The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1909-05-09
The Weather Service
Is of Great Value to
the Entire Country
tcontInued From FIRST Paae)


the service than it's chief asks for,
they realize that a million and. half
dollars annually is nothing as COM
pared to a saving of more than that
amount to the people of locality or
state in the issuance of a single fore
cast. The prediction of a single
storm for the middle gulf coast or
the north Atlantic coast. or the Great
Lakes. will often save by keeping
vessels in port, cargo alone, to say
nothing of the cost of the vessels
themselves or the lives that would be
lost, more than the cost of the wealth
er bureau for one year. The weather
bureau gauges all of the important
rivers of the country, their tributaries.
and maintains rainfall stations on
their watersheds for the purpose Of
warning interests along the various
rivers of the approach of dangerous
tides. Each community receives a
daily river bulletin showing the stages
at stations up stream; each Individual
can draw his own conclusions as to
what kind of a tide is coming, or take
the Official calculation from the
weather bureau Official who has been
detailed to study the conditions OF
that locality to protect life and prop
erty. 1t is needless to say that, when
a section is in danger of being sub
merged and that community is warned
of the fact by the weather bureau,
and do move their household goods,
merchandise, stock, etc, to higher
safe ground. they save more than the.
cost to maintain the bureau for one
year.
at is necessary in. many large
cities for merchants to prop up dry
goods and other merchandise stored
in Easements because of the back
water in sewers on account of rising
rivers; calculations as to the probable
height the river will reach are fur
nished in order that they may know
just how far to raise their goods in
the Easements to escape injury or
move them out entirely.
"Stockmen who have interests on
islands along rivers are obliged to
keep in close touch with those stages
as issued daily to determine when
to move their stock to safer ground.
lust one cold wave warning in the
course of year will save for the peo-
pie of the United States the cost to
maintain the so-called expensive
weather bureau. Take one in the
month of March. for instance, coming
in over Montana with temperatures
OF twenty below zero, turning rain to
snow in the rear of a storm in the
Missouri Valley and sending its icy
blast southwark into Texas and
threatening the truck farmers crops
in the gulf districts and the orange
crop of Florida. Cattle are driven to
shelter in the great plains states, ten
der vegetation is protected in the gulf
states and smudge fires are built in
the orange groves of Florida TO pro-
tect the trees from frost, on account
of the warnings issued by the wealth
er bureau that such weather changes
are indicated Railroads are notified
and keep posted as to expected snow
storms and cold waves in order to
protect the shipment of perishable
goods Shipments of bananas from
one section of the country to another
may be withheld for one or two days
10 allow for the passage of cold
wave. On the other hand, without the
information given to the public by the
weather bureau. shipments would be
made and the fruit or produce frozen
and ruined.
eft is impossible then to estimate
fhe amount of property saved to the
neonIe of the United States by the
warnings previous to such an extern
sive cold wave. Certainly it is more
than the cost to maintain the weather
bureau for one year. The people of
California, too, have to rely upon the
inp Deriod to warn them if rain is
exnected. Since the perfection of
wireless apparatus, making possible
the communication with vessels at
sea the weather bureau has lost no
time in arranging with them for OBJ
seryations by wireless telegraphy and
sending to them while en- route to
foreign countries information con-
corning storms reported on the open
sea giving the location of same so
that the mariner can change the
course of the vessel and avoid the dis
tuTbance.
The exploration of the upper air
nv means of kites and balloons is
necessary for the advancement OF
meteorology. The bureau Is nndlng
use for these observations IN daily
forecast work The upper air re-
search observations will be used 0y
the army and the navy and the com
panies promoting aerial navigation
I'm connection with the work OF the
weather bureau on the rivers may be
mentioned the contemplated inland
waterway systems The gauge read