The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-08-20
THE JESUIT FORECASTERs.z
FATHER DRUM ON THE HURRE>
CAVE WATCHERS or BEI.EN.
Georgetown Priest Insists That Gaivest on
Would Have Been Warned In Timo
Han Not the United States Weather
Bureau Established Havana Branch.

Had Not the United states Weather
Bureau Established . Havana Branch.
Reference was made recently In tho
news columns Of THE SUN TO q pamphlet,
"The Pioneer Forecasters OF Hurricanes,"
written by the Rev. Walter M. Drum. s. j.,
Of Georgetown University The pamphlet
was provoked by certain published state
ments about the Havana branch OF the
United States Weather Bureau which
tended to give the impression that Cuba
had no weather service worthy the name
| until after the war with Spain.
Father Drum u q young Jesuit who
comes from New York State and whose
father WIS Capt. John Drum Of the Tenth
United States Infantry, who was killed
at tho battle. Of Santiago de Cuba. Father
Drum has made . study Of the work done
by tho Jesuit fathers OF the observatory
Of Bclen, which IL connected with the Roya
College OF Belen, Havana. It was founded
in 1867 by Father Antonio CabIe. and
| from that time 1t has kept record OF its
astronomical, magnetic and meteorological
observations.
The most interesting contention made
by Father Drum h that II the Havana
| branch Of the United States Weather Bureau
| had not discarded the assistance which
the Belen observatory had given to this
country, free, for years, the city OF Gal
weston would have known Of the hurricane
| Of September. 1900, In time for its citizens
| TO fee inland.
Better for us would II have been, writes
Father Drum, If the pioneer forccasters
of hurricanes had been trusted and no
Weather Bureau observer had been sent 10
Havana.
ION Sept. !, 1900, q cyclone Of little force
, appeared In the eastern part Of the Carib-
bean 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 Sept. swept down with
full force on the helpless city Of Galveston.
"The United States Weather Bureau OBJ
server on Sept. 8 announced that the hur-
ricane was east by northeast Of Havana
with q course moi tn by northeast and would
spend itself In the Atlantic. That very day
Father Gangoiti announced that the cyclone
was south Of Florida.
-On Sept. 9, at noon, he stated through
the press (of Havana) that the storm was
In the Gulf and west by southwest Of Tampa.
On Sept. 8, at P. NJ, 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 Sept. Z and in Louisi-
ana during the evening OF the same day:
and that the very center Of the hurricane
had reached Texas the morning Of Sept. 8.
by Sept. 10 no word Of the Galveston
catastrophe had reached either the United
States Weather Bureau branch or Belen.
At O'Clock that morning appeared Father
Gangoiti's press notices Of clear signs that
the tempest had grown much fercer and
had probably struck Texas These notices Offices
woul show whether his forecast or the
Weather Bureaus was right,
I'm grim array with Father Gangoiti's
report q Sept. 10 stands this fatal forecast.
server, This. morning we have noted
slight indications that In the west north 9.
west Is forming an atmospheric disturb.
anoe scarcely worth mentioning
Weather Bureau observer thought it an
atmospheric disturbance scarcely worth
mentioning No wonder, then. that he
found 1t was difficult to interest the people
in his warning service
istic reports appeared the Fad news. OF
Galvestons fate began to arrive by cable.
Later on both the Pilot Chant and the !
weather maps traced the trajectory. OF the
followed by Father Gangoiti in the presss
OF Havana.
1The Cuban papers turned such stream
Of ridioule on the Weather Bureau observer
as to force him to send them no more fore !
press kept up its praise for Father Gangoitt
change
Office Of the Weather Bureau again take,
up the publication Of hurricane warnings.
and It's forecasts were thereafter those Of
the central Office at Washington. 1t is
noteworthy that every such warning pub
in Havana during 1902 and 1908 was CONTRA
dioted by Father Gangoih and turned out
to be false alarm"
Father Drum says that much indignation
was aroused in Cuba by the publication Of!
the following comment on the branch which
the Weather Bureau established after the
AT first it was difficult to interest the
people in the warning service since they a re-
by nature very conservative and slow to
adopt any change in their accustomed;
methods and mode OF living. The issue Of
warnings Of hurricanes was most radical
change. the Inhabitants being accustomed
to hear Of these phenomena only upon
their near approach"
That statement, says the pamphleteer.
was laughed at by Chief Justice Mendoza
Of the Cuban Supreme Court Senior Monitor.
the Minister to London; Robert Mason. the
ayers Of the steamship lines.
For thirty years. says Father Drum.
Jesuit forecasts before our Weather Bureau
observer introduced the radical change
which has brought into clearer view the debt
chat Cuba and the whole world owe to
Fathers vifes and 0angoiti, the pioneer
forecasters Of hurricanes.'
The Father Vines referred to was. the:
master mind Of Bel6n. He began the s%ndy
Of hurricanes In 1870 and for twenty-three
years worked constantly and almost alone
on his problem. He took observations
from 4 A. M. until 10 P. NJ. and sometimes
remained up all night.
He was striving to learn four things;
!. sign or group Of signs that would
invariably prove the existence OF a cyclone
while 1t was yet at great distance from
the observer 2. Bearings that would de-
termine what part Of the horizon 1t was
coming from. 8. The location OF the curve
Of the cyclone. 4. The determination Of the
distance Of the cyclone from the observer
and It's intensity, area and velocity.
Father Drum credits him with discov-
ering the association between hurricanes
= o ~ hat Id <ir