Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1912-10-17

Now, in the center of this ancient crater, which
must have been larger than any volcano of which
We have knowledge at the present day was the
blow hole, or vent Over this blow hole the
Spaniards who conquered Mexico set up the city
of Guadalajara little thinking that they were Sc
Iecting a veritable death trap for their settle
ment. Slowly through the eighteen or twenty
centuries since it last active this central
melting pot of the old volcano has been forming
a new and equally powerful mass of molten ma
teriaI which sooner or later will blow Guadala,
lara off the face Of the earth.
AN earthquake landslides, cIoudbursts or
other elemental disturbances filed the opening Of
this ancient crater with cap 800 feet in thick
ness. This cap much thicker than that which
any other volcano has had to blow off, is the only
thing that has saved Guadalaiara from destruc-
ton years ago. How long it will protect the city
now is a question no man can answer and prove
the answer. 1t may be years; to my mind it is
a matter of months; in any event, believe that
the only way to save the capital is to move it
bodily and move it while there is time to do So
Aside from it's scientific interest and from the
unique situation of a city built on a volcano,
there remains the very practical problem which
confrOnts Guadalajara-the job of moving city
Of 10000 souls to a new location So far, Juana-
catIan is the most likely candidate for the honor
of being the capital of JaliscO, but there are q
number of other towns out of range of the buried
crater all Of which will be considered before the
change is made.
All sorts Of wild propositions to tap the crater
and draw off the menacing fires have been made
to the authorities of Guadalajara, but the men Of
science say there is no way to curb the demon
Of fire Gagged by nature below and that the city
must be removed or it will be destroyed One
man proposed to turn the waters of the Santiago
river into a huge tunnel driven to the heart of
the crater, but the earthquake specialists quickly
informed the city officials that this merely would
cause an immediate and more terrible explosion
than if the crater were left to itself
Another man offered to tunnel into the crater
from a point five miles outside the city, and on
the slightly lower or western side and let the
contents of the crater flow out. He was disap-
pointed when informed that his tunnel would
have to be about 500 feet in diameter and that
the heat would be so great a hundred feet from
the inner end of the tunnel that human beings
could not endure it.
Thus it appears that unless surgeon fol
earthquakes" appears, and that very shortly
Guadalajara will have to pick up her houses and
move to new location The result to real estate
owners and men who have bought or built some
of the fine blocks which mark the main streets
of the JaIisco capital will be financial ruin.
Some of these men profess to doubt the word
of the scientists and to believe that the city is
safe. They will throw their influence and their
votes against moving the city unless they can be
convinced that there is a very real personal dan
ger for themselves and their families.