Omaha daily bee., 1914-08-04
LARGE FACTS ABOUT CITY
BuenOs Aires shows Many Things
that Are Biggest Found
: Anywhere.

What are the names of the three largest
cities in the western hemisphere? About
100 out OF every 100 welI-posted citizens
of the United States would promptly an
swer: New York, Chicago and Philadel-
phia- And, according to a communica-
ton Just received by the Pan-American
Union they would guess wrong. This
message states that the corrected returns
OF the recently taken census show that
the population OF Buenos Aires has grown
to 100000. thus passing Philadelphia and
crowding It out of the third place.
The growth of the Argentine capital has
been phenomenal. In twenty years it has
almost trebled its population and become
the largest city in the world south of the
equator, the largest Spanish-speaking city
in the world. the second largest Latin
city-Paris alone outranking it-and the
third largest city in the western world.
Immigration is, of course, largely re-
sponsible for this rapid increase. but the
city's birth rate. S41 per 1000. has cut
considerable figure
Some more interesting questions the
answers to which are not very generally
known, might be asked in this connection
For instance: Where is the finest jockey
expensive theater in the Americas? Where
the most remarkable newspaper building
in the world? Where the most deliberately
housed municipal water works station?
Where the most INTELLECTUALLY artistic
business street? And the answer to each
is Buenos Aires
A few other noteworthy facts relative
to the Argentine metropolis are the fol-
lowing: No My is 1t the greatest South
American seaport, but in point of en-
frances and clearances of vessels engaged
in foreign trade 1t is ahead of even New
York. while in tonnage and value OF for
eign commerce II ranks next to New York
in all the Americas. It is the greatest
wool exporting port in the world, late re-
turns showing that 1t has crowded sgd
ney Australia, out of first place. In ex-
ports OF frozen, and chilled beef Argentina
leads the world; next to Russia it exports
moro wheat than any country In the
world; in the production and export of
linseed It leads the world, while in the
export of corn 1t more than trebles the
Unitde States, and, of course, leads the
world
Relative to the newspaper building mem
toned above, in descriptive article in a
recent issue of the Monthly Bulletin Of
the Pan-American union, Edward Alces
writes
THE building is on the Avenida de
Mayo, not far from the Plaza, and is said
TO have cost over 100000 In addition
TO the newspaper plant the owners of La
Prensa CThe Press maintain at their own
expense free medical dispensary. an
able physician and assistants who pre-
scribe for and attend charity patients; a
law office where the poor may go for free
legal advice; a free library and a free
employment agency. A large concert hall
beautifully decorated with paintings and
frescoes. is maintain for its staff OF EN-
ployes, who also have gymnasium and
private restaurant. Finally a suite OF
rooms is maintained. consisting of a BAN
Duet hall, smoking room, ladies' boudoir
reception room and sumptuously fur
nished bedrooms for the accommodation
OF distinguished visitors from foreign
countries as guests Of the nation In gem
eral and of La Prensa in particular
These apartments are not inferior in
their furnishings and artistic decoration
TO many OF the renowned palaces Of Euro
pean royalty. Incidentally the paper
claims to have the most extensive foreign
news service OF any paper in the world.
The Avenida de- Mayo is unquestion-
ably one OF the greatest thoroughfares in
the world. 1t is about 120 feet wide and
nearly mile and a half long, extending
from the Plaza de Mayo. at the lower end
TO the new plaza in front OF the capitol
at the upper. Along the middle, suspended
from ornamental iron posts. is a double
row OF arc lights, and ON each side near
the curb OF the twenty-foot sidewalks is
4 row OF fine trees extending the entire
length of the street. Tie main feature
which strikes the stranger. however. is
the uniformity in height and the fine
architecture Of the buildings. The munich
pal government offers an annual prize
for the most artistic building erected on
the several business streets. and supple
ments this prize by eXernpting the build
ing from taxation FOR a certain number
Of years. Again. under the building re ~
lations each new structure aust HIT
monize in architecture. height and ma
terial with It's neighbors. Thus no one
and twO-story cheap buildings are found
10 mar tho general effect ON the
Avenida."