4H 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



use of minerals. The director of the 

 survey states that there are in the sur- 

 vey three distinct corps of geologists 

 engaged in the study of economic geol- 

 ogy ; that there are five distinct pale- 

 ontologic laboratories; that there are 

 three other laboratories one chemical, 

 one lithologic, and one physical ; that 

 there is an extensive geological library, 

 the librarian having a corps of assist- 

 ants engaged in bibliography ; and that, 

 finally, there is a division of mineral 

 statistics, with a large corps of men 

 engaged in statistical work, the results 

 of which are published in an annual 

 report entitled "Mineral Resources." 

 The annual expenses of publication in 

 connection with the survey are esti- 

 mated to exceed two hundred thousand 

 dollars. This, however, is exclusive of 

 any expenditure on the geological map 

 of the country, supposed to have been 

 for some years in preparation, but of 

 which no portion has yet been pub- 

 lished. The minimum cost of this map 

 is put at $1, 690,000 for plates alone. 



Now, to any reflecting mind it will 

 be quite apparent that the Government 

 can not undertake all this varied scien- 

 tific work without discouraging the ap- 

 plication of private effort and study to 

 the same field. "There is no more 

 reason," says Professor Agassiz, in a 

 letter to Mr. Herbert, " why the Gov- 

 ernment should publish a history of 

 the mining enterprises of the country 

 than that they should publish a history 

 of manufacturing processes." So with 

 paleontology. " This," according to 

 Professor Agassiz, " is just one of the 

 things which private individuals and 

 learned societies can do just as well as 

 Government." Much of the matter, he 

 further observes, which is published in 

 official bulletins would be published by 

 private individuals or societies if the 

 Government did not lay hold of it; 

 while, on the other hand, much of the 

 stuff which the Government prints 

 would not be printed by private indi- 

 viduals or societies even if they had the 

 necessary finds at their command. The 



main result of Government interference 

 would thus appear to be the unneces- 

 sary official publication of a certain 

 amount of good matter and the waste- 

 ful publication of a quantity of com- 

 paratively, if not absolutely, useless 

 matter. Professor Agassiz furnishes to 

 Mr. Herbert a list of forty-eight publi- 

 cations of the Museum of Comparative 

 Zoology at Cambridge, and most signifi- 

 cantly states that he had "a written 

 proposition from a former Superintend- 

 ent of the Coast Survey, offering to 

 publish all this as appendices of the 

 Coast Survey reports at Government 

 expense " an offer which he " respect- 

 fully declined to accept." 



To show the value placed, in the 

 markets of the world, upon the publi- 

 cations of the Geological Survey, Mr. 

 Herbert calls attention to the fact that, 

 though the law of its organization re- 

 quires the survey to sell its publica- 

 tions, not exchanged, at cost, and turn 

 the proceeds into the Treasury, the 

 whole amount thus realized in six years 

 was $1,543.10 testifying to an annual 

 demand to the amount of $257.18. 



We have thus far referred only to 

 the Geological Survey ; but the report 

 before us gives a statement of the total 

 cost of the several surveys organized 

 by the Federal Government, exclusive 

 of the cost of printing. The amount is 

 close upon a million and a half of dol- 

 lars. That no adequate return is being 

 received from this really vast expendi- 

 ture there is too good reason to be- 

 lieve ; but that is not the worst feature 

 of the case. The worst feature is that 

 hinted at by Mr. Herbert when he op- 

 portunely reminds us of Buckle's con- 

 clusions as to the effects wrought in 

 France by Louis XlVth's patronage of 

 science and art ; individual thought and 

 private enterprise were repressed, sci- 

 ence and literature were put into bond- 

 age and reduced to a state of abject 

 servility. It is this evil, however ridic- 

 ulous the idea may appear to some, 

 with which we are threatened here. 

 In the field of geology the vast opera- 



