Evening star., 1928-05-14
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. HAsKIN.

There is no other agency in the world
at can answer as many legitimate
questions as our free Information Bu
reau in Washington, d. c. This highly
oroanized institution has been built up
and is under the personal direction of
Frederic J. Haskin. BY keeping In con-
slant touch with Federal bureaus and
other educational enterprises 1t Is in
position to pass on to you authoritative
information of the highest order. Sub
NIT your queries to the staff OF experts
| whose services are put at your free
disposal. There is no charge except
cents in stamps for return postage.
| Address The Evening Star Information
| Bureau, Frederic j. Haskin director,
Washington, ID. G.
@. Does Ruth Elder, the aviator,
| screen well?--J. X.
A. Camera men say that she pos
sesses an almost perfect camera face"
@. Who operated the first taXicab In
| New York City?--A. E. II.
A. There is no definite record, but 1t
is thought that Benjamin Riley was
| first. In 1904 ne operated French
car, probably De Dedonbontin.
@. OF what does an American uni
| YerSity c0nSlSt!-A. N.
| A. American Universities and Col
leges says that in the United States
university is an institution Of higher
| learning. comprising a college or coll
| leges of arts. literature and science
historically the first part of the Ameri-
| can university TO come into existence
, and professional colleges or schools OF
| law, medicine, theology, etc, and espe-
| cially graduate school OF arts, literature
and science In addition TO schools and
colleges devoted To instruction and re-
search, the university includes divisions
Of laboratories, libraries and museums,
| and sometimes a university press and
research institutes. Not every inxtitu-
/ ton which calls itself a university
/ measures up to this definition.
! @. When was the air mail stamp
| bearing a design representing the Spirit
/ of st. Louis put on Sale?-R. N.
! A, This 10-cent air mail stamp was
| placed on sale June 1S, 1927. 1t was
| planned to commemorate the first nom
! stop transatlantic airplane flight OF Col.
Charles A. Lindbergh.
| @. What languages did the Jews who
| lived in Rome in the early Christian
| centuries Speak?-H. 7.
/ "A. hGCSIlt eACdtAbtUALS Tic OG~ASA
! catacombs in Rome show that three
| fourths of the inscriptions on the slabs
| and walls are written in Greek and one
| fourth in Latin. This would indicate
! that the Jewish population in Rome at
/ that time was no more familiar with the
/ Hebrew language than the average Jew
of today, and that the more cultured
| among them spoke Latin as well as the
| popular Greek.
/ @. How much ice Is there in the
| Antarctic regionS?-S. E.
A. Prof. W. Meindardus Of the Uni
versity of Gottingen has estimated the
extent of the ice In Antarctica at
! &c, 900 600. 600. 600, 900 cubic yards of ice.
| weighing about 20 quadriilion tons.
| There is enough ice there, he says. to
/ cover all Europe to a depth OF $500 feet,
/ or TO blanket the whole earth under q
| layer between l20 and $50 feet thick.
@. Who was the first white child
born in Chicago?-L B.
| A. Susan Simons. born February II.
| 1912. was claimed to be the first white
child born in what is now Chicago.
| Alexander Beaubien, born January %.
! 1922. Is said 10 have been the first white
child to be baptized in Chicago. He was
baptized in 1929.
@. What was the Alexandrian LIZ
brary?-S. N
A. 1t was founded by Ptolemy Softer
In the city of Alexandria toward the
beginning of the third century BIC. 1t
had the largest collection of books of the
ancient world At one time IL Was said
to have contained more than 700 600
manuscripts, embracing collections OF
literature from Rome. Greece. India and
Egypt. 1t was destroyed during the
| siege of Alexandria By Arabs tA-D. 63S} !.
@. In what years were no inaugural
balls held?-M. P.
A. The inaugural balls were held
| after the inauguration of each PreSi-
dent from 1898. George WaShington's
second term. to 1902 with the following
| exceptions: 1853. because of mourning
and 1877, when reception was held
| instead.
@. Who wrote IAN Thru the Night"2
M. F.
| A. The Library Of Congress says it
| has i'm the past conducted exhaustive
research in order TO find the history OF
the song "Ali Thru the Night" All it
has been able to find Is that IL Is q very
old traditional Welsh song, and the
composer Is unknown.
@. What countries are regarded as
| Protestant countrieS?-G. t.
A. Protestant countries include Great
Britain. Germany. Sweden. Norway,
Denmark and the Netherlands. The
| United States also has larger Prot
estant membership than Catholic
Il