Evening star., 1935-09-13
ANSWERS TO
QUESTIONS
BY Frederic J. Haskin.


ton Erening Star Information Bureau,
Frederic J. Hdskin, Director, Washing
ton, d. c. Please inclose stamp for reply.
q. Is the suicide rate increasing?-L. n.
A. In 1888 there were 1898 suicides
throughout the country, while the 1894
estimate is $1,000.
@. When was the British Industries
Fair started?-E. r.
A. The fair has been held since 1915
and Is the worlds largest national trade
fair, attended by buyers from all parts
Of the world.
@. Is there any European collection of
tin soldiers that is noteworthy?-J. M.
A. That made by the French poet,
Valery Larbaud, is said to be the finest
in Europe.
@. How much money does the Gov
ernment pay to employees in Washing
ton?-E. 6.
A. The Federal Government distributes
TO l17,058 Washington employees SO 853 ,238
on the 1st and 18th of every month.
@. Was bounty ever given for making
canvas in MassachuSetts?-H. C. T.
A. AS originally introduced into Eng
land, in the latter part of the sixteenth
century, canvas was cloth made OF
hempen threads. Time has changed
the composition, although the cloth re-
mains the same. Canvas or duck was
made in America during the early Colo
nial period. Because a demand was
created for it in shipbuilding, fishing
and other industries, efforts were made
TO promote its manufacture and bounties
were given throughout the Colonial
period. In May, 1726, in response to a
petition of John Powell, a Boston mer-
chant, who undertook to establish the
manufacture of canvas If given proper
encouragement, the Massachusetts AS
sembly granted a bounty of 20 shillings
for every bolt of canvas of specified
dimensions and quality made in that
colony.
@. For how many seasons has Marti-
nelli sung with the Metropolitan?-N. D.
A. Next season will be his twenty
fifth.
@. Why are muskmelons called canta-
loupes?-W. C. B.
A. The word cantaloupe comes
through French from the Italian
cantalupo, a castle in Italy near which
the first cantaloupes are said to have
been grown in Europe from seed coming
from America. The term cantaloupe is
correctly applied to a variety of musk
melon having hard, furrowed rind and
flesh of orange-red color. However, the
term has come to be used by the trade
in reference to any muskmelon, although
1t is not preferred by botanists.
@. When were post cards first made?
"A. F. G.
A. When the postal authorities Of the
German states assembled in conference
at karlsruhe in 1865, Stephan, postmaster
general of Prussia, submitted design for
an open post card, which is believed
to be the first suggested for this means
Of communication. Little attention was
paid to 1t at the time. 1t was again
brought up in Austria in 1869 and adopted
by the government of that country. Post
cards were first permitted in England
in 1870, and first issued in the United
States on May /, 1873.
@. Are there more Indian men or
women in the United States at the pres
ent time2-A. E.
A. There are at present l70,350 male
Indians and 1620 females.
@. Was Sarah Bernhardt q Jewess?
IS. F.
A. She was Of Jewish descent, but was
a Roman Catholic, her parents having
embraced this faith.
@. How many war correspondents did
the New York Herald have during the
Civil War?-J. G.
A. 1t employed g. The Herald was
the first newspaper to employ the tele-
graph extensively.
@. How long has the chrysanthemum
been cultivated?-C. S.
A. 1t has been grown in the Orient
for at least 1000 years.
@. Did Fannie Hurst obtain her mate
rial in her stories Of working girls from
real life?-H. p.
A. In securing material for her stories
she served as waitress, saleswoman and
steam laundry worker.
@. Please give some information about
a furniture designer named Ince.-E. G.
A. william Ince was an 18th century
English furniture designer whose designs
were produced in the period between
Chippendale and Heppelwhite and
showed the influence of both.
@. Who were the Jukes?-J. c.
A. This is the fictitious name Of real
family, studied in l874-76 by the sociolo-
gist, R. L. Dugdale. the first and most
famous study of a degenerate stock. In
The Jukes in 1915" A. II. Estabrook
made a further study of the family.
@. How many shots were fixed when
Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, the
outlaws, were killed?-R. r.
A. The officers fired 1877 bulletA into
their automobiles, so Of which hitN the
couple.
@. Is the Atlantic Coast of the United
States affected by coastal erosion?-
A. E. c.
A. Coast erosion is to be found on prac-
tically all the coasts of the world. In the
United States notable instances are on
the coast of New Jersey, where the beach
is being washed away in some sections
and built up in others. At Longport the
coast line has receded continuously and
the sand has worked its way gradually
across the inlet to increase the acreage
at Ocean City. The Cape Cod shore is
N