Evening star., 1916-06-04

l was an astronomer professionally
with decided liking for meteorology.
l understood that the world knew but
little about atmospheric refaction or
the changing of direction in the RAYS Of
light and heat, and that if astronomers
sought to improve their meridional
measurements. they would have to in
vestigate more thoroughly their local
atmospheric conditions. This could only
be done by making numerous local OBJ
serVatlons of air, temperature and so
on.
All this l said in my inaugural ad-
dress, adding that reliable system of
weather reports would permit of fore
casts as to the weather much to the
oeneht of the people as we'll as Of as
tronomers. No one, SO far a | knew.
had ever said that forecasts of the
weather could be made | believed
once the general direction of a storm
was ascertained, the proba bilities wevr
that the storm, travelling a a measured
speed, would reach certain localities at
time that could be computed
My theory was Immediately taken
up by John Gano, president of the Gin
cinnati Chamber of Commerce. He sent
a committee to talk with me on the
subject. / more fully explained what
thought could be done and the COM
mIttee assured me that they would pay
all the expenses of the experiment.
The weather. Prof. Henry had de-
clared. came from the west. l found
forty volunteer weather reporters in
as many places east and west, but
mostly in the west, from Pittsburgh. on
the one side of the continent, to Chey-
enne. out among the Rocky mountains.
In the main, my local observers were
telegraph operators
"On the first day of September. 1869,
after months of preparation, my first
bulletin was written and hung up in
the rooms of the chamber of commerce
in Cincinnati 1t told what the weather
would probab bly, be during the coming
twenty-four hours. The word forecast
was not to be used until years later.
II am glad to say that my 'probabili-
ties were found on the whole to be
accurate though local storms some
times threw them out of balance, and
that confidence in them grew steadily.
Some persons said that l was defying
the laws of Cod and condemned me out
of the eleventh chapter and fourth
verse of Ecclesiastes. which reads: He
that observth the wind shall not sow.
and he that regardeth the clouds shall
not reap.
My Milwaukee correspondent was
Prof. Increase Allen Lapham, the nat
uralist, whose father. contractor.
helped to build the Erie canal Lap
ham aroused the interest of Gen. Hal
bert E. Paine, a member of Congress.
in my work. Mr.. Gano and William
Hooper of Cincinnati. together with
beH fdlne, began actively to aRitate
the acceptance of my plan by the ma
tional government and its extension
throughout the country.
"A bill was written by Gen. Paine 1t
became a law of Congress- all of us
putting our shoulders to the wheel.
February 9, 1870. The weather bureau.
as it is known now to every one. was
organized under the direction of the
Secretary of War. In after wears il
was transferred to the Department of
Agriculture.
I'm the November following the tri
daily weather bulletins of the army
signal service began. l had agreed TO
become the astronomer for party sur
veying a canal route in Panama. but
was summoned to Washington by Gen
Albert J. Myer. chief signal officer of
the United States Army. and asked TO
drop everything and become his me-
teorologist OF course / agreed to do
so.
For a year and until assistants
could be trained for the work CON
cocted all of the 'probab Utilities myseIf
l left my office regularly at Q in The
morning and was at my desk again AT
9 o'clock
"Thenceforth my life was spent An
the study of the weather. instead OF
the planets"
Copyright. 1915. by James B. AocrowA