Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-18

HE finest thing IN inc WoIio
- is 10 save lives I've de-
voted my entire life to 1t.
and / find that 1t pays. A
man who knows that he
has saved lot of lives-women 5,
especially-ought to be able to rest quiet
" in his grave when the time comes
The man who said those words GER
tainly deserves a rest when his work is
over He has saved so many lives that
trying to add them up is useless Let
them 60 at a millionaire probabilities
are that they total up more than that
He is Father Jose Algue, a Spanish
Jesuit priest, director of the Philippine
weather bureau at Manila. For over
twenty years all his waking hours have
been devoted TO that hobby of his-iife
saving. He has pitted himself manfully
against the most dreaded OF far eastern
calamities, the typhoon. BY patient sys-
tematizing and ingenious inventions he
has pushed forward. step by step. until
il looks now as If ne had at last worsted
the old typhoon demon that used TO sw oep
sea and land at will tearing up villages.
towns and cities in his path, strewing the
beaches with shattered hulks and the
corpses of seafarers.
Perched in the Manila observatory,
Father Algue schemed and calculated
and pondered and jotted down figures
and erased them again until at last he
rose from his chair one day with the
dream OF his life realized. He had work
ed out the idea for making an instrument
that would tell not only of the typhoon.
but OF the course il would take. BY
means of this, Father Algue figured, a
skipper would be able TO dodge the ty-
phOon and compel II TO spend its violence
miles away on the open sea, instead or
enyeloping his ship In its bowling, blind
ing vortex, tearing out masts and fun
nels and cabins. and hurting him and his
men like as not, 10 the bottom
That instrument. which its inventor
calls the barocyclonometer, is now in
use on upward OF Loo ships that sail the
waters OF the far east. and IL has carried
the fame Of its inventor. already great in
Manila and throughout the Philippines.
to the remotest corners OF the orient And
now Father Alsue Is in this country. in
answer to summons from the United
States government. which is going TO
adopt the barocyclonometer on American
warships. For the past month ne has
been busy in Washington and Havana
adapting the Pacific calculations for use
a modified form OF the instrument that
has been so successful in the east will be
equally effcacious III warning mariners of
The approach of hurricanes and other
storms. and making il possible for them
10 slip out of harms way.
Father Algue was in Washington last
week. where. with the help of Capt.
jayne, superintendent OF the naval OBJ
servatory, he thoroughly satisfied the
government as to the value OF his inven
ton. Yesterday he sailed for London.
where the first barocyclonorneter for use
on the Atlantic will be made Under his
personal supervision. When that is done
the busy priest will take the long Jour
ney back 10 Manila, and once more de-
vote himself 10 running up his danger
signals for the protection of seafarers
and landlubbers, and send out his code
messages OF warning 10 dozens OF places
that would otherwise he at the mercy OF
the typhoon. and doubtless stick 10 this
splendid life work OF his TIL the end of
his days Then let US hope. he Will rest
as one who has used his life for the BEN
ent or his fellow-men l4ght to rest
But, fortunately. he looks as IL that
DAY were still far distant. He was hale
and active, and there was vim in his
gestures and steadfastness in his eye as
he sat beside reporter and told about
his invention ana the chill panic that
grips the Inhabitants Of the far east
when the cyclone signal Is run up and
the quick work of warning that must be
accomplished within the space OF a few
hours II lives are to be saved. For. in