The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1954-06-30
Reactions OF Clients Vary
BY FRANK CAREY
AP Science Reporter


WASHINGTON R-The debate
over whether to renew a contract
with rain-making firm was get
ting hotter and hotter at a meeting
of officials in San Diego County,
Calf.
Mayor Lloyd Hammond of Coron-
ado threw in this comment:
"A day of prayer would be more
effective and would save taxpay-
ers money"
His honor later qualified the re-
mark to some. extent, but it under
scores the mixed reactions turned
up in an informal Associated Press
survey of rain makers and rain
making.
Commercial cloud-seeding firms
have been in operation since short
ly after DR.. Vincent Schaefer sue
ceeded in producing man-made
snow in a laboratory experiment
at Schenectady, N. Y, in 1916.
Some of the firms are manned
by top-flight scientists. They have
been hired by local communities,
farmers, organizations, public utili.
ties and others. The firms gener-
ally claim they're able to produce
through seeding clouds with dry
ice or silver iodide-increases in
precipitation up to 50 per cent
above what might normally be ex.
pected. One of them claims a more
than 300 per cent increase during
job in Dallas, Tex.
The AP survey shows the reac.
tons of clients vary. Most are
simply undecided as to whether
they got their moneys worth, but
of these some still are stringing
along. In other instances rain-mak.
ing firms have been rehired fol
several seasons.
Property owners who suffered
damage from excess rainfall insist
upon taking the rain makers
claims at face value. Suits totalinl
two million dollars have beer
brought against cloud seeders by
some residents of New York state
who claim they were hurt by toe
much rain. Three damage suits are
pending against prominent West
ern cloud Seeder as the result q
a flood in Ell Reno, Okla, in 1858
On the bouquet side for the rain
makers, the survey turned up such
remarks as this one by President
A. S. Cummins of the California
Oregon Power Co., the first power
company in the nation to launch ar
organized long-term plan of clouc
seeding in hope of raising water
levels in its reservoirs:
''We have had three good years
We think we've seen definite re
suits. We can't prove it statistical
ly, but we're satisfied. We expec
to continue the experiment for an
other two years"
In the Sacramento area of Cal
ifornia the number of farm group!
sponsoring rain-making venture!
has dropped from eight to fou
since 1851. But all three majol
power companies in the area ar,
continuing fuIl-scale rain-makin,
efforts.
In several Wyoming counties
drives are under way to raise fund
for cloud-seeding projects. So fal
the farmers don't appear to b,
so interested as in past years.
Arizona farmers have spent sew
eral hundred thousand dollars OF
such projects in the past but can
make up their minds whether ben
efits resulted.
In New Mexico there was grea
enthusiasm several years ago, bu
no projects are under way now
Ranchers and farmers say the,
think rain making might work bu
that they see no immediate hopes
Farmers in Yakima and othe
counties of Washington, organizes
as the Horse Heaven Water Devel
opment Corp, have given a com
mercial cloud seeder a new con
tract lasting until Inn 1850 Pair