The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-04-17
AHAT has become of the maps of

NJ HAT has become of the maps of
our school days? Every adult
person remembers the schoolroom mans
which represented the earth in two
hemispheres, with curved lines to in
dlcate both the latitude and the longi-
tude The equator was indicated bv
straight line; the parallels" Of Iati-
tude above and below it were by no
means parallel as drawn, but spread
apart as they approached the border
Oh the map, the upper ones curving
upward, and the lower ones downward
Likewise there was but one straight
meridian line, which was in the mid
die, the meridians to the right and left
OF it converging until they met at the
poles.
These. maps have been superseded to
an astonishing extent by the "Merca-
tors projection" within recent years.
The latter has come into use so sud
denly that the mass of the people have
not come TO understand it Alright. Now
ana then an angry protest is heard
from some one who has discovered its
tremendous distortions. and is ipdie-
haht at what he deems a deception
practiced upon him. The cartogra-
piers in self-defense, retort to such
a person that he had no reason for
being deceived, since a study of the
system would have made clear to him
what the map was really meant to in
dlcate. But the great mass of the peo-
pie have never studied the different
systems OF eartography and don't dis
tlngulsh between a polyconic projection
and a Mercator's; or if they do note
difference they do not take its de-
tails into account in hastily consult
ing it.
Old Mercator pronounced Mer-
cah-tor) has been dead for more than
three centuries, but il is only since
Dewey's victory in Manila bay that his
projection has come into universal use
IN America. For the last six years it
has been constantly before US in books
IN magazines, in newspapers, in call
endarS and advertisements of MANY
kinds, and even in the new Biographies
for young pupils. A quarter century
ago the Mercator'S map was inserted
at the close of the most advanced text
books in geography, to be used with
caution by those who were competent
TO compare it with other maps and to
understand it; and, indeed, it has al
ways had limited use among the nav
lgatorS and scientists; but never until
recently did it become the map for the
people.
How did Deweys victory aid the
change? There was an immediate de-
mand for a representation In which
the United States and the Philippine
islands should be presented in sin
gle map. For this purpose the Old
maps of the heinispheres. with their
curved lines, would not answer; and
the old Flemish geographer's projec-
ton came into general and immediate
use.
Of course. it is impossible to repre-
sent perfectly the surface OF a globe
upon fiat piece of paper. Every pro-
lection pertraying a large portion of
the earth's surface is open TO some OBJ
lection, and is liable to deceive the un-
wary. But it may well be questioned
if the 'Mercator" is not far more OBJ
jectionable for popular use than the
map with curved mer4dians and par
allels in which the heInispheres are
given separately.
In the Mercater's projection the me-
ridians are parallel, and straight, and
SO are the parallels Of latitude. They
cross at right angles. The world is