The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-12-28
who Was the Original
.sOld Probabilities
General Myer the Founder
of the Weather Bureau.
St ne Very Interesting Facts ABOUT
An Electric Accident.

Ask any ten OF your ac9ua
x,om the name "Old Proratiiities' was
s,rst eiven and 1t il doughnuts to door
knoLf. or anything else you pisa'e. thst
nine Of them will answer. "General
Hsxen.r and insist that he was the
.fouuoer of the weather signal system
4 ra vet thsss nine would be wrong.
Trey would simply re voicing popular
misspprehenso, as to the founder OF the
couptry's weather signal system. THIS
xcuuiar error is due, no doubt, 10 the
fact that although General Hazen soio not
rake charge of the westner tureau untii
: decade after 1. had been established, he
made many improvements and increased
lis usefolress to such an extent that its
vsluc became much more apparent than
ever before, and the name OF the man at
ire head OF II was made correspondingiy
sawiliar to the public. In the early Gays
Of the weather bureau the forecasts were
given as "probs sbilitiss," and, OF course.
70 this fact Is traceable the name OF
"O,d Proba bilities" as applied TO tho
head of the bureau. 1t is interesting to
note. however, thst the bureau no longer
IA tels its forecasts "proba filitiss out
Employs the somewhat more fndennits
tfrm of sindications," which has aovsn-
tsees thst will readily be appreciated by
tine individual who 10 disposed TO criti-
ciso the weather clerk for sending out
uromise Of ore kind Of We ther and then
fulfilling tnat promise with weather OF
quits snctter kind.
what in known as the weather signal
service was invented and practically or
xanixed ty General Albert q. Myer. Cen
srai Myer was physician, aud was ap-
roiuted an assistant surgeon In the Unit
cd states army In 1854. For long time
be was at ina- head of the signal corps
os the army and in 1852 vas placed IN
charge of the signal bureau In Washing
tom IN which nlace he rencered valuable
servicss for which te was breveted
through the various grades to that Oh
b,ipadIer general. The weather signal
system ~ arranged by General Mye-, was
established by Congress In 1870, and for
twenty years was q part OF the signai SER
vise OF the United Ststes army. The
2 Eifty-Hrst Congress passed an act pro-
yiding that while the signal service
,ahosld remain as q branch of the army,
the force ,sting OF the weather SHOULD be-
come one of the duties Of the aRricultu-
ri department and be conducted by a
sps clai bureau. The law went into eficc'
on the first Of July, 1891, and oil the du
ties connected with the system ol
westner signals were transferred tn the
new bureau. The rirst chief Of the weather
bureau was Professor Mark W. Harring
tou.
A ne1,csl journal give, sone ver'
inte estiog details OF a recent electric
accident hich 1t truthfuiiy says may II
useful. On Nov. % an electrical enainee
was standing on q chair ready TO mote
re. .crsina switcn on the arc lamp side o
ar.ctiusr for lighting series Of sixty
IA1aps (3,OC0 sol,s). He casually place
rfs hand ON the metal cover Of an am
meter iwtich was In series with anoths
tix,y-lsmp circriO, ana. turning 10 tn
l:ft AID le ming bsck TO make an obser
vatioa (stilI standing on the chsir), b
rIared lis II hand on an iron pillar
kcw tue nmmeter case proved to be i
mst,!.io crntact (HccidcniaD with tn
tight iesds, and ns tie return wire Wa
"earthed' there plsyed through the bod
fs1 Ia hand 10 -cnrrant- -nnG1r pI essnIe {
(nomins:l. 1900 velss. As matter