﻿JUNE 
  19, 
  1922 
  PUTNAM: 
  lighthouse 
  service 
  287 
  

  

  and 
  have 
  large 
  open 
  deck 
  space 
  forward 
  for 
  the 
  stowage 
  of 
  buoys. 
  

   They 
  must 
  be 
  of 
  moderate 
  draft 
  so 
  as 
  to 
  go 
  into 
  close 
  waters 
  to 
  place 
  

   the 
  buoys, 
  and 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  must 
  be 
  good 
  sea 
  boats, 
  for 
  their 
  work 
  

   takes 
  them 
  out 
  to 
  sea, 
  some 
  times 
  under 
  severe 
  weather 
  conditions. 
  

  

  The 
  Service 
  maintains 
  many 
  types 
  of 
  buoys, 
  of 
  which 
  the 
  most 
  im- 
  

   portant 
  are 
  the 
  lighted 
  buoys, 
  and 
  the 
  sounding 
  buoys, 
  already 
  men- 
  

   tioned. 
  The 
  other 
  buoys 
  are 
  of 
  iron 
  or 
  wood, 
  and 
  indicate 
  by 
  their 
  

   color 
  and 
  number 
  their 
  position 
  with 
  respect 
  to 
  the 
  channel. 
  

  

  Problems 
  in 
  Alaska. 
  — 
  ^There 
  are 
  special 
  problems 
  to 
  be 
  met 
  in 
  some 
  

   regions, 
  as 
  for 
  instance 
  Alaska. 
  Here 
  water 
  navigation 
  is 
  very 
  im- 
  

   portant, 
  as 
  the 
  territory 
  is 
  largely 
  dependent 
  on 
  it 
  for 
  transportation, 
  

   and 
  the 
  conditions 
  as 
  to 
  fog, 
  reefs 
  and 
  rock-bound 
  coasts, 
  and 
  water 
  

   depths 
  render 
  navigation 
  difficult. 
  The 
  remoteness 
  makes 
  light- 
  

   house 
  maintenance 
  expensive, 
  particularly 
  for 
  attended 
  stations, 
  

   and 
  because 
  of 
  the 
  very 
  extensive 
  coast 
  line 
  as 
  complete 
  a 
  system 
  of 
  

   aids 
  as 
  on 
  the 
  North 
  Atlantic 
  coast 
  would 
  be 
  beyond 
  the 
  financial 
  

   resources 
  of 
  the 
  government. 
  In 
  the 
  past 
  12 
  years 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  

   aids 
  in 
  Alaska 
  has 
  been 
  increased 
  more 
  than 
  threefold, 
  and 
  many 
  lights, 
  

   suitable 
  for 
  the 
  inside 
  passages, 
  have 
  been 
  added 
  at 
  moderate 
  main- 
  

   tenance 
  expense 
  by 
  the 
  installation 
  of 
  acetylene 
  gas 
  apparatus. 
  Im- 
  

   portant 
  additions 
  are 
  still 
  needed, 
  particularly 
  in 
  the 
  way 
  of 
  fog 
  sig- 
  

   nals. 
  

  

  The 
  U. 
  S. 
  Lighthouse 
  Service. 
  — 
  In 
  closing 
  I 
  will 
  briefly 
  refer 
  to 
  the 
  

   Lighthouse 
  Service 
  in 
  general. 
  It 
  lights 
  and 
  marks 
  all 
  the 
  coasts 
  and 
  

   interior 
  navigable 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  and 
  its 
  possessions 
  ex- 
  

   cepting 
  the 
  Philippine 
  Islands 
  and 
  Panama. 
  It 
  maintains 
  16,000 
  aids 
  

   to 
  navigation 
  and 
  is 
  the 
  most 
  extensive 
  service 
  of 
  its 
  kind 
  in 
  the 
  world 
  

   under 
  one 
  organization. 
  It 
  is 
  conducted 
  through 
  19 
  lighthouse 
  dis- 
  

   tricts, 
  each 
  under 
  a 
  Superintendent, 
  who 
  is 
  charged 
  with 
  a 
  wide 
  local 
  re- 
  

   sponsibilty 
  for 
  the 
  proper 
  upkeep 
  of 
  the 
  district. 
  The 
  responsible 
  

   officers 
  of 
  the 
  Service 
  are 
  engineers 
  or 
  other 
  technical 
  men, 
  with 
  long 
  

   experience 
  in 
  the 
  work. 
  There 
  is 
  on 
  Staten 
  Island, 
  New 
  York 
  Harbor, 
  

   a 
  general 
  supply 
  station, 
  and 
  shops 
  where 
  considerable 
  special 
  equip- 
  

   ment 
  is 
  manufactured 
  for 
  the 
  Service, 
  and 
  where 
  some 
  tests 
  and 
  

   experimental 
  work 
  are 
  carried 
  on. 
  The 
  Service 
  makes 
  very 
  extensive 
  

   application 
  of 
  the 
  results 
  of 
  scientific 
  research, 
  but 
  it 
  has, 
  however, 
  

   not 
  attempted 
  to 
  establish 
  any 
  large 
  research 
  division, 
  because 
  of 
  

   the 
  existence 
  in 
  the 
  Department 
  of 
  Commerce 
  of 
  the 
  Bureau 
  of 
  

   Standards, 
  and 
  the 
  excellent 
  assistance 
  and 
  cooperation 
  given 
  by 
  that 
  

   organization. 
  

  

  