The San Francisco call., 1896-03-18
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS

Irving is the stage name of John Henry
Broadrip. He was born at Keinton, Somerset
shire, Eng, February 6, 1888. He received q
public-school education and entered the office
of an East Indian merchant in 1852, studied
elocution and made his first appearance on
the stage at the Lyce um Theater, Sunderland,
Eng, in the character of Riehelieu, Septem ber
20, 1856.
SEAMAN's RIGHTs-A Reader, City. To the
direct question "Can seaman vote for Presi-
Dental candidate if he arrived only a day be-
fore the election % the answer is no and yes
No, if the seaman is not citizen of the United
States; no, if citizen OF the United States, but
not citizen of the port at which he lands.
Yes, if he, at the time he left the port of ship
ping, was qualified citizen and elector of that
place, and should return to it the day before
election, for man does not lose his residence
because engaged in navigation, but Ii he ar
rived, say in San Francisco (where registration
closes thirty days before electionl on. the day
before election he would have to make appli-
cation to the Registrars Office for a certificate
to enable him to cast his ballot.
To DRILL GLAss-W. w. B., Oakland, Cal. A
writer in an article on drilling glass saws !:
'Wet an ordinary drill with petroleum or ben
zine-turpentine will answer, but not SO we'll.
It will then bore common glass as rapidly as
steel. If it is intended. to bore through. the
glass should be first countersunk on each side
with drill dressed off so as to form very fat
three-sided pyramid. Flint and plate glass are
very difficult to bore. 1t has been ascertained
that dilute sulphurlc acid is much more
effective, with less wear of the tool than oil of
turpen tine. 1t is stated that glass castings for
pump barrels, etc., are drilled planed and
bored like iron ones. and in the same lathes
and machinery, by the aid of sulphuric acid.
BIG BUG-E. G. s., Livermore, Cal. "Big bneo
is an Americanism which is a disrespectfnl
but common allusion to persons of wealth or
with other claims to distinction Its variants
are "big dog" big wig" and "great gun" In
Widow Bedott's papers is found:
Mrs. Samson Savage IS one of the big bugs. tba,
is, she has got more money than almost anybody
in town.
In 1851, the New York Times, in commenting
on English affairs, used the following:
The free and easy manner in which the hair
Drained Sir Robert Peel described the big bugs at
Moscow brought him into difficulty.
Di We're, in his Americanisms, says:
Persons of great wealth and distinct;on -
irreyerently called big bugs, and 1 street. Wash.
ngton, is thus said to be inhabited nv Arnbas ssh,
dors and other big bugs. JIG. Neal makes nica
distinction when he says of q rich man vvthnnt
social importance, "He is one OF your bio hn gs
with more money than brains.n s'
THE STAMP LANGUAGE-E. H. R.. Citv. Tbaro
are as many languages of stamps as there q rs
sets of two or more persons who NAV arrsnoa
stamps in particular manner on the envaIo1s
and apply meaning to each stamp Ona ,pp
dlv1duai, who has published the foliowing a.
clares it has been adopted the world ovar. ar. !.
When stamp Is inverted on the unner riah+
hand corner, 1t means the person written ro
the upper iefthand corner and inverted. tben