The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1909-11-09
BY Walden Fawcett.
WASHINGTON, D. c., Nov.

WASHINGTON, D. c., Nov. 8.
On the eve of Presidents in
auguration last March z, when
everybody was wondering whether
goloshes and fur overcoats were
or were not in order the next day,
the weather bureau prophesied in
a special forecast that the weather
would be fine.
And the next day it showed.
Also it rained, hailed, sleeted,
blew and a few other things.
DR.. Willis L. Moore, chief of the
bureau, was plainly flustered. So
was all Washington. So flustered
were the congressman and the Of
ficials who hold Uncle Sans
purse-strings that more than
$4,000 has been spent so that
it may never happen again.
AS result of this expenditure,
Mount Weather now has been put
on the map. 1t is an eminence in
the Blue Ridge mountains, down
in Virginia, AZ miles from here,
and Uncle Sam owns the whole
place.
In future it will be the place
where the weather comes from.
Prof. David Tod recently had a
theory that there were mines of
kno wledge up in the air that ought
to be explored. Uncle Sam has
turned air-explorer as a result of
Mount Weather. He will mine
the air with a shaft thousands of
feet high, and is already tunnel
ing through the ozone with big
captive balloons and box kites.
The weather house that Uncle
Sam built is on the ruins of one
that was burned before it had
progressed very far. The govern
ment bought Mount Weather,
which covers II acres, six years
ago. 1t is 1925 feet above sea
level, and overlooks the Shenan-
doah valley from Strasburg to
Harpers Ferry. The scenes of the
battle of Bun Run and Of John
Browns raid are in full view.
1t Is six miles from the, near
est railroad station to the base
of the mountain. Four-horse teams
had to haul all the heavy stone
and other building material clear
to the top before the group of OBJ
lservatories, laboratories and big
main building could be built. But
this isolation is Just what the gov
eminent wanted.
The study of the upper air re-
quired an area of high wind We
locity. Every boy who has flown
a kite knows that when he got his
kite into what boys call 1.-The
third current" he didn't need to
worry about that kite staying up
there. Uncle Sam wants to get up
higher than that.
There are two big electric reels
at the top of the mountain, which
pay out piano wire for the box
kites and balloons. Two of these
big kites will pull so hard that a
team of horses would be dragged
|along by them.
Kites have been flown at Mount
Weather at the remarkable height
of $4,000 feet, which is higher
than most balloonists have
assembled. Captive balloons are
sent up nearly every week to
heights of several miles, where
the rare air would kill man.
The open country around Mt.
Weather is ideal for taking obser-
vations from great heights. A box
of valuable instruments is fasten-
ed to kite or balloon, and then
will be sent up as high as posi-
BILE. The temperature, velocity of
the wind, humidity and baromet-
rio pressure will be recorded au-
dramatically. When the box is re-
covered 1t Is possible to foretell
the weather for great territory.
So it's safe bet there will never
be another frost in the weather
prophesy line like there was at
Washington early this year.