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Show TO DEFY THE EARTHQUAKE, Matter ot Construction of Buildings It One Worthy ef Expert Attention. A Jcpaneso professor, who has been giving the matter long and careful tudy, declares that 09 per cent of tho I loss of llfo and property in tho fearful earthquako at Messina coijld have been avoided by proper cpnstructlon 3t buildings In this known earthquake zone. No ono can question Japan's right to .Instruct the world In the matter ot "temblors." Sho has more of them than any other thickly settled region on earth, and yet she suffers comparatively compara-tively small loss of life. Her great recent re-cent disaster, be it remembered, was saused by a volcanic eruption, not an earthquake. v The architect of Nippon are said to pin their faith to wood as building material, save where foreign influence has become strong. The,' earthquake teslstlng qualities of good1 wooden construction con-struction aro clear to all, but wood la too expensive to use in southern Europe, Eu-rope, and besides, It brings in the other danger fire. It looks as though those who Insist on living whero tho earth shakes would havo to adopt tho American invention in-vention of Bteel skeleton construction, or go back to the old Greek plan, and build of stone with good-sized blocks,, carefully rubbed Joints nnd no mortar. Steel ties a building together in spite of earthquake shocks; the dry joint of the old Greeks permits a certain amount of yielding without damage t the structure. |