The Commoner. 9
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birds-eye view PAN-AnERlCANEXPOSITlQN. buffalo, n.y,ma.y i tohovember i.iqoi.
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Items of Interest.
Mr
The city hall of Philadelphia ds the largest city
building in the world. It was begun In 1871 and
has cost $24,313,455.
It is estimated that the pyramid at Cheops,
covering 13 acres of ground, contains masonry
weighing .over C,316,000 tons.
It is claimed by the great vocalists of Europe
that the use of perfumes and the scent of flowers
are both lr.ujrious to the human voice.
In the United States there was $88,935,150
worth of property destroyed by fire during the
first six months of the present year.
The largest lock in the world is located in
tha St. Mary's canal at the head of St. Mary's river,
which connects Lake Superior and Lake Huron.
Excluding navies, the estimated value of the
shipping of the world is $294,000,000, with all but
$67,000,000 of this value owned and controlled by
the nations of Europe.
The largest floating dry-dock in the world is
now being completed at Sparrows Point, Mary
land, and when finished will be located at Algiers,
La., on the Mississippi river.
The German emperor has made the study of
the English language compulsory in the German
high schools, and French, which has hitherto
been compulsory, is now an optional study.
, The bridge across the river Forth in Scotland-
is 8,296 feet long and cost to exceed $8,000;000. On
the bridge there are over 120 acres of surface to bo
painted, requiring 50 tons of paint for every coat
given it.
The power of plants to detect the presence of
certain poisonous substances is "well known. Some
plants can detect the presence of sulphate of cop
per after being dissolved in 700000,000,000 its
weight in water.
It has been.very satisfactorily demonstrated
that yellow fever is not communicated in bedding,
clothing, baggage, etc., but is caused by the bite
of a mosquito which has fed on a person infected
with that disease.
The Southern Pacific railroad has issued an
order that all its engines be supplied with ap
paratus for the burning of petroleum Instead of
coal. Experiments on that road have shown pe
troleum to he much cheaper than coal for fuel.
There are about 75,000 oil wells in the United
States, exclusive of those in the Beaumont dis
trict, with an approximate daily production of 160,
000 barrels. A dozen wells in the new Beaumont
district are producing more than all the other
wells in the country combined.
It is reported that the natives of Persia be
lieve in the efficacy of mourners' tears for the cure
of certain diseases. At funerals' the mourners are
given sponges with which to wipe away their
tears, and the sponges are given to the priest who
squeezes the tears into bottles for preservation
It is estimated that Canada furnishes 40 per
cent of the world's production of nickel. The ore
is found near Sudbury In the province of Ontario,
and covers a district about 40 by 70 miles in area.
The ore Is about 3 per cent nickel and contains
considerable quantities of iron, sulphur and copper..
Public Opinion: Among the British newspa
pers there are now 160 Advertisers, 150 Timeges,
149 Newses, 128 Gazettes, 120 Chronicles, 119 Her
alds, 104 Journals, 95 Expresses, 68 Observers, 48
Standards and 42 Mercurys. There are 40 Free
Presses, 38 Telegraphs, 31 Mails, 30 Posts, 29 Inde
pendents, 23 Couriers and as many Examiners and
22 Echoes.
London Daily Mail: Modern office furniture,
from the desk to the door mat, is nearly all Amer
can the desk to the door mat, is nearly all Amer
One sits on a Nebraska swivel chair, before a Mich
igan roll-top desk, writes ones letters on a Syracuso
typewriter, signing them with a New York foun
tain pen and drying them with a blotting sheet
from New England.
At Hanover, England, an elephant in the Zool
ogical gardens was afflicted with .a growth on one
o his hind feet, which it was necessary to cut
away to save the life of the animal. A dose of 600
grains of morphia In six bottles of rum was given
it and more than an hour elapsed before any effects
vere noticeable. It required three days to fully
complete the operation.