Evening star., 1924-12-14
Real Workers in the National Capital

T F you are told that Col. e. Lester
Jones, director of the United
States Coast and Geodetic Sur
i vey. after 13 years of intensive
personal service for this Gov
| ernment. has just published his tenth
book on The Evolution of the Nauti-
cal Chart" you will probably say that
you see no reason why any one should
get wildly excited over that.
If you are told that this same Col.
Jones as commissioner for the United
States on the International boundary
commission, which has been dallying
along for more than 100 years to mark
off the exact boundary between the
United States, Alaska and Canada,
Will be ready during the next fiscal
year, after five years of his character
istic pertinacity, to lay down for this
Government completed boundary.
1923 miles long, with all the field
work already done, you still can't
grasp the magnitude of his service.
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You begin to get a little historic
interest aroused when you are told
that Col. Jones heads the oldest
scientific bureau in the entire Gov
ernment service, which today employs
more and better scientists than any
other institution or organization in
the world: that this bureau was start
ed by Thomas jefferson himself. who
persuaded his personal friend. Ferdi-
nand Hassler, a Swiss engineer, to
start the system which has never since
been found wanting or been changed;
that Col. Jones has recently found the
second chart made by this Hassler
In 1917, triangulation Of Long
Island, done on handsome English
paper with watermark bearing the
date 1910.
Col Jones is the eleventh head Of
this service. and although the young
est head it ever had, has already
served third longest.
The fact that Col. Jones has been
Tor many years, even before he en-
tered the Government service, an in
defatlgable worker for improved hu-
manltarian conditions for the thou
sands of Government employees. and
that In his annual report, just made
public, emphasizes that the present
retirement law Is inadequate and in
equitable, has made him well known
as friend by the army of Govern
ment workers.
But even yet you haven't got at the
real worth Of this fellow Jones to
Uncle SAINTS because he is always
squeezing human interest out of
service that tells each individual
American citizen just where he is at
and follows him around the clock.
This service covers the whole terra
frma of these United States and in
sular possessions and the waters ad-
jacent thereto. and determines just
where the land ends and water be-
gins. Col. Jones has his Washington
headquarters in group of nine
buildings, the most modern of which
is an old hotel next door to where
Gen. Butler used to live, and not in
congruously, since this service spe-
cializes in levels" we find 16 floor
levels in this labyrinth of nine build
ings.
But right here we have an illus
tration of why Col. Jones Is real
worker" for Uncle Sam. When his
equipment isn't all 1t should be he
doesn't sit back and complain, but
goes ahead and makes out the best
he can with what he has to do with.
and he has built UP a wonderful
esprit de corps. When special ma
chinery or instruments are needed
they are invented and made right
there in the survey workshop. For
example. there is a tide-predicting
machine. known as the brass brains
of the Coast Survey" which has
saved the Government the services
of 60 mathematicians.
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And, conversely, when better equip
ment is furnished. as when some
three years ago Vice President-elec
Charles G. Dawes. then the first
Director of the Budget. caught Col.
Jones spirit and overnight provided
the survey with modern vessels dt