Evening journal., 1914-07-29
New News Of Yesterday
How Norman B. Ream
Studied a Cyclone
By Holland.

Norman B. Ream, who for many years
was a citizen of Chicago, and who has
long been esteemed one Of the leading
business forces of the United States,
sometimes narrates TO his friends the
manner in which the Inspiration came TO
him from which has been developed the
modern structural iron and steel build
ing. II came at a moment when he
stood on the rear platform of a car Of a
train bound for Denver which had been
tagged upon bridge There came,
closely following this train, another
train at the head of which was a very
heavy locomotive The steel bridge sup
| ported these two trains without percep-
| tible vibration and it suddenly occurred
to Mr.. Ream that if steel and iron were
strong enough to do that why should il
not be possible to erect a structure upon
the perpendicular which would bear
as heavy a strain as a horizontal steel
and iron structure like a bridge
When he reached Denver. he communi.
Gated with an architect of Chicago in ref
erence TO this idea and speedily there
after the first structural steel building
of Chicago was erected.
While / was chatting with Mr.. Ream
at a time when he was describing the
first construction Of lofty steel and iron
buildings he told me that one of the
most, difficult problems TO solve was so
to construct a building that it would
be cyclone-proof and would be able TO
stand the force Of any appreciable gale.
! He knew something about cyclones and
he narrated TO me two personal expert
ences which in part served him with ex-
periences of which some use was made
when the proposition before the archi
tects was how cyclone proof structure
could be built.
IL have seen the approach and the
wild-careering, terrific sweep of two cy-
Clones said Mr.. Ream. "3oth were in
the southern part of Iowa. Both occur
red good many years ago. At one time
had been IN Missouri, Just over the
border line from Iowa, to visit cattle
ranch, and it was necessary for me in
order to reach a train to drive several
miles across the border into the State
of Iowa. Heavy clouds were piling NJ
in the west and southwest. And ther,
appeared TO be two distinct stornR
separated by an interval of two or three
/ miles.
My friends in Missouri warned m,
that the danger of a cyclone was very
great. They knew from experience how
these gigantic terrestrial forces appeal
and what their destructive work is.
thought, however, that it was best to 9,
on, but | had driven but a few miles be-
fore / saw the two storms gradually ap
preaching each other. The appearance O
the clouds was very Ominous and ther,
was a sitting atmospheric condition.
Il thought, however, that / coul'
drive so as to escape the storm, whicl
] knew would extend over a compare
lively small area. Yet no one can tel
the course Of an approaching cyclone.
Judged that il was the better part 70
me TO drive my horse into a gully
which fortunately was near at hand. j
was a deep gully, the top of my carriagl
being about on a level with the prairie
"Only a moment or two after / ha,
driven into the gully heard a tumul
that was appalling. ] had been in tn
thick OF battle in the civil war, but
never heard any sound equal to this. /
was a frightful roar. No words coul
describe il. In a moment the cyclon
had passed on and its track was onl
little way beyond the gully where
was. l noticed the curious eHecl upo
the grass of the prairie and | was espe
cially impressed by the eXtraordinar
litter of articles-boards, shingles ha
and fences-which lay strewn in til
path of the cyclone, and which had bee
picked up by the prodigious force of thi
agency and carried along as though the
were feathers. When ] got my hors
and carriage ont of the gully the storr
had completely disappeared so far as
could see. But ! heard that it had bee
very devastating before it was entirel
dissipated."
Copyright, 1914, by Z. J. Edwards. A
rights reserved.l
Tomorrow Mr.. Edwards will tell
The Curious Freak of an Iowa Cyclone