Caught Mapping (1940)

[Music] e since the historic Voyage of Columbus the science of mapmaking has played a leading role in the birth and development of America through the intervening centuries map information concerning this great country has grown with ever increasing rapidity more power to those first explorers and early Pioneers who crossed strange oceans blazed new trails discovered new lands new Mountains New Rivers new forests and recorded their findings for the benefit of those to follow mapmaking in the olden days was like painting a masterpiece a slow laborious and highly specialized task requiring the utmost skill and patience mapmaking today has the speed of our modern streamlined methods but it is still a highly specialized occupation today the finest Maps formerly the prized possessions of the privileged few can be had for the asking Presto and right at their finger tips modern motorists can have an information Bureau on any road they may wish to take but how many of us ever stop to think what a tremendous task it is to keep constant check on the millions of miles of roads in the United States the biggest catch in making road maps is keeping them up to date modern mapmakers have solved this by developing a trick method of printing revised Maps can be put out every two weeks weeks by this method Maps can have their faces lifted without fuss or feathers here's how it's done every time a road is to be built or repaired symbols showing its progress are over printed onto the latest edition of the regular road map the map company's expert draftsmen spend all their time checking road reports and drawing in symbols indicating latest road conditions these symbols are first drawn on transparent sheets laid over the original Master map from which all road maps of that District are made this particular symbol for instance shows that certain roads are under construction but that detours are provided this symbol will be drawn over every road that fits this classification at the time the map goes to press but wait a minute how does the draftsman know all this it's a c he can't walk every mile of every Road in the United States well somebody has to who is this fellow with the Seven League Boots this work is done by field men Road Scouts who each year travel the equivalent of many round trips to the Moon as a rule these map detectives work in pairs one man driving the car as the other plots Road changes on a special chart book notations are carefully checked against special instruments to ensure complete accuracy drawing a straight line in a moving automobile on a bumpy road is one job that calls for a steady hand and a car that smoothly cooperates these Road changes when carefully drawn to scale in the graph books are now ready for the big leagues the master detour maps and the drafting rooms here is another type of symbol often found on upto-date detour Maps this one indicates Road under construction but open to traffic in other words drive with care automobile club sculps like these also run down valuable Road Clues these men often do two jobs at once besides Gathering data for the latest detour Maps they also check new findings against old United States Geological Survey topographical sheets on these they not only indicate the Topography of the land drawing in all mountains canyons and rivers but they also check official mileage figures from point to point comparing them with those already listed on the survey sheets since many of these were drawn up from surveys made over 30 years ago some roads are found to be longer or shorter than their birth certificate goes being a road Scout is no soft snap driving around Death Valley in the summer isn't found in the Pink Tea section of the book but it's all in a day's work as far as these boys are concerned years spent in the wide open spaces have toughened them to take the worst old man weather offers just put on your sun goggles and take a peep at that thermometer it's only 115° in the shade what shade draw two Jake for the boy in the back Oasis lucky thing the camel does need a drink though because the water supply looks pretty slim one of the many things these autoc Club Scouts keep tab on is the rise and fall of elevation at certain points since the earth's surface is constantly changing like the crust of a baking pie they often discover that what was low down on earlier surveys is now on the up and up elevations are recorded with an anoid a special altimeter like those used on airplanes this anoid is so sensitive to atmospheric pressure it registers changes of elevation in inches this reading is then checked against the altitude figure on the Geological Survey Benchmark these benchmarks found all over the United States list elevations for each locality if the road Scouts elevation is at outs with a benchmark reading he makes a notation of the difference and sends it to the Geological Survey headquarters in Washington in the meantime there are are many more roads to be covered so the boys better step on it or they'll never make their deadline State Highway departments and road construction companies also do their stuff and giving much valuable information for keeping Maps up to date this particular symbol Road closed to traffic means just what it says when you come up to bad news like that there's only two things left to do get a tractor or turn back well here comes someone now is he going to be sore when he finds he has to go around by pumpkinville hey mister turn around Nick Nick you can't do that uhoh this jent's no tourist he's the highway superintendent out to see how the new road shaping up there are countless men throughout the country just like this highway official who in gathering data for their own use contribute much helpful information to the makers of road maps this grometer for example registers the pitch of the grade the car is resting on when recorded on the highway department survey map this data will be sent to map company draftsman along with blueprints of the road being built yes it's swell teamwork on the part of everyone that gets Speedy accurate information for modern road maps daily these men sail into their jobs unmindful of gring Road and weather conditions scenes like these multiplied thousands of times are continually taking place throughout the length and breadth of America each man adds his piece to the ever growing and Ever Changing jigsaw puzzle that makes up a road map speed is essential particularly in the case of detour Maps speed in getting the news on the map while it's still news speed in revising it when the roads are again open to traffic when all this last minute Road information has been transposed to the overlay sheet the sheet is removed and placed in a special vacuum frame a huge camera then photographs the overlay onto a glass negative this negative is photographically transferred onto a sensitized zinc plate which after having its face washed in an acid solution is ready to be ined and locked on the press this press swiftly overprints The Detour symbols onto the latest standard road maps these in turn are automatically cut and folded to the proper size ready to give folks a Good Steer yes map making has changed ched has kept pace with a changing America modern Maps guide us over the modern roads of the land over great super highways such as the famous new Pennsylvania Turnpike modern Maps taking today's motorists where they want to go when they want to go quickly comfortably and [Music] safely