Evening star., 1924-10-24

citizens of Toxic to improve the con-
struction of the water pipes, which
had often been proved to become in
efficient even in case of a moderate
shock. In addition, I announced in
1905, through the journal Taiyo, that
there was a possibility that Toxic
might be visited by destructive
earthquake in the near future, to be
followed by a general confederation
should the system and equipments of
fire protection remain unimproved
when we might experience a loss of
lives to the extent of 10000 or more
l discussed this view in detail but
people refused to believe me. There
was even an eminent scientist who
ridiculed my opinion, once at that
time and again in 1915. as nothing
more than rumor which might
cause a panic"
that earthquake in 1923 show 99.331
deaths, 1O3.735 wounded and 43.476
missing. Also of property loss, COM
pletely collapsed buildings, 1926;
half collapsed, 1928: burnt up,
477,12s; washed away, S6s. Probably
never befSre has prophecy of ca
lamity come so close to the facts
which ensued. yet even DR.. Imamura
could not claim to know when his
II
simply warned of the dangerous con-
ditions of the earth's strata, but not
just when the momentous slip would
occur.
In the October number Of Scrib-
ner's Magazine appears an interesting
and informing article, "Predlcting
Earthquakes" written by DR.. j. A
Jaggar. who Is in charge of the
Hawaiian volcano observatory. The
writer states that the losses of lives
through IL earthquakes in the last
21 years have averaged 10000 year
with property loss Of half a billion
dollars per year. Six of these dis
asters were in America, three in
Japan and two in Italy. "And no one
Baltimore or Washington Is geologi-
cally immune to such happenings as
the Charleston earthquake of 1885,
says DR.. Jaggar. Martinique de-
stroyed perhaps $50,000,00 of capital,
San Francisco $500. 100000 and Toxic
S., 900, 10000
Classifying the regions of the earth
according to their liability to quake
and scaling them as from / to 10
1 being the quietest and 10 the most
shaky, DR.. Jaggar reports:
What about the United States?
Michigan is very solid and quiet-No
3 of the scale. Ohio and the Missis-
sippi Valley are No. 8, North Caro-
lima and eastern Canada are No. g.
the district from Washington to
Philadelphia (east of the A1leghenies)
is No. Z, and comfortless emerge the
relentless figures that show New York
and New England to be in the same
category (No. 81 with southern and
central California, Cooks Inlet In
Alaska, and Parts of New Zealand and
Mexico"
The seismologist points to the need
of great observation stations deer
| underground. with instruments low
| cred in shafts 1000 feet down. to be
: located in many parts of the world
| and to be in intercommunication. BY
these stations volcanic radiation
| could be measured Electrically or
radia1ly, SO that the rising surface
of lava seas far beneath volcanoes
would be measured and conditions
presaging eruptions would be de.
| tected long in advance.
Discussing such underground labo-
ratories, he says:
"The Job that the world sets be.
fore us Is to harness the globe. Nc
government or single Institution car
possibly do IL. Indeed, q League oi
Nations could not finance 1t. Blu,
New Orleans and New York can each
finance her own laboratory. Each IL
! interested in her own piece of ground