The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1904-01-24

facing of the building coming from tn
5 noted quarries of Concord, N H. Tn
bricks in the building. if strung out end
wise. would extend from Washington t,
: Wichita and enough would remain t,
erect a much needed library building 20
: the Peerless Princess-twenly- and Z
half millions OF bricks in ALL Beside.
ten train loads of iron and steel-twent,
} cars in each train-730 car loads, equalIine
nearly forty train loads of cement wer,
used.
To admit proper amount of daylight
into the building it had to be supplied
with PIGS windows. AS Napoleon's pas
sion was TO count the number of windows
in the buildings he passed. you can read
lily see that Uncle Sam would have time
to evacuate the Capitol in a proper and
dignified manner before "Bonny' could
reach him.
To light the library at night is very
different thing. If every man, woman
and child in Wichita, Topeka, Leaven-
worth, Atchison, Fort Scott, Pittsburg,
Winfield, Wellington. Emporia Hutcflin-
/ son, Newton, Marion, Peabody and FL
Dorado held a lighted candle in his or her
hand the aggregate of the 600 candle
power would not equal the Illumination of
the library at night. Besides 81. 1853 incan-
f descent lamps in the building there are
more electric arc lights in the adjoining
park than in all of Wichita
Sixteen steam boilers of sixty horse
power each are used in the lighting and
heating of the building, requiring annu-
ally, for the energy transmitted, the COM
loads of coal.
1t required eight years TO complete the
building. after the foundation was laid.
at a cost of 1854 1884, sum vastly
greater than all the deposits of all the
banks of Wichita, and greater than the
expenses of the state government of Kan
sas for three years.
From one of the courteous and intelli-
gent officers Librarians are always cour-
teous and intelligenO l obtained some fig
ures which enabled me to calculate that
if all the books in the library were laid
side by side, as in shelves, they would
make row so long that it would require
five hours of Wichita street car running
at regulation speed to travel from end to
end of it. These books are accommodated
in three stacks containing $500 shelves.
In round figures the printed books num-
Der 100000; maps and charts. 5000:
pieces of music, 100000; engravings. etch-
ings.. portraits and Autographs and other
items of the graphic arts. 1000
Three hundred and sixty-four thousand
books are read annually by 125,0G0 read /
ers. to say nothing of 300 metropolitan
and 1000 magazines These .
tf<rt,ra In ~ Tn do
who read from raised letters. Every con-
sideration is given the blind readers. I
committee of Washington ladies having
been organized to lead Them TO and from
the library daily. Many of the blind read
ers are furnished with free street car
tickets.
Eight hundred thousand persons visit
the library annually, an account being
AIKEN and kept of every person who en-
ers the building. Strange to say there
ire probably 100000 native Washington
ans who have never been in the building.
There are more than 200 persons emu
'loyed i'm the library. which is not under
he classified or civil service system. and
he annual expense. in round figures, is
lalf a million dollars.
1 diiI dlidlu II Will ltSSeH NOuT respect |
or the illustrious Daniel Webster when [
ell you that if he had his way complete
y the present library would not now be
n existence. This is a long story but it
nay interest you and that il is my pri-
nary purpose in writing to YOU When
he British entered Washington Admiral
'ockhurn of the royal navy of King
George. then cooperating with Cen
raj Lord Ross, took a seat in the ,
peakers chair in the house of rep