Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-07

This Is q special department devoted
solely to the handling Of queries. This
paper puts at your disposal the services
Of an extensive organization In Wash
ington to serve you in any capacity that
relates to information. This service Is
prives you of benefits to which you are
entitled. Your obligation is only
cents In coin or stamps, Enclosed with
your inquiry for direct reply. Address
The Evening Star Information Bureau,
Frederic j. Haskin, director, Washing
ton, D. c.
@. How many hours . day is the
average radio set in use?-J. G.
A. It is estimated that the average
radio set is used from two to eight
hours day, with four hours as fair
average.
@. How many bank chains are there
in the United States?-E. K.
A. Bank chains in the United States
number 273, with 1850 banks In 80
States.
@. Have 81 men been President of
the United States?-P. T.
A. Herbert Hoover Is the thirty first
President, but only 80 men have been
l.
terms, which were not consecutive. He
was the twenty second President and
also the twenty-fourth.
@. Where do hornets get the paper
out Of which they build their nests?-
e. j. B.
A. The paper out Of which hornets
build their nests is made of chewed-up
bits of weathered wood gathered from
old fences and buildings. As one au-
thor describes it: Round the swampy
edges of ponds or in wet bitches wasps
and hornets may be seen gathering
tough herbaceous f1laments, which they
felt up into texture stronger and better
able to resist the wind and rain than
a paper made of wood scrappings."
@. Please tell me who starred in both
the stage and screen production of
Du Maurier's peter Ibbetson?" Is it to
be an opera?-D. M. A.
A. John Barrymore and Constance
Collier played in the stage production
of Peter Ibbetson." Wallace Reid and
Elsie Ferguson were the immortal low
erS when the play was produced on the
screen. Now 1t has been announced
that Deems Taylor's next work Is to be
an opera founded on this English novel.
q. What is a Guilty sarkp-H. E. K.
A. Guilty is Scotch and North Eng
lish for our word short" and sark is q
Scotch and English dialectical word for
shirt.
@. Is there such thing as a brick
made of glasS?-G. D.
A. Glass bricks made In France will
be used in the construction of the seven
top floors of the Palais de France, on
Broadway.
4, Q. When were fire alarm boxes flrst
used in America?-D. F.
A. Methods Of transmitting news Of
nre are very old and until about the
middle OF the nineteenth century watch
towers with alarm bells were maintained
IN American cities. After the develop
ment OF the electric telegraph, reliable
apparatus was installed. AS early as
1845 DR.. w. F. Charming of Boston pub
lished an article in the Advertiser OUT
lining fire-alarm telegraph system. In
1850 Charles Robinson used Morse ap-
paratus for signaling fire alarms from
police stations and engine houses in
New York City to watchmen at tower
bells, who sounded the signal Of the ap-
propriate district. A telegraph signal
plan was put into operation in Boston,
April 30, 1862. New York installed a
fire-alarm telegraph system in 1869 and
by 1875 1t had reached to rs cities. Al
though various systems are in use, that
devised by Charming and Farmer and
improved by Gamewell has been the one
most generally employed in America.
The keyless door was patented by
Tooker in 1875 and the automatic key
less door by N. H. Suren in 1895.