El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-01-09

drafner of swamp lands. the digger OF
deep waterways, in short to every Douy
who has occasion to know anything
about topography geology, nllIelai
and water resources, structural mater
ials. and waste utilization. II IS
sort Of John the Baptist in the wider
ness Of undeveloped resources, prepar-
ing the way for those who would most
effectively utilize these vast resources,
and laying the foundations Tor future
engineering. construction, and conser-
walton work. 1t is a sort Of watchdog
over the natural wealth of the natlon
In this capacity It stands guardlal
over millions Of dollars OF natural
wealth where the watchdog OF the
treasury stands guardian over thou
sands of dollars Of actual GOLD ana
silver
one Of the most interesting activi-
ties Of the survey is the making OF g
great geological map OF the UnlIeQ
states This map is so exhaustive ana
requires such close Investigation that
work has been carried FORWARD on II
for some 30 years, and yet II covers
only a comparatively small portion OF
the United States. 1t is map Whlch
in large part is being made on the
scales Of one and two miles TO the
inch Such a map on a scale OF one
mile to the inch would require a sheet
Of paper about 240 by $50 feet, prdcJl-
caly half a city block IN area ~
course it viii be impossible TO MAKE
sucn a map on one plate. so 10 is p5lus
made piece by piece and the lnQlNlulal
sheets are bound together with de-
scripuve text accompanying them
Making a Topographic Map.
The first essential in the making OF
this map is a topographic survey ana
map Of the land to be geologlcatiy
plated. This topographic map, when
is also in sections TO correspond with
the geologic map. is made by another
branch OF the geological survey Inc
topographic map sheets are IN thelu-
selves peerless results Of geographlG
characteristic of the surface OF the
area surveyed. Every mountain, hill,
valley, slope. stream. swamp ana al
the works Of man are exactly portray eo'
indeed. a clever model maker may
take one in hand and by il construct
a miniature model Of the area shown
on the map. over one-th1rd OF lhe
United States has been thus mapped
Aside from its use as a base OF geolo-
gic work the topographic map mas
come to have a high intrinsic value as
a base map for all engineering work
In order TO map the geology OF
region, the geOlogist must determine
the character and distribution Of the
individual rough masses and their re-
ladOn TO one another. He must lraReL
over the whole area and plat all out
croDs and lodges Of rock The dips
Of the rocks must be measured IN order
to determine the amount OF QeIoI ma
ton they have undergone and oeler
most particular studies must be MADE
A knowledge of fossil remains or
plants birds. animals. and fishes is
often Of great assistance to the geolO-
gist in locating various mineral de-
posts. For instance there IS a par
ticular fossil mOllusk which IS or the
same geologic age as certain coal de-
posts When the geOlOgist discovers
one Of these he knows that coai nay
be not Tar distant. These fossils are
utilized as keys to translate the secrets
below the surface Of the ground
Country's Mineral Resources.
When this great geologic map IS
COMPLETED if viii constitute a most re-
markable exposition Of the mineral re-
sources Of the United States. Eaeh
section of the map reveals mlnutely
the mineral resources, the geol98lc
formation, the character OF the son,
the underground water. and a hundree
other things which are OF tmnneasuraple
value to the people OF the Unlted
States. The topographic map upon
which the one dealing with the geo
logic formations OF the country IS
based is being projected on a scale Ol
q mile to the inch Ia the more IAlcAlg
settled regions Of the. united states.
approximately two miles 70 the men
in other sections and in most cases,
four miles to the inch in Alaska A
surveying party Is able 20 cover a
maximum OF oVy squaLs Hl.-Ss ~ ~, a oCe+
son in making this map, ana the cost
Of the work varies from 81 to $50
square mile, according to the nature OF
the country.
engraver. and printer, the geological
survey is perhaps the worlds greatest
prOspectOr. By the expenditure OF less
than 10 cents an acre In examination
to ascertain the presence and quantity
Of coal deposits. the survey has IN
creased the value Of thousands OF acret
of land from $50 to 500 an acre oolhe
20 600 600 acres Of coal lands stun re-
main in the possession Of the United
States government Under the con-
structfon Of the coal law all suc1
lands within Is miles from rallroad
were to be sold at not less than SO an
acre, the minimum price In practl.ce
$40 and so was made s,'e union sell
Guessing ut the Coal.
4 new order Of things now pfeFalls.
The survey geOlOgist goes upon these
coal lands locates an out cropping
bed Of coal measures It's tnlckness az
many points. studies Its alLlLuQe,N ue-
teru1fnes its faults and passes on Its
0usIif-- Al board of biologists then
calculates the amount Of coal on eacn
tract of 40 acres. plats II on the OIL
ciaI maps and computes the Nalue OF
the tract on the basis Of the coal IN the
Ground THE price then fixed is a nice
adjustment which shall encourage De
veloDmeut but prevent the acqulsltlOn
of the coal lands for speculative pur-
poses According to quality OF coal ana
aasa Of mining the prices range from
oue-haIf cent to three cents a ton
Bur even at this remarkably low
figure the government IS aDie 70 us
nose Of the coal lands at a largely
enhanced value The maximum Value
al a single township in Wyoming. IN
der the old regulations was S2,OSS,6Oe.
Under the new regulations its value
h s15.777. $50. Probably not more than
: rbird of the coal lands owned by the
Tinted States have been surveyed III
5etafl hut when the work Is completed
TTnele Sam viii find himself vastly
Ticher than If he had continued TO dis
pose Of his properties On me ol9 PASS
or scale. From April. 1903, to august
Ta11 the survey classified and valued
~ e79 sTO acres of coal land with a to-
TAI new system valuation OF St1LSsz-
S37 as AGAINST S266,652,43 under the
IA svsten. The latest estimates show
fbo+ there are over three trillion short
to-,s ~ coal stiII unmined in the United
SfaFas and nearly five billion tons OF
eseiIT available coal perhaps half Of
,4-i75ei is 10 be found in the lands still
r1rde- government ownership and con-
troll over 40 percent Of the landed
re- Of the United States is still owned
bv fhe federal government. and Of this
nra cffcslIv half a billion acres remains
Locating Phosphate Beds.
ono ~ the prospecting activities Of
the eeoIogical survey is that Of de-
fe~rnfnine the location and extent OF
fLa 1boSnhate beds Of the country,
anc fn1r fnr 20