The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-06-05
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.


United States PA. L. M.
The "star-spangled Banner has the call
just now.
What is meant by the displacement of a
ship?-H. A.
The amount of water the ship displaces;
that is its weight
What are cannon balls and bombshells
made of?-R. NJ NJ.
Steel armor-piercing shot containing
both extremely hard and very soft steel.
Is Rear Admiral Dewey of English or
Irish descent?-Two Sides.
OF straight English descent from Thomas
Dewey, who in 1853 came to Massachusetts
from Kent England
How is armor for ships put on?E-J. S. N.
Each piece of armor is nodded I'm making
to fit its place on the ship. 1t is then bolted
in place to the frame of the vessel
Are there ten vessels of any kind that
make better time than the City of Paris?
For long distances no; for short distances
the Paris would be beaten by many torpedo
craft and yachts that were built for speed
solely
What are mortar guns used in coast de-
Mortars are short cannon of heavy caliber
their projectiles go away up in the air and
drop on the deck Of vessel rather than be-
ing thrown more nearly in straight line
at her sides
what is the size of Cuba and Of Havana?
bow many OF the West Indies do the
spanish mold? 3, How many of the Phillip
pine Islands do the Spanish hold?-H. A. II.
Cuba, in 1887, had ], 637, 6S7 population, and
Havana 100000, but the present population
is uncertain. Probably it is now less. g
Cuba and Porto Rico. 8. All that Rear Ad-
miral Dewey permits them to hold
Who called Winchester the cradle of Eng
Ilsh prose, and why?-N.
We do not know who called the city by
that name, but whoever did did so because
at Winchester lived and died Alfred the
Great, the first English author. He was an
ardent advocate of the use of English, and
translated number of books from Latin
into the vulgar tongue"
Has this government a school of civil en-
gmeering?-C. r.
No. The only two schools maintained by
government are the Military Academy, at
West Point, and the Naval Academy, at
Annapolis. At the former civil and military
engineering is taught as part of the educa-
ton of a modern officer; at the latter steam
engineering as necessity of a naval engi-
neer'S training.
w, Where e is the BLACK Republic. and why
was 1t so named? Has South America a
cable direct to Europe?-N. r. r.
The "Black Republic" is the name APP
piled to the negro republic of Hayti or
Haiti, by Mr.. (now Sir) Spencer st. John,
Tor many years English minister there
South America has one cable direct to Eu-
rope, from Pernambuco to the Canaries and
Madeira, thence to Lisbon.
Please give a. good recipe for making blue
print papers 2. Which is better for tracing,
cloth or paper?-C. e. S.
Blue print paper is paper coated with
mixture of ammonia, citrate of iron and fer
ro-cyanide of potassium. In the pamphlets
published by most dealers in Photographic
supplies you will find directions for prepar-
ing it. O. Cloth is better than paper for
tracing.
Please tell the length. cost and tolls of
the Suez canal? Who owns it? Are there
locks On it?-W. B. & l..
Length, nnety-two miles; cost, $102 75O, 900;
tolls collected in first six months of 1897 on
LASS vessels were $7,437.975 1t is owned by
private company, the Suez Canal Com
pany, whose Offices are in Paris. The Brit
ish government owns a large block of the
shares, which the late Lord Beaconsfield
bought for it without authority q The
canal has no locks or interruption of any
kind.
Is the ''Pied Piper a true story?-No
Name
No, although it is told with much circum-
stantiality. 1t has even a date, June g.
1884. The story is modern version of the
tale of Orpheus and Eurydiee, an old CLASH
cal myth, which is one of class known as
soul-leader myths Orpheus, with his lutte
led animals captive, just as the Pied Piper
led first the rats and then the children.
Some persons have tried to make the story
of the Pied Piper relate to the Childrens
Crusade. -
Would it be contrary to international law
if the Spanish should lombard one of our
ports without first giving twenty-four hours
notice?-N. A.
No. war is on, and surrendering all oppor-
tunity for surprising enemy is not con-
sistent with the proper conduct of war.
Previous to a declaration of war lombard
ment is usually preceded by a notification
of definite length-it was but one hour in
the case of the Spanish bombardment of
Valparaiso-inside of which time it is de-
manded that the party threatened with
bombardment shall perform some specific
act
The statement is made that larger per
cent. of volunteers fail to pass the physical
requirements in Southern and Western
States. Is it true? If so, what accounts
for IT'D. p. B.
We don't know whether this is true or not
and we do not think that any one can tell
Most of the volunteers were members of
military organizations If those organiza-
tions adhered strictly to regular army
standards few men We're thrown out; if, as
was sometimes the case. they were almost
as much social military organizations
and examiners were lax, many members
were unable to stand the test.
In Ben Perley PORES Political Register
and Congressional Directory it is stated
that Andrew j. Hamilton was elected a
representative in the Thrty-sixth Congress
Il Republican. receiving 6,409 votes
against 1881 votes for Waul Democrat
serving from Dec ), 1852 to March 3, 1851"
Please explain the error in this statement.
No Republican could have been elected to
Congress from Texas at that time-L.
Poore was right to this extent: Hami-
ton ran as an independent Democrat. He
had begun as an anti-secessonist, which in
those days was practically a Republican.
What are the worlds records for the ath-
lotic events known as the dip, swinging
dip, and pull-up? = How many forts bat
teries, etc, are there around New York city
that could he used i'm defending ii from a
sea attack?-Q. d. s.