The Elbert County tribune. [volume] (Elbert, Elbert County, Colo.) 18??-1920, 1905-06-29

d
teries in earth and the heavens that
are hidden to the balance of mankind.
Quackery in meteorology, as well as
In medicine, is indicated by the ex.
travagant pretensions of its practi-
toners.
Modern astrologers, following closely
the lines OF their ancient prototypes.
give the sun a minor or passive role.
while the moon and planets form an
all-star aggregation in the evershift-
ing scenes OF the earth's drama. To
each planet is assigned some speciality
act on the stage, each producing a
different type OF weather, and when
the three act in conjunction the COM
pick results are startling.
Really, 1t is difficult to treat such
ludicrous matter with becoming dig
nifty and seriousness. A certain al
MANAGES description of each planets
peculiar phenomena" is absolutely IT.
resistible as a mirth-provoker to any
reader who possesses a sense Of the
ridiculous and some elementary knowl-
edge OF meteorology and astron-
omy. One is impressed by the
evident earnestness of the author,
and yet it seems that he must
be too diligent to believe in his alb
surdly fantastic theories. They are
no more believable than the myths
and legends of the ancients. 1t is in
conceivable that a learned astronomer
and meteorologist actually believes
that the sun is passive except when 1t
is "perturbed" by some planets equi-
nox; that mists and vapors are in
jected into the sun by Mercury's per-
turbation, and then thrown out by
solar energy to form mists and sleet
on the earth, and that during the So
called Jupiter period" the carrying
capacity of the earth's atmosphere be-
comes disordered and weakened, so
that it cannot transport and diffuse
humidity, thereby causing consuming
droughts in places and destructive
cloudbursts in other localities. One
who actually believes that kind of alb
surdity is really beyond the reach OF
influence by evidence and argument.
The bare statement of such PROPOSE
tons is a sufficient refutation.
Planetary weather forecasts are too
farfetched to be practicable. The
prophets in that line work at the
wrong end of the problem. When
there is little more than the usual
degree of heat or storminess they peer
into the nebular spaces to see what
caused the disturbance on the earth,
and then allege that it was done by
Jupiter, or was the malign work OF
Saturn, which in their philosophy
causes epidemics and pestilential con
tagious diseases. Possibly, also. they
may in time discover that it is due to
Saturnian potency that we have rings
and combines in human affairs. Why
not?
The libraries of the United States
Weather Bureau contain the substance
and much OF the detail of all that is
known of weather wisdom, ancient or
modern, and the scientists of this
bureau certainly are familiar with the
essence of this knowledge.
Those who are in a position to know
are well aware that every possible
effort is being made to extend our
knowledge of the laws that control
weather conditions and meanwhile to
give to those who are vitality con-
cerned the most trustworthy informa-
ton obtainable. 1t is matter
common experience that the notable
success of some commercial article OF
merit is sure to flood the market with
spurious goods of the same class.
which INSCRIPTIONS vendors pread be-
i
rapid strides of the United States
Weather Bureau in recent years to-
ward popular favor through the wide
spread dissemination of the forecasts
"a service made possible largely by
the phenomenal spread of the tele-
phone and the development OF the
rural delivery service-has apparently
given a new impetus to unscientific,
not to say INSCRIPTIONS, forecasts.
based upon some theory of cycles or
of planetary control. And the chief
of the weather bureau is believed to
be not only justified, but morally en-
Joined to counteract as fast as possible
the mischievous effects of the work
OF astrologers, who pretend to foretell
the character of coming seasons or
the progress of storms and ordinary
weather conditions for month or
year in advance, and whose unfounded
and unreliable forecasts are too
often given undue circulation by the
less careful publishers.
The problem of seasonal forecasts
is receiving at the hands of the ablest
and most painstaking students OF both
continents a comprehensive considera-
ton that is certain to be fruitful and
far-reaching in its ultimate results.
So important and pressing is the
work and so promising is the field that
the chief of the weather bureau is
building and equipping large OBJ
servatory, wherein the best talent
available will soon be employed to
study the intricate and profound prob
lens of the atmosphere, whose solu-
ton promises improvement over pres
ent methods and results in forecast
ing and may lead in time to seasonal
predictions on truly scientific basis.