The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1916-03-23
WEATHER BUREAU
CONDEMNS PLAN
Chief Marvin Warns Public
Not to Put Faith in Long
Range Forecasts.
AN ATTACK ON MOORE
Official Statement Indirectly Hits For
mer Weather Head, Who Defends
Carothers System.

Another shot has been fired in the con-
tention now going on between Charles F.
Marvin. chief OF the Weather Bureau.
and DIT. Willis L. Moore. former head of
that bureau and now professor Of meteor
ology at George Washington University,
over the recently discussed long range
method Of determining the weather Mr..
Marvin yesterday warned the public
against these forecasts. asserting that
they have no scientific value and that
the claims for them are unwarranted.
DR.. Moore recently gave The Washing
ton Herald detailed statement Of what
he claims to be the discovery OF a sci
enlist named CarotheTs. Of Houston. Tex.
which provided forecasts two and even
three weeks in advance with a greater
scientific eXactitude than. Is done by the
Weather Bureau. Mr.. Marvin made the
assertion at a banquet some days later.
that the forecasting method was a fake
DIT. Moore than gave an instance where
CarOthers had correctly fOrecasted weeks
In advance what the Weather Bureau
had been unable to forecast two days in
advance.
The statement Of the Weather Bureau
reads partly in these words:
The chief OF the United States
Weather Bureau stated today that in the
opinion Of the bureau a new system Of
long-range weather foTecastinG. which
has been widely discussed recently, was
quite fsllacious. The new system Is
said to be based on the spottedness OF the
sun and riffs and shafts Of solar radia-
ton. In the opinion of the Weather
Bureau it belongs in the same class with
other methods OF IOng-range weather
fOreCasting based on lunar. planetary,
msgneti, and astrological considerations.
None Of these systems, it is said, has
any scientific value.
Bureau studies Method.
During the past few years the
Weather Bureau has received full specih-
cstiOns concerning all the essential de-
tails Of this particular system The al
legged discovery Is. therefore, fully known
10 the Weather Bureau and has been
carefully studied and examined by its
scientific STAFF
Moreover. other scientists of interna-
tional reputation now Onnected with the
strongest Institutions Of the world en-
gagged In astronomical research, and con-
Quoting inyestiSa tions into solar and ter
restrial physics, have also passed upon
these new theories. These authorities
are in accord that the deductions and
conclusions drawn from the solar con-
ditiOns on which the new system Is based
are unwarranted
When the disk of the sun Is infinitely
examined with powerful telescopes. or
when it is photographed with the aid of
;hc modern ACKNOWLEDGMENT the sur
face presents a characteristic spotted ap-
peaTance which underEoes slight changes
from day to day. and greater changes
with longer intervals Of time, depending
upon the well-known rotation Of the sun
upon its axis and the periodic recurrence
or the sUnspOt maXima and minima.
Thee and certain well-known related
phenomena are now put forward as the
basis Of a new science which will make
possible forecasts OF the weather far in
advance. That these features of solar
activity. however, actually should con-
troll and determine the daily changes and
sequence Of weather conditions in any
definite or direct and consequential
manner. is regarded by the government
scientists as quite impossible. Solar
phenomena of the kind described do not
have any direct influence upon the
weather at any particular time and place
and can not be made the basis OF any
forecasts Whatsoever