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ACQUISITIONS SINCE 1563
ALASKA, from Russia in 1867
HAWAIL and PALMYRA, annexed in 1608
PHILIPPINES, from Spain in 1508
GUAM, from Spain in 1898
PORTO RICO from Spain in 1808
TUTUILA (Samoansgroup), acquired by Ine
ternational treaty in 1
CANAL ZONE, leased from Panama in 1904
VIRGIN ISLANDS, from Denmark in 1917
WAEKE’ISLAND, MIDWAY, NAVASSA,
and other small islands, acquired since 1853
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By ELMO SCOTT WATSON
FF YOU want to learn more about the
country in which you live than you
have ever known before, send fifty
cents to the superintendent of doc-
uments at the United States gov-
ernment printing office In Wash-
ington and tell him to send you
Bulletin No. S17 of the United
The oth
er name for that publication is,
“Boundaries, Areas, Geographie
Centers and Altitudes of the United States and
the Several States” but don't let that formid-
able-sounding title daunt you. For in this 265
page, paper-covered book by Edward M. Doug
las you'll find more interesting facts than in all
the history and geography books you studied
at school,
It's a big country, this United States of
America, You'll never appreciate just how big
it Is antil you read the statistics given in the
last two pages of Bulletin 817. “From CGreen-
land's icy Mountain to India’s coral strand” is
the familiar and poetical way of expressing
the extreme ends of the earth. But the distance
suggested in that expression is as nothing com-
pared to the distance between the northernmost
and southernmost points in the territory over
which the Stars and Stripes float. Point Bar-
row, the extreme north point of Alaska. is near.
Iy 5.000 miles north of the equator and Hose
inlet in the Samoan group, the farthest south
American land, Is exactly 1.000 miles south of
it. Claims that may be based upon the Byrd
explorations and discoveries of 1920-30 In the
Antarctic region may put the American flag
even farther south so that we may be able to
match England's boast of “dominion over palm
and pine” with one which mentions “from pole
to pole”
Few of us may ever get the chance to go
from one end of the American possessions to
the other, but in. these days of the automobile
and Improved roads any of us can get acquaint.
ed with the extent of the “mainland” of our
country. Suppose you decide to make a “cirele
tour” of your country—follow its houndary lines
until you're back where you started from. How
far do you suppose you will have gone? Exactly
17.938 miles. Driving steadily at the rate of
40 miles an hour and putting in 12 hours a
day It would take you five weeks and two days
to mdke such a trip.
Here's the mileage: Start at West Quoddy
Head, near Eastport, Maine, (the easternmost
point on the “mainland” of the United States)
and drive west following the northern bound.
ary all the way, Including the water boundary
through the Great Lakes until you reach Cape
Alva, Wash. (the westernmost point), By that
time you will have covered 3,987 miles. Follow
the Pacific coastline down to the Mexican bor-
der and you will add 2,730 more miles. Turn
east mlong the Mexican border and it's 2.013
miles until you get to the gulf of Mexico. Fol-
low Its shoreline of 8,641 miles until you round
Florida, then head north and after 5,565 miles
along the Atlantic ocean you will be back at
West Quoddy Head with 17.936 miles behind
you,
Or if you don't care for the “circle tour” and
want to make a direct route from the two points
farthest apart In the United States, start at
Cape Flattery, Wash, and travel southeast until
you reach a point on the Florida const south
of Miami. You will have covered 2.835 miles.
States geological survey.
| 1848 |
and the
to the other to do that. You ean go from the
highest to the lowest points in less than an hour
~that is, If you use an airplane. For they are
only 56 miles apart. Sail over the summit of
Mount Whitney in Inyo, Tulare county, in Call
fornia (altitude 14.400 feet above sea level)
then swoop down less than three miles to the
Death valley in Inyo county and you will be
28 feet below sea level
ut even more interesting than these geo.
graphical facts in Bulletin 817 Is the American
history which you will learn from reading about
the boundaries of the Individual states and look.
Ing at the maps which illustrate its pages
Have you ever wondered why some of our
states have the queer shapes that they have?
The peculiar irregularities of some of the
state boundaries are due to compromises made
to adjust differences between the representa-
tives of the states. The “Southwick Jog.” for
example, which appears on the boundary be-
tween Connecticut and Massachusetts was estab.
lished because in adjusting errors in the bound
ary, as previously run by compass, a long. nar-
row strip of land was given to Connecticut and
the “Jog” ceded to Massachusetts was intended
to be an equivalent area.
The panhandle at the southeast corner of
Missouri is said to be the result of efforts of a
prominent landowner to have his plantation in-
cluded in the new state. The projection on the
northern boundary of Minnesota, which includes
a land area of about 124 scquare miles sepa-
rated from the main part of Minnesota by the
Lake of the Woods, resulted from the use of
inaccurate maps of the treaty makers
Probably the most widely-known boundary in
the United States ix the “Mason and Dixon line”
between Pennsylvania and Maryland, run by
two famous English mathematicians In 1763
1767.
The accuracy of their survey is shown by the
fact that in a resurvey 130 years later, with
modern instruments and methods, the position
found for the northeast corner of Maryland
differed only 180 feet from their position. The
original stones for five-mile marks on this line
were carved In England from limestone and are
still standing, with Lord Baltimore's coat of
arms on the Maryland side and the Penn arms
on the Pennsylvania side,
The east-west part of the boundary between
Massachusetts and Rhode Island was for more
than 200 years a matter of dispute that was in
some respects the most remarkable boundary
question with which this country has had to deal.
Twice the question went to the Supreme court
of the United States, and In one of these suits
Daniel Webster and Rufus Choate were em-
ployed as counsel for Massachusetts. Choate, to
fllustrate the indefiniteness of certain boundary
lines, said before the Massachusetts legislature:
“The commissioners might as well have de-
cided that the line between the states was
bounded on the north by a bramble bush, on
the south by a blue jay, on the west by a hive
of bees In swarming time and on the east by
500 foxes with firebrands tied to their taille”
How boundary lines have changed during the
years from the first English settlement to the
present time is well lustrated In the case of
the state of Virginia. The Virginia Charter of
1009 Included the area extending west to the
1. Map of the United States showing acces.
sions of territory since 1853.
2. The highest point in the United States
Mount Whitney in California, 14,496 feet above
sea level,
3. Northernmost point in United States terri.
tory-—Point Barrow in Alaska, latitude 71 de
grees, 25 minutes north,
4. Southernmost point in United States terri.
tory-~Rose island in the Pacific ocean, latitude
14 degrees, 32 minutes south.
5. Map of the United States showing acces.
sions of territory from 1803 to 1853.
6. The lowest point in the United States
Death valley in California, 276 feet below sea
level,
@& &
“South Sea” that is, the Pacific ocean. called
Mar del Sur (South Sea) by Balboa in 1513.
when he first saw it at a place where the shore
line runs nearly east and west. In 1000 no one
knew how far away from the Atlantic the “South
Sea” was, and some of the other colonies had
charters stating the same western limit.
Along the Atlantic coast Virginia extended
from a point 200 miles north of Point Comfort
to a point the same distance south. 80 at one
time Virginia owned all of what is now North
Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia,
Maryland, and Delaware and parts of South
Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Illinois,
Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. But In the
next century and a half she lost a large part
of that territory. The Carolina charters of 1663.
1665 took away from her the land south of the
present southern boundaries, Lord Baltimore's
Maryland colony deprived her of the Chesa-
peake Bay region. After the Revolution she
ceded to the new republic In 1784 the territory
northwest of the Ohio river. In 1792, Kentucky
was organized as a separate state by her con
sent and in 1862 when the Civil war rent the
nation what Is now West Virginia was sepa
rated from the mother state.
Indiana Is another state which once com-
prised a vast area, including all of Nlinois and
Wisconsin, most of Michigan and a large part
of Minnesota. Perhaps the largest territory once
held by a present state was that of Missouri.
In 1812 the name of the territory of Louisiana
was changed to territory of Missouri and at the
time it included all of the original Louisiana
Purchase except the present state of Louisiana,
But gradually Missouri, territory and state, was
whittled down, losing most of Oklahoma and
Arkansas to the latter in 1810 and parts of
Texas, Colorado, Kansas and New Mexico to
Spain in the same year. In 1834 Missouri lost
all of Town, and parts of Minnesota, North and
Sofdth Dakota to Michigan and in 1854 most of
Montana, the rest of North and South Dakota,
parts of Wyoming and Colorado and all of Ne
braska to the latter and to Kansas, when the
Kansas and Nebraska territories were organized
in that year.
(© by Western Newspaper Union)
Satin by Day
A? TO the fabric which is out
standing at the present moment,
It Is satin by day and satin by night,
which reigns supreme In the mode.
The style-wise woman who Is seeking
or planning her fall costumes will, if
she has not already done so, discover
that there is simply no getting away
Notwithstanding its aspect of luxurs
ng % the fact that it tubs
Ct
making of the sports costume, Which
which fas!
Just now
big
In
$0 SUCCes
signing of the evening sstin frock.
Later on, and nos or that matter
the suit « afternoon frock of blac
mount. If not black then brown
They have no one length or type
this summer—that is certain. The
cuffs, fitting the arm rather snugly.
The fullness 'n the tucking is re
leased after an inch and the ruffle
falls to midway betwen the elbow and
the wrist,
This short sleeve is simplicity {itself
It strikes the arm when finished half.
way between the shoulder and the
elbow and has only a three.insh cuff
put on very much like a man's shirt
cuff, bot instead of cuff links the
ends that come together are made
into tiny pleats,
Maggy Rouff has made a “dancing”
sleeve that is delightful, It has a run
of six parallel tucks just above the
elbow and from there on the under
side It falls In cascades almost to the
wrist. at the inside of the elbow it
is short and lined with white. The
white extends further than the outer
layer and when the arms are lifted in
dancing the effect is everything to be
desired,
———
Cottons Hold Their Own
With Silks and Satins
If you ever had an ides that cotton
materials were in any way inferior to
pliks and satine, you will have to re
vise your opinion this summer, Sheer
fabrics such as organdie, piain or em-
broidered batiste, and dotted swiss
are used not only for informal evening
dresses but for those of the more for
mel sort. June bridesmaids will wear
pastel-toned organdie dresses, and
brides will wear fine embroidered
batiste. Usually these lighter, sheer
cotton materinls are worn over taffeta
or silk crepe slips, taffeta bel
smartest choice for evening:
may prefer a slip or petticont
or batiste trinuned with lace
and nsertion,
will be first choice, for fashion reports
are already placing emphasis on brown
for fall. Softly tailored effects dis
tinguisk the very smart and vers
wearable costume pictured to the left.
This five o'clock ensemble which is
of black crepe satin endorses the ack
iped collar of
seif-satin. The blouse is of pale pink
ele
-
et-guit styling. with
triple chiffon,
in
SEUres as to a
i ne We
anel a!
mao
A remarkable change in millinery
is the message which the first autumn
hate carry. The initial chapter of the
story has to do with little felt or
velvet shapes which are almost too
quaint to seem possible in this age
and day. They are worn at a tilt
which is tantalizing, over one eye and
showing one side of the coiffure.
Feathers on them, too, either perky
little colorful novelties or sweeping
ostrich of the most picturesque sort.
Speaking In genernl it’ is the hat
fashions of the second Empire period
which is the Inspiration for 1081 mi)
linery. Just at present the theme up
permost in the mind of designers lad
the Empress Eugenie silhouette. Worn
at the recent Paris races were any
number of cunning chapeaux of the
type as shown in the sketches here
with, The little felt In the circle is
one of th. smart new derbies
Red and White and Brown
This is a new alliance of on.
which appears again and aguld in
smart costumes, In one Instance »
frock of brown and white printed silk
was accompanied by a red hat and
red nccessories. In another a brown
suit bad a red and white scarf and
was complemented hy a red bag