388 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. II., No. St. 



appointment of a permanent committee of that 

 bodj' to which he may refer such questions con- 

 cerning meteorological science as may seem 

 desirable. He has inaugurated the custom of 

 consulting specialists upon various matters 

 pertaining to the service, and has shown a dis- 

 position to aid scientific research in all matters 

 related to meteorologj', as instanced in Profes- 

 sor Langiej^'s expedition to Mount Whitnej', in 

 the offer to the coast-survey of cooperation 

 in the making of pendulum-observations, and 

 in the interest shown in polar research. The 

 publication of professional papers bj^ members 

 of the staff ; the work undertaken in the waj' of 

 a revision and definitive establishment of stand- 

 ards of pressure and temperature ; a promise 

 that after a while something will be attempted 

 in the way of a studj' of atmospheric electri- 

 city ; and the proposition to offer prizes for 

 essaj's upon various meteorological problems, 

 competition to be open to the world, — are aU 

 straws that show which way the wind is blowing. ■ 



At the same time, the general observation 

 work has been much extended by the wise and 

 hearty interest which the chief signal officer 

 has shown in the establishment of state weather 

 services, which have rapidly increased in num- 

 ber through his encouragement and material 

 aid. This is particularly' fortunate just now, 

 when the general service has unfortunately 

 been crippled hy the failure on the part of con- 

 gress to make sufficient appropriations. In 

 short, it is only just to Gen. Hazen, to say that 

 he has greatly enlarged the scope of the service, 

 and that he has materialljr strengthened it 'by a 

 broader recognition of the relations which ought 

 to exist between it and the science of the country. 



It is difficult, however, to review the past 

 without indulging in speculations concerning 

 the future. It must be admitted, that the work 

 of the meteorological bureau falls far short of 

 the standard which many of its friends have set 

 for it. Many, indeed, believe that it will con- 

 tinue so as long as it remains a militarj^ rather 

 than a civil service. Each successive report 

 of the chief signal oflBicer has contained long 

 arguments in defence of its militarj' organiza- 

 tion ; and, unintentionally no doubt, the same 



reports have furnished strong arguments against 

 such organization. In order to improve the 

 character of the observing corps, considerable 

 efforts have been made, for two or three years 

 past, to induce well-educated and well-trained 

 men to enlist in the service. Under the pres- 

 ent organization, it does not seem that the work 

 could have anj' great attraction for a college- 

 bred man. In the first place, he must enlist as 

 a private in the armj' for a period of five j'ears. 

 It is true that the service is special, and that 

 his chance for promption up to a certaiu point 

 is fair ; but before beginning his work as an 

 observer, he is obliged to go through months 

 of military drill, studjs and discipline, the 

 relation of which, to the duties which afterward 

 devolve upon him, it is difficult to see. Pro- 

 ficiency in the ' manual of sabres ' or the 

 ' manual of the kit ' will not greatlj' facilitate 

 his making a barometric reduction or a dew- 

 point determination. Even after the service 

 is fairly entered, objections to the military sys- 

 tem are not less strong. Permanency of posi- 

 tion is very desirable in anj- occupation, and it 

 goes farther than most other things in securing 

 the best attainable results ; but it must be a 

 permanency very different from that which ob- 

 tains in a military service. 



The difference is best seen by a comparison 

 of the relations existing between the service 

 and the two divisions of the staff of the chief 

 signal officer, the civil and the military'. The 

 young civilians who have recently become 

 attaches of the central office have been led to do 

 so, it is almost certain, by their own fondness 

 and predilection for the studj' of meteorolog3^ 

 They bring to their work a vigor and enthusiasm 

 resulting from a thorough collegiate training, 

 followed bj' post-graduate work in which obser- 

 vation and research have pla3-ed the most impor- 

 tant part. The permanencj' of their positions, 

 and their advancement to more responsible 

 places, will, or at least should, depend solely 

 on the value of their services. With the laud- 

 able ambition to establish a reputation among 

 scientific men, they have every incentive to hard 

 work, that success maybe achieved, and failure, 

 which would be to them disastrous, avoided. 



