Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-23

lW~~G Panama canal commission
kW HeNl to present a big relief
E &z map of the Panama canal to
IN &SI congress, in order that the
zs1zz national lawmakers may
comprehend more fully the
nature of the work at Panama, is now
being carried into effect. Exact sur
veys have been made with the best m
struments which engineering science
possesses, the features of the canal
itself have been charted by the best
engineers available and now the maker
of relief maps is engaged in complet-
ing the work.
The map of the canal zone is being
made in Washington, while that of the
Gatun dam will be completed in Pan
anna under the direct superintendent
of Colonel Goethals. On the whole it
will be the most graphic representa-
tion of the gigantic waterway that can
be imagined. One will see the whole
canal zone in miniature, its peaks, its
rivers, its plateaus, its valleys, all
drawn to scale in their dimensions. 1t
will be recalled that there was relief
map of the canal at the jamestown
exposition, but this will be far bet
ter example of the map sculptor's art.
Uncle Sam is one of the greatest of
the map makers. He has a number of
agencies at work, and if one can be
called more important than another,
that one is the big map of the United
States being made by the geological
survey. 1t is made entirely from new
and patient surveys AID gives about
all the data concerning the national
domain that map sheets may contain.
This map is in sections. a certain
piece of territory is surveyed and from
these surveys, wrought. with infinite
patience, the government map makers
make the sheets. This big map is be-
ing prepared on a scale that makes one
inch on the map represent sixteen miles
of territory. About one-third of the
country has been surveyed, and the
work is being carried forward at the
rate of about 35, 900 square miles a
year. 1t costs about $40 a square mile
to do the work. As there are more than
100000 square miles of territory in the
United States the ultimate cost of this
big map will be more than $30,000,000.
While the big map of the United
States is being carried to completion
an even greater project is on foot. II
is the making of a great map of the
world, drawn to the scale of one inch
to one million. 1t will, of course, be
made in sections, each section repre-
senting a plat of land one degree long
and one degree wide. If it were pos
sible to assemble all the sections into
one big map it would be about 1872
feet square. About one-third of the
earth is now included in the matured
plans, and it is believed that in the
course of the next decade all of the
civilized nations will unite in COM
pleting this big map of the world. This
map would be large enough to show
every important feature of the topog-
raphy of the earth, the scale being
approximately sixteen miles to the
inch. Prussia and France have been
the leading nations in the beginning
of this great work.
Someone has made the statement
that England, has better maps of the
United States than the United States
itself possesses, maps showing all the
post roads and all topography favor
able to military strategy. While Eng
land and Germany both excel the
United States in the art of map max
ing it is not believed that either of
them possesses as accurate surveys of
American territory as Uncle Sam holds.
The geological survey and the coast
and geodetic survey maps are thor
ough. so far as they/go. 1t must be
remembered. too that the government
possesses all of the military maps of
the civil war period and that they are
perhaps as detailed in their portrayal
of Topographic features as military
maps usually are.
1t is believed that the library of
congress possesses the best collection
of maps in the world. 1t has over
100000 of them. While tie British mu-
scum collection may possess many of
the ancient maps that are not to be
found in WaShin gtOn, every modern
and useful map in the world is to be
found there. Great care is taken of
the maps. the filing cases being so
arranged that every sheet may be kept
without damage. 1t is said that the
finest collection of maps in private
hands belongs to a German firm OF
map makers. 'They never turn out a