The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1886-09-10
REPUBLICAN TICKET.
HOUSE, or DRLEdATEs
n, T. WHITAKER,
GEORGE l. MUM,
WILLIAM $. MEEK,
EDWARD n. ATKINSON,


The scientists are catching good drub'
bling in many newspapers on account OF
their theories in regard to the causes OF
earthquakes. 1t is very plain that they
attsmpt to conceal certain amount Of
ignorance in the mas Of verblage and
technical phrases Of their statements.
MIR. n. P. Roberts, Of Pittsburgh, comes
TO the front with new theory that all the
violent disturbances come from tho earth's
center.
Many instances can be cited where the
effect Of earthquake shocks have been fOlt
simultaneously at points very remote from
each other. Thus an earthquake in Chilli
in 1885 was felt simultaneously ct the
island of Juan Fernandez, 72O miles dis
tan!. New Madrid and OarraaCus, points
5000 miles apart, felt the shock Of March
%, 1879, at the came moment. An earth
quake in Columbia in 1897 was felt on the
opposite side OF the earth in the ochotsh
Mountains at the came time. These facts
hay, bsen noticed by Milne, Mailer and
other authorities, but they have dismissed
thi, phase Of the subject without much
consideration, believing that whom very
distant poinla have been simultaneously
shaken that it was merely an accidental
coincidence that several earthquakes
should BIO felt over tho earth at the same
time.
III the face Of this aCCumuIatlng owl
deuoa Mr.. Roberts beg5 to dissent that
these arc mere Condolences. lie says in
substautiatlon Of his own theory:
But il wo grant-as we think It should
be admitted-that these simultaneous
quakes over very extensive regions orlgi.
nate f;om ono common center Of distur.
bance, we are brought to face new Ques.
tons, 10 account for their origin and es.
tsblish the location OF their seat oil action.
The generally accepted theory is that the
earth has crust from so TO 200 miles
thick resting upon fluid mass which fills
the entire spheroid, and that when an
earthquake diaturba that crust at any
given point Ito eifeCtis propaHated by IN.
dulatlons to moro or less distant regions;
and there is no doubt that many earth.
quake movements have 30 propagatGd
themselves. Thus in the Lisbon earth
quake Of 1916, which disturbed an area
four times greater than the whole Of
Europe, being ielt from Germany 10 our
great lakes, and southwark to the Mad.
Ezra and West India Islands, by actual
time observations the vibrations Travelled
20 miles per minute, or 1900 miles por
hour. But, as before said, the shock OF
the recent earthquake over an area proba.
bly, as large was lelt everywhere almost at
the same moment.
II we grant that the velocity Of earth.
quake pulsations Is twenty miles per min.
ute, how, then, can We account for the
simultaneous shocks OF this earthquake2
The answer appears 10 me to BIO simple
There iS only one point within the equi.
distant from Plttsburgh, Boston. ST. Louis,
Charleston and other points where Tues.
day nights shock was felt, and that point
is the center Of the Garth. So, on the the.
DRY that the seat Of the disturbance was at
or near the center Of the earth, only can
the shocks.
1uGIb hlU many IVubUllh " UbllbN6
that the earth Is solid 10 the centre as that
II is q molten mass upon which floats a
crust 80 TO 100 miles thick. 1t Is
scarcely worth while 10 mention them,
however, seeing that opinions rest upon
speculative ideas, The truth ig, there Is
nothing in the realms Of science about
which. 30 little Is positively known as the
cause Of earthquakes-it Is all specula.
ton. On the assumption that the earth
Is q cavernous solid, or entirely solid TO
Its centre We would have a different mode
OF explaining tho movement OF tremorH
from tho center to tho surface than II we
assumed 1t to be liquid mass; but the
writer merely desires 10 call attention to
the fact that, with either hypothesis, the
rate OF tho movement would be the same
In any direction through the mass over
equal distances, provided, OF Course, tho
substance traverssd by tho shocks was
homogeneous. Earthquakes from tho
earth'S center upon reaching the surface
might follow with more violent cracks In
the geological strata, according 10 their
nature, In series OF secondary waves,
and thus give rise to all the minor and
diEcordant phenomena 90 confusing and
difficult to explain, such as uphORvals OF
coasts In come parts and subsistence in
others.
Mr.. Roberts further claims that Gstor.
nomlcal, electrical and:meteorologiCal pho.
nomena play an important part In some
earthquakes, and should not be ignored
In their study. In illustrating this he
BaySj
Ills not inireQuent 10 hear Of rise Of
one inch In the barometer In ono part Of
tho earth, and a corresponding depression
OF An inch In another part OF the earth.
This would be equivalent 10 one'thlrlieth
Of the atmospheric weight removed from
ono part and piled up upon another. In
other words, we would have q proportion
OF 20 10 81 for the difference In the gross
weight over the respective areas, or l44
pounds per square foot on one greater
than upon the other. This applied TO the
vast area involved In the. recent EARTH
quake, say 0,OO0 miles long BY 1000 miles
Wide, there might have been 10000
tons pOf BquAtO mile more at atmospheric
weight In the eastern than IN the western
half. The figure for the entire area 10 be-
You'd our conception.
In making this palmer Mr.. Roberts
takes q homely example 10 verify the
t..n tVkan a ,ina ,satast,,ain IL ,.saas