Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-07
WEIGHS SUNSHINE
MEASURES THE AIR
Charles Frederick Marvin,
Head of Weather Bureau,
Author and Scientist.

What does quart Of sunshine weigh
The obvious answer is that nobod,
knows That answer would be wrong
Charles Frederick Marvin knows. He
is the man who runs tape measure
over the wind and puts impalpable
vapors in the scales and holds his thumb
on the papitating pulse of the earth
Between times he performs miracles. Al
ways he is a quiet. kindly. Infinitely
patient man. Even the follies of Dame
Nature do not make the chief of the
weather bureau frown.
Marvin wasn't even a name to ouT
ninety millions until lately. Eight years
ago German scientists recognized him as
the greatest meteorologist in the world
Then he became the greatest seismOlo-
gist, and earthquakes began calling him
up to tell their symptoms. But he kept
in his back office and off the first page
until Secretary of Agriculture Houston
accepted the resignation of Chief Willis
Moore
Begins Search for Scientist.
Now said Mr.. Houston. Il mus,
have scientist. Doesn't any one know
nice SCIENTIST"
So Houston wrote to members of the
National Academy of Science asking
them to suggest a man for the place. He
naturally expected them to nominate a
member. Government employees are
barred from membership in the academy
but the academicians replied:
Marvin is the man.
And when Mr.. Houston asked .'Who
is Marvin" they replied vaguely to the
effect that:
why, Observation-Disclosures, That's
ALL
Marvin entered by the civil service
route in 1884, being the first high grad.
man to take a civil service examination
Two years later he was chief of the in
strument division. He had had a thor
ough training in mechanical science a,
Ohio State University. incidentally, he
was a genius. All the work of the
bureau is done by instruments. Marvin
invented or improved them all.
Interminable Pages Of Figures.
Between times he has written many
books filled with interminable pages OF
figures. The lay reader finds them wildly
incomprehensible The scientist keeps
them on his shelves for reference. His
tables of vapor pressure first reduced to
which result in rain. hail or snow
Twenty years ago Marvin did the first
scientific kite flying. Then ne invented q
self-registering instrument-the Marvin
meteorgraph-which brought back every
item OF information about conditions ir
the upper air. Then the world became
excited about kite flying.
Il Will offer a prize for the best paper
on kites" said Octave Chanute, the
Chicago engineer.
II have just concluded my monograph
on that subject said Mr.. Marvin 1T
| is awaiting publication. Do you care t.
| look at it,
| Chanute paid him the prize. Then hi
began to- play with earthquakes. He in
vented the seismograph which is in use
wherever they use such things. He wrot.
| a few large volumes about earth tremors
When not otherwise engaged he invented
| things for the government-not one Of
| which ever protted him penny OF
| course.
Known as Mechanical Genius.
| Over and over he has been called a me
| chanical genius-it was only the Other
| day that some one bought an inventio,
| that was fifteen years old and fifteer
years forgotten-but he has never caree
for money. He has preferred to stay IL
his office. doing the good. solid, sub
| stantial work that has made the weathe
bureau of the United States the first i,
efficiency on earth He was born In Put
| nam. Ohio, is fifty-two years old thor
| going and mentally honest and pa
| acknowledgement!
What difference do few years max
TO man who works with the forces tina