The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1921-03-04
EARTHQUAKES
GROWING PAINS
Newer Geologic Formations
Cause Tremors Reported
From Various Sections.
HARVARD EXPERT EXPLAINS
The World Merely Suffering Another
Periodic String Of Commissions; He
Says-Seores Of Shakes Every
Twenty-four Hours.

Cambridge, Mass.-The epidemic of
earthquakes that shook the world in
several widely separated sections in
recent weeks contains no cause for
general alarm they are only the grow.
Ing pains Of the newer geological
formations and old Mother Earth her.
self at heart is still sound and solid.
This, in effect, is the reassuring state.
ment of Professor j. B. Woodwork,
who is in charge of the Harvard seis-
mographic station, as prepared for the
correspondents of the press.
Occur in Series.
Earthquakes have a way of occur
ring in series, he said, and the world
has merely been suffering from an.
other of these periodic strings of con-
vulsions in the shocks reported from
Albania, China and Peru. AS q matter
of fact, there are score of earth.
quakes strong enough to be felt or
registered somewhere in the world
every twenty-fOur hours, but only a
small proportion of them are serious.
Some are so small that they would not
be realized but for the sensitiveness of
instruments. To indicate the fine per-
ceptions Of these instruments, Profess
sor Woodwork said that in times of
severe storms at sea the crash of the
surf on the rock coast Of NewfOund-
land is registered at the seismOgraphic
laboratory here.
1.-THE quakes that shook China and
South America last month were not
the same, but separate Shocks" said
Professor Woodwork. "Geologists all
know that earthquakes are likely thus
toy come in groups. For example, in
the year 1855 the city Of Lisbon. ii
Portugal, was destroyed by an earth
quake on November 1, while on the
18th of the same month Boston was
severely shaken. The difficulty is that
there Is no way of telling exactly
when or where they will occur. If one
serious quake occurs, we may predict
that others are likely to follow 1t, but
that information is of little practical
value since we cannot tell how long
the epidemic will last, what the inter.
val between the quakes will be or In
what part Of the earth they will occur.
East Not Often Visited.
'The eastern part Of the United
States is not often visited with severe
earthquakes. The only severe ones
felt hereabouts since New England
was settled were in 1888, in 1927 and
in 1855, with q much lesser one in
1872.
''The shock OF 1927 was so vigorous
that sermons were preached on "A
Holy Fear Of God and His Judg-
ments,' and day of fasting and pray
er was observed. The shock in 1855
brought down $500 chimneys and the
gable ends of brick houses in Boston.
But the really large earthquakes are
in the portions of the earth such as
Japan, the East Indies, Alaska and the
Pacific ocean floor, where the noun
tains are new geologically and where
the rocks are moving. Volcanic regions
are often identical with earthquake
regions, but great earthquakes show
no immediate connection with volca.
noes.
"About twenty earthquakes strong
enough to be felt or registered occur
every day in the year somewhere in
the world, but only small proportion
Of these are serious. The Harvard
seismograph registers some eighty
earthquakes year, chiefly distant