The National tribune., 1908-10-01
ANSWERS TO
CORRESPONDENTS.

when his headquarters were at the cor
ner of 18th and L streets, in Washing
ton?
From Aug. 20. 1851. till Nov. IL
1859. Seth Williams. with the rank of
Brigadier- General of Volunteers, served
as Assistant Adjutant-GeneraI on the
staff of Gen. George B. Mcclellan. Sub
sequently he was Adjutant-GeneraI OF
the Army of the Potomac while it was
commanded by Gen. Mcclellan. and
continued to serve in that capacity un-
der Gems. Burnside. Hooker and Meade.
II. x. B., Saratoga, Tex, asks: 1.
When was the United States Mint start
cd in San Francisco? 2. Has $40 gold
piece of 1857 any premium value? 1t
has apparently been boarded away, for i.
1t, is not worn at all.
i. The United States Branch Mint In
San Francisco was established in 1854.
2. The dealers in New York offer no
| premium on the double eagle of the
year mentioned by you.
B. c., Vineland. n. J., asks: How
| many hours are there in a day. or what
is the correct division of time at the
North Pole? If man should go there
and wish to remain long enough to
prove up on his pre-emption or
homestead claim, how is he to know
when to go to bed or get up in the
morning?
sidereal day contains exactly %
hours, sc minutes and four seconds OF
| mean solar time. This period is for
convenience sake divided into "a hours.
and the day begins at midnight. In
| order 10 depend upon sleeping certain
| number of hours at the North Pole the
visitor will have to depend upon his
watch. Some people, of course, sleep
| longer than others. The word day is
also used to indicate the time during
which the sun is above the horizon.
| and as this is a prolonged period at
the Pole, a day consists of months.
C. T.. San Juan. Porto Rico. asks:
What is the value of an autograph let
| ter of President Andrew Johnson?
Autograph letters of President john
son are exceedingly valuable, owing to
| the fact that it is said that he did not
learn to write until after he was mar
ried, and was always reluctant to write
| out anything in his own hand. His
signature commands value of SIS, and
a letter all in his own handwriting
| would be worth two or three times
that amount. according to the subject
| matter. Letters written or signed by
| him during the time that he was Presi-
| dent are much more valuable than
those written subsequently.
E. s., Scranton. Miss, asks: How
| many children has Andrew Carnegiec
Mr.. Carnegie is the father of single
daughter, named Margaret, who was
] born in 1897.
| P. B. N, Portland, Ore, asks: Is 1t
| true that there are more women than
| men in the world?
| According to a Census Bulletin, in
| which the proportion of sexes in the
United States is discussed, we find this
statement: Probably in the popula-
| ton of the world, as whole, and eer-
\ tainly in that half of it which has been
counted with distinction of sex, there
are several millions more males than
females" In 1900 in the United States
there were 39,059,242 males and 3D.
244,145 females.
/. P. H, Louisville, KY, writes: I
| want to join the organization of the
members of the Astor Battery, which
! fought in the war in the Philippine
| Islands in 1898. Where can 1 find out
about it?
! The Astor Battery Association has for
dress is 44s South Spring street, Los
Angeles. Cal, to whom you should write
| for full information.
! J. NJ. s., Galveston, Tex. asks: What
Territories are there that have not yet
| been taken into the Union?
/ Besides New Mexico and Arizona
| there is the District of Columbia, the
District OF Alaska, and the Territory of
| Hawaii, as we'll as Porto Rico, the Phil
/ ippines. Guam. Tutuilla and the 18TH
| mian Canal Zone, which are still with
| out the Union.
T. G. 1. W., Norfolk, Va, asks: Who
| takes the place of the Vice President
to preside over the Senate when he is
absent?
At the beginning of the sessions of
| the Senate a President pro tempore is
chosen to preside in the absence of the
| Vice President Senator William P.
| Frye, of Maine, has been President pro
| tempore of the Senate for several
| terms, and he presided over the Senate
| after the death of Vice President Ho-
bart, and during the time Mr.. Roose-
rolt was President in place of Mr.. Nc
| Kinley.
Mrs. A. III. B., Admission, Ala. asks:
What can get for s5 gold piece dated
1915. $40 gold coin dated 1s47, and
q $50 gold piece dated 1850 all without
motto?
The dealers in rare American coins in
New York offer no premium on the
pieces you mention.
j. A. s., ST. Joseph, Mo-, asks: Can
you inform me where l can get his
tory OF the political parties, past and
present, in our country? Please give
the titles OF what You can recommend
as concise, comprehensive and not too
expensive.
| We would recommend as a handy
volume for this purpose Alexander
| Johnston's History of American Poll
| tics,'' published by Henry Holt & Co.
New York. In 1892 a. L. Burt, Sc
! Reade ST., New York City, published
"a Dictionary of American Politics. by
| Evarit Brown and Albert Strauss
price, 81 cloth, or 80 cents paper
| which is an extremely good book Of
reference.
" G., Schenectady, n. Y, asks:
What is the difference between a bat
| tleslfin and o cruiser. and what is the
| largest gun carried in the navy?
A hattIeship is specially constructed
| for fE!i'ing purposes, is of great weight
and sits deeply in the water On the
other hand. cruiser has as its special
| characteristic the power of maintain
| ing q high speed; it is lighter and more
easily manuvered. The largest guns in
use in the Navy are 13-inch. tho the
largest vessels now carry nothing heav-
ier than 12-inch guns.
NJ R., Elyria, Ohio, asks: 1. How
many acres of land can one person
homestead? 2. Can one person take up
claim and sell it and take up another
in another State? 3. What is the cost
to take up claim?
i. 1t is not to exceed 160 acres; that
is. one can take less. such as 40 or an
S0-acre tract. 2. He cannot. 8. The
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