

We have just received a series of model maps that were used by General Marshall and his staff in planning the campaigns of the war—a highly interesting group. We will put some of those on view.

May I add that we have from the previous war the map General Pershing had in his headquarters at the close of the fighting.

For the historical collections we have received the desk and chair used by General Eisenhower when planning his Mediterranean campaign, and other objects of that kind.

Mr. DwoESHAK. Doctor, I listened with a great deal of interest to your testimony in support of your justifications for increased funds for 1947 and particularly with reference to the 47 man-years of increased personnel you would like. I also have been impressed by the statement you made of your contributions to the war effort, and the Smithsonian

Institution is properly proud of the contributions it has made to the conduct of the war. I see you have 11 difi'erent headin<2:s or categories in which you point out the various services which your Institution rendered to the various war agencies.

USE or EMPL VEES ENGAGED IN AVAR ACTIVITIES FOR POSTWAR WORK

It just occurred to me that possibly the release of so much personnel which has been for the past 3 or 4 years engaged in essential war activities might be transferred to peacetime activities, so that you are not going to have to increase your personnel to the extent you are requesting. Is not that possible?

Dr. Wetmore. Xo. sir. The work we have done in connection with the war has been accomplished through the postponement of our normal requirements and activities. We have a very considerable backlog of ordinary work that must be performed in connection with the preservation of our collections. We were falling behind m our Avork every year wdien we had our j^rewar staff and no extra war duties to perform.

Gentlemen, let me explain that tlie important materials we have are not necessarily on exhibition. In fact. 1 would say that less than 5 percent of our holdings are in the })ul)lic halls. We have very large collections that are maintained for scientific research and study that are unseen by the public, except by those individuals Avho are interested in some particular specialty. Those study collections are the backbone of our scientific Avork.

We do not accept everything that comes to us by a long ways. Last year the acquisitions totaled more than 2?>"2,000 individual objects, and I am free to say that our refusals included a larger amount.

Mr. DwoRsnAK. What ])ercentage of your personnel Avas engaged in those so-called war activities that you mentioned in your statement?

Dr. Wetmore. About one-quarter, for part time.

Mr. DwoRSiiAK. That is approximately 75?

Dr Wetmore. Yes, sir; between 75 and 100. for part time. The staff that was engaged part time in war work in the main Avas the scientific staff—the professional group— avIio are responsible for the maintenance, care, and preservation of our collections.

Mr. DwoRSiiAK. What Avill they do noAv?

Dr. Wetmore. They Avill go back to this Avork on our collections, preventing their deterioration, inn)roving their arrangement, their guarding, and study, and also Avill go back to the heav}' demands that are made on us for identifications of specimens.

Mr. Davorsiiak. Then, in fact, the elimination of this Avar Avork won't relieA^e the pressure on you for additional personnel?

Dr. Wetmore. In fact, the pressure is uoav greater than ever before; because, due to the war Avork, we are behind in oi\r usual operations.

NEED FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDS IN RELATION TO IMPt»RTAN(E OF WORK OF

THE INSTITUTION

Mr. DwoRSiiAK. I notice you said that last year and the year before and, of course, during the war you did shelve theretofore many essen-

tial activities; but surely you cannot go on expanding your work all the time; there is some limit. What was your personnel, say, back in the last prewar year ?

Dr. Wetmore. In 1940 we had 478 positions.

Mr. DwoRSHAK. And you want about 509 now ?

Dr. Wetmore. We want 509 now; but of these, 45 additional positions are necessar}^ because of the 40-hour week.

Mr. Davorshak. But you had the 40-hour week in 1940.

Dr. Wetmore. No, sir; only in part. The custodial force was on a 44-hour week, so that only the scientific staff and the office force were operating on approximately a 40-hour week.

Mr. DwoRSHAK. Well, that should not make so much difference. It is true they went from a 44-hour basis during the war to 48 hours, but you are back to where you were prior to the war, so it would not make too much difference with that personnel. You say it is with the custodial.

Dr. Wetmore. But the point is this : Our institution has always been understaffed.

Mr. DwoRSHAK. Always.

Dr. Wetmore. Well, that is a broad statement; we have not existed always.

Mr. DwoRSHAK. You have not been very convincing, apparently, with the Appropriations Subcommittee in the past, then.

Dr. Wetmore. Gentlemen, we are discussing scientific and cultural interests here. I know we all have them very much at heart; but, at the same time, they are often difficult to resolve into funds before a committee.

Mr. DwoRSHAK. Yes; but there is some reasonable limit beyond Avhich there may not be any justification for going at a time when there is so much upheaval and confusion in the world.

Dr. Wetmore. We have limited our requests to what we feel is absolutely essential for this work.

Mr. DwoRSHAK. While we think of the cultural asi^ects of life, we likewise must be thinking of the material aspects and security of the Nation, and a lot of other things we have to think about in addition. T just stress that point not because I am not in sympathy with your program but because there is an almost unlimited demand being made on the Appropriations Committee at a time when we are running huge deficits every month, and it is difficult to retrench. Everybody wants to retrench and economize, but they never want us to start with them and never want to pick out any particular agency. I was simply trying to enlist your support in this general program of economy.

Dr. Wetmore. I can assure you we have given very careful consideration to all of these matters in submitting these estimates; and that we have asked only for the restoration or addition of those items that seemed to us absolutely essential.

And let me say this, gentlemen: The materials we hold are part of the scientific and cultural heritage of this Nation. They are the only great accumulation of the kind in the possession of any nation that has not been injured by this war. It would be tragic to have anything happen to them in the postwar period. We should, on the contrary.

utilize them to the fullest extent for the advancement and good of our Nation.

I say we are the only ones that have not been injured, advisedly. Russia was partly overrun by the Germans; the German collections in turn have been very largely destroyed. England liad great possessions of this kind and those also have been mjured very definitely by bombings.

We have the greatest and most important national accimiulation of such .materials that exists now.

Mr. Graf. Would it not be a good thing for us to say that these collections are scientific more than they are cultural ? I would like to leave this word with the committee. We all realize that the Smithsonian's collections are one of the world's important gatherings of scientific materials. The information contained in these collections could be of basic importance to agriculture and to the development of many of the Nation's resources, for they contain the fundamental data from which practical research in many lines must flow. Now, as never before, scientific knowledge is important. Other great nations are turning to a vastly expanded research program to insure their security and the well-being of their peoples. This country is also planning to increase the use of scientific research in the national interest. For this it will need the participation of all of its agencies engaged in research. It would be a grave mistake to hinder the utilization of the scientific collections of the Smithsonian through lack of urgently needed personnel.

Mr. Hendricks. Thank you very much for your statement, Doctor.

THE NATIOXAL GALLERY OF ART

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

Mr. Hexdricks. We will now take up the National Gallery of Art, for which you are estimating $784,000 for 1947. The appropriation for 194C is $583,207. Mr. Cairns, do you have a brief statement ?

Mr. Cairns. Yes.

First, may I express the regret of Col. Harry McBride, the administrator and budget officer of the Gallery, who is unable to appear before the committee. He has been abroad, as you may know, for the War Department.

I have a statement here which sets forth in summary the operations of the Gallery in the past 3^ear, and I should like, with your permission, to have it inserted in the record.

JUSXmCATION OF ESTIMATES

Mr. Hendricks. Do you have that in your justifications? Mr. Cairns. Yes, but I would be deeply appreciative if it could be inserted in the record. (The statement follows:)