Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-06-08


summer vacation season is on. Motor
lists are planning pleasure trips across
country: tourists. unwelcomc In Eu-
rope. are contemplating Journeys
through the national parks, and camp
erS are diligently searching pamphlets
ana advertisements in an cTor; TO fiud
me ideal camping site with plenty ~
ish In these preliminary iuvestira-
tons tn" Topographic maps Of tho
theological survey are OF great assist
ance. over 40 per cent OF tho area
Of the United States has been skctchcd
by the government Topographic engi-
neers, including roads, houses. stream
lets. mesquite districts. valleys. rivers
and mountains. y glance at tn" Sc
!ectcd camp site on topographic map
immediately tells the prospective va
caoonist the most intimate details
OF its physiorraphy often carefully tx
nored 10y the railroad pamphlet.
II is the purpose Of the Geological
Survey gradually TO map the entire
continental United States. as we'll as
Alaska. Hawaii Porto i;ico and the
Philippincs-work which. when COM
plctcd aud the sections Joined to-
Eether, Viii cover over an acre Of
ground. Each section ~ skctchcd on
n sheet about eighteen inches square,
the preparation of which costs the
government from $4,000 10 $1,000 ON
the back Of Il ia printed complete
description of tho physical features OF
the district. which has made the maps
extremely popular. one man who
toured the Crater Lake, National Park.
the Grand Canyon and the Delaware
Water Gap with the aid Of survey
maps said that he did not see how
he had ever got along without them.
Importunt Factor In Nnr.
Eut their value 10 the vacation!st
Is small compared 10 their economic
and military values. In modern war
the topography OF the country Is an
Important factor. and the nation which
has the best detailed maps has dis
tinCt advantage. /; is the topographic
map which Is marked by the aeronaut
as he flies over the enemy on scout
Ing duty; II !s the topographic map
which aids IN directing the firing, since
the marksman cannot see the target,
and il j. this map, in fact. which con-
stitutcs the chess board on which the
military authorities play the war
game I; has been said that many bat
ties OF the Civil War woul! have been
left unfouEht II there had been an
adequate topographic map system at
that time. As il was, the need was so
apparent that Congress authorized the
first corps OF topographic engineers in
1861.
One author points out that the faci!-
ity with which the Japanese took Port
due to the fact that for months before,
Japanese spies disguised as coolies had
been quietly mapping the topography
of the country. When the night OF at
tack came il was an easy matter for
the Japanese To disable the giant Rus
sian scarchliehts illuminating the port,
their guns directed at the hill marked
on the map as the position Of the APP
paratus thus throwing the Russian
forces into confusion.
The increasing use Of the topogra-
phic map in this country ~ prepared
by the Geological Survey has made the
land swindlc an almost extinct practice.
II is impossible, for example, 70 sell Il
man certain grove or oranges IN
Florida when he has topog map
before him. showing that the alleged
grove is covered with several feet OF
swamp and water. Neither is II easy
10 convince Il man that piece of land
in the Southwest contains a vein OF
silver if the topographic map fails to
show the presence of 0re-behrlng rocks.
SO infallible are the maps that life In
surancc companies now lend money on
farm lands upon their recommendations.
The vice-president of an insurance COM
pany in his New York office can deter
mine the approximate value of given
farm in the state of Washington by
looking It up on the survey map Of that
section.
Useful to Home Makers.
The mans are even more Ndludblc 10
the home maker. and should he con-
suited by every person when moving in
to new country. Certain physical
chara 1t cristics of the carth'S surface
bring about conditions which are dctri-
mental TO health. and these conditions
are duly noted on the topographic map.
For several years 1t was we'll
known fact among life insurance com
pauics that many Of the so-callcd cup
towns" throughout the country--towns
completely surrounded by hills-arc UNI
usually productive OF cancer The fact
was so noticeable that finally an in
vcstigation was arranged and the pho
nomcnon explained, 1t had occurred
to someone TO compare the conditions
OF the cup towns" with those en-
coun,crcd by the chimney sweeps OF
London, among whom there is an cnor-
mou. amount Of cancer, due To their
contact with smoke and SCOT II was
found that the chimncya Of the houses
device that swung with the wind and
and ,hai those devices collected an i'm
mensc amount Of SCOT.
In tho largo cattle grazing areas OF
prnved tho means OF settling many
boundary disputes The land which
il usually unicnccd. may hc owned by
ia the case Of government ownership
pormi. hut with private ownership IL
depends mostly upon the word OF the