CHAPTER LIV. THE SIGNAL SERVICE.

 1. The present organization of this institution dates from the beginning of the civil war, and was originally purely¹ military in its aims and purposes. It is still conducted by the War Department, and partly for its own purposes; but its value to agricultural and commercial interests is constantly becoming more apparent and more extensive, and will probably, in the end, so overshadow its military relations as to reduce them to a very subordinate place in importance. The civil uses of this service are based on the science of meteorology, which is largely occupied with weather changes, the origin,[421] progress, and laws of Storms. Its value to the people consists in its accurate prediction of changes in the weather, and the warning it is able to give, sometimes many hours or even days in advance, of dangerous storms. Its estimate of weather probabilities, based on observations reported daily from prominent points covering the whole country, are published in all the daily papers, usually found accurate, and are of great value to certain classes of the people. When a storm threatens to endanger the safety of shipping² a signal is displayed in the port to give warning, and much property and many lives are often saved. It makes an accurate and scientific study of the weather and all the laws controlling its changes, by a large corps³ of enlightened and trained observers, all whose facts, constantly reported, systematized, and studied by competent persons, are likely to produce, in time, a most important and useful body of knowledge on that subject.

2. The objects of the Signal Service require its officials to be connected with the United States army, to have the use of the Electric Telegraph, to be familiar with Meteorology, and skillful in the use of the scientific instruments employed in the study of atmospheric⁴ changes. By means of the telegraph, the army, though scattered⁵ over the whole country, and especially the frontiers and more inaccessible⁶ parts, may be almost instantaneously, and all at the same time, communicated with. It would be possible, by telegraphs, signals, and railroads, to concentrate the whole army from the numerous points where its fragments are located, from Maine to Texas, and the Atlantic to the Pacific, at one point in as short a time as it formerly⁷ took a body of soldiers to march a hundred miles.

3. It is a singularly striking instance of the vigor⁸ and effectiveness of control supplied by science, invention, and modern progress, by which our vast increase in numbers and in extent of territory are neutralized⁹, the interests, sentiments, and habits of the people unified¹⁰ so that sectional jealousies¹¹ and contests are made rare and slight, and the people of remote parts of the country made practically better acquainted with[422] each other than formerly were the inhabitants of adjoining States.

4. Subordination and thoroughness of system are secured by its connection with the army, which probably also secures its advantages to the country at much less cost than would be the case were it an independent institution. The army is ambitious to be as useful as possible to the country. There is a Signal School of Instruction and Practice at Fort Whipple, in Va., which is to this Service what the Military and Naval¹² Academies are to the Army and Navy. The most suitable persons are selected from the army or especially enlisted¹³, and carefully schooled and tested through a sufficiently¹⁵ long period to render them fully¹⁴ competent for the delicate duties imposed on them.

5. There are about 90 Signal Stations, a few being located in Canada and the West Indies. The whole is under the direction of the Chief Signal Officer, who reports to the Secretary of War. There is a large and carefully arranged organization, under constant supervision¹⁶ by competent persons. Several Boards of Examination are employed in selecting suitable persons for the different duties required in the Service, and in testing their advancement¹⁷ toward a thorough fitness for each position to be occupied.

The first or lowest grade is for the “field” signal service, requiring a knowledge of army signals and telegraphy—this being the original military value of the institution—the second grade includes those who are competent to act as assistants to observers in the scientific or meteorological part of the work; and the third (called Observer Sergeants) includes those who have so complete a knowledge of the scientific principles involved and of the use of the instruments employed as to be fitted to take charge of Stations of Observation, and make the constant and minute reports on which the conclusions of the Central Office are based.

The Stations are from time to time inspected, and the whole system kept in the most accurate order. Very much depends on the intelligence and unremitting attention of the Observers.

[423]

This is, probably, the beginning of a work of the greatest practical value to commerce and agriculture. It will continually expand and grow more exact and useful, and from its relations to the diffusion¹⁸ of important and useful knowledge we have placed it with

THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.

 

1. Though there are no doubt many minor¹⁹ failures to meet the wishes, and secure the interests of the people and some, perhaps, that are really serious—though in these the people bear a good share of the blame—the government has pursued an enlightened policy in respect to the encouragement of Science, and the diffusion of useful knowledge. What it can properly do in the interest of the whole people has been done. The Smithsonian Institution is not wholly a government establishment; but the official machinery²⁰ by which it was at first set in motion, and is continued in operation, belongs to the government. The funds with which it was founded, were furnished by an individual, and he a foreigner. The history runs thus: A noble-hearted Englishman, whose name was John Smithson, residing in the city of London, bequeathed all his property to the United States of America, for the purpose of founding in Washington an establishment to be known as the “Smithsonian Institution,” for the purpose of increasing and diffusing²¹ knowledge among men. The United States accepted the bequest²², and in 1846 passed an act for the purpose of carrying out the beneficent design of Mr. Smithson. This act created “an establishment,” as it is denominated in the act, by the name before stated. It might have been called a corporation, for it has perpetual succession, and many of the powers incident to a corporation.

2. By this act the President and Vice-President of the United States, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury²³, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Navy, the Postmaster General, the Attorney General, and Chief Justice, the Commissioner²⁴ of the Patent Office, and the Mayor of Washington—during the time they shall hold their respective[424] offices, together with such other persons as they may elect honorary members—were constituted the establishment under the name of the Smithsonian Institution.

3. It is located at Washington, and is managed by a board of regents, composed of the Vice-President of the United States, the Chief Justice of the United States, the Mayor of Washington, three members of the Senate, and three members of the House of Representatives; together with six other persons. The board choose their own officers, and report their proceedings²⁵ to Congress at each session thereof.

4. In order to carry out Mr. Smithson’s noble design of founding this institution, rooms have been prepared for the reception of all objects of art, natural history, plants, and geological and mineralogical specimens²⁶ which now or hereafter may belong to the United States, and such as may hereafter be obtained. These are classified and arranged so as to facilitate their examination and study. A vast collection has already been obtained and deposited in the institution, and it is constantly increasing by donations, by the researches and industry of its professors, and by exchanges made with kindred institutions at home and abroad. These are open to the examination of the public, and offer an opportunity to students and others to extend their scientific knowledge. This, together with the reports of its professors, of experiments and new discoveries, make it indeed an institution “for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.”

1 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

2 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

3 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

5 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

6 inaccessible   

adj.达不到的，难接近的

参考例句：

• This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。
• The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。

7 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

8 vigor   

n.活力，精力，元气

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• She didn't want to be reminded of her beauty or her former vigor.现在，她不愿人们提起她昔日的美丽和以前的精力充沛。

9 neutralized   

v.使失效( neutralize的过去式和过去分词 )；抵消；中和；使（一个国家）中立化

参考例句：

• Acidity in soil can be neutralized by spreading lime on it. 土壤的酸性可以通过在它上面撒石灰来中和。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This strategy effectively neutralized what the Conservatives had hoped would be a vote-winner. 这一策略有效地冲淡了保守党希望在选举中获胜的心态。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

11 jealousies   

n.妒忌( jealousy的名词复数 )；妒羡

参考例句：

• They were divided by mutual suspicion and jealousies. 他们因为相互猜疑嫉妒而不和。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• I am tired of all these jealousies and quarrels. 我厌恶这些妒忌和吵架的语言。 来自辞典例句

12 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

13 enlisted   

adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
• He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

15 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

16 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

17 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

18 diffusion   

n.流布；普及；散漫

参考例句：

• The invention of printing helped the diffusion of learning.印刷术的发明有助于知识的传播。
• The effect of the diffusion capacitance can be troublesome.扩散电容会引起麻烦。

19 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

20 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

21 diffusing   

（使光）模糊，漫射，漫散( diffuse的现在分词 )； （使）扩散； （使）弥漫； （使）传播

参考例句：

• Compounding this confusion is a diffusing definition of journalist. 新闻和娱乐的掺和扩散了“记者”定义。
• Diffusing phenomena also so, after mix cannot spontaneous separating. 扩散现象也如此，混合之后不能自发的分开。

22 bequest   

n.遗赠；遗产，遗物

参考例句：

• In his will he made a substantial bequest to his wife.在遗嘱里他给妻子留下了一大笔遗产。
• The library has received a generous bequest from a local businessman.图书馆从当地一位商人那里得到了一大笔遗赠。

23 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

24 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

25 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

26 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》