The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-04-20

name of the early discoverer of New York
bay, Giovanni da Nerrazzano, as an ex-
ample, such authorities as the Century
Dictionary of Proper Names, Haydn's
Dictionary of Dates, Lppincotts Gazetteer,
and other like works of major authority
do not agree and not one is correct. There
fore, the veriication of the exact spellings
of all doubtful proper names becomes a
matter calling for the utmost editorial
skill and care. Again, we find historical
works of the foremost rank differing ma
terially as to the important dates in earlier
history, and not alone in earlier history,
but in later as well. For example, five
prominent reference works of an encyclo-
pedic nature give four different dates as
the day upon which the State of Wyoming
was admitted to the American Union, and
yet here is a recent date that Is easily as
IL is all along the line, veriication Of every
statement must be made with the utmost
care.
UNCLE SAM LENDS A HAND.
The latest educational data must be OBJ
tanned from the reports of the United
States commissioner Of education and from
state reports upon the same subject. Every
| stated altitude must be verified in the gov
ernment's Dictionary of Attitudes" The
spellings of rivers and their tributaries,
mountains, lakes and every place name
must be carefully verified in the reports of
the United States Board on Geographic
Names. The commercial and industrial life
of the State under consideration must be
aScertained from a number of sources, such
as the statistical works of the Treasury
Department, the various reports Of the Ag-
ricultural Department, the commissioner of
labor, and so on through a considerable
list of both national and state govern
ments. Local guides must be consulted and
their statements verified in search for the
latest facts regarding the principal cities
and the relative Importance of these be
prnxroH hr tbn 1ofa1zr fSGtna1 htaliofirg nf tho
twelfth United States census. One after an
other, perhaps beyond the half-dozen limit,
books must be consulted in veritic2tiOn of
each one of these apparently minor details
and in not a few cases where these doc
tors disagree" letters Of inquiry must be
written to local authorities who will have
an absolute knowledge of the matters in
quired of, because of their being on the
spot.
To the reader many of these items of
information, these dates, place names, and
names of men prominent in history may
seem of minor Importance, and certainly
they will imagine them 10 be of easy as
certainment and veriication. Not so, how
ever: nothing that goes into the making up
of a really great atlas should be considered
of minor experimentation a fact, or a
date, or a name must be mentioned exact
ly as it should be. or else not mentioned
SCRUPULOUs ACCURACY.
Nc conscientious editor will content him
self with uncertainties; but he will fol-
low out every possible clew until he has
reached scientific accuracy i'm every par
ticuIar. Although the statement will sound
TO the reader as an exaggeration. il can be
emphatically asserted that over sixty prin-
cipal works of reference must he kept close
at nand by the editor during this work and
perhaps nearly as many more will be called
into consultation during the preparation OF
one of these chapters of geographical de-
scription. And, if all this is necessary for a
nearby State, and all these books Of refer
ence must be gathered together and kept
near at hand, what are the difficulties of
the situation when the subject under con-
Sideration is a distant and perhaps little
known land? Then. moderately speaking.
they are increased ten fold.
STATISTICS. ASTRONOMY. ETC.
Perhaps even greater care must be taken
with the statistical tables, charts and dia-
grams which have come to be an import
ant feature OF the complete and modern
atlas. The figures which enter into these
are gathered from many and widely sepa-
rated sources. from the reports OF the
treasury and other departments. those of
the Foreign and Home Offices in England.
and like Offices in other countries, and even
the reports Of the now famous Sir Robert
Hart. chief of the Chinese customs service,
and the English. Dutch and German re-
ports. regarding the little known islands in
tiniZed for the information upon which
these statistics are based. Then the most
careful and oft-repeated calculations. veri-
lied at every step OF the way, follow, and
thus. little by little. are built up the vari-
OILS items which so 20 make up the COM