MAN-MADE DEATH TRAP

Taranaki Daily News, 27 February 1931, Page 10

MAN-MADE DEATH TRAP

INDIFFERENCE OF PUBLIC. PAST LESSONS IGNOREI).. The religious implications of the 'earthquake and. its toll of death and .injury are discussed in a striking way by Archdeacon K. E. Mac Lean, of Havelock North, in an article entitled “What About God?” The archdeacon asks whether sufferers by the earthquake need add to their burdens or doubt of God’s goodness by the belief that the disaster was a punishing act of God. In answer, he cites the case of a man who foolishly goes out .without a hat and contracts sunstrdkfi* , “We are sorry for him,” says Archdeacon Mac Lean, “sorrier for the wife and family he leaves behind—-but. we say, bluntly: ‘lt was his own fault? To be quite honest, is not our position much the same? We know what earthquakes are. We know a good deal about how and why they happen. “We know there are faults in, the earth’s surface,.and that the countries near those faults are liable to._•earthquakes. We know —we- always have known —that New Zealand is one of these countries, and that a bad earthquake might come at any time. -Yet-we came knowing this and lived here and , shrugged our shoulders about earthquakes. . ’ - • ' “Our fathers, who remembered, the earthquake in Wellington in 1855, warned us against brick houses and high chimneys, but the years went .by and more and more brick houses and tall chimneys were built, and the years went on and they stood. It was quite: possible to build earthquake-proof houses in wood or brick, or concrete, but it was expensive, and we wanted money for other things. It was quite possible to build chimneys in ordinary houses which had got a tight collar of wood round them at the flashing, but we did not bother.

“It was quite possible to follow sound principles of construction in building shops and offices, but no one cared, and no one asked for it. So up went the flimsy, showy walls and the heavy copings/It is not the fault of anyone in particular. Architects, builders and workmen just shared the common mind and built their own houses in just the same way that they built houses for other people. We are all in this together. It was public opinion that it did not matter.

“Two years ago the Murchison earthquake happened, and we said, or nearly/ all of us, ‘Poor beggars! Come and live in Hawke’s Bay and be safe.’ And we went on living happily in the death trap we had built. Then, on February 3, the earth Wriggled for a minute. The fault settled down a bit more. Who . caused the death and.suffering? “God gave us brains and memories, and we have not troubled to use them. Is it sane to blame God because He does not suspend the forces which formed the universe in order that we may he foolish with safety? The loss of life and property is- not God’s doing, but ours. Only if we face this honesly shall we live more wisely in the future.”