The Bismarck tribune., 1925-07-02

property in cities like New York and
Boston from disturbances of the
carth's crust. He pointed out that
the narrow streets. the congested
traffic, the enormous wealth, the
great storage points within the cities
Of combustibles such as fuel oils,
the vehicular tunnels, the overly tall
buildings, intensity beyond ordinary
ken the danger Of loss to life and
property in New York.
"They talk of taller buildings for
New York." he said. "To think of
erecting in such a place skyscrapers
of eighty stories or more, as is
mootcd, is sheer insanity. A dis
turbancc that should strike lower
New York in the neighborhood of the
Equitable Building might cause a
fire that, sweeping north, would
wipe ont O,OOO,OOO,OOO of proper
ty and snuff out hundreds Of thou
sands of lives in an amazingly short
time. Think, too, Of the streets
crowded with automobiles and hu-
man beings. To flee from the thrust
Of an earth disturbance that might
come without notice would be i'm
possible. Then the vehicular tun-
nels. 1t must be remembered that
We need not conceive of these tun-
nels being crashed down by such an
upheaval. 1t would be more than
enough if the machinery on the sur
face supplying these underground
passages with air ceased to function.
The inevitability Of death from the
automobile exhausts to those using
these subsurface ways is easily
seem"
DR.. Jaggar emphasizes the ncces-
sity of less property and residential
concentration in municipal areas to
forestall the danger from earth
quakes. He speaks from an intimate
knowledge of both the geological
implications Of earth disturbances
and the economic import they bear.
He is the foremost volcanologist in
the world. and from his laboratories
at kilauea, that active and pictur-
esque spouting mountain Of fire on
the island Of Hawaii, he looks down
upon the world and views the
changes in its earth-crust and in its
migrating peoples.
kilauea. in more senses than one,
is the very centre Of the globes vol
canic disturbances. On hll sides
of the Pacific lie the known great
volcanic danger points-New Zea-
land. Java, the New Hebrides. Cen
trial and South America. Japan, the
West coast Of the United States.
Alaska and then on to the lesser
active areas of the North American
continent and off into Eurasia. A
life study of the physical and chem
ical character Of these marked areas
Of possible upheaval is Joined in Dr.
Jaggar with carefully evaluated
knowledge Of the economic import
of such disturbances. 1t is on the
basis of his work and that of other
great geologists Of America that de-
Capitalization in urban development
must be predicated.
The recent terrible lesson learned
in Toxic has been taken to heart
throughout the world. Put in its
simplest form. DR.. Jaggar indicates,
what happened in Toxic was that a
sinking of the bottom Of portion
Of Sagami Bay so Jared the crust of
the earth that the soft alluvial
ground on which the city is built
shook like jelly. The buildings of
Yokohama and Toxic were inflam-
mable. automobiles and gasoline
were everywhere, the city was knot
ted tight into small area without
water supply-there was no escape.
The same condition to a great eX-
tent exists in American cities. At all
costs, it is his belief. escape must be
made easier, parkways must be in
creased in number, suburban life and
industry must replace concentration,
streets must be widened, and park
ing of ears in the highways must
cease.