The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-11-14
PORTO RICANs PLEASED
With the Continuation of an Old
Custom by Americans.

Correspondence of Associated Press.1
San Juan, Porto Rico, Oct. Pa
branch of the West Indian and South
American service of the United States
weather bureau is being established In
San Juan. DR.. M. w. Harrington is in
charge of this office; his assistant in the
work is Mr.. Clyde Lomon and Mr.. F. r.
Randolph is aiding in the establish
Tnent of the bureau. Mr.. Randolph has
been active in the opening of many OF
the offices of the same service IN other
parts Of the West Indies and as soon
as his work here is completed he will
return home.
This San Juan Office is one Of a series
established at the following points,
maica: Santiago de Cuba, Santa Do
mingoCity in Santo Domingo; st. kits,
Barbados, Port of Spain, Trinidad,
Colon, Colombia, and Curacao, Dutch
West Indies. There will also be a num-
Der of stations on the Caribbean coast
and along the Mexican gulf. Thus San
Juan station will report twice a day by
telegraph to Kingston and washington
and the main idea of the entire West
Indian service is the proper observation
of hurricanes and timely warning to
mariners of their whereabouts.
DR.. Harrington has been allotted spac-
ious offices in a public building on For
ta1Oza street, near the palace, The
premises were formerly occupied by the
Spanish weather bureau. This institu-
ton has been established for some years
and when DR.. Harrington took posses
sion Of their old quarters he was sur
priSed at the fine instruments of deli
cacy and precision that the Spaniards
had used to aid them in their work.
Their SeiSmOmeter, an instrument fOrthe
recording and registering of earthquake
waves, was the best the doctor had ever
seen. Under the Spanish regime this
weather bureau reported to Madrid,
Washington and other similar concerns
on the continent, but by mail and only
once a month.
An examination of the printed Wash
ington report of the San Juan obserYa-
lions shows many months with no re-
turns whatever; this would indicate an
inefficient service which unfortunately
existed. While the Spanish bureau was
well conceived and with an idea to the
public good, the actual service has been
neglected during the recent troubled. pO-
Htical years. They have an excellent
machine to measure the rainfall, for
example, and it's gauge is so arranged
that the running public may read at
glance what amount of water has fallen
on his hOusetOp. But this instrument,
as well as almost all the others, is out
OF repair. OF recent years Porto Rico
has had more important affairs to con-
slider than official reports of the weather
and it is not surprising that considering
the want OF appropriations for salaries
and lack of general interest in so IN
important a branch of governmental
service, that the weather bureau should
have been neglected. Much satisfaction
is expressed at the installation of DR..
Harrington in the new office and Span
iards are glad to turn over their deli
cate instruments to SO efficient q Gus
todian.
The establishment of the United
States postoff1ce in San Juan was effect
ed twenty-fOur hours after the flag was
raised on October IS. Before the day
of occupation 1t had been decided that
the offices of the old Porto Rican Lot
terry company were best adapted for
the uses of our postal service, but the
Lottery company, with numberlesS boxes
of documents and much confusion, was
They would not allow our postal men
inside their doors to take measurements
for the compartments necessary to mail
distribution, so these men were forced
to impatiently wait the stroke of noon
of the 18th. The lottery is a govern
ment concern; it occupies offices in a
public building which at noon of that
The postoffice had a vast accumulation
of mail to distribute and they were
anxious to get it. But the lottery also
had still much work to do and they
We're really very sorry but they did not
see how they could leave the American
building for several days to come. Soon
after this statement an American army
officer from headquarters threw
ludicrous CONSERVATION into the Lottery
company by the business remark that
the building would have to be vacated
in one hours time. Impossible! The
officer was joking; but he was not and
when the Lottery company found this
in bravo Outbound uniforms, injured
silence and within an hour. This was
at o'clock on the afternoon of the 18th;
at noon of the 18th the American post
Office began to do a rushing business.