National Republican., 1881-07-01

speculation and wonderment that ceases not with
advancing years Long after stations have been
abandoned and the memory Of the parties who
visited them AIDED from recollection, the hill on
which the bench mark and the tripod poles still
stands becomes a shrine more sacred than Aecca
visited Summer after summer by country picncs
who point out where stood the theodollte tent and
where the reconnoiterng glass, and who wind up
their "reminiscences Of former days by ex-
pressing their unbounded conviction that
the survey was practically 10 good anyhow"
II would have been inooriprehensiblc to them to
have mentioned that the nature Of primary tri.
angulauon rcquircd that certain sections of the
country sboaid be divided into a number Of tri-
angles whose sidcs are Isuaily from ten TO twenty
miles long and sometimes extended nNy and even
eighty miles That the baso-line on level tract
OF country gives assurance for the fidelity Of the
work. and that when all the angles of the triangles
are carefully observed, they can proceed to make
astronomical determinations Of latitude and lon-
gltude in order to deduce the curvature OF that
portion of the earth which is the theatre Of their
operations. The skeleton primary triangle is now
ready TO be reduced and becomes subsidiary in
useful relation TO the photographed work rs tho
dclincator Of the coast line and the peculiar fea
lures Of the land, and this brings us in intimate
connection with the subject Of
HYDRooRAPHY.
The principal labor is that of sounding. With the
OulilncS OF lnC snOIC NOpoBIhphNE
| he has only to measure certain angles upon the
shoe signals at regular intervals in the progress
of line OF soundings and the position Of tho boat
or vessels in the line Is thus ascertained. These
observations are SO unerring thnt the navigator
can safely find his way by the soundings given in
| the chart The value Of the photographed work
! performed by the Coast Survey within tho lest
| quarter Of century cannot be too highly esti-
mated. BY the erection Of lighthouses, buoys
4 I.NfI ia ali
and rocks which made tho once dreaded Veil
Gate and Florida Reefs terror to navigators, ouI
| coast has been divcsted of much Of its danger.
uscharacter. Theinvcstgaton ofthe tides, the cx-
porations OF the Gulf Stream, the magnetic force o
the earth, and the meteorological condition OF the
atmosphere are subjects closely interwovon with
our commercial success and interesting to every
| navigator
BEFORE OUR SURVEY WENT
into practical and active ope alton the loss TO oui
shipping was immense. A vast amount Of prop
erty and many valuable lives were sacrificed
through the remissneSs and apathy of Congress In
appreciating its intrinsic merits Our coasts wcrs
len uadcfendcd and almost at the mercy Of any
foreign or domestic enemy, our commerce Grip
Pied and our mariners confused by The intricate
dangers that menaccd the approaches to our coast
A half centirvs lapse Of time has wrought gren
and wonderful change. Behold now the result
At cost which is trining compared with the vas
outl y OF funds for the prosecution of the surve!
of the British coast we have erected n magnifcen
monument Of seOdetic and photographic scienc
ccipscd by no natiol on the face of the Globe. Gu
survey has fulfilled the ambitious hopes Of Its earl
founders. On the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf Stream
learning, science, and inventive skin have unte'
In perfecting system which, while IL aifords nj
adequate protection to our marine power develop
scientific inquiry, expands our intellectual re
sources, and makes us truly great Nation. Wher
the pendulum vibrates, ant the dcc3 sta thcr
mometer explores; where the telescope swings an
the magnetic needle dips; on the cloud cappe
mountains of Maine or in those regions Of per
pctual night. where the footsteps OF man selcor
penetrate science shines clear and ~unfct.crcd b
bigotry in its application to American int1str
and American enterprise