Four Prominent Geographers 



425 



less than i million in 1850 to 53/2 millions 

 in 1905 ; the wages paid, from 237 mil- 

 lion dollars in 1850 to 2,611 millions in 

 1905 ; and the value of products, from i 



billion dollars in 1850 to nearly 15 billions 

 in 1905. 



No nation in the history of the world 

 has a record comparable with this. 



FOUR PROMINENT GEOGRAPHERS 



THE recent changes and promo- 

 tions in the U. S. Geological 

 Survey mark the close of one 

 period and the entrance upon a new 

 phase of existence. By the election 

 of Mr Charles D. Walcott as Sec- 

 retary of the Smithsonian Institution 

 the former Director of the Geologi- 

 cal Survey was promoted to the highest 

 scientific position in the city of Washing- 

 ton. By the retirement of Mr Walcott 

 from the directorship, the Geological 

 Survey and the Reclamation Service lost 

 their long-time leader, and these two or- 

 ganizations, connected through the indi- 

 viduality of Mr Walcott, were definitely 

 separated. The change was made quietly 

 and as a matter of evolution, Mr F. H. 

 Newell, chief engineer of the Reclama- 

 tion Service, becoming the Director of 

 the organization, being succeeded by Mr 

 Arthur P. Davis, who now is chief engi- 

 neer. 



The directorship of the Geological 

 Survey has been filled by the designation 

 of Mr George Otis Smith, one of the 

 younger geologists, who has shown un- 

 usual ability, not only in scientific work, 

 but in the tactful handling of business 

 afifairs. 



Mr Smith was born in 1871 in Maine, 

 and is a graduate of Colby College and of 

 Johns Hopkins University, from which 

 he received the degree of Ph. D. in 1896. 

 During his connection with the U. S. 

 Geological Survey as a geologist for the 

 past ten years, he has worked in Mich- 

 igan, Washington, Utah, North Carolina, 

 the New England States, New Jersey, 

 and Pennsylvania. He is the author of 

 several geologic folios and monographs 

 published by the Survey and of numerous 



contributions to technical journals. His 

 work has been typical of the object for 

 which the U. S. Geological Survey is 

 maintained, namely, the application of the 

 highest scientific training to obtain re- 

 sults of practical value to the public. 



The history of the growth of the Rec- 

 lamation Service from the Geological 

 Survey is an illustration of the develop- 

 ment of scientific investigation into prac- 

 tical operation. In the early eighties 

 Major John W. Powell agitated the 

 question of a thorough scientific investi- 

 gation of the water resources of the 

 West, and in 1888 he, as Director of the 

 Geological Survey, was authorized by 

 Congress to investigate the extent to 

 which the arid region might be reclaimed 

 by irrigation. This work was carried 

 on systematically, under his direction, 

 through the topographic and hydro- 

 graphic surveys of the Geological 

 Survey. 



Upon the retirement of Major Powell 

 and the succession of Mr Walcott, this 

 work was continued with renewed vigor, 

 and a large amount of information was 

 collected as to the reservoir sites, the 

 catchment areas of streams, and the 

 amount of water which would be avail- 

 able for use at various points. As a re- 

 sult largely of this careful scientific in- 

 vestigation, Congress in 1902 took up 

 and passed the so-called Newlands bill, 

 setting aside the proceeds from the dis- 

 posal of public lands to the construction 

 of works of reclamation. The work was 

 put in charge of the Secretary of the In- 

 terior, who naturally turned it over to the 

 Director of the Geological Survey. He 

 in turn intrusted it to the men who had 

 been making scientific examination and 

 studies through many years. They con- 



