Morning journal and courier., 1889-04-11
TYPOGRAPHICAL MAP
For she Little Nutmeg state-Profess

For the Little Nutmeg State-PrOfessor
 Brewers Advocacy and Reasons.
 HARTFORD, April 10.-Prof. William Fl.
 Brewer of Yale is the principal advocate of 8
 bill now before the legislature to make an appropriation for the construction of topo-
 graphical map of Connecticut in conjunction with the United States geological and geo. grapical survey, the expense to the State to be only five dollars per square mile and the remainder to be borne by the national gov- ernment. Prof. Brewer says that there is no accurate map of Connecticut, simply because detailed surveys have never been made. The only maps that exist have been made by pri- vate enterprise-some to sell and others to further the interests of the railroad oompa-
 nies or whoever made them. The frat can have no pretension of accuracy, and the oth- CTS are often made Intentionally wron g. These maps are founded on some measurements, filled up with guesswork, and the local maps of certain cities and boroughs.
 "On account of this inaccuracy," says the professor, 'even the size of the State is not known; the various authorities, even in off, cial statements, differing by several hundred square miles. We do not know the area of the towns. In the construction of an official map few years ago, on which are based the
 areas of the several counties as given in va-
 rious official publications, the way they ar-
 rived at the desired information was this
 "The common map of the State, such as
 was sold in the shops, was carefully trim
 med by scissors and then carefully
 weighed on an apothecary's scales; it was then cut along the
 country lines as they were printed on that
 map, and the separate pieces of paper weigh
 ed. The total area of the State was estimated
 zuho ofo had oal o&1
 would be better term-and then from the
 relative weight of the bits of paper, as com
 pared with the weight of the paper of the
 entire Connecticut map, the relative size of
 the various parts was estimated. This is the
 most accurate means of determining so inn
 portant point as that of this State. We
 have better maps of the moon, and ,even those are not considered sufficiently accu- rate"
 The reasons why Prof. Brewer urges the surveys to be made, aside from the advsn- tages to education, are that such maps will relating to railroads, highways, bridges, wa ter works, etc., and that as such maps will be necessary some time, it is best to take ad- vantage of the present offer of the National government to bear the greater part of the expense, or all over $25, ,000, and the surveys can be made cheaper and more easily now than after the landmarks and positions es, tablished in the border surveys of Massachu- setts and Rhode Island are removed. The legislature is called upon every year to legis- late in matters to which the topography of the State is in some way related. The State officials and legislators are entirely depen- dent upon the private maps made by the in- terested parties, and there is no guarantee against fraud.
 It was in that way that the United States government in granting subsidies of 5000 a mile more for building the first Pacific rail- road in the mountain regions than for build ing the road in the plains regions was made to pay for hundreds of miles of mountain construction where the road could have been more easily and cheaply built than the rail- road from New Haven to New York. For twenty years the government has been groan- ing over such mistakes and is now endeav- oring to obtain correct maps by cooperating with the States. The State of Connecticut needs an accurate knowledge of it's own do- main even more than the national govern ment needs accurate maps of the new regions, and such map of the State as that pro posed would be Of greater use to individuals than to the State.
 The survey of Massachusetts has been fin ished and part of the maps engraved. Mas sachusetts paid $5 per square mile, an ag- gregate of $40,000, and the United States paid the remainder, more than $60, 900. The field work for the Rhode Island maps was completed last November. New York has I not yet accepted the offer of cooperation.
 Prof. Brewer has succeeded in getting many prominent people interested, and he is ! hopeful that the legislature will not reject this opportunity for an accurate State sur- vey.