The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1907-01-29
SEA WEATHER SERVICE
Scheme For a Worldwide Fore
casting System.
EVERY SHIP A WIRELESS STATION


Would Have All Ocean Vessels
Equipped with New Telegraph De-
Wicklow 1t Would Greatly Lessen
Dangers of NavigatiOn-How Organ
ixation Can BE Easily Effected.
Willis l.. Moore. chief Of the Ameri-
can weather bureau, hopes to see the
day when every ship of any size that
sails the seven seas will be weather
observatory. equipped with instruments
furnished by the weather bureau OF
the department of agriculture and
making daily reports of its observa'
tons either directly to Washington or
10 some wireless telegraph station that
will transmit them to Washington, says
a special dispatch to the New YORK
World.
AS corollary weather reports issued
at least daily would be furnished to
every ship having a wireless telegraph
equipment. Then the dangers Of nayi-
CATION would be greatly lessened, for II
a navigator can have twenty-four
hours warning of a storm that is NOV.
ing in his direction he can take meas
ures to sail out of the probable track
of the disturbance or if that is imprac-
ticable take steps to have his ship in
such a state Of preparation that the
danger of wreck is reduced to mini
mum.
By the use of wireless telegraphy.
says Chief Moore. it will be possible to
discover where storms originate if that
point Of origin is within the regions in
which ships sail in numbers great
enough to afford opportunities for re-
ports. On land and sea there are In
struments which measure within a few
feet of a break in an electric current
1t will be possible to figure almost as
closely with respect to destructive
storms.
The American wea Their service gave
warnings Of the approach of the recent
southern hurricane in time for all ships
along the coast above the southern end
of Florida to get into shelter. The fact
that the storm continued eastward
after passing through the straits Of
Florida instead of curving northward
and come boiling up the coast does not
detraet from the value of the warning.
The storm simply failed to go where 1t
would have caused the greatest de-
StructiOn had there been no warning.
If the wireless telegraph service had
been in existence all the shipping in
the lane leading from Europe to the
West Indies would have been warned
of its approach, together with an az
curate statement of the direction it had
when it departed from the ken of the
observers on land Navigators in that
lane, knowing that the storm would
not strike anything to again change its
course. would have been justified in
believing that it was coming straight
for them long before their barOmeters
began showing them the existence Of 6
disturbance somewhere . 'ar them.
There is good foundation upon
which to rear the proposed superstruc-
ture. Great Britain. France, Germany
and Spain, in Europe, and Japan, In
the orient, maintain weather services
patterned after ours. the pioneer in
that line OF research, With which an
exchange Of news is maintained The
daily weather maps Of those countries
are sent to the United States govern
ment, and all the storms reported to
them are carefully recorded by the
forces employed by the United States
government.
The other day in the bureau of ocean
meteorology photographer was trans.
ferring the lines made by the japanese
photographers to blank map Of his
own. The Japanese record will be of
use in the future to show what was
happening in the eastern seas on
given day, and q comparison Of such
maps will enable fOrecasters to obtain
a good idea of what will happen else
where.
An international agreement either in
the form of a treaty or a mere agree
ment between the heads of the various
services will be needed to make the
proposed service of value. 1t will be
Necessary to have it understood what
part of tle seas each nation will under
take to cover with It's oWn reporters
of phenomena else there would be end
less confusion.
One great obstacle now to such a
system is the fight among the invent
ors Of the various systems of wireless
telegraph instruments. They will not
communicate with each other. That
state Of affairs will not exist a month
after any one Of the strong govern
ments decides that there must be an
Interchange between the rival systems,
such as is made by the railroads of the
United States. This government can
forbid the transmission of messages for
any system that refuses to exchange
with another just as easily as it can
forbid the transportation from one
state to another of meat that has not
been inspected by the federal govern
ment. The national government has no
right to force it's inspection upon citi-
Iens Of any state but its right to for
bid or to regulate interstate commerce
is unquestioned. The rival wireless
systems could be treated in that way.