St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-03-28
AS TO OLD PROBABILITIES.
The Data Furnished Him Daily and on
Which Predictions Are Based.
AN ARMY OF OBSERVERS.
Their Silent and Ceaseless Lab0rs Make
1t Easy to Forecast the
Weather.

Il ST6dG utdl lids Decll WIlttCu VI loeS
of billiards., of storm centers, of move
ments of high and low areas of bare
metric pressure and the like, but very lit
tie has been said concerning the men
whose work enables the weather pre-
dieter to make his forecasts and to
trace the progress across the continent
of these areas of thigh" and 'Iow;;" OF
the men whose work permits the
meteorological editor, with facile pen, to
discourse learnedly as to the cyclone
and anti-cyclone contests; how had not
certain S'high'' developed here, the
well-defined ''low'' there would have
taken such course, ETC., bringing with
it rain OF snow OF wind, as the case
may be.
sit is the work of the observers of the
signal service that makes all this pos
sible," said the officer in charge to re-
porter for the GLOBE, who called at the
signal service office, in the chamber of
commerce building, yesterday. They
are the silent workers." he continued.
eat more than $50 stations, distributed
over the entire extent of the United
States, do these observers take their
observations three times day, at the
same moment of time, and telegraph
them to the chief officer at Wash
ington. The hours of ObServa-
ton are T a. m. and and 10 p. M,
18th meridian time-the time in use at
Washington. The difference in time at
stations east and west of Washington
are calculated and furnished observers
so as to have all observations taken
simultaneously.
LET us imagine a far-seeing eye
perched over the state of Kansas, with q
range of vision extending over the coun-
try and capable Of penetrating the in
terror of all signal stations at 10 p. M.
of any day. just as the clock struck
the hour at Washington each observer
would be seen to bend the knee,
BUT NOT IN PRAYER.
"They are only STOPPING to adjust the
mercury in the ciSterns OF their barom-
eters preparatory to taking the reading
of that instrument. Soon after this all
seeing eve would observe persons as
cending ladders leading to thermometer
shelters to obtain the readings OF the
thermometers. Perchance in Dakota OF
in furs, while in Florida it might be a
mer suit and wearing straw hat. Then
the wind velocity and direction would
have to be recorded, together with the
kind of clouds, and the precipitation, if
any. measured.
1.-THE results of all these observation
are put in cipher words, and soon the
telegraph wires from ocean to ocean,
and from the lakes to the gulf are
humming with these messages on their
way to Washington. There they are
translated into their proper figures, and
from them the predicting officer makes
his predictions for each state and terri
tory, and is enabled to trace the progress
of the highs and lows
''The work of the observer is continu-
Gus. He takes the same series of obser-
vationS on Sundays and on holidays as
on other days. There are no holidays
for him. He must answer to roll call
three times day. One year he may be
observing at Eastport, Me-, and the
next at San Francisco.
1.-The signal corps is military organi-
zation, under the control of the war de-
partment, with an Immediate chief in
the person of the chief signal officer,
with headquarters at Washington. The
present chief is Brig. Gen. A.
w. Greedy, of Arctic. fame.
The men are divided into two
observers. The total number allowed
by law is 40. though the present force
is about $50. Of these about $50 are
stationed at the Office of the chief at
Washington, engaged mainly in clerical
work. The remainder are distributed
throughout the country at the various
stations. Some are Drawing the biz
yards of Dakota and Montana, tOiling
through the long winters at their lonely
and Isolated stations. taking and for
warding the observations without a
break: others doing the same duty at
Pixies Peak and Mount Washington, OF
III Texas, Utah, Florida OF Maine. 1t
is the data laid up by them over which
the careful student of meteorology pores
in search of atmospheric laws. These
data determine climatolOgy, land weather
records made by official observers have
been declared evidence by the United
States supreme court, and such evil
dence has often been the turning point
in many damage suits.
''1'he weather service is an 0utgrOwth
of the army
SIGNAL. CORPS OF THE WAR
and the majority of the first observers
were intelligent soldiers accustomed to
military duty, and were only called upon
to perform the mechanical work of
correctly reading the instruments and
transmitting the reports. But as the
science of meteorology advanced and
innumerable ways were developed
whereby the service could be made of
benefit to agriculture, commerce and the
general public, new and more important
duties deyolyed upon the observers,
and a better educated class of men were
required to fill these positions. The re-
suit nos been that those of the first OBJ
servers who have remained have fitted
themselves to perform the higher duties
and the new comers have been recruited
from college graduates and from high
class of young men. No department of
the government ear boast of more in
telligent, capable and faithful body Of
men than the corps OF observers" -
Two Girls Burned to Death.
u ATuJrpcr NJ II March 07 Tho