The reader may well be excused if at first sight he is puzzled over
our title. What possible connection can there be between the simple
Wisconsin scholar, whose life of busy service for the betterment of
humanity terminated almost half a century ago, and the baby-killing
air raids upon London and other English cities with which the soldiers
of Emperor William are accustomed to divert themselves?
Gentle reader, we propose to show you. Increase A. Lapham delved in
many fields of learning, but chiefly he was a scientist and perhaps
his greatest single achievement was his practical conquest of the
secret of foretelling the weather. Now we learn, on the authority of
the London _Illustrated News_, that the imperial German government has
utilized Lapham’s discovery to insure the success (or at least to
minimize the danger) of its air raids on London. “When the east wind
blows beware of air raids.” Thus might a modernized English edition of
_Poor Richard’s Almanac_ read. Also, “When the night is moonlight,
beware of air raids,” but frequently moonlight nights are enjoyed sans
the nocturnal visitants. The twofold explanation is that the air
raiders must have clear weather and it is desirable if not essential
that they have the wind behind them on the outward raid and in their
faces on the return journey, rather than vice versa. The Germans have
control of Europe from the North Sea far into Russia and so it is
possible for their meteorological observation posts to give warning
for something like twelve hours in advance of any change in weather
conditions coming down behind an east wind. As long, therefore, as
there is a steady wind across Europe anywhere between northeast and
southeast those in charge of the raiding squadrons in Belgium have
full warning of what the weather is going to be like. Accordingly the
fiendish flying brood can be sent forth in confident assurance that
neither its arrival at its destination nor its return to the home
station will be frustrated by stormy weather.
Increase Lapham labored for years to promote his great discovery
because he had a vision of the service it would be to mankind. One of
his most striking arguments for enlisting community action in the
promotion of his work was a calculation of the number of lives and of
vessels which annually would be saved from destruction on Lake
Michigan alone. Happily for him he did not live to witness the
spectacle of the world’s most efficient government perverting his
great achievement to the promotion of the indiscriminate slaughter of
the men and women, the mothers and babies of the world’s greatest
metropolis.