Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-21
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. RAsKIN.

Few Americans realize how much,
their Government does for them. Read
ers OF The Evening star can draw on
all Government activities through oul
| free information service. The worlds
greatest libraries, laboratories and ex-
/ perimental stations are at their COM
| mand. Ask any question OF fact and
it will be answered free by mail direct
| to you. Inclose 2-cent stamp Tor reply
postage, and address The Evening star
Information Bureau, Frederic J. Has
kin, director, Washington, d. G.
@. Who Is Adolf Hitler?-G. r.
A. Adolf Hitler Is the leader of the
German Fascist movement, or the Ma.
| tional Socialists, rs the members of thu
organization term themselves. He is oil
Austrian origin, the son Of Q railway
employe In lower Austria. He was 9
house painter wher. he arrived al
Munich in 1912. Here he Joined the
German army as private, later being
promoted to sergeant. His political pro-
| clivities were first manifested in 1921
when he began to address visitors In
! the Munich beer gardens. ColloQuially
his party, the National Socialists, are
known as the Nazis.
@. If Chaminade is still living, what
Is her addreSS7-F. M. S.
A, Nine. Cecile Chaminade Is still
| living, and her address Is Villa Pro-
vencale, Talmaris-sur-Mer, France.
Q. What u the meaning Of the word
"gossip"?-F. L.
A. A gossip was originally 8 god
parent. from the Old English godsibb,
meaning akin" or standing In rela-
ton TO-" Gossip soon came to mean q
friend or acquaintance, either of the
parents Of the child baptized or of the
| other godparentS, and hence women
| friends Of the mother present at BIRTH
/ The transition Of meaning to an idle
chatterer Is easy.
@. How old are carpets?-S. A. H.
A. Perhaps the oldest pieces of car
pet are certain fragments excavated by
| Sir Aurel Stein in Turkestan. These
are attributed to about the beginning OF
the Christian era, but their exact date
and significance are not established. A
Western wallhanging, resembling a
carpet, made at Quedlinburg about the
end of the twelfth century, suggests
strongly that Oriental carpets were not
unknown in Europe at that date, and
that the technique Of one had been
| copied by the Quedlinburg weavers. 1t
| Is not quite out of the question that the
art may have been independently in
vented, especially as a modified form
of the Oriental technique is adopted
Three carpets in the Mosque OF Ala
ed-Din, at Konia, are attributed with
some certainty to the early thirteenth
century.
@. How many books have been writ
ten about 1.-THE Man in the Iron Mask?
&C. T.
A. More than 10.
@. What bills passed Congress last
year for the improvement Of prison
conditions?-N. r.
A. The ones which became laws are
| % authorize construction Of two new
Federal prisons, one west Of the Mis-
sissippi and one In the Northeastern
section Of the United States (Northern
Pennsylvania or Southern New York;
| for which 100000 is appropriated
| (2) provide for better training cnc
schooling in Federal prisons; (3) au-
thorize better disqualification for Fed
eral prisoners; a. create Federal pa
role board Of three members; (5) pro-
vide for the extension Of the parole
system, and CO.. authorize the United
States Public Health Service to assume
care Of the health Of the inmates II
is stated that the President believes
that the new system to be inaugurated
will afford the most humane treatment
conceivable to Federal prisoners.