The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1914-05-09
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IM seaman, ensue, dubbed"
Why. certainly, help your
k&0 self, glad to know you, sir,
or anything else you wish.
That's about what you would say to
anyone who stepped up to you on
the street with a knowing air and de-
livered himself Of the above quota
ton. There would be just chance
that he was kidding If he pulled it
verbally. but If he sent 1t to you via
wireless-well. there would be but
one answer, "bughouse."
At least that would be your nat
ural surmise, and you little know how
wrong you would be. For instance,
the government weather bureau at
Washington receives just such mes
sages every day In the year. And the
weather bureau men know that these
apparently "dippy" messages are
really an important part Of q great
and intricate system which Uncle
Sam supports to tell the people OF
the United States what the day rs
going to bring forth In the matter OF
weather.
As a matter Of fact, ~Colic, Dalma-
tian," ETC.. when translated, signifies
that the steamer Monterey is saying
that at 700 q. m. on the seventh OF
the month. she Is In latitude % de-
grees 81 minutes; that the barometer
is 1904, the temperature 80: that the
wind is northeast blowing IA miles
an hour. and that the sky is clear.
Rather an original and unique way
of saying It, is 1t not?
1t is a mighty slick little organiza-
ton, this weather bureau Of the de-
partment Of agriculture. 1t keeps a
small army Of experts busy from
seven o'clock In the morning until
midnight every day in the year keep
ing track Of just what Old Man
Weather is up to. cataloguing all his
idiosyncrasies and doping out what
new caper he is about to cut up.
No ghost Of an atmospheric dis
turbance, no storm wrath or cold
wave apparition can stalk abroad in
any Granny of the states. nowadays,
without being instantly bounced upon
by the nearest bureau. and its would
be secret maneuvers spread broad
cast to other stations that they may
expect its coming and set in motion
their machinery for doping out the
exact time OF its appearance. It was
only comparatively recently that the
efficiency of the weather bureau was
enhanced by an arrangement between
the department and many of the big
steamship lines to send semtdaily
weather reports from vessels at sea
beyond distance Of rs miles from
port.
Many people have an idea that there
Is something mysterious and occult
about the work of the weather bureau
In forecasting the coming OF storms,
frosts and floods. Not a few think
that the observers must neces-
sarily get their data by reading the
planets, the stars and the moon. As
q matter Of fact the forecaster Of the
bureau foretells the coming Of disturb
ances in q businesslike way. very STINT
lar to that in which man who has
ordered q shipment Of goods would
estimate the date Of its arrival.
Suppose q business man had OF.
dered carload Of pineapples from
the Hawaiian islands. He would know
the average time It would take the
steamer to make the trip to the Pa
cific port. the average time for un-
loading and loading into refrigerator
cars, and the average number Of days
TO be allowed these cars for their trip
across the continent to New York.
His estimate. however. would be sub
ject to error. because the steamship
might be delayed by fog. or the cars
might meet with an accident
Storms. like pineapples. 40 . rule
do not originate In the United States.
They come to IN. some from the Phil
ippines. Japan, Siberia, Alaska, Cana
da or the Gulf Of Mexico. The wealth
er bureau gets cable. telegraphic or
wireless notice Of q foreign storm.
Station after station, or vessel after
vessel reports the storms arrival In
IL neighbofhood. % that the ganeral
direction and ra4s Of progress en- be
Astarmined vssy early. IN tAct. the