(Witness: Wadsworth.)

Mr. WADSWORTH. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. And the testimony of Professor Moore in those hearings for the purpose of ascertaining whether any other references were made?

Mr. WADSWORTH. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. And have not been able to find any other references?

Mr. WADSWORTH. None made to Mount Weather at all.

The CHAIRMAN. Have you any recollection of ever having had any conversation with the Professor, with reference to this research institution at Mount Weather, outside of these hearings?

Mr. WADSWORTH. I have not the slightest recollection of ever having any conversation with him on that point-as to what he was doing there, or anything about it.

The CHAIRMAN. So, as a matter of fact, the Mount Weather institution, or research institution, or observatory, whatever it is, had been actually started and some considerable money expended before you knew anything about it?

Mr. WADSWORTH. Before we realized he was going on with it; yes. My point is this: That I do not think the committee ever intended to give the authority to build such an institution there. We never had that intention.

The CHAIRMAN. Then you never concurred with him in the idea that he would be authorized under that appropriation to enter into such construction?

Mr. WADSWORTH. Not to my knowledge. I have not the slightest recollection of it.

The CHAIRMAN. I notice that in his hearing before you in 1902 he refers to the Yellowstone Park. Let me have his exact language. Mr. WADSWORTH. "Mr. Moore. Yellowstone Park you had in last year."

The CHAIRMAN. That evidently referred to the appropriation bill for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1902?

Mr. WADSWORTH. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. I find on looking over that appropriation bill that it specifically authorized the construction of the following stations: Atlantic City, N. J.; Hatteras, N. C.; Fort Canby, Wash.; Fort Crescent, Wash.; Tatoosh Island, Wash.; Point Reyes, Cal. Mr. WADSWORTH. Yes: I remember those.

The CHAIRMAN. And that is all that were authorized to be constructed. So evidently that was an inadvertence on the part of the Professor?

Mr. WADSWORTH. He named all those; and yet I have a very distinct recollection that in the hearings before the committee a station at Yellowstone Park was mentioned.

The CHAIRMAN. But not included with those?

Mr. WADSWORTH. Mr. Moore was evidently mistaken about its being put definitely into the law.

The CHAIRMAN. I will read a short extract from Professor Moore's examination before our committee, on this precise point, so that you will appreciate the point of the inquiry I have made (p. 187):

The CHAIRMAN. Are we to understand, Professor, with reference to the plant to which your attention has been called, on Mount Weather, that so far as that enter

(Witness: Wadsworth.)

prise is concerned the Agricultural Committee were consulted with reference thereto before you embarked thereon, and that the regular development from that time on has been after conversations with and understandings with them?

Professor MOORE. That is the understanding; after a full discussion and understanding with that committee, and with their belief that my authority under the direction of the Secretary was ample to go ahead with that work.

The CHAIRMAN. That was your view of the construction of the law, and they concurred with you in that construction?

Professor MOORE. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. And that was without any protest on the part of the committee? Was there any dissenting opinion?

Professor MOORE. Not one.

The CHAIRMAN. So that the Committee on Agriculture have, so far as their attention has been called to the subject, acquiesced in this, and the subject was called to their attention in the beginning?

Professor MOORE. The hearings will show that this has been thoroughly gone over. The CHAIRMAN. And it is a fact that their attention was called to it at the inception? Professor MOORE. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. And that there was no protest made so far as you know by any member of the committee?

Professor MOORE. No, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Against the construction placed on the statute or the inauguration of the enterprise?

Professor MOORE. Yes; that is true.

It was because of this that we wanted to get the view of the committee as to their understanding of the situation. Have you any changes to make in that statement?

Mr. WADSWORTH. As I said before, the first time that Mr. Moore ever called attention to the Blue Ridge Mountain station was in that testimony which I have read from the hearings of 1902-December 8, 1902. That was the first time the committee ever knew anything about it; and you see by his own language that it is a change from some station to Blue Ridge Mountain; that he first contemplated using the money for another station, and changed from Yellowstoneor, if that is a mistake, from some other station-to the Blue Ridge. So you see that was the first knowledge the committee had of the contemplated building at Bluemont.

The CHAIRMAN. I ought to go a little further in his answer from which I last quoted:

And my mind is very clear for this reason, that after I had explained the necessity of taking up experimentation they seemed to be anxious that I should begin such experimentation, and the chairman asked me how much was necessary to be set aside for the purpose--I do not know whether that was taken down by a stenographer or not-and my answer was that I believed that the authority was ample without any specific amount being set aside for Mount Weather, and they then read that authority for so many buildings, and they said they thought that that authority was wide open to do anything that I wanted to do.

Mr. WADSWORTH. I can only say, in answer to that, that I have not the slightest recollection of that, and that no member of my committee with whom I have talked has any recollection about it. But if my recollection is at fault, or there is any doubt about it, I would like to have you call before you at least the subcommittee, and ask them if any one of them realized or thought for a minute that there was contemplated an expenditure up there of over $200,000. On the contrary, I think you will find that each one of us thought that it meant simply the establishing of an ordinary Weather Bureau station at Bluemont, like the ones at Wytheville and the other points in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Of course, it is a matter of recollection,

(Witness: Wadsworth.)

but I am quite positive as to my own. I have not the slightest recollection of that conversation, either privately or before the committee. My recollection may be at fault; Professor Moore seems to be very positive about it.

The CHAIRMAN. Professor Moore claims that under this appropriation, reading as you had it before your appropriation bill for this year, he could go out anywhere in the United States and start another plant that would cost $150,000 or $250,000.

Mr. WADSWORTH. I can only say that the Committee on Agriculture never thought so, and does not think so now.

This was

The CHAIRMAN. And he went so far as to say that he could build six observatory buildings on one lot, if he saw fit to do so. simply his view of the construction of the law.

Mr. WADSWORTH. Yes.

go

The CHAIRMAN. He having made this statement, and we having examined into this subject, we felt it rather incumbent on us to have your committee know what the situation was, so that any statement that you might like to have made in relation to it would into the records. We would be very glad to hear any member of your subcommittees or anyone else on the part of your committee that you would care to have heard on the subject. If you will give us the names of the subcommittee who had this particular Weather Bureau proposition in charge

Mr. WADSWORTH. I can find out exactly by my records who were the subcommittee in that year.

The CHAIRMAN. We will hear all of the subcommittee, or the chairman of the subcommittee, as you prefer.

Mr. WADSWORTH. I was chairman of the subcommittee.

The CHAIRMAN. Then, if you will give us the names of those subcommittees for 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, and 1906, we will arrange to have them come in and let them state the matter as they understand it.

Mr. WADSWORTH. Very well.

The CHAIRMAN. Professor Moore could not be present this morning. I inquired of Mr. Zappone, because I assumed that the Professor would perhaps prefer to be here to hear the statement.

Mr. WADSWORTH. I would prefer, myself, to have him here, because he might bring something to my mind in which my recollection is at fault. Of course, I can only state, under oath, my recollection of it.

The CHAIRMAN. Certainly; that is all we want. Now, the Professor will be back here about the 3d of February. We will not conclude our investigations until he comes back; and after he comes back if he would like to be present and examine you or any other member of your committee, we would like to have the parties present for that purpose.

Mr. WADSWORTH. Certainly.

The CHAIRMAN. I will make a part of the record that portion of Professor Moore's report for the year 1903 in which he refers to the Mount Weather research observatory, and will follow it by extracts from all of his reports, showing everything the Professor has said in relation to the Mount Weather observatory up to date.

Extract from the report of the Chief of the Weather Bureau for 1903.

MOUNT WEATHER RESEARCH OBSERVATORY.

The Weather Bureau is so far convinced of the importance of finding out the laws of this cosmical physics, by which alone the problem can be conclusively solved, that it has been thought proper to found a research observatory at Mount Weather, on the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains, about 6 miles from Bluemont, Va., and equip it suitably for these investigations. Professor Bigelow has recently been placed in charge of supervising the plans for its construction and development upon the best modern principles. It is evident that such an institution, having its beginning in the early years of the twentieth century, will have an increased usefulness as the years go by, if it is organized according to the demands of the best science. It will require fine instruments and able students if it is to command the respect of the scientific world. The subject of solar physics has already grown to such proportions that the British Association for the Advancement of Science has set off a solar physics section from astronomy and mathematics; the solar physics observatory at South Kensington, under the able directorship of Sir Norman Lockyer, is putting forth valuable results; the solar observations by the Italians for the past thirty years have become invaluable as a basis for these studies; the observatory at Kalocsa, Hungary, and that at Zurich are known to all students for their important publications. Less directly, several of the great astronomical observatories are deriving some of their most valuable discoveries in astrophysics, which is simply another name for stellar meteorology. Thus Potsdam, Paris, Lick, Yerkes, Harvard, and other institutions are working zealously along these lines and filling out the realm of human knowledge in a fashion undreamed of a generation ago. It may be asked why, with all this wealth of material being secured in other places, it should be important for the Weather Bureau to enter upon these studies as well. The answer is simple. These observatories, for one thing, specialize along certain lines, and it is evident that there should be at least one institution in the United States where these results are brought together and studied side by side, so that their combined result at a given time can be worked out harmoniously and correlated with the prevailing weather conditions. Furthermore, the publications of these several observatories are issued from the press as much as two to four years after the observations are actually made, so that it is obvious that these late reports can have little value in practical forecasting. We have no intention to enter upon the advanced research problems which rightly belong to specialists, but rather to adapt to the uses of the meteorologist and the forecaster such portions of the well-known types of observatories as seem to be practicable for the immediate uses of the Weather Bureau.

Specifically, the plan in mind contemplates the development of an observatory as indicated in the following statement:

(1) An observatory building is in process of erection at Mount Weather, which is well adapted as a school of instruction and for making observations of the ordinary kind with the common meteorological instruments, barometers, thermometers, wind and rain gauges, nephoscopes, theodolites, and actinometers. The first floor is for administration, the second for living quarters, the third for laboratories, and the roof for observing.

(2) Plans are being prepared for a plant adapted to generate large quantities of hydrogen for balloon ascensions, including a shop for the construction of balloons and kites. The ascensions will be limited to about 4 miles in height, our immediate purpose being to measure the temperatures and thermal gradients, which will enable us to construct daily isothermal charts on the two upper planes already described, so as to provide isotherms as well as isobars on the high levels. It is proposed to make a complete series of ascensions first at Mount Weather, and afterwards in different portions of the United States, in order to observe the temperature conditions in all classes of cyclones and anticyclones. We may attempt some high ascensions, up to 10 or 12 miles from the ground, when our experience and other conditions warrant; but since storm movements are practically limited to the strata within 4 miles of the ground, the first group of ascensions will be to moderate elevations.

(3) It seems important to install a high-grade bolometer for measuring the invisible solar radiation, which is thought by some students to be largely responsible for the actual temperature of the upper atmosphere. Also, a first-class spectro-heliograph is required for keeping a record of the solar prominences, faculæ, and spots prevailing at the time of making our weather forecasts. These two instruments are the essentials of an efficient solar physics observatory, and would require the services of an able student of physics to bring out the best results and discuss them efficiently in suitable reports.

(4) These records should evidently be supplemented by an observatory equipped with modern instruments for observations in atmospheric electricity and in magnetism, and we note that a number of valuable new instruments have been invented in recent years which we can use. The special subject of this research is the behavior of ions in the atmosphere as forerunners of weather conditions.

Generally, the idea is to bring together for study under one direction the most valuable and practicable observations having a direct bearing on the higher meteorology, which is now engaging the attention of many able physicists and astronomers. In this field are found the best examples of physical and mathematical problems, because it is nature's great laboratory. The atmospheric conditions at Mount Weather are superb, the site being 1,800 feet above the sea level, on a ridge overlooking the wide Shenandoah Valley to the west and the plains of Virginia to the east. An equipment at that place, such as is contemplated, will induce a great scientific activity and generate an intellectual atmosphere highly favorable to the best scholarship. The assistants in charge of the various lines of work will form a strong corps of teachers, who will instruct a new generation of men in the great problems of meteorology, which are destined to occupy the attention of mankind in an increasing ratio with the lapse of time. If the equipment be made up of the very best instruments and able students secured to use them, and especially if patience be manifested in allowing the data to accumulate and be studied in the proper way, an improvement in forecasting for America should be assured. This institution is to be planned for continuous work in the future, and it is not supposed that its effect on forecasting will be immediately manifest, because of the difficulty and complexity of the problems involved. One thing is certain, that the founding of such a research institution is the true scientific way to provide for the future, in assurance that the natural difficulties will finally yield to human persistency and intelligence.

Extract from report of the Chief of the Weather Bureau for 1904.

THE MOUNT WEATHER METEOROLOGICAL RESEARCH OBSERVATORY.

At Mount Weather, Va., it is proposed to make and send out the apparatus for the exploring of the atmosphere to altitudes of 3 to 10 miles. In this work it is probable that many balloons will be simultaneously liberated from different stations, so as to get records of storms and of cold waves from their four quadrants. With the knowledge thus gained of vertical gradients of pressure and of temperature, it will doubtless be possible to gain a better understanding of the mechanics of storms. This exploration will be useful in determining how near right are those who believe that change in temperature other than seasonal is mainly a function of the mechanics of the lower atmosphere that portion lying below the 10-mile level; that in the study of those aberrations of climate called "weather" investigators need concern themselves only with the atmosphere near the earth; and that variations in the condition and in the intensity of the many forms of solar radiation are inappreciable in their effect on the weather of the earth.

With observations from the magnetic, the electric, and the solar physics observatories which the Department is now building, and which will be equipped with the most approved appliances, opportunity will be given to those who believe that the cyclonic or anticyclonic whirls that constitute storms or cold waves are mainly the result of changes in the amount or intensity of some form of solar radiation. It is the opinion of the writer that the synchronism of changes in the activity of the chromosphere of the sun and the weather of the earth has not yet been established with sufficient definiteness to be of benefit to the forecaster, but a working hypothesis has been formulated which stimulates thought, study, and investigation. This fact must be credited to the patient work of Prof. Frank H. Bigelow. Even those who differ from him in their conclusions relative to the association between astrophysics and meteorology must admit that the fertility of his thought and his earnest seeking after the problems which, when solved, shall raise meteorology from empiricism to a closer approach to an exact science, have been highly beneficial. The study of storms has too long been made from a single viewpoint. Daring minds are needed, even those that are willing to take a considerable hazard in the hypotheses which they are willing to lay down and attempt to demonstrate; for to doubt is to investigate. New truths are usually discovered by working inductively along conventional lines, but some of the greatest principles in nature have been made known to the world by deductive reasoning and by the assumption of a hypothesis that could not at the time be demon