tation of the unfairness of the present state of things should be made by those unconnected with the Government service. Every business man knows— and Congress is largely composed of able business men—that it is unwise to pay inadequate salaries to those who fill responsible offices. Thus the present agricultural appropriation bill, as approved by the House, allots $187,520 to the Division of Forestry, of which $2,500 is for the salary of the chief. Now the efficiency with which this large sum is expended depends on the chief, and it is clearly economical to secure the services of the best man in America. Such men are found, attracted by the great opportunities for advancing science offered by the Government service, but they are often called away to other work of equal importance with larger salary. Thus an officer of the Department of Agriculture receiving $1,800 has this year accepted a position under the Japanese Government with a salary of $7,000. Men from the Government bureaus will be found in all our universities, while it is but seldom that a man will go from a university position to Washington. The present agricultural appropriation bill contained a modest increase of salary for some of the scientific officers, but the provisions were regarded as out of order on the ground that they were new legislation. It is to be hoped that a bill will be introduced at once containing these provisions for the reorganization of the Department of Agriculture.
The needs of the United States National Museum should be urged by men of science throughout the country, because its organization is such that it has no really responsible head, whose duty it is to present its claims to Congress. The museum has developed under the Smithsonian Institution, but, as Joseph Henry pointed out, the functions of the two institutions are entirely different. It may possibly be best for the museum to remain under the Smithsonian Institution, owing to administrative reasons; but it should at least have the autonomy possessed by the Bureau of American Ethnology with an independent director. The sheds in which the great, though somewhat unsymmetrical, collections are housed at Washington are a reproach both to science and to the Government. New York City has spent millions of dollars on the building for its museum, while the National Government has done practically nothing. Every member of Congress takes pride in the National Library, and no one regrets the millions of dollars that it cost. It is but right to give material expression in the best form possible to the intellectual life of the nation. But why should not the museum have a building equally representative, and funds for the increase of its collections by well-organized scientific expeditions? It will doubtless have them if we wait long enough, but there are more efficient ways to obtain things than by waiting.
Senator Morgan has introduced a bill establishing a National Observatory of the United States on almost exactly the lines recommended in the last issue of this journal. There is now a real opportunity to secure a reform, advocated for years by our leading astronomers, and all interested in science should unite in urging the passage of the present measure. The text of Senator Morgan's bill is as follows:
