Johnstown weekly Democrat. (Johnstown, Cambria County, Pa.) 1889-1916, 1889-11-15
OUR QUESTION DRAWER.

hem:
The ubiquitous Inquirer" asks
Why do such men as the lamented
Hon. S. S. Cox, of New York, die, and
such as pugllistic bruisers live! An
swer We give it up.
wants to know why we refuse pitch into
what he calls our utterly incompetent
local officers We answer by asking,
why don't he do it over his own proper
signature
That ever on the wing " Rara Avis" j"
asks Why do reporters run every new
word and phrase, such as concensus "
and "in the near future" into the ground
by painful reiterations Answer Pre-
sumably for the same reason that he uses
4" rara avis instead of rare bird. See +?
The correspondent who always writes
over " star asks: Please give the
name of the author of 4" Step Down and
Out ;" Answer: As it was not Shake
speare, as he guesses, it was Henry Ward
Beecher.
GA Democrat is anxious to know
why Gov. Hill, in one of his late speeches,
said /" l didn't bring my encyclopedia
with me Was it," he asks, intend
ed as a mere joke, or as a slur
on ex-Presldent Cleveland ?" Answer
If intended as joke, it is one of those
ugly kind called joking on facts but if
used as a slur, it is generally thought it
was ga hit, a very palpable hit"
Our tried and trusty friend $50 well
known to all editors) Consistency" asks:
Is there any justice to donors and suffer
ers in spending a large per cent of money
contributed for our flood sufferers
in distributing it? Answer: As the per-
centage of the amount that will be appro-
priated thus will not be known until the
accounts are audited, an answer cannot
be given.
The irrepressible "Citzen" who is
always on the alert, comes at US with
the query: Who called the meeting and
how many of our citizens were present
when the so-called local Finance Commit
tee was appointed, and to which Governor
Beaver frequently refers? Answer; Not
knowing we cannot tell.
ga Republican" asks: Why is it when
our party puts full county ticket before
the people that all efforts to elect center
only upon ono of the nominees? Answer:
As the Republicans are in a hopeless
minority in the county, their only hope is
to elect one Of their candidates, which
can only be done by barter and sale-in
other words'by the use of money and
trading votes.
The not -ofton-heard.of paul Pry,"
wants an opinion as to the most success
full way Of prying into the doings of the
secret meetings held by Governor Beav-
er's State Relief Committee. Answer:
Interview a Washington. correspondent
who gets at all the secrets of the presi-
dents Cabinet.
"a young LADY," pretty as she is mod
est, asks: Is it proper for young lady
to permit young man to kiss her prior
to II marriage engagement Answer:
That depends---wcll, say, on circum-
stances, as circumstances govern cases.
If the act involves publicity, we should
say, no; but if it is done "decently and
in ORDER" that is, not boisterously, and
on the sly, our answer is, yes.
"a noHce" pops the following interro-
CATION: Do the rules of table etiquette
ever justify the act of eating peas with
anything but a fork! Answer: Oh, yes;
Doth nature and propriety largely teach
that the better way, indeed, the proper
way, is to eat them with your teeth as
reeth are for that purpose, while fork
would be a stupendous failure.
"a young man" asks: In walking
with lady in public place, such as in
i far ground, on which side of her should
he walk? Answer: On the outside, of
course.
The time honored Subscriber"
't'Neo L 4NheC oGlJlS us
puted point as to the author of
the saying that "1he child is father to
the man." Was it Shakespeare or Bacon?
Answer; 1t was neither Of them. 1t was
one of the famous aphorisms of Words
worth.
zone Of the Curious" asks: Where can
| find the origin of the expression "That
it is "a wise child that knows its own
father" Answer: 1t would be impossi-
bic to tell who first used it-probably
5ome careless reader of Shakespeare, who
got The cart before the horse. What the
great poet wrote is, ut is wise father
that knows his own child" Merchant of
Veaioe" Act 2, seene2.
One who signs himself GA Learner"
writes thus: Do you know which one of
our modern humorists originated the
slang phrase, "Too thin?" Answer: 1t
is not Of modern origin; neither is it
slaug In Shakespeare's "King Henry
VIII" Act 3, Scene /, King Henry replies
to tle Bishop Of Winchester by SAYING
that his reasons care too thin and base to