New-York tribune., 1891-12-26

nav Tb. Instruments are supplied by the o'a'e
Weather Bureau, and The readings are "
,nade bv an enthusiastic amateur scientls', "eo,s
II Lewis. The observations made at this POM
,iII have exceptional value. For the iast nv
years there has been great deVeiopu'cnO
mountain meteorology, the DATA op.ancu ."
hoobt NJ several thousand feet promising 10 ~ 9'
greatly in the solution OF many ques'ion' Eor
TING to the cause and progress Oh si-,,,o,. s.oi"
..o ,, - .ho abandonment Of the Governn'e"0
On NJ Washington and Pixies feah wac
~.o,I, 20 no regretted. France, Aus.ria ""D
Gormanv have lately opened new s'a'ionI
,,,o,,u,oin. tons. the establishment OF ~"
a.o.ion near the base of Ben Nevis IN ocouan' ""D
.,ahIoa Dr Ruchan to derive CONCLUSIONS -
,nroh interest from comparison OF the oae' '"s
.ooprod with that afforded on the 'u"
further discussions Of like nature nave - ;G
dered uossible by tho intelligent zeai anu A..
CONGO Of A. Lawrence Rotch, WHO "uiI
Rlue Hill Observatory, hear Boston, tns1 go
in the Catslyills, has an elevation Oh o''oo 80,
a level beautifully adapted Tor s'uuSing -,
action; and if the observations hauc IL, 90
compared with those at HUDSON, III 'no
the east, and with other low-Vihe 80 ..s.os,;ng
Of the Appalachian range. sohe ''''
results may be looked for
~, ... ;s only one week more Of Governor
Hill. ANYHOW. How shall all speed 'he s0i"e
guest!
Tho latest asprant for the privilege OF "o,
coming part of Brooklyn Is tne 'o"n'.-p .us
New-IJtrecht, one of the four remaihine 49,
=, 70 County whose manifest destiny Is sooner
- Iotor 70 become integral parts of the Dig Guy
that dominates the county. Two OF .hieo ~"
ago H. seemed almost certain that ia'ouo' -,
become the Twenty-seventh Ward Oh Sl-
following the example of New-Lots, WHICH ''0""
the Twenty sixth Ward in 1885. Du0 ,no
ment in this direction was arresteo ni'"dS'
the residents of that pleasant suouro nov ~
sbown no desire to take further steps LII ,ne
Iiroction Of annexation The people OF BROOKLYN
ore willing to take in the towns as lasC do 'N.
latter are ready. but they are not worrying aoou'
49, ,,ottor IN anv extent. The New-U'rech'
novement originated in the town itself, ana iS
.,ocoss will in n great measure depend on Che
fo,irr NJ the towns citizens Some OF then arc
;,oIinad IN doubt whether they WILL gain suo
s+ontial advantages by becoming paro Vi 'ne
citv BROOKLYN, like Barlis, is "wlihn, anu
will throw no obstacles in the way vi 'ho ''n
neyation of that town or any OF the o'nei' WIZ"
they knock at her doors
Tbore is n wel,authenticated report from Wash-
iroton that when Mills received the Speakers
offer of n back seat he smashed his wofId-re'
no,vned Dark Lantern into smithereens
Secretary Foster has taken prompt action III
carving out the Presidents directions ior Ii'e
adoption of the merit system in the Executive De'
nortments 1t was less than three weeks sihce
the letter TO the heads of those departments was
Issued when Secretary Foster promulgated Ills
plan Yesterday for realizing the Presldents pur-
nose The outline of it, as telegraphed lrom
Iyosb;roton shows that it Is the work OF prac-
tical man. intended to accomplish practical ends.
Under its provisions, promotions are 10 DC inuoe
on the basis Of merit alone, to be determined not
only by competitive examinations, but by record
of the actual work and efficiency OF each EN-
ploye Only in some such way as this can JUS
tice be done to the individual and the interests
of the Government he guarded. The energy OF
nurpose with which Mr. Foster has entered upon
this task is the best guarantee that not only the
letter but the spirit of Civil Service reform is to
be observed as the President intended it should
be The cause of Civil Service reform has gained
more from what the present Administration has
done than it ever has before since it became
great public issue.
The Brooklyn Congressman all voted for Mills,
and their positions on the committees are nothing
to brag about.
To the other observations made at the time OF
the total eclipse Of the sun which occurs next
April il is TO be desired that close scrutiny
of the magnetic needles, both along the path OF
totality and outside of it, may be added
Professor Bigelow's recent discoveries, tending to
proye that magnetic force is radiated from the
sun in lines parellel to the rays of light, lend
far greater importance to the behavior Of magnets
during moments Of total eclipse than formerly
attached thereto. At least one Instance, how
ever is recorded in which there apparent
| interruption of slight magnetic perturbation
| while the earth was completely immersed in the
moons shadow This was in July, 1860; and it
| was observed by Edward Goodfellow, member of
| the expedition sent out by the United States
Coast Survey to Northern Labrador. The Coast
Survey report for that year, at page 269, briefly
| mentions it, Possibly there are reports of similar
incidents during other eclipses, but we do not
| recall them. If, however, fairly active mag
netic storm should happen to be in progress at
| the time of the April eclipse, and should there
be q momentary cessation Of activity by the
needles during the three four minutes Of
| totalty, and in the track of totality, but with
a continuation of vibration outside of the shadow.
such phenomena would greatly strengthen belief
| in the soundness of Professor Bigelow' theories.
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PERSONAL.