Evening star., 1935-08-10
ANSWERS TO
QUESTIONS
By Frederic ]. Haskin.

reader can get the dnsuer to anu
question OF fact By tUritino The Washing
ton EDening Star Information Bureau.
Frederic J. Hdskin, Director, Washing
ton, D. c. Please irclose stamp for reply.
O. Has Palestine broadcastinv sta
tion?-E. j.
A. In November, Palestine's first pub
lie broadcaSting station will begin to
function. The Government Broadcast
ing Board has announced that the sta
ton will be operated five hours daily
giving programs in English, Hebrew and
Arabic.
@. How many Government insurance
policies under the Veterans Admins
tration are in force?-M S.
A. AS of May 81, 1885, there were
SOL ,6S1 policies in force, amounting TO
$2,6l0,114,219.
Q. What is the origin of comic operaa
"A. NJ.
A. 1t is said to be lie Jeu de Robin
ct Marion" of Adam de la Halle, con-
sisting of an ordinary pastourelle with
songs set to music.
@. In what play did Doris Keane first
appear?-E. NJ.
A. Her debut was made at the Gar
rick Theater, New York, in 1903, as Rose
in "Whitewashing Julia"
@. What is the origin of commence
ment?-E. v. B.
A. The custom originated in the me-
dieval universities, though the appro-
pirate term was inception. The cere-
mony and the term were a part of the
inheritance received by Harvard Uni
versity from Cambridge University,
thus becoming general among American
colleges.
@. Please give a biography of Charles
West, new UnderSecretary of the In
terior-S. C.
A. Born in Mount Vernon, Ohio, on
January IL, 1885, Mr.. West is the son
of William Henry and Clara Kunkel
West. He received an A. B. at Ohio
Wesleyan University in 1918, A. M. in
1919. At Harvard he was a Carnegie
fellow in 1923 and did graduate work
at the University of Naples. He was
instructor in political science, College of
Wooster, 1902; Tufts College, 1924:
Harvard, 1924 professor of political
science at Denison University, lecturer
on international relations Vice consul
at Naples 1899 Member Seventy
second and Seventy third Congresses
Q931-l935), seventeenth Ohio district.
9. What is Mormon cricket?-
E w. NJ.
A. Either of the wingless migratory
crickets Anabrus simplex and Anabrus
purpurescens They are large, peculiarly
shaped cricketS which occasionally null
tiply so greatly in their native home
in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains
that they migrate to the plains below
and destroy the crops.
@. When was the National Council of
Catholic Men organized?-N. F.
A. This body was established in 1920.
@. What is mescal?-E. r. F.
A. MeScal is spineless cactus found
in the Southwestern United States and
Northern Mexico and resembling the
turnip. The tops, called mescal buttons,
grow only a little above the ground and
contain narcotic substance chewed by
the Indians. MeScal yields the aka
loids mescaline, pellotine and anholonine
Mescal, or pulque brandy, is an intoxi-
eating liquor obtained from the roots
Of the meScalmaguey or American aloe.
@. What letters does the Hawaiian
alphabet contain?-F. S.
A. 1t has only IL letters The vowels
are a, e, i, o and u, and the consonants
are h, k, l. m, n, and W.
@. How long have educational films
been shown in the United States?-
W. B. S.
A. Among the first educational mo-
| ton picture productions was the Pas
/ sion Play" a religious and historical
drama filmed in 1898. Its use in re-
| ligious services by a well-known evan
geliSt introduced motion pictures for
purposes of propaganda. Tearing Down
the Spanish Flag" was an historical
drama which expired after the Spanish
| War. Brief pictures of troops taken by
camera men during the Spanish War
were the prototypes of the news weekly.
The news weekly came on the screens
in 1910 when Pathe Freres of Paris cir
| culated a weekly issue of their Pathe
| Journal called, in America, the Pathe
| News.
@. Who invented the magic lantern?
| "A. L. r.
A. 1t is said to have been invented
/ by Athanasius Kircher in 1916.
@. How high was the Washington
Monument when work on it was halted
for 20 years or more?-R. G. D.
A. In 1854, when work ceased for
lack of funds. 152 feet had been built.
Work was resumed in 1880 and the
capStone was set on December 6, 1884.
@. Was the Grand Canyon formed
by the eroSive action of the Colorado
River?-M. H. S.
A. The Grand Canyon has been worn
by the ceaseless flow of the Silt-laden
Colorado River. by the storm waters
that occasionally fall into the canyon,
and by weathering processes. The most
effective of these agencies has been the
! river itself. However, it has not directly
carved the canyon to its full width, nor
cut the embaymentS that scallop the
rims of the plateaus. 1t has cut its
way vertically downward. maintaining
| it's course almost without change. Mean
while, the rocky walls of the canyon
| have been exposed to the destructive
| action of rain and rill, of frost and