Los Angeles herald., 1907-06-16

l ulilOl improvements, dS duVOCdleQ
will produce perfect stducture.
In another class are to be placed
but not as failures, concrete and rein.
forced concrete structures. These
structures have become popular fol
construction with large number oi
designers in San Francisco on account
of the claimed strength, indestructi.
bility, facility of use. and fire and rust
protection their materials afford. I'm
fortunately for San Francisco, there
were very few structures of concrete
or reinforced concrete in the city al
the time of her great trial; but these
few behaved well during both the
earthquake and the resulting fire.
Therefore. although such structures
are admittedly new and comparatively
experimental on the Pacific coast, the
confidence reposed in them has already
led to the designing OFFS number of
large buildings of this type for public
or business purposes. AT present the
sentiment is to limit them to height
| of six or eight stories, on account of
their experimental character, and be-
cause of the fear that greater height
would permit q reversal of stress, due
! to quake and wind force in the REIN
| forced girders. 1t is agreed that the
columns should be reinforced with
steel, and braced together whenever
possible, and that the girders should
| be similarly reinforced for tension and
shear, and made, as far as practicable,
continuous over the columns; and also
that the joints and connections should
| be strongly stiffened and the curtain
walls strengthened by reinforcement.
Mill construction with brick will un-
doubtedly be used in many instances,
for a considerable time to come, but
the lesson taught us should be learned
that the materials should be first-class
pressed orick, we'll wetted, and cement
mortar, and that all parts should be
thoroughly tied and anchored together
This rule has been found by our ex-
perience to be a most important one to
follow in all brick and stone construc-
ton and its neglect in the past has
resulted in much loss and ruin
Richard L. Humphrey, the third ex-
pert, sums up his visit to the ruined
city with the following: Large con-
fiagrations demonstrate that there is
no such thing as a fireproof building.
To label one as such is bad practice,
since it gives a false sense of security
and causes relaxing of necessary pre-
cautions.
Because a. structure is built of steel
and fireproof does not make it superior
to other types of construction, for poor
materials and workmanship may pro-
uuce OHe Ol lllleIlOT quality.
1.-THE loss of life from earthquake is
usually very great That in San Fran
cisco it did not exceed 500 is accounted
for by the fact that at the time of it's
occurrence during the early hours of
the morning, most of the inhabitants
were in houses, 80 per cent of which
were of frame. This type of structure
withstood the earthquake shock par
ticularly we'll, which accounts for the
minimum loss of life.
Had the earthquake occurred four
or five hours later, when the people
were performing their daily tasks, in
offices, schools, ETC., or on the streets,
the loss of life must have been very
great
Mo- Learning the Lesson
"The lessons taught by the great
calamities such as have befallen San
Francisco, Baltimore, Chicago and
other cities, are not regarded. 1t is
quite probable that the new San Fran
cisco will be, to a large extent
duplicate of the former city in previous
defects of construction. The defects OF
construction, which are so strongly
condemned by reason of their failure,
are no worse than those generally prac-
ticed throughout the United Statse. The
same defects are common, and it Is
6NlQGuL sIldl lIlS SeiIIlC ICoulI WOulo
follow an earthquake of equal intensity
in another part of the country. A
moments consideration will show that
the loss of life and property in New
York, for example, under similar con-
ditions, would be enormous.
1.-The damage to property in San
Francisco is estimated at $500,000, 900,
but this sum, large as it is, is exceeded
by the total annual expenditures for
new construction in New York"
The experts offer still another sug-
gestion to San Francisco which seeks
to safeguard the people against con-
flagration. In discussing the water
works system, Capt. Sewell says:
"In a city subject to earthquakes, it
seems practically impossible to suggest
any method of construction which will
make the mains and distributing pipes,
in all cases, perfectly secure. In my
Judgment the only remedy is to have
a large storage capacity within the
city itself, distributed among various
reservoirs and to have a more than
ordinarily complete gridiron of mains
with gate valves arranged to cut out
any main at every intersection; fur
ther, the mains should be larger than
would ordinarily be required, so that if
portion of the gridiron were shat
tered it could be cut out, but the water
the perimeter of the shattered area
from all undamaged parts of the grid
iron. The mains should be so large that
although the water would have farther
to travel, inS this case. there would be
an adequate supply for fighting fire. if
necessary, in the area where the mains
were shattered.
"The earthquake effects at San
Francisco also indicate quite clearly
that a special study should be made
of the problem of the prompt execution
of emergency repairs for the damaged
conduit and MAINS"
Professor Soule, in taking up the
question of waterworlxs, says:
"San Francisco should have had sep
arate and ample water mains, entering
the city on several Independent lines,
from different sources of supply;
numerous distributing reservoirs on her
hills in various parts of the city, al
ways well filed, independent, and yet
with a distributing system meshing the
entire area with its pipes, so Joined or
Waived that they might be separated
or united at will.
There should have been, in city
almost surrounded by salt water, a
separate system of flexible salt water
~ a iv,, fo,. fro md Gaxvar T11ITnOcac and