SURVEYING THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 



By George R. Putnam, 



Assistant, United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, in Charge of 



Work in The Philippines 



THE work of the Coast and Geo- 

 detic Survey in the Philippine 

 Islands is at present conducted 

 under a joint arrangement between the 

 national and insular governments, 

 whereby each defrays certain classes of 

 expenditures. It is under the general 

 supervision of the Superintendent at 

 Washington, but the local administra- 

 tion is conducted mainly through a sub- 

 office established at Manila. In all re- 

 lations with the Philippine government 

 this office acts as a bureau reporting to 

 the Philippine department of commerce 

 and police, in accordance with the act 



of the Philippine Commission passed 

 September 6, igoi. 



An officer of this survey visited the 

 islands during the summer of 1900 to 

 make a preliminary investigation of the 

 need of and conditions for the carrying 

 on the work of the organization. The 

 first survey parties arrived in Manila 

 in December, 1900, and the present 

 office quarters in the Intendencia build- 

 ing were assigned and field parties com- 

 menced work in January, 1901. At 

 that time active military operations were 

 in progress throughout the islands and 

 Manila was under martial law. No one 



Surveying Party Crossing a River on an Improvised Raft 



