The Savannah morning news., 1901-07-28
NO FAITH IN De Voc
sAVANNAHIAN STUDIED HIS PROPH-
ECIEs AND SAYS HE'S A QUACK.
STORM WAS TO BE TO-DAY.
OFFERS TO BET 1T WON'T ARRIVE
IN TWO WEEKS.

/ the conclusion the PROFESSOR
Was Hardly Ever Right when IL
Was Possible for Him to De
Wrong There Was Least Rain
and Thunder when He Said There
Would he Most and the Highest
Temperature when He Predicted
II Would BE quite CoOl-DeIphic
Oracle Discounted for Uncer-
tainty.
This is the day predicted by Prof. A.
II. DeVoe for the advent of the de-
structive hurricane that was to visit
Savannah, and this section of the state.
There is as yet no indications of it's
appearance, and a reputable and re-
sponsible citizen of Savannah offers to
wager Prof. DeVoe $50 that it won't
| appear in the course of the next fifteen
| days
He means, of course, that there will
not be one of the characteristic hurri-
canes, that visit this section, as he and
everybody else understood Prof DeVoe
to mean there would be, when he said
that a very important storm will be-
| gin to form" to-day. The gentleman
who places so little confidence in the
predictions of Prof. DeVoe as to be
willing to bet good money with him or
any of his admirers that there will be
no storm, either to-day or within two
weeks, will deposit his money in the
hands of a representative of the Morn
ing News.
He is sore on Prof. DeVoe and his
predictions, anyhow. He places that
interesting weather prophet in the
same class with divine healers, sooth-
sayers and phrenologists, and has
about as much faith in his predictions
as he has in the miracles, and the
knowledge of future events performed
or claimed by these others. He has
been analyzing the predictions of Prof.
DeVoe as to Savannah weather, for
the twelve days, beginning July II and
ending to-day, and asserts that in
whatever particulars the knowledge Of
probabilities of a 10-year-old child
would not have enabled the weather
shark to guess accurately, he has
guessed wrong.
weather prophets" said the gentleman
in question, lis to make the weather
probabilities for any season, based
upon climate and locality, the basis
Tor series of vague generalities in the
way of prophecies, that for indefinite
ness and the opportunities they offer
the puD1c to put the construction it
pleases upon them could give the Del
phlc oracle cards and spades. What
ever the weather turns out to be, the
| prophet smites himself on his chest.
and in a large, round voice. exclaims.
1 told you So. His prophecies NAV
actually nave meant anything or moth
ing-most frequently the latter, but he
is equally satisfied, no matter what
the result may be.
Now take this interview with De-
Voc that was published In the Morning
News of July II. He has succeeded i'm
worrying so many persons with this
prediction of storm, that l have
amused myself in analysing that in
terView. The results are somewhat ne
culiar. I find that the prophet was
wrong about every time there was a
chance for him to be wrong
Let II be understood in the begin
ninS that 'sultry' in weather parlance.
usually means a high temperature,
combined with high percentage of
humidity in the atmosphere. Then
take DEVICES predictions of the wealth
err BEGINNING with those for July II.
For that day he said there would
be rain. with sultry weather. The
mean temperature for the day was "A
| degrees, the maximum tempera ture so
| degrees and the humidity 80 There
was no rain and no thunder. For the
day following DeVoe made the same
prediction. AS matter of fact the
/ mean temperature was rs degrees, the
| maximum temperature so degrees and
the humidity .S3. There was a trace
| of rain only, but no thunder. For Fri
! day, July 10, DeVoe predicted the same
! sort of weather as for the two days
| preceding; the mean temperature was
IS degrees and the maximum 81 de-
| grees. That day. for which no thun-
| der had been predicted, it Numbered
| five hours. There was to be no thun-
| der, so far as the prophet could see.
| on Saturday, yet on that day it thun-
| dered for three hours and q half. He
had been predicting these days would
be sultry. yet the maximum tempera-
| ture on Saturday was rs degrees.
There was TO be a special perform
ance in the way of thunder on Sunday,
July n. on that day the professors
predictions read: Rain; sultry; heavy
! thunderstorm AS a matter of fact,
! H. Il
| the thunder was light and lasted only
! half an hour.
with the beginning of the next
week. DeNoe's predictions begin TO be-
come trne involved. For Monday he
! predicted il would be quite cool The
maximum temperature that day was SO
degrees, higher than II had been any
| of the days preceding for which he
! had made predictions. He said moth
| ing about rain, yet the rainfall was
Go of an inch, more than three times
as much as the day for which rain had
| been predicted. For the other days of
the week. when his predictions in diff
| ferent parts of his interview are Sc
| lected and placed together. the results
were' to have been as follows quite
| cool rising temperature; sultry.' Well.
! the temperature did rise. but nobody
| has accused the weather this last week
/ of being quite cool quite the con-
! trary. The maximum temperature has
ranged from 50 to % degrees. II was
/ % on Thursday. when II was to have
! been quite cool The temperature was
/ TO continue rising Friday and Satur-
/ day, but the maximum was 80 on Fri
/ day and 90 on Saturday.
For tomorrow Sunday DeVoes
/ predictions are as follows: quite cool.
rising temperature. sultry. very de-
| cided fan I'm temperature may be look
/ ed for and a very important storm VIII
] - A..