SYMPOSIUM OX SCIENCE AXD RECONSTRUCTION 51 



was discovered, aud sand for optical glass was investi- 

 gated. Tlie iSnrvey demonstrated the practicability of 

 recovering pyrite cheaply from our coal mines and made 

 an estimate of possible output. Promising deposits of tire 

 clay and gauister for making refractory linings were exam- 

 ined and tested. The efforts of former years to locate new 

 oil fields were continued, new work was undertaken to 

 prolong the producing life of our old fields by demonstra- 

 ting methods of protecting oil sands from encroaching 

 water. Other work of permanent as well as war-time value 

 was the development of methods for using Illinois coal 

 instead of transporting eastern coal and coke for the man- 

 ufacture of city gas. These various special activities 

 largely supplanted the usual work of the Geological Sur- 

 vey. 



2. The Future Prospect 



Having now reviewed the work of geologists and geogra- 

 phers during tlie war period, can we foresee any further 

 development or any change in the application of these 

 sciences for the immediate future? As a colleague has 

 said : "For two years we have been sharx^ening the sword 

 and applying every effort to perfect its cutting edge", now 

 we are to return to the field, the laboratory, and the class- 

 room. 



What lessons have been learned regarding the practical 

 value of the earili sciences to the world, the nation, the 

 state, and the individual? What improvements are possi- 

 ble in research? What of the larger social and political 

 value of a knowledge of natural processes, world-geogra- 

 phy and of world resources? 



In answer, we have gained an added conviction of the 

 fundamental value of topographic maps for defensive and 

 offensive warfare: in the selection of routes for highways, 

 railroads, electric power and communication lines; in the 

 development of drainage and of water supplies; in the 

 search for, and development of, minerals and other natural 

 resources. The topographic map of the United States 

 should be completed, not in 80 or 90 years, according to 

 the former rate of progress, but in twelve or fifteen years. 

 The map of Illinois should not proceed at the ohf rate, 

 which promised completion in 19G0, but should be finished 

 by 1930. The cost will be more than saved to the taxpay- 

 ers by eliminating surveys for roads, water supplies, and 

 other necessary developments throughout the entire State. 



