264 COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY CENTENNIAL 



Mr. George Washington Littlehales, Hydrographic Engineer, 

 United States Hydrographic Office : Hydrography and charts with special 

 reference to the work of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. 

 The speaker pointed out that a century ago the United States insti- 

 tuted a survey of its coasts and authorized as an aid large drafts from 

 the Army in earlier years and yet larger ones from the Navy as long as 

 they could be spared from the battle fleet. It is the province of marine 

 hydrography to chart the features of the submerged border to the land, 

 thereby indicating the hidden dangers to be avoided and the safe chan- 

 nels, for the guidance of shipping to and from our ports, not only at 

 home but also in the distant countries under our jurisdiction. It must 

 be with no small degree of pride that men should feel that their calling 

 has made the coast of the United States its best known geographical 

 feature, a calling so enriched with the heroisms of the sea and so unex- 

 celled for the aggregate of its influence in promoting the security of 

 shipping and in safeguarding the lives of seamen. 



AFTERNOON OF APRIL 6TH 



Prof. William Henry Burger, College of Engineering, North- 

 western University: The contribution of the United States Coast and 

 and Geodetic Survey to geodesy. Previous to 1843 the geodetic function 

 was little in evidence in the work of the Coast Survey; but upon the 

 reorganization in that year, the broad and far-reaching plans advocated 

 by Superintendent Hassler were adopted and the corner stone was laid 

 for that fine system of geodetic operations which the Survey has at 

 present. A further impetus was given when the geodetic connection 

 between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States was author- 

 ized, the result of which was the great arc of triangulation along the 

 39th parallel. Another arc of note is the Eastern Oblique Arc from the 

 Bay of Fundy to New Orleans, which binds together the surveys of the 

 harbors on the Atlantic coast. Many other arcs have been measured 

 by the Survey, until now the length of the combined arcs is more than 

 three-sevenths of the circuit of the globe. The precise leveling work 

 by the Survey stands without a rival in the world, as judged by the 

 very magnitude of its operations, by the instruments employed, and in 

 the speed and cost. The formation of the great telegraphic longitude 

 net of the Coast and Geodetic Survey is a geodetic feat worthy of special 

 notice. The problem of determining the shape and size of the earth 

 may be said to be the climax in geodetic work, from a scientific point of 

 view, and in this the Coast and Geodetic Survey has contributed much 

 to the field of geodesy. 



Rear Admiral Richard Wainwright, United States Navy (Retired) : 

 The Civil War record of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey 

 and what the Survey is doing towards preparedness. Mentioning his 

 acquaintance with the Coast and Geodetic Survey for over GO years 

 as warrant for attempting to give the record of the field force of the 



