Evening star., 1915-06-13

| the arid regions of the
'Pe''Aon' west and those who
have directed the expenditure of nearly
| 500, 100000 of this amount are just
now making their first joint inspec-
tion of the results of their labors.
| Early in the present month eleven of
| the twenty-five members of the COM
mittee on appropriations of the House
Of Representatives and four of the five
members of the reclamation commits
| sion of the reclamation service left
Chicago for a forty -five-day tour of
| observation of the score or more irri-
cation projects in operation through
| out the west.
| The trip will in no wise partake of
| a vacation jaunt, for thesschedule calls
for the most strenuous travelling by
rail. automobile and stage in order that
the necessary ground may be covered.
| More than 1000 miles will be traversed
and inspections will be made in
dozen states.
In order that the observers may not
be hindered in their work by well
meant but time-consuming attentions,
word has gone out from reclamation
headquarters and from Chairman Fitz-
gerald of the committee that speech
making on both sides is strictly
tabooed. All the speeches. and more,
| that he and his colleagues want. it Is
pointed out by the head of the great
| money-handling committee of Con-
gress. can be had when Congress is
in session.
What the committee is in search of
is facts. Its members want to be
shown not only the wonderful engt-
structed, but also the results that have
flowed from these big and costly
structures.
The reclamation officials of the party
are well pleased that the emphasis is
placed on returns. They feel that they
can make such an excellent showing
that the holders of the. government
purse strings, being practical men of
with the desira bility of pushing the
work on a still larger scale.
Among the things that will be point
ed out to the legislative observers VIII
be that. whereas less than $1OO,OOO.OO
net has been expended so far-all of
it to be returned-the value of crops
from the reclaimed area last year
alone was approximately $20.000.000.
The committee also will be shown why
this value will increase rapidly with
tive effects of cultivation and the So
luton of cropping and marketing
problems. The committee members
also will be reminded that the quicker
all pending projects are completed,
however great the necessary outlay.
the quicker the money put into the
venture by the United States will flow
back to the Treasury. and the sooner
the interest charges for carrying the
huge investments through their con-
struction periods will diminish.
During the trip the observation party
will view projects on which the area
now cropped. but formerly worthless
desert land. is greater than the cropped
0f ,fo $a ~ I,
will be told at the same time that with
the completion of all phases of the work
the area under irrigation on existing
projects can be increased to 100000
of the entire state of Delaware.
1t Is believed by the officials of the
| Interior Department that the trip can
not fail to be Of the greatest advantage
In familiarizing the committee through
which funds must be appropriated with
the problems Of the service, the bene-
fcial results of irrigation and the needs
"or extension of the reclamation work.
In manufacturing enterprise that is
open to all comers-the making and
publishing Of maps
Uncle Sam rs Uncle Sam, through
Nc, r5. his geological sur
NhSA' vey, competes with
| such success that he is pretty generally
recognized to be the only producer of
truly accurate maps in the country. As
a natural result, he practically monopo-
Lies the business in so far as 1t re-
lates to land areas within his own ma
tional boundaries.
The government maps are bought in
large quantities by dealers every year.
and. being resold in shops. find their
way into the hands of thousands of
citizens who seldom realize that they
are purchasing a government-made ar
ticaL But so firmly has the govern
ment esta ablished itself as map maker
in the minds of persons who know the
fundamentals of good maps that the
geological survey product is specified
in many of the calls for bids on big
map orders.
This fact is brought out and the I'M
portance of the surveys work in an
educational way is emphasized by an
item in the specifications for equipping
a Buffalo high school, submitted to
contractors for bids a few days ago
The item is a list of from twenty-five
to sixty copies each of twenty-three
geological Survey maps. which will be
used by the pupils for studying geo
graphical conditions in all parts Of the
country. The comprehensiveness of the
surveys map work is indicated at the
same time by the fact that a dozen of
widely different location and charac-
ter as Niagara Gorge. Delaware Water
Gap the cities of New Orleans. Phila-
delphia, Boston. Duluth, New York and
Washing gton and portions OF the coast
including the rock bound shore of
Maine, the sandy water front at Allan
tic City and the silt and mud deposits
Of the Mississippi delta.
Altogether. over half a million maps
and map folios are distributed each
year by the geological survey, the ma
mately at cost and the remainder being
given away. This business is growing
constantly, and It's educational value
in one field alone Is indicated by the
estimate of officials of the survey that
fully 20 per cent Of the maps distrib-
uted find their way into the educational
institutions of the country. In addi
tion the ma ajority of the mans used in
school Biographies are compiled by
commercial publishers from maps made
by the survey.
The usefulness of the geological sur
vey as maker of topographic maps
ment and to the public is practically
unlimited. OF great value in connec-
tion with boundary matters to the state
Department and in connection with de-
livery routes to the Post ONCE De-
partment scrupulously accurate maps
are obviously Indispensable to the War
Department and to the Marine Corps of
the navy in working out the national
defense They are found to be of great
value, too, in the various activities of
the Commerce, Treasury and Agricul-
tural departments, and play prominent
parts in the work of the general land
Qorvice n