The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1858-01-17

~ Publication Of Exploring Espefa1ons-Ia ou-
sands Of Do2a,s ~SquamdeTed Jtar T|ash-THe
Cost ef d Pn,,..-Rsois,b Of @s Publication Of
Smress and Explorations.
OF the various modes o: inserting An etching
palm into the treasury, invented BY the fertile
genius Of the Washington lobby, that of book
mongering is amongst the most common. The gov
eminent printer and his e,nque in both houses Of
Congress are always ready TO appropriate money for
the dissemination of intelligence amongst the peo-
pie" in the shape of ponder"us and costly books,
on whatever subject the omnipotent lobby finds it
most profitable TO agree. For q long series at years
upwards Of $40, 600 have been annually expended upon
o rretentiUus folio called American Archives" Of
which ! win venture to say not one in n hundred
thousand of the American people ever heard, and
which is chiefly known TO the grocers asd trunk
makers of the federal metropolis. | believe this
treasury leech was with difficulty detached from its
hold some years ago. But 40 far ~ |
know, that still more stupendous imposi.
ton, The United States Exploring Expedi
ton which has been going on there twenty
years or more, is as far from an end AZ ever. Its.
principals seem to have been invested with immor-
tally, and their mighty pens' produce annually
at least two quartos, full of gaily Colored oyster
shells and antipodean BOOSTERS, which go to swell
Times wallet for oblivion, and reduce Uncle Sans
auriferous dropsy. / hope some new member of
Congress, who has not yet sold himself body and
soul to the harpies OF the lobby, will press
through a resolution of inquiry into the cost Of this
disgraceful job. And while he is about it, he might
embody a similar inquiry into the cost of hat seem
ingly endless, but exceedingly expensive national
annual, Schoolcratt's "lnformation Concerning
the Indians Year after year massive quarsos under
this title fall like mud avalanches upon an
unoffendiug public, provoking infinite mirth
amongst those acquainted with aboriginal sub.
jects at home, and astonishing scientific men
abroad by their crudity and indifference. They are
printed Oh costly paper. in luxurious type, and are
iulI of spruwling outlines of beast and bird, smeared
with bright yellow or dirty red, which, for any scien-
tiic value they may possess, might be copied from
the wslls Of II country schoolhouse; aud the text is
to match. Indian 'spook -tories,' old wives tales,
scraps OF bad geology and worse grammar profound
disquisitions on material matter and u%nctuous
piety Of the camp meeting order, make up the bulk
Of these costly tones. Nearly 5000 900 have been
drawn from the pocke.s of the people to pay for thus
blazing abroad the :" whimabams" of some garrulous
old man. who should have been left to humble his
rubbish to the urchins at the freside, or under the
porch OF the corner grocery.
Owens Geology of Wisconsin - and the reports of
the surveys for a Pacific railway although promising
3 real importance as compared with the impostures
which we have indicated, still lose the greater part
OF their vaiut from the hOuucrOtlS style IN WnlCn tney
are printed. and from their dull, uniDteresting and
useless details. Their publication by Congress may
he justified on the ground that the information
which the first contains tends to pake known the
value of the government lands and induce emigra-
tion, and because the second relates to a great public
work in which the whole nation is interested. Yet
both these objects would nave been better and more
economically promoted bad these works been put in
competent hands for abridgemeDt, and the vital in
foImstion which they contain reduced 10 an avaiia-
BILE form for the public. As 1t is, they arc mere lum-
Der, repnIsive and valueless.
am led to these remarks by the letter Of a Wash
iugton correspondent relating to an exploring and
publishing enterprise. He is eloquent in fa-
vW Of some grand expedition to hunt rattletraps
and make miscellaneous antiquarian explorations in
Central America, New Mexico, or anywhere else
that the government chooses, provided the treasury
will advance the wherewithai. The talk about ''the
mysterious architectural remains of New Mexico is
CANNON. They are no more mysterious than the
remains of the last fire in broadway. II has been
shown over and over again that they are the remains
Of precisely such edifices "a se still con-
structed by the Moquis. and generally by
what are called the Pueblo Indians of New
Mexico. If the professor who proposes the ex;
petition does not know this much, he should
he put in the third form Of a district school, for some
months at least, before he is let loose on the public
treasury.
Seriously, hope that Congress and the govern
ment will have nothing TO do with any Of thee
schemes Of public plumber. However desirable GER
tain explorations may be in various departments Of
resesrcA and in different parts Of the globe, expe-
rience has shown that every attempt 10 carry them
out ends in a disgraceful JOB. The work never falls
into the most competent hands, but is invariably
awarded, a. a part OF the spoils, 70 the greatest bore
OF most assiduoUs p~artizan. II light is needed on
New Mexican ruins, LET government publish the re-
port OF our late Mexican Boundary Commissioner
Mr.. Bartlett. in which they are amply and intelk-
gibly illustrated. If il desires to entertain the pub
lie with grim-visaged idols from Central America,
no doubt the executors of Messrs. Stephens and
Ch~atterwood. or the portfolios of Heine, Squier, Wal
deck and Aubin would gladly give up their unpublish-
ed I" treasures in that line, on m scverer condition
than that they should be sent forth 10 the world in the
glories of chrUmo-lithography II the popular taste
Is for fiat visages and piptnls. dull text and ample
margin, the editor Of the japan Expedition can no
doubt supply the demand of the government print
err.
We fear. however, our Professor IL rather late.
He should have whetted his beak while the trea-
sury was fat. Its protruding bones give poor promise
OF present spoil.
70 show the readers Of the HERALD the extent to
which wasteful extravaganza and disgraceful job
bling are carried in the department Of public printing,
] will mention the fact that there is absolutely no
limit in many eases TO the number OF volumes filled
up by the writers. the cost OF the work or the time
which they may occupy, at their option, In the pre-
parat on OF their books. Thus n book ordered by
Congress may be extended TO any length. and the
price swelled TO a fabulous amount, TO serve the cupi-
dity Of the author and the printer. Seven, and even
eleven, huge quarto volumes are often occupied by
matter the useful portion OF which could easily be
compressed into one. Enormous prices are paid for
colored illustrations wholly unnecessary for the de-
velopement OF the subject, and which serve only TO
enrich the windows OF some small corner book store
in New York and elsewhere, where these costly
volumes find a deposit AT a merely nominal price. In
one work. descriptive Of some exploring expedition
= forget it's title-the cost OF getting mp a single
picture Of some species of parrot amounted 20 some.
thing between twenty five and fifty thousand dollars.
How many Of the poor. heavily taxed people of the
United States ever saw the costly plumage Of this
favored bird. il would not take n long time TO count.
As an evidence " the extrayagance p~racticed in
this way. let US take the last report Of the Superin-
tendent of Public Printing sent to the Thirty fifth
Congress in December last; and looking at his list of
public documents not yet completed, what do we
tBd.-
T. The ReIprt cf The Results Of the United States Naval
Astronomical r~Spednb Ia the Southern Hemisphere, is
ls4e. Sc. 81, 50. Since the last report from this Office
cue addtonsl volume ~ die report has been printed and
begnJ. (two having been previously completed and ano-
Their vcume b. nearly rea"y for the binder. II Is unocr-
..cext chat thf. r.,prt Will make sevep ,uorfo vcturpos