184 G. 0. Smith — Government Geological Surveys. 



geology. At that time five independent organizations in 

 three different departments were carrying on surveys of 

 mensuration, and the Academy recommended that all 

 such work be combined under the Coast and Geodetic 

 Survey with the new name Coast and Interior Survey. 

 For the investigation of the natural resources of the pub- 

 lic domain and the classification of the public lands a 

 new organization was proposed, the United States Geo- 

 logical Survey. The functions of these two surveys and 

 of a third coordinate bureau in the Interior Department, 

 the Land Office, were carefully defined and their inter- 

 relations fully recognized and provided for in the plan 

 presented to Congress. Viewed in the light of 39 years 

 of experience the National Academy plan would be 

 indorsed by most of us as eminently practical, and the 

 report stands as a splendid example of public service ren- 

 dered by America's leading scientists. The legislation 

 which embodied the entire plan, however, failed of pas- 

 sage in Congress. 



The natural activity behind the scenes of the conflicting 

 interests represented by those connected with the sev- 

 eral surveys may be seen in the legislative history of the 

 moves leading up to the creation of the United States 

 Geological Survey. In the last session of the 45th Con- 

 gress the special legislation -embodying the recommenda- 

 tions of the National Academy was included in the 

 Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Appropriation bill 

 as it passed the House of Representatives, while the Sun- 

 dry Civil Appropriation bill carried an item simply mak- 

 ing effective the longer section in the other appropriation 

 bill. The item in the Legislative appropriation bill 

 created the office of the Director of the Geological Sur- 

 vey, provided his salary, and defined his duties, as well 

 as specifically terminating the operations of the three 

 older organizations. The item in the Sundry Civil bill as 

 it passed the House appropriated $100,000 for the new 

 Geological Survey, but when this appropriation bill was 

 reported to the Senate a committee amendment added 

 the words "of the Territories/ ' and further amendments 

 offered on the floor changed the item so as to provide 

 specifically and exclusively for the continuation of the 

 Hayden Survey. Other amendments provided small 

 appropriations for the completion of the reports of the 

 Powell and Wheeler surveys, and the bill passed the Sen- 



