Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-09-25
PRAISE FROM FRIENDS
Scientists Laud Late Major
John w. Powell.
WILL BE BURIED HERE
BODY TO ARRIVE FROM MAINE
THIS EVENING.
Interment Will Be at Arlington
Public Service to Be Held
at Smithsonian.

at Smithsonian.
The body of Major John Wesley Powell,
| former director of the geological servey,
| who died in Maine, will reach here this
| evening. Interment will be at Arlington
| The funeral arrangements Of this distin-
| guished scientist are in charge of DR.. Da-
! Vid 7. Day of the geological survey and
Prof. D. ]. MCGEE Of the bureau of Amer
| lean ethnology.
Dr. Day came from New York yesterday
| to give his attention to the funeral ar
| rangements. Throughout scientific circles
| in Washington the death Of Major Powell
| is deplored. At the offices Of the geological
servey this afternoon crepe was tied to the
| door knobs and in the bureau of ethnology
| his picture was displayed, surrounded by
| mourning.
| DR.. Day, chief of the division of mining and
mineral resources of the geological survey,
| spoke in most endearng terms Of the man
who had been his chief. He said:
| Tribute From Dr. Day.
| I'm preparing today brief editorial no
| tice for the Engineer and Mining Journal of
| New York, of which 1 am editor in chief,
| attention was particularly drawn to the
| fact that. while Major Powell ranked as
| one of the greatest natural explorers in the
| United States, his prime characteristic was
| that of far-seeing organizer in govern
| ment scientific work.
mo one has done ANYTHING like So much
| in showing to the government the lines of
! scientific work which were absolutely nee
| essary for the general progress Of the
| country. II we We're called upon to select
| ten of the most influential men in the de-
| velopment of the United States scientist
| would be one of them, and he would be
| Major Powell.
Tn,
| greatest contribution to the country's prog
| ress which Major Powell made. l would Sc
Iect the plan which he has developed for
making a complete topographic map Of the
| United states, upon which all of the natS
| ural science study has since been based.
Without 1t. the great irrigation movement
would have been impossible. The present
| active forestry work would have been de-
| layed five or ten years.
| 1t is unnecessary to add that the geo.
! logic work. not only of the national sur
| vey, but of many state surveys, could not
| have been carried on without this advance
| work in topography; but, further rail-
! roads. reservoir SITES, routes for CARRYING
| water to hydraulic mines, and many other
! industrial enterprises have been carried out
| with the help of this topographic survey"
MI. Newell's Kind Words.
Mr.. F. H. Newell, chief engineer in the
reclamation service of the geological sur
vey, who was long connected with Major
I
chief was a serious loss to the scientific
world.
IF the question is asked what man has
IN recent times done most for the develop
ment of the United States along the line of
obtaining accurate facts and scientific data
upon which men base their business esti-
mates, the reply must be that this one man
was Major Powell he said. "Disre garding |
for the moment his services as a soldier, |
and later as explorer, and also as a |
geDlOg1St. r Un SiYcyIa ",
which he stood preeminent The first is in |
the construction of the great map of tho
United states, and the second in the recla- |
nation of the arid west
when Major Powell became director of |
the geological survey, in 1880 he found that |
one or the great necessities both for geo.
logic work and for the development of the |
unknown resources of the country, was the |
construction upon some systematic plan of
a map, which should show all of the eleva- |
ions OF the surface, and yet be on a scale
and of such character that it could be COM
pieted within reasonable time, and at a. |
cost not prohibitory.
This great work he begun in such a way
that his plan has been carried out and the |
United States. although not yet fully map
ped, has the work well under way, and
there Is no. longer a question to ways
| and means. Topographic atlas sheets have
| been completed for many of the least
known portions of the country and also for
some of the more thickly settled portions |
| stimulating enterprise. enabling construc-
| ton of roads and railroads. and adding in
multitude of ways to the general welfare |
| of the people
| Major Powell was by no means the first
| map maker, but it was his scheme and his
| executive ability which made possible the !
| successful elimination of the great under
| taking.
A Public Benefactor.
| ''In the second line of usefulness Major
| Powelfs reputation will continue to in
| CT ease indefinitely He it was who, among
| scientific men and statesmen, first energeti-
| cally and persistently advocated the recla-
nation by the government of the arid pub
| lie lands His statement Of facts his ar
Suments and definite recommendations
have served great reservoir from
which other men have drawn from time to
time.
AT present, when by the law Of June IT,
the reclamation of the arid lands is an as
sured fact and men take it matter of
course, it is hard to realize the amount of
courage necessary to advocate a course OF
| this kind. Many of his best friends tried
to persuade Maj. Powell from advocating
this project and pointed to the storm of
ridicule and abuse raised by his advocacy
| of the matter
Nevertheless, with chara cteristic per-
| sistency he never yielded made an adj
mission of defeat in spite of the fact that
| year after year his advocacy seemed to
| yield no useful results. 1t is gratifying to
| know that Maj Powell lived to see the
| time when the ideas for which he had been
| the President of the United States and
| adopted by Congress-"
Services will be held tomorrow at the
| Smithsonian Institution in memory of the
| man who gave the greater portion of his
| life to the interests Of that institution and