National Republican., 1873-01-27

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beg our Democratic contemporaries to remem
ber these facts, aud In their denunciatorJ
comments we hope they will have the justlc,
to draw the distinction between the action o
the two parties.
THE SIGNAL CORPs-TuE NECESSITY
FOR ITS REORGANIZATION.
In the REPUBLICAN Of the 22d instant ther,
appeared an article briefly referring to IN,
benefits derived from the observations Of the
weather bureau during the recent freshets
and advocating lts reorganization on NOR,
liberal basis. Since lts publication we hay,
received several communications from per
'ons claiming to possess accurate Information
regarding the Instruction, duties, pay, &C., oi
ia employees, and while some Of the written
iifer in their views and suggestions respect.
NJ minor matters they all agree that the
present allowance made the observer ser
yeants and assistants Ia totally incommen.
surato with their labofs and the responsible
ties Ii imposes upon them.
The corps Is part and parcel Of the army,
md any one desiring to enter II must do so
sa private soldier, arst passing the usual
physical examination, and then mental ex-
animation Of a standard fully equal to that
required Of candidate for lieutenancy. In
addition to these requirements he must fur
Iish satisfactory evidence as to character.
From this 1t Is obvious that the applicant for
enlistment must he man Of some intelli'
gence aud worth, capable Of thoroughly un-
ierstanding and Of putting into practice
whatever Of the science OF meteorology and
art % telegraphy he Is taught at the school
II instruction, Fort whipple, Virginia,
where he remains several months, receiving
only the pay and allowances OF a private
soldier, and performing, In addition to his
studies, all the duties incident to garrison
life. When qualified by this severe training
he Is sent to some station as an assistant, and
receives In all S5s per month, for labor that
nay be said to average fifteen hours out OF
The twenty-four, his duty requiring him to be
On hand at unreasonable hours, and quite
frequently subjecting him to exposure.
Take, for example, the case Of the quar-
tette perched on the peak Of Mount WASH
lngton, over six thousand feet above the sea
level. On this eminence the wind frequently
blows at the rate Of one hundred and twenty
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aculty, and at considerable bodily risk that
the observations are taken. The tempera-
ture and isolation Of this, in ono sense
heavenly position, nearly shuts of communi-
cation with the lower world, so that unless a
man Is Of rather misanthropic turn the
miserable pay would hardly tempt him to
to wrap himself In clouds away from his fel-
lows. The small pay and the hard work are
not all there Is to be complained Of. Under
the present arrangement there Is but the
Oarest chance OF advancement, and therefore
no incentive to the best performance OF the
duties imposed. To be sure the assistant by
study and diligence may In time reach the
exalted position Of an observer and receive,
As he does, the very generous monthly com
pensaton Of seyenty-two dollars.
The peculiarly Of the service in a measure
units man for other employment should he
serve out the term Of onlistmcnt-flse years
at the expiration Of which Il Ia very probable
he will be no better of financially than when
he entered, and will have acquired knowledge
OF not the least practical value outside Of II.
II he be a married man, or II he have any
one dependent upon him, he can barely exist,
unless he be stationed In some small town,
which generally Is not the case, the larger
cities necessarily being stations.
There can be no objection TO the operations
Of the corps, for, Indeed, considering the
very Hunted means at the disposition OF the
chief signal officer, II Ia quite surprising that
the benefits arising therefrom are so great
and that Its predictions are 50 reliable. The
degree of accuracy attained Is, we think,
altogether attributable to the fact that the
bureau is 4 military establishment, capable
Of enforcing the strictest discipline and ex-
actness among Its subordinates. As q civil
department Of the Government, with the mig
gardly appropriations 1t has received, the
weather bureau would he next to worthless,
and Its probabilities" would come as near
fulnllmcnt as the prophesies Of a rheumatic
old maid.
The classes-commercial and agricultural
specially benefited by the proper mainte-
nance Of this valuable bureau are the largest,
wealthlest and most generous in the country,
and certainly they are desirous, II from none
other than than purely selfish reasons, that 1t
should not only he literally sustained, hut
that Its operations should he greatly ex-
tended. These are the classes, above all
others, whose interests are chiefly consulted
In the making Of Congressional approprla-
tions. The introduction In Congress Of a
measure to increase the pay Of all connected
with the signal service, particularly its
subOrdinates, and for the establishment Of II
on basis somewhat similar to that of the
engineer corps, creating many higher grades,
to he reached only by promotion, would
greatly inure TO Its further success and would
unquestionably meet the hearty approval Of
the aforementioned classes. As we said
before, here is a chance for some member Of
either House TO make hit during the present
session. Such a measure would receive the
support of the people In all parts Of the States
who believe in at least fair pay for their SER
wants and are willing that their money should
be expended when from Its expenditure they
derive the benefit.