National Republican., 1878-06-12
"oLD PHoBABILIrIEs."

General MYER, who Is more familiariy
known as "Old Prob" and who provides
this great country with daily prognostica-
tons touching meteorology and climatol-
ogy, and which prove marvelously accu-
rate, few days since entertained party
at the Sigual-Service Bureau in this city,
revealing TO them all the mysteries OF his
wonderful laboratory Of science, little
dreaming that he was being interviewed for
future exposure to the world. Among the
party was the versatile editor of the New
ark IN. j. Daily Advertiser, who himself
knows thing or two about science and the
like, but more especially of physical anat-
omy. While majority of the party
studied the courses of the winds, the storm
oncns, and the fairor indications, and be-
came conversant with the great variety,
character, and names Of the clouds that be-
spread and drift across the heavens, him of
the Adrrtiser studied sold Probabilities"
himself, and fathomcd his resources and
prospects, present and prospective. lie
writes General MYER up in this wise:
The name "Old Prob" does not at oil de-
scribe the pleasant middlc-aged gentleman.
with no gray hairs, who has three hundred
telegraphic reports hurled at him every eight
hours from all parts of the continent, Quebec
and San Diego being equally close to his ear.
Yet he accepts his work easily and draws the
| broad line between system and botherment.
| In an easy going way he commands discipline
| and Is obcyed from the top of Mount WASH
| ingtOn or the summit of Pixies Peak. lie
| built and created the Signal.Scrvice Bureau rs
we now know it, invaluable to all the conn
| try and yet he has other worlds to conquer
| and has an intense feeling Of dissatisfaction
| with the II per cent. Of failures he Is making
on the daily average. He is singularly stub
| born in asserting that his success Is yet to
| come, and he quietly says that ten years will
| bring it about. He does not count on n less
| time.
All his failures In weather probabilities come
from the ocean and the northeast. lie does
| not care, for instance, about the fitful and
| fretful weather-spts of the "still vcXcd Ber-
"muthcs" Nor does the Gulf Stream con-
ccrn him until its WARN flow meets the Arctic
! currents tho south wind battling with tho
north, the pole challenging the equator. just
there Is whore his record limps. He has no
stations beyond Newfoundland The vast
| cxpansc Of ocean held by the Atlantic cable
only gives neither voice nor sound. II is as
dumb rs EDisoSs photograph when wapt
| away in its foil Yet General MYER says
| that out Of those depths shall come voice,
and thIt he eau eliminate that bad IL per
cent of errors from his record. His present
scheme iS-t has not yet been suggested to
COngrcss-tO anchor six ships ut distances
| Of two hundred and fifty miles each,
just like the lightship of the Highlands,
to put them in tclcgraphc communication
with the Atlantic cable 10 make them float
ing hnrburs of refuge. 50 that any boats crew
ON the main channel Of commerce could reach
a home and shelter. within u little m Drc than
a hundred miles, aud 50 that tho news Of any
disaster. any gale, any low barometer, any
storm impending Oh our northern coast, could
come to him in his silent office at Washington.
General MrER says that this shall be done,
that it is altogether feasible, and that the next
Christian Congress he happens TO run against
will make the necessary appropriation. lie
has theory that one Of these days Congress
will stop reforming and 90 10 utilizing.