Allies Can't Hope For Major Quakes To Slow Japanese

Reporting that the Allies could expect no earthquake of sufficient intensity to disturb the Japanese war effort, L. Donald Leet, assistant professor of Seismology dismissed the tremor in the Sea of Japan two days ago as a "routine, almost sub-normal" quake, of which the Harvard seismographs got a clear record.

"Normal expectancy doesn't lead us to hope for a major quake near any large population centers," said Professor Leet. "The Japs are well able to take care of themselves, since they have so many every year." Reasonably large quakes come once in three years, on the average, but well-trained rescue crews are on the spot in "a matter of hours", and rehabilitation goes on at the same time as does careful study of the situation.

Western Pacific Area Active

Besides being a huge theatre of war, the Western Pacific area is one of the most seismic in the world, according to Professor Leet, and "it would be a miracle if there was no sizeable quake somewhere within the vast area during the six months." The damage would not be great, however, for there are no really large centers that might be affected. In any case the damage could be repaired before it seriously disturbed the war effort.

Not only would the Japanese be relatively undisturbed by a quake but it would probably be the men who are foreign to that part of the world who would have the most trouble. The Japs are generally more self-controlled than Oc-