REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF THE WEATHER BUREAU. 



United States Department or Agriculture, 



Weather Bureau, 

 Washington^ September £8, 1918. 

 Sir: I have the honor to submit herewith a report of the opera- 

 tions of the Weather Bureau during the fiscal year ended June 30, 

 1918. 



Respectfully, 



C. F. Marvin, 

 Chief of Bureau. 

 Hon. D. F. Houston, 



Secretar'y of Agriculture. 



WAR CONDITIONS. 



War conditions have imposed various difficulties in the conduct 

 of the work of the bureau and have caused numerous changes in its 

 personnel during the fiscal year just closed. The call to military 

 service has been accorded a prompt and general response by Weather 

 Bureau men. Many who were not within the selective draft have 

 eagerly sought opportunity to render useful service and have been 

 I'eleased in numerous cases to make their qualifications and training 

 as forecasters and meteorologists of military value. A large propor- 

 tion of those within the draft are now in active service, and some 

 of these, as yet fortunately only a few, have been called to make the 

 supreme sacrifice of life itself. 



At this date 145 commissioned employees are carried on indefin- 

 ite furlough on account of military service, representing a depletion 

 of fully 25 per cent of the trained force of the bureau. A further 

 loss of 200 occurred during the year on account of resignations, 

 almost without exception on account of inadequate pay and the 

 numerous opportunities in commercial and industrial life for larger 

 salaries and better prospects of advancement. 



These consequences are inherent to the fixity of statutory employ- 

 ment rolls and the limitations upon expenditures for salaries charac- 

 teristic of the appropriations for the Weather Bureau. Many able 

 and efficient employees have left the service because of these con- 

 ditions, and the filling of vacancies has been necessarily restricted 

 to those willing to accept employment upon the relatively unfavor- 

 able terms we must offer. It is hoped that recommendations to be 

 made in the estimates may serve to partially improve these conditions. 



While all the important features of the full daily program of^ 

 Weather Bureau work have been maintained as fully as possible, cur- 

 tailments have been made in a number of minor ways, and as the 

 consequences of war conditions come to be more fully felt more 

 important limitations of our regular service must doubtless be 

 imposed. 



97335°— AGE 1918 5 57 



