Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1872-04-12


California sGrGRs are not vet done fixing the
'bility for the late earthquakes, and each
"eXpeIt' has his own theory different from any,
BODY elses. As there is a sect Of philosophers
who contend that nothing is but that everything
only seems to be. and that the object is evolved
OFT OF the inner onsciorsness of the subject, so
there wsS school of Pacific slopers, who with
their e. l'erience of earthquakes which were no
no great shakes, had come to the conclusion that
the effects they wtnes Sed were the resultof some
electric or atmospheric disturbance which shook
the buildings and other objects on the surface of
the ground, which in the general commotion
only seemed to tremble. This comfortable theory
Is upset by the dispatches from Lone Pine which
state that the earth opened wide in places; that
Owens valley has been moved southwark four
teen feet; that some thousand distinct shocks
have occurred; that huge rocks were hurled
down the 70 Semitic valley, sbiyering the giant
trees, and that immen-e waves rolled up the
Cult of California. All these phenomena have
been laid upon ell striCity, of course, and then
GpOn all the heavenly bodies in succession
q PhilOmath," who undertakes to settle the
question by communication IN the San Fran
cisco papers, is dead-sure it j. all ,yupiter's
fault. he clears it ali up thus: :. But when a
planet so large as Jupiter is nearer the earth by
one hundred millions of miles, the tendency to
iit the comparatively th1n crust OF the same is
IIOPoTtiOnateiy greater. No one will deny the
fact OF the moons erea; ing the tides and if her
attraction Is sufficient Il elevate the tidal wave
may she not elevate the land in proportion?',
lie says, further. that Jupiter was nearest to Us
on The 18th of January, and that on the next
day happened the great earthquake at Schema
cha, IN Russia, destroying that town, with great
loss OF life. This theory Goes not suit Mr. Stew
art, of San JO-e, who att sibutes the big earth
qnake to the railroads. He says that instead of
being caused by internal forces, they are the
result OF electric currents moving on the earth's
surface, and that iron railroad tracks are con-
duetors of the electricity that causes them. Mr..
Stewart thinks that the Pacific and other rail-
reads have done valuable service for California
by distributing the earthquake forces of that
state over the cont nent, by which the danger
and intensity OF the shocks are lessaned
i lie frisco papers generally indorse Stewart
ana the TACT on which his supporters mainly
rely 20 subStantiate his opinions is that San
Francisco, which STANDS on very Iusky ground.
ana l. notorious for its shaky spells in this case
almost entirely escaped, receiving no shock
Sufficient to cause alarm, though at Oakland
there was startling one which lasted minute
itsls also said that Sacramento never felt an
earthquake that was not more severely felt at
San Francisco until the railroad track was laid.
and that since the railroad has been built there
have been four other EARTHQUAKES On its line
none Of which reached San Francisco The
inference drawn from all this is that railroads
have saved San Francisco by distributing the
earthquake through the interior