COMMITTEES ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT 275 
the geological structure and national resources of the public 
domain; (3) the Land Office, controlling the disposition and sale 
of the public lands, including all question of title and record. 
The Land Office was to get its surveys and measurements from 
the Coast and Interior Survey, and its information regarding 
the value and classification of lands from the Geological Survey. 
The latter organization was to call on the Coast and Interior 
Survey for all mensuration data, but would be “ authorized to 
execute local topographical surveys for special purposes.” All 
three organizations were to be in the Department of the Interior. 
The committee also recommended that a commission be 
formed to codify the laws relating to the survey and disposition 
of public lands and propose a classification and valuation of 
them and a system of surveys for land-parcelling. Other recom- 
mendations related to the form of publications and the disposi- 
tion of collections of natural history and other specimens made 
during the prosecution of the surveys." 
This report, as already mentioned, was transmitted to Con- 
gress in December, 1878. It was no sooner printed than the 
War Department, through the Secretary of War, George W. 
McCrary, and the Chief of Engineers, General Humphreys, 
entered a protest against the adoption of its provisions. Sec- 
retary McCrary adopted the argument made before the Com- 
mittee of the Academy by H. G. Wright, Acting Chief of 
Engineers, that in view of the fact that the War Department had 
been long engaged in survey work, that its experience in such 
work was extensive and diversified, that it had devised and 
perfected instruments and methods of work, and that it main- 
tained an effective system of safeguarding expenditures, it was 
for the best interests of the Government that the work should 
continue under its direction.’ 
General Humphreys’ objections to the Academy’s plan were 
of a somewhat different character. As already mentioned, he 
*™ For the full report, see Rep. Nat. Acad. Sci. for 1878, pp. 19-22. House Misc. Doc, 
no. 7, 46th Congress, 1st Session. 
*8 Sen. Exec. Doc. no. 21, 45th Congress, 3d Session, p. 1. 
