Evening star., 1939-04-01
Huskin's Answers
To Readers Questions
BIZ Frederic J. Hdsktn.

By Frederic J. Hdsktn.
A reader can get the ansper to any
question OF fact by ,Driti'il The Eve.
ming Star Information .5edu, Fred
eric J. Hasktn, Director. Washington,
D. C.. Please inclose stamp for reply.
| bling?-E. j. H.
A. The Encyclopedia Of Sports" says
that the oldest form Of gambling is with
dice, which were known to earliest civili-
zation. Recently there was dug out Of
ancient Mesopotamia pair of dice at
least so centuries old, still in good enough
state Of preservation to be used for gam
bling today. Most Of the tombs along the
ancient Nile have produced dice, some a.
companied by cups and boards.
@. Was Pearl Bryan's murderer ever
found?-E. r.
A. Pearl Bryan was murdered on jan
uary 81, 1896 Scott Jackson and Alonzo
Walling were hanged for the murder at
Newport, KY, March 20, 1897.
@. When. was the Pledge Of Allegiance
| to the flag first used?-C. l..
| A. The pledge was first used officially
during the national public school cele-
bration of October 81, 1892, which took
place simultaneously with the opening of
the Worlds Columbian Exposition in
Chicago.
| @. Can a man over 60 years old apply
| for iOb c O r,,ro1 corriorc-E
A. The application announcement for
rural mail carriers says: Rural carriers
must not have reached their 5Oth birth
day on the date of the close Of receipt of
applications"
@. Where did the second Mrs. Wood
row Wilson go to school?-E C. G.
A. Mrs. Wilson attended the Martha
Washington School at Abingdon, Va,
and the Powell School for Girls at
Richmond, Va.
@. Who flew the first airmail plane
from Boston to New York;. K.
|. A. The earliest contract to carry mail
from Boston to New York was effective
July /, 1926 The pilot flying from Bos-
ton to Hartford was T. o. Freeman and
H. T. Wells flew from Hartford to New
York.
@. In what book is there a character
named Jethro Bass?-H. L. F.
A. Jethro Bass is a character In the
novel "Coniston," written by Winston
Churchill
@. Are the Civilian Conservation Corps
camps to be permanent?-J. M. M.
A. Congress extended the Civilian
Conservation Corps to June 30, 1910. on
which date the camps will be discontin-
ued unless Congress again appropriates
funds for continuing them.
| @. What is the most southern capital
in the world?-J. B.
A. Wellington New Zealand, is the
most southerly capital in the world.
@. Are newborn babies able to see?
It. H. G.
A. Experiments conducted by DR.. w.
C. Beasley of Johns Hopkins University
indicate that newborn babies eyes can
distinguish light and perhaps ordinary
objects.
O. What is the highest land In Illinois?
u. U.
A. The highest elevation Of land In the
State of Illinois is the Charles Mound,
located in 10 Daviess County. The alti-
| tude is l24l feet.
@. Please define decibel.-B. p.
A. Decibel is the name of the trans
mission unit used to express the amplifi-
cation in terms of power instead OF volt
age The National Electrical Manufac-
turers Association has adopted the fol-
lowing definition as standard: "A unit OF
power ratio used for expressing transmits
sion loss or transmission gain (amplthca-
tion). Two amounts of power differ by
one transmission unit when they are in
the ratio 1901. Two amounts of power
differ by NJ transmission units when they
are in the ratio of l0(O.DN. The number
of transmission units is 10 times the COM
mon logarithm Of the power ratio to be
expressed"
@. How many ships pass through the
Panama Canal In year? How much
toll do they pay?-E. c.
A. In the calendar year 1898, 5,626
vessels passed through the Panama Ca
nal The tolls collected on these vessels
amounted to $22, SOB SIS 25.
@. What part of dollar Is spent IN
direct taxes: in hidden taxes?-W. S.
A. It has been estimated that between
and cents in every dollar Is paid IN
direct taxes and that 20 cents Is spent
for hidden taxes.
| @. How many people are employed on
farms in the United States?-K. G. H.
A. On January /. 1899, there were
about 629 900 hired workers, in addition
to 7,l38 900 family workers on farms.
| Q. What is the most popular national
park?-E. p.
A. In 1898 the Shenandoah National
Park had a greater number of tourists
than any other national park.
@. What is freemartin?-J. B. 8.
! A. A freemartin Is female calf which
Is born as a twin to male calf. Free.
| martins are sexually imperfect.