1890.] The Modern Weather Bureau. 21 



In the weekly bulletin of the French Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science, you will find a letter of mine written at this time to 

 Leverrier offering him a daily synopsis of American weather for use 

 in European predictions. A project that has since been realized, 

 although of course we have not yet learned how to make the best use 

 of American weather synopses in the predictions of European storms. 



While my work in Cincinnati was in the first months of its infancy,, 

 it was everywhere well spoken of by an appreciative public press as a 

 step in the right direction. My correspondent in Milwaukee,. 

 Prof. J. A. Lapham, not content with sending me his daily weather 

 telegram, determined to, if possible, secure predictions for the 

 benefit of the commerce of Lake Michigan. I had myself some 

 months earlier presented the same subject to the Board of Trade 

 in Chicago and also to the daily newspapers in New York, and 

 the better success of Prof. Lapham's efforts was largely due to 

 the counsel of his friend, Gen. H. E. Paine, the member of 

 Congress from Milwaukee, who, as he himself has told me r 

 advised that the memorial prepared by Lapham for use in the West, 

 should instead be addressed directly to Congress ; he also suggested 

 that the " National Board of Trade," as representing all the business 

 interests of the country, should be asked to support the project of a 

 National Weather Bureau for the benefit of commerce and agriculture 

 The next meeting of this Board occurred at Richmond, Virginia, in 

 November 1869, and on that occasion the delegates from Cincinnati 

 united in the support of the resolutions favouring a national system 

 that were introduced by the delegates from Milwaukee. In December, 

 Gen. Paine submitted to our Congress, at Washington, the memoriaL 

 prepared by Prof. Lapham and a "Bill" that proposed- the establish- 

 ment of a National Weather Service to be conducted by a high 

 scientific authority. Immediately that this step became public, the 

 Secretary of War authorized the Chief Signal Officer of the Army to 

 present his views on the subject of storm and weather signals, the 

 outcome of which was the passage on February 4, 1870, of a "Joint 

 Resolution," authorizing the Secretary of War " to organize a system 

 of telegrams and reports for the benefit of commerce and agriculture."' 

 On this comprehensive base, the Secretary authorized Gen. Myer to 

 build up a great meteorological system, which his successors, Generals 

 Hazen and Greely, have developed and modified until at present it 

 constitutes a near approach to the ideal Weather Bureau, and as such 

 invites our attention to-night. 



The original organization of the Signal Office is due to Gen. A. J\ 

 Myer, and it was conceived by him before 1860, but during our four 

 years of war received its greatest development. Established as a 

 separate corps of the army, the signalmen and officers were required 



