The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-08-12
VALUE OF WEATHER
 MANS TESTIMONY His Wise Decisions Had Con- victed Many MurdererS POTENT IN DIVORCE CASES Husband Said the Night Was Dark and His Wife Couldn't See, But
 the Weather Man Said the
 Moon Was Full.
POTENT IN DIVORCE CASES

From the Washington Post.
 The weather man has other duties than forecasting, and one of the most inter- esting of these is that of expert witness in legal proceedings His popularity as testifier has grown so rapidly that it Is figured that in the last ten years he has appeared in court no less than 4000 times.
 In the first part of this month the fed eral court In St. Paul. after hearing the statement of the weather clerk, decided that a storm In that city two years pre- viously was a cyclone and awarded a verdict of $26225 in suit for insurance, the contention being based on this propo- sition.
 In damage suits, in criminal trials, in- c1uding those of murderers, in the con- struction of wills. and in nearly every other form of law battle the weather man Is summoned to testify. An effort to as cetrain the number of times that ob- servers of the weather bureau have ap- peared in court with the records of their offices within a period of ten years re- suited in the compilation of these figures, admittedly incomplete New York City, 3O1; Chicago, 255; Buffalo, 167; Philadel- phia, 166 Boston. 15S; kansas City, 153; Baltimore, 122; Washington, 112; Detroit. 102; Albany, S9: Cleveland, 5S; Louisville, 53; Cincinnati, 21, and number of other cities ranging down from 50 to 20.
 Ordinarily the frequency with which records are produced should be expect ed to depend upon the size of the cities in which the stations are located But Professor Cox, who has made a study of the subject, says that the geographical location Is important, snow, ice and freezT ing weather figuring largely in the mat ter There is a greater demand for wealth CT data in courts in northern than in southern states
 For many years the United States courts have held that a record of the weather kept by an observer was competent evi- dence In a court of law, and since that time similar decisions have been made by the Judiciary bodies of various states. Within a few years the supreme court of the state of Missouri has decided that press copies of meteorological forms are admissible as evidence.
 The civil cases In which expert weather testimony is introduced are generally those for personol injuries. damage to perishable goods or loss by fire or storm.
 Curious Case.
 An observer was once called upon to testify In a suit in which it was alleged that Ine Didlulllt lldQ DCCl lill being pitched through the window of a car. It was set forth that on account of the raw, cold weather the plaintiff, a woman endeavored to close a window, and that on account of the sudden round- ing of a curve at that particular mo- ment she was pitched headlong out of the conveyance. Counsel for the railway company replied to the testimony of the other side by producing the weather rec ords for the day in question which showed that the weather was warm, sunny and pleasant.
 In many notable murder cases the weather man has been summoned to pro- duce records for one side or the other. In one the identity of the accused hinged upon the testimony of persons In the vicin- ity of the crime. who said that they recog- nlzed the defendant as he made his es- cape. The records showed that the night was threatening. and the jury decided after deliberation. that at the distance the witnesses were from the man wno mitted the crime it was a question wheth- CT they could distinguish his features. He was acquitted.
 In another murder trial an effort was