:OSTA RICA— VULCAN'S SMITHY 



511 



THE TOWER OF EL CARMEN WAS HURLED MANY YARDS (SEE PAGE 513) 



able climatic conditions, there are hun- 

 dreds of towns twice as large at least as 

 Cartago or even San Jose that are almost 

 exclusively built of wood, and the dwell- 

 ings of which are in every respect more 

 salubrious and more comfortable than 

 the best houses in Costa Rica. The tim- 

 ber supply of the little republic will be 

 practically inexhaustible when the exten- 

 sive primeval forests that still cover 

 three-quarters of the entire surface of 

 the country are made accessible by the 

 means of good roads. 



The only building materials to be im- 

 ported would then be. as heretofore, 

 gypsum, iron sheeting, and hardware. 

 No objection could really be made, ex- 

 cept those born from a long-acquired 

 prejudice, against the radical abandon- 

 ment of the Cumbrous earth or stone 

 walls and tile roofs, and of a general 

 style of building the origin of which 

 can be traced to the Moors of southern 

 Spain. 



Of course this system of light wooden 

 construction is applicable mainly to pri- 

 vate dwellings, while a more substantial 

 style may be desirable for public and 

 business buildings. For these structures 

 the steel-frame combination so exten- 

 sively used in the great American cities 

 affords adequate protection. Steel edi- 

 fices of two or three stories can be made 

 absolutely earthquake-proof as well as 

 fireproof, and should therefore be gener- 

 ally adopted for schools, public offices, 

 and other establishments where large 

 crowds congregate. San Jose possesses 

 such a school building that has withstood 

 many heavy shocks without the least 

 damage. It has also a private 3-story 

 steel frame and brick structure which 

 shows very slight damage as a result of 

 the recent catastrophe. 



But the public should be protected 

 against the ignorance of so-called archi- 

 tects who pretend to make walls more 

 resistant by including in their mass light 



