The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-12-10
HOUSTON POST LETTER BOx

I
qusstinns that are Of scnsrai iutsrset ~
main object 10 10 suppsy out-of-ths-way facts
and curious information. Questions Of per-
scnal interest only will not b answerSd. No
| business or personal addresses viii b given
All correspondence should BE- Addressed 70 Tbs
letter BOX. care Houston Post. owins 70 th~
large number Of questions received, answers
can not always BE- given promptiya
How shall pronounce Krugsrs TIT.
Kruger Is pronounced .'Kroor" mostly In
the Transvaal. but ''Krser'' generally else
whore In South Africa.
/ ~
What building now 10 existence In the
United states ate, cost the largest aSupt Of
The Capitol at Albany. N. X. has cost
nearly $4,000. 900; more than any other build
Ing In the country.
viii you kindly state the names Of the
fvc largest cities 10 the. world! R-B.R.
The Ave largest cities of the earth are Lon
don. 4,2ai.isi; Greater New York, estimated
at 100000: Paris, 2.6se,o0o: Berlin 1,677,ssi:
Canton estimated at i,soo,ooo.
~
When did work begin on capitol OF state
. of Texas? When was the cornerstone laid
and when dedicatedg Fill.
Tho cornerstone was laid March g 1855.
and the dedication occurred May i6. isss tho
: building having been occupied only few
days before that time and accepted BY the
legislature.
r VIII you please tell us how and where
cables are laid and OF what are they made
We are anxious to know and can not ind out.
Two Readers
To describe the process OF making and lay
: ing submarine cables would take about two
! ~ ALI tho
ton you desire upon tho subject you might
I examine volume % of the Encyclopedia
Britannica beginning ut page III.
i What lis soapay v.R.H.
Seopa Is q name commonly applied In Eng
d land TO society for checking abuses of pub
lie Advertising The building act committee
o OF London county council has recommended
= the prohibition OF offensive signs and in many
u places tho society has obtained the conocs-
slons IT desired. The Northeastern Railway
l. company has been removing some advertise
ments which were considered unsatisfactory.
viii you please let me know what was the
number of people that enored az the gate OF
rho Paris Exposition of 1854 and at the Worlds
Fair OF Chicago IN 1893, and II both eXposi-
= tons were financial suceess2 HID !.
( At Paris IN 1850 there we're 2s.li9353 visit
or8 Tho tOthl para ADMISSIONS 10 dltVnuhIN',
+ passes and paid. was 27SS9,Oil The cost OF
q tho Paris Exposition was 81 600, the re-
ceipts were ss,ssoooo; loss s2sao,Ooo. At chi-
Il cago tho total nc, assets over all liabilities
r was si,s62,4s3os
d what are the six large British hattleships
! OF which group one is the London? COT,
n Three of thom-the Formidable the IRE
d sstiblc and the Implacsblc--have already
& been launched and nre now well in hand
10 toward compleuon, OF the other three. the
l. London is the nrst to take the water Her
A. sister ships arc the Venerable, building at
or Chatham, and tho Bulwark, In course of con-
o. struetion at Davenport The London is $50
IS. feet long over all, rs feet broad and has q
dc displacement of $4,000 TONS
On ~
m. WIN you please state why the ocean is
en- salty I'D.
nd the saline elements of sea water says an
c authority, may be derived from geological
by formations. consisting in great part of such
a. elements; but strata of this character always
na bear evidence OF being denosted from ancient
In oceans, SO that this derivation throws no
en- light upon the real source OF the salt In
Is different parts OF the various substances
Al introduced by great rivers modify locally the
Is composition Of Its waters, and from the strata
he beneath the sea there, doubt, emanate
81 mineral springs. II Is supposed also that tho
ne development of animal life, particularly the
lo formation OF coral, tends to preserve the
oquablenese OF tho salinity OF the ocean and
also Us purity.
n have been told the seysers In YELLOWSTONE
National Park are. losing their force and
s. beauty. Ii this sol c,C.C.
III Naturally they must in time suhside. or
lls change and other vents viii be found for
the energies OF nnture. uoted scientist
~ read paper recently az n meeting II the
". American association IN which lac declared
that there has been decline Of geyser ac-
ais tvty so rapid as TO be startling to those VINO
ais have frequently visited that extraordinary
district II tho decline OF the last four years
b. should continue nt tho same rate, the pre-
. nomcna will have mainly disappeared in ten
years moro At the upper basin the Grand
GU geyser which used to erupt daily. now erupts
:. ubout three times season; the Cascade,
eyy which in 1895 spoued every fifteen minutes,
now spouts once day, and numerous geysers
ou are extinct.
" | would like Information about the now
as circulating library at Washington. VIC.
AN On the 18th day OF January. 1893, Mr.. Car
nsgie In response TO verbal suggestion Of
he MT b. II. Warner vice president OF the
library trustees, offered TO give s25O.Ooo for
as the erection OF n building for the library II
''o congress would provide site and suitable
as maintenance on March 8. following suit
mo able measure was enacted The accepted
80 design IS by AckGrman aud Ross of New
The York. The structure Is about 224 feet long
eust and west--and about liz feet on the line
OF the greatest depth-north and south. II
harmonizes In proportion with the site. Mt
of Vernon square being about $40 feet long and
at $50 feet vide while Mr.. carnegie's original
len donation was s25O.ooo, this amount does MOI
oat indicate the full measure OF his benehcence
In relation to the public library, On ths
''' l4th day OF April, 1899 he increased his gin
BY 100000 In order TO cover the cost OF furni'
ture and equipment for the library, archi'
tects' and superintendents commissions, ant
m other incidental expenses; and on September
H. 26. 1899 he made an additional donation o
: /" $50 600 to meet an extraordinary increase 4
re the cost of building material which threat
ZEN ened TO prevent the execution OF the accepted