The Republican journal., 1913-11-20
RESOURCES or NATION ARE BENG
" STUDIED.

Large Amounts of Field Work Being Car
ried on by the United States Geological
Survey In all Parts of the United States.
WASHINGTON, D. c., Nov. II, 1913.
Questions Of material development-of
the value and best use of land or of the
utilization of the country's latent re-
sources-occupy a prominent place in the
public thought these days. Among such
questions are those relating to the loca-
ton or development of gold and silver
deposits, or oil wells, or artesian water
supplies; to the value of coal lands; to
the possibilities of developing the water
power on rivers; to the use of land for
dry farming; and to the proper location
of transmission lines or interurban rail-
ways. On all these questions and others
relating to the earth's surface, its rocks
and minerals and ores, to water and its
best use, the United States Geological
survey is the court of last resort. In
answering these inquiries the Survey
distributes over million printed reports
and maps each year and answers thou
sands of letters concerning areas not
covered by printed reports.
Some rs, 900 inquiries are received by
the Survey every year from the General
Land { flee as to the character of lands
whether these lands are valuable for
coal, mineral deposits, or agricultural
use, or have any possibilities for the
development of water powe, or reser-
voirs OF for irrigation, as the classihca-
ton of the public lands is by law made
one of the primary functions of the
Geological Survey.
10 prepare these maps and reports and
to answer these letters of inquiry re-
quires an intimate, frst-hand knowledge
of the questions involved that can be had
only in the field, so that, at this season
of the year, the Washington office of the
Survey is almost deserted and the men
are scattered from Maine to California
from the lava slopes of Hawaii TO the
snow fields of northern Alaska. The
work is carried on in three lines:
The topographic branch makes maps
showing the surface of the earth. with
its streams, rivers, lakes, roads, houses,
towns-maps that are being used by the
biologists as base maps, by engineers
to locate railroads, roads, canals, sewers
or drainage bitches, water power anc
irrigation projects, by automobiles anc
trampers as road maps, and for hun,
dred other purposes. The demand for these
maps may be judged from the fact that
most of the Eastern States have appro
priated or are appropriating money tt
nelp pay for them, the States paying
one-half or more of the cost, and by the
further fact that, though the maps are
sold, over half a million of them are dis
tributed each year.
The geologic branch is studying the
earth's rocks, their history and contents,
and, with this foundation, is mapping
the whole United States so as to show,
ultimately, just where gold and silver
and the other precious and useful metals
do or may occur; where coal, oil, gas.
phosphate. potash and other salts lie
where clays, building stones, and other
stru ctural materials of the highest
grace can be found. A large share of
the work is in the West, where the pub
lie lands are being examined for CLASH.
fcation at the rate of 10 million acres a
year. SO that the Government may know
which are coal, phosphate, oil and min
eral lands, and thus dispose of them I'M
der the proper provisions of law.
The water-resources branch studies
the underground waters for the purpose
| of determining their availability for do
nestle use or for irrigation; the surface
waters to determine their amount and
| fitness for use as water supplies for
cities and towns; and for power or irri-
cation; and also makes studies bearing
on flood control and similar projects.
At present a large share of the Sur
vey's fund is expended in examining and
classifying the public lands in the West,
this expenditure reducing the work in
the Eastern States much below the
amount formerly done. In fact, large
part of the work now under way in the
East is done in States that contribute
one-half or more of the expense of the
work. II is, of course, to be regretted
that lack of funds will not permit the
continuance of the work in the East on
the former scale and at the same time
the carrying forward of the much-need
ed classification work in the West.
The Shoe Situation.