Birmingham age-herald., 1895-01-04
The .. s. Govt Reports slow Royal Baking Powder superior 10 aW others.
CONTINUE THE SURVEY
Tuskaleosa Times.

Tuskaloosa Times.
 A bill is now pending before the general assembly looking to the discontinuance of the geological survey of the state, which if passed will be serious blow to the mate rial development of Alabama. The bill is introduced upon the ground that the Uuited States geological survey is doing the same work in Alabama, and that it is useless to be duplicating their work by the state. AS a matter of fact this Is a mistake. Dr. Eu- gene A. Smith, state geologist, was called upon by Times reporter and in reference to the pending measure said
 "I have the explicit statement of the director of the Uoited States survey, when it's operations N ere conducted on the largest scale, that they never proposed to touch upon the economic geology of the several states, but intended to leave these matters to the state organizations, and to direct their whole energies to the preparation of topographic maps, upon which they intend to depict the geological formations by means of appropriate colors. During the twelve years since the reorganization of the United States survey, in 1882, they have surveyed in Alabama eleven sheets, cover- inY each an area of some 900 square miles, about 1O, ,000 in all-less than one fifth oi the total area of the state.
 ''Since the reduction in the appropria- tions made by the congress of 1892 all the work of the United States survey of every kind has been suspended in Alabama, and Is not likely to be renewed unless the ap- propriations should be very materially in- creased by future congresses. With the appropriation increased to the former fig ures, it would be about fifty years before the whole state would be gone over and topographic maps of it prepared, even assuming that the work would be pushed in the lower part of the state as it has been in the mineral region, which is altogethei improbable, since Alabama has heretofore received more attention than other states, with very few exceptions.'
 In addition to the invaluable work already accomplished by the survey, the following are among the proposed items Of it's future work:
 1. The mapping of the coal outcrops ir the Warrior and Coosa coal fields upon the same scale as has been done for the Cahabs field.
 2. The investigation of the lower part e the state with reference to artesian water.
 8. The preparation of county maps on ( scale of half q mile to the inch, showing the geologic, topographic and agriculture features, to be accom- panied with full re- ports upon the economic resources of eact county.
 Now, in view of the incalculable bene. fits the state has derived and will continue to derive from the work of the survey, i does seem that to stop 1t just in the zenitf of it's good work would be extremely ill advised and hurtful to the best interests o the state and this entire people.
 The survey is doing more today to ad vertise and unfold to the eyes of the worlt the great advantages and wonderful wealtt of the state than all other agencies com bined, and that fact is alone reason sufh cient why it should be allowed to continue