The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-07-11

terpose a barrier o the Danger
side. from which the revolving
storm invariably comes. This barrier
would be made effective by means OF a
system of dynamite bombs connected
with the stations by wires. 1t would
not be necessary to keep guard all the
time, and the men appointed for the
purpose would only go on duty when
warning was received from the
Weather Bureau that conditions were
favorable for cyclones. On seeing
funnel cloud approaching the operator
would simply wait until it got near
enough and then touch off the car
trldges, which would blow it to smith
Greens.
What reason is there for doubling
that such a method would be success
full? Do We not know that water
spouts at sea are sometimes dissipated
and reduced to harmlessness by the fir
ing of guns from threatened ships? A
waterspout is nothing more or less
than a marine tornado. Occasionally
they have been seen to run upon the
land and transform themselves into
cyclones If the tornado were not
destroyed by the dynamite explosions
1t would be likely to be deprived of so
much OF its energy as to be rendered
Incapable of doing harm. The cost
of maintaining such systems of de-
Tense throughout the cyclone belt
would not amount in 1000 years to the
20,0O0000 which the recent calamity
is said to have cost st. Louis.
Money ought to be appropriated by
congress for studying this strange and
little-understood phenomenon. 1t is
most important that we should learn
about the mechanism of the tornado
"a meteorological disturbance capable
OF destroying $4,000, 900 worth of prop
erty in ten minutes. All we know at
present is that the energy of the 'cy-
clone must be electrical. 1t is always
accompanied by a severe thunder
storm. The Weather Bureau report
says that during the st. Louis tornado
the electrical display was exceedingly
brilliant, the whole west and north
west sky being an almost continual
blaze Of light. Intensely vivid flashes
of forked lightning were outlined in
green, blue and bright yellow against
the duller background of never -ceas-
ing sheet lightning.
Evidently, then, It is necessary that
we should find some means of dissi-
pating the electricity with which the
destructive funnel cloud is charged.
We must do for the tornado what we
do for the ordinary thunder cloud
whose lightning we conduct away
harmlessly by metal rods Just here
want to call your attention to a very
interesting fact. | have devoted a
great deal of attention to the study OF
cyclones following the history OF all
that have been recorded for a great
many years back, and / have never
known of a case where one of them
struck town that had forest of even
a few acres in extent to the southwest.
"Tornadoes always travel from
southwest to northeast. I am inclined
TO think that a forest of moderate ex-
VIII " thc SouthWSoI VI bVHh 10 IL
most efficient protection against
storms of this kind, because the trees
draw of the electricity that gives to
the cyclone its energy. II this is true,
IL follows that every town in the dan
ger belt ought to plant trees for tor
nado barrier, II 1t has not already this
defense. Such a plan is much sim
pier and less costly than the dyna-