The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1912-09-04
.CEOCRAPHERS OF WORLD
TOURING UNITED STATES
Two Months Will Be Spent
Visiting Points of
Interest.

tered for the purpose from Memphis
10 Helena, Ark. This trip, which will
last about seven hours, is regarded as
a most valuable adjunct to the trans
continental excursion, as 1t is felt by
the Americans acting as guides that
altogether too many foreign visitors
see the greatest of our rivers only
while crossing 1t on a railroad bridge.
Special value will be added to this
river trip by the presence on the boat
Of members of the Mississippi river
commission, with full sets Of river
maps, which show the Mississippi to
the minutest detail.
The trip will end the middle of Oc-
tober in Washington. There the party
will spend n day in inspecting the in
teresting points around the city. On
Oct. II the special train will start for
New York, where the members of the
party will attend several meetings Of
a more formal character, at which pa
pers will be read and discussed by
those present.
AS will be readily understood, these
are busy days indeed up at the new
building of the American Geographical
society. the completion of which last
year has caused this round of instruc-
ton and pleasure. 1t is quite worthy
has been said, no geographical society
anywhere else can boast of such a
home.
American Geographical Society.
1t forms one of beautiful group Of
buildings just west Of Broadway and
occupies part of the old Audubon park,
New York. 1t is in the style of the Ital-
ian renaissance and is built entirely
Of Indiana limestone. 1t has four sto-
ries and basement, which affords am
pie space for the storing Of geographi-
cal books, maps, etc.
The floors on which the book stacks
stand are of plate glass, and the stacks
are of cast iron with silver finish, the
shelves of corrugated steel No wood
enters into any part of the construc-
ton.
The first, third and fifth stack floors
are connected by metal doorways with
the office, editorial and map floors, re-
spectively, of the main building. The
second, fourth and sixth stack floors
are mezzanine floors or entresols, which
have connection with the floors Of the
main building by the stairways that
lead from the bottom to the top Of the
stack floors.
A large metal book lift, operated by
electricity, connects the basement with
each Of the six stack floors and also
with the first, second and third floors
Of the main building. If the lift is to
be moved to any one Of these floors a
button is pressed and the lift stops at
the floor designated, and not till IT
stops can the doors to the lift be open
ed. If the buttons on two or more
floors are simultaneously pressed the
lift does not move.
The reading room is ample for lay
ing out the latest issues of all ex-
changes from foreign societies. The
map floor, occupying the third story,
has immense storage capacity for maps
and aliases. Rows Of dust proof cases
extending across the map room con-
tain maps in sheets. The collection of
historical and other aliases is in the
atlas room. On the fourth floor is a
map drawing department.
The American Geographical society
was founded nearly sixty-one years
ago. At its second meeting, held in
1S52-sixty years ago-a manuscript
was read from the renowned explorer,
. David Livingstone, descrlh . his dis
,coveries in South Africa. OF the 11j
geographical societies now in existence
II was the eighth to be organized. Ar
cher NJ. Huntington is its president.
Among his predecessors were George
Bancroft, the historian; Seth Low and
Robert e. Peary.