Evening star., 1939-01-17
Maps
Continued From First Page.)

make plan to finish the mapping
within stated number of years
and to have nearly the same amount
OF money each year. In this way
an efficient personnel can be en-
ployed and trained. With increased
experience the unit costs of the work
can be reduced. Mapping and con-
troll surveying are special branches
of engineering. A rapid turnover of
personnel should be avoided in order
to prevent waste.
The needs for and the uses of
topographic maps are we'll known
to you. The map is a census Of
the physical facts of the terrain.
Without such facts as the map pre-
sents it is impossible, without waste,
to carry on the development of our
country. The map is especially
valuable in the discovery, develop
ment, use and conservation of our
natural resources.
No Maps Along Borders.
Modern warfare is planned and
conducted with the aid of topo-
graphic maps We do not have maps
along our borders in spite of the
efforts of officials of the War De-
partment to have them made. The
Society of American Military En-
gineers is of the opinion that no
more effective use of public funds
could be made than in providing
good topographic maps for strip
of territory, one or two hundred
miles in width, along our coasts and
our international boundaries. Such
maps designed for military needs
would be useful in many other
fields of activity.
Secretary Ickes submitted a plan
to the Senate. in response to a reso-
luton of that body, recommending
the expenditure of s100,000,000 on
mapping within the next 20 years.
It is assumed that the Secretary's
report had your approval before it
was sent to the Senate. That report
was step in the right direction,
but it was not comprehensive
enough. That amount of money
should be devoted to mapping within
the next 10 years. 1t is estimated
that to complete the mapping will
require about $160,000,000 This
amount should be made available in
lump sum, or at least the mapping
should be financed in a manner
similar to that used in the construc-
ton of the Panama Canal, Boulder
Dam and other large public works" J"
Reply to Bowie.
The President replied to Maj.
Bowie: Il have brought to the at
tention of the acting director of the
Bureau of the Budget and of the
chief of engineers of the War De-
partment your letter to me of Sep
tember % with reference to the
topographic survey and mapping
work of the Federal Government,
and I have asked the acting direc-
tor of the Bureau of the Budget to
give careful consideration to the
estimates of appropriation for the
fiscal year 1910 that have been pres
sented to him by the various de-
partments concerned in such work,
and to call my attention particu-
larly to those estimates when I 20
over with him the items to be in
cluded in the budget for the next
fiscal year."
The strip maps of the coast line
and international boundaries, Maj.
Bowie explained in an interview to-
day, would record every elevation,
valley, road, brook and even houses
and trees which might be of value
in repelling an invasion.
"All wars" he said, ARE fought
with maps. The cost of this project
would be less than that of one bat
tleship. With a good map an enemy
can be repelled with a much smaller
force
"1t has been objected that the
enemy will get such a map and
thus have an equivalent advantage.
This is true only to a minor degree.
Even If an invading force has the
same map as the defenders, the
latter will have had time to Or
ganize their defenses on the basis
Of the precise physical contour of the
country"