The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1878-04-11
THE NEW YORK HERALD'S BEST
WORK.

| WYNN
If asked to name the most notable IL
lustratiOn of modern newspaper enter.
prise we should mention-not the
achievements Of Abyssinian or Bulga-
rian war correspondents, not the re-
Lief OF Livingstone, not the survey of
the Equatorial lakes of Africa, not
SANKEY'S conquest of the Congo; no,
nor even the Herald S latest project to
attack the north pole. We should
name a service to humanity greater
than any Of these, and one less liable
to suspicion as to it's motives; that is.
the work Of the Herald's Weather Bu-
reau. In this we find not only the
nOblest exhibition yet made of news
paper enterprise, but one of the most
significant achievements in modern
practical science.
A few days ago the Herald gave a
review Of the first years work of its
weather service. with a complete list
of the warnings and predictions trans
mitted by cable to Europe with the
manner of their fulfillment.
The first warning issued was dated
February Ia, 1877, predicting the ar
rival of a storm on the European
coast five days later. The prediction
was fulfilled to the letter. During
the ensuing three months eleven more
warnings were cabled, and each was
justified by the event. During May,
June, and July, sixteen warnings were
sent, and but one proved out Of time.
From August, 1877, to January, 1878,
out Of nineteen predictions cabled,
seventeen were completely filled, one
was generally fulfilled, and one failed,
the failure being due to miscalcula-
ton of the progress of a slow cyclOnic
storm from the southwest. Thus out
of forty-siX warnings only two wholly
failed of complete, or partial fulfill
ment. OF the forty-four successes
thirty-One were correct in every par
ticular, eight were correct in general,
and five were partly fulfilled by the
arrival Of storms on sections of the
European coasts, but not affecting
other sections to which their intiu-
ence was believed likely to extend.
1t certainly speaks we'll for the truth
both of the observations and the the
Dry on which the predictions were
made that over ninety-five per cent of
|
succeeds like success, it is not sur
prising that the warnings, which
were received first with derisiOn, are
now published regularly in the lead
ing commercial and agricultural pa
pers of England andl France, and also
find a place in the official Internatlon-
I'll Bulletins of the ObServatorleS OF
Paris and Brussels.
The storm movements on which the
warning are based are few ana simple.
Except in.the Mediterranean regions
the weather OF the countries TO the
east of us is chiefly determined by
| the weather Of the American CONT
nent. and as the telegraph outspeeds
the wind the storms approaching the
European coast can usually be fore
told days in advance of their arrival.
| Nearly every storm that strikes the
| Norwegian, British, French, and
Spanish coasts has affected in its
course the weather of some portion of
the United States or Canada. The
storms generally strike the coasts
northward of the Bay of Biscay, tray
cling in Il northeaSterly, eaSterly, or
southeasterly direction. Those which
come from the southwestward are
usually. but not exclusively. eff equa-
! torial origin, or pass over the Ameri-
can continent by the southwark route
of the gulf from the Pacific Ocean.
| Cyclonic storms. such as the one which
devastated southern Texas. in 1875,
take very direct courses toward Eu-
rope from the southwest. But in
stances are by no means rare of
storms that have passed over the lake
region from the northwestern terrific
~ and the Pacific. being carried
southeastward to comparatively low
ATTITUDES. and then northeastward so
as to reach Europe from the south
west.
After storms reach the European
coast they pass either over Norway
toward Northern and Central Russia
or eastward over Denmark and the
Baltic Northern Germany or South
ern Russia. or else southeaStward
over the English Channels. the Meth
erlands. and France to central Europe
and the regions of the Danube Valley
and Asia Minor. Nearly all the
storms that affected the beligerents
in Bulgaria during the recent cam
palgu in Turkey were of the latter
class.
After 4 protracted comparison OF
weather reports on both sides of the
| Atlantic. supplemented by observa-
tions OF ship captains on the Atlantic
and the Gulf. the Herald Bureau was
able to deduee the laws of Atlantic
storm movements on which its wealth
predictions and European warnings
are based. From their scientific. not
less than their commercial and agri-
cultural value. these warnings are
among the most notable achievements
OF the age.
CHEERFUL PROSPECT,