The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-01-23
GOOD WEATHER PROPHET
NEW JERSEY GIRL WHO Il CA
Fable METEOROLOGIST.
Her Predictions, However, Are All
Based on Reports Sent tn the Fore
caster at Washington.

and gOddesses rather than OF mere mortals,
is now, strangely enough, in the fair, but
strong. firm hands of a woman A woman
"A girl-it is now who whistles up the sea
winds that sweep the coast from Sandy
Hook TO Cape May. \ girl it is who mar
shals the unruly and undisciplined forces
Of the mighty storm kings. swirling in
from the north and the west, and gives for
a guerdon soft gulf stream zephyrs.
For seven weeks Miss Laura NJ. Dey has
thus been in league with Aeolus as the
official rain and sunshine maker of the
Mosquito State The fact that she is deal
ing out weather at wholesale for the guild
ance of the dig commonwealth is a matter
of accident rather than design. Miss Dey
has long been the assistant OF Mr.. Z ".
Mccain section director OF the weather
service under Mr.. Willis Z. Moore. at
Washington.
Seven weeks ago Mr.. Mccain fell i'll with
pneumonia, and ii was serious question
who should take charge Of the central sta
ton at New Brunswick. Nobody was
available from headquarters at Washing
ton. and the duties of the Office naturally
fell upon Miss Dey.
why, what else could l do?' said Miss
Dey. There was Mr.. Mccain i'll and the
whole station in danger OF not having any
weather for dear only knows how Ions.
SO l just took hold and am doing the best
that L can, and a goddess cannot Go more
than that, can She!
Nor could a goddess do more than the slip
of a girl is doing up there IN her eyre,
which towers above the campus OF Rutgers
College at New Brunswick. And, what IS
more. gods and gOddesses, even those ON
niscent deities of Greek mythology, never
knew a tenth as much about the wind
and weather as this matter-ot-tact Jersey
girl.
From 10 i'm the morning until i'm the aft
ernoon the weather prophecies sits in her
eyre, surrounded by multtudinous lnstru-
ments with long Greek and Latin names.
Unlike the average woman MISS Dey Goes
not rely at all upon her lntultlons IoI
weather signs. Despite the grumbiing and
misgivings of the old-fashioned New Jer-
sey farmers, who don't like the idea OF
woman running the weather for them.
Miss Dey makes all her calculations III a
thoroughly scientific manner.
NEVER GUESSES ABOUT SITUATION.
There is no guess work about it. She
handles thermometers, monographs, rain
gauges, barometers, maximum and mini
mum thermometers with dexterity which
comes OF long usage. She plots her own
isotherms with precision that would give an
ordinary woman nervous headache More
over, Miss Dey is a comely young woman;
She is tall and slender, with dark eyes ana
"A broad, high forehead bespeaking keen IN
tellect.
Since her assumption of the duties OF her
skyline office, Miss Dey has been quite the
most conspicuous and most talked ABOUT
young woman in New Jersey. she mas IKE
wise been tormented TO death with letters
and crankS Of all descriptions requests lor
signed articles for magazines ana news"
papers have poured in TO her, with two OIL
fers from museum managers
The consensus OF opinion among Jersey
ties is that a woman is out OF her sphere
when she begins TO monkey with the
weather.
weather is variable enough" they growl,
without a woman getting mixed up IN It
Woman and weather, snarl the farmers,
obviously casting their eyes TO the sky;
woman and weather, What does woman
know about weather anyway
Woman and weather, Woman and wealth
err sign the beaux all the way IRON
weather! They're well mated, that's sure
enough x...- ., -.
the facetious. You can't place any more
dependence in one than ia the other, and
mighty little in either"
And so il goes, the merry testing ana
gibes over the serious little weather sharp
working away for dear life in her eyric.
and doing the best she can to give every
body just the kind of weather he wants.
this capacity, and it is not to be wondered
at. therefore. that the weather prophecies
should be without honor in her own eoun-
try. No State in the Union has a more
variable climate. No State in the Union de-
mands a greater variety Of weathers or Of
fers such obstacles TO their attainment.
Especially is this true in winter.
FARMER WANTS EXACT DATA
For instance, there is a hard. crusty, old
fashioned New Jersey farmer. He raises
sweet potatoes, and weather is everything
10 him. He pins his faith to the weather
forecasts which are sent out daily from the
New Brunswick observation tower and
foffi
Now, it doesn't matter so much. the farmer
says. but when spring comes and planting
time arrives he must have exact data as to
the rains. VIII a woman continue IN charge
Of the central bureau. and can he depend
upon her forecasts? Such questions agitate
him exceedingly.
81 see the finish of the sweet potato
crop" Hackensack farmer is quoted as
saying last week. II see the finish OF the
sweet potato crop, for 1902 with mere
woman running the weather down there ia
/ Brunswick. Even men make mistakes
about the weather sometimes, and they're
natural-born weather prophets, and women
amt Look at the mistake she made day
before yesterday All turned out wrong.
predicted rain, and il showed"
Then, there are the peanut growers ana
the market gardeners and the general farm
ers, all more or less dubious, and all ap-
/ parently under the delusion that Miss Dey
Is merely amusing herself at their expense
Another class OF patrons equally hard 10
convince are the beauX and bellies, especial
4 " those of the country district. John
/ Honeysweet who lives at SteltOn, is court
! ing q girl who lives in New Brunswick IL
/ is just nice drive from place 10 place, and
/ John has two traps. II Is Johns custom
/ TO take his sweetheart driving, but she VIII
/ not go out with him when he comes in his
top buggy, because, she says, top bugg1es
! have zone out of fashion.
John, while an ardent admirer OF the sex,
! has little faith in their powers OF prophecy
] So the eVentful evening comes
Miss Day has predicted. perhaps, clear.
cold winds from the north. with steady
i lowering Of temperature. John starts on
/ I'm his new vehicle with its shiny red
wheels, rubber-tired and seat just wide
/ enough for two To squeeze into comfort
! ably. John is the happiest man In Middle
/ county a he rolls nOiselessly along the
smooth country road. He pictures the
/ splurge he and she will be making shortly
through the streets OF New Brunswick, the
! envy Of all beholders.
Suddenly John feels a sprinkle. AT first
he tries not 20 believe IT, Maybe It's only
the dew. But, no: that's a pretty heavy
dew, reasons John, the drops grow
larger and more frequent and before he
can pronounce a blessing upon the head
OF the false prophecies the rain is falling
steadily. steadily. a regular old-fashiOned
New Jersey rain. likely 10 last all night or
/ possibly turn to snow before John has
eEded his evening call
Such IL being the experience Of Johns and
/ Williams and Henrys all over the State.
each and all forgetting that Miss Dey's
! predecessors have sometimes uttered false
! prophecies and every one OF them ignorant
I of the fact that. after all. Miss Dey dOesn
really make the forecasts at all but that
/ they are forwarded 10 her from Washing