Evening star., 1936-01-01
ANSWERS To
QUESTIONS
By Frederic J. Hassin.

question OF JdCL Oy UTlLlHg me WuSHIHg-
tor Epening Star Information Bureau,
Frederic J. Haskin, Director. Washing
ton, D. c. Please ineloSe stamp for reply.
Q. Who started the custom of answer
ing telephone call by saying Hello?
j. F. H.
A. Edison, Mr.. r. P. Fish, president of the
American Telephone & Telegraph Co,
gives the credit for the use of Hello"
on the telephone to Thomas A. Edison.
When the telephone was first used peo.
pie were accustomed to say Are you
there?" Are you ready to talk?" etc.
One day Edison took Up the receiver
and said Hello" The word Immediately
became popular.
@. Do many students take the course
in marriage given at the University of
Iowa?-F. M.
A. There are 100 students enrolled In
the course Of modern marriage.
@. How many pulp magazines are pub
lished in this country? OF these how
many are devoted to detective and West
ern stories?-P. M.
A. There are more than 200 pulp mag
azines which are published monthly or
| more frequently. In this group there
are 43 detective story magazines and Al
Western story magazines.
@. Please describe the feijoa tree
r. H. w.
A. The feijoa Ueijoa selIowiana) is
small tree of the myrtle family, some
times Is feet high. 1t is native to Brazil,
Paraguay. Uruguay and Argentina and is
closely related to the guava. The feiJoa
has olivelike leaves. glossy green above
and silver gray beneath. and large flow
ers. white outside and purplish crimson
within. The oval. dull green fruit is
marked with crimson. 1t is about inches
long, with a translucent melting pulp
and pineapple flavor. 1t was introduced
into Europe in 1890 and brought to the
United States about 1900. where it Is
widely planted in California.
O. How much tin is mined in the
United States?-P. A.
A. Most of the tin used in the United
States is imported. In 1884 the domestic
output of tin was 81 long tons. valued
at $500, most of it mined in Alaska.
There were 80 986 long tons imported.
valued at nearly 100000.
@. How many people visit Washington.
D. c., during the year?-W. P. r.
A. The number is estimated at two
million.
@. When was the National Industrial
Conference Board formed?-A. A. E.
A. 1t was organized in May. 1916. by
group of industrial leaders representing
IL major branches of industry.
@. Please give biography of the late
Charlotte Perkins Gilman.-E. j.
A. Charlotte Perkins Gilman, feminist,
was prominent in the woman suffrage
and social problem movements. She was
best known for her work, Women and
Economics" published in 1898. Mrs. Car
rie Chapman Gait listed her as one OF
the IL greatest American women. Born
at Hartford, Conn, July 3. 1860, she was
twice married-in 1884 to C. w. Stetson
and in 1900 to George H. Gilman. From
1909 to 1916 she edited the Forerunner.
She died by what she termed "justifiable
suicide" in Pasadena, Calf, August II,
1885.
the cities of Ethiopia-D. H.
A. There are only few urban centers
in Ethiopia which could be called cities.
These are the capital. Adds Ababa.
which now has a permanent population
of about 10000; Harar, with a population
of about 10000, and Diredawa, close to
Harar on the Adds Ababa- -Djibouti
Railroad. with about 10000. There are
a number of other cities in the empire
having more than 5000 people. Among
the most important of the other towns
may be mentioned, partly because of their
historical significance. Aduwa. capital OF
Tigre Province 5000: Debre MarkoS. cap
ital of Gojjam Province, 5000; Gondar,
capital Of Amhara Province, 5000, and
Aksum. ancient capital and holy city OF
Ethiopia, 5000. Most of the places other
than those already listed which are men,
toned in the dispatches from the front
in the present war are very small villages.
@. Who painted a picture called
Bringing Home the Calf"?-L. F.
A. 1t is the work of Jean Francois Mil.
let.
c. How did the cracker industry de.
velop?-J. H. P.
A. 1t has had a phenomenal growth in
the United States since its beginning, q
little more than century ago. The first
crackers were large. round, unSweetened
and unleavened cakes, baked until they
were very hard. something like the water
cracker of today. Because they kept
much better than ordinary bread they
were in great demand for ship supplies
and were often called ship bread" At
first they were made entirely by hand.
but at the time of the great gold rush to
California the demand for this conven-
lent food became so great that machinery
was invented to roll the dough and stamp
it into cakes. During the Civil War in
America the Army and Navy called for
such quantities of this hardtack, as it
was called, that an improved oven was
invented which increased the capacity
of the bakeries by four or five times. This
invention, which revolutionized the in
| dustry and is used today in virtually the
same form, is called the mechanical reel
oven.
@. Has the Paris theatrical company
known as the Comedie Francois ever
toured this country?-G. F.
A. Not as a unit. Members Of the fa-
nous company have played here indi-
vidually. but the company as a whole
has never been brought over. That is
said to be one of the possibilities OF the
coming season.