SEISMOGRAPH JARRED TOO MUCH BY QUAKE

The earthquake which rocked Cambridge and the entire eastern part of the country about 9.30 Saturday night threw the stylus of the University seismograph in Peabody Hall off the east-west component of motion, according to Professor R. A. Daly G. '95, of the Department of Geology, but did not prevent taking a record of the shock.

Asked what has been learned concerning the nature of the shock last night, Professor Daly replied that nothing definite has yet been determined. "The quake was extraordinary," he declared, "both for its strength and the wide area of disturbance. The center seems to have been about 100 miles distant from Boston either to the cast or west." Professor J. B. Woodworth, the University seismologist, is absent on sabbatical leave in Florida and hence cannot read the record of the seismograph. The cylinder has therefore been shellacked, and will be sent to Washington for study.

No Danger From Quakes in Boston

There is no danger from earthquakes in Boston, according to Professor Daly, "Panic is the only danger," he declared. "In theatres and halls heads can be protected from falling plaster by the hands. There will be no falling walls. A stampede for the door will be the only cause of loss of life from New England earthquakes."

In many parts of Cambridge and Boston the shock was not felt at all. Professor Daly said that this was due to "blind spots" which are not yet fully understood. The reason that audiences in Boston theatres were totally unaware of the shock, he said, is that the buildings have very firm foundations.

One of Professor Daly's students, W. W. Porter 1G. of Denver, Colorado, has prepared a paper on the earthquake of January 7. It will appear shortly in the "Bulletin of the Seismological Society" published by Leland Stanford Jr. University. The paper fixes the center of disturbance of this shock somewhere near Cape Anne.

The science of seismology is still too young to make possible the forecasting of earthquakes, Professor Daly said. He pointed out that a great saving of human life might be made by experimentation in prediction of these disturbances. A gift of $2,000,000 would be adequate, he said, to establish statious all over New England for the study of this problem.