The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-12-12
MANY USES FOR
WEATHER DATA
Observer Alter Tells of Won
derful Workings Of the
Department.
COST Is SLIGHT, But
BENEFITS ARE GREAT
Data Recorded by Instruments
Used to Settle Many Crimi-
nal Gases.

homes Of the different members every
Sunday evening. j. Cecil Alter, United
States weather bureau observer. gave
an interesting address Sunday evening
on the uses for weather data.
Admitting that many people do not
get great deal of benefit from the
weather service, Mr. Alter said that
the value Of coast warnings. severe
storm warnings and forecasts of river
floods this year has been enough to
maintain the weather bureau for the
rest of our natural lives.
Mr.. Alter then gave various interest
ing incidents in which the weather dc
pariment has been OF great service. He
mentioned the powder explosion IN
Bingham last week, and told how the
responsibility had been fixed by the
weather bureau. The limits fixed by
law for hunting certain game are exact
sunset and sunrise time, and this met hod
OF dividing time is used in regard to
second and third degree burglary. he
said He showed how the weather hu
reau had figured conspicuously In mur
der eases, railroad accidents, locating
smelters and settling civil suits out of
court.
The address not only was interesting
but instructive, and some of those who
heard il may look the daily report over
more carefully in the future. The ad-
dress was as follows.
l grant you tho right 10 ask for an
accounting, In a measure. Tor Inc WORK
OF the weather bureau, as II has cost
each OF YOU and two-thlrds cents III
1910. and, what is more iragical. You may
not have received personal bcnefits III
comparison. However. let me reassurc
YOU that the value Of the coast warn
ings and severe storm warnings and the
forecasts OF river floods already have
been sufficient to maintain the weather
bureau the rest Of our natural lives.
The occurrence of a severe storm. colo
wave, or river flood. unhcraldcd, Is about
as rare as the arrival of an overland
train unannounccd by tho dispatcher,
The public now has come TO regard lhcse
advices as duty and not favor from
the bureau. However. IL Is gratifying
to note that the arrival of light rains
that have not been predicted does not
disturb the public any more than does
the arrival OF n handcar or switch
engine that the dispatcher has not bull
lctined.
The free use OF weather information.
as recorded by the bureaus instruments.
also has come To be regarded as a per-
feet right and not as special favor
ii Is by these records that memory's
dates arc accurately placed. in or near
a time certain kinds OF weather pre-
vailed. just us events In Bible history
are accurately fixed by the occurrence
Of cclipsns and other phenomena.
Small Stations Play Part.
This advantage is not confined TO the
offices In the charge of cities. but the
thousands of stations scattered through
out the smaller places have their val
liable part. Only this week some giant
powder exploded, near Bingham, In
mysterious manner, causing considerable
dnmage. Tho temperature record showed
that this must have been caused in
certain manner and thus the RESPONSE
bility was fixed. as this powder cam
not be exploded only III certain man
ncT.
Some mischievous persons grounded
high tension electric wire in a nearby
canyon and Injured the plant. They said.
when accused. that Il must have been
thunderstorm. but when shown that The
Sky was clear, they confessed.
A certain city in this state was of
fering water works bonds for sale. and
the only bidder made an offer that was
too low to be accepted because he said
there was not enough precipitation there
abouts to warrant a decent growth 10
terday. showed that he was right.
Exact sunrise and sunset times are
the limits by law for hunting certain
game, for exhibiting lights OH automo-
time that separates burglary in the sec
ond degree from burglary In the third
degree.
Ogden Case.
A prominent banker in Ogden recently
arrested for driving Ills car without
released when lie showed that the sun
really was up, but that the mountains
cast q shadow so long that the arrest
ing policeman was mislcd. The same
shadow OF the same mountains here in
Salt Lake has more than once resulted
Ia tho changing Of complaint from Sec
nnd 10 third degree burglary thus reduc-
ing the prospective maximum prison
sentence from twenty years to three
years.
The bureau helped An architect to de-
f,.,
a church TO prc.cnt IFS shadow reach
ing the skylight. even in the winter
when the monday sun is lowest. 1t
was also our pleasure TO assist chicken
raiser 10 locate his coops far enough
from tight fence To- let the chicks re-
ccive sunlight all winter long.
Utah moonshInc has been the convict
ing and the pardoning evidence Ia more
respects than ono. and many occa-
sions. where there has been "A question
rs To- how far and how plainly "A per-
could be seen "a: night
\ helper who had been struck by a
switch engine asked for damages. as the
engineer did no; ring his bell and the
night was dark The engineer said he
rang the bcll. and the weather man
showed that the was shining
brightly and the went against the
Tie barometric pressure AS indicated
by baroGraph. writing tile pressure
continuously. has often shown that more
air should have been pumped into The
:
and thus contentious have been amlca bly,
settled by this evidence.
Attorneys for two railronds recently in
UUircd for the wind direction on a GER
tain date at q certain hour. A nowdcr
car had been fired bv a spark from Il
passing engine and had exploded. The
powder car lay between the tracks OF
two con,Danies. and steady. unwaver
ing wind record showed unmistakably
which rnirond should pay for the pow :
der. Other fires have been paid Tor
on similar evidence. but ono. in which a
barn burned. was bitterly contested l,c-
cause OF the weather bureau wind vanc s
record, Some tramps finally confessed
10 having fire behind tho barn To cook
meal by. thus vindcating the rail-
roads claim. Smclter smoke problems
so cften have bean decided by wind rec
nrds alone that all large smclters main
tain their own weather Instruments now.
Data Settles This Case.
A sign WAS blown down, injuring a
passing woman. who sued the owners
OF the sign. alleging that IL was inse-