260 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. JUNE, 1907 bridge, for example, the variation due to the effect of tem- perature amounts to 3 feet vertical at the center each year. The river span also rises and falls each day under diurnal variation of heat and cold. The iron work of the bridge is practically in four parts, and when they expand with the heat the parts slide one past the other and thus correct what other- wise might prove a serious fault. Peculiar climatic conditions often promote the corrosion of metals, and this effect may be induced by moisture or atmos- pheric electricity, or conditions that favor d e w l o ~i m w t of elec- trical action in the metal parts. The heaving effects due to frost in the groiincl must l w allowed for in all construction work, particularly in the foun- dations of bridges ancl trestles. This is determined by tlie character of the ground and the severity and frequency of low temperatures and the length of the winter period. I n cases of expected heavy rain, snow, sleet, windstorms, or floods, trafic is regulated accordingly, and weak points along the line are patrolled even more rigidly than usual in order to avert possible washouts or broken rails, or give timely warning should such 8 calamity actually occur. When a severe cold wme is anticiliatecl, consigniilents of perishable goods may be either refused or carriecl at shipper’s risk, or heaters are provided for the cars, or they are round- housed, or perhaps the goods may he either immediately re- moved froiii the car, or transferred to another and safer type of car. At such times the weight and length of trains must be diminished, as the steaming eficiency of an engine is less in cold than in warm weather. For many years, during cold weather, particularly near the close of the navigation season, the shippers of iron ore in this section have experienced more or less trouble on account of frost penetrating the ore. When freezing occurs the best known expedient a t present is to thaw tlie ore l)y steam, and that is necessarily an espen- sive and tedious process. Besides frozen ore also means aggravating delays in the loading of vessels. The delay of a few days now and then iiieans the loss of a trip or two ancl consequent financial loss to the vessel operator, while if a large number of boats miss a trip or two in a season because of such trouble the results might be far-reaching. Some three or four years ago the ariter conceived the idea that this matter was, to some extent, capalde of better regu- lation as far as the weather was concerned, and with that end in view the subject has been very carefully studied. From a rttther crude arrangement a t the start the scheme has been so elaborated and expanded that at present forecasts in consi(1- erable detail as to temperatures and storm conditions are daily furnished each ore dock and each ore railroad superinten(lent, as well as the principal mining compauies. The aim lias been to niake the forecasts as reliabIe ant1 as useful as our capabilities ancl utilities mill permit, encleavoi ing to so gage the forecasts and their clistribution as a coopera- tive feature that the railroads can have plenty of manageable ore at clocks during a mild spell in the frost season. \\bile during very cold and stormy weather to aid them through this information in inaintainiug a nice balance between the mines and docks as regards suficient fresh and relatively warm ore a t docks or en route to meet vessel tonnage, and to keep down to the very loweht minimuin the necessity of steam- ing, by curtailing shipments to docks during unusually critical periods. Storms, you know, sometimes delay expected vessels, and that in itself sometimes results in much mischief: for if the weather is cold enough this miscarriage of schedule mag result in train loads of frozen ore. During the critical period of this last season, tlie ore 1i:ind- ling problem was generally worked out very satisfactorily ns regards dispatch. This, of course, is clue to increased perfec- tion in railroad organization and equipment. From iuy own standpoint I think those engaged in this trade are to be con- gratulated on their intelligent application of the weather fore- casts, for inany of the situations that a t times confronted them required the very highest quality of businew judgment ancl quick action to forestall the elements. It is not claimed that the scheme is yet perfect, nor that our forecasts are infallible, but we hope to effect improve- ments from time to time, and, if possible, keep pace with the wouderful tlevelopment of this trtltfic so far as the weather is concerned. If, insteatl of your having to thaw 5 per cent (or whatever the average figure has been) of all the ore shipped in the froht season, we can assist you to reduce that to 2 per cent (an allowance chargeable to storm-delayecl vessels, rail- road sclierlule interruptions, or weather forecast errors), we shall surely feel justified in believing that we have rendered you a service. An arrangement that would egect a considerable improve- ment locally would be the creation of what one might term a railroad-weather clearing house. That is to say, one or more railroad ofiicials at selected points might be designated to whoiii me coulcl telephone our daily forecasts ancl warnings, these officials or employees in turn to distribute the infor- mation to other ofices. I n this way a large area could be quickly and eficient,ly covered. Through the courtesy of Mr. McGonagle this inetliocl is already in operation in tlie Ts’olvin Building. Both the Duluth A Iron Range and the Duluth, Missabe 8 Northern railroads telegraph the daily forecasts ancl warnings to their important stations. This feature might be adopted with advantage by a11 the other railroads in this sectiou. It woultl more than pay for itself in connection with railroad operations :md convenience to people along the line. LEGAL DECISIONS AS TO CYCLONES. We have already had occasion to pu1)lisli several legal deci- sions bearing on the work of the Weather Bureau or the use of iueteorological teriiis. In a recaent article on insurance we especially urged that if a policy is to protect one’s prop- erty from wind, lightning, wxTes. or other meteorological phe- noniena. then the fact should be explicitly stated without any reference to cyclones, tornadoes. hurricanes, thunderstorms, or any other general meteorologicd terms. The importance of t,his caution is well illustrated by the extensive and expen- sive suit, resulting in an alyeal to the United States Circuit C’ourt of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, for the District of Minne- We copy the following opinion in this case, No. 2375, in full froin the oficial records of the circuit court as tlelivered by .Judge Philip, May, 19W;. sota, May, 1906. The Maryland Casualty Coilipany, pltiintifl in error (lierein- after for conveuience designated the clefendant), issued its policy of insurance to the defendants in error (hereinafter for convenience clesignatecl the plaintiRs). for n term of one year beginning the 7th clay of June, 1904, and ending June 7,1905, whereby the defendant insured the plaintiffs- ‘‘ against direct loss or (lainage to property owned by the assured ani1 described in the said achedule and also for loss from liability of the assured for clamage to mercliandise held in trust or on cominission or sold but not drliverecl by being removed, situate on that part of the preinises occupied by the assured as c1escril)ed in haid schedule, ani1 caused, during the terin of this insurance, by the accidental discharge or leakage of water frciii tlie automatic sprinkler system now erected in or upon the building occnpiecl wholly or partly by the assured ; Init the total aggregate liability of this company hereunder shall in no event exceed $25,000 ”. The policy, however, WRS inade subject to certain specified JUNE, 1907. MONTHLY WEATKElR REVIEW. 261 conditions. The ninth condition, which is the subject mat8ter of this controversy, is as follows: “This policy does not cover loss or clamage resulting from any leakage occurring a t any point outside of the inner sur- face of the cellar floor or walls; nor resulting from the esplo- sion, rupture, collapse or leakage of steam boilers or steam pipes; nor resulting from any interruption of business or stop- page of any work or plant; nor resulting froin freezing: nor resulting from fire or violation of law; nor resulting from or caused by the willful act of the assured, nor by tlie neglect of the assured to use all reasonable means to save and preserle the property insured hereunder; nor resulting from or caused by invasiou, insurrection, riot, civil war or commotion or mili- tary or usurped power, or by order of any civil authority; nor resulting from or caused by earthquakes or cyclones or by blasting or explosions of any kind, or by the fall or collapse of any builcling or buildings, or part thereof.” On the 20th day of August, 1904, between X and 9 o’clock p. m., the city of St. Paul TYRS visited by a windstorlii which did injury to the plaintiffs’ building, breaking the pipes of the automatic sprinkler, whereby the goods in the store were flooded by the freed water, doing damage to an extent of over $25,000. For the recovery of this allegecl loss suit on the policy against the clefenclant8 was brought. To this action defendant interposed the principal defense that saitl injury resulted from a cyclone, ancl was, therefore, excepted froin the operation of the contract of insurance. On trial t u a jury the plaintiffs obtained a verdict in the suiii of $26,235, for which judgment was rendered, to reverse which the defendant prose- cutes this writ of error. The controlling question presented for deterininstion is whether or not the windstorm occabioning said loss was a cyclone within the meaning of the policy. A brief summary of the work of that storm will tlisclose its cliaracter. The cloud which contained its fury was first olwerved 1~y Professor Whitebreicht, the head of the Mechanics Arts High School of t,lie city of 8t. Paul, who was a t his cottage a t Lake Xlinnetonka, about 35 niiles from St. Paul. He testified that between S and 9 o’clock p. m. uf August 20, 1904, his atten- tion was directed to the threatening clouds, which he described as a 6‘ great large cloudy-mass, balloon in shape, and coming down to a decided point a t the bottom, as observed from tlie lake, to the southeast of the portion we were occupying ”. It moved down the lake toward St. Paul and mas apparently mor- ing with the wind, and without eviclence of revolution; ‘& i t was an oblong balloon, decidedly ol)long, with a pendant ”. He testified that it struck his house, broke a large pane of glass, 30 to 40 inches square, removed the frame work of tlie screens, driving one with hncli force against a table as to puncli a hole in it. It blew down the chimney of his house, and a maple tree eighteen inches in dianieter, taking OE the whole top and taking it 60 feet diagonally across the cottage witl,oiit striking the roof. It blew 111 the windows ancl took off the roof of an adjoining cottage; turned a large barn around a t an angle of 45”, taking oE the roof and scattering the contents. When i t reached the vicinity of the city of St. Paul i t carried out spans of the steel and iron bridge spanning the AIississippi River, precipitating them to a considerable distance, and did great damage to trees and houses on an island in the river. It struck the city a t the north bank of the river, and its general course, with some eccentric divergencies, mas from southwest to northeast, covering a pathway of 300 feet or more in its sweep. Near the river the destructive force of the storm macle its first impression upon the city. It blew from R railrond track ancl overturned box cars. It wrecked the Imperial Theater and ilemolishecl the Tivoli (’oncert Hall, killing soine people therein. In its pathway through the city i t siiiashed windows of various sizes mil btrength, blew (lawn signs aud took off cornices froiii buildings, scattering tlieir fragments in large quantities over the streets. At Third street it raised and dropped a sky light 50 feet square which covered the open court of the Pioneer Press Building; blew in its windows on the Fourth street side, creating some consternation among the ininates of the building. I t unroofed the Davidson block a t the corner of Fourth a i d .Jackson streets. It leveled to the ground the freight depot of the Chicago, Milwaukee k St. Paul Railway. At Smith Park i t broke, blew down, and uprooted a large number of trees. It carried off the top of the brick building occupied by a wagon company, the roof of which, after beiug blown off, dropped back on the remaining building. At another place in the vortex of its pathway i t took ont a section of the wall of a brick building. On the next street i t wrecked into fragments a frame church building. I n Lafayette Park locality chiiuneys were toppled over, some buildings mere deiiiolished, and trees in and about the park were broken and uprooted. I t is true that the evidence tended to show that most of the trees about the park mere compara- tively young ancl those blown down were easily restored in place by the park conimissioner. On the hill farther on the clestruction to houses and property was ~uarlied. I n places sidewallch were lifted up on either &le of the street and tuinbled in inass iii the center of the street, showing the eccentric motion of the wind. One sidewalk was lifted into tlie air, carried over a stonewall fence, and deposited a liun- drecl feet or so in a yard. Telephone ant1 telegraph poles of great size ani1 strengtli were blown clown, broken off, and twiqtecl in different tlirections. One house, as shown by a photograph in evidence, 1% as ldown diagonally around, entirely off of oue corner. Some of the trees, IJrolcen or twisted oE ant1 uprooted, were of large size ant1 apparent great strength. Ti’hile it is t u be coiiceclecl that the direction in which the trees fell \\as generally in that of the storm, yet as eviclence of its concentric motion trees standing in opposite positions fell with their tops together. The limbs of trees had the appearance of beiug twisted off. -18 inclisputnble proof of the eeect wrouglit by this narrowly c.onfiiiei1 windstorm, the street, park. telegraph, and telephone inspectors aut1 repairers were all out as early as the light of the nest morning would admit to look after the injury done on their respective liues and beats. So piled up were some of the streets with iltbris, trees interlaced with tangled telephone and telegraph poles, that a t places the inspectors were unable to drive through the streets, according to their testimony. This storm was traced soine twenty miles or more beyond the city, and its energy and violeuce were marked in the throw- ing down of fences, the breaking of trees, and clemolition of or injury to buildings. A s n circuiiistance indicating its alarming character, and as evidence of the impression i t macle upon their minds, news- paper men in their respective offices were thrown into escite- ment, nnd as soon as the storm suficiently abated reporters went out in tlie night and early the nest morning to observe its work of desolation, and so impressed were they with its character that all the newspapers of the city, perhaps with one exception, the nest clay in their issues described the city as swept by a cyclone of great violence. Conceding the criticism o f plaintiffs’ counsel that newspaper reporters may be given to sensational emfigeration, the fact remains that the storm was of such a character that notwithstanding what may be assuinecl to he their city pride to have the outside world untlerstand that their beautiful city was iiiimune from things that iiiaketh afraid, they did publish the alarming impressions made U ~O U them by the storm Superadded to all this is the testimony and the report of RIr. Oliver, in charge of tlie Weather Bureau a t the city of St. h u l . After an examination of the work of this storin in the city he sent in his report to the Deprtment a t Washington. In the oi€ icial report lie stnte(1 that R heavy rain began during 263 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. JUNE, 1907 the morning before, attended with thunder; that it was clear early in the forenoon but a t 10 a. m. it became cloudy; a t 7:45 p. m. a thunderstorm began without any noticeable premo- nition except that the air was quite sultry; that the clouds were of a yellowish tinge; and it assumed proportions of 8 severe storm a t 9:45 p. m. The wind blew at a rate of 90 miles per hour from the northwest; and a t 9:63 p. m. the ane- mometer and wind-vane supports were blown down, which ended further registration of the direction and velocity of the wind. The receiver and cover of the rain gage were blown away. The storm, which was about two and one-half miles in length and about 800 feet in width, entered the city from the southwest, destroying two spans of the high bridge; crossing Harriett Island, on which are located the public baths, it did much damage to shade trees and parts of the building. He then stated the clainage to the Tivoli Hall and Empire Theatre, as heretofore stated. “The storm then moved in a northeasterly direction across the business portion of the city, doing damage to business blocks, breaking glass, unroofing buildings, uprooting and breaking shade trees in two of the public parks and along the streets; some dwellings and scliool houses and churches in the line of the storm wsre either entirely destroyed or greatly damaged. ‘‘ The distribution of clkbris along the path of the storm and the direction of the uprooted trees, especially in the parks, clearly showed the presence of a whirl. The wind in passing evidently rose above some portions of the city in its path, doing slight damage, then descending to the earth with its besoin of destruction. There mas some hail about the size of a pea from 9:48 to 9:52 p. m. The lightning was constant ancl vivid. The esti- mated value of the property destroyed is $500,000. The fol- lowing persons were killed: Hocanson, Louis F., 586 Brnnson street, killed a t Tivoli; Kventon, Geo., 579 Toronto avenue, killed a t Tivoli; Robinson, Viola, killed a t House of Good Shepherds. * * * “The barometer did not indicate any inordinate disturbance of the air during the afternoon and evening, but a t about the time the storm struck it fell very sudclenly, the barograph indi- cating a fall of from .75 to .24 in a very few minutes ”. He then proceeded to give the readings of the barograph and the examination of the anemometer after the storm, and stated that the last register which the wind gage made was IC0 miles a~ hour. He had been upon like duty a t rarious places in Texas, nncl a t Vicksburg, and a t Louisrille, Icy., and liacl given constant attention to the subject of meteorolog?, anil hac1 observed many windstorms; that the velocity of this windstorm was the highest he ever saw. I n respect of his examination of the condition of the city after the storill, he testified that the dhbris along its path lay in all directions, and that trees were uprooted and blown over, and on the northeast side of Lafayette Park they were pointed southwest and on the southwest side they were pointed northeast. The plaintif-F’s building, which was a large structure of great strength. the evidence shows was stricken with such riolence by the storni that strong windows on the sides of it were blown in. It blew clown the tower from the building, dislocated aucl ruptured a pipe in the automatic sprinkler attached thereto. ancl carried away two skylights out of the west end and riip- tured a pipe of the sprinkler beneath. The wind blew through the windows, clisloclged, with such force as to lift from the racks, boses of goods and lay them on the floor, breaking the sprinkler pipe which lay in front, thus flooding the floor with the clischarged water, causing the clamage claimed. The evidence in rebuttal was principally directed to an effort to minimize the extent of the Jestruction to property and to show that the trees blown down about the park and elsewlierr were small, and that some (Jf tlie buildings destroyed were in His report continues as follows: a more or less dilapidated condition; that buildings of stone and brick structure of great strength were not materially injured. But the evidence shows, without any material con- tradiction, that trees 1s inches in diameter were destroyed, and that buildings of ordinary strength, serviceable for human habitation and for business, were demolished and others greatly injured. At the conclusion of the evidence the defendant made request for an instructed verdict, which was refused. I n its charge to the jury, the court, touching the issue as to whether the storin in question was a cyclone, made the following declaration: Now, I don’t think that anybocly woulcl say that A cyclone was a gentle storm; on the contrary I think a cyclone would be said by anybody to be, and is usually known, and is usually unclerstoocl as being, a very severe and destructive storm. It is a storm Characterized by certain peculiarities and charac- teristics, marking it as A cyclone. If we look into the dic- tionaries, we find that this word is derived from the Cheek, the noun being kirklos, a circle, and the verb being kiikZoein, to move in a circle, or to iiiove around, or to whirl around. I not only think that a cyclone has the characteristics of moving in a circle in the minds of the lexicographers and scientists, but it also has that characteristic according to the usual and ordinary anil couzmon acceptation of the term. And the atmospliere not only moves in a circle in a cyclone, but this circularly moving atmosphere also has progressive motion, of greater or less velocity, usually of a very considerable velocity, and sometimes going to the extent perhaps of 20 or 30 miles or more per hour in its onward movement. So that I think. boiling it all down, we can define a cyclone as being a violent and destructive storm of greater or less extent, sometimes its path covering only a narrow strip and a t other times covering a vast and wide strip, characterized by high winds rotating about A center of low atmospheric pressure, am1 this center nioring onward, with greater or less velocity, sometimes at a very great velocity, a t others at only an ordinary rate. I think the principal force of the wind in a cyclone is in the circular motion. ‘( Now. the scientists seem to distinguish between a cyclone and a tornado. Both are characterized by high winds rotating about a center of low atmospheric pressure. I n the cyclone, according to scientists, the areB of the rotating wind is much greater than that of the tornado, this area in the cyclone being sometimes many iiiiles in diameter, 2nd sometimes even hun- dreds and thousands in diameter; whereaq in n tornado the diameter of this area is smaller, being often, and I think I mag say ~i ~~r t l l y , only a few hundred or a thousand feet. But I think under the usual and ortlinary acceptation of the terms, cyclone in its usual ancl ordinary acceptation and tornado in its usual and ordinary acceptation are synunymous, :t toruado being a small cyclone. And i f it was a cyclone at all, nhy then the word cyclone of this policy covers it. The distinguishing characteristic of tlin cyclone or t o r n d o is that of high winds rotating about a center of low atmospheric pressure, and this center moving with greater or less velocity across the country. Now that seems to me to be what a cyclone is, and I so charge you.” Further on the court said: *‘I don’t think there can be any question that this was a bevere, violent, ani1 destructive storm, counsel for the plain- tiff has stated so much himself; but that, gentlemen, is not enough-to estnblitih a violent am1 destructive storm-that is not enough. I t must albo be shown that this storm had the peculiar cliaracteristics of a cyclone, that it was what we would call a whirling storm. and that it came within the definition I hare given you of a cyclone. If you believe from the evidence that it w ~s a cyclone that ends the case ’*. Finally the court said : JUNE, 1907. MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. 263 “Of course you can have cyclones of varying strengths. I think a cyclone must be a violent and destructive storm, but it can be of various degrees of violence and destructiveness; it must be a violent and destructiie storm and i t must be in addition characterized by high winds rotating about a center of low atmospheric pressure and thin center moving onward with greater or less velocity. It could be a cyclone without being an extremely severe cyclone ”. Reduced to its ultimate analysis, before the jury were au- thorized to find for the defendant on this issue they were required to find from the evidence that this windstorm, no matter how terrific and destructive, must have possessed the distinctive quality of moving in a circle, rotating about a center of low atmospheric pressure, this center moving onward across the country; that it must be a “ whirling storm ”. As this storm occurred in a night of intense darkness, driving people who might be out doors under cover, ancl for- bidding those within doors to venture out, exactly how the defendant was to meet by evidence the requirements of the given phenomena and characteristics imposed by the charge, is not apparent. It is quite inconceivable, in view of the evidence in this case, that the jury should not have returned a verdict for the defendant except for the fact that the storm was not seen with the eye to fis on it the peculiar characteristics indi- cated by the technical charge of the court. I n the very nature of the situation, the character of the storm could only be judged of, after it ceased, by observing its effect. I n the effects were furnished a t least persuasive evidence that this storm, in its origin and ravages, possessed the essential “whirling ” movement. Looking alone to the derivative of the word (‘ cyclone ” and its technical import, in the conception of meteorologists and scientists, i t may be conceded that one of its characteristics is the presence of a circular or gyratory motion, evidenced by a twisting effect. Looking to the dictionary definitions, which are not in many instances reliable sign boards for legal con- struction of contracts, they are substantially as follows: CENTURY DICTIONARY : ‘(Any atmospheric movement, gentle or rapid, general or local, on land or a t sea, in which the wind blows spirally around and in toward the center ”. STANDARD DICTIONARY (1895) : “An atmospheric disturbance extending over an area of 100 to 500 miles in diameter, char- acterized by decrease of barometric pressure toward center ancl by winds directed spirally inward; in some features opposed to anticyclone ”. A system of winds rotating around a center of minimum barometric pressure, the center and whole system having itself a motion of translation, which is sometimes arrested, when the cyclone becomes for R time stationary ”. WEBSTER’S INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY: “A violent storm, often of vast extent, characterized by high winds rotating about a calm center of low atmospheric pressure. This center moves onward, often with a velocity of twenty or thirty mile8 an hour ”. Vol. V, Encyclopedia Americana, gives a brief r6sum6 of the origin of cyclones, which is by no iueans helpful. Turning to the discussion of scientific men or meteorolo- gists, i t will appear that the movement of all winds is inore or less circular, and that cyclones in their technical sense are not usually harmful, ancl are not destructive until they assume the quality of a tornado, denominated by theiii as “the child of the cyclone ”. While i t is to be conceded that where an insurance contract is so drawn as to be. ambiguous ancl susceptible of different constructions, so that men of average intelligence might rea- sonably attach different meanings thereto, the court will apply that construction to i t which is most favoralde to the assured. NEW ENGLrsH DICTIONARY: “ Meteoral. 36-2 r r But the rule is especially well settled that contracts of in- surance, like other contracts, are to be construed according to the sense and meaning of the terms which the parties have used, and if they are clear and unambiguous, their terms are to be taken and understood in their plain, ordinary, and popu- lar sense ”. (Iniprinl Fire Insurance Co. v. Coos County, 151 U. S. 562.) It will be observed that in the ninth paragraph, excepting the insurer from liability, it does not cover loss or damage resulting from freezing or fire, “nor resulting from nor caused by earthquakes or cyclones or by blasting or explosions of any kind, or by the fall or collapse of any building or buildings, or part thereof ”. Applying the rule novcitrir a sociis in search- ing out what must have been in the mind of the parties in the employment of the word c‘cyclone”, there can not be any reasonable doubt that i t was the purpose not to apply the insurance to loss or damage resulting from violent causes arising outside of the building where the automatic sprinkler was installed, such as blasting, or explosions, or earthquakes, or cyclones. It excluded injuries from blasting or explosions because i t was well known that such external force is well calculated to so shake the building as would probably disturb and dislodge the sprinkler and cause the water to escape there- from. It excepted earthquakes because of the known fact that they were calculated to jar the building, and probably dislodge the sprinkler and turn loose the flood of water. I n the saiiie connection occnrs the word “cyclone ”. Inasmuch as i t is common knowlege that windstorms of abnormal force or violence may so shake or topple a building as to effectually disturb an automatic sprinkler in place therein, the inquiry naturally arises, why should the parties to this contract be held to have had in mind that unless the windstorm possessed the peculiar quality of a circular, twisting motion in its sweep, so as to bring i t within the technical or scientific derivation of the word cyclone, it should not come within the compass of this exception from the policy? It is a conceded fact among etymologists, as well as matter of common learning, that words have their development and enlargement, so that in tinle they are used and understood among the people if not in an entirely different sense, yet so as to express ancl comprehend a broader application than was implied in their origin. And, therefore, they undergo in lexi- cography the changes attached to them in common parlance. The law in its flexibility, constantly adjusting and adapting itself to new conditions as they arise, declares that words and phrases employed in business transactions in ordinary dealings among men, shall be deemed to have been employed in their popular sense and acceptation, unless it clearly appears that they were intended to be used in their technical or more re- stricted sense. I t is hardly to be presumed that the average merchantman and insurance agent who make these insurance contracts ever heard of the Greek word from which the term cyclone is claimed to have been derived, or that they possess any technical knowledge, or had in mind the characteristic of ‘‘ high minds rotating about a center of low atmospheric pres- sure, and this center moving onward ”. But they do know the common history of the clay, that in States west of the Missis- sippi River, like Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, ancl Minne- sota, there are what are popularly known as cyclones, occur- ring in the spring or summer months, recognized as wind- storms of great velocity and destructive violence, as distin- guished from ordinary windstorms known as furious or noisy gales, but not attended with extraordinary destruction of life and propertmy. They do know that in such regions windstorms are designated as cyclones, which, passing through a narrow strip of country, more or less confined, with such resistless force aa to twist, break, and uproot trees, unroof and turn over houses and destroy property in their march, more or less eccen- tric in their movements. It is not too much to say that this 264 MONTHLP WEB- REVIEW. JUNE, 1907 designation is one of common acceptance among the people. Scientific writers, like Mr. John Elfreth Watkins, in the Technical World of February, 1905, while speaking rather de- risively, bears testimony to the fact of this designation of the term cyclone among the people. “A roaring, snapping, death-sowing funnel-cloud looms up in the sky, descends to earth, ploughs through life and property for a mile or two, ascends into the air whence it came, and passes off. Ten to one the newspapers will state that a ‘ cyclone ’ visited the affected region. It all results from our eternal, inveterate habit of sticking to wrong names-for example, locust ’ for cicada, buffalo ’ for bison, and other misused terms that might be cited ”. Had the policy employed the words ‘‘ violent windstorm ” i t would in practical application have been inexpressive and vague. Had it added the word I r destructive ” i t might have been too narrow for the assured and too liberal for the insurer. But in the use of the more generic term ‘I cyclone ”, in its up- to-date significance, it clearly enough expressed and included that character of windstorm distinguished by its concentrated force and violence, so resistless as to make i t especially destruc- tive in its narrow pathway to property like buildings. Under the construction contended for by the learned counsel for plaintiffs, and as expressed in the charge of the court, had this windstorm come, like an avalanche of rnightywaters, against the plaintiffs’ building and crushed i t like an egg shell, as i t did buildings of lesser strength, yet the insurance company should be held for damages, unless i t should be shown that ‘‘ in addition, it was characterized by high winds rotating about a center of low atmospheric pressure and this center moving onward with greater or less velocity, etc.” The spirit of the common law is the instinct of practical sense. Courts are most s p t to approximate absolute justice in construing a controverted term in a business contract, like the one under review, by giving to it a practicable comprehen- sible application, rather than one so technical and theoretical as only to obscure and mystify. For the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life ”. The failure to observe this, in seeking to solve the import of the term “ cyclone ”, as employecl in the ninth condition of the insurance contract, doubtless furnished the jury the only conceivable pretest for finding the issue for tlie plaintiffs. Reversing the situation: Had the policy contract insured against loss resulting from a cyclone, the insurance company defending on the ground that the winclstorm in question was not a cgclone, can it be imagined that the same jury would not have found the issue for the plaintiffs, had they not been confused or felt coerced by the charge of the court imposing the necessity of direct proof of the presence in the wind of the technical qualities of a meteorological definition? There being no disputable evidence on which reasonable minds ought to differ as to the windstorm being of the popular conception of a cyclone, as that term was employed in the policy, the court should have granted the request of the defendant for a directed verdict. The judgment of tlie Circuit Court is, therefore, reversed, and the cause is remanded with directions to grant a new trial. He said: THUNDERSTORMS AND SQUALLS. The Editor regrets that time and opportunity have not allowecl him as yet to make a r6sum6 of our steady progress in the knowledge of the origin and mechanical phenomena atteacling squalls and thunderstorms. This is a matter t,hat has been especially developed of late years by &I. Durand- GrGville. We should be *cry glad if some one of our pliysicists woulcl contril~ute to the MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW a review of the work that has been done along this line of study, begin- ning with Espy’s reports and maps of 1836. Thus for a long time we have known in a general way that thunderstorms occur principally on the south and east sides of an area of low pres- sure, that in fact they represent the front of a slowly descend- ing mass of air moving northeastward and underrunning and lifting up the air near the ground, just as the cold blizzards represent slowly descending air moving southeast, on the western side of a central area of low pressure. The blizzard is a winter phenomenon while the thunderstorm is a summer phenomenon. But Durand-Grkville has added to our knowl- edge by showing that in every thunderstorm and squall we have a ribbon (ruban) of isobars squeezed close together, so that the isobaric chart reminds one of the graining in the sur- face of a bean1 of wood ‘‘ quarter-sawed ”. I n fact the ancient usage of French mariners is to speak of a “ squall of wind ” as a “ grain ”, altho we know not the etymology of this French word. Durand-Grkville has for many years made a special study of the isobars attending these wind squalls or grains. The last paper by him was presented to the recent international competition in the prediction of the weather (Liege, 1905), and is published in f u l l in the bulletin of the Belgian Astronomical Society, for RIarch and June, 1906. Apparently there are very few instaiicea in which squalls can not be foreseen by one who follows up this line of study. The nieiuoirs by D~irancl-GrB- ville remind us of the following paper published long since by Dr. Gustavus Hiurichs and Prof. Frederick Starr. I n a first paper on the thunderstorms of Iowa, published in the Proceedings of the Davenport Academy, December, 1887. Vol. V, pages 81-99, Prof. Frederick Starr, Ph. D., of Coe College, Ceclar Rapids, entered on his special study of thunderstorms for that State. Altho he hac1 only 51 re- porters for the first summer yet many interesting features were brought out. Doctor Starr stated that he was not ‘‘a professional meteorologist ”, but he had “a great desire to see Iowa thunderstorms carefully studied ”, and believed it to be a subject that would repay diligent work. We fully agree with him in this latter belief, and hope that someone may col- late and analyze the data that have been published for that year, and that in fact one will be found to make special studies of the origin and development of thunderstorms in each sec- tion of our country. Just as soon as such a study has been made in the region within 50 miles around any large city i t should 1x3 possible to invert the problem, and from the begin- ning predict whether or no the thunderstorin will in a few hours trouble that city. We quote the following paragraphs from Doctor Starr’s first paper: Three ltiuds o f tliunderstc~rms seem to be reported- Firfit.-Storms, well defineal, traveling from the west, or a western quarter, toward an eastern (luarter. Tiiue records, properly malle, bupl’ly data for calculating the rate of progress eastward. These are aljIiarently connected with the general atmospheric circulation of the Uuited States, and ocwr in the southeast tluadrant of a ‘‘ low ” area. Second-Heat stornib, local in character; not showing a progreshive inovement; often unartmipanied by any wind: seltloin hrginning until 4 p. In. i n the afterrinon, or in the evening, followed by a later instal- iiieut in the early moruing. Third.-‘. Sqriallr ”, which are well oharacterizeil hy Doctor Hinrichs in his ‘* Eulletins” f ~~r June and July, 1582. His aclbonnt has been (luoted by otherb, b u t may again be copied here for Iowa reader&. *. Our Iowa s(liia1ls are as serious as any on the ocean; the wind niay he dehtructire, biit it is not lifting or rr\olving as it is in tlie tornado. Roughly speaking, tlie slluall may be likened to an extended tornado, having its asi< parallel to the ground. Here, in Iowa, it generally bursts upon us from the northwest, following the southeast wind; it rolls over ani1 strikes down upon us, usually with abundant precipitation, and soon is suvreeded by the same southeast wind whirh it so abruptly clis- plai.e(l. So tar as I have studied them, they come down from the north- west, progressing at tlie rate of 211 to 50 illiles an hour. I n northeastern Iowa the storin froiit IIHS a ten4tw-y to hem1 lip, so as to make tlie