ransome: national geological, survey 87 



serious necessity for the active encouragement and support of 

 scientific geologic work on the part of the national and state 

 governments. Knowledge must precede the application of 

 knowledge in geology as well as in other matters; and unless the 

 development of the country's mineral resources be based on and 

 proceed from a scientific knowledge of its geology, there must 

 inevitably be waste of effort, loss of money, and the delay of 

 national progress inseparable from haphazard methods. '"- 



Finally, the citizen of narrower vision will regard as sufficient 

 justification for a national geological survey the fact that he 

 himself can turn to it for information and assistance in the de- 

 velopment of particular mineral deposits, to his own material 

 advantage. 



As a matter of fact, most of the progressive countries of the 

 world maintain geological surveys so that the desirability of 

 such an organization appears to have been generally recognized, 

 whatever may have been the particular reason or reasons that 

 set in motion the machinery of organization in each country. 



Recognizing the fact that most of the principal countries have 

 established geological surveys and granting that there are good 

 reasons for considering the maintenance of such an organization 

 as a proper governmental function, we may next inquire — ^What 

 should be the ideals and duties of a geological survey? How 

 may these ideals be realized and these duties performed? 



GENERAL LEGAL FUNCTIONS 



The organic act of the United States Geological Survey specifies 

 indirectly and in general terms the field that the organization 

 should occupy. It states, with reference to the director, "this 

 officer shall have the direction of the Geological Survey and the 

 classification of the public lands and examination of the geological 

 structure, mineral resources, and products of the national do- 

 main." 



Doubtless the laws or decrees under which other national 

 geological surveys have been established also prescribe to some 



' J. C. Branner. Outlines of the geology of Brazil. Geol. Soc. Amer. Bull. 

 30: 194. 1919. 



