Connecticut western news., 1873-04-18
The National Cemeteries.

As the U. s. Congress recently ap- propriated $1 1000, 900 for headstones to mark the graves of Union soldiers in- tered in the national cemeteries, this subject becomes of general interest to the people. The national cemeteries are principally in the Southern States There are seventeen in Virginia alone, seven in Tennessee, five in Kentucky, four in Louisiana, four in North Caro- lima, three each in Mississippi, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and Maryland :; two each in Texas, Georgia, South Caro- lima, the District of Columbia, and Kansas, and one each in New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Florida, Alabama, Iowa, and the Indian Terri tory, making sixty-nine in all The graves iQ the Gettysburg Cemetery are already provided with headstones. The number of graves in the national ceme- teries requiring headstones is about 25O,000. The law requires headstones for all of these graves to be supplied and set up for the amount of the ap- propriation, viz.: $1,OOO,OOO. This would make the average cost of each headstone $4. The law requires each headstone to be marked with the num- Der corresponding to it's number in the register of burials, and also with the name of the soldier and the State to which he belonged, when these are known. The number of the known is about 150,000. The law also requires the Secretary of War to decide upon the size, form, color, and quality of the headstones before advertising for proposals, and it gives him authority to adopt different models and different kinds of stone for the various ceme- teries, but all must be of durable stone, and of sufficient size and weight to re- main in place when set up, and to pre- sent respectable appearance. The contracts may be made for separate quantities, or for the whole work, the contracts to be given to the lowest re- sponsible bidders, regard being had to the quality of the stone and the style and finish of the work, provided the ag- gregate cost of the whole work does not exceed the amount appropriated but if this aggregate is greater than the appropriation, none of the work can be undertaken.
 Destroyed by an Earthquake.
 When the steamship St. Louis left the port of Salvador there was report there that the City of San Salvador had been destroyed by 8 great earthquake onthe 4th of March. The telegraph lines to the port being down, no details could be had when she was leaving.
 The City of San Salvador, situated on 8 little stream flowing into the Pacific Ocean, 105 miles southeast of Guate- mala, is about three miles from the volcano of San Salvador. At various times it has suffered greatly from earth quakes, by one of which it was nearly destroyed in 1859, and by another of which it came near suffering similar fate in 1854. The city was well built, and contained several churches, @ fine cathedral, and several convents. It had population of about 18, 900 souls. In 1853 it's inhabitants numbered about 3O,OOO, but after the earthquake of April 16, 1854, they fell to the number mentioned above. Then the Govern ment of the republic of which it was the capital laid out new city, called Nuevo San Salvador, ten miles nearer the sea, and transferred to it the seat of government, but so large number of the inhabitants preferred the old place that in 1855 it was again made the capital.