Indianapolis Times, Volume 43, Number 245, Indianapolis, Marion County, 20 February 1932 — Page 4

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* C ft I P PJ - M OW A.MV

Some One Must Act Public Service Commissioner Cuthbert§on, who, arbitrarily and without a hearing, dismissed the petition of Indianapolis for a reduction of electric rates, declares that a company statement to the public as to earnings is false. He declares that his order was made on an entirely different set of figures which showed no such large income as was set out in a pretty circular asking people to buy preferred stock. i Yet less than four hours before Cuthbertson made his order protecting the company, a representative of that company, at the office of the company, was distributing these circulars and asking people to invest upon the basis of its representations. One of two things is true. If the figures printed by the company are true, then Cuthbertson should never have made his order dismissing the petition. If those figures are true, the people of this city are being unjustly burdened by this company and are entitled to relief. In the opinion of many citizens they would be entitled to relief even if the figures on which Cuthbertson acted were true. But if the figures in the printed statement are not true then the company was attempting to sell its stock under false pretenses. In either case, it is up to Cuthbertson, inasmuch as the sale of utility stocks is controlled by the commission. If he feels that the printed statement is false, theafi he should at once proceed in the legal manner to protect the public from imposition. If the statement to investors is true, he should immediately reverse himself and order a cut in rates for this city. The people of Marion received relief on the statement that in times of depression, utilities must be kept in line. In Indianapolis, the people are told that the harder the times the higher the rates. The action of the commission is so patently unfair as to demand action. The declaration by Cuthbertson that the circulars of the company, issued for stock selling purposes, contain false statements should be 'the signal. It is lip to someone to take steps. If not Cuthbertson, then some official who is not afraid ancl is free.

Keep to the Facts Clergymen certainly should be encouraged to speak on social problems. But they should be required, like other mortals, to have some regard for facts. The other day the Rev. Dr. Caleb Stetson of New York argued for more severe divorce laws. He said: “Free divorce with right to marry has not and does not solve our social problems. Everywhere it has been tried it has failed.” We should like to ask Dr. Stetson for his data. Free divorce has been fairly tried nowhere except in the Scandinavian countries and in Russia. Here it has worked extremely well. Many very conventional Christian observers have praised the results. Nevada is merely an escape valve for our barbarism elsewhere. And it would be hard for Dr. Stetson to prove that Reno has done more harm than good. Dr. Stetson is entitled to be against divorce if he wishes to, but neither he nor any other person is entitled to make wild statements on the subject, whether for or against freer divorce.

Unfair to the Court The fight for American adherence to the world court is in danger of being lost—perhaps through a mistake in judgment by court advocates themselves. Senator Walsh (Dem., Mont.), a sincere and able defender of the court, and some of his associates have decided to force the measure out of the foreign relations committee and on to the senate floor for a final vote. Like Senator Walsh, we have advocated American adherence to the court from the beginning. But now, for the first time, we question the wisdom of bringing it to an immediate vote. Perhaps we are wrong. Anyway, the court proponents should not Idt snap judgment determine the result of such an important issue. The world court, it seems, is fated to be the victim of an unusual amount of partisan chicanery. Successive Republican Presidents have given it lip service, and little else. They have permitted alleged election expediency to delay and distort the issue. Finally, the Root protocol to double-rivet American rights was prepared by this government and accepted by the foreign governments. Victory then seemed near. But President Hoover lost his courage and refused to send the protocol to the senate. After long delay, much pressure induced the President to move. But no sooner had it been sent to the senate foreign relations committee than one of the President’s spokesmen helped to tie it up in committee for more than a year. Now, of course, when all international peace machinery is under the cloud of the far eastern war, opponents of the court are ready to have it brought out and voted down. They have polled the senate and are confident they can defeat it. They have found men like Norris and Couzens who once favored but now oppose it. * If men of outstanding independence and sincerity of judgment, such as Norris and Couzens, are influenced by the dark international situation to vote against the court, their switch doubtless will influence others. Though we can not agree with Norris and Couzens, we readily can understand their attitude. It is true that international peace machinery has not functioned during this crisis. And it is true that the world court decision in the Austro-German customs union case appeared- more political thtan judicial. But we can not see that this discredits the world court completely, any more than one of the scores of partisan decisions handed down by our own supreme court would justify the abolition or boycott of the supreme court. Slewed as a human institution, the world £Durt, its record, ranks high, and probably * will rank

The Indianapolis Times (A SCRIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER) Owned ami published dally (except Sunday) by The Indianapolis Times Publishing Co--2X4-220 West Maryland Street, Indianapolis, Ind. Price in Marion County, 2 cents a copy; elsewhere, 3 cents—delivered by carrier, 12 cents a week. Mail subscription rates in Indiana. $3 a year: outside of Indiana. 65 cents a month. BOYD GCRLEY. ROY W. HOWARD. EARL D. BAKER Editor President Business Manager PHONE—Riley 6551 SATURDAY. FEB. 20. V)32. Member of United Press. Bcripps-Howard Newspaper Alliance. Newspaper Enterprise Association, Newspaper Information Service and Audit Bureau of Circulations. “Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way.”

higher as it accumulates experience and prestige—especially if’t has support of the United States. For this country to withhold support from the court would seem to us unpardonable. We share the apparent disappointment of Norris and Couzens over the league’s record in the far eastern crisis. But we believe that the record proves that this failure has been due to the mistaken policies of one or two powerful governments, and not to the league governments as a whole, and not to the league as an institution. Moreover, the league has been handicapped by the absence and refusal of the United States to co-operate. While insisting that the league as an institution has not failed, and that if it had failed of perfection that, would not discredit the separate world court, we mast admit as realists that public opinion in a time of crisis does not differentiate. We fear the result of a world court vote at this time, not because we are unwilling to abide by a fair vote, but because we doubt that a fair vote can be had under present international conditions.

Not Funny While administration senators in both political parties joined this week to deny food and shelter to those who can obtain them only through the federal treasury, an ironic suggestion for the benefit of the unemployed came from the President’s organization on unemployment relief. The organization calls attention with approval to steps taken by the Massachusetts emergency committee on unemployment, for maintaining the morale of the unemployed. This committee has organized a series of co-operative university courses, and invites those without work to spend their time studying accounting, advertising, business organization, business law, finance, marketing, retail selling, salesmanship and other aspects of the economic system. Or, if study of finance should seem a little mocking, the committee offers courses in appreciation of art, appreciation of music, choral singing, plastic arts, leathercraft and metal work. The excellent intention of the committee readily is understood, even though it is a little difficult to imagine undernourishment and interest .in abstractions going hand in hand. However, the President’s organization adds the last ironic touch to the whole program. It says: “The only practical difficulty encountered by the Massachusetts emergency committee in arranging for these co-operative courses was in obtaining proper facilities for the typewriting course on account of the large number of persons attracted to it. “On account of this difficulty, it is suggested by the Massachusetts committee that other groups contemplating similar courses . . . well might omit typewriting.” Maybe this was the logic followed by the administration in opposing federal hunger relief. Perhaps it is because of the general and enthusiastic interest in eating that it frowned upon steps to accomplish this useful purpose.

Speaking of Morticians The Chicago Tribune has barred the word “mortician” from its columns. “This decree,” says the Tribune, “goes forth not for lack of sympathy with the ambition of undertakers to be well regarded, but because of it. “If they haven’t the sense to save themselves from their own lexicographers, we shall not be guilty of abetting them in their folly.” The word “mortician” was a mistake. It is no improvement over “undertaker,” which was a euphemism from the beginning, and not an unpleasant one: “one who undertakes to manage a funeral.” “Mortician,” being derived from the Latin word for death, is not a successful euphemism. Like “relator” which had a similar purpose, the word “mortician” has not been accepted with the seriousness with which it was offered. The ethical ideals which created the desire for these new words probably will have a longer life than the words which have expressed them inadequately. One of the banker’s greatest problems these days is how to get all his vice-presidents in for a meeting without creating the impression that there is a run on the bank. A Pittsburgh judge fined a woman $5 for making goo-goo eyes at him. From now on, Pittsburgh women will insist on trial by jury. One way to get Shanghai off the front pages is for President Hoover to appoint a commission to investigate it. Old Jack Dempsey may be a hollow shell, but he always has plenty of nuts in the audience.

Just Every Day Sense BY MRS. WALTEB FERGUSON

THE business depression, cursed though it be, has been one of the most profitable experiences of my life. I have no doubt that it will be of inestimable benefit to all women. For I have lost forever my belief in the infallibility of the American business man. There was a time when I thought that the person who had built up even a modest industry did so through the excise of some special mental endowment which had not been vouchsafed to women. Along with many others, I regarded with awe the male who had amassed millions. Today I know better. I can see that the American man, even the financier, is only a bewildered creature, blundering along in the dark like the rest of us and the same victim of chance. man HE has seen national costs grow under his system of self-government into staggering proportions; he has allowed his cities with their magnificent skyscrapers to become bankrupt. He has taxed himself into poverty. He has followed the brass hats too> far, and the gold he has grabbed now is dross in his hands. His fortunes, built out of the blood of youth, and which appeared so huge and glittering several years ago, have dwindled sometimes to nothingness. His securities, material and spiritual, have gone, and perhaps forever. He is puzzled, uncertain, helpless, floundering in an economic fog which his vision is unable to pierce. He is, in truth, not a great leader at all. He is only an experimenter and many of his experiments have failed. But even so he is to me a more lovable figure, a more admirable being, as he stands amid the ruins of his playhouse than he was while he strutted and beat upon his drums. He is humbled. He needs our help. We must back him up and cheer him on to anew start. And out of his deflation, perhaps we shall get a new vision, the true patriotic concept. Then each can say to himself, “Not the politician, not the business leader, but I—l am America,’*

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

M. E. Tracy Says:

The Peace Machine Has Been Wrecked, Not by Colliding With a Mountain, but by the Jar of a Molehill. NEW YORK, Feb. 20.—A shocked world has protested eloquently, but, as one British spokesman remarks, “nobody could hear because of the roar of Japanese guns.” This is war in the far east. Nothing can save the Orient from Japanese domination but a China converted to violence. In either case, western civilization would find itself confronted by a new force and anew problem. Those who regard the Shanghai melee as “just another incident,” which soon will be over, and which will leave conditions much as they were, alre making a bad guess. n n Era of Hate Opens WE stand at the threshold of a new Asiatic era. Whether by Japanese imperialism or an aroused China, the Orient is about to be lashed into fury. Regardless of who wins the present scrimmage, its effect will be to awaken the swarming millions p.s only hate, discord and the business of wholesale murder can. * u n n Spineless Occidentals NOT only the aggressiveness of Japan, but the firmness of China, stands out in sharp contrast to the timid, vacillating policy pursued by occidental countries. One is puzzled to know whether our statesemen fail to realize what this upheaval presages, or whether they don’t care. Certainly, they have allowed their solemn declarations to be brushed aside in such a way as staggers the imagination. Where is that “new order” for which the hillsides of northern France were whitened by acres of wooden crosses? Where is that League of Nations which was crowned as the only Institution that could make .the sacrifice worth while? Where is that world court which was supposed to be a clearing house for international disputes? Where is that Kellogg pact by which the world outlawed war, with every great nation subscribing? Above all else, where is that ninepower treaty which has a specific bearing on the issues in question?

World Peace Wrecked THE peace machine has been wrecked, not by colliding with a mountain, but by the jar of a molehill. Japan, which agreed to accept a third-rate navy, as compatible with her size and interests, has ditched civilization’s great reconstruction program all by herself, mocked the whole world by launching a purely imperialistic war and set the stage for one of the greatest coups in history. •n n n Diplomatic Hokum TO be sure, the world has sent her notes, beautifully worded and carefully phrased, complaining of this, protesting against that and reminding her that she mustn’t do something else. Flattered as she may have been by all the sonorous phrases regarding her past reputation and growing influence, she was neither dissuaded, nor scared. And who can blame her? It was a meaningless gesture from the beginning, a lot of bombast which no one intended to back up. One solid shot across the bow of a Japanese ship when this storm began to break would have done more good than all the notes that have been written. I don’t say that the shot should have been fired, but I do say that we are not going to get anywhere with peace by letting off such a poor quality of steam. We are not going to stop war by writing letters, or making speeches.

W T 9s^ Y ?? ; WORLD WAR \ ANNIVERSARY

INNSBRUCK RAIDED February 20

r\N February 20, 1918, Allied aviators raided and bombed the Austrian town of Innsbruck, scoring many direct hits and killing many Austrian soldiers. German troops continued their advance into,Russian territory despite the announcement by Moscow that Russia was ready to submit. In Champagne, French troops broke through to the third German line of defense on a front of nearly a mile. More than 150 prisoners and several machine guns were captured. German forces on the western front, augmented by constantly arriving divisions from the Russian zone, were very plainly preparing a tremendous blow at the allied lines. , In Palestine, British forces drove the Turks back more than three miles east of Jerusalem.

Questions and Answers

How many church edifices are there in the United States, and what is their total value? There are 210,924 church edifices valued at $3,839,500,610. What is the population of California? 5,677,251. How many drams are in a liquid ounce? Eight. Where and when will the American Legion convention be held in 1932? At Portland, Ore., Sept. 21 to 2*. Has Mahatma Gandhi ever visited the United Slates? No. Is the population of Pittsburgh greater than that of St. Louis? St. Louis has 821,960 and Pittsburgh has 669,817. What does the name Natalie mean? Christmas child.

DAILY HEALTH SERVICE Diet Vital Factor in Dental Health

This is"" the first of three timely articles on “How to Care for Baby’s Teeth” by Dr. Fishbein. The second and third will appear in succeeding issues of The Times. BY DR. MORRIS FISHBEIN Editor Journal of the American Medical Association and of Hygeia, the Health Magazine. 'T'HE importance of teeth for health and long life is beginning to be realized more and more. Few mothers realize that the first attention to the teeth of the child must begin before it is born. The mother should visit the dentist early, keep her teeth clean and well cared for, and eat the proper food so that the child’s teeth will be properly developed. The proper foods include plenty

IT SEEMS TO ME by h ™ d

MRS. FISKE has died, and a controversy which raged for fifty years is ended. There were three sides to the dispute. Some said that Minnie Maddern Fiske was a great actress, while the rest split as to whether she was no actress at all or a good one. It seems to me that the question came into being because Mrs. Fiske was a great person. That generally tends to obscure the issue. Personality remains a fact more important than prowess in any of the professions. At the age of 3 she became an actress, and until her death she continued in the theater. And yet there was much of the stage which was wholly alien to her gifts and individuality. It has become trite, and for the most part true, to assume that the art of acting gathers in those who find a peculiar delight in exhibiting themselves before a public. Mrs. Fiske probably was the shyest person who ever stood in a spotlight. The theater must have been near her heart, since she stuck so closely to it, but always the pleasure was compromised with pain.

Life Work of Mrs, Fiske THE legend of aloofness has been built up concerning many performers, but the case of Mrs. Fiske it literally was true. Beyond the requirements of the drama, she would be there whenever three or four were gathered together. Yet even this reticence was broken down by one of her passions. Mrs. Fiske lived and died for audiences and dumb animals. She would go to any banquet room, radio station or hall if accorded an oportunity to protest against cruelty and, in particular, the trapping of wild beats. Fur always rubbed her the wrong way. She was the heroine of many plays and as many anecdotes. The best remembered concerned her first meeting with Charles Hason Towne, who long had admired her art from afar. Finally, he managed to get himself admitted to the wings of a theater where she was playing, and as. she made her exit, Mr. Towne rapidly recited a poem which he had written in her honor. “Thank you, dear, dear Mr. Electrician,” said Mrs. Fiske, and swept on her way. Every mimic in the world has had her start by getting up an imitation of Mrs. Fiske and Ethel Barrymore. For encores, if any, Chevalier and Sophie Tucker are employed. The mannerisms of Mrs. Fiske always were palpable and never modified. And it was these same tricks of voice and manner which led to the founding of a considerable school which maintained that Minnie Fiske, far from being a great actress, was an indifferent one. This group had been pretty well routed long before her death. And, indeed, Mrs. Fiske was an arch example of Shaw’s dictum that if you have a fault which you can not master, it is well to make a virtue of it. man Voice Among the Voices THAT is precisely what Mrs. Fiske did%vith her enunciation. From the point of view of mere

—By a Thread!

of milk, fresh vegetables, eggs, frh and cooked fruits, the coarser cereals, and a sufficient amount of calories to provide energy. Foods to be avoided are the sweets in excess, meat in excess, pastries, and highly seasoned foods. During the early months it is not necessary for the expectant mother to eat more than her usual amo uit of food, but during the last four months the amount of food must be increased slightly in order to provide a sufficient amount of material for building the tissues of the child. There used to be a notion that it was not safe for a prospective mother to visit her dentist, but it now is realized that the dentist can do the necessary dental work without serious harm or shock, and that

audibility, she always was difficult to understand, and those who insist that every word a dramatist sets down is precious had a right to quarrel with her delivery. But they overlooked the fact that, while Mrs. Fiske might keep you puzzled as to the precise form of a word or a phrase, she never lost its color. The mood of a scene does not depend upon the precise articulation of every vowel and consonant. We all have known actresses who let each word proceed from a collaboration involving the tip of the tongue and the edges of the front teeth. But to me they are thinking brass in comparison to a woman whose words came bounding out of some inner reservoir .of emotion or intellect. It was most inexactly held that Mrs. Fiske was too cerebral and that in her performances emotion languished. I happened to see her first in Edward Sheldon’s “Salva-

People’s Voice

Editor Times—This is in reply to an article in The People’s Voice by Mrs. Eric Von Straughin in which she blames England for starting the war against Germany. Mrs. Von Straughin is trying to be patriotic to tne kaiser It was that form of patriotism that existed in Germany as well as in England in 1914 that led both countries into the war. The masses of adults who can not think for themselves, people who stood up when they played “God Save the King,” the citizens of Germany who idolized Prussian militarism and taught hate to the youths of all nations, these people are responsible for the man who called at your door. You are correct about the cause in your quotation, “for that war made a great many millionaires” and “the same as the cause of the next will be” What we need is less nationalism and more internationalism, involving a system that would set the maximum income at $50,000 yearly and voiding money that bears a date of five years past Such a system would circulate money and prevent hoarding, and such men calling at your door HARRY WILSON Andemon, Ind Editor Times—We have three in our family, one being an invalid, and because of this our house is quiet and lights out not later than 9 o’clock. An electric sweeper is used once a week on two large rugs, the other floors having small scatter rugs. No laundry is done in the home. Despite these things, our light bill gets higher and higher. This month it was higher than it has been for two or three years. Higher than when we were staying up regularly until 11 o’clock and the laundry was done in the home. Several have complained to the light company regarding the increase in their bills and they have sent men out to inspect the meter. After this they say their bills are higher than ever. People are afraid to complain for fear their bills will be raised instead of lowered. WONDERING WHY.

it is better to take care of the teeth immediately than to permit bad conditions to go on for months. Os special importance for building sound teeth are vitamins C, D and A. Vitamin C is found plentifully in orange and tomato juice and in the fresh vegetables; vitamins A and D particularly in cod liver oil and egg yolks. The physician should see the prospective mother just as soon as she knows that she is going to have a child and advise her regarding the taking of cod liver oil or of excess vitamins In the form of concentrates. Next: The importance of proper diet for baby’s teeth.

Ideals and opinions expressed in tbis column are those ot one ot America’s most interestinz writers and are presented without rezard to their azreement or disagreement with the editorial attitude of this paper.—The Editor.

tion Nell.” This was not then or now one of the finest plays in the English-speaking theater, but it remains the show which moved me most in a long life of theatergoing. People who came to cup their ears while the words of Mrs. Fiske ran fast and slow and sometimes clung together ended by feeling that It was a fascinating and exciting sound, whether or not tney understood. Some critic—and I think it may have been Laurence Stallings—once said that all good plays should be done by Mrs. Fiske with onequarter of the speeches spoken and the rest sneezed into a handkerchief. She would toss part of a line into the footlights, a little of it toward the stagehands and give the compelling and important part straight to the audience. She became, in effect, a sort of inspired copy reader, and that which did not matter was always tossed away.

Taking Ibsen to lowa AMONG the legends surrounding Mrs. Fiske was the belief in some quarters that she lived on bread and crusts to bring Ibsen to people who did not want him. This, of course, is arrant nonsense. Minnie Maddem Fiske was a great trouper and a great showman. She could and did pit “Ghosts” against “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and get away with it. It is my personal feeling that I have seen several of her Ibsen roles played better, but I came to realize the explanation.. Not even Mr. Ibsen was able to portray folk who measured up to Minnie Maddern Fiske in the vitality of personality. I never have known any one who succeeded more completely in convincing me that human fiber can be a tough thing and everlasting. (Copyright. 1932. by The Times)

Help in School Work Among bulletins offered to the public by our Washington Bureau in the past are a number of titles of particular Interest and value in school work. Our Bureau has made a selection of eight of the most useful and valuable of these to students and teachers, and offers them In a single packet. Tne titles are: 1. Citizenship and Naturalization. 2. The Presidents of the United States. 3 The Presidents' Wives and Families. 4. Manna! for Debaters. 5. Common Errors in English. 6. Choosing a Career. ?• The British Parliamentary System. 8. Countries of Europe Since the World War. You can get this packet by filling out the coupon below and mailing as directed: CLIP COUPON HERE ___________________ Dept 7. Washington Bureau. The Indianapolis Times, 1322 New York Avenue, Washington, D. C. the BC . HOOL PACKET of eight bulletins, and inclose herewith 25 cents in coin, or loose, uncanceled United States postage stamps to cover return postage and handling costs: NAME STREET AND NUMBER CITY STATE Z am a reader of The Indianapolis Times (Code No.)

.FEB. 20, 1932

SCIENCE BY DAVID DIETZ

“Brass Brain,” for Solving Intricate Mathematical Problems, Is New Wonder of Machine Age. THE “periodometer” is the latest* triumph of the machine age. The machine is the invention of Dr. C. G. Abbot, secretary of the Smithsonian institution. It is a machine for solving intricate mathematical problems and because it seems to the onlooker as though it was almost capable of thinking, it has been nicknamed the “brass brain.” Mathematical machines have been among the most interesting developments of the machine age. Every one, of course, is familiar with the ordinary adding machine. There are, however, more intricate calculating machines which • multiply and divide as well, fur--nish squares or square roots, and so on. These machines have come into widespread use in banks, insurance companies and many business organizations, as well as in scientific laboratories and astronomical observatories. They are, of course, particularly valuable to engineers and architects. More interesting, though of more specialized uses, are the still more intricate machines. A number of these deal with periodical phenomena where the result sought is the total effect of a number of factors. „ All the factors are operating regularly or periodically but with different time periods. The total effect therefore is itself an involved cycle.

The Tide Predictor ONE of the early mathematical machies was a tide predictor, suggested by Lord Kelvin in 1876 at a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. The tide in any particular harbor varies from day to day as a result of many factors, among them, of course, the position of the moon. Lord Kelvin suggested a machine consisting of eccentric wheels which could be set to represent a variety of factors. The motion of all these whels were communicated to a chain which in turn operated a pointer. It was possible, therefore, to set the wheels to represent the factors for any harbor. The machine then would predict the tide at any future date. Lord Kelvin’s machine now is in the South Kensington Museum. But machines based on its principle are in use all over the world. The. United States coast jtnd geodetic survey has one in Washington. Dr. Dayton C. Miller, former.-, president of the American Physical society, has two mathematical ma--chines for the study of sound waves. These are the most thorough machines of their kind in exist-, ence. A sound wave is a complete vibration of the air. Dr. Miller invented a machine known as the phonodeik. which turns sound waves into movements of a beam of light and makes it possible to photograph them. The mathematical machines are. for studying the complex curves to which the phonodeik reduces a sound wave. One machine, known as the Henrici analyzer, will separate a complex curve into its component parts and indicate on dials the mathematical equation representing those curves. The other, known as the synthesizer, does the opposite trick. If its wheels are set according to the mathematical equation, it automatically draws the curves which they represent. nun Sherlock Holmes DR. ABBOT’S machine attacks a problem somewhat similar to that of the tide predictor or the sound-wave machines. But in some ways it is a still more difficult machine. Dr. Abbot’s periodometer is a sort of mechanical Sherlock Holmes. His chief interest for many years has been the study of the sun and in particular the effect of solar radiation upon the weather. He has been the foremost figure in this work, inventing a number of instruments for studying the sun’s radiation. Under Dr. Abbot’s direction, the Smithsonian institution has estab- ' lished observatories on high mountains in widely scattered localities to study the sun. Dr. Abbot believes that the sun’s 1 radiation varies from day to day and that these variations are the primary cause of variations in the weather. Now in studying weather from day to day, Dr. Abbot was interested in finding whether there were underlying factors which went in cycles or periods. If such cycle can be found, then the task of finding its cause is considerably simplified. And that is the purpose of the periodometer to take a complex curve, such as the daily fluctuations represent, and attempt to find . the underlying cycles or periods in it.