St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-02-27
TO PREVENT CYCLONES.
An Engineer Suggests the Cause
and Prevention of Cyclones.

An Engineer Suggests the Cause
and Prevention OF Cyclones.
To the Editor of the Globe.
AS cyclones have thus early put in an
appearance, perhaps it would not be
out of place to advance theory as to
their cause and remedy. l was in the
near vicinity of the st. Cloud and Sank
Rapids cyclone and witnessed its freaks
and awful destruction, and at that time
spoke with several persons as
to the cause. [ will now
give it to the public through
the columns of the GLOBE. There is
no doubt among thinking men that they
are electrical storms, and the cause, in
my opinion, is the immense cOnsump-
ton of coal. Thousands of tons of coal
are consumed every day, thus giving off
into the atmosphere dense clouds of
minerals capable of holding electricity
pounds pressure in this cloud-envel-
Oped Leyden jar, which only awaits the
Opportune moment to pounce down on
the unoffending inhabitant of the earth
and
y = drown him like a monster,
Which he truly is
The OppOrtune moment is when the
heated term arrives. 1t need net be in
the hot months of summer, but at any
time when a warm spell comes on. You
know how in aeroStaticS, the science
that treats of the pressure or eGuilib-
rum of the air, winds or currents of air
are produced. Well, to tell it: The air
is an envelope round the earth like the
white of an egg round yelk. The sun
warns the earth, and the earth warns
the air resting upon it. This
warmed air rises up OF moves away
and cold air ruShes in, thus causing
wind. Now we have above us this con-
centration of minerals and electricity,
weighing many pounds more than the
surrounding air, and consequently the
wind increases as it continues to
descend, and at last triking the earth
it meets an opposing electrical current,
and the awful work of destruction be-
gins. The passage of powerful currents
of electricity would cause the circular
motion of cyclones and the vacuum
nee SSary for their dire destruction, for
there is no doubt there is a partial
vacuum at or near the end of the funnel
of the cloud. To bear out my assertion
of the mineral character of the cloud,
all of the silver found on the persons of
the dead at St. Cloud and Sank Rapids
was turned black (Sulphate of silver)
SO ,NOu SCC Sulphul illuoJ nave DStl
in the cyclone cloud. Practitioners of
medicine diagnose a disease and pre-
scribe remedy. Now for the remedy.
Let every manufacturer, corporation or
user of coal, especially this soft coal,
use some device to consume or condense
the smoke SO that it cannot be given off
into the ir,and cyclones will be thing
of the past or of limited occurrence. /
am aware some will say. "Why, we had
cyclones in the world before we COM
menced to use coal" Granted; so at that
time there were volcanoes in active
eruption sufficient to give the mineral
constituent to cyclone cloud; and if
we limit the consumers of coal to the
preventing of casting off this mineral
from their consumed coal we will only
have the mineral from volcanic action
to contend with. | think it rests en-
tirely with the people to remedy this
matter, and with this idea in mind |
have written these lines. Surely with
the annual destruction of property and
of Invaluable lives we as people ought
to strive with all our power to unravel
the mystery and apply remedy. Yours
truly, o. II. CASE, Civil Engineer.
Fountain, Mimi. Feb. %.