Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1919-05-04
GERMAN WAR SKETCHES
D|sAPPOINT MAP MAKERS
Royal Geographical Society Finds
Nothing in Them of Scientific
Value.
DIsCREDIT BRITISH DRAWINGS
Huns Might Have Saved Themselves
Many Bunglcsomc Jobs, Had They
Recognized Superior Quality OF
French and English Work.
Ry T.. VI. GOODMAN.

LONDON. May 3.-Thc photographers
of the Royal Geographical Society in
London have had a severe disappoint-
mcnt. They had built upon the Ger
man reputation for map making great
expectations as to the German war
maps, and now they cannot find any
thing particular to say about the spc
ciments captured on the battle fields
Of France and Flanders which adorn
the walls OF the socicty's beautiful
house looking over Knightsbride into
kensington Gardens
Fortunately this is only professional
chagrin. like that OF the british sailors
VINO felt a little sick to see the Ger
man fleet steam in 10 surrender like
COWS coming home for milking, 1T is
easily cured by patriotic ana lndtvid-
uai satisfaction at allied achievements.
For here and there among the German
maps Is Il bright Spoi--:t French map.
or Il corrected and improved British
edition OF a French map, SHOWN for
purposes Of comparison. The british
do not make =, boast OF these samples;
the royal gcographcrs viii boast later
on when they are permitted to disclose
their real triunphs in this field.
Expected Excellent Maps.
When the war broke out, Germans
were known TO have an Official map
! of their own country less accurate and
/ detailed than tn. British ordnance
/ survey and every one supposed mat
I they had prepared in secret war maps
/ Of extraordinary excellence and mod
I e!nity No on" was surprised that
/ they should have provided themselves
/ with war maps Of Eastern France, but
/ il Is curious tnat they should have been
J ready with sheets mapping country
west Of Paris.
J one would have expected that French
maps would have Auiiicsd after Paris
\ should have fallen TO them. But be-
/ fore they reached Paris they found. as
D a ill In. h.-fl 10. M h..f no
I war maps were on q large enough scale
I to suffice for trench warfare. The de-
tail as 20 trenches. traverseS. harbed-
f. wire cntangicmcnts, gun cmplacements.
i fortified farms. could not b. squeezed
I even into the English map Of one half
inch TO a mile. which was the largest
scale map of the whole battle area
available
The French had an excellent map in
course Of preparation. but the sheets
of that part of Northern France which
We're supposed to be protected by Bel
gian neutrality were not yet engraved.
/ The Germans since they had nothing
as good might easily have printed AN
edition in colors OF the standard
French map. But they did no such
thing. The modern map-maker insists
on eight or ten colors. blue for rivers,
green for forests, brown for roads,
black for rail and so on
Inferior Ia Trench Work.
The Germans were content 20 enlarge
the official French map by photogra-
ply. a plan which Increased the size
Of all the lettering and left little room
for detail. And then they printed this
Z in black They put in no fresh detail
! except the population of the villages.
The result was extraordinarily inferior
TO the new French map, which has the
I most elaborate conventional sign sheet
. in the world. and therefore carries
more information TO the square inch
( than any other.
When the English enlarged the
French map they substituted for the
shaded hill markings thachures) mod
ern contour curves showing the heights
( with much more accuracy. though it
/ was some time before all these figures
! were quite correct. The iiermans how
! ever. went on shading their maps for
| hills and mountains in the old ash
/ toned way. But in some few sheets
they made an advance by. coloring the
! 1918 did they bring out .redrawn map
| Of the scale of 10000. based on the
I French standard map. but with some
/ extra detail. And after all this was
/ little use TO them: they could have re-
/ treated as we'll without its help.
Made Sketches in England.
The German behavior as to maps
/ throws some light on their character.
! little concealment in the British Isles
! preparing for the invasion of England
| and the entry into London. Sir Thomas
/ Holdich. vice president of the Royal
| Geographical Society. says he met two
| of these gentlemen. one had married
a Scotch wife and was working on the
COAST OF s-tDtItii'i DitclulE surveying
inland and taking soundings out at
sea to the distance of about mile.
He acquired q good deal OF Information
about possibilities of landing troops on
the occasion of der Tag.
The other was busyinG himself with
the facilities for entering London
learning how byways and footpaths
connect with the main roads. The
neatly fenced off strips of land that
are some day to be a great west road
into London Onto which city the traffic
now dribblcs by the bottlc-neck of