The evening world., 1889-12-26
SPARE IT, Mr.. MAYOR.
Central Park Observatory Is Dear to
the Hearts Of GJlhamiteS.
Services of Prof. Diapers Bu-
reau to the City.
Reasons Urged Against the Adolf
ton OF the meteorological
Sci vice.

SCI vice.
Mayor Grants efforts TO secure conom
in the city government. which developed
at the last meeting Of the Board OF Esti-
mate and Apportionment in n very
emphatic aud pronounced kick against
maintaining any longer the Central Park
Meteorological Bureau. hns thrown that
ancient specimen of archaeology into a
stnto of unwonted activity and excite.
ment.
1t coats the city about So COO n year to
keep up the Meteorological Bureau,
which is situated in the upper regions of
the Arsenal at Central Park. II has been
presided over for twen.v-one years past
by Prof. Daniel Draper, Phi. D.. who
prides himself on his relationship to the
famous family Of scientists of the same
name.
Prof. Draper is q m~ild-mapnered.
pleasant-spoken gentleman of perhaps
fcrty-eiGht Summers. lie wears gold
ilmmed eyeglasses and airy dropping side
whiskers tinged with gray, and Railways
ready to receive occasional visitors who
wander NJ into his aerial sanctum. and
explnin the mysteries of his wonderful
contrivnnces which measure and record
the meteorological changes for every
second of every day i'll the year.
In n word, Prof. Draper has grown gray
In the service. and there are many grown
up and married people living in New
York who remember being taken up TO
his observatory when they were children
and listening 10 the same voluminous and
daintily worded explanations of the COM
plicatoi machinery of the weather that
their children would now hear if they
ever happened to drift into the Pro-
f%essor's ba'lIwick.
III those days the Meteorological Bureau
was u popular and fashionable resort, and
every one who came to see the menagerie
visited II as n matter of course.
OF late years the Professor has been
allowed to prosecute his studies i'll mete-
biological science without those inter-
ruptiVns which constantly disturbed him
IN former year. and he is now on the very
verge OF perfecting a Cerm-catcher HnL
mlcroDe-uetector, which may entirely
change the methods Of science.
Suddenly. and without warning, Mayor
Grant fixed his eHgle eye ON this innocent
II easy-going little department, way up
i'll the attic of the Arsenal. and putting
his loot down very hard saws he will wipe
it out of existence.
Naturally the Professor is agitated by
this bonbshell, and he and his two a sist-
ants were tiutterrng about in their little
eyrie this morning when un Evening
WoRLD reporter CARED. for all the world
like the pigeons in their cots in the yard
below. when the bold bad boy throws a
stick into the cage just to STIR them up.
II don't understand it ALL" raid the
Professor. and l am sure Mayor Grant
has never visited the observatory or he
would never want to abolish 1t 30 ruth
lessly. Why, it's older than the Signal
! Service, and where they take observations
only two or three times a day, we have
hau them here continuously for twenty
one years.
The Professor tool the reporter around
the observatory where the instruments of
his W invention were at work. One
registered the direction Of the wind, an
other its force and velocity Il third
showed the temperature III the shade. and
next to 1t was n machine for measuring
the intensity of the suns rays.
III ruin gauge SHOWED just when every
storm began and ended, q muCh rain
or snow fell and the rate Mt VIII CHI it came
down. The barUmetrical conditions wcro
alsnleSistered with equal exactness, and
al tue instruments worked automatically
by means of clockwork.
Every month Prof. Draper gets ont his
report, and once n year he publishes Il
printed volume containing the statistics
for every day during that period. This
is part of the expense of the department.
All the instruments are patented, and
are in use in only one or two of the great
| NhAnrynfprln nt tho pn,,ptpN1 n,,n ,Nf tl,au,
being the Lick ObserNR' DRY. III California.
The value of these reports. the Profess
sor says. is shown Ivy tho uSe which the
city has made of them in several impor-
aut lawsuits. In ono sui alone $50, 900
depended on the question of the state of
the weather ut a certain time. The only
way this could be determined was by
consulting the reports OF the Cen raj Park
Observatory, md the city was enabled to
win the suit iii consequence
In other instances they nave been found
OF incalculable value. and are useful and
interesting ut all times, according to Prof.
Draper, who Snys that NIL the Park Com.
niSsiouers are with HIN in favorlng the
continuance OF tue City observatory.
When he was firt appointed TO the
position, in 1868, by Waldo Hutchins, who
was then Commissioner, Prof. Draper re-
ceived n salary of "A, 600 year.
About seven years ago the Park Com
lllSSlOnCTSl llelllSelNeb lhlkeu ABOUT nOOl-
ishing the bureau because the approprIn-
ton was short that year. They didn't do
it. however, because the Professor con-
scented to continue his services NJ II salary
of 81, 500 n year, with the understanding
that this was to he only n temporary ar
raugement.
They have never spoken to me about
raising 1t since. " said the Professor in u
somewhat WIS full tone, and $1,000 is
not n large salary for II scientific gentle
man who deyotes all his time to his
work"
Tie Park Commissioners are reported
TO be making strenuous efforts 70 induce
Mayor Grant to change his mind about
anmhilating the observatory UP i'll the
top of the Arsenal.
When asked ms to his objection to the
appropriation of money by the city for
the Meteorolo sical Bureau. Mayor Grant
sa Il:
The Board of Estimate at one time
considered tho propriety Of abolshiug
the Bureau altogether, and of depending
upon the metoOrOlociCnl statistics of tho