Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-09-23

| A communication from the advisory
| committee of the National Lumber
mems Association and icther organiza-
lions laid before the board. 1t urged
| the board 20 an expression of opinion
by the board on the matter of a uni
form ocean bill of lading.
Mr.. Goldthwaite moved that the COM
munication be referred that it be re-
ferred to the executive committee, and
the motion was carried
The regular program Of the after
noon was carried out.
The first address was by George Otis
Smith, L. l.. d.. director of the U. S.
Geological Survey. on the subject. 1.-THE
Relation of the U. S. Geological Sur
vey TO the Public" with special refer
ence to the national resources of this
State.
The Relation of the United States
Geological Survey of the Public.
| (BY GEORGE OTIS SMITH)
To serve the people is the purpose of
every Government department and bu-
reau AS a part of the public service
the Geological Survey has functions
prescribed by law. In the organic act
|
it is specified that the new bureau is
charged with the classification of the
public lands and the examination of the
| geologic structure. mineral resources
and products of the national domain.
Thus did Congress express it's recogni-
| ton of the practical relationship exist
ing between geology and the mineral
industry as well as it's appreciation of
| the fact that these mineral resources
constitute the nations material wealth.
The Survey thus became a pioneer
agency in the development of the couH-
| try It's name expresses the scope and
character of it's work as national, scien-
| tific, and practical. Survey" stands
| for work in the field, and this branch
of the public service is an organization
for pratical investigation in which the
methods of pure science are made to
serve unitarian ends so as to insure
the attainment of the economic results
desired by the public. To be successful
Government scientific bureau must
he practical
The extent of the operations of the
Survey depends upon the size of the an
nual appropriations in it's behalf Con-
gress has gradually increased these
from 100000 to over one and half
million, SO that the Geological Survey
has become better equipped to occupy
the large field of public service to
which it was given a title in 1879
Its activities are all directed toward
| the public benefit but are so varied as
to deserve simple classification for
purposes of description. The eAploTa-
| ton work of the Survey includes the
discovery and mapping of the previous
! ly unknown; the Investigations by the
| Survey have as their purpose the de-
| termination of the value Of all the new
| iata collected by the fieldmen; and the
publication side of the work involves
| the making known to the world the re-
suits of these explorations and investi-
cations.
AS speak of the explorations of the
Survey, l must mention first the TWEEN
| ty-five to thirty thousand square miles
| of territory that is mapped each year
| by the Survey topographers. EAplora-
! ton is the correct term, for our topo-
graphic surveys bring out new discov-
| cries even in portions of the United
| States long settled. For example, the
| highest points in such old states as
Ohio and Pennsylvania have been dc
terinined only recently in the course of
the field surveys of these areas by our
topographers.
The detailed maps that are being
thus made of the country already num-
her 100 sheets, which together cover
one-third of the area of the United
States. These maps constitute the
mother map" of the country i'll that
they are based upon actual surveys, so
that the other maps with which the
public is familiar. whether published in
geography. atlas. or as a folded State
or county map are to a large extent
based upon the United States Geclogi-
cal Survey maps.
These maps now possess a degree of
accuracy which fits them to serve the
general purposes of preliminary sur
veys. so that the engineer can use
them for the location of railroads,
canals. highways. trolley lines, or in
connection with planning water sup
ply. sewerage. drainage or irrigation
systems The fact that the sales OF
these Survey maps average over
thousand sheets every day in the year
is evidence of a popular demand. but
the measure of the cOntr1DutlOn or
these surveys to the public includes
more than the extent of map distribu-
ton. Over all parts of the country
there have been lines of levels run
amounting to more than 100000 miles.
over eight thousand miles being run
last year Permanent bench marks
are established, 200 last year, as
result of this accurate levelling, and
these monuments serve the public.
whether it be the western ranchers
planning their irrigation system or
the eastern engineers selecting pipe
line route.
Geologic mapping by the Survey
biologists is another branch of ex-
poration work. in which not only is
the surface distribution of the rocks
and soils observed and mapped but
also the subjacent formations are
studied to the end that the published
maps may furnish the prospector. the
mine operator. or the driller for oil,
gas, or water with reliable information
as to what may be encountered at
hundreds and thousands Of feet be-
meath the surface.