Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-03-16
T H E COAST SURV Ely
Mr. Enloe Wants That Scientific Bureau
Abolished.
He Charges That 1t Has Never Pro-
duced Any Completed Workable
cations of Inemciency.

Mr.. Enloe of Tennessee is after the coast
and geodetic survey. He wants to have IL
abolished and the duties performed re-
spectively, by the Navy Department and
the Interior Department. Mr.. Enloe offered
an amendment to that effect yesterday to
the sundry civil appropriation bill in the
House, supporting it with letters from the
secretaries of the treasury and navy indoors
ing his plan. In the course OF his remarks
upon the amendment Mr.. Enloe made a
vigorous attack upon the Office of the sur
vey. He said the coast and geodetic sur
vey has been engaged on this work for a
period Of eighty-seven years, and mas spent
nearly $300000o0. yet nothing has been
completed. 1t has not completed the sur
vey OF the coast; and 1t has not materially
extended the line which il started in 1871
when il got that $4,000 to make the geo
detic connection between the two oceans
In 1885 Mr. Hilgard, then superintendent CT
the coast survey, was investigated by an
officer of the Treasury Department, Mr.
Chenowith. The minority of the joint COM
mission, commenting upon the testimony
before them, stated that the Investigation
showed that the methods of the coast sur
vey were 'shamefully loose and even cor
rupt.'
81 want to say. Mr.. Chairman. that it has
not changed Its methods from that day to
this, and the same methods which charac-
terized 1t at that time characterize the
present administration of that office"
Mr.. Enloe referred to Mr.. Colonna of the
survey G political chameleon. who
changes his politics with the administra-
ton. Representative Wise of Virginia de-
Tended Mr.. Colonna. and said he is a true
democrat.
How the Field Officers Work.
Mr.. Enloe said:
THE officers known as field officers, en-
ployed in that office. and for whom appro-
priations are carried in this bill, are in the
habit Of spending the summers up on the
coast Of the Atlantic, where IL is pleasant
and agreeable to spend the summer and
then they come to Washington and spend
the winter. That was the fact at that time,
when the committee called attention to IL,
and that is the fact today: and it has been
going on ever since.
AT the time 1 commenced this fight at
this session the chairman of the committee
on appropriations addressed note to the
superintendent of the survey. TO try to get
Some information. That is the one exclu-
sive bureau Of this government from which
no committee on appropriations or members
of Congress can ever get any definite infor-
nation, and we have no means of finding out
definitely what is being made of the
money appropriated by the government TO
maintain this bureau.
Spending the Winter fn Washington.
But when we called for the Information
city. who are appropriated for and sup
posed TO be in the field at work. the answer
was that at that time, a short time ago,
during the months of November. December
and January just past, there were thirty
eight of these men of the field force in this
city. and there were six of them in the
field. Thirty-eight were spending their vim
ter here in Washington, drawing their pay
from the government That Was what was
going on, and proves the truth Of Mr..
Thorne's declaration that il is "a period of
comparative idlsness.' And there is a para
graph in the letter of the present superin-
tei.dent to the chairman OF the committee
on appropriations which shows that for six
months in the year they are not engaged in
any field work. That is why they come TO
Washington and spend the winter here.
A Convention That Never Meets.
when you ask what they are doing, you
are told over there that they are attending
a geodetic convention. That is a convention
that has never met, SO far as anybody
knows. 1t is convention not authorized by
law. 1t is a convention which has never
had chairman, far as we know and il
has never made public any report of its
proceedings. Nobody knows what subjects
il considers or what work IL does. As
geodesy may be defined as that part of
geometry which has for its object the de-
termination of the magnitude and figure of
the whole earth or any portion of its sur
face, they are probably discussing the
question whether II is round or fiat Mr.
Colonna. in his testimony before the joint
commission in 1885, volume 4, page S24.
compares results deluced from the value
OF Bessel, published in 1897, and Clarke
published in 1868 and now used. and shows
that for the millions spent on geoiesy we
have learned that the difference In the
length Of an arc of one mile on the earth's
surface calculated according to the two
values. is about six inches We are spend
ing more than million dollars for every
inch added to the accuracy of the measure
n,ent of the earth
But there is another organization, which.
L understand, meets here every winter
when Congress is in session, and that is the
organization known as the Silver Circle
II is, in common parlance, what We would
call ring but they have a better name
for ii. They call IL the silver circle II IS
made up of a number of democrats and re-
puh,icans in the coast and geodetic survey
and their purpose is to see that the appro-
priations are kept up, and that nobody in
terferes with the management of that bu-
reau.'
No Work Completed.
Mr.. Enloe read the names of the princinal
officials of the survey and detailed their
duties in the Office. In conclusion, Mr.. En-
loe said:
Il contend further that the men con-
trolling this bureau have never COMPLETED
the survey of the coast line. and / say that
they are pervert!ng the public money which
was appropriated for that purpose by de-
voting II to making accurate local SURVEYS
such as were not contemplated when the
bureau was organized, such as should he
made only by the city governments or nv
the state governments, and such as the
United states government has never con-
tempiated or authorized. Naval officers
testify that these detailed charts which arc
made are not necessary for the purposes of
navigaton, and il the gentleman wants 10
inform himself upon that subject he can
| easily learn that those officers have no use
FOR n survey Of this cadastral character"
RecOmrl endntfon of Two Secretaries.
In his letter to Mr.. Enloe the Secretary
of the Navy says:
I'm my opinion the work OF the coast sur
vey now remaining to be done so far as Il
appertains to the coast survey proper. can
be accomplished by the Navy Department
quite as thoroughly and very much more
economically than II is now being done nv
the coast and geodetic survey"
Secretary Carlisles letter concludes with
the statement that 1.-THE measure pronosed
VIII result In a very considerable reduction
IN the expenditures, prevent duplica tions of
work. and secure service fully as efficient
In all respects as that now existing.
"A point Of order was made against Mr.
Enloe's amendment that IL was new leyisIa
ton, which was sustained by the chair. Mr.
Enloe then offered an amendment directing
lenartmpnt