Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-22
AND THE STORM CAME

4 never read an unusual weather StOGy,
such as the newspapers printed during the
recent unreasonable cold snap. that I'm not
reminded of a phenomenal fake forecast
that made its appearance I'm one of the New
York yellows few years ago, when Farm
err Dunn was New York's weather prog
nosticator'' observed one of the, Chicago
correspondents.
at was a Chicago man who on the first
day he went TO work on the New York
saffron sheet few summers ago, sifted
some of the thickness out of Farmer
Dunn's plentiful locks and caused him to
be berated over the telephone as he had
never been berated before.
The Chicago newspaper man had some
unique ideas on the subject of overwork,
and when, on the first morning of his en-
ployment on the afternoon paper, his city
editor told him to go down and get the
weather story from Dunn and he ascer-
tanned that Farmer Dunn's prognosticating
eyrie was about mile distant. he mentally
bucked
81 wonder if that assignment
thinks I'm going to hike it for all that
distance just to fix up weather yarnT
unused the newspaper man just out of
Chicago. Not on his natural. Nay. Nix
Similarly, not none.
80 he repaired across the way to the
high ball chemistry of o. Upton. esq.
hung the recently deceased Only William
up for three of the same, retired within
the shade of a cool alcove. produced a
bunch of mussed-up copy paper, and in
Gted the days weather story.
1T was a rara avis of weather story
when he got through with it.
while he was writing 1T the skies were
of sapphire, the summer sun shone re-
splendently and there wasn't even a symp-
ton OF a haze to portend the arrival of diff
ferent meteorological conditions. 1t was, in
brief. q perfect summers day.
But the reckless young man from out
Chicago way wrote forecast that predicted
the star headliner of an electrical storm of
the season, and the prediction announced
that the same was going to happen early on
that same afternoon.
HE went into the details of the fore
cast elaborately, and stated that New York
scientists interested in the photoSraphlng
of electrical displays had their cameras all
ready and pointed for the celestial pyro-
technics that were going to blaze out on
schedule time along toward O'Clock that
afternoon.
The new young man from Chicago sent
the copy over to his paper by messenger
and then he leaned back in the alcove and
continued the absorption of the products OF
the Only Williams face fingers.
about an hour later he purchased the
first editions of the other afternoon papers
to find out If his weather story was any
where near being in line.
ut wasn't
1.-The genuine Dunn forecast. as set forth
In all the rest of the afternoon papers. in
Cluu1ng the CneI rival VI the StlloW loi
which he worked was that the beauteous
weather was to continue indefinitely.
Which is a good enough tip for me to
remain AWAY from the office. unless l
want to experience the modification of
being dumped ditched. fired and mansled
at the extreme bottom of the elevator shaft
unused the newspaper man fresh from chi
Cago
srhen he Jared forth, to reflect, in the
open air, upon ways and means whereby
he could obtain employment on some other
newspaper that would permit him TO take
an occasional chance with a long shot.
1T was then / O'Clock in the afternoon.
and the big black clouds had begun to roll
over Brooklyn.
"At exactly 1:50 the opening gun of the
electrical orgy was fired, and for a solid
hour it Numbered and lightninsed so hard
over Manhattan Island that it made peo-
pies teeth ache.
1T was 81 continuous performance of
heavenly artillery for a straight sixty min
utes or more, and the blue, purple, green
and pink lightning caused superstitious per-
sons to imagine that the world had about
arrived al it's finish.
.sItwas about as tremendous an electrical
disturbance as New York had ever been
through, and the Photographic sharps did
take hundreds of views of the lightning rib
bons ripping the heavens from zenith to
horizon.
THAT, probably, was the meanest after
noon of Farmer Dunn's official prognostl-
ca ting life. The city editors of all the other
afternoon papers streaked for their tele
phones as soon as they saw the yellow's
exclusive weather prediction in the act of
being perfectly verified and INDICATED, ana
they completed the sizzling of the wires
that the Chicago mans electrical storm had
begun.
- pass was all Dunn could say over
the phone to the storming city editors.
Not guilty. Both hands up. That paper
has soooped me as well as all the rest of
you fellows
Along toward 3 o clock in the afternoon,
when the storm was subsiding. the Chi
cago newspaper man strolled into the yell
lows city room and Topped YEARLY into
chair.
When he was recognized the whole of
flee rose at him. The city editor gathered
him into his embrace and two strong men
from the business Office brought him up
bag of glittering gold.
How lie do it?' inquired the city ed
itor, hoarse with emotion and admiration.
Oh I've always been kind of nat
ural-born weather sharp calmly replied the
new man from Chicago, and then the city
editor handed him his old gold watch and
chain and all hands around shook hands
with him again.