Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-01-23
Letter from Washington.
lFRoM OUR REGULAR CORRESPONDENTS
WASHINGTON, D. c., Jan. 10, 1872

WASHINGTON, D. c., Jan. 10, 1872
OUR NATIONAL SCHOOLS OF SCIENCE.
My designation may not be exact, and there
fore an explanation will not be out of place. In
this city, important instrumentalities for the
advancement of science are in constant opera
ton, increasing too in extent and usefulness
with each years growth. refer more particu-
larly to such offices as the coast survey, now
housed in new and spacious building, fit and
adapted!lor its uses; tosthe photographic office
of the navy; the engineers bureau of the army;
the naval observatory; the scientific experts en-
ployed in the agricultural department.; the
storm signal office, and other purely scientific
bureaus attached to the several departments.
II we had all these bureaus concentrated and
under competent scientific direction mean as
TO their chief-what magnificent career of
scientific utilities would be opened. The field is
already before us. The great need of America,
to my mind, is a complete chronological nniyer-
sity in which would be embraced colleges or
schools Of all the great practical sciences and Of
their application to the administration and en-
largement Of the leading industries, arts, man
ufactures, and the vast material enter
prises, such as railroads, telegraphs etc.
change, and in place of diplomacy, war and
the mere police of repression, they will more
and more tend TO concern themselves with
what will ameliOrate the condition of man,
make this globe of ours-which, at its best, is
poor, wheezy affair, afflicted with malaria
and infected by typhoid and other malignant
ces-a filter habitaton for the genuine des-
tiny of the race. In this light all these train
ing schools, these laboratories of unitarian
science which the government maintains, are
the hopeful promises and forerunners of the
near future. They are training the men there
of and preparing its way.
My attention was called to these things by
a recent visit to the central office OF the
storm signal corps. People are getting pretty
familiar with this work, but after all it is DIFF
ticult for any non-scienhfc and cursory look
er-on to fully realize its value, or the extent
of its work.
ITS ORIGIN.
The congressional parent of this work is Gen.
Halbcrt E. Paine, who, during his last term of
service offered and carried resolution looking to
the formation of signal corps, to be employed
in the gathering and dissemination ofmetcorolog-
ical observations. From that germ has sprung the
present system, whose usefulness has already
been SO thoroughly yindicated as to justify in
crease of appropriations and great eXpanse
of work and usefulness. This work is under
the direction of Brig. Gen. Albert Myer, who
was, during the war; as he is now, chief signal
officer of the army The signal corps proper
was mustered out or disbanded when the army
was finally reduced to peace footing, but Gen
Myer was retained to perfect his code and other
portions of the signal system The utilization
of the telegraph to convey intelligence of APP
preaching storms, as well as to inform us of
changes in the barometer Sc, indicating the
various prevailing and probable differences in
the weather, was the practical thought OF the
system. 1t was the realization of this that the
system aimed at.
OPERATIONS AND EXTENT OF THE SYSTEM.
Fort Whipple, Virginia, is maintained as the
signal camp Of instruction, and to this practical
school officers Of the army and navy are sent.
they are instructed chiefly in military signaling
and tele9raphy, and in the use of the admirable
and delicate instruments used in the storm sig
nal and other forms of scientific observation,
Besides these studies, the men enlisted 10 serve
in the weather signal corps proper, are all in
structed in their duties at Fort Whipple. Sig
nal instruction is given, by officers instructed at
the fort, and detailed for the purpose, in Texas,
New Mexico, California and other military de-
partments. But the storm signal corps is in
great part separate from the army or navy sig
nal service proper, The force on duty at Whip
pie Is cighty-onc, non-eOmmissioned officers and
privates There is no signal corps proper, ex-
cept the observer sergeants," as they are term-
ed officers are detailed, and return to their regi,
ments when instructed. At the present time
there are "a of these observer sergeants,',
whose duties were first begun on November /
1870, when at 7. 35 A, NJ, "the first systematiZed
synehronops meteQrG reports ever taken in the
United States were read from the instruments
at twenty-lour stations, and placed upon the tel
egraphic wires for transmission" This
was the beginning Of this signal service,
and the first bulletin issued cont
ed observations from twenty-four sta
tions, and were published simultaneously in
twcnty-lour cities The observations ranged
from Boston to New Orleans in the SOUTH
Duluth in the northwest, Omaha in the central
west and st. Louis in the southwest, Al the
present time there are sXty-onc stations-rung.
ing from Portland, Maine, to Duluth, Denver,
Cheyenne Corrine, Virginia City and Fort BEN
ron, Montana, San Francisco, Portland, San
Diego, on the Pacific, Santa Fe and Galveston,
Texas; ana then south all along the coast 10 tue
gulf up the Mississippi valley, coming back
along the Ohio, and meeting with the circuit
which comes along the lakes,
There are Two great tecgr9phlc circuits In dl,
rect relations with the central Office here. Chi
cago to New York, taking in the lake and inter.
mediate cities, aud pHe from Savannah TO New
York, taking in the entire Atlantic coast. There
is minor circuit concentratnga Portland and
Boston, which stations make up aud transmit
the small reports, communicating to New York
and hence to Washington. Savannah is the
centre Of small circuit gathering the
Florida and gulf station reports, as
far as Galveston, concentrating and
sending here Chicago runs the fur
western and northwestern circuit. These sixty
one stations are under charge Of the observer.
sergeants. These reports are made each twenty
four hours At all the stations within the two
larger circuits named, the work is done stimuli
taneously, each operator being notified to be at
pls instruments thus each one receives the re.
ports Tor his own station as well as adds and
iorYaElS bis own. Most Of the stations are at.
rrzN ny only one sergeant, who is observer,
sho and messenger in one, AT the circuit sta.
! ms there are two These observers have in
~harge the valuable and delicate instrumcntsuscd