Evening Star Newspaper, October 11, 1925, Page 9

EXPLAINS HISTORY ' OF SEISMOMETER Fr. Torndorf Says Chinese! Coppersmith Invented First| Instrument 1,789 Years Ago. | “In the first year of Yoka a Chinese coppersmith cailed Choko invented the first seismometer.” The first vear of Yok being 136 ye the hirth rist, the seisma 2 the modern 3 789 vears old. Th tev. F Torndorf, S. J., fnternational earth- quake ar nometer authority of Georgetown University, in a recent lecture dispelled the {dea that the seismograph is a modern invention for the recording of earthquakes. 1 Not only did these clever Chinese, Wwho seem to have invented every “modern” instrument thousands of years ago, invent the instrument, but, ording to Father Torndorf. they evinced much more interest in the study of earthquakes thun we do to- The Chinese Emperor actually appointed a sec = earthq handle selsmometers as a representa tive of his government. First Truly Chinese. The first sefsmometer is truly Chinese, u s ¢ instrument with the ornamentation of a Chinese tem- th iis chief dec: < the | n Lead of th ial Choko, the coppersmith, | spherieal copper vessel, 1 diameter, rese an old | wine hottie, er parts | us b : efzht balls | f the heads | points of | tch of thel wide open and! frogs. When | irthquake | op_out of | i into the | which begin to It thie lend move- | agon’s mouth | of Chr in the compas: dragons’ hLeads comes the mouths of the d: mouths of the frog: toward the north north mouth he southe Suzgested P What the Chines dition to recording or aouth. | sent Means. | really did, in ad- | thquakes, was | the mechanism that now earth actually write its Dawn through the cen- | were various improve- | selsmographers gradu- | into the wonderfully del instruments v, an_in-| strument that is so delicate that when | a fly walks over the 500-pound weight | that steadies the pen of the instru-| | | the ecords. ies there ments in_ the ally developing ment whatever lirection the fly | crawls on, it is recorded on the ma- chine. The earth actually writes. The sels- | mometer is so constructed that when | 2 quake or earth tremor occurs the | pen stands still through the action of | special weights, and the ‘rest of the | instrument,” containing the rolls of | moves with the earth and rubs | stationary pen, thus| record. Compressed | alr presents vibrations not actually earthquakes. The Japanese, being In the greatest earthquake fleld, {nvented a numbe of seismometers; even going as far as magnetic seismometers. However, | }\'hlle the study of the earthquake is hundreds of years old, not until com- paratively modern times has it been possible to foretell the distance of the quake from the spot where it is re- corded. Composition of Earth. According to Father Torndorff, this | 18 a simple process. In his quiet man- | ner he dispelled completely from his | listeners that the interior of the earth is now concluded to be sold, but a mass of steel and nickle so hard that almost no metal compares with the mixture. When a split océurs in this hard substance two sets of waves are sent forth. One set tr in all direc- tions in an up-and-down motion and the other set travels with a side-to- side motion. The up-an-down waves travel much faster than the other and record, therefore, on the seismometer first. When the second or side-to-slde motion arri the measure of the time and distarice between the arrival of the two waves is taken, and thus it becomes an easy preblem in mathe- matics to determine the distance. Every Motion Recorded. Every motion is recorded on the seismometers. Slight recording called “microscisms” are found constantly. | For a long while it was not known | what these marks were, but it is gen- erally assumed that they are vibra- tions as the result of the sea pounding on the shores. These marks invari- ably are found on the Georgetown ph: ather Tondorf told his hear- | ers there are more than 10,000 earth- quakes annually, or about one every hour, he also told them that Wash- ington is practically immune from earthquakes. Japan is the greatest field for quakes and Australia the least affected. About four out of every five qus 8 occur at . Study of the various actions of the | earth before and after quakes, de-| clared Father Tondorf, helps to indi- cate what may happen in the future, although earthquake predictions have | not reached a scientific point yet. "There are now five seismographs at Ggorgetown University under the care her Torndorf and another one ig'being instalied. The new one is the | only one of its kind in the United States and one of the three that now exist anywhere. FEDERAL QUARTERS IN CAPITAL ARE HELD NATIONAL DISGRACE (Continued from Fourth Page) | | rarily repaired, and for the time | being a serious situution was averted, | serious for the reason that a_portion of the Bureau of internal Revenue occupying the bu:lding had no funds for rental, there was no other Govern- ment space to which 1t could be trans- ferred, and even if it had had funds no privately owned space could be| found for ils use. “Aside from these facts, there is no valid reason why the business of the | United States Government should be transacted in buildings which are in appearance, comfort and convenience no better than wooden barns. ‘Workers Suffer, “In addition to the practical con- siderations of fire hazard, maintenance cost and usability of these temporary bulldings, there is the humanitarian consideration of the working condi- tions of the Government employes. Many protests have been made to the public buildings committee and to the Public Buildings Commission concern- ing the deplorable conditions under which employes must work in these temporary buildings. In the Summer they are intensely hot, and in the Winter it is difficult to keep them warm. It is felt by your committee that the Government is obligated to glve its employes in the Government workshop here in -Washington rea- sonably decent if not comfortable working quarters.” Senator Keyes also emphasized that £ number of the reated buildings for | THE FIRST SEI Above: A Chinese invention of 136 A. D)., with b: that a slight earthquake many miles mouths of the dragons to the mouths of the frogs. Tondorf, world-famous seismologist, with versity. THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., OCTOBER 11, 1925—PART 1. MOGRAFH 1,789 YEARS OLD Is balanced so delicately away would shake the balls from the Below: Father Francis PRESIDENT AND HIGH OFFICIALS STRESS FEDERAL BUILDING NEEDS Chief- Executive Says Uniform, Orderly System of Progress Is Necessary—Col. Sherrill Tel of Dangerous Conditions in Temporary Structures. The vital need of adequate housing for branches of the Government is re flected in views of high oficials: President Coolidge, in an address to the Senate and the House in joint session, December 6, 1923: “Many of the departments in Wash- ington need better housing facilities. Some are so crowded that their work is impeded; others are so Scattered that they lose their identity. “I belleve it is now nece: accordance with plans alread. tloned, for a unified and orderly sy tem for the development of this city, to begin the carrying out of those plans by authorizing the erection of three or four buildings most urgently needed by an annual appropriation of $5,000,000.” Has Existed Since War. Lieut. Col. Clarence O. Sherrill, member and executive secretary of the Public Buildings Commission: “The acute housing situation of the Government in the District of Colum- bia, which has existed since the World War peridd, continually has grown more and more serious until at pres- ent the Government is facing not only the possibility of catastrophes due to fires, but also the imminent danger of disasters due to structural failure of temporary buildings occupied by Gov- ernment employes. A recent investi- gation by the office of public buildings and parks indicates that the expense required to take care of the most ur- gent repairs necessary to put the tem- porary buildings under its charge into tair fe condition structurally will amount to over $300,000. “During the last month settlement has occurred in some of these tem- porary buildings amounting to as much’ as 10 inches, indicating a dan- gerous condition, which would never be tolerated by municipal building in- spectors if the buildings were in pri- vate ownership. Not only is the condition of these temporary _ buildings appalling, but day by day the Government is being | ejected and threatened with ejection by owners who wish to secure poss te the urgency of public building of these facts indic: the need of a prope program at once.” David Lynn. architect of the Capi- tol, and member of the Public Build- | ings Commission: “The dire need of the executive d partments of the Government for Gov- ernment-owned buildings in which to house and centralize their activities cannot be too emphatically stated. Experfence has shown that something must be done immediately to alleviate this appalling condition. ““It will hereafter be reckoned among the amazing mistakes of the Govern- ment that it has failed to provide ade- quate facilities for housing its govern- mental actlvities. Year after year the need of such a building program has been urged upon Congress, but such need has been ignored, and as’a re- suit_the condition as it exists today is deplorable, uneconomic and un- sound.” James A. Wetmore, member of the Public Buildings Commission: “It is not in keeping with the dig- nity, greatness, wealth and power of the United States to have its execu- tive departments housed in rented quarters. Yet. notwithstanding the fact that the seat of the Government has been located in the District of Co- lumbia for so many years, the Gov- | | majority of 1 and for mai tablishments. but in the interests of economy and out necdless delay to quate, safe and suitable buildings in the City of Washington for the con- venient transaction of public business and for the protection of the valuable archives of the Government.” which Uncle Sam pavs nearly a mil- lion dollars a year *‘are poorly adapt- ed to governmental uses and are so widely scattered over various sec- tions of the city as to make the transaction of business exceedingly cumbersome. Economy and good bus- iness administration demand that all ac S of the Government be housed in public buildings located with due regard to the rapid and effi- cient transaction of the public busi- ness. It is confidently believed that the bulidings provided for in this bill will make it possible for the Govern- ment to vacate all rented buildings in the District of Columbia. “Pork Barrel” at Issue. This legislation failed in the closing days of the last Congress because— and this was openly admitted—mem- bers of Congress were determined that proper accommodations for the Gov- ernment's growing business in the Na- tional Capital should not be provided until a general public building bill could be passed which would provide post office and other Federal buildings all over the country. A $150,000,000 | general public building bill was held up. pSena!or Smoot of Utah, chairman of the public buildings commission and the best informed man in the country on the housing needs of the Federal Government, “‘saw red” when he found out the attitude of Congress. He stated boldly and forcefully on the floor of the Senate what he thought of neglecting such a well recognized duty, through chagrin at not getting local Federal buildings all over the country. He notified the Senate in scathing language that if the measure for properly housing Government activities in the Capital ia not passed at the coming session hi CUBA WILL LEVY TAXES ON UNIMPROVED LANDS First Time in History Levies Have Been Laid on Unworked Property. | Correspondence of the Associated Press. HAVANA, September 20.—Under the new public works law all ldle land {in the republic will be taxed, affecting in the city of Havana alone about 40,000 vacant lots and in the republic thousands of acres of land that either never have been under cuitivation or { allowed to lic idle by owners. This is the first time in the history of the republic, it is believed, that taxes have been assessed on idle lands. Formerly taxes were assessed on actual income, which prevented col- lection of any taxes against unpro- ductive holdings. The Public Works Department has announced that 6 per cent of the valu- ation would be considered as income from non-income paying lands and property, or $1.20 on each $1,000 tax- able value. he will wash his hands of the mat- ter. He feels that he cannot, in con- sclence, longer endure the responsi- bility of what may happen in case of a severe fire or windstorm that would wreck flimsy buildings, wiping out lives of hundreds, if not thousands of employes and destroying invaluable records. The condition has been fully ex- posed. Congress has been warned. Leaders in Congress are aroused. All that the people can now do is to wait. 1t is up to Congress to acts his machines at Georgetown Uni- ernment is dependent upon private en- terprises for accommodations for a executive departments ¢ of its independent es- “Not as a matter of pride merely, efficiency, steps should be taken with- provide ade- MASONIC SESSION T0 START OCT. 18 Scottish Rite Supreme Coun- cil Biennial Meeting Pro- gram Is Issued\ With the arrival of practically all of the active members the preliminary work of the blennial session of the Supreme Council, Scottish Rite Free- masonry, Southern Jurisdiction of the United States, got under way last week. The meeting will formally open next Sunday afternoon at 3 o'clock, at which time the Albert Pike memo- rial service will be held at the House of the Temple, Sixteenth and S streets. The sessiop will conclude Sat- urday, October 24. Featuring the social functions at- tendant upon the meeting will be the reception tendered by the Supreme | Council on Monday evening, October 19, to most worshipful grend master of the Grand Lodge, F. A. A. M., Roe Fulkerson; the most eminent grand | high priest, Royal Arch Masons, J.| Davis Bradfield; most illustrivus grand | master, Roval and Select Masters, | George L. Lohrer, and right_eminent | grand commander, Knights Templar, | James T. Gibbs, all of the District of | Columbia. Active members of the Su- preme Council and their wives will be n the receiving line and many local Masons are expected to attend. Degree to Be Conferred. _Investiture of the honorary rank of | Knight Commander of the Court of | Honor will take place on Wednesday and the thirty-third and last degree will be conferred at the Friday eve. ning session of the council. | Wives of the active member deputies have a program of eni ment arranged for the session of the | council. Luncheon at the Columbfa | Country Club, trips to Alexandria, Ar- | lington, Mount Vernon, Va., and An napolis, Md., drives around Washing. ton, dinner and theater parties and other informal gatherings are sched. uled on the program. Masonic interest in the coming meeting will center on the election of prominent Masons in the 33 States and territorial possessions that com prise the Southern Jurisdiction to the honorary rank of thirty-third and | last degree and to the rank of Knlght | Communder of the Court of Honor. | These are two honorary awards con. | ! ferred biennially by the Supreme Council on a limited number of Scot tish Rite Masons who have rendered notable services to the Masonic order. | To be crowned thirty-third degree Mason, “the official title of which is inspector general honorary, s con- | sidered the highest honor within the | gift of the Scottish Rite. { Many Schools Aided. During the years 1923.1925 the Su- preme Council has expended lurge sums for furthering the public school | interests in the various States c - posing th Southern Jurisdiction. These are 33 in number and include | all States south of the Mason and | Dixon line and west of the Mississippi tertain. | | bulletins rs and | | | the Riv Contributions have also been made to the cause of public education in China, Japan, Porto Rico, Philip- nine Islands, Hawail and the Canal Zone, also under the supervision of this organization. This money was apportioned among the member States and the represent- atives of the Supreme Council in each State, whether an active mem- ber of the council or a deputy, were charged with the expenditure of the same as they saw best. Gmatifying results were obtained In a number of States. The usual method used was either to organize or co-operate with an educational as- soclation of some kind. In each case the object sought was to create greater interest among the citizens in their public schools and to support the proposed educational bill. This took practical form in some cases as | in Oakland, Calif., where the Scottish Rite Masons co-operated in getting the city to vote a large bond e for the schools. Campaigns to educate the people to the needs of their re. spective communities were put over In many cases with unusual su notably in Arkansas and other Leagues Are Formed. Educational leagu supported in tucky, Lo Kansas. and publications with this work m ed it conection Le mentioned the Educatonal Bulletin, put out by the Maryland committee. ler. Edward I, Buchner, 32d degree, K. C. C. H., of Johns Hopkins University, nationally known as an educator, edited Bulletin. This and several other pub- lications_attracted nation-wide atten- tion and many requests for extra coples were received. More Light, an eight-page monthly, wasg issued in Montana; the Build- ers was put out in North Caro- lina, Virginia_published “Educational News"” and other States printed many and pamphlets in connec tion with the work. Among the civic and educational associations supported or co-operated with were the Public School Allies of Alaban Forward Edu- cation: the FPublic N of “alifornia, the Lamplighters of Geor gia, the rchbearers of South Caro- lina, the South Dukota A the Advancement of the American Citizenship Association of Florida. Active support of the education bi was given in every State, and .al- though the measure failed passage in last Congress, friends of the movement are confident that the new proposed bill drawn by the National Education Association will go through. The Supreme Council probably will indorse officially the new statute. NEW ROTATION SHIP. hool Welfare Associati Greater Speed Attained Struzina's Vessel. Correspondence of the As MUEHLHEIN, September improvement on Flettner's tation been constr the engineer Franz Strazina vessel Is equipped with two stationary towers. Ry me: that can be regulated to point desired direction, the vessel is enable to utilize the wind coming from any point of the compass, whereby speed is materially cnhinced. At the trial trip the vessel succeeded in at- taining a far greater speed than the Flettner ship. by sciated Press 16.—An mous ro- ship has ted by the | ociation for | ducation and | His UNIQUE TRIBUTE PAIDTO REPORTER President Coolidge Heads List of John Martin’s Frzfnds With Birthday Message. Special Dispatch to The Star. ASHEVILLE, N. C., October, 10.— President Coolidge, members of the | cabinet. Admiral_Benson, the Bishop of Washington, Walter Johnson and | Roger Peckinpaugh were among the hundreds who co-operated by mail and telegraph today to give John L. Mar- tine of The Washington Star's staff the most unique birthday celebration | that_Asheville has ever seen. John Martin, who came to Asheville for his health three years ago, is get- ting well, after a long game fight. To ‘bryte that fact and the birthday friends in Washington and - arranged to send him let- i ters and telegrams of congratulation natal day. The messages ores and hundreds from direction —from the Governors nd and Virginia, from the foners of the District of Co- nators and Representative of Kentucky, Marvland and Virginia, board of directors Club, Col. V ns, every trad tion in the District t many Wash- vers and mer- of Asheville < subscrip- elsewhe | Natlonal ~Press | Mitchell, Isane ¢ | business organi {of Columbi |ington b i chants. The publish presented him witk « ves tions to their papers and wrote him a letter deseribing him 5% “un honor to journalisin and an Inspiration to all men." Ty addition to the letters and tele | grams, flowers were sent Martin from lanta and Owenton, Ky. The President said in his letter that, in common with Martin’s many Wash- ington friends, he wanted to congratu- {Jate him on having another birthday and on the certainty that as a result {of his v | on the road to recover: |ANTI-R | Semenoff, “White” Leader. Ap- plies for Naturalization. rrespondence of the Associated Press NAGASAKI, September 16, IX-At taman Semenoff, { “White” leader, who fled from the f.\'u\n»l nd is now living in Nagasaki, lis repor | for | home rigid favor said Gen. Sem. campalgn for clo between Japaun and Mongolia. former naturalization. The seven-year residence rule in Russian refugee. It is ff plans to conduct a . lations Miss Stella Akin, admitte in 1917 at the age of 19, was the st woman lawyer in Savannah, Ga., ond to receive the honor in e 1 the [ fi an "her & THE MORRIS Asheville, Washington, Louisville, At-| ant battle for health he was | ED TO BE JAPANESE. | Russian | to have formally applied | » is expected to waive the | Town in Germany Thrives on Making Artificial Eyes| Correspondence of the Associated Press. LAUSCHA, Thuringia, Septem- ber 15.—The art of making artifical eyes has attained a state of perfec- tlon in Germany, and many thou- sands of them are exported from this Httle city, whose main indus- try is to supply reserve optics. ‘The principal firm in this business was founded in 1853. The artificial eye is rather more of a hyglenic than u cosmetic re- quirement, as it serves to prevent dust, etc.. from getting into the empty socket and setting up an in- flammation likely to jeopardize the remaining eve. It is very light in welght and is not spherical, but flat in shape. It takes one hour to make, while the patient is present in order that it may be modeled aft- er the normal eve. The average German artificial eyes are guaran- teed from three to five years. Copy of “Poems by Two Brothers” Discovered in Waste. espondence of the Associated LONDON, September 17.—A first edition copy of ‘“Poems by Brothers,” dated 1827 and valued at 60 pounds, was discovered in a sack {of books sent as waste paper to a firm of booksellers. The two broth- ers are Lord Tennyson and his brother Charles. TENNYSON “FIRST” FOUND| Two | L 9 ACHILLANSHPS BATILEWITHGALE Bowdoin Parts Cable Harbor in Worst Storm Yet Encountered. | | By the MO 10.- ¢ home Asgociated Presy NHEGAN ISLAND, Me., October ght almost within sight of her port by one of the worst of the many storms she has encountere Summer, the schooner Bowdoin, ith Lieut. Com Donald B. MacMillan on board, was in & somewhat precarious position tonight. She apparently was { holding all right in the little hrabor here, where the Bowdoin and her companion ship, the Peary, stormbound and unable to compl their return voyage from the Ar before tomorrow, but the men wi | watching her closel | Bowdoin was [ Man's Cove, where sh Viight, to another | posed, but t ind, rea | veere: her. swung shore. Another line was hastily run to the island and this held her in post To take the ific stain off nchor cables, her e < started ol which at o times 1 hour, und soon was driving in upon The stern line parted and she toward the Manana Island RECEIVES CULVER MEDAL. | Capt. Smith, Head of World Flight Exposition, Is Honored. CHICAGO, October 10 (P).— Lowell H. Smith, commander Amerfca’s world flight expedition, was today presented with the Helen Culver medal for daring exploit by the Chicago Geographical Societ Yourteen other explorers, among them Robert E. Peary, Sir Ernest Shackle- ton, Vilhjalmur Stefansson and Roald | Amundsen, have been awarded the | medal. apt of | | invited to attend Temple Heights, Florida avenues, d was Kept runn slow speed. It was not 1 s immed though the A little the Sach | calf « broug | Monhezan frc iragged her 4 Monhegan | back to 2 Monheg. | was swept by 3 h as it { dom has known. On top of the 1t impossible man to m: tain his footing. I persons wen' out of de it she w asons and their families are Divine Service at Connecticut and on Sunday after- noon, October 11th, 1925, at 4 o'clock. | Announces A Plan of Systematic Saving Plus Life Insurance By Depositing $8 Per Month for Sixty Months You Will Receive $500 in Cash or a $500 5% Certificate of Deposit and You Will Also Be Protected by a $500 Life Insurance Policy in a Regular Reserve Insurance Company During the 5 Years You Are Accumulating the $500 These Certificates are sold in multiples of 8500, and $5.000 is the maximum sold to any one person. If you desire to discontinue the plan you can do so at any time, and will have returned to you subject to the usual regulations of Savings Banks, all the money you have deposited, plus 5% interest on monthly bal- ances, deducting $8 per year for the $500 insurance policy. The above rates arefor persons under 40 years of age' for persons over 40, a small additional insurance premium is added. THE MORRIS PLAN BANK Under Supervision U. S. Treasury ® 1408 H Street Northwest Saving Deposits in This Bank Have Increased 200% gmoe March 10th, 1925 1