Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-09-18

tucky; Horace Gray, Massachusetts; SAM
uel Blatchford, New York; Lucius @. G.
Lamar, Mississippi; David j. Brewer, Kan
sas. Henry B. Brown, Michigan.
3. Chief Justice, John W. Stayton; Asso-
ciate Justices, Reuben R. Gaines and John
L. Henry.
,n1enssa %ss' ,InssSsss, sSs eT'd' Who
1. The original Credit Mobilier was a
French organization, founded in 1862 to aid
in building railroads, canals, etc In 1862a
company was chartered under the laws of
Pennsylvania called "The Pennsylvania
Fiscal Agency" later the name was changed
to that of 'The Credit Mobilier of America"
In 1864-1867 the corporation became a COM
pany to construct the Union Pacific Rail-
road. In 1872 it was charged that certain
members OF Congress and other Government
officers had been bribed by presents of Credit
Mobilier stock-which paid enormous divi-
dends-to vote for legislation desired by the
Union Pacific Railroad Company. Investi-
cations were made by Congress, and two
members of the House of Representatives,
Oakes Ames, Of Massachusetts,, and James
Brooks, OF New York, were censured, their
conduct being, in the words of the resolu-
tion, absolutely condemned" The Senate
was on the point of expelling j. w. Patter-
son, of New ii ampshire; but, as his term ex-
pired FIVE days after the resolution of e1-
pulsion was reported, nothing was done in
the matter. The corporation was dissolved
soon afterward.
The oldest alphabet is the Phenician,
the origin OF which is unknown; the Greeks
said that Cadmus, King of Thebes, invented
their alphabet. II he did, he copied from
the Phenician, which is the basis of about
every civilized alphabet In existence. The
newest alphabet is that of the Cherokee
Indians which was devised by Sequoyah,
otherwise known as George Guess, about
1926 1t consists of IS characters, each re-
presenting a single sound, and is said to be
the most perfect alphabet ever invented
Guess used the characters which he found in
an English spelling book, though he knew
no language but his own; 80 even this
Cherokee alphabet draws, for its characters,
on the Phenician alphabet.
What use has the postof1ice department
for stamps that have been used; and what
price is paid for them? T. r.
So far as We know, the postofice has no
use for.canceled stamps and pays nothing
for them. There was a story, some years
ago, of a girl who collected 1,eOO 900 can
celed stamps, to prove to wealthy friend
that she had perseverance, and to obtain
from him money to help her in getting an
education. This story set thousands OF
persons by the ears; they left out the point
Of the story and decided that 1000, 900
postage stamps were worth from $500 to
81, ,OO0. Then some wise person explained
that !, 200, 600 postage stamps were worth
$500 to the makers of papier mache, but
the papier mache makers denied this The
Dominican Sisters OF the Roman Catholic
Church in China are glad to get stamps;
they pay nothing for them, however They
sort them and clean them, and make scrap
books out of the best, which they sell.
With the proceeds they buy Chinese girls
and bring them up as Christians, incidently
saving their lives.
A person serves 21 years in the British
Al my, then deserts, taking his uniform; he
comes here, becomes naturalized, and a.ter
ten years wishes to return to England for a
couple OF months; is he liable to arrest as a
deserter? j. D.
There is nothing in the mans becoming
an American citizen that can save him from
punishment. IT anything can do that it
will be the Statute of Limitations; and we
think that does not run against deserters-
in other words that desertion is always
punishable. But as your man served SO
long, and deserted SO long ago, we think
that he could arrange matters quietly
through a lawyer, and by paying Tor his
uniform, ETC., get pardon, or something
OF that nature, that would protect him in
going back to his old home
]. How large is Alaskan What is the
length of its coast line? 2. Where is the
center of the United States taking the
country East and West? H. j. r.
1. Alaska has an area of 531, ,4O9 square
miles. The coast line has never been
measured accurately, but is thousands of
miles in length; the whole Pacific coast is
with harbors
2 Eastport, Maine, is the most easterly |
point in the United States, in longitude 67
degrees west; and Attoo Islands, III Alaska,
the most westerly, in longitude 1913 de- |
grees west; the middle point between |
these is about longitude 126 west, nearly |
800 miles west of San Francisco Hence |
the center you ask for is in the Pacific |
Ocean.
What is meant by the term "free coinage
Of silver7" Does it mean that paDer cur
rency is to be called in? J.W.H
The expression means the opening of the
mints of the United States to silver on the
'ame terms as they are now open to gold.
person can bring gold bullion to the
mints and have it coined into money with
put any expense to himself; while if he
brings silver he will have to pay the mint
charges. The free coinage of silver does
called in; paper is too useful TO be called in