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FREER COLLECTION.

Senator Henderson, in the absence of Doctor Angell, Chairman, and on behalf of the committee appointed to visit Detroit and inspect the art collection of Mr. Charles L. Freer, presented a report, which was very fully discussed; and as it was deemed best that the matter should be considered at a subsequent meeting of the Board, at which a fuller attendance might be expected, Senator Platt offered the following resolution, which was adopted:

Resolved, That the Board of Regents take this occasion to express their sincere thanks to Mr. Charles L. Freer, of Detroit, for the courtesy shown to the committee of the Regents which recently visited Detroit to examine his art collection; and that further consideration of his generous offer to donate the same to this Institution or the United States be continued until the next meeting of the Board of Regents.

GIFT OF BOTANICAL COLLECTION.

The Secretary stated that Capt. John Donnell Smith, of Baltimore, had donated to the Institution his entire botanical collection, comprising 100,000 plants and nearly 1,600 books on botany. There were no conditions, except that the donor reserved the right to continue to work upon the collection.

Doctor White offered the following resolution, which was adopted: Resolved, That the thanks of the Board of Regents be tendered to Capt. John Donnell Smith for his generosity in presenting to the Institution his large and valuable collection of plants and books on botany, which is gratefully accepted.

FINAL DISPOSITION OF SMITHSON'S REMAINS.

The Secretary reviewed the report presented to the Board at the meeting of January 25 by the committee charged with the final disposition of Smithson's remains, and said that he hoped that at some future time Congress would make an adequate appropriation for giving these remains a fitting interment; but that so far as he had been able he had given present effect to the mandate of the Board by depositing them temporarily within the building in a small room which he had had fitted up on the immediate left of the north entrance to the building.

The remains had been examined by medical experts and found to be in a remarkable state of preservation. They had now been put in a suitable casket and were ready to be transferred to the tomb, and he would ask the Regents, when the meeting had adjourned, to proceed to the room and witness the deposit of the casket.

After remarks on the condition of the work of the Institution, the Board adjourned, and the Regents repaired to the room referred to, where, in their presence, the casket was placed within the tomb, which was then sealed.

REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF

REGENTS OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1905.

To the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution:

Your executive committee respectfully submits the following report in relation to the funds of the Institution, the appropriations by Congress, and the receipts and expenditures for the Smithsonian Institution, the U. S. National Museum, the International Exchanges, the Bureau of Ethnology, the National Zoological Park, and the Astrophysical Observatory for the year ending June 30, 1905, and balances of former years:

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.

Condition of the fund July 1, 1905.

The amount of the bequest of James Smithson deposited in the Treasury of the United States, according to act of Congress of August 10, 1846, was $515,169. To this was added by authority of Congress, February 8, 1867, the residuary legacy of Smithson, savings from income and other sources, to the amount of $134,831.

To this also have been added a bequest from James Hamilton, of Pennsylvania, of $1,000; a bequest of Dr. Simeon Habel, of New York, of $500; the proceeds of the sale of Virginia bonds, $51,500; a gift from Thomas G. Hodgkins, of New York, of $200,000 and $8,000, being a portion of the residuary legacy of Thomas G. Hodgkins, and $1,000, the accumulated interest on the Hamilton bequest, savings from income, $25,000, making in all, as the permanent fund, $937,000. The Institution also holds an additional sum received upon the death of Thomas G. Hodgkins, which is invested in registered West Shore 4 per cent bonds of the par value of $42,000, and which were, by order of the committee, under date of May 18, 1894, placed in the hands of the Secretary of the Institution to be held by him subject to the conditions of said order.

Statement of receipts and expenditures from July 1, 1904, to June 30, 1905.

RECEIPTS,

Interest on fund, July 1, 1904 .

Interest on fund, January 1, 1905..

Interest to January 1, 1905. on West Shore bonds..

Cash from temporary loan

Cash from rents, publications, repayments, freight and other

sources .

$28, 110.00

28, 110.00

$56, 220.00

1,680.00

10,000.00

6, 861.72

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All moneys received by the Smithsonian Institution from interest, sales, refunding of moneys temporarily advanced, or otherwise, are deposited with the Treasurer of the United States to the credit of the Secretary of the Institution, and all payments are made by his checks on the Treasurer of the United States.

a In addition to the above $27,395.56 paid for salaries under general expenses, $13,606.05 was paid for services, viz: $4,956.06 charged to building account; $35 to furniture and fixtures; $3,003 to library; $170,38 to miscellaneous collections; $188.52 to reports; $2.200.47 to researches; $1,153.96 to Hodgkins fund, and $1,898.66 to literary and scientific exchange account.

Early in June, 1905, the Accountant of the Institution, W. W. Karr, whose duties also embraced the handling of its revenues, was found to be a defaulter. Instead of there being a credit balance of $46,648.33 on June 30, 1904, as shown by the books of the accountant, there was in fact a deficiency of $362.80.

The subject of this deficiency is dealt with in detail in a special report communicated by the Secretary to the executive committee, and which the executive committee now submits to the Board of Regents with its approval. It seems proper in this place to make a general résumé showing the items of the deficiency and in what manner it was perpetrated.

On July 13, 1891, a check was drawn for a semimonthly pay roll amounting to $494.57. After the voucher for the pay roll had been approved for this amount and the check corresponding to the voucher had been signed, Karr raised this check from $494.57 to $5,494.57, appropriating the difference, $5,000, to himself. This was the first transgression which was ascertained.

Between July, 1891, and May 31, 1905, there was received as income by the Institution $1,146,051.32, and actually deposited in the Treasury $1,087,184.19, leaving a difference of $58,867.13, which should have been to the credit of the Institution, but which represents the embezzlement by Karr from the receipts of the Institution proper.

In addition to this, Karr embezzled from the Congressional appropriation for the U. S. National Museum for the fiscal year 1904-5 the sum of $7,400, which amount has been repaid to the Government by the bonding company which had given bond to the Government for his fidelity. In further addition thereto, Karr abstracted from funds. received by the Institution for the International Catalogue of Scientific Literature, at London, $4,691.48."

To recapitulate, the actual losses through Karr's embezzlements were as follows:

Moneys received for the Smithsonian Institution aud converted to his own purpose....

Moneys embezzled by him on the raised check....

Moneys embezzled by him from funds for transmission to the International Catalogue of Scientific Literature............

$58, 867. 13

5,000.00

4.691.48

Total.

68, 558.61

The executive committee in 1891, when these defalcations began, consisted of James C. Welling, Henry Coppée, and Gen. M. C. Meigs. As the deficiency, on June 30, 1904, was practically of only momentary duration, having been immediately transformed into a balance by the

@Mr Karr was indicted and when arraigned pleaded guilty and was sentenced to imprisonment for five years in the penitentiary at Moundsville, W. Va.

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