An Act to Amend Act No. 131

May 21, 1908

ACT NO. 1833

AN ACT TO AMEND ACT NUMBERED ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-ONE, ENTITLED "AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A WEATHER BUREAU FOR THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AND APPROPRIATING EIGHT THOUSAND AND SIXTY-SIX DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS, IN MONEY OF THE UNITED STATES, FOR THE PURCHASE OF METEOROLOGICAL INSTRUMENTS AND APPARATUS AND THE INSTALLATION OF THE SAME"

SECTION 1. Sections four, eight, nine, ten, and eleven of Act Numbered One hundred and thirty-one, entitled "An Act providing for the establishment of a weather bureau for the Philippine Islands and appropriating eight thousand and sixty-six dollars and fifty cents, in money of the United States, for the purchase of meteorological instruments and apparatus and the installation of the same," are hereby amended so as to read as follows:

"SEC. 4. The Director shall have general supervision and control over the work of the Bureau, and shall define the duties of the assistant director, of the corresponding secretary and librarian, and of all employees. He shall maintain an efficient system of weather forecasts and storm warnings, and shall each day forward forecasts and storm warnings, if any, to the captains of all ports in the Archipelago which are in telegraphic communication with the capital, to the Chief Executive of the Insular Government, to the Commission, to the heads of all civil Departments and Bureaus in Manila, to the commandant of the naval station at Cavite, and to the public press of Manila, Cebu, and Iloilo. When dangerous storms threaten any portion of the Archipelago he shall send telegraphic warnings to the threatened district, if practicable. Forecasts and storm warnings shall be sent to all branch stations in telegraphic communication with the central station, and there posted for the benefit of the public. Warnings of dangerous storms likely to strike the Asiatic Coast, Formosa, or Japan shall, if practicable, be communicated by telegraph to the directors of meteorological observatories situated within the threatened areas, or to such persons as may be officially designated by other governments to receive them. The Director shall further cause to be prepared a monthly bulletin and a monthly report. The monthly bulletin shall contain a brief resume of the chief meteorological phenomena of the preceding month, and a comparison between the phenomena observed and the normal conditions for the month in question. Five hundred copies of this bulletin in English and five hundred in Spanish shall be published by the Director for free public distribution. The monthly report shall contain the observations made at the central station and the branch stations, together with such discussions of them as the Director may deem profitable. Five hundred copies shall be printed. It shall be published in the Spanish language until January first, nineteen hundred and two, and thereafter in the English language. The bulletin and report shall be published by the Manila Observatory, but the Insular Government shall pay the actual cost of paper, typesetting, presswork, and binding. The Director shall further cause such special reports and maps to be prepared from time to time as the Commission may authorize or direct. When it is deemed desirable to publish special reports or maps the number of copies to be printed and the method of publication shall, in each case, be fixed by the Commission." EHaASD

"SEC. 8. At all first-class stations hourly meteorological records shall be kept and compiled, and they shall be forwarded to the central station by mail at regular intervals to be prescribed by the Director. Such daily telegraphic reports of the state of the weather shall be forwarded to the central station as the Director may require.

"SEC. 9. At all second-class stations six daily meteorological observations shall be made at times to be specified by the Director, and the results for each month shall be compiled and forwarded to the central station before the end of the next succeeding month. Such daily telegraphic reports of the state of the weather shall be forwarded to the central station as the Director may require.

"SEC. 10. At all third-class stations two daily meteorological observations shall be made at hours to be fixed by the Director. They shall be forwarded to Manila by wire, if possible, otherwise by mail.

"SEC. 11. At all rain stations there shall be recorded the daily maximum and minimum temperature, barometric readings at six antemeridian and two postmeridian, and daily rainfall. Reports from rain stations shall be forwarded by mail to the central station."

SECTION 2. This Act shall take effect on its passage.

ENACTED, May 21, 1908. DaIAcC