The Irish standard., 1905-09-02
AS F0RECASTERS
The Hurricane Watchers Of
Belea and Their Work For
Thirty Years Before II is Coun-
try Started q Bureau.

Rev. Walter Drum, S. j. of
Georgetown University, has issued a
pamphlet in reply to certain published
statements about the Havana branch
Of the United States Weather Bureau
which tended to give the impression
that Cuba had no weather service
worthy of tia name qntil after the war
with Spain.
Father Drum is young jesuit who
comes from New York state and whose
father was Captain John Drum of the
Tenth United States infantry, who was
killed at the battle of Santiago de
Cuba. He has made study Of the
work done by the Jesuit Fathers of the
observatory Of Belen, which is con-
nected with the Royal College of Be.
len, Havana. 1t was founded in 1857
by Father Antonio Cabre, and from
that time it has kept record of it's
astronomical, magnetic and metaoro-
logical observations.
The most interesting statement
made by Father Drum is taat if the
Havana branch of the United States
Weather Bureau had not discarded the
assistance which the Belen observa-
tory had given to this country, free,
for years, the city of Galveston would
have known of the hurricane of Sep
tember, 1900, in time for it's citizens to
fee inland
Better for us would it have veen,"
writes Father Drum, "if the pioneer
forecasters of hurricanes had been
trusted and no weather bureau OBJ
server had been sent to Havana
On September /. 1900, a cyclone OF
little force appeared in the eastern
part of the Caribbean sea, crossed the
center of the island of Cuba, moved
on west by northwest, acquired full
force and terrific intensity in the Gulf
and on September swept down with
full force on the helpless city of Gal
weston.
"The United States Weather Blu.
reau observer on September 5 an
nounced that the hurricane was east
by northeast of Havana with a course
north by northeast and would spend
itself in the Atlantic. That very day
Father Gangoiti announced that the
cyclone was south of Florida.
"On September 6, at noon, he stated
through the press (of Havana) that
the storm was in the Gulf and west by
southwest of Tampa. On September s
at 4 n m., while Galveston was being
torn to very pieces, he published his
report that the currents on the right
of the storm had been felt in Georgia
and Alabama during the morning of
September and in Louisiana during
the evening of the same day, and that
tie very center of the hurricane had
reached Texas the morning of Septem-
be1 8.
by September 10 no word of the
Galveston catastrophe had reached
either the United States Weather Blu.
leau branch or Belen. At 8 O'Clock
that morning appeared Father Gan
goiti's press notices of clear signs
that the tempest had grown much
fiercer and had probably struck Texas.
These notices said that the Washing
ton weather maps would show whether
his forecast or the weather bur- au S
was right.
In the grim array with Father Gan
goiti's report of September 10 stands
this fatal forecast of the United States
Weather Bureau observer: This
morning we have noted slight indica
ticns that in the west northwest is
forming an atmospheric disturbance
scarcely worth mentioning
"The Galveston storm went on ant
the weather bureau observer though
ii an atmospheric disturbance scarce
ly worth mentioning No wonder, then
that he found 1t was difficult to inter
est the people in his warning service
"A few hours after these two charac
teristic reports appeared the sad new
Of Galveston's fate began to arrive b,
cable. Later on both the Pilot Char
and the weather maps traced the ira
Jactory of the Galveston storm exactl
us It had been followed by Father Gar
goiti in the press of Havana.
The Cuban papers turned such
: stream of ridicule on the weather bl
, reau observer as to force him to sen
them no more forecasts. For Who'll
: month the Havana press kept up 1t
. praise of Father Gangoiti and bite
invective against the radical change
"Not until 1902 did the Cuba
| branch office of the weather burea
i again take up the publication of hurr
cane warnings, and it's forecasts wer
: thereafter those of the central off1c
! at Washington. 1t is noteworthy ths
/ every such warning published by OF
ttl.e United States) agent in Havan
:, during 1902 and 1903 was contradicte
: by Father Gangoiti and turned out
s be false alarm
Father Drum says that much indi
q nation was aroused in Cuba by tt
z publication of the following CONNER