The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1906-05-08
A SHOCK TO ENGLAND.
British Experts See Danger to Edin-
burgh in Recent Disasters.

LONDON, May S.-Naturally the
chief topic Of discussion here as else
where has been the appalling disaster
at San Francisco and seismographists
are propounding various theories as to
the cause, opinion being divided as to
its connection with the Mount vesuvius
eruption.
One question asked is, will the dis
turbance come toward Great Britain?
and it is suggested that Edinburg is
in the dangerous zone, just as San
Francisco is, for the Scottish capital
is built on extinct volcanoes.
Eminent British seismographists give
the opinion that it was the contraction
of the earth's surface by the release Of
Overheated steam in the interior of the
earth, and the failure of the earth to
swing true on it's axis owing to the ac-
ton of the sun spots and a landslip
of the geological strata.
The most interesting of all is the
statement of Professor Milne, who is
considered the most eminent of the
English seismograph experts, and who
at his home in the Isle of Wight, has
an instrument which not only tells him
whenever an earthquake occurs, but
instrument consists of an object line,
d common street lamp post set upon a
pedestal of concrete which is sunk
down through the earth to chalk sub
strata This lamp post is sensitive to
every vibration of the earth and is
connected with a needle which passes
across a cylinder of paper blackened by
being held over an ordinary lamp.
When a disturbance on the earth's sur
face takes place, the lamp post is sha-
ken and a connecting wire at once
transfers the vibrations to the smok-
ed paper, while the length of the
scratches enables the observer to CAL
culate the extent of the earthquake
and the distance away from the re-
cording instrument.
Instrument Recorded Shock.
Professor Milne was out golfing at
the time, but on returning home a
glance at the instrument told him that
tremendous upheaval of the earth's
crust had taken place, and it was the
work of but a few minutes to calculate
where it had taken place.
Having developed his photograph
records, he was able to discuss with
a newspaper representative the origin
of the earthquake, which he said was
evidently upon land, for if it had been
sub-oceanic, it is probable there would
have been great sea waves. Its origin
therefore is presumably in the range
Of hills running parallel with the coast
at the foot of which lies San Francisco.
This range of hills may be regarded as
an addition to the western coast of
North America, when the Sierra Ne
vada had been raised, which occurred
after the formation of chalk in Eng
land.
The site of San Francisco was be-
meath the ocean and sediments had ac-
cumulated, until they had attained an
enormous thickness by the horizontal
pressure These We're buckled up to
form the Coast range, and the great
disturbance which has just taken place
indicates that this kind of activity is
still in operation.
Cause of Disaster.
The probabilities are that these stra-
ia have been overbent and have sud-
denly yielded with a, crash and great
fault or fracture in the earth's crust
has been formed. On one side the
ground has suddenly fallen and it was
the impact of this on what was be-
meath which gave rise to the great
shaking felt all over the world and
which ended so disastrously for San
Francisco.
Earthquake Near Edinburg.