Heritage for Sale

Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lawrence Small has embraced commercialism and shifted the Smithsonian's mission from "the increase and diffusion of knowledge" to acting as an auxilliary megaphone for corporate marketing and public relations efforts. "Mr. Small, a mortgage banker by profession, is much better suited to the promotion of SUVs or hamburgers than to the management of our nation's most important cultural institution. Mr. Small should be sacked before he degrades the Smithsonian into a Hall of Hucksters," states Commercial Alert, which has assembled a compendium of news stories on Small's controversial tenure.