Omaha daily bee., 1892-03-17
THE WEITBER SERVICE

The domand on the part OF towns,
villages and agricultural communities
for the daily weather forecasts is stead
lily increasing. There is hardly day
that the local weather Office does not re-
the proper way to get the telegraphic
weather forecasts for public display.
Many of these applications for the fore
casts have to be refused on account of
the lack of sufficient funds for this part
of the weather service. The increasing
dissemination of the daily weather map,
the value of which people are beginning
to appreciate, and the transfer of the
service to the Department of Agricul
ture, implying that agricultural COM
munities are to share equally with the
commercial interests in the benefits to
be derived from the service, lead people
to demand at least the most practical
benefit from the service-the daily fore
casts. The chief of the bureau is anx-
ious to meet this demand, but uufortun-
ately the appropriation made by the last
congress did not take into account tho
increasing popularity and possible use
fulness of the service as now organized,
and the amount appropriated for the
service in general was much too small to
permit additional expenditures in this
direction now.
The usefulness of the weather service
cannot be denied The fact is that many
people regulate their business and
affairs from day to day by the published
forecasts. The local official is daily CIV
ing out, in response to telephone re-
quests and personal inquiries, the in
formation at his command in the inter-
est of shippers and others, to whom an
idea of the probable weather conditions
is an important factor. The public de-
mands more telegraphic service. 1t is
manifestly unjust that comp tratively
few and widely scattered communities
should have the benefit of this govern
ment work while the greater number are
deprived by reason of a lack of funds.
The hope is entertained that the present
congress in appropriating funds for
carrying out the work of the weather
bureau in the interest of all citizens will
see the justice of the public demand and
add to the appropriation for the coming
fiscal year sum sufficient to literally
increase the telographic service.
The weather bureau has unquestion-
ably found its proper place in the De-
partment of Agriculture. Ever since
the transfer. improvements and cxten-
sions have been made which give every
class of citizens the opportunity to
benefit by it. The creation of tho office
OF local forecast official and the appoint
ment of such an official from the ranks
of old and experienced observers TO COM
mercial and agriculture centers was in
the nature of decided improvement.
The action now in contemplation, look
ing to establishing observatories under
conditions as nearly as possible to those
to which growing crops are subjected
and such as obtain in the open country,
will be regarded, especially by those in
teresteG in q study of the climatic and
agricultural features Of the various sec
tions OF the country as the best step yet
taken. But in order to carry out the
aims OF the service and to meet the
demands OF the taxpayers OF the country
for telegraphic announcements of the
forecasts made, it is necessary to have
an increased appropriation for the
bureau. 1t goes without saying that
liberal support to the weather bureau
on the part of congress will not hurt that
august body in the estimation of their
constituents.