March 8, 1907] 



SCIENCE 



391 



river of 2,000 feet or more of sand and gravel, 

 known as Temple Bar conglomerate. 



6. Profound faulting and uplift of the pla- 

 teau and erosion of Grand Canyon. 



7. Erosion — during which moderately ma- 

 ture valleys were formed, the most conspicu- 

 ous in western Arizona being Detrital-Sacra- 

 mento Valley, presumably formed by the an- 

 cient Colorado. 



8. Eruption of 3,000 feet or more of rhyolite 

 and andcpite. 



9. Erosion — formation of Mohave peneplain. 



10. Uplift and eruption of older andesite. 



11. Erosion. 



After a statement of the evidence upon 

 which the subdivision is based, it was shown 

 that the epochs might be correlated with those 

 of neighboring regions. The more recent ones, 

 as given above, were compared with those of 

 Lake Bonneville and the older ones compared 

 with the epochs of erosion, uplift and volcanic 

 activity of the plateaus. The marine sedi- 

 ments of the Pacific Coast, while far from the 

 region described, are divisible by unconformi- 

 ties and changes in fauna into formations 

 representing epochs of uplift and volcanic 

 activity alternating with epochs of quiescence 

 similar to those of the Colorado Eiver region, 

 and may, upon further study, prove valuable 

 for purposes of exact correlation. 



In summing up the results of his studies, 

 the speaker emphasizes the fact that in the 

 Lower Colorado region, where fossiliferous 

 strata are absent, so far as known, the se- 

 quence of Tertiary and Quaternary events can 

 be established from physiographic evidence; 

 that the epochs established on this basis are 

 comparable with those of neighboring regions ; 

 and that certain lines of evidence, especially 

 the one relating to mid-Tertiary peneplaina- 

 tion, give promise of definite correlation. 



Ealph Arnold, 



Secretary 



DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE 



FAKES AND THE PRESS 



On January 24 a paragraph, starting ap- 

 parently from St. Louis, was disseminated 

 throughout the country by the various press 



associations stating that a sudden diminution 

 in the flow of oil in the wells of south Texas 

 and Louisiana had taken place immediately 

 after the earthquake at Jamaica, accompanied 

 by a corresponding increase in the flow of the 

 wells of northern Texas and Louisiana. In- 

 vestigation has shown that this statement is 

 a so-called ' fake,' namely, a lie perpetrated 

 either as a joke or for the purpose of affect- 

 ing business transactions in oil and land. 

 The geologists whom the present writer con- 

 sulted assured him at the beginning that the 

 statement could not possibly be true, but he 

 thought it worth while to endeavor to trace 

 the matter back to its source. Of course the 

 author is anonymous and unknown. Very 

 few items in the daily newspapers appear as 

 based upon the statements of responsible 

 persons who are willing to vouch for their 

 correctness. A newspaper is essentially a col- 

 lection of the gossip and hasty impressions 

 that have occurred during the day, set off in 

 skilful headlines by the managing editor. 

 The readers must therefore accept every state- 

 ment with a grain of allowance. ' Newspaper 

 science ' has come to be a byword of reproach, 

 and we have on several occasions in the last 

 twenty years exposed fake tornadoes, meteors, 

 lightning and grossly exaggerated earth- 

 quakes. In some cases like that of the present 

 instance the newspaper report, by misleading 

 investors, has a certain money value to the 

 community, that is to say it can cause a loss, 

 but no gain. It is analogous to a libel, but it 

 is not clearly provided for by any law. It is 

 a grave question whether Congress can not 

 by some legal enactment check the publica- 

 tion of all items that convey erroneous im- 

 pressions relative to matters in which the 

 whole community is interested. The com- 

 munity has a right to protect itself from every 

 species of crime. The law is made for the 

 community, as well as for the individual. 

 Can not some of our legal friends devise a 

 law that will check the publication of fakes or 

 condemn the fakist to the insane asylum, as 

 being a joker dangerous to the community? 



C. A. 



