Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1888-03-31
WASHINGTON GOSSIP.
THE WEATHER BUREAU--THE CAP
ITAL AND THE STORM.
Seven Hundred Excursionists and Their
Troubles-Senator Palmer on Foreign
Imn,igration--Edward Eggleston and
the Authors Copyright League.
Special Correspondence

Iup.iyr,tiop--Edvard EryIestnn and
'e Eu'h'i' NoPs
Special Correspondence.
wAsu,xcrox March e6-Gen. Greely.
A. -, :, a., ,,.,,.bo, h,,ro ;s NOW
=, A., -.
e w ''i' '
'aiAeu oi men III W "sn'hs 'o' A'
slender, fine looking, DARK whisHereo leilow
of about As years of age, and is perhaps the
best posted man upon cold weather in the
United States. He became member OF the
signat service when the signal corps was or
ganiled, and for the past fifteen years and
more has been connected with this branch Of
the government He is one of the most hardy
men in public life, and he is one of the few
members of the Greely expedition who sur
vived their terrible sufferings without phys
ical injury. He made study Of the weather
while he was in the Arctic regions and he
thinks that the constitution of the American
is not capable of enduring continuous cold
weather with the thermometer below zero.
! "Ws might become hardy enough" says he,
''to endure such cold after generations, where
the law of the survival of the fittest would
operate, but not before"
The signal service bureau has its headquar-
ters in Washington, in an old building on G.
street above the state, war and navy depart
ments. The service is under the control of the
war department, and it has been in existence
since 1870. 1t is organized like an army, and
it comprises 500 men. A number Of these
| men come from the regular army, and among
| them is a captain and five heutenants, ljo
sergeants, 80 corporals and number of reg
ularly enlisted men, There are two grades Of
officers belonging to the corps. The head IS the
general signal officer. Cen Greely, who has,
by this appointment, the rank of brigadier
general. The other officers are heutenants.
There are between 800 and 400 stations in the
weather service, but there are only little
over $50 first class stations where daily tele-
graphic reports are received. Tho different
agents of the bureau all over the country
take their observations at precisely the same
| minute OF Washington time, namely, a. m,
8 p. IN. and IL p. In. These reports are tele-
graphed to Washington, and they form the
data upon which the weather charts are
| formed. The predictions in many cases are
| good, but they often fail, as was the case of
| the late big storm. The officers of the
| weather bureau felt considerably bored over
their failure in this respect, and they have a
number of excuses to show why they did not
make the proper predictions.
In the meantime Washington felt the loss
of telegraphic and railroad communications
more than did any other city in the United
States. 1t is the political center of the
United States, and for week the presidential
wires were down. Senator Sherman was un-
able to receive reports from his friends in
the south. and Allison could get neither let
| ters nor kilograms from Iowa. Hawley de-
voted his time to the entertainment of the
| authors who are here in tho interest of the
| Copyright league, and Senator Cullom wrote
| numerous letters, which he mailed as soon as
the tracks were clear.
A noticeable change was apparent in the
house and senate. Statesmen who had big
| speeches did not care to deliver them when
| they could not be telegraphed over the coun-
| try, and Washington seemed TO have lost its
heart. 1t was in the condition of a besieged
city, cut off from even balloon communica-
! ton with the rest OF the world, and the gov
ernment and the politicians worked on, in a
hampered sort OF way. inside the big snow
walls.
The presidents mail, from several bushels
| a day, decreased to such an extent that il
could be carried in two pound grocer's bag,
and the secretaries Of the United States sena-
tors had vacation.
The Pennsylvania railroad, which is the
only line between Washington and New
York, was entirely cut off and blocked. This
line may be called theNg artery which con-
meets Washington life with that Of the ma
ton. 1t runs trains every hour, and it makes
the distance between New York and Wash
| ington just one-fourth of day, or six hours
long. Its conveniences for Washington
traffic are great, ard its depot is located in
the very center OF business Washington.
This depot forms the point at which all
| southern travellers going north and north
crn travellers going south change, and it has
been the custom for passers through to
stop off for train and sec Washington.
There has been movement during the pres
| ant session OF congress, to require the rail-
road to move its depot TO the suburbs of the
city. and thus prevent it crossing the mall
which extends from the White House to the
Capitol The late storm has shown the disad-
vCntases Of such removal, and the present
passenger traffic OF Washington would be
seriously injured by it The depot has be-
come historic, for it was in it that Garfield
was shot, and the brass star in in its waiting
room shows the spot where his head struck
after he received Gmteaus bullet This
depot, during the late storm, was filed with
southern and western travellers. They over
flowed the waiting rooms, and among them
was an excursion Of 200 people from New
York, and they were on an excursion to
Washington and the south. An excursion
agent had them in charge, and he had
agreed, for Esed sum, to show them Wash
ngtoa and Richmond. The big storm showed
them in here. 1t prevented them seeing tine
capital, and instead OF tho sunny south, they
came to city es cold cs tie city Of St. Paul
in January.
In the meantime the authors of the country
had bad time during tho storm. Edward
Eggleston wandered here and there about