Evening star., 1928-04-17
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

Let's talk about the weather It is
so original and intereStingi Besides.
there are so many foolish people who
ignore the proyerb:
Button to chin
Till May be in.
Cast not q clout
Till May be out"
Eighteen inches OF snow fell over
Minnesota and the Dakotas last Sunday
and the mercury ran within seven
PAGES OF zero. The Department Of
Agriculture is authority for the croak
that the weather killed the strawberries
and potatoes in Arkansas and Okla
honla, and the peaches. wherever they
grew in the Mississippi Valley. while
the back counties. under that 10 inches
of new snow In the Midwest. have not
yet been heard from
"As the Devil said to Noah. itn soon
clear un." so let us be cozy and cheer
full. Besides, the worst is yet TO come
20 the East. Yesterday morning an
old inhabstant Of Chevy Chase alleged
that he found the water frozen an inch
thick and-the worst Is yet TO come
The cold wave was forecast BY that
prophet of evil, bird or devil. VINO
laughs at Mark Twainas whine about
the weather. Everybody complains
about the weather. but nobody does
anybody about It.
Referring 10 the man who has given
the lie to Marks quirk. Herbert J.
Browne, it is noteworthy that he Is
working out q machine now which viii
tx the weather mechanically, aStro-
rcmically and absolutely two or three
years ahead Of arrival.
He has solved the canals OF Mars
and discovered the makeup Of the sun
spots. which are as thick as tar and
which come TO the surface OF the gas
eouS sun like boiling lava. and In due
time explode with four times the en-
ergy Of INT. and the explosion creates
cloud all over and far beyond the
area Of the sunSpot. That black spot
and that great cloud eurtaining the
sun reduce the heat radiation, which
naturally lessons the volume OF heat
coming to the earth and all way-STa-
tlons OF the solar universe. So our sue
culent strawberries are frost bitten oy
the tarry sunspot 92.o0o,eo0 miles
away.
Concerning Mars. that planet used
to have oceans. but they dried up and
the whole surface OF the Marian globe
became dusty dry. The atmosphere Is
much lighter than Il Is on earth. II Is
about ike that OF the peaks Of cur
Hlrnaiayas, But IL blows great guns.
aud. blowing. 1t sweeps along the dust
in furious duStStoTmS. Wherever There
Is a mountain IN the way. that onStruc-
ton splits the current OF aaSt-laden
wind. and 50 great Sand-dunes or wind
rows of sand are swept around the t~o
sides Of the mountain obstruction. leav-
ting a straight, bare streak running out
from the lee OF the obstruction between
the Sand-dunes on each side. That's
what We mistake for straight canals"
IT Is by learning all these deep things
that We become able 10 beat the United
States Weather Bureau = YEAR or TIVE
ago. or almost any time ahead. fore
cast the rain and temperature. like
Herbert Ienson Browne. the wizard
Weather Is as flxed BY astronomical
laws as are the courses Of the stars.
Why gaeSSe
Here Is = true story about that
prophet, "medit," as monsieur might
say:
Last septemeer, when the writer
crossed the Atlantic, he demanded az
his friend Browne that ne tell him In
advance whether the voyage would he
fair or foul The forecast was given
IN writing, and the Ieyiathan had such
childlike faith in Browne that II fas~
lowed every wave exactly as toretola~- +
absolutely.
But one might have thought that
the forecast as to the return VoYaSe !
had been made Officially" for It
missed fire"-~ia = Familiarity curious !.
way II was foretola that We would /
have q terrific STERN on the fourth day /
We didnt The weather Was
So fair that Commodore Hartley vSn~ /
tured to slap the writer's wrists tor !
soaring the passengers With the false /
That was ON the bridge. /
while We gased at waves almost city In !
one hour later the waves I
began To slap the ship two hours later
they struck over che decks and averaged /
IS 10 40 feet ia height some 80, The
log testified to . gale, I" /
but II VAS not What Prophet Browne /
had promised. though IL save an open- /
ng 20 query the commodore, Who's
lOoney nawe"
Arriving IN Washington, We learned /
that Or. browne had mistaken the date
II oug sailing counted as OF the /
tenth. when We saikd on the eleventh /
That Ao-tecteaverage wave was the tail
,g nfowne'S storm somewhere else than
where We weFe, Tor our good ship meas
Ared 500 miles a day. and the storm
Itself travelled saMe leo miles an hear
IL MAS We Who missed it-u-nQk the
aruphet, We got the whip egasi OK It. In
stead VI the full foTee, thanks 90 our
ielay ot a day IN the start,
.
Returning to our mutton" the as
,ertion h made that toSiAy We have
lot Yet reached the weEst az the pres
sfeAteF celebration I'm all af our annals