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I FICTION I

Part s—B Paget

Washington Map Men Put the Entire United States on Paper

BY GEORGE H. DACY. •

SOME time If you are out strolling |

In the neighborhood of the Inte- j

rlor building stop in at the offices I

of the geological survey and ask I

about some of the subject-matter which

"Uncle Sam Is using In making the larg

est and finest topographical map in the

•world—a picture history of every

hill, hollow, mountain, stream and

other landmark In the country, ac

curately represented on the scale of

one mile to one inch on a mammoth

piecemeal map -which, when com

pleted and dovetailed together, will

cover more than one acre of floor

space or wall surface.

Cynics may say that the age of

adventure is .over in America—that

as we push the frontier farther and

farther- toward the horizon we cor

respondingly put the finis on the pul

sating periods of our history when j

the only dependable assistants of the

pioneer were the firearms by his side.

Notwithstanding, the topographical

enginners who work for Uncle Sam

experience as much peril and excite

ment daily as the most of us are ex

posed to during our whole lives.

These map makers suffer all the

perils and privations which you read

about in the ‘‘best sellers.” for they

work under isolated wilderness con

ditions and circumstances so graph

ically described by novelists.

Right here In the heart of Wash

ington, far removed from the scenes

of vicissitude and danger where the

government specialists garner their

first-hand pictures of our land con

tour, these seifs.me adventurers

spend the winter mouths in inking

In the pencil maps which they made

far afield and in supervising the en

graving of their curious cop., In ever

lasting plates of copper—sempiternal

archives and monuments to their ac

complishments.

To talk with some of these modest,

retiring and unassuming engineers

you would never think they had gam

bled against perilous dangers, and

had won.

♦♦ ♦ V

lITERALLY to know "every Inch”

of the magnltudinous United

States, to expose every engineering

secret shrouded in the fastness of

her hills and mountains, to reproduce

on paper the land as t looks —from

the tallest crag and the lowest val

ley—and to provide a map sac-simile

of our country's topography—these

are the assignments which the en

gineers of the geological survey are

covering.

No, the new world is not the

Christopher Columbus of this efficient

system of transferring our geograph

ical bumps.and dents to paper. Our

foreign cousins—Switzerland. France,

Germany, England, Scotland, Wales

and Belgium—are many laps ahead

of us In map making. They have all

mapped their respective lands. Uncle

Sam has been tardy ill following suit,

but when he finished his tfemehdous

Job the product will eclipse any of

those previously assembled. •

The steppes and unexplored In

teriors Os Alaska are being trekked.

Twenty experts In mapping, with

a half-hundred assistants, helpers,

cooks and supernumeraries, are ex*

plorlng Alaska’s topographical se

crets. They blase trails and penetrate

unknown country from one coast of

the great insular possession to an

other. Often they camp 300 to 400

miles from the nearest village, store,

bouse or white man's habitation.

Under the refinements of civiliza

tion, amidst the luxuries and com

forts which abound In the nation’s

Capital, these, professional adven

turers may look as ordinary and

commonplace as. the average Amer

ican citizen. Shift the scene to the

vast plains or forests of Alaska,

where herds of reindeer and caribou

simulate the beef and dairy' animals

pt the mainland, where every danger

known to an unsettled country con

stantly assails them—our modest

'Washington scientists are metamor

phosed Into explorative "daredevils"

who will take every chance and risk

hazard In order to collect the scien

tific data for their maps.

In the “land of the midnight sun”

the experts with their surveying

tools and mapping tables not only

have to guard against depredations

by animals and hostile natives, but

they also have to combat Jack Frost

at his worst. Even when we friends

of these national engineers back In

Washington are sweltering despite

our light, tropical garb, the explor

ers, bundled in woolens and furs, may

be forcing their way through ob

structing fields of snow and Ice. Te

coast lands of Alaska may be warm

and adapted for the production of (

most of the crops and vegetables—

except corn—which grow In the

United States, but the remote and in

land regions may at the same time

be experiencing a miniature blizzard.

If you think it Is an easy matter I

to operate surveying tools when the

thermometer registers anywhere

from ten to fifty degrees below zero,

just go out and try It. When the

commission is further complicated, in

asmuch as tiie shivering scientist

must reduce to paper aM the topo

graphical peculiarities and data that

he collects, you can pretty well ap

preciate that only the most hardy,

vigorous and robust experts—men

who are thrilled with the anticipa

tion of conquest and conflict and who

rejoice when it arrives—can stand

the grief of the geological and geo-,

graphical field work.

♦♦ ♦ *

NOT all of the map-making activi

ties are carried on afoot. Lat

terly airship service has been har

nessed to aid In the big campaign to

map Undo Sam’s expansive counte- J

nance. Plying at altitudes of about

8.000 feet, mapping airplanes equip

ped with specially contrived Cam

eras soar bach? and forth with mili

tary precision, exposing film uni

formly as they go and making extra

ordinary eky-hlgh pictures of the

panorama which appears on the

terra firms far below.

Most of the work, however, is done

on the terrain, as the most accurate

and painstaking results can be

achieved only In this laborious way.

Mountain peaks that have never

previously been scaled, swamps

which heretofore have been avoided

as tin passable quagmires, deserts

whose heat Is so great that the

■ *

| Expert Topographical Engineers of the Geological Survey Are Reproducing Every Square Inch of Land in the Country, I

| and Right Here in Washington Are Making a Relief Map Which Will Cost $100,000,000 —When Completed, in 1950, It Will |

| Cover One Acre and Will Be the Largest and Finest Map in the World: * |

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camper can fry his eggs without Are,

“bad lands" that are studiously

avoided by tourists, trappers and

tampers—all these are but part of

the ordinary day’s work to the fed

eral map men.

Out California way, where the "na

tive sons" delight In the use of the

superlative, you will hear about

Mount Whitney, the highest peak In

the Golden state, which towers

14,601 feet above the average ocean

tide. "If you want to do some real

hiking, just tackle ‘Old Whit,’ ’’ the

Californians will tell the novitiate

mountain climbers. And thereafter.

If the amateurs attempt the hatard-

I ous feat, they will And out that the

"up" In mountain climbing, although

simple as pie to apell, is hard as

luclfer to do.

No more ' striking illustration of

some of the natural Inconsistencies

of California Is to be had than the

extraordinary topographical con

trasts presented by a strip of country

100 miles In length, which towers to

the top'of Mount Whitney at its high

est point and sinks to the uttermost

depths In Death Valley—276 feet be

low sea level—at its lowest spot.

The topographical engineers have

braved all the dangers of both these !

famous localities in securing accu

rate and dependable data for their

mammoth map.

Their Alaskan associates have even

ascended to the tops of higher peaks

than Mount Whitney, for there is one

commanding mountain In \ Alaska. I

which Is named after William Me- j

Klnley and which extends more than j

20,000 feet into the air—the highest I

natural monument ever dedicated to I

the memory of one of our famous

1 Chief Executives. This Is but one

of several lofty pinnacles—much high->;

er than Mount Whitney—which make i

the “going” difficult and hazardous 1

for Uncle Skm’a map men.

It was more than three centuries *

ago when the initial activities in j

mapping the'lands and waters of . the i

United States began. About 160 years

before Betsy Ross began her needle

work operations which ultimately re

sulted in the inception of "Old

CHory,” Capt. John Smith, a promi

nent English explorer, inaugurated a

survey and mapping study of Chesa

peake bay. For several months he

continued bis investigations but

finally his attention was diverted to

other more Important channels. 5ub

..... ... ■

MAGAZINE SECTION

Santo; gjfatf.

WASHINGTON, D. C., SUNDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 7, 1923.

sequently. practically nothing was

done In the way of reducing the shape

and contour of the new world to

official parchment. Hunters, traders

and explorers told about new and

rich lands to the west, north and

south of the original thirteen col

onies. but on acccount of the sparse

population and enormous expanses of

wilderness nothing was done in the

way of mapwork until after the civil

war, when Uncle Sam. through his

geological survey, began to explore

every hilltop and valley between

Canada and the Gulf of Mexico, be

tween the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

AFTER almost a half century of

effort. less than one-half of con

tinental United States has been sur

veyed and charted. If the campaign

is continued at its present speed It

will require at least another century

to complete the herculean task.

However, the activities have been

slowed down latterly, due to lack of

funds. A bill is now pending before

Congress—it is known as the Temple

bill —which provides for the allot

ment of 637.200.000 from the govern

ment exchequer to hurry the work

to completion. The individual states,

which assist in paying the expenses

of the survey, would subscribe in

the neighborhood of $12,000,000 ad

ditional.

With this large amount of money

available and an energetic working

force on the job, experts say that

i the mapping assignment could be fin

| ished in another score of years,

i Whether the task will be speeded to

I rapid completion on such a post-

I haste schedule will depend entirely

|on the balloting of Congress when

the national legislators feasaemble

•; next December.

| A topographic map is unique, tnas

-1 much as it is crossed and crlss

jerossed with contour lines—level lines

•of elevation. These scientific lines

{of contour and the distance above

sea level are invaluable to campers,

hikers, prospectors, transcontinental

railroad as well as to all

agencies interested in commercial en

gineering and Industry. They not

only portray the shapes t of all the

hills, mountains and slopes, but they

also constitute a complete dictionary

of altitudes for all named and un

named points ta the United States.

Ten seconds’ examination of any point

on the great map which your pre*

eminent national relative is making:

will enable you to determine the alti

tude and topographical surroundings

of that locality.

Por mapping activities the coun

try is divided Into unit areas or quad

rangles. each of which consists of

236 square miles of land and water

surface. It costs between 13.000 and

*B.OOO a quadrangle to survey and

map one of these areas, dependent on

the ruggedness of topography and

the degree of settlement. When com

pleted. these quadrangular maps are

sold by Uncle Sam for 10 cents apiece.

If the same map were prepared and

distributed by any private agency the

price would have to be at least II

a copy. To the average mining, in

dustrial or construction engineer,

such a map would easily be worth

double that figure.

Each topographical map is an accu

rate picture of the section of country

where it was made. All the data are

collected right out in the field where

the map is made. The engineers use

plane tables and surveying levels In

their field work, these tools being

productive of data which enable

them to transfer the crooks and

turns, ups and downs of the country

to paper. Most of the maps are made

on the scale of one mile to one inch,

which enables the topographer to put

almost everything on the map which

can toe Sean on the ground. The or

dinary wall taap which hangs in

..... ■

offices and libraries is made on the

scale of forty miles of land surface I

to one inch of map area. Uncle Sam's j

great topographic map Is much larger ;

and more detailed than any of these. |

♦ ♦♦'<*

THE experienced engineer w ill sur- !

vey and map about one square

mile of land area daily. On the map i

this large stretch of country will be

represented but by only one square

inch of surface. In that small space

every important physical, natural and

artificial feature and landmark will

be shown by means of the Angst hair

lines and lettering. In the field work

the engineer uses extremely hard

lead ’ pencils in drawing the map

features directly as he gathers the

essential data. During the winter,

when weather conditions prevent him

from continuing his field studies, he

returns to Washington, where he

carefully Inks In the map that he has

made. Thereafter the map is pains

takingly engraved on copper by some

of the most expert engravers in the

world and then is printed from stone

In three colors by the United States

lithographic plant.

Using the ink map made by the

field expert as a model, the engraver

reproduces each line and mark of the

paper picture on a copper plate. He

cuts delicate marks and lines, which

represent miles and miles of con

tours. and streams, roads, trails,

bridges, houses and everything else

that the national surveyor has dis

covered and set down on his map. As

a rule, the average engraver can re

produce more than one square mile —

one square inch of copper plate sur

face—of area dally, but often it takes

him .two to three months to carve into

the copper a difficult mountain area.

The engraver’s task Is laborious —

I FEATURES I

I I

I n ii more ho than that of the topo

£r;v, hie engine.r. who nits in his

! Was hington office during snow time

j and lives sigain the exciting experi

ence;! of the previous summer us he

inks in the maps which he made and

recalls the tsying work and hazard

ous dangers.

No other documents in the United

States are more carefully or zealous

ly guarded from beginning to com

pletion than are the paper maps

which the engineers of the geologi

cal survey make. From the time the

engineer has spent a half dozen davs’

work on his precious sheet. he

guards the copy as though it were as

valuable ias a pot of gold. He sleeps

with it thrust under his pillow: when

ever he leaves camp h e takes the,map

with him. He never risks Are. theft

or somebody's else’s carelessness. He

alone makes himself responsible for

the curiously Inscribed sheets of pa

per, which represent months of the

most arduous and risky work now

performed anywhere In North Amer

ica.

In the Washington offices large fire

proof safes are provided for the keep

ing of the sheets of scientific paper,

which are usually worth 16,000 to

$6,000 apiece. After each map is

Inked in, previous to engraving, it is

carefully photographed—the largest

camera In the world, located In the

Washington offices, being used for

this purpose.

Three thousand quadrangles, equiva

lent to 676,000 square miles of land

and water surface, have already been

surveyed and distributed in map

form. All these maps piece together

like a picture puzzle and dovetail Into

one huge map of the United States.

In some sections, where mining', nat

ural wealth and engineering re

sources are not very important, the

map is made on a less extensive

scale. As a rule. In the leading min

ing and metal zones, the surveys and

maps are made as detailed as pos

sible. Potentially, all that any en

gineering, industrial, irrigation or

mining project—no matter wh&t the

scope and nature —will have to do

will be to refer to the government

topographic map to obtain complete

data about the land.

Interesting Medals

Produced by Mint

FALLOWING long established cus

tom, the director of the United

State mint is now having pre

pared, and will soon have ready

for the public, a medal in commemora

tion of the late President Harding.

The obverse of the medal, a beauti

fully modeled relief of Mr. Harding,

was made some time ago by Mr. Mor

gan, engraver of the Philadelphia

mint, who visited the late President

in the executive offices and there,

while Mr. Harding was working at

his desk, modeled his portrait in

wax. This, after some changes sug

gested by Mrs. Harding, was accepted

and cast in bronze. Prom this origi

nal bronze, now hanging in the office

of the director of the mint in Wash

ington, the obverse of the medal has

been struck. The bead of Mr. Hard

ing is turned to the left and the strong

modeling of his features is shown

admirably in the golden bronze.

The reverse of the medal is now

awaiting the final approval of the

director of the mint. It probably will

bear a woman's figure, typifying

America, her head bowed in grief.

At her feet lie a laurel wreath and

branch of palm. The general design

is somewhat like that of the medal

struck in commemoration of the

death of William McKinley.

♦♦ ♦ »

nnHIS is the twenty-ninth in the

series of presidential medals

struck by the mint at Philadelphia

bearing the portraits of the Presi

dents of the United States. The work

on the Coolldge medal baa already

been started.

The first of these medals, of course,

is that of George Washington. The

obverse carries the undraped bust of

Washington facing the right, with

the inscription, “George Washington,

President of the United States,” and

the date 1789. The artist who de

signed this medal was Pierre Simon

Du Vlvier, the grandson of Jean Du

Vlvlsr. known as Du Vivler “1c pere."

the first of a distinguished family of

medal engravers, who at the begin

ning of the seventeenth century

lived in Liege.

The reverse of the medal has the

legend, "Peace and Friendship,” and

two hands clasped in token of amity.

On the cull of the left wrist there are

three stripes and buttons with the

American eagle, the other wrist is

bare; above, the pipe of peace and

tomahawk are crossed. Indian em

blems of peace and war.

The reverse of this medal ia re

peated on the medals of the Presi

dents from Washington to Zachary

Taylor, with the exception of that of

William Henry Harrison, who died

after one month in office. The reverse

of the Harrison medal bears this In

scription within a laurel wreath: "In

augurated President of the United

States March 4, 1841. Died April 4.

1841.”

The artist who designed the medal

for Millard Fillmore, 1880, placed on

the reverse a design different, but

still typifying the friendship between

the United States and the Indians. A

white man and an Indian stand before

a flag in an agricultural scene; above,

“Labor, Virtu Honor.” This design is

repeated on the reverse of the Pierce

and Buchanan medals.

The medal struck for Abraham Lin

coln carries on the obverse his head,

facing right, with the simple letter

ing. "Abraham Lincoln.” On the re

verse, "Inaugurated President of the

United States, March 4, 1861. Second

term, March 4, 1865. Assassinated,

April 14, 1865," surrounded by an oak

wreath. The simplicity of this medal

and the fine balance of lettering make

it one of the most artistic of this

series.

The next medal, the Andrew John

son. is the last to btfnr a representa

tion of peace between the United

( States and the On the re

verse is the figr., of Columbia la a

Mowing robe, g.'asjir.g the hand of

, an Indian chief, before a tomb sur

[ mounted by the bust of Washington.

Except tor the portraits, there are

but slight differences in the later

medals, which almost all bear on the

reverse the simple lettering giving

the dates of inauguration. For Wil

liam McKinley two medals were

struck, the second one commemorat

ing his assassination on September 6,

I 1901. The reverse of this represents

! the mourning figure of Columbia, de»

, signed by Mr. Morgan, the artist en

graver of the Harding medal.

' The Roosevelt medal is one of the

finest as well as the most popular of

* the series. The head is finally exe

cuted, expressing all the vigor and

\ vitality of that great leader of men.

In the Wilson medal the head is not

[ shown in profile, but Is that three

' quarter view most familiar in por

traits.

♦* * ♦

. a study of the presidential series aa

-a whole is interesting, showing

. contrast in types as well as In faces.

> Not only does the style of headdress

) and costume change from one period

i to another - , but there seems to be an

t essential difference In the very sea

s lures of the men of earlier days and

r the men of our own day. This contrast

is more noticeable, as the medals are

• of uniform size, seventy-six milli

-1 meters in diameter, and are cast in

1 the same golden bronze.

* Individual collectors have long

prized these sets, but schools and

(Con.iaued on Fourth Pag*.)

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