Work of the U. S. Hydrographic Office 63 



fice for the improvement of the means 

 for navigating safely the vessels of the 

 Navy and mercantile marine, by pro- 

 viding, under authority of the Secretary 

 of the Navy, accurate and cheap nauti- 

 cal charts, sailing directions, navigators, 

 and manuals of instructions for the use 

 of all vessels of the United States, and 

 for the benefit and use of navigators 

 generally." The act further provided 

 that the Secretary of the Navy be au- 

 thorized "to cause to be prepared," in 

 the Hydrographic Office thus created, 

 such "maps, charts, and sailing direc- 

 tions, and nautical books relating to and 

 required in navigation, and to publish 

 and furnish them to navigators at the 

 cost of printing and paper, and to pur- 

 chase the plates and copyrights of such 

 existing charts, maps, sailing directions, 

 etc. , as he may consider necessary. ' ' 



The spirit and intent of this act of 

 Congress have been carried out from 

 that time to this with unceasing energy 

 and with a degree of zeal, ability, and 

 intelligence which would reflect credit 

 upon any branch of our government, 

 and this has been done at the minimum 

 of cost and under difficulties which at 

 times seemed almost insurmountable. 

 From the small depot of 1830, with a 

 working force of two officers and one 

 nautical expert, it has expanded to an 

 establishment with a working force of 

 nearly ninety technical and skilled em- 

 ployees, supplemented by sixteen fully 

 equipped branch offices at the most im- 

 portant points on our Atlantic, Pacific, 

 and Gulf seaboards and on the shores 

 of our Great Lakes. 



SURVEYS BY OUR MEN-OF-WAR 



No vessel starting on a voyage is 

 properly equipped unless her naviga- 

 tional outfit includes accurate charts, 

 sailing directions, light lists, and other 

 necessary aids to navigation for all places 

 to be visited. The Hydrographic Office 

 is charged with producing this naviga- 

 tional outfit of necessary charts, sailing 



directions, etc. , for all parts of the world 

 not under the jurisdiction of the United 

 States, and in performing this duty there 

 is no quarter of the habitable globe the 

 waters of some portion of which have 

 not been surveyed by vessels of our own 

 Navy. 



In general, the charts referred to are 

 constructed from surveys made by the 

 officers and crews of men-of-war. As 

 there can be no question as to the ne- 

 cessity for an accurate knowledge of the 

 waters of the globe, our naval vessels 

 are supplied with an outfit for hydro- 

 graphic surveying. With their large 

 crews, numerous boats, and with officers 

 trained to the actual requirements of 

 all practical navigational aids, it is clear 

 that this service is one for which the 

 Navy is particularly well adapted in 

 times of peace — a service which, in 

 general, can be performed without in- 

 terfering with other naval requirements, 

 and with results which inure to the 

 benefit of all mankind. And it is a 

 pleasure to state that the service is one 

 which is not considered distasteful in 

 the Navy. Frequently, due to the 

 exigencies of diplomatic relations and for 

 other reasons, our vessels are stationed 

 in foreign waters for long intervals of 

 time, during which the officers and 

 crews generally welcome surveying work 

 as a decided break in the monotony of 

 their confinement to the limits of the 

 ship. During the last fiscal year not 

 less than 24 naval vessels engaged in 

 practical surveying operations in many 

 parts of the world, the results of which 

 will be of incalculable benefit to our 

 maritime and commercial interests. At 

 the present time a number of our men- 

 of-war are similarly engaged in very 

 important localities. 



In addition to the resulting benefit to 

 our maritime interests, the naval serv- 

 ice is also materially benefited. The 

 work tends to bring out the officer's 

 powers of observation of things nautical 

 and to give him a familiarity with coast 



