The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1889-05-17
THE SIGNAL SERVICE.
Reasons Presented to Show why II
Should he Non-Military.


Reasons Presented to Show Why Il
Should BE Nom military.
The condition of the United States
signal service bureau, which prepares
the weather predictions, has long been
a source of anxiety to those who are
interested in the several departments
OF our national science system. The
predictions given by the officers of
this corps, though of much value,
have not appeared, to those entitled to
crltlcise them, up to the attainable de-
gree of perfection. The cost of the
bureau is great, though it is even less
than the country would be willing to
pay for satisfactory service. The
United States spends probable more
for this work than all the states of
Europe, yet the weather predictions
have on the whole been less success
full than those in the old world. AL
though this bureau has been in opera
ton for nearly twenty years, it has
failed to develop a set of able meteor
olOglsts competent to define the laws of
the weather on this continent, and to
advance the science of meteoroIogy.
Although the bureau has gathered
great body of fact concerning the at
mOspheric conditions Of this continent.
it has not succeeded in doing any con-
siderable amount of investigation.
This, however, would have been more
pardonable if the practical work of
predictions had attained the desired
end.
The weather bureau developed from
the signal service of the United States
army. The original object of the
corps, as It's name indicates, was to
serve for the purpose of communicat-
ing information between the several
parts Of an army on the march or in
action. AS subordinate part of the
machinery employed during our civil
war, it did admirable service. If, when
it assumed its new duties as meteor
illogical corps, the officers and men
had been transferred to some one of
the civilian divisions of the govern
ment work, there can be hardly any
doubt that the corps would now have
the foremost place among the scien-
tific institutions of the country.
The United States is singularly we'll
placed for the development of mete-
geological science, and the people have
a measure of intelligence which well
fits them for the ready appreciation of
such aids to their life as this branch of
learning can afford. Unfortunately,
however, the corps was retained in
connection with the army Noble as
is the system of an efficient military
organization, it is thoroughly evil
when it is applied to work such as in
quirers are called on to do. Even
where, as in the weather bureau, GER
tain parts of their acts must be per-
formed with studious regularity, they
can best be done under the conditions
OF a civilian, and not of military
corps. The military influence is of
necessity penetrative and dominant.
If men are soldiers at all, they must
be soldiers through and through, in
order that the system may be reason
bly, perfect
Under the present system of the sig
nal service, the observers are men en-
listed in the United States army; they
are thereby essentially separated from
all the conditions which prevail in the
military work of the state. Their
first duty is not to prosecute natural
inquiries, but to obey the commands
of their superior officers. The life of
an enlisted man in any army is not
such as to be attractive to youths of
character and ability, and it is there
fore not surprising that few men of
capacity have sought service as SER
geants in the weather service. Thus,
while Harvard university has sent
more than score of men to the work
of the national and state geological
surveys of this country, none of it's
graduates has sought a place in the
lower ranks of the signal service. Col
lege officers have hesitated to advise a
man to seek such a position, while if
the corps was on a civilian basis these
chances in life would be extremely at
tractlve to young men of ability.
Therefore it seems that the best, if not
the only, thing to do, in order to give
the desired quality to the signal SER
vice, is to transfer it to some non-mili-
tary division of the government work
IN. S. Shaler in Boston Herald.