Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-27
Continued from Fourth Page

that in their opinion, astronomical Observable
ries are highly useful to navigating and COM
mercial people already eminent for their
progress in science and the arts and who are
lahoring for the completion of their national
dignity and splendor, and that the most ready
way of obtaining the information they desired
from noting the phenomena of the heavens, is
by the establishment of an observatory. This
may be erected at the City of Washington. BY
such an institution means may be adopted not
only to fix the first meridian but to ascertain
great number of other astronomical facts and
occurrences through the vigilance of complete
astronomer"
But nothing came of the bill accompanying
this report for all the starry eloquence of the
report be its author John C. Calhoun or not
John c. Calhoun. 1t is presumed that the bill
destroyed when the Capitol was burned
10 z814--a sort of ironic British pursuit of
progress in science and the arts" A second
time this report was read 1814), but Congress
was too busy and too occupied with graver
matters of state to take any action on it. The
Capitol was burned from over its head and
everything was in turmoil The crushing wheels
of war were rolling over the environs of Wash
ington.
In 1915 the Lambert memorial with accom-
panying reports, was again referred to select
committee of the House. This committee APP
proved of the reasons detailed in the preceding
reports and was of the opinion that the plan
complete effect, whenever attention to objects
of pressing nature and more immediate i'm
portance to the welfare of our country would
permit, by the erection of a national observatory
and by providing suitable instruments and
apparatus, at the public expense, to enable
skilled persons to determine the places of the
moon, planets and other heavenly bodies with
sufficient accuracy by repeated and careful
observations of the times of their transit over
the meridian Of the place" The determination
of the longitude of the Capitol with the great
est practicable degree of exactness" was also
recommended to the President in this report.
But nothing ever came of it. as the Executive
took the position that the resolution was not
joint one, being agreed to by the House Of
Representatives alone"
THE National Observatory movement was
now launched as a hardy congressional
biennial. In 1918 it bloSsomed forth again,
bOlstered this time by the claim that ''the
abstracts of astronomical calculations" with
respect to the ascertainment of the exact longi-
tude of the Capitol for the establishment Of
a first meridian had been found by the Ameri-
can Philosophical Society of Philadelphia-of
Benjamin Franklin background-to be founded
on the most accure data that could be had at
the respective time when the observations
were made and had been admitted by that
society into the last volume of its "Transac-
tions" Shot and shell, indeed, but no more.
Save out of it, in 1921, Mr.. Lambert got a
commission from the President Ito make
astronomical observations by lunar OCCUPATIONS
OF fxed stars, solar eclipSeS, or any approved
method adapted to ascertain the longitude of
the Capitol from Greenwich" But no observa-
tory
Lambert did his work with instruments
brought from Europe for the special pur-
pose of surveying our sea coasts" and In report