23 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org Surveyors in the News in office. In other words, the public land surveys have been made on a political rather than an engineering basis, and like most other government work controlled by politics, the surveys have been generally bad and unsatisfactory. Need More Efficient Surveyors. Commissioner Ballinger would correct the system by requiring every Surveyor- general to be a practical civil engineer, personally familiar with all phases of surveying. He would make proficiency in this science the first and an absolutely necessary requisite. While the appointments would continue to be made on recommendation of United States Senators, he would compel the Senators to pick the right kind of men. Then he would have Congress increase the pay of the office to such size as would be attractive to competent engineers. The average salary of Surveyors-general is only $2,000, though the Surveyor-general of Alaska receives double that amount. The prevailing salaries were fixed in the days when there was a certain amount of graft going with the office, which would permit thrifty surveyors to swell their incomes to $3,000 or more, that graft was recently cut off, on recommendation of Commissioner Ballinger, because it was detrimental to the service. Under previous Commissioners, Surveyors- general were permitted outside of office hours to make copies of plats, etc., which were of record in their offices, and sell the same to entrymen, land dealers and others. The old rule was intended primarily to permit clerics in the Surveyor- general’s office to make extra money by working after office hours, and had this practice been strictly followed, the custom might not have been broken up. But it was found that in most instances where overtime work was being done, payment for the work was made to the Surveyor-general, and the clerks who actually did the work received but a small part of the money, the Surveyor-general frequently pocketing the lion‘s share. This was pure graft, for the Surveyor-general made none of the copies; he gave none of his time to the work, and was not rightfully entitled to the pay, except in such cases as he personally rendered service. A former Surveyor-general in Idaho pocketed 75 per cent, of all money earned by his clerks working by overtime, and his detection did more to break up the graft than anything else, though it was found that most others of his class were grafting on a smaller scale. Present Salaries Inadequate. Now copies are all made during office hours, are paid for at a rate prescribed by the General Land Office, and the money goes into the federal treasury. Commissioner Ballinger is willing to admit that $2,000 is an inadequate salary for a competent Surveyor-general, and at the proper time he will probably recommend a material increase, but he will also urge that in the future none but civil engineers be appointed to these positions. Another evil of the present system he would correct, and at once, is the contract- survey plan. Instead of having government surveys made by contractors who are not in the federal service and are not accountable to the Interior Department, he would employ a corps of competent surveyors, place them on the government payroll, and have them run all section and township lines, not at so much per mile but at so much per month. He would have only experienced and qualified men, and would have it understood that inaccurate work would be cause for instant dismissal of any surveyor. This would insure the work being done by men capable of running straight lines, and capable of marking them as they go ahead. That is more than a great many of the contract surveyors can do, as is evidenced by the tremendous amount of delay made necessary by corrections of surveys as they are being made today. Moreover, the employment of government surveyor would render unnecessary the present system of examination. As things run now, every survey made under contract has to be examined in whole or in part by a competent examiner, which virtually amounts to a double survey. This examination takes time and costs money, but both time and money would be saved by changing the system. Jobbery in Awarding Contracts. It is true government survey contracts are awarded after competition, but a careful scrutiny of proposals received at any Surveyor-general’s office show that a certain clique manage to get all the work, to the exclusion of other bidders, yet the records of the General Land Office show that many successful bidders are notoriously incompetent and unreliable. From which it is safe to conclude that there is jobbery in connection with the award of survey contracts (the awards being made by Surveyors-general). Whether the changes proposed are to go into effect or not depends largely on the way the Commissioner’s suggestions are received by the Administration and Congress. The Commissioner has pointed the way to reform; it is now up to the people, through their representatives, to see that the reform is adopted. The time has come when government surveys should be placed in the hands of the best men available. Practically all of the level lands have been surveyed; all that are likely to be entered in the near future. The unsurveyed areas lie up in the mountains in rough country, where unusual skill is required in order to attain accurate results. Those of the level lands that remain will be utilized largely under irrigation systems, and with small farm units, accurate surveys are necessary to prevent contests between settlers. Men who have had government contracts heretofore, and who have been unable to correctly run township and section lines, are not competent to run similar lines on mountain slopes and through forests, and are not to be depended upon for surveying irrigation projects. The best surveyors are required, but they will not be had as long as the existing political system continues.
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