Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-03
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC ]. RASKIN.

Washington is the worlds greatest
storehouse Of all kinds Of knowledge,
You can draw on It free Of charge
through our bureau there. Any ques-
ton OF fact you may ask will be an
Swered promptly in q personal letter
10 you. Be careful to write clearly.
give your fun name and address, and
inclose 2-cent stamp for reply postage.
send your inquiry to The Star Informa-
ton Bureau, Frederic J. HaSkin, Di-
rector, Washington, d. c.
@. Is it still possible to go to York
town and have its historical sites
pointed out?--M. p.
A. Free auto-caravan guide service
Will be furnished visitors to the historic
yorktown section of Colonial National
Monument on Saturdays and Sundays
OF each week. Information about the
guided trips may be obtained at the
monument headquarters, which are In
the old Yorktown Hotel on Main street,
one OF the oldest buildings in the VII
lsge and purchased some time ago by
the Government as q part of It's pro-
gram for the development Of the monu-
ment.
Q. Do many people take auction or
contract bridge lessons7- s, L,
A. 1t has been estimated that more
than 100000 Americans now take
bridge lessons, at an annual outlay Of
100000 900 or more.
@. How many aforementioned
mail trucks are there in the United
States7-H H.
A. The Post ONCE Department says
that at the present time there are $3.50.
Q. How many violins did stradiva-
rius make2-W. j. B,
A. It is believed that about 5000
were made by him. the earliest in 1870.
@. Do banks accept gold coins as
they accept silver coins or paper cur
rency?-M. T.
A. In the case OF small deposit q
bank probably would accept, for in
stance q $40 or $40 deposit in gold
coin on the basis of the sum stamped
on it's face. In any considerable sum,
however, the bank would weigh the
gold coins. Gold wears of easily. II q
500 deposit In gold coin weighed q
little light, credit on the bank book
would be given for only 500 or @97, or
whatever the subtraction through wear
might show. This is not necessary In
accepting deposits Of silver or paper, be-
cause the Government guarantees the
value Of these. Gold must stand on its
own weight and flneneSs and, therefore,
is the standard.
@. What per cent of the tax paid on
tobacco goes to the States2-M. B.
A. The tax Is q Federal one and no
part goes to the States.
O. When was railroad iron first
rolled In America?-T. l..
A. In 184l q. w. Scranton Of Ok
ford, N. j., attracted by the rich de-
posits Of iron and coal In the Luzerne
Valley, Pennsylvania, bought tract OF
land there and established iron works.
He was later joined there by s. T.
Scranton. w. z. Dodge, director in
the Erie Railroad Co., who knew the
Scrantons, conceived the idea Of hav-
ing the Scrantons make rails for the
Erie Railroad The company was hav-
ing difficulties in getting rails from
England, and the cost was excessive. A
contract was made with the Scrantons
to furnish 10000 tons of rails at $40 a
ton, which was about half the cost OF
the English rails. Dodge and others
advanced the money to purchase the
necessary machinery, and the rails were
ready for delivery in the Spring Of 1S47
@. When did universal compulsory
military service start in Germany
A. S.
A. After 1915 Prussia made perma-