was appointed forecaster in Kansas City in 1890, and was serving in 1908. These are the duties of Mr. Connor: "The issuing of storm warnings, the display of weather and flood signals for the benefit of agriculture, commerce and navigation; the gauging and reporting of rivers, the maintenance and operation of telegraphic lines, and the collection and transmission of marine intelligence for the benefit of commerce and navigation; the display of frost and cold wave signals, the distribution of meteorological information in the interest of agriculture and commerce and the taking of such observations as may be necessary to establish and record the climatic conditions of the United States, or essential for the proper execution of the foregoing duties."

The bureau, however, is better known to the public through the medium of its daily forecasts and weather maps. These forecasts are based upon simultaneous observations of local weather conditions taken daily at 8 p. m. and 8 a. m. at about 200 regular stations scattered throughout the United States and the West Indies. Within two hours after the morning observations have been taken, the forecasts are telegraphed to about 1,000 distributing points, whence they are further disseminated, being delivered not later than 6 p. m. on the day of issue. This is at the expense of the government and is distinct from the distribution effected by the daily newspapers. The rural free delivery makes it possible to reach a large number of farming communities heretofore impracticable to reach with the daily forecasts. The weather map is mailed immediately after the morning forecast is telegraphed. On this map the salient features of the weather over the country are graphically represented, accompanied by a synopsis of the conditions.

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE NEWER CITY.

With the beginning of the twentieth century, Kansas City entered upon. an era of remarkable growth. In five years the erection of new skyscrapers, bank buildings, theatres, store buildings and other edifices changed the appearance of the down-town district. The transformation of Tenth street between Baltimore avenue and Oak street has been especially marked.

Three large office buildings were completed in 1907 at a combined cost of nearly four million dollars. They are the R. A. Long building costing $1,250,000; the Scarritt building costing $750,000; the National Bank of Commerce building, built at a cost of $1,500,000. This building was the last of the three skyscrapers to be occupied. Its erection marked a new

record in the construction of skyscrapers here, if not in other cities. The Commerce building has sixteen stories and the ground area is 106 by 115 feet, about twice the width of the Long building. The Commerce building is one story higher than the Long building and four stories higher than the Scarritt building.

The transformation on Tenth street began in 1906, when the First National bank began the erection of its elegant new building at the northcast corner of Tenth street and Baltimore avenue. The R. A. Long building at Tenth street and Grand avenue and the National Bank of Commerce building were built next. Tenth street, on which so many handsome buildings have been erected, is narrow and crooked. The Victor building at Tenth and Main streets is the most peculiar of all the new buildings on Tenth street. It is 100 feet high and is only 271⁄2 feet wide. It has a frontage of 130 feet on Tenth street and is eight stories and a basement. It was built by Victor H. Laederick at a cost of $200,000. The main entrance is on Tenth street. The building is fireproof, built of steel and brick. The floor and walls are terra cotta and the first story is reinforced concrete. The corridors have marble floors and marble wainscoting to the height of seven feet. The main lobby is entirely of marble. There are seventy-five offices in the building. It is commonly known as the "toothpick" building, owing to its narrowness.

With its own fire department, its own water and sewerage systems, cleaning department, heat, lights and police force, the modern office building is a condensed city. The elevators are its street cars. All day crowds come and go. In this unique establishment are found, on a small scale, almost every one of the systems employed in the management of a municipality. In many cases it is almost wholly independent of the outside for any of the forces used in operating its various departments. Persons who visit these buildings in the daytime imagine, perhaps, that they are closed at night, but they are open just as the city is open. Of course, not so many are abroad, but there are a few stragglers and a cleaning force that works from sundown until morning. For the convenience of the late workers an owl elevator runs all night. Thousands of those who make up its population are not dependent upon the city for any of their office comforts.

The thousands of persons who go in and out of an office building during the day "track in" much dust, and there are those who scatter waste paper, children who drop peanut shells, and the men who "knock off" cigar ashes. There is a thorough housecleaning in the up-to-date office building every night in the week except Saturday night; not with mops and pails of water, brooms and "dusters," but with an improved vacuum cleaning system. The vacuum air-drawing machines, driven by electricity, are in the

basement. All the pipes are concealed in the walls and follow the columns of the building's steel frame. There are two outlets on every floor for the attachment of the cleaning hose. The machines in the basement form a vacuum and the suction draws the dust and small particles through the ripes. To the end of the suction hose may be attached any one of several different cleaning implements. The device used for ordinary sweeping is about three and a half feet long. The attachment for cleaning furniture is smaller and has a soft brush protecting its open end so that the metal will not scratch the woodwork. Another appliance, made in several sections, is used for cleaning cornices near the ceiling, high picture frames and upper corners of the room. There is an attachment, also, for renovating

the spaces under the furniture.

The particles of dust and the disease germs that floated in the air under the old system of cleaning with brooms are drawn into the tubes. The vacuum cleaning system has a hygienic as well as a time and labor saving value. From 800 to 1,000 pounds of dust, grit, pins and small particles of rubbish of different kind pass through the vacuum-cleaning plant every night. An average of about 400 pounds of waste paper is picked up in the building every night. This "by product" is sold to the paper mills and adds to the income of the building. The cleaning force that works all night in the Long building is composed of eighteen men. It requires eight men to run the vacuum sweepers. There are several men who follow after the vacuum sweepers. There are several men who follow after the vacuum cleaners and polish the furniture. One man polishes brass cuspidors all night. There are cleaners who work in the daytime, too, but not so many. Two men wash windows all day; they have no other employment. They clean 800 windows in the building three times in one month. One man does no other work than to polish the door knobs and other metal work. He makes the complete circuit of the building once a week. There is another man who spends the day polishing woodwork. It is all that he expected to do. Once every six weeks he finishes his rounds and starts over again.

The head janitor of the (Long) building is the chief of the private fire department. All the janitors employed by him are firemen. The men have been trained in the use of their fire equipment. They are always ready for active service and the pump in the basement has a constant steam pressure. On the roof of the building there is a reservoir of 8,000 gallons for emergency use in addition to the attachments to the city water mains. There are two service pipes connected with this pump with provisions for connecting with steam fire pumps in the street. Two lines of pipe run to the top of the building, one four inches and the other six inches in diameter.