PARSIMONY AGGRAVATES DANGER

NZ Truth, Issue 1229, 20 June 1929, Page 1

PARSIMONY AGGRAVA TES DANGER

IT is not unusual to laugh at people who affirm they can make bricks without straw. There is a tendency to execrate the divisional chiefs of Seismology and Meteorology because of their apparent inability to perform mh-acles of prophecy a shfirt time before the elements combine m a veritable welter of destruction; yet few pause to consider that men like Dr. C. B. Adams, laboring with but little more than their two hands, a vast knowledge of the sciences and a mere handful of inadequate instruments, are asked to bring about a succession of marvels. It. seems like an attempt to achieve an end without the means. One can but admire the promptitude with which 'the Minister m charge of this section announced that he would order one or more seismographic instruments for recording 'quakes within a radius of approximately 1,000 miles from New Zealand, but at the same time there occurs the thought that the powers-that-be have waited until the horse bolted before a thought was given to the padlocks oh the stable door. For years — long before the War — the scientists whose vocation it is to study: and forecast the processes of shakes, and 'quakes have labored under the combined disadvantages of meagre staff ing , and a , sharply whittled allowance from the Treasury. The instruments employed by Dr. Adams and his assistants at the Dominion Observatory, Wellington, are well enough m their way, but their - range of usefulness is distinctly limited. 'Quake phenomenon which has its axis five thousand miles away is faithfully recorded by the apparatus housed ih the Kelburn laboratory, and provides a . good .deal of useful data, but the whole difficulty m the past has been that earth disturbances within an area of, say, a thousand miles, seem to have tout little effect upon the

N.Z. Scientists Asked To Build Prophecies Without Adequate Material SHARP'LESSONS FROMRECENT'UPHEAVAL New Zealanders, particularly the politicians among us, are notable, almost notorious, for the contradictions m our national ' life. .--'■■.'...• • Squanderlust m the one direction, purblind penny wisdom m the other, the last-mentioned shortcomings clearly manifest at the time when a large area of the Dominion, particularly Westpo rt, Nelson and other South Island townships, was shocked by the earthquake on Monday. . •'-'_. The Seismological division of the Scientific and Industrial Research Department, like its full sister, Meteorological, is more impoverished than the legendary church mouse.

_ ! — — « delicate long-distance recorders. Nor is that all. The spirit of poverty, or nearpoverty, seems to have clasped hands with the 'quake research division for as long a time as it did with the weather bureau, since for the most part the officers of each have for years been work- , ing without tools, constructing ■their scientific corner-stones with scanty material and the minimum of financial assistance from the Treasury. To place the Seismological 'division within appreciable focus of technical efficiency, it- will be necessary for the Hon. Harry Atmore, who is responsible for the control of the Scientific and Industrial Research Department, to urge a further appropriation of approximately £1,000 a year. This provision will enable Dr. Adams to employ three or four extra assistants skilled m earthquake and associated phenomena, enabling him also to inaugurate stations at, say, New Plymouth, Clmstchurch and Nelson, where his associates may closely study the conditions made clearer by ' the apparatus which the Minister lias pronrised to purchase. Such a recommendation could not have arrived at a more opportune moment, since the terrible potentialities which Monday's 1 disturbance brought home to Nelson and the West Coast have clearly shown to Mr. Atmore the necessity for modern apparatus and skilled technicians. It is unreasonable to expect Dr. Adams to forecast such disturbances when the means with which he is provided are antediluvian. The present situation which finds the public clamoring for remarkable foretelling, when the seer is denuded of his resources and then asked to achieve untold wonders, is akin to placing Segrave m a Roman chariot,

3 ; . : then telling him to break his own automobile record. It simply can't be done. The purchase of additional apparatus, then, is not sufficient. Tt savours too much of the old Parliamentary policy of lightly skimming over the surface, trusting that the bland principles of penny wisdom will provide the temporary patch over the leaking vessel. With the. provision r of, say, three Wood-Anderson Tbi'sion Seismometers, whicjti; ';,-.' will tell us all. abput, those short-.iaistance upheaval's, .musty come the 'apportioning of extra 7 expenditure

each year for the salaries of the three assistants of which Dr. Adams seems so badly In need. Should the 'auake division then fail to achieve what it promises, then, and not until that moment, shall the public toe entitled to complain that it is not receiving efficient service. Like many another contingency, this last deformation of the earth's surface has pointed one or two morals, as well as brought to light a curious anomaly. Those of us who believe that huge buildings are constructed solely and strictly within the requirements of established scientific principles should ponder a moment, considering the part played by the whim Of individuals. Foremost irt the minds of architects and civil engineers

is the designing of stru ct v res that shall be 'quakeprobf to the limits which research permits. Due. regard is given to the question of to-and-fro sway brought about when, the shake commences to wag its tail, but the trouble often is that before the building is half-fin-ished, the architect's client changes his mind and orders some alterations. Wide- interior spaces may be introduced at the last m oim ent, where previously the designer had allowed for smaller and more compact offices, with the result that the very stresses for which he had made allowances m the original plan now have to be partially ignored, or at least compromised. ATs out eighteen months ago a conference of civil engineers and architects decided to investigate this very question, where the high technical skill of professional designers was brought into question through the stupid caprice of clients. So far as can be ascertained no direct action has been undertaken by either of these bod- ; ies 'to bring about a

C- : — : — : — ■ —- i more satisfactory condition, and it would seem that the most logical thing remaining is for tlie Government to convene a representative meeting of seismologists, engineers- and architects, who Shall confer and decide the best means of safeguarding public > life and property m its relation to modeirn building construction. The trail of debris and disaster which has fallen to the lot of industry and progress generally along the West j Coast of the South Island clearly de- , ihoristrates the heed ; for protecting !*. architects !f rom the capricious de- !-' marids- of 'their clients; who,, willy-nilly, i: and notwithstanding, 7 may

construct semi-crazy edifices without let or hindrance. And when this conference has made its recommendations, it remains for the legislature to provide *,-ieans i whereby all new structures shall con- , form to regulations which shall make the buildings as near shake-proof as possible. ' I On the whole, it must be said, I New Zealand's building programmes are m fairly close conformity with the principles of applied science, yet for the sake of those people living and working m and around buildings which are not so built, protective legislation ought to be introduced. During the war days 'm England, when the East Coast particularly re-

ceivett almost nightly .visitations from enemy aircraft, it. was the custom for householders to ..' switch off both electricity and ,gas as soon as the warning maroons sounded from aerial'watchtowers. Subject to slight alterations, , t h c scheme might well be adopted m New Zealand. .'• A In' larger 1 buildings, where .electric lifts were employed, one or two men ■ could be held responsible f o r cutting' off- the supply of power and gas, care being taken, of course, to see' that lift's had landed* safely. . Then, too, there is grave potential danger froni fallen power lines, and it is conceivable that m crowded city stree ts, * where numbers of people congregate for fear of buildings collapsing internally, the risk of electrocution is extremely great - m ; the case, of vi blent earthquakes. Provision should also be made for this contingency, and the Government electrical engineers -''would, do well .'. to institute some • precautionary measu re c, either: 'mechanical .|

f> . : : : or legislative, whereby this risk shall be considerably diminished. And what about earthquake drill for the school children? -As the Minister of Education has demonstrated his concern by promising Dr. Adams that additional earthquake apparatus shall 'be ordered, no doubt he will appreciate the need for instructing the youngsters m the need for organised routine when a 'quake swoops down upon their district. Panic wreaks a terrible harvest, as the cable news from other countries has testified from time to time, and it behoves the school authorities to consider seriously the inherent danger which lies at the very root of unorganised exit from school buildings. A curious situation seems, to exist within the regulations of the New Zealand ' Underwriters* Association, relative to the manner m which insurance assessors determine the premiums for earthquake policies. The flat, rate for . *quake covers stands at five "■- shillings per hundred pounds, irrespective of structural conditions, likelihood of visitation by shakes, or anything else. To all intents the Underwriters' Council decided upon a certain figure for 'quake insurance, with but little regard for. differing circumstances. Ask an insurance ; company to acr cept fire risks upon' certain buildings •and you m turn will be asked to supply full particulars as to the materials with which the place is built, distance on either side from other structures, what the roof is made of, where the building is situate, and what not. One -prominent insurance- official told "N.Z. Truth" that the Underwriters' Association had practically ho technical advice upon which to base its charges, and it would appear from a somewhat superficial scrutiny of the circumstances* that a number ofTSTew Zealand insurance companies, if not all who undertake this . class of risk, merely leapt into the dark, arrived at

a somewhat hasty conclusion, and charged accordingly. It would appear that the governing bodies of insurance companies have displayed some indifference/ m the matter of scientifically computing the charge they make for 'quake policies. And m reference to this question, what has the Legislature to say of tne system? It has been suggested that certain insurance companies endeavored lo secure data from one or more of the various scientific departments supervised by the Government, but without success. If this be so, then it is a surprising: commentary upon the enterprise of the department concerned. ' Admittedly, this country has not suffered many visitations of major 'quakes within .the last hundred years, but if we all : waited; until SOMETHING did happen there would be little need for any of us to bother very much about fire insurance premiums "this side of the heavenly equator. Surely, America, Japan and other. . countries could furnish valuable . information concerning the incidence and effect of earthquakes under varying conditions— data which could quite readily be adapted to the needs of scientific" research m our own country? But whether or not, the fact remains that New Zealand and New Zealanders have waited until" the horse bolted away across the horizon; and now we are looking to our padlocks— or we should be. It is patent, also, that the Treasury has acted with unbecoming parsimony m its sustenance of a most important division of national research. It is equally clear that the seismological division of the Scientific and Industrial Research Department should be asked to '.collaborate -. with civil engineers and architects, m formulating proposals for safeguarding wellmeaning constructors against their own fancy schemes of decoration and' money- making. . ' , ! And that before the next- earthquake descends upon the country. Let us look ;to our padlocks.