Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-11-08
THE SIGNAL SERVICE.
nnual Report of the Chief Signal
Officer.

Officer.
HORSES WANTED AT FORT MYER-EDUcATING Off
GERS TO MAKE WEATHER PRFDICTIoNs-THE EN-
L1STMENT OF COLLEGE OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES ABAN-
DoNED FOR LACK OF FUNDS-THE WORK IN THE
ARCTIC REGIONS, &C.
Tne chlef signal officer in his annual report states
that the post at Fort Myer was left by the last aI-
preparation act without any provision for horses so
tlat although, in the field, the men must be
mounted, and although the telegraph train. now
80 essential in modern that all the services Of
Europe are bending their energies TO its improve
ment, must be moved by horses, not a single ami
mai Tor these purposes is at his command. The re-
suit Is that through fault OF the service it has
been impossible to teach the newly enlisted men to
ride or to manage the telegraph train. otherwise.
the work of signaling by flag, torch and heliograph
has been done. and the usual instruction In tele-
graphy has been given.
Lieut. F. X. Ward, 1st cavalry, the officer in
charge at Fort Myer, reports that the instruments
necessary to the complete instruction OF the class
ble date.
During the year thirty enlisted men were in
structed in their duties soldiers in signaling
III teleSraphy and in the elementary meteorology.
TRAINING WEATHER PROPHETS
Efforts have been made to add to the number Of
officers who can be depended on for weather pre-
dlctonS Thus far the Instructed officers have been
so few that many OF them have not been available
lor tn3 weather work for the doing OF which they
have spent many months OF laboriouS preparation.
In order to meet the demands made upon the
service by the institutions of learning of the
Try, lectures On meteorOlogy have been given by
gentlemen connected with the Office and the prepa-
ration OF text book containing an elementary
course or meteOr0.Ogy has been begun. This has
Deen partially communicated to the students of the
washington normal school, and practically carried
CUT oy them during the last year. 1t is proposed
that this book, when completed shall be published
normal
COLLEGE GRADUATES IN THE RANKS.
during the last two years the attempt has been
made, with gratifying success. to secure the enlist
ment OF young collegiate graduates. Out of one
hundred and seventy-two enlistments made during
this time, ffty-three were college graduates Gen
!iazen speaks at length of the crippled condition OF
the service for lack OF sufficient appropriations
AS consequence, 1t has been necessary to close
seventeen stations OF the meteorological service in
orer 10 send men to the telegraph lines, and nearly
one-half of the frontier telegraph lines have had
to be abandoned, and the .weather Indications
ana storm signals" must be abandoned If this
work OF reduction shall GO on.
he speaks OF the large amount OF property saved
by the warnings OF the two cyclones in September
ana october from the gull, and says that the failure
TO appropriate the S4O0O asked for for the current
fiscal year has reduced the warnings received from
the west Indies, and made it less possible to pre-
dict with certainty the approach OF tropical hurri-
canes. The abandonment of stations must inter-
fere with the weather predictions. ONLY the work
that Congress is willing to pay can be done Ii
the necessary data can not be obtained, weather
indications will not be so trustworthy as they have
been In the past. The number OF stations must be
advance Is to be made in the art OF applying the
laws of meteorolcsy for the welfare OF commerce
and agriculture.
AN INCREASE IN ACCURACY.
The percentage Of accuracy Of indications has in
creased from S44 per cent to So per cent Improve
ments could be still further made by an increase OF
stations, especially in the west and northwest
Storms from the sea on the Atlantic coast rare,
OUT a station at BermudaS would be useful.
The work OF the weather bureau is greatly aided
by boards OF trade and chambers OF commerce. In
nlty-10ur cities meteorological committees have
been appointed, which confer with the observers
or this service and make such suggestions for the
improvement and development OF weather work
That IL may be OF the utmost value TO the commerce
OF the country.
WORK IN THE ARCTIC.
Gen. HaZen speaks OF the fitting out OF the eype-
ditOns for the relief OF Lieut. Greeiy and his party
at Lady Franklin Bay and for the recall Of Lieut..
Ray from Point Barrow, Alaska. the most import
ant events OF the year. He gives details OF the
former, which has been published. In concluding the
subject he says: "If the PrOteuS shall not reach
Lady Franklin Bay an application VIII be necessary
1or another expedition to sail in 1884, for no special
had been made by Congress except
for the expedition 3t that sailed in 1883 The estimates
shall become apparent"
THE SCIENTIFIC WORK
OF the bureau has been steadily carried forward.
One OF the most interesting subjects connected
with the science of meteOrology is that of atmos-
pher1c electricity, and many inquiries are made
concerning 1t. 1t has therefore been determined to
make extended observations in this direction. The
necessary self-recording apparatus used by Mas
CART director of the meteorological Office at Paris
has been ordered, and two signal service men have
Deen put under instruction at Harvard college and
one at Johns Hopkins university. The Boston and
Baltimore stations will be supplied with this APP
paratuS. 1t IS believed that proper network OF
stations will enable the service to more promptly
detect the origin and progress OF local storms.
Some experiments with the telephone have sug-
geSted possible application of this instrument to
the same OBJECT 1t Is the intention of the Office to
carry out a plan, formed some years ago, to study
clouds, through photography, by trigonometrcal
methods. A careful study is making OF the river
hoods OF 1882, with view Of reaching an accurate
method for predicting their coming.
TELEGRAPH LINES.
The policy OF the service is to abandon military
lines as soon as there are commercial
lines to take therpace; but the action Of Congress
last winter has made it necessary to give up lines
that ought still to be maintained. FOrthe fiscal year.
1888, the appropriation was reduced from s15 600 to
$4,000, but the line receipts amounted to about
$4,000, so that the amount available for the line
was about s930O The appropriation for the current
fiscal year was reduced to 5000 and the use of line
receipts was forbidden, reducing the aggregate
amount available for the service about S5S.OOO
This explains why necessary lines have been aban-
doned and existing lines may not be properly main
tatned and why no new lines can be built, since the
for the year are for s'main-
tenance and repair only"
TELEPHONY
During the year the Office has been In correspond
ence with the Bell Telephone company concerning
the right OF the government to use of the Eccard
1t is maintained by the company that
the government has no right to use any but the
Bell telephone, and 1t demands yearly rental OF
five dollars for each Instrument or twenty-five dol
lars for the use OF each Instrument during the life
OF the patents The Eccard instrument. invented
by sergeant OF the signal corps Is in the opinion
OF the Office, the best field telephone that has yet
been made. The use OF the telephone in the field,
during the operation OF troops, connecting different
and parts Of an army, VIII add greatly
to the value Of the signal corps At the suggestion
OF the agent OF the Bell company the questions in
controversy were submitted to the Secretary OF
War; Attention Is called to the necessity OF sep
arate Office, under the charge Of instructed OIL
Ger, on the Pacific coast
The Washington COnvOcatiOm.
SESSIONS AT THE ASCENSION CHURCH
The regular semiannual session Of the convoca-
ton OF Washington was opened at the Church OF
the Ascension last evening. The services were con-
Quoted by Rev. DR. Elliott, and Bishop Whipple de-
livered the sermon. giving history of the growth
OF the Episcopal church within the past century.
TO-day's session was opened at half past ten