The Winslow mail., 1898-12-03
OUR LONG COASTLINE
Second in Length Oaly to That of
the British Empire.
On the Dominions of Uncle Sam. Also,
the Sun Never Sets-Recent
Acquisitions Extend
the Line.

the Sun Never Sets-Recent
Acquisitions Extend
the Line.
Next to the British empire the United
States has the longest coast line of
any nation in the world. With the
new possessions of Puerto Rico and
the Philippines the coast of the United
States will be at least $1,000 miles long,
and, with Cuba, which must have it's
coast line taken in charge by the coast
survey of this country, there viii be
nearly 10000 miles of coast TO be cared
for. The coast line of the United
States, wi iihout Alaska, amounts to
nearly 6,G00 miles, divided as follows:
Two thousand. three hundred and for
ty-nine miles on the Atlantic coast.
$50 miles en- the Gulf of Mexico and
nearly 2,O00 miles on the Pacific coast.
Alaska, because of its numerous inden-
tations and islands-those Aleutian
islands which stretch westward until
they meet the possessions of the Great
White Czar'-has an enormous coast
iEe, mounting up to at least 5000
miles.
To compute the coast line of the Phil
iPpines is a present impossible. Spain
has no photographic office and no
coast survey in working order. Even
the number of islands in the Philip
pine groups are unknown. Spain has
never taken the trouble to count them.
Hydrography and coast survey is an
exact science of which the Latins are
incapable.
Not The least of the burdens i'm
posed upon the United States by the ac-
1uisition of new territory is the sur
yeying of its shores. Although begun
III 1907, the work of surveying the
coast of the United States proper has
never been completed. In the nat t1ure
portions like the Nantucket shoals and
lb0 SDO9E MpiC0 Ito bOtNOOD )IODOL0OL
Point and AIartha's Vineyard which
must be surveyed every once in few
years owing to the shifting sands
which compose them.
When the coastFsuryey of the United
States was started it was proposed to
have the army do the shore work and
the navy the photography. 1t was not
ong before the shore work passed into
the hands of civilians, bat the navy has
so far kept the photography, though it
has worked under q sort of hybrid sys-
tenn, the part of the navy doing the
photography being loaned to the treas
Try department. An officer of the
navy is detailed as photographic in
;pector, and as such has an office in the
office of the superintendent of the
coast survey, who is a civilian official
Of the treasury department. The ships
and launches with which the hydro
graphic work is done are owned by the
treasury department, but the officers
and men who man them are in the en-
Icy of the navy department. 1t is q
system which works better than one
would expect, and so far the charts of
The coast survey take rank with the
BEST in the world. In fact, there is
only one kind Of charts that can COM
care with them and that is the chart
IF the British admiralty. For ac-
,uracy, the charts of the coast survey
cannot be eXcelled, and the British
photographic Office depends now en-
tirely upon the coast survey charts for
he photography of the American
coast. Yet it is only few years ago
hat the British admiralty charts were
taken for the basis of our work in TIE
1ulf of Mexico. The Russian charts,
which formed the basis for our survey
# the Alaskan coast, were imperfect,
nd it will be years before the survey
If that coast is completed.
In the meantime there is the coast
Of Puerto Rico to be taken care of, and
also the coasts of Cuba and the Phil
ppines. The charts which are now de-
oended on for Cuba are incomplete and
unsatisfactory, England and the
Tnited States have done much work
IN that coast, in the way of surveying
the principal harbors, but in many
eases the cid and faulty Spanish charts
ire depended on. To make a complete
survey of the Philippine Archipelago
$ an enormous task, which will re-
1uire years and the expenditure of a
OF of money. As the coasts of the
the coast survey, so the surveys of the
coasts of foreign countries are taken
are of by the hydrogra phic office of
he navy. This is a purely naval bu-
reau and the ships employed in making
surveys outside of the country are all
regularly commissioned men-of-war.
IS matter of fact, all the ships of the
roast survey are regularly commits
:ioned by the navy, although the navy
loes not own them, and fly the ma
tioral ensign, instead of the revenue
lag, which is flown by other ships of
he treasury department, when not in
he naval service (as they have been in
his war) or when they are on duty off
he three-miie limit.
Naval experts say that a nation
should have a navy in proportion to
is coast line. If this proposition is
correct the United States should have
1 navy only little less strong than
hat of Great Britain. Great Britain.
france and Italy have navies some
what in proportion to their coast lines,
While Russia, Germany and Austria
nave navies larger than their coast
ines call for.-N. Y. Press.