New-York tribune., 1905-11-10
PRIZE FOR FORECASTERS.
Bic Weather Prophesyng Contest
Ne17ing End

Nearly a thousand men ana d he"
scattered all over the United States are e''ei.
In the contest which New forh f'''oi -
conducting for the title champion weather
.a,ics and a prize of 800. The
.,,t.s+ has already been for three weeks
ra 1.il, close on November Is. Its serious 90
IT,, &c to discover il possible more eHectFe
method of forecasting the weather thah 'n"'
used by the United States Weather bureau
which is said to score only about iol
"hits" out of 100. Thus far the contest mas O'ei.
nroauctive mostly of theories, although some OIL
tbe nropbets are making remarkable recoros
and the decision is bound to be close
The idea of holding a weather propneSSil il.s
oo,.as+ came to f. r. Frost corporation at
torney, with Offices at NO. 80 Nassau - 80,
months ago. He is an amateur farmer at his-
dale N j. and has found the weather Iepoi -
,,+rus+vorthv in harvesting his crops he hao
~ aaracsas Of some six hundred weather
nronbets in different parts of the country anu
ha wrote 10 them asking that they enter tue
o,,,netition Nearly all responded, as there We
no entrance fees, and the attendant pupiioi'
brought some four hundred new propie'S ~ ''''
fore. ...,,
c;noe October Is Mr. Frost has been receiving
,var nine hundred letters a day from hi'
nronhets and nearly as many more pessiiie 10
ters from people who think that man "lo '''i'
throw away a hundred dollars on weather eue''
owe ,,,s, he made of money He has taken
senarate office for the month ana hireo Oio
10 tabulate the prophecies The postnarh on
a., o,.a1ons or postal card is taken as proof that
tbosa from, a distance were made in good 1aiIh
.nd that the prophet did not wait until daypreaK
+o dec,de on his forecast. The reports OIL 'ne
United States Weather Bureau will be useo 10
decide the contest.
Of hundreds Of unusual propositions when
Mr. Frost has received the most STRIKING ue-
mand for the s10o comes from lpswlch' Mass
where one George Cooke is temporarily residing.
He writes:
The government method is faulty. This IS my
onswer and I am entitled to your hundred L
want it badly wherewith to return to Home
Sweet Home :. ,,,,;,,,.
Minneapolis Mimi holds man who no is is making making
q etrone hid for the championship. Thls propnet
actually believes that the earth is nat ana WriIes
a small volume on foolscap to prove II.
A Rhode Island observer. VINO mas pll.teI pt.aoi
letterheads asserting that he is a PracticaI
Astroloser and Clairvoyant, does not potleI
m send daily forecasts. He says that the Hrst
cold wave of the winter Will strike NeW-1 lott
on N,vember 2S and that there will be ter
rible blizzard on December 2S The stars Ten
him that New-York is booked for terrlple
catastrophe on December IL III WHICH many
lives will be lost. ,a
A baggage man on the Texas and racine
Railway writing from Dallas, Tex, sent d IoTe-
cast for the entire month In the beginning he
has GUESSED we'll according to the government
Rrooklvn seems to be the home Of weather
forecasters 1t would take half a coluInh 10
nrint the names and addresses of all who are
in this contest They have all sorts of methods
Including an elongated limb rneumatlc
hack IAN old German method, the behaVlor
OF a pet corn my big toe the ourroWlns
of an angle worm, and various phases OF the
moon ..a..o.
Anthony r. l. enters an aged weather
sbarn" who refers Mr.. Fast to an extensive
article which he says he filed some years ago IN
the archives of the Smithsonian Institution IL
is the result of fifty years study OF nature ana
based on facts and nothing else he writes
Can't YOU raise your offer of 500 to give me
a little comfort in my old age Il am now sixty
| nine years Of age) and the means 10 STUDY oi oIt
more problems, especially earthquakes and vol
canoes and the condition OF the southern henf-
sphere and their relation to animal and vegeta-
bic systems? All this wants means TO traVei,
which 1 can't afford at present. Besides.
ueteorology give the key to all internal and
external diseases and saves you all anxiety
about catching fever malaria from the poor
MOSQUITO and all other complaints which the
doctors try to raise bugbears about and keep
the people in suspense
Every express wagon almost which passes the
Bennett Building brings Mr. Fast some curious
weather forecasting machine or complicated
chart 1t is impossible to make head or taA out
OF most of the machines even with the elaborate
directions which accompany them.
Mr. Fast has come to the conclusion that
most Of the prophets depend on the moon He
has found several who firmly believe that the
weather repeats itself In some sixty-odd
years and they believe that they have discovered
cate 1t will be December l. probably, before a
decision can be reached