The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1880-02-07
THE WEATHER BUREAU.

The recent lectures Of DIR. Rohe, tho efIl-
Client officer In charge Of the Signal Office at
this point, have worry naturally awakened a
public interest In meteorology and especially
In the method practieed by this government
50 successfully for foreoasting the weather.
II is astonishing that the United States, the
youngest of the great nations, should have
been the first to establish d thorough system
OF meteorological reports for the benefit of
commerce. and agriculture and 1t is surprs-
ing too that after the benefits OF that system
have been SO etfectuaily demonstrated, the
other nations should still be hesittsnt about
adopting 1t.
The weather bureau Of the United States
was organized in 1870 In the face OF many diff
ticultes. for the scheme which Gen. NJ yer had
submitted to Congress was by. many scien-
lists declared visionary and beyond accom-
pIishment. But. In spite OF these and other
adverse circumstances, chief among which
was the one that no other nation had fur
nished precedent upon which an efficient or
ganizaton could be modelled for this coun-
try, Con. Myer perfected his plans, and with
In nine months from the time the organl1l-
ton was authorized and the necessary appro-
priations made. twenty-five stations were re-
porting thrice daily to the central office In
Washington the actual conditions OF the
weather at those stations, and furnishing to
the press tho reports received from other
places. During the first year of It's existence
the predictions Of the signal service were
verified sixty-nine times In Il hundred, a per-
centage of failure of thirty-one. Since that
time the accuracy OF the predictions or indi-
cations has progressively increased until 1t Is
now within a fraction Of 80 per cent. The num-
Der OF stations has increased from twenty
five to above two hundred, and there Is no
doubt that with a further increase Of report
ing points the accuracy of the predictions
would also be increased. Except spasmodlc
attempts. on a small scale, no similar enter
prise had been undertaken by other civilized
nations having the same object In view.
Storm signals, 1t is true, had been displayed
at various ports on the English French and
German seacoasts, under direction OF the
marine departments of those countries, but
the results were unsatisfactory, and In Eng
land they were discontinued. In consequence
or the success OF our own service, however,
and In compliance with requests made by
our government, two international meteoro-
logical congresses have been held-one
at Vienna, in 1878, and one at Rome
In 1878. At this latter meeting, at
which Gen. Meyer, the delegate from this
country, fully explained the methods upon
which the work of the United States signal
service was conducted, a memorial was
unanimously adopted recommending to the
various governments which had sent repre-
sentattves to the congress to adopt the
United States system of recording, charting
and publishing the observations as The best
which experience had suggested.
The German government has recently taken
cogniZance Of this memorial of the Interna-
tional Meteorological Congress of 1878. and
requested, through the German Minister at
Washington and the State Department. to be
exactly informed "as to the processes by
which the signal service bureau so promptly
collects at the War Department the meteoro-
logical reports from all parts Of the United
States -an extent of territory greater than
Europe-and 50 rapidly drafts and publishes
them upon the printed daily weather map.
These maps are issued three hours after the
records are read at the distant stations.
When 1t Is remembered that the request
comes from government noted for its skilled
photographers, and standing first in Europe,
the value Of the compliment will be appre-
ciated. It is understood that the German
government proposes an advance In meteoro-
logical work. The Information sought has
been infinitely prepared by the chief signal
officer. Gen. Myer, with the approval Of the
Secretary Of War"