64 SCIENCE 
engineer and from 100 to 200 enlisted men 
who are continually employed in work de- 
signed to protect the health of the soldiers. 
Special attention is now being given in all 
camps to cleaning up spots where mosquitoes 
and flies breed. Im some cases it has been 
necessary to dig channels in streams, drain 
swamps, and put in elaborate ditching systems 
in order to clean up stagnant pools and 
streams. In those cases where it has been 
found impossible or impracticable to drain 
swamps and to do other work of a similar 
nature, there has been installed a system for 
keeping these slow-moving streams and still 
bodies of water covered with oil. At all points 
within the camp where there is the slightest 
possibility of mosquitoes or flies breeding daily 
spraying of oil is done. 
Arrangements have been completed wth the 
Federal Public Health Service to carry out a 
similar program in the territories adjacent to 
the camps. The Health Service has agreed to 
fill bogs, open streams and drain swamps and 
continue the oil spraying for a distance of 1 
mile around all camps. 
Special precautions have been taken to pre- 
vent the spread of disease by flies. With the 
approach of the fly season a general order 
was sent to all division surgeons and other 
health officers to take all necessary steps to 
prevent the breeding of flies. Instructions 
were given on the disposal of materials that 
were likely to become breeding spots. Ar- 
rangements were made to protect all food from 
flies. With this end in view all buildings in 
which food is prepared or stored were 
sereened. The entrance to the buildings have 
been vestibuled. An added guard is the 
placing of flytraps in all buildings. An aver- 
age of 6,000 such traps have been placed in 
each camp. More than 22,700,000 square feet 
of screening has been placed in all camps. 
THE WEATHER BUREAU AND DR. CLEVELAND 
ABBE 
Tue Secretary of Agriculture has removed 
Dr. Cleveland Abbe, Jr., from his position in 
the Weather Bureau by the following order: 
For the good of the service you are hereby re- 
moved from your position as meteorologist in the 
[N. S. Vou. XLVIIT. No. 1229 
Weather Bureau of this department, effective at 
the termination of July 3, 1918. 
In transmitting Mr. Houston’s order Dr. C. 
F. Marvin, chief of the Weather Bureau 
wrote: 
I find myself cqnfronted with the most painful 
duty of transmitting to you the inclosed letter, re- 
ceived this morning from the department, remoy- 
ing you from the government service. The reasons 
for this action are connected altogether with your 
conduct and your long-standing and generally well- 
known friendly sympathies for the imperial Ger- 
man government. 
The bureau is not in possession of any of the de- 
tails of investigation or records leading to this ac- 
tion by the secretary, but it is known to result 
from investigations made by the Department of 
Justice, and which I may say were not the result 
of any suggestions or representations by employees 
of the Weather Bureau, but. were initiated entirely 
by outside sources. 
A searching inquiry of your innermost heart in 
respect to your attitude toward the United States 
government must convince you that patriotism and 
genuine loyalty to the United States are absolutely 
incompatible with friendly sentiment for German- 
ism. 
Denial of these charges is made in a letter 
written to Dr. Marvin by Dr. Abbe on July 
7. The letter follows: 
Your communication of the third, transmitting 
the very brief but astounding and inexplicable let- 
ter of the Secretary of Agriculture, so over- 
whelmed me with new duties and emotions that I 
have but now come to the realization of the unjust 
and even insulting accusations it contains to the 
effect that I have ‘‘friendly sympathies for the 
imperial German government’? and ‘‘friendly 
sentiments for Germanism.’? These I must in- 
dignantly deny. 
We have spoken together on this subject and you 
know that I have always distinguished between the 
German people and the actions of the imperial 
government since 1914, and I am glad to see that 
your letter indicates that you do not believe the 
truth of the statements you make concerning me. 
If you did believe them, duty would have required 
you to report me to the Department of Justice; but 
you state explicitly that the present action is 
‘‘not the result of any suggestions or representa- 
tions by the employees of the Weather Bureau.’’ 
However, since you have placed such a statement 
