The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-01-16
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.

/ wish to Know the NUMBER OF miles Oh
railroad in Texas. Jan. /, 1875. ID. G.
According to the official reports, there
were 94sS4 miles of railroad in Texas ON
Dec 81, 1886. This practically answers your
question.
Who wrote the Constitution of the United
States?-A. 0. r.
No one person. James Madison drew up
q scheme, which was expanded by Edmund
Randolph and was presented to the con-
vention as the Virginia plan. This plan was
adopted as a whole and changes were made
in it, until the Constitution of 1877 was
evolved
Does the government of France ray a
premium on children? IL so, what, ana IN
what way?-M w.
Not nowadays. It has not done Sc for
many years. A proposition was made re-
Gently to reduce the taxes of persons with
families OF a certain size. but we think it
was not embodied in q law.
How many clerks are employed in the
Pension Bureau, and what is the average
salary paid?-J. A. b.
There are about 400 clerks in the office
at Washington, besides heads of divisions.
medical examiners. chiefs of divisions, as
sistants and principal examiners. The clerks
and staff of the local pension agencies are
not included here. The average salary is
about $1,000.
What can 1 put on horn to clean and
whlten 1t; 1t being too rough to scrape or
sandpaper, and l wish to leave it in it's
rough State?-H. S. A.
You can bleach the horn by immersing it
for a short time in water holding a little
sulphuroEs acid; repeat the process until
the horn is sufficiently white.
Where has the money taken in at the
worlds fair gone For what DurpOSeS
was it used? Has the United States paid
its civil war debt?-Questioner.
What the fair itself took in at the gates
was spent in maintaining the great show,
In paying for the buildings and grounds, run
ming them. etc. What the exhibitors took in
has gone in paying the cost of their exhib-
its. 2. No.
Who was Charles Knight that wrote a his
tory of England? Is the work accurate,
comprehensive and unbiased? Is there any
other history covering the same length of
time superior to it?-History
Charles Knight was a London bookseller,
publisher and writer He wrote his "Popu-
lar History of England" as carrying cut the
purposes of the Society for the Diffusion of
Useful knowledge. The work is not stand
and one; it was written for popular use,
without pretensions as a standard or ex-
haustive work, but with one exception it is
land.
Please give the date when the Hoosac
tunnel was commenced, and the cost up to
the time the first train passed through on
Feb. o 1S75?-J. Fl. I. n.
Experimental digging was begun as far
ago as 1851, but actual tunneling began only
In 1856. The State took hold in 1862, and
Nov. q, 1873 There is no account of the
tunnels cost separate from that of nearly
forty miles of railroad and the interest on
the investment; the tunnel is estimated to
have cost about $l3,OOO,OOO.
What year and date did Sheridan die? q
Where did he die and was there any monu-
ment raised to his memory? s. How many
children has he living, and what are their
names?-Subscriber.
General Sheridan died on Aug 5, 1883. g.
At Nonquit, Mass So far as we know there
is no monument to him. AT Arlington,
where he is buried, there is a simple but
beautiful stone over his grave. 3. He left
four children-Philip, Mary, Irene and
Louise: these last are twins.
Are the terms Bohemian taste" and ''Bo-
hemian habits" derived from the similarity
20 the tastes and habits of the people of
Bohemia? ?. What is the correct etiquette
of a cyclist meeting pedestrian on the
to take?
No, not as most commonly used, though,
strictly. the capital "B" implies that mean
ing. ?. In majority of cases, to get at
once into the roadway but the idea that
should dominate always is that sidewalks
are for pedestrians. not vehicles, baby car
riages excepted.
Please give some good method for dressing
deerskin for buckSkn? .. Also a method
mr. " M
The preparation of skins for buckskin re-
quires a great number of manipulations.
After the hair has been removed from the
skins Tho surface of the grain is shaved off:
the skins are then treated with a fresh lime
solution, washed in bran, and rinsed in acid
they are then rubbed with fish oil and beat
en- to make the oil enter them, and this
process is repeated from six to a dozen
times. The skins are then dried, heated in
special rooms, the superfiuous oil removed
and the leather has become buckskn. 2.
Cut Off the useless parts, remove all fat
soak the skin for an hour in warm water.
Make paste Of equal parts of borax, salt
petre and sulphate of soda in water and
cover the inside of the skim making it
thicker where the skin is thicker: after
twenty-four hours, wash the skin clean and
cover with this paste: One ounce salsoda,
one-hall ounce DOraX ana TWO ounces soft
soap, melted (hut not boiled) together: fold
the skin and put away in cool place. After
twenty-four hours, dissolve four ounces
alum, eight ounces salt, two ounces saler-
atus in sufficient water; when cool, soak the
skin for twelve hours and then dry. Repeat
the soaking two or three times until the
skin Is soft and dry enough: then sew on
the lining.
You said recently that the church festi-
walls are pagan feasts To what pagan
feasts do these fes ivals be o 7g-Easter sun
day, Christmas. Corpus Christi Ascension
day Whit Sunday. Good Friday, Immacu-
late Conception. Trinity Sunday or the
Feast OF the Annunciatlon? ,. Why is Coco
Friday 50 ealled2 Why is il observed as q
holiday in 50 many countries?-A. Y.
Easter is the Christian modification Of
the pagan spring festival. the feast day OF
the goddess Ester or Oster; Lent is the
spring fast compare the Mohammedar
HamasIan. though that is movable fast