Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-10-05
LAST NIGHTS NEWS.
ARRESTED FOB A THIRTY-TWO.
YEAR.OLD MURDER.
Convicted-Phenom
email Tornadoes-The Civil Ser
vice-Foreign Items.
ESPECIAL DISPATCHES TO THE RpooRD-uslos.l
DOMESTIC.
Tornado Warnings Promised.


has devoted about eight years, are now so
well understood as to warrant the belief
| that trustworthy warnings may soon be
| sent out to inhabitants of localities which
may be threatened with disastrous vista
| tons. Daily notifications are in fact, being
made at present, having been begun last
year, continued during the tornado season,
and resumed recently upon the return of
| Lieut.. Finley from an inspection tour in
| the West. The percentage of veriication
is already gratifying, though the predictions
are as yet largely experimental, and are
| embodied in the daily published bulletins
| OF the Signal Office only when the condi-
| tons favorable to the creation of tornado
are very pronounced. In such cases % Sc
| we're local storms" are noted as probable
| To reporter of the Associated Press Lieut.
Finley recently described the known phe-
nomenal tornadoes and the ends toward
| which the present researches are directed
| These storms have distinctly marked
| characteristics, and are by no
means to be COMPOUNDED with
| hurricanes, billiards, cyclones or
northeasters. Their tracks are never more
| than few hundred yards wide and their
forces are generally exhausted by the time
| they have travelled q course of 40 or so
miles, though in this latter respect they are
| quite variable, some having been traced by
| thtll llAlto VI uONdolullOu Iuan lSU
miles. Their rotary motion, which is
| greatest towards the center, sometimes
| reaches the enormous rate of 1000 miles
| an hour, while their forward movement
| always from southwest to Notwithstanding
| arily does not exceed 40 or so miles. They
| are usually unaccompanied by electrical
| disturbances, and are believed to be unin-
| tiuenced by electrical conditions, though
| violent thunder-storms sometimes follow
a mil 49, j.
| tinct and curious relationship between
tornado and general storm center, which
| IS always apparent in the uniform relative
positions, tornado always occurring
enthusiastically from the center of low
barometeric pressure, and at a distance of
from 1 to 500 miles. The shape of the
general storm center, the direction
in which its longest diameter lies.
and the appearance of the upper and
lower cloud-center, are minor elements
in the problem out of which the weather
experts hope to work a complete system
of tornado warnings. The visit of a tor
| nado is commonly between the hours of 2
and o'clock in the afternoon Its home is
in the area which includes the whole of
Iowa, all Missouri except the southeastern
corner, and the northwestern corner of
Arkansas, the northeastern part of Indian
Territory, eastern Kansas, eastern Nebraska,
oOutllSlu -hlllHSSOtd, SOulneTn w Wisconsin
and western Illinois. Here its season ex-
| tends from April to August, inclusive. II
is frequent visitor of two or three regions.
One is along strip of the Gulf and south
Atlantic, which takes in the central portion
of Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.
with its termini in Mississippi and North
Carolina, over which its devastations are
confined to the months of january, Febru-
airy and March The other includes por-
| ton of southern and central Ohio. large
part of Pennsylvania, small area in Mary
land, a strip across New York and corner
| each in Massachusetts, and Connecticut,
where its seasons are only during the
months of August and September
Lieutenant Finley further said that
while host of interesting scientific ques-
| tons respecting the origin of torradoes.
the laws which govern them, and their re-
latonshlp to other meteorological phenom-
| ena, remain TO be answered, the practical
questions as to when and where they are
| likely to appear seem to be advancing
rapidly toward a solution. The interests
which are subject to disaster from tornadoes
| are alive to the Importance of the work in
progress. Intending purchasers of farms
| apply to the Signal Office for information
respecting the liability of their selected To-
cality to disaster. To such are sent rec
ords of the past, as far as they are known
| Whenever Lieutenant Finley travels in
pursuit of his studies the farmers and
villagers press for information. To
| these he says that nothing raised by
the hand of man above the surface
| OF the earth can withstand the
| shock of tornado. He advises them to
| seek their dugouts upon the appearance of
portentous signs of disaster, aud there
| await the passage of the storm For their
| property, he advises insurance, so that the
| losses of an individual may be shared by
| his more fortunate neighbors. The insur-
ance companies, which last year wrote S40,-
100000 in tornado policies, are eagerly
awaiting the completion of a map now in
process of making, which will, it is ex-
| pected, greatly narrow the so-called tornado
regions, and perhaps show that large por-
| tons OF them have never experienced a
| destructive storm. Upon this map Lieu
tenant Finley proposes to show, from the
| complete records of several years and data
| as far as obtained for many previous years,
the average number of tornadoes for each
| locality per annum.
The Civil Service Commission Again.
| WASHINGTON, October 4th-In answer to
! the question of a reporter of the Associated
| Press, for his opinion whether the Presi-
| dent would soon reorganize the Commits
| sion, and as to how he would reorganize it.
| Commissioner Eaton said :" l will give
you my own views frankly, without in the
| least assuming to speak for the President.
My successor will, l presume be ready to
enter upon his duties on the LIST of Novem-
I Der. If the President, in view of the I'M
| reasonable jealousies which exist. shall
deem ii wise to supersede one or both of
| the other Commissioners, think he will do
so deliberately, freely, and at the proper
| time. He will not be coerced, either as to
time or persons to be selected, by the impu-
| dent demands of noisy Intermediates.
| Those who clamor most about reorganiza-
| ton are no friends of reform. and they
| have but to continue their clamor to make
| their feebleness as manifest as their HOSTILE
| ties. If he shall place two members of his
| own party upon the Commission he will
not allow any laxity of administration or
| any favoritism on their part, to open the
| way to patronage and spoils, which are the
| aims of so many of those most anxious
| to help him to bring about a
| speedy reorganization. He would | am
sure, deprecate the making of precedent
| for treating the Office of Civil Service Com
missioner as political, and to be filled anew
| by every succeeding President; yet some
| thing must be conceded, perhaps, to the
| exigency of the new experiment, and to an
| unenlightened public opinion ON the SUBJ
| ject. Knowing as the President does, that
| the work of the Commission is both new
and complicated, and that it is not, like the
| work in other parts of the service, ex-
planned in familiar regulations, think he
| fully appreciates that the new Commission
will gain much by serving for time with
one or more of those familiar with the
work. No disguised enemy of reform could
deal it more disastrous blow than to bring
| about an immediate change of all the COM
| missioners"
Terrible Railroad Accident.
ST. PAUL Mimi, October 4th.-A ter
| rlble accident happened on the Fergus
Falls branch of the Northern Pacific Rail
road, seven miles west of here. this morn
ing by which five men lost their lives, and
thirty or forty more were mere or less in
jured. John Robinson's show left Wah.
peton, Dakota, for this place, in two sec
tons. When within seven miles of Fergus
Falls. near small place named French,
the head or baggage section broke in two
while going up heavy grade, and ten or
twelve cars went flying back at terrific
rate. On the rear train were three sleep
| ing cars, occupied by workmen, over 200
in number, all of whom were sound asleep,
| and not aware of the impending danger.
The cars which had broken loose increased
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