THE MEXICAN EARTHQUAKE

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXIX, Issue 96, 13 June 1911, Page 8

THE MEXICAN EARTHQUAKE

EEJMMIG AM) 111 AM AX TUMULTS. (V;' has Leci! railed “tin; land of rai r 1«: n: ;i I -a;; and _ evolution;'',” and Mexico, s'cn;;! ;i |;li It-.! 11> belonging to Xu: Hi Ameiica pioper, has been visited by belli Un ms oi misfortune. -An ear i.aquake of ceptibual sever: ty has Peon expert one ad throughout tiiat country on tin; very day when the successful revolutionist, General M micro, entered .Mexico City, decorated 1.0 welcome him. This coincidence can hardly fail to impress the superstitious, and will ho regarded as wortliy of note by those who theorise that there may he a connection between groat, earth movements, involving seismic disturbances, and perturbations of the human mind, involving popular tumult. For Mexico had long been free from noth revolutionary disorder and seriuits seismic movement until the great earthquake of 11JU9 ruined its port of Acapulco, destroyed several towns and villages, and killed many thousands of superstitious natives. The maua of Diaz, Dictator for 33 years, declined from that time. Mexico itself lies on the line of cleavage supposed to extend along the western side of America, from Alaska to Terra del Fuego. Of 130,0U0 shocks catalogued during the latter half of the' nineteenth century by a French scientist, no loss than soßfi occurred in Mexico, which may ho compared with the IoOU shocks credited to Central America as indicating the prevalent character of the country, in spite of the obvious imperfection of any record work prior to the days of modern scientific instruments. President Diaz, with the indifference to scientific accuracy of the Dictator, encouraged the belief that Mexican earthquakes 'were dying with the Mexican volcanoes, and the long period of comparative quiescence which marked his dictatorship gave colour to - the suggestion in the non-scientilic _ mind. As a matter of fact, the history of Mexico slioavs that it is periodically visited by earthquake shocks of extraordinary violence, and that these are accompanied by remarkable land move--incuts. Tlie famous mountain of Jorullo Avas uphoaved in 1759, Mexico suffering severely during a period which is also marked in blackest letters upon the annuals of Southern Europe. In- 1731 no fewer than 20,000 persons arc estimated to have perished through earthquakes in Southern Italy, a calamity followed Intel’ in the decade by disasters engulfing 10,000 more; whilst in 1755 occurred that monumental tragedy, the overwhelming of Lisbon by the sea, and the drowning of 00,000 of its citizens. There seems to lie considerable reason for associating the terrible calamities of the past few years, both in Southern Italy and in California, in the West Indies and in Mexico, with a widespread “set-tling-movement” of periodic vigour. Scientific instruments in England appear to have recorded the Mexican disturbance as “a huge' earthquake, estimated to have its con lie 0000 miles away.” In this record, as in tlie thousands and tens of thousands of shock now being recorded annually at every seismic observatory, wo have an indication of the process continually proceeding by which the shrinking earth steadily and ceaselessly settles itself more closely together. How considerable arc the changes in geographical outline thus produced wo can see from the straits Avhich have appeared between Franco and England, between ‘ Italy and Sicily, between our North and South Islands, from such depressions as that of the Dead Sea, and from the remarkable changes now proceeding in Hudson’s Bay. . The Pacific floor is believed by many scientists to be sloAvly settling down; and there seems to be little reason to doubt that the United States, in opening a Avater-Avay through the Panama Canal, is only anticipating nature by a fcAV thousand years. Yet, taken in relation to the size and mass of the earth, these shrinkages and shillings are microscopically small. Whether they consist of the slight tremors Avhich only a delicate instrument can detect, the graver rumblings Avhich terrify men, but do littlo harm, or the deadly shocks Avhich come during the periods Avhcn the earth-mass is overcoming accumulated resistance to its settling movements, the relative importance of the greatest earthquake to the earth itself is insignificant. Ncav Zealand lies towards the extremity of one of the greatest “faults” on the earth’s surface, a “fault' extending Hum Alaska, by way of Japan, to Antarctica and combining with the great American “fault” to enclose the entire Pacific in its volcanic ring, ,vey New Zealand is one of the most au ient of islands ,and has no traditions of more serious damage than the destruction of the White Terraces by TaraAvera. The ability of r-:ciem and civilisation to provide again si earthquake shocks, or to foresee Avhero they cannot be guarded agaiurr is steadily increasing, and may :a the near future be made practically nerfoct.

An extensive volca’uc zone lies in Mexico between parallels 18-20 degrees of latitude, with several active volcanoes and numerous extinct ones. Earthquakes arc frequent, hat in most cases pass almost unlieeded. In 1902 Chilpanzinga, capital of the State of Guerrero, • was severely shaken, several hundreds of lives wore lost, and thousands were made homeless. The same town was badly damaged a couple of years ago, when 000 people perished. Again in the spring of 190/ a disastrous oaitbnuake which affected the whole ol the Pacific coast of Mexico to the extant of some 500 miles, caused much destruction of life and property. Mexico City, which has a population of close upon -100,000, lies 781711. above sea-level in a huge hill-girl valley, in which are six'] dees. Gn the edge of the largest of those, Lake Tczcnco, Mexico City 'first arose, but has now retired 2V miles to the norl>west. It contains many flue buildings, including an imposing cathedral, nearly four centuries old, a municipal palace, national palace, a lingo legislative hall, and a national pantheon for the ashes of the groat men of Mexico.