The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 69, July 1965 - April, 1966 Page: 87
591 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Notes and Documents
could be spanned with 250 miles of wire, and for $2o,ooo, provided
wire be imported duty free and the same facilities given as in
building these lines. It is probable the line could be constructed
cheaper now than at a future time.
Organization
There has been an exceedingly large amount of correspondence
necessary to systematize the work of the office, the men being
entirely ignorant of forms and rules. No one can be better cog-
nizant of the shortcomings which will be apparent to my successor
than I am. The work of construction is the one to which I have
almost entirely devoted my energies, and reports, both money and
property, have been deemed of a secondary character. It is only
within two months that I have been able to pay proper attention
to my papers which, for the first two months were scandalously
neglected by the clerk to whom I entrusted them. They are at
present in fair condition, owing to the close attention paid to them
by Sergt. John Laurens,123 who has by his faithfulness, good judg-
ment and ability as a clerk and Assistant Superintendent, to a
marked extent aided me in my work.
The meterological work has not progressed satisfactorily owing
to the lack of skilled observers and the inability to convey the
delicate instruments to them in good order.
The lack of a sufficient number of men to satisfactorily manage
the line has been a continued drawback and has increased the cost
of repairs. It is to be hoped that my successor will be more favored
in this respect. Forty men are needed to manage the line without
taking meteorological observations, and three more in such case.
Lieut. C. S. Heintzelmanl24 relieved me on Mch. 8th. He will
include in his March report the amount of work from March 1-8
and the expenditures made from the appropriation.
I cannot close this report without bearing testimony to the in-
valuable services rendered me by Mr. J. C. Van Duzer, Civilian
Superintendent of Construction, who left me by orders in September.
His judgments were almost invariably justified by subsequent events,
and he was most zealous and energetic in his work here. The work
here I feel to be as much his as mine.
I am, respectively yours,
(A. W. Greely)
ist. Lieut. 5th Cav'y A.S.O.
12 John Laurens enlisted in the army on April 5, 1872, and was discharged as a
sergeant in the Signal Corps on July 14, 1883. Huber to L. T. E., April 18, 1962.
124Charles Stewart Heintzelman, born in Michigan, graduated from the United
States Military Academy on June 17, 1867. He was promoted to first lieutenant in
1870, to captain in 1876, and died on February 27, 1881. Heitman, Historical
Register, I, 521.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 69, July 1965 - April, 1966, periodical, 1966; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117144/m1/107/: accessed May 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.