Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-27
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL y. COLLINS.

1.-THE farmers are very foolish to
support any measures like the plan
to have the Government dump their
surplus crops onto Europe. What the
Government should do is to build
great storage and save the grain, in
anticipation Of world famine. We
should do as Joseph did in Egypt. A
| world famine is coming, because of
the weather conditions resembling
the conditions of 1916, which was
known as the Year Without a Sum,
mer.'"
Such is the foreboding of the long
bert Janvrin Browne Of Washington.
He so predicted in January, 1926, con-
corning the season of 1927. This was
given out in his address before the
National League of Commission Mer'
chants at Chicago. One year later,
January, 1927, he again spoke before
the same body, and, referring to gar
bled reports of his speech Of the year
| previous, he said
"I have never forecasted a Sum.
merless year. Certain sensational
newspapers, wanting to make a good
story, or perhaps MISUNDERSTANDING
my statements, widely circulated a
story some months ago that L SAID
1927 would be q 'Summerless year. i
have never been able to catch up with
| that yarn.
what have forecasted is that this
wear. 1927, will see a return through
out the Northern Hemisphere OF
weather conditions closely parallellng
| those of the famous year 1916, Ill
years ago. historically known as The
| Year Without a Summer 1t had a
Summer, but that Summer was char.
acterized by such extraordinary AND
violent fluctuations of weather as to-
| in large areas, practically all over the
| Northern Hemisphere. reduce crops
| to a low position. From the
| 18th to 10th of June a snowstorm
| ragged ali the way from the Ohio and
Potomac north. There was inches
of snow in Maryland, and the quantity
| increased toward the North.
I can get records Of only one place
and that a field Of less than an acre,
| in which corn was matured north OF
| the Ohio and Potomac, and that was
| q little patch in Vermont. he
built stump fires around that patch
every threatening night, and he was
peddling it the following Spring by
| the handful for seed. My grand
| fathers both confirmed the statement
that in their neighborhood corn on
| the cob for seed, held over from the
crop of 1915, was selling in the Spring
of 1917 for S. to $40 a bushel.
X X X x
Mr.. Browne went on to explain to
| that audience Of commission mer-
| chants, last January, on what ne
| had based his statement that 1877
| would resemble 1916. He was re-
| ferring, he said, to the fact that
| solar radiation of 1917 resembled
| solar radiation of 1916, owing to
| sun spots. And right there is where
scientists are now splitting. and both
| parties are ready to prove that the
| other is unscientific. Behind Mr..
| Browne. the long distance forecaster,
stands DR.. c. G.. Abbot of the Smith
| sonian institution, one of the world s
| highest authorities on sun spots and
| the variation of the suns radiated
| heat, caused by the presence or abb
sence of sun spots. When there are
no spots the maximum of heat pours
out in space. The rays lose no heat
in passing through ETHEREAL space,
but when they fall upon the earth
| the heat is absorbed and radiated
| back into the air. Seven-tenths of
| the earth's surface 10 water. ana
| water retains heat much longer than
| does rock or sand or soil A tropical
desert becomes burning hot during
J the day. but equally cold during the
night. Not SO water. especially salt
water. which absorbs the heat and
retains It, carrying It In the currents