AMERICAN CONTEMPORARIES George Eastman
I
S AS iiitrivicw published a short time ago Mi-. ISsstrnan dcsci-ibed himseli as "an amatmr photographer." Tlre iiitcivicw deals especially with the "photographer," with the growth arid development of the I ~ U S ~which ~ C SRS l r . 1':ustmaii has miidr; imt the characterization of George 13astmaii wliirli is
thc noi it significant oi the man is the word "amateur." .ioirally some writer, forgetting the history of his sulwxt. wiitc> dispuragiiigly about "amateur scivntistb." Graut Allen bss an csssy ciititled "Mere Amatcurs." in which he castigates a critic who dared to use the phrase "in i h c fntI,erla**d "i Beco*,, Newton. and 1)aiiriir." I'icsiimalrly the critic thought tlmt thc y~ord "aiiiate~r"w a s s y n o ~ ~ y mous with "bcgiiiiicr" instead of meaning, iis it tiiics, mie who docs things lor tlic IUW ,>idoing them. Mcn do things for m a n y rcasuns: t o cilrn their bread, t o obtain riches and lumiiy, to attain jiowei, lor tlic appmval cf their fellows; 1mt the thiiigs tliat arc done hcst arc doiic ior the IOVC Ui ~ I I C doiiig. Chemists, rcmrmbering the development oi thvii science, arc scarcely likely to iijigct thcir ilcl,t to the amatcurs who crcatctl i t ; and photography owes its cxistcnce and progress t o amatcurs. For Tnlbot, Scott Archer, R. I. Maddoa, Gcurgc Eastmaii-all bccamu intcrcsted iu the takinp. oi .victims and in imrsuit o f their Iiobijy worked out the improved etlmds which are the milestones of ihottjBot X r . Xastman is iiot only en amateur photographer He is an amateur in hali P duzen other fields, arid all oi them hc piirsiies with that same rnthusiiism and thoroughness which has iliatle such a successof h i s photogmphy. An enthusiastic camper, lie has studied every detail of his camping kit and worked out impruvemmts himself. For years he has been iiii amatelir musirian--as a n auditor mt 3 grrformer-~-and recently his iirtciest in music has led him t o experiment in thc tcrrchin music by building and organizing a school of music. that the imblie at large should he taught to appr and in order to teach them he has built a Ereat thcater where nmtioil pictures arc accompanicd by excellent music, so tliat while people watch the pictuxes thcy will ahsorl, the music. The 1,uilding oi that theater was perhaps the more readily undrrtaken becausr Mr. Eastman is an amateur architect and !milder, and one of no mean order. Hc has crccted many buildings
Water Temperatwes--L. S . L'edo~icai S n n , ~Wotrr-Supply I'iipcr 520-F,on temperature of water available for industrial use in tlir Cnited States, contains a map showing the temlxeraturr of water irum rionthermal wells a t depths oi 3 0 t o 6 l l icet throughout the Cnited States. Another map shows the approximate m r m nioiithly temperature of suriace water luring July and August. B tnlile gives mean monthly temp tures of suriace watcr and oi air, and maximum daily temperatures oi water io7 July and August at twenty-one i,laccs, n i t h records over periods i n i y i i i g iiom otic to t w l v e years.
i n connectioii with h i s business, a i d the coiistructiuo of most of tlwsc lias been w r y cIosc.Iy supervised by him. The Kodok lmilding in Lundon is iiotat,le among the lusincss buildings of that city, arid althouzh it was built by a famous architect it owes a great deal to the suggestions made b y 2lr. I3astman. And what fun lie had huildiog that theater! Every part oi it was stiitliPt1: each growth WE watched; and when it was being l i n i s h c d lie all 1mt livcd there. Today, among his chief interests arc thr running d tho theater, a tins in t h e direction of the Music School, and making suggestions to the huilders ai the School of Medicine which he has helped to give to Rochester. For George Eastman is like other amateurs; hc is young at heart, and there is nothing like an abwrtied interest t o kcep one yound. That interest with him is pc,-CllZ,i&l.
In spite oi the interest he takes in l i i b work and his play, Mr. Eastman is no iaddist. Some enthusiasts, especially some wealthy and successful enthusiasts, are full oi (ads and insist OLI carrying thrnr out in evcrytliing they do. Mr. Eastman docs not; he consults experts in his business, in h i s music, a i d h i s building; lie t advice available, and when he docs something unusual it is due, not to impulsc. but to conviction iounded on careiul study and knowledge. Also, wliilc his intercsts arc wide, t h e y are I>y no means universal. He becomes so tlecply interested in certain matters that ary to limit his attention in other directions. M r . Eastman, lor instance, believes pure science is iiscful both t o the community and to his business; he has helped it greatly by his gifts axid turns t o it for advice when he needs it, but he hiniseli has never studied decply any branch of it. He is a good man t o work for and to work with-enthusiastic, critical. strict, exacting. He can detect the vital point in a new pmblern in hiisiiics~with startling rapidity and clarity. Fortyfive years ago he started to make photographic plates, and lor many years the Kodak Company absorbed his immense energy. Then, as l i e felt that he could trust the men that he had gathered around him to take more and Inore responsibility. he began to interest himself in other matters, niid today be states that he is iiiteiiding t o take a more detached position. But M i . Ikutmau will always be an arnatcui---ail enthusiast in everything that he uudertakes and, not least, in photography arid in that devclupmenl of photography throughout the world which is the business of tlie Kodak Company. C. E. K . MEW ~~
The temperature oi groural water is generally irorn 2" to 3' F. dmve the mean annual air temperature if the water is between 311 and 1iO ieet below the surface of the ground. The mean monthly temperature of a surface water at any place is genrrally nithin a few degrres o f the mean monthly air temper?ture when the
air temperature is above the freezing imint. r h e maximum water tumgerature in any of the n-armer months is usually from 2 to t i dcgrecs higher than tli? mcaii motitlily wnter tcmixraturc.
