Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1876-02-12
CONTROLLING THE WEATHER.

CdRnonading rs Nouns of Elacoa--
aging the Tropical Current
Last night the Rev. l.. Il. WoDif0rk. pastor
OF the First Baptist church OF Lexington.
Ky. delivered a lecture on The Control OF
the Weather" in the First Baptist church of
this city. The lecturer Claims Tn have male
discoveries which make meteOroloey sci
ence In the true sense of the word, general
izip g all its phenomena, and explaining them
in accordance with regular law. He resided
two years 10 Helena, the capital or Montana,
situated at the eastern foot of the Rocky
Mountains. and located in the immediate
area where most OF our continental winter
storms originate. He has witnessed the
origin of many storms, watched their phe-
nOmeDa, and traced their development. The
phenomena of storms are yelled from ObSer
walton in this country, but I'm Montana the
storm movements are unmarked. aud are
readily observed. Observation of The origin
of storms revealed TO him laws of atmos-
pheric movement hitherto unknown, aud
enabled him TO comprehend the ceaseless
cycles of the air currents in their sweep north
and south over the globe These observa-
tiOns enabled him TO develop system Of the
movements upon our globe, as the Copper
mean system explains the movements Of the
planetary bodies. And, as q result of his
generalization of the atmospheric currents
and the causes which originate storms, he
became convinced that the currents OF the
atmosphere which cause heat and cold, wet
and dry, storm and calm, are subject to hui
man control, and that man may, by means
OF cannOnading, restrict storms to q small,
given area, maintaining n warm, summer
temperature throughout winter over all the
continents of the northern hemisphere.
The subject has awakened profound inter-
est wherever IL has been presented. In Gin
cinnati, where il was first delivered, the en-
tire audience rose TO their feet in testimony
OF their conviction that the weather can b
controlled by cannOnades. When the lecture
was delivered in Frankfort, KY, the nem-
bers OF the Legislature who heard 1t were so
chinterested that the Legislature unaui-
mouSly suspended the rules and passed q
joint resolution inviting Mr.. Woolf0rl, to de-
nverh1s lecture before that body. The Frank
lort foenlan, In notice of the lecture states
that the lecturer convinced his audience or
the practlcability OIL theory for controll-
ing the weather.
After brief introduction, embOdying the
above facts, the lecturer opened his subject
by stating that the temperature is governed
by tse winds. III the air were still, every
country would have fixed solar climate,
changing only with the seasons. But the
vary ing winds cause vicissituGes-the south
winds bringing the warmth OF The tropics.
and the north winds the cold of arctic
chimes. II the south wind could be kept
blowing perpetually over the continents
they would be kept bathed in genial warmth
during the entire year. lie then proceeded
to show from the natural flow of tue air cur
rent the practicability OF keeping the south
wind blowing constantly over the CONT
nents.
There are, he said, two grand air currents
IN the north temperate zone. The first is a
warm current called by meteOrOlOgists the
"antitrades,' but which ne preferre TO style
1.-The Tropical Current" from the areas
whence ii fows,) blowing habitually upon
The surface OF the earth from the tropic of
CaEcer toward the polar regions; the other is
the polar Current" flowing as an upper
current toward the south from the polar
regions 10 the tropic of Cancer. The tropical
current is always surface current; IL never
blows except upon the surface of the earth.
The polar current is always an upper cur
rent; 1T never gets down to the surface of the
earth 10 ravage 1t with cold except during
storms.
The lecturer next proceeded to show that
all the win ter storms of The temperate zone
originate in the conflict of the tropical and
polar currents. MeteorOlOgists had long
known the phenomena attendant upon these
conflicts OF the two currents, but had never
attributed them TO the true cause nor COM
pretended the laws OF their progression.
The tropical current, as II flows nOrthwari
upon the surface OF the earLh. moves into an
area growing continually smaller. This con-
tracing AREA forces tue tropical current ny
regular mechanical law to rise higher above
the earth in its flow, just as q stream OF
water must be deeper in q gorge than in n
wide bed. This ''em bank king of the tropical
current fntrudes upon the path of the polar
current in the upper air, and checks its flow
toward the south, and consequently the polar
current becomes embarked around the pole.
The mass OF both currents Is constantly re-
infOrcet, and their embankment against
each other continues to increase. The two
conflicting currents can only be diSem banked
by the polar current cutting a track through
the tropical current, In which it may ponr
its embarked masses southwark to the tropic
OF Cancer Our winter storms are all the
conflict OF the two currents in this "batcle
track"
The lecturer then proceeded to trace the
phenomena OF these storm tracks. Both cur
rents being greatly compressed, press into
The storm track. The air of the tropical cur
rent pours into it, and, precipitating Its
moisture IN rain and snow, it is swept back
toward the south. The compressed air around
toward nj at
from all parts OF the polar area, It's exit
c%reS The Storm hH tth facR .ropca
at the rate of about thirty miles an hour, the
polar air continuing to rush through 1t,
sweeping away all the air OF the tropical
current along the area OF the track until the
1wO currents become disembanked. When
the embarked polar air has swept through
the track, and the volume of the tropical air
has been sufficiently reduced to lower the top
SO that the path of the polar current In the
upper air Is open, the track closes up and
the storm ceases.
The lecturer insisted that this alternate
embankment Of the two currents and irrup.
ton of the polar current was the regular law
OF saarial movement in the temperate zone.
The irruptiOns OF the polar current have not
been recognized by science, because, In re-
gions Of moderate elevation, the rush of the
north wind was yelled by the lower currents,
the surface air Of the tropical current pour
ing into the storm track. Mount Washing
ton was the only observatory in the states
where the rush OF the polar current could be
perceived. But IN Montana the polar cur
rent rushes furiOusly over the surface OF the
earth, revealing the source whence the
storm force originates. and he had or.an
noted these storms of polar air renorted
through the weather burec.u as the storm
track moved toward the east.
lie then proceeded to state that, in the ma
tore o. things, the polar current never has
itst one storm track at once. All the air in
the polar regions rushes toward the outlet,
and as ii recedes the tropical current flows
up all round the globe upon the evacuated
polar area. We therefore find that when the
currents are not embarked, the tropical cur
rent is flowing upon the surface Of the globe
all rouEd the earth; that when the currents
become embarked, the polar current cuts its
track at some one place through which to
pour Its masses, and that when the storm
track is open the tropical current is sweep
IL & nOrthWaTd upon the surface at all points
round the globe except In the storm track.
II, therefore, we can break by a cannonade
a storm track for the polar current in a
chosen area, and keep that storm trac x open,
the tropical current will flow northward over
all other portions OF the earth's surface, bear
iDg in winter genial temperature even into
the polar area.
He then showed that In nature @ storm
track is opened by three methods:
1. BY growing vegetation, causing ascend
ing currents and thus producing a vortex
through which the polar current breaks q
track.
9. By electrical force breaking a vortex.
pty ala