The Washington herald., 1913-04-17
WEATHER Chief
IS DISMISSED
Continued from PAGE one.

i
should not go into effect until July 81.
| When MIR. Wilson accepted the Moore
/ resignation il was stated openly that he
had been disguised at the efforts which
| the bureau chief had made to land an
appointment as head of the Agricultural
| Department. Obviously, however, fur
| Their disclosures have come to the Pres-
dents attention, which, in his opinion,
demand the retirement of Prof. Moore
from public service at once.
Accused by own Men.
| The charges on which the President
has acted came from men employed UNI
der Prof. Moore. AS described by Sec
! rotary of Agriculture Houston, the al
legged actions of the Weather Bureaus
| chief constituted grave misuse of
power. - The charges were brought to
| the attention of the President soon after
they had been filed. and Mr. Wilson i'm
mediately ordered a drastic investigation
| both by Secretary Houston and by At
torney General McReynolds. The Presi-
| dents letter to Mr.. Moore dismissng
| him accused him merely of 'irreg
ularities and misuse of his powers
| At the same time the President wrote
a letter to Secretary of Agriculture
Houston formally notifying him of the
dismissal of the bureau chief, and urging
| him to continue the investigation, in or
der to ascertain if other employees in the
bureau merited the same fate. In his
| letter to the Secretary Of Agriculture
Mr.. Wilson expressed the opinion that
Prof. Moore had used his Office for per-
sonal ends
Formal announcement of the Presl-
dents action was made in this statement
issued by the Secretary Of Agriculture:
Immediately after the resignation of
Prof. Moore, of the Weather Bureau, was
submitted to the President and accepted
by him, charges were filed with the Sec
rotary of Agriculture by responsible men
within the service. These charges were
of such grave nature that the Sec
rotary of Agriculture called upon the
Department of Justice for an investiga-
ton.
The investigation is still under way.
but the facts far secured and laid te-
fore the President yesterday were suf-
icient to warrant him in deciding to
withdraw his acceptance of Prof Moores
resignation and remove him summarily
from the service, which has been done to
day. The President also has directed
the Secretary Of Agriculture to suspend
Mr.. Charles I. Burns, an employe of the
Weather Bureau, pending a further in
vestigation of his case and to take such
disciplinary measures as he may deem
necessary with such other employees IT
ihc DIS may De lOuUu 10
have been unduly active in using the
public service for private and personal
ends
Opened Trenton Station.
Willis Moore's efforts to have himself
accepted into President Wilson's official
family have been the subject of talk in
Washington for a long time. For in
stance. II has been recalled that
weather station was located by him at
Trenton. soon after the Baltimore con-
vention. Up to that time Trenton had
been Obliged to depend upon Washington
for its weather forecast
Once or twice in the course of the cam
paign the fact was brought to President
Wilson's attention that Willis Moore and
his men were fighting a heroic battle in
his behalf. News came to the President
from one of Mr.. Moore's friends that the
professor had as many as thirty men
working for Mr.. Wilson's election. Soon
after the election. however. Mr.. Wilson
began 10 receive reminders of Prof
Moore's qualifications for Cabinet job.
During the Presidents stay at Prince
ton and Sea Girt his mail was flooded
with letters from friends of Moore. who, |
apparently at his solicitation or the So
licitation of Weather Bureau employees,
had written to indorse him for Secretary
of Agriculture.
Prof. Moore himself issued this state
ment last night:
II am in receipt of letter from the
President saying that an investigation
of my conduct of the business of the
Weather Bureau discloses such irregu- |
larities on my part that the interests
Of the public service demand my imme- |
date removal
Tn reply, I will say that it is the same |
old influence that attempted to displace |
and remove DR.. Harvey W. Wiley with |
out letting him see the charges or con- |
front his accusers that are now driving |
me from public office. AS an aspirant |
for the Secretaryship OF Agriculture, |
announced, If appointed, I would revoke |
the benzoaic of soda decision. abolish |
the Remson board or any other extra
judicial body in the department that |
thought had been designed to minimize |
the effectiveness Of the pure food and |
meat inspection law rather than to aid in
their efficient enforcement, and that
would restrain the activities OF the
Solicitors office to its reasonable pre-
was not selected, and. of course, have
no ground for complaint on that ac-
count.
Asked for Resignation.
But Secretary Houston. almost on en-
tering off1ce, demanded that l forward
to the President my resignation without
his ever having set foot in the office of
the Weather Bureau, without honoring
my request to see charges, if any, that
had been filed against me, permit ne
to face my accusers, or to be present in
person or by proxy and examine the wit
nesses that he summoned against me.
Literally. third-degree methods were
applied to my friends in the Weather
Bureau under such penalties that they
did not even dare to speak to me- and
then report was made to the President
that had for its object the driving of ME
IN disgrace from a service where 1 had
an honorable career for over a third of
century.
II do not believe that the great COM
nercial. agricultural, marine, education :