Evening star., 1924-07-31
Answers to Questions
BY FREDERIC }. HAsKuN

|
A. The first newspaper published
In what is now the city of Washing
! ton was the Times and Potowmack
Pocket. 1t started in February, 1889,
the exact date being uncertain. The
paper was delivered to subscribers In
town by carrier" at their houses,
weekly, on Wednesdays, and tn those
at distance by the quickest convey
ance.
| Q. Kindly advise me where can
can get copy of the personal prop
erty tax law of the District of Co.
lumbia?-T. Moo.
! A. You can obtain a copy of the
personal property tax law from the
tax assessors office ir the District
building, Thirteenth and Pennsylvania
avenue. .
| Q. Do Englishmen eat as much
fruit as Americans do?-E. B. B.
| A. Americans consume great deal
of fruit, while England is a low per
capita fruit-consuming country. There
Is now an Eat More Fruit" campaign
under way In England.
q. What are the proper services
| at the grave of a soldier? In what
direction should the shots be fired
over the gravel. H. NJ.
A. The War Department says
when a soldier is buried the following
Is the procedure: The body is lower
ed into the grave as the priest or
minister reads a short service
Usually music is played or a hymn
Is sung, A bugle then sounds taps.
rounds over the grave. The guns
are pointed upward. in no particular
direction. Alter the funeral party
leaves the cemetery the cemetertal
help closes the grave.
coiisctsua g; When were postage stamps first
| A. The fancy for stamp collecting
began short time after the issue OF
the first British penny and tWo-penny
stamps in ls4o. Or. Gray of the Brit
ish Museum began collecting. then,
verttsen,ent in the Times of 1s41
asked for gifts of Cancelled stamps
for young lady. In 1912 the new
hobby was criticized by Punch. In
! 1850 stamp collecting began to be
systematically carried on with regard
to different kinds of paper. water
marks perforations. shade of color
and distinctive outline. In 1862 a
teacher in Paris required pupils to
| collect and paste stamps in aliases
and Biographies according to coun-
tries. and this may have been the
| first form of systematic classification
of stamps in a collection.
| q. Why are ambassadors to Great
Britain called "Ambassadors to the
Court of st. James?''-A. G.
A. The Court OF st. James's. more
| commonly, though less correctly. the
| Court of St. James, is the usual desig-
nation Of the British court; so-called
1 Il MI
| which was long used for royal recep-
| tions, levees and drawing rooms.
Q. How long have boxers used
boxing gloves?-A. T. D.
A 1t has been supposed that the
first glove contest was the battle be-
tween John l.. Sullivan and James J.
TCorbett for the heavyweight cham
pionship in 1892. This was the first
| big glove contest in America. There
| is a record of a boxing bout in France
| between two English boxers in 1918
| which mentions the fact that both
men wore huge padded gloves.
Q. What proportion of the popula- l.
tion Of the Philippines are Christians
F. T. NJ.
| A. In 1918 the population of the
| islands reached 10.35o,130, of whom,
9,463,131 were clasSed as Christians
|
Q. Did Gen. Grant demand the sur
render of Gen. Lees sword?-G. ". c.
A. Contrary to- the popular belief
this incident did not occur. d. In the
possession of Robert Underwood
| pared Grants memoirs were Gen.
| Grants signed words in his own
handwriting: There was no demand
| made for Gen. Lees sword and no
tender OF it."
| Q. How many men were killed in
| coal mines last year?-T. T.
| A The Bureau of Mines says that in
1923 there were accidents in and
| around coal mines which resulted in
the death of 2.452 men. This output
| OF coal for the year was 6l,76,o0C
| tons, the fatality rate being S.S2 per
| million tons.
| Q. What salaries do air mail plane
aviators get?-T. A. F..
| A. The Post Office Department says
that the salary of an aviator in the
| lows: Base pay is $4,000, plus cent.
\ a mile for each Night.
Q. How are stamps applied to
| stamped envelopes? Can one be cut
from an envelope and used on another
one?-L J.S S.
| A. The Post Office Department says
| that the stamp is embossed on the
| envelope at the time the envelope Ii
| made, and is part of the envelope
| itself. If the embossed stamp Is cut
from the original envelope, it, is moi
good for postage II attached to an
other envelope.
Q. Can children's cotton clothing be
rendered fireproof?-M- T. E.
A. Into the starch used for muslins
or other light and fluffy material usec
for dresses, etc, put an ounce of alum
| or sal to about three -oi
four quarts of the starch when ready
TO use.
@. When is Midsummer eve-F. S.
A. Midsummer eve falls on the
| night before the festival of ST. John
the Baptist, June "a. This used to be
observed in all parts of Europe. Fires
| were kindled in the market places
and the young people leaped over the
| flames or threw garlands into them
Dancing and singing played part in
the festival.
/ O. What does "avatar' mean-H
A. "Avatar" comes from Sanskrit
word meaning a descent" 1t is ap-
piled particularly to the descent of q
Hindu deity to earth in a manifest
form. either for beneficent or retribu-
tive reasons. 1t corresponds to the
Christian term incarnation"
O. Tell something of the history
and aims of the American Bible So
ciety?-F. M. F.
A. The American Bible Society was
organized in New York City, 1916, tc
encourage a wider circulation OF the
Bible. In 1841 an act of incorpora.
ton was made. and in 1852 Bible
! House" was built. one Of the oldest
once buildings in New York City
The board Of managers consists Of 8,
| la xunAn and the object Is to translaff {