Evening star., 1932-10-06


each day are specimens picked from the
mass of inquiries handled by our great
Information Bureau maintained In
Washington, D. c. This valuable serv-
ice is for the free use Of the public.
Ask any question Of fact you may want
to know and you will get an immediate
reply. Write plainly, inclose cents IN
coin or stamps for return postage, and
address The Evening Star Information
Bureau, Frederic j. Haskin, Director,
Washington, D. c.
O. Why are the parcel post rates in
creased?-D. M.
| A. During 1880 the parcel post mail
was handled at net loss Of $4,000, 600.
Most of this loss occurred within the
| first three zones The slight advance in
rates for these zones, put in effect Oc-
| tober /, is designed to lower this
deficit.
@. At what age are most people gain
| fully employed?-D. C.
! A. In 1890, men between the ages OF
! 35 and 80 led with a percentage of 97.7.
Among women the greatest percentage
Of employment was at ages from 20 to
| "a. when 42.4 per cent Of them had
gainful occupation.
@. What are the dimensions Of Mount
/ Vernon?-G. w. B.
| A. 1t is a two-story house. 96 feet
| long and 80 feet deep. The main part
was built by Lawrence Washington in
1743 and the wings were added by
George Washington.
O. What is the central portion Of the
earth called?-S. E.
A. It is known as the ceatrosphere.
@. Why is peat used in Ireland for
1 fuel instead Of coal?-F. L. N.
A. Very little coal is found in Ire
land In Kilkenny County and ad-
iacent counties coal Of an anthracite
quantities There are huge bogs in Ire
4 land which furnish peat for fuel, the
Bog OF Allen being the largest
O What is the name of the bird
which often alights on the back OF the
rhinoceros?-S. M.
| A. 1t is called rhinoceros bird, or
! beef-eater. 1t feeds on the ticks and
insects found on animals.
@. When did the first horse race
take place?-H. V.
/ A The first horse race was run in
600 BIC. in the twenty-third Olymplad
at Athens. The distance was four
miles Eight years later the first har-
4 ness horse competition took place in
/ the twenty-fifth Olympiad, when the
/ horses drew chariots.
1 @. What is the name of the sculptor
\ of the Oshkosh statue in Oshkosh,
i Wis. &C. K.
A. The name of the sculptor of the
bronze Indian named Oshkosh IN
Menominee Park, Oshkosh, Wis. repre-
senting the Menominee Chief Oshkosh
] for whom the city was named, is Cney.
4 Gaetano Trentanove Naples, 1taly)
/ This chief is now buried at the foot OF
this monument.
@. How many acres are planted to
oats and corn in Iowa?-N. T.
1 A. Last year Iowa reported 6,026,000
acres in oats and 11,640,000 acres in
corn.
@. Is more uniform language
! spoken in England or in the United
& States?-R A. A.
4 A. There is very little doubt that
the English language spoken in Amer
ica is more uniform than that spoken
in England. The reasons advanced for
/ this are the wide use of text books IN
this country and the fact that the pub
lie schools are forced to devote much
time to the teaching of English on ac-
count of the large number of foreigners
in the schools There are many pro-
vincialisms in our language, but most
CT them have been scattered over the
whole country and are understood by
all
O. When did Mrs. Lockwood run for
The presidency?-M. S.
A. Mrs. Belva Lockwood was presi-
Dental candidate in 1888.
Q. Please state how much money is
spent in this country for food. clothing
and similar expenses-H. McC.
A. General groups Of expenditures
are: Food. $4,000. 900 900: general mer-