Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-12-16
MANAGER OF WEATHER.
Department of Agriculture Salts.
fled With What Has Been
Done Past Season.
Director Sage Of Weather and
Crop Service Will Continue
in His Position.
Striking Features OF the Season
Of 1901 Worth Recording at
This Time.
Special to Times-Republican.

y
Des Moines, Dec. 16.-It devolves on
the department of agriculture of Iowa
to nominate someone for appointment to
the position of director Of the Iowa
weather and crop service, for this bu-
reau is under the direct control of the
department and yet the director is COM
missioned by the governor for term of
two years. AS the board will not have
full meeting before the time of the ex-
piration Of the present term, action was
taken last week and resolution passed
indorsing the present incumbent, j. r.
Sage for the position. Mr.. Sage has all
ready had six terms. and will soon have
held the position twelve,years, but 1T is
position which nobody else appears TO
be seeking, and certainly no other per-
son In the state is so we'll fitted to I'LL.
Governor Cummins will appoint him
without question. Mr.. Sage had news
paper training for the position, whlch
may be regarded as eminently proper.
Something like quarter OF century
ago he was importuned to by the rival
newspapers in the town OF Newton 10
get rid Of the factional quarrels Whlch
rent the party there at the time. he
converted the Freeman and the Head
light into the Journal, and the CONVEX
sion was regarded as good, Mr.. Robin
son went into the firm and soon after
bought Mr.. Sage out. The latter went
to Cedar Rapids to write editorials for
the Republican, then an evening paper,
and he leased it from the syndicate
which had it on hand, and then pur-
chased it. Johnson Brigham came in as
associate editor and Mr.. Sage sold his
stock and came to Des Moines after
few years. He was employed as editor
of the Capital, and later became con-
nected with the Inter Ocean as their
Iowa representative, and also had
charge of their farm department. But
he was in love with the study Of meteor
ology and was instrumental in having
the k'eather and crop bureau established
and became its first and only director.
Some years ago, when Secretary VIII
son went into the cabinet, there was a
movement on foot to place Mr.. Sage at
the head of the government statistical
bureau of the agricultural department..
Mr.. Sage was not anxious for the
change, because it would have taken
him out of touch with the study OF me-
teorology. But 1t became necessary to
appoint a division director for the gov
ernment weather bureau, for the state
of Iowa. and without the knowledge OF
Mr.. Sage, Secretary Wilson and the
Iowa senator's secured the place for Mr..
Sage. He had been practically in charge
and had co-operated with the govern
ment men. 1t was contrary to civil SER
vice rules to put man in for division
director who had not passed an exam
inption, but President Mckinley made
an exception in the case OF Mr.. Sage. II
was the only thing to do under the cir
cumstances This gives him both the
state and Urited States work for Iowa.
Another thing was done at the meet
ing Of the department of agriculture the
other day which had practically escaped
attention. The department restored to
the volunteer crop reporters OF the state
their free passes to the state fairs. 1t
has been the custom for many years for
these volunteer reporters, who work for
the state and nation without pay, to
gather once year at the state fairs and
hold a conference in the little building
belonging to the weather and crop SER
vice on the fair grounds. These con-
ferences are both pleasant and profita-
BILE to the men in the service. There
are about 200 of them. This year they
did not get their passes. They raised a
"big kick" but it was no use. And it is
more than probable that some OF these
volunteer crop reporters who missed
their passes had something to do with
arousing the undercurrent Of sentiment
which swept Secretary Van Houten off
the map for the time being.
ss+
In his admirable paper read before the
meeting of the horticulturists this week
and printed in the monthly review. Mr..
Sage makes an interesting review of the
season of 1901, doubly interesting be-
cause of the abnormally cold weather
of the present time. Mr.. Sage says
that the season just passed can not be
considered merely abnormal in it's heat.
1t was much more than that and Is like
ly not to be repeated in the century just
opening. The records of the state show
that the maximum of 100 degrees or over
was registered on seven days in June
and "a in July. The distinctively torrid
period was from the 9th to the Goth of
July, inclusive; and during seventeen
days the mercury rose to 100 or above at
ninety-fve different stations in Iowa.
and the minimum temperatures ranged
from about 10 to so degrees. For all the
stations of Iowa the average of the
1868 degrees The monthly mean for the
state was S2.4. which is ST degrees
above the July normal. and six degrees
above the highest average in any pre-
vious month on record. The daily av-
erage of the extreme northern belt was
only about two degrees below that of
the extreme southern belt. The highest
was July %, when the thermometer
reached 113 degrees. and this is likely to
stand as the maximum in Iowa for
many years. 1t is difficult for persons to
realize this marvellous record, when at
the present time the thermometer is
marking 20 or more below all over Iowa.
Mr.. Sage compares this season with that
OF 1894, the drouth year. He says that
the records show that while 1901 was
much hotter the season was not 30 dry