OUR CURIOSITY SHOP. (continued 11)

THE NATIONAL CAPITOL.

Monticello, Ind.

When was the Capitol of the United States begun; when finished; and what was its cost? Give its dimensions.

James Coble.

Answer.—The southeast corner-stone of the Capitol was laid Sept. 18, 1793, “by Brother George Washington, assisted by the Worshipful Masters and Free Masons of the surrounding cities, the military, and a large number of people.” The north wing was ready for occupancy in 1800, the south wing in 1808; but both were partially destroyed by the British in 1811. The foundation of the main building was laid in 1818 (March 24), the restoration of the wings having been commenced three years earlier; and the whole was completed in 1827. July 4, 1851, the corner-stone of the south extension was laid by President Fillmore, and this was finished in 1857. The north extension was occupied by the Senate in 1859. The present dome, commenced in 1855, was completed eight years later, and Dec. 12, 1863, the American flag floated from its summit. Thus far the cost of the entire building has been $13,000,000—main building, $3,000,000; dome, $1,000,000; extensions, $8,000,000; miscellaneous items, $1,000,000. The length of the entire building is 751 feet 4 inches; its greatest breadth, 324 feet; and it covers a little over 3½ acres. The distance from the ground to the top of the dome is 307½ feet; the diameter of the dome, 135½ feet.

MONEY AND GOODS BY TELEGRAPH.

Spirit Lake, Iowa.

What is the method of sending money by telegraph; and about what does it cost? Is it true that telegraph companies will fill orders for household supplies? If so, explain how it is done, and oblige several

Subscribers.

Answer.—It is not telegraph companies, but express companies that do such business. One of the leading express companies will send money from any one of its important city or village agencies to another at the following rates, in addition to the cost of telegraph service: For sums of $100 or less, 1 per cent; for sums between $100 and $200, $1.25; between $200 and $300, $1.50; between $300 and $400, $1.75; between $400 and $500, $2; for larger sums special rates, to be learned only of agents. The same company will purchase goods for family consumption, without extra charges; and will advance the money for orders not exceeding $5 each, provided deposit is made with the agent at the office from which order is sent. Similar accommodation is provided for by other express companies.

ALCOHOL IN A BUSHEL OF GRAIN.

Lafayette, Ill.

How much pure liquor can be made from a bushel of corn, rye, wheat, or barley, as a general rule?

Charles Osenbaugh.

Answer.—Corn affords 40 pounds of spirits of the specific gravity of 0.9427, containing 45 per cent of absolute alcohol for each 100 pounds of grain; wheat, 40 to 45 pounds of spirits; barley, 40; oats, 36; rye, 36 to 42; buckwheat, 40. Now, 40 pounds of such spirits equal 3½ (3.5) gallons of government-proof spirits. Taking corn at 56 pounds per bushel, rye at 56 pounds, wheat at 60, barley at 48, oats at 32, and buckwheat at 52, these grains should afford the following quantities of proof spirits per bushel: Corn and rye, each, 1.96 gallons, or almost 2 gallons; wheat, 2.1 gallons; barley, 1.68 gallons; oats, 1.12 gallons, and buckwheat, 1.82 gallons.

U. S. LOANS IN 1860.

Minonk, Ill.

Did this government borrow money during James Buchanan’s administration? If so, at what interest? What interest did the government pay for money borrowed to carry on the Mexican war?

Answer.—In June, 1860, Congress authorized the loan of $20,000,000, and in October, $1,000,000, at 5 per cent, was put upon the market; but, owing to the Presidential election of that year and the consequent change in the aspect of politics, the final amount issued was but $7,022,000. On Dec. 17 a law was passed permitting the issue of $10,000,000; $5,000,000 was offered, and but $500,000 was bid, at 12 per cent. Other offers at 24 to 36 per cent were rejected. By the 31st of December most of the remainder had been taken by banks and bankers upon certain conditions securing the interest. In January, 1861, the remaining $5,000,000, under the act of December, was awarded as follows: $10,000 at 8¾ per cent, $30,000 at 9 per cent, $10,000 at 9¼ per cent, $140,000 at 9½ per cent, $67,000 at 9¾ per cent, $721,000 at 10 per cent, $265,000 at 10¼ per cent, $543,000 at 10½ per cent, $1,267,000 at 10¾ per cent, and $1,947,000 at 11 per cent. Feb. 8 Congress passed another bill, authorizing a loan of $25,000,000, at 6 per cent interest, to run not less than ten nor more than twenty years, the stock to be sold to the highest bidder. The amount offered was $14,355,000, of which all below 90 per cent were rejected, and the stock as awarded ranged from 90½ to 96 per cent. The tariff bill, which was passed March 2, authorized a loan of $10,000,000, and restored the highest protective character to the tariff. During the Mexican war, in 1847, the government made loans to the amount of $9,415,250 at 6 per cent interest.

VAUXHALL GARDENS.

Marshalltown, Iowa.

I remember reading, when a boy, in a Baltimore paper, an account of the destruction by fire of the art gallery of Vauxhall Garden, London, and I think it stated also “with a loss of all the valuable paintings.” Please state in what year that conflagration occurred, Any information regarding this garden would be of interest to many, I am sure.

Joseph Rogers.

Answer.—Vauxhall Garden, named from its site in “La Salle Faukes,” was first opened to the public in 1660, and was for nearly two centuries the favorite resort for a large class of London pleasure-seekers. It was laid out with beautiful walks, fountains, booths, and buildings, and was nightly thronged by a gay and brilliant company, eating and drinking, while they gossiped or made love to the sound of constant music. But toward the latter part of the eighteenth century the garden fell into disrepute, through the increasing laxity of many of its patrons, and on July 25, 1859, the garden was forever closed, its site being soon covered with streets and buildings. We cannot find the date of the fire you mention. It is consoling, however, to know that few, if any, of the paintings had great merit. A vivid description of Vauxhall is given in Thackeray’s “Vanity Fair.”

ARMY—RIVERS, AND HARBORS.

Chicago, Ill.

A friend asserts that the cost of the United States army is nearly fifty million dollars a year? I say it is not much more than half that amount. What does Our Curiosity Shop say?

John Allen.

Answer.—It says that you are nearer right than your friend. It is likely that he gets his notion from noting the total expenditures for the “military establishment” as given in Secretary Folger’s report a few days ago, amounting to $48,911,382.93. Let him look at the items and he will see such ones as this, “Improving rivers and harbors,” $13,639,381.27 included under the above head. Owing to the important bearing of the transportation question and the condition of our harbors upon the subject of National defense; in deference to the State rights advocates of early times; and also because of the prevailing confidence in the ability of the engineer corps of the United States army, the appropriations made by Congress for the improvement of the National water-ways have, as a rule, been expended under the direction of army engineers. Below are given all the items that enter into the grand total of nearly fifty millions which your friend erroneously charges up as the annual cost of the United States army. This is a statement for the fiscal year closing June 30, 1883:

Pay Department $12,659,814.60

Commissary Department 2,062,922.17

Quartermaster’s Department 13,179,792.45

Medical Department 377,647.82

Ordnance Department 1,861,826.37

Military Academy 144,332.46

Improving rivers and harbors 13,639,381.27

Contingencies 26,676.19

Expenses of recruiting 100,646.45

Signal Service 294,466.54

Expenses of military convicts 93,085.37

Publishing official records of the rebellion 33,486.68

Support of National Home for Disabled Volunteers 1,122,088.03

Support of Soldiers’ Home 162,928.48

Construction of military posts, roads, etc. 268,707.69

Fortifications 174,312.72

National cemeteries 211,156.55

Fifty per cent arrears of army transportation 296,379.38

Construction of military telegraphs 48,989.00

Bounty to soldiers, act of July 28, 1866 75,214.30

Expenses of arctic exploring expedition 53,000.00

Bounty to volunteers 244,550.91

Mississippi River Commission 165,000.00

Reimbursing the State of Missouri 234,580.10

Reimbursing the State of Oregon. 70,268.08

Claims for quartermasters’ and commissary supplies 311,062.75

Refunding to States expenses in raising volunteers 454,163.07

Operating and care of canals 199,200.00

Horses and other property lost in the service 105,061.60

Purchase of the Arlington estate 125,000.00

Miscellaneous 115,641.90

Total military establishment $48,911,382.93

The first five of the above items, aggregating a little over thirty million dollars, constitute almost the entire expenditure on account of the existing army and its operations during the year named.

ESTIMATING WEIGHT OF CATTLE.

Hastings, Neb.

Give us a rule, if there is any, for calculating the weight of cattle by measuring them.

A. C.

Answer.—No rule will lead to anything more than an approximation to the actual weight. Every stock-raiser should have his own scales. The following is as good a rule as any for estimating the weight of animals by measure: Multiply the girth in inches, taken immediately behind the shoulder blade, by the length in inches from the square of the buttock to the point of the shoulder blade, and divide the product by 144, which gives the number of superficial feet. If the animal has a girth of 3 to 5 feet, multiply the number of superficial feet by 16, and you will have its approximate weight. If the girth is 5 to 7 feet multiply by 23, and if 7 to 9 feet multiply by 31. If less than 3 feet girth, as in the cases of small calves, hogs, sheep, etc., multiply by 11. Allowance must be made for the build of the animal, conditions of fattening, etc. The above rule is for grass-fed cattle; it being estimated that in the cases of grass-fatted sheep, calves, and kine, or steers, each superficial foot, when the girth is 3 feet or under, represents a weight of 11 pounds; when 3 to 5 feet, 16 pounds; when 5 to 7 feet, 23 pounds, and when 7 to 9 feet, 31 pounds. Thus an ox measuring eight feet girth and seven and a half feet in length should weigh about 8x7½x31 pounds, or, say 1,860 pounds. Under this rule it is customary to deduct one-twentieth of the whole for half-fatted cattle; from 15 to 20 pounds on a cow having had calves, and if not fat an equal amount.

SMUT IN WHEAT.

Ilia, N. Y.

What is the cause of smut in wheat, and what is a sure preventive?

G. F.

Answer.—Smut is a fungus with very minute spores, that feeds upon the grain, replacing or destroying the organs upon which it feeds. The best preventive used is a pound of blue vitriol in two gallons of water. But it is not enough to sprinkle this over the wheat. Put the grain into enough of the solution to cover it, and stir slowly to allow the light material to rise. Skim, and at the end of an hour spread the wheat on a dry floor, and sprinkle it with quick-lime, previously so slacked with chamber lye as to leave the lime in powder. So continue until you have all the wheat treated. In this state it may be heaped, and remain several days before sowing, if the heap be occasionally turned. If the wheat remains damp, it must be still further dried, so it will pass easily from the drill, if it is to be drilled. The above plan is recommended by the “American Encyclopedia of Agriculture” as the only certain preventive. Yet even this may fail sometimes.

FIRST REVOLVING TURRET.

Lacon, Ill.—Reading an article in Our Curiosity Shop some time ago set me to thinking of some papers of my former husband, H. G. Hamlin, showing that in 1842 he and a Mr. Nathan I. Styles assisted Mr. Theodore L. Timby, who afterward secured the first patent for a turret-ship, to build a model. After much consulting and experimenting, in 1843 they changed their plan and built a working model called a “revolving battery for offensive and defensive warfare on land and sea,” expense not to exceed $1,800. It was finished in June, 1843. The said model consisted of a circular icon tower, about five feet high and eight feet in diameter, with three decks, and pierced on each deck for thirty-five guns, with two perfect engines worked by steam to cause the said tower to revolve. The cost when finished was $2,230. Said model was built in Syracuse, N. Y., and I saw it on exhibition. I will here copy a letter from F. E. Spinner (I cannot copy his signature):

“It is found on inquiry at the Navy Department that the government pays no one for the use of the patent for the revolving turret. It seems that the company with which Mr. Ericsson is connected has paid a Mr. Timby $100,000 for the use of the patent, and Mr. Hamlin and Styles never received $1.”

After knowing this, Mr. Hamlin applied to Timby for his share; he denied that Mr. H. ever had any interest in it. This was in 1863. He had the papers all made out for his claim, but was taken with congestion of the lungs, and died in a few days.

I heard Mr. Timby say that he conceived the idea when he was only 18 years of age. I don’t like the way he treated his partners, but I like to give credit where credit is due. Mr. Ericsson deserves much of his country for his energy and perseverance in making the application when he did.

Please excuse all blunders, as I am an old woman, almost 74 years of age, and this is the first time I ever wrote to an editor. My present husband is nearly 81. We intend to read The Inter Ocean as long as our sight will permit.

Mrs. Wm. Maxwell.

CLIFF DWELLINGS IN SONORA.

Whitewater, Wis.

Is it so that there has been a recent discovery of ancient dwellings in Sonora cut in the sides of the mountains, in solid rock? If so, is it known who made them?

Aborigine.

Answer.—There are some remarkable ruins about four miles southeast of Magdalena, Mexico, in the State of Sonora, which have of late attracted a good deal of notice. There is among these one pyramid, with a base of 4,320 feet square and an elevation of 750 feet. It has a winding roadway, leading by an easy grade from bottom to top, wide enough for carriages. This is several miles long. In the sides of this mountain, as one ascends, he passes hundreds of chambers cut in the solid rock, with walls, floor, and ceiling hewn to an even precision truly remarkable. These chambers vary in size from five to ten, sixteen, and even eighteen feet square. There are no windows and but one entrance, which is always from the top. The height of the ceiling, usually, is eight feet. The walls are covered in places with hieroglyphics and figures of men and animals. In some places feet and hands of human beings are found cut in the rock. Who constructed these dwellings is not now certainly known. Some claim that they were the ancestors of the ancient Aztecs or Toltecs. It is not improbable that they are the remains of ancient Zuni tribes.

GOVERNORS OF INDIANA.

Greencastle, Ind.

Will the Curiosity Shop give me the names of the Governors of Indiana from 1800 to the present time and the time when each was in office.

C. E. Jackson.

Answer.—Territorial Indiana had but three Governors: William H. Harrison, 1800-1811; John Gibson, 1811-1813; Thomas Posey, 1813-1816. Admitted to the Union in 1816, its first State Governor was Jonathan Jennings, who served until 1822. His successors were William Hendricks, 1822-1825; James B. Ray, 1825-1831; Noah Noble, 1831-1837; David Wallace, 1837-1840; Samuel Bigger, 1840-1843: James Whitcomb, 1843-1848; Paris G. Dunning, 1848-1849; Joseph A. Wright, 1849-1857; Ashbel P. Willard, 1857-1861; Oliver P. Morton, 1861-1867; Conrad Baker, 1867-1873; Thomas A. Hendricks, 1873-1877; James D. Williams, 1877-1881; Albert G. Porter, 1881-1885.

LOYAL CONFERENCE—DIAMONDS.

Ohio, Ill.

1. I was told that some religious body of persons—as a conference—cheered on hearing the news of a political achievement. What body was it, and where? 2. Is there a tariff on diamonds brought into this country? 3. Are the women of Utah allowed to vote at general elections?

Nelson Shifflet.

Answer.—In several instances during the late war the Methodist Episcopal Church Conferences cheered and sang the doxology when news of great victories for the Union was announced; and in religious meetings of several denominations the announcement of President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was received with shouts or cheers and songs of thanksgiving. 2. Glaziers diamonds are on the free list, but on other diamonds, cut or uncut, there is a duty of 25 per cent ad valorem. 3. Utah women have the right of suffrage in all Territorial elections. None of the Territories have any voice in the Presidential elections.

STATE OFFICERS OF WISCONSIN.

Sharon, Wis.

1. What steps must be taken before a Territory can be admitted to the Union as a State? 2. Please name the different State officers of Wisconsin, the salary of each, and when each term began and will end.

A Reader.

Answer.—The answer to your second question would fill one or two columns of our paper, and we must, therefore, refer you to the Secretary of State, Madison, Wis. The following is a list of the present State officers:

Governor, J. M. Rusk $5,000

Lieutenant Governor, S. S. Fifield 1,000

Secretary of State, E. G. Timme 5,000

Treasurer, E. C. McFetridge 5,000

Attorney General, L. F. Frisby 3,000

Adjutant General, C. P. Chapman 500

Superintendent Public Schools, Robert Graham 1,200

Secretary Agricultural Society, C. Babbitt 2,000

Commissioners of Lands, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, and Attorney General, ex-officio

Insurance Commissioner, P. L. Spooner, Jr 3,000

Railroad Commissioner, N. P. Hanger 3,000

State Librarian, J. R. Berryman 1,500

Chief Justice, Orsamus Cole 5,000

Associate Justices, W. P. Lyon, H. S. Orton, David Taylor, and J. B. Cassady, each 5,000

Clerk, Clarence Kellogg, $5 per day and fees.

The terms of the first four officers named, and of the Superintendent of Public Schools, began Jan. 2, 1882, and will end Jan. 7, 1885; the Adjutant General is appointed by the Governor, as is also the State Librarian; the Secretary of the State Agricultural society is elected by the board; the term of the Insurance Commissioners began Jan. 5, 1882, and will end Jan. 5, 1885. Your first question has been answered recently as well as we can do it.

MAINE LIQUOR LAW.

Mt. Ayr, Iowa.

Please tell us what the Maine liquor law is, and its effects. Are the Prohibitionists generally satisfied with the law?

M. J. Donahoe.

Answer.—The “Maine law,” briefly stated, is this: The sale of all intoxicating liquors shall be controlled exclusively by a special agent, appointed by the State; and he shall superintend their lawful sale for medicinal, mechanical, and manufacturing purposes. All other persons are prohibited from selling any liquors, except unadulterated cider and wine, and from manufacturing for unlawful sale. The authorized commissioner, violating the law, shall be fined not less than $30, and imprisoned for not more than three months. A common seller shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $250, with imprisonment for from three to four months. Any one receiving injury from an intoxicated person may sue the one who sold the liquor. The lessee or owner of the saloon is also liable. As to the effect of the law, we quote from the address of Governor Dingley to the Legislature, in 1875: “The statistics (in the Attorney General’s report) show that during the past year, in the Supreme Court alone, there have been 276 convictions, 41 commitments to jail, and $30,898 collected in fines under these laws—more of each than in any other year, and four times as many convictions and ten times as many fines as in 1866, when the general enforcement of these laws was resumed after the close of the war. It is significant, also, that during these nine or ten years of gradually increasing efficiency in the enforcement of the laws against dram-shops, the number of convicts in the State Prison has fallen off more than one-fourth.” Governor Sidney Perham, in his message to the Legislature in 1872, says; “The present law, when it is enforced, is, so far as I can judge, as effective in the suppression of the traffic as are other criminal laws against the crimes they are intended to prevent.” And Governor Chamberlain, in his message of 1870, said; “The laws against intoxicating liquors are as well executed and obeyed as the laws against profanity, unchastity, and murder.” These are a few of the testimonies given to the efficiency of the Maine law. As a rule prohibitionists are satisfied with the efficiency, but not the sufficiency, of the legislation. Still the cause of temperance has been greatly aided by the Maine legislation, and the progress has probably been as great as could be expected.

GREAT SALT LAKE.

Fredonia, N. Y.

What is the extent of Great Salt Lake? Has it any outlet? Are the waters salt enough to make good salt? Is Salt Lake City on the margin of the lake, or some distance off? Is it navigable?

Answer.—Great Salt Lake is a remarkable body of water, in some respects the most remarkable in the world. Like the Dead Sea and the Aral Sea, in Asia, it has no outlet. Its extent is given variously by different authors. One explanation of this may be the generally conceded fact that the rainfall of the region between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada is increasing, and the average level of Salt Lake seems to be steadily rising, so whereas one authority states the length of the lake as about ninety miles and the breadth as from twenty to thirty-five miles, another says it is seventy miles long and forty-five broad. One says its area is about 3,200 square miles, and another says it is between 3,000 and 4,000 square miles. One says it is about 4,200 feet above sea level, while another says it is 4,250 feet above, and still rising, and a still later statement sets it at 4,260 feet above tidewater. One gives the mean depth at 12 feet, and another at about twenty feet. Its maximum depth is variously given at sixty feet and seventy-eight feet. It contains numerous rocky islands, the longest of which, Antelope, is fifteen miles long. Some of these islands are used as sheep pastures. The Bear, the Weber, and the Jordan rivers empty into this lake, and are for the most part absorbed by the sandy plain or evaporated by the dry air of the Great Fremont Basin. Only the Bear River is navigable, and that near its mouth. A line of steamers plies between Corinne, on the north shore, and Black Rock, on the south. Its waters contain about 20 per cent of common salt; some salt is manufactured from this natural brine, and there is no doubt that in time this industry will develop here into great importance. Unlike the Dead Sea, this lake abounds with animal life, insects, shrimps, etc., but not, like the Aral Sea, with fish. The United States Fish Commission has undertaken the experiment of stocking it with certain salt-water fish, and with some prospect of success. Salt Lake City is about eleven miles from the lake in a straight line, and fifteen miles by the traveled road.

INDIAN EDUCATION.

Carlinville, Ill.

An Indian-hater in this neighborhood asserts very positively that the attempts made to educate the Indians are all time and money thrown away. What figures can you give us to disprove this assertion?

A Reader.

Answer.—The last report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs furnishes proof positive that “Indian-hater” is either utterly unprepared to make assertions on this subject, or wilfully misrepresents the facts. Last year there were 5,113 Indian pupils being taught at boarding-schools, and 5,014 in day-schools. There are seventy-eight boarding-schools upon Indian reservations, having in all 4,396 pupils, and in these industrial training has been carried on so successfully that the pupils have cultivated 1,526 acres, raising 18,334 bushels of corn, 4,952 bushels of oats, 19,340 bushels of vegetables, and have made 1,171 tons of hay, and 4,325 pounds of butter. Of the boarding pupils in schools not on reservations, 641 have attended the Indian training-schools at Hampton (109), Carlisle (390), and Forest Grove (151), and 106 have been distributed among various white schools in the States. At Hampton, since 1878, the government has contributed in all $52,000, and private charity $81,000, or, taking the existing number of students as the standard for the five years, $244 per year per student. In these training schools the industrial and mechanic arts are kept in the foreground, and the main object is to inspire the minds of the young Indians with habits of faithful, continuous work. During the past year Carlisle, in addition to much other work, has turned out ten spring wagons to be sent to Indian agencies, and Carlisle and Hampton propose to furnish during the present fiscal year 2,000 pair of shoes, 3,350 dozen articles of tinware, 22 dozen bridles and halters, and 450 sets of harness. An effort is made to teach every Indian girl pupil sewing and housework and the boys farming and mechanical trades. The various religious societies have expended $74,689 in aid of the government work of education strictly, besides $70,142 expended on their own missionary work. This is besides $13,278 contributed by them in aid of Forest Grove and Carlisle training schools, the $26,668 in aid of the pupils at Hampton, $30,504 expended by the societies on their own seminaries, academies, and missions among the five civilized tribes, and $24,149 devoted to schools and missions in Alaska. The Commissioner pays a high tribute to the value of this religious aid.

CHINESE PROVERBS.

LaSalle, Ill.

I have just read that the Chinese are exceedingly fond of proverbs, and make great use of them. That many of these proverbs are full of lofty sentiment and wisdom. Can the Curiosity Shop give us a few of them as specimens?

A Regular Reader.

Answer.—The Chinese are indeed remarkably fond of proverbs. They not only employ them in conversation—and even to a greater degree than the Spaniards, who are noted among Europeans for the number and excellence of their proverbial sayings—but they have a practice of adorning their reception rooms with these sententious bits of wisdom, inscribed on decorated scrolls or embroidered on rich crapes and brocades. They carve them on door posts and pillars, and emblazon them on the walls and ceilings in gilt letters. In 1875, W. Scarborough published a collection of 2,720 Chinese proverbs; and these are but a small part of the great collections to be found in the “Jeweled Mirror for Illumining the Mind,” “The Coral Forest of Ancient Matters,” and other Chinese works. The following are a few specimens of this sort of literature, taken from “The Middle Kingdom,” by S. Wells Williams, for many years Secretary of the United States Legation at Peking, and several times de facto United States Minister. As a sneer at the use of unnecessary force to crush a contemptible enemy, they say; “He rides a fierce dog to catch a lame rabbit.” Similar to this is another, “To use a battle-ax to cut off a hen’s head.” They say of wicked associates: “To cherish a bad man is like nourishing a tiger; if not well fed he will devour you.” Here are several others mingling wit with wisdom: “To instigate a villain to do wrong is like teaching a monkey to climb trees;” “To catch fish and throw away the net,” which recalls our saying, “Using the cat’s paw to pull the chestnuts out of the fire;” “To climb a tree to catch a fish,” is to talk much to no purpose; “A superficial scholar is a sheep dressed in a tiger’s skin;” “A cuckoo in a magpie’s nest,” equivalent to saying, “he is enjoying another’s labor without compensation;” “If the blind lead the blind they will both fall into the pit;” “A fair wind raises no storm;” “Vast chasms can be filled, but the heart of man is never satisfied;” “The body may be healed, but the mind is incurable;” “He seeks the ass, and lo! he sits upon him;” “He who looks at the sun is dazzled; he who hears the thunder is deafened,” i. e., do not come too near the powerful; “Prevention is better than cure;” “Wine and good dinners make abundance of friends, but in adversity not one of them is to be found.” “Let every man sweep the snow from before his own door, and not trouble himself about the frost on his neighbors’ tiles.” The following one is a gem of moral wisdom: “Only correct yourself on the same principle that you correct others; and excuse others on the same principles on which you excuse yourself.” “Better not be, than be nothing.” “One thread does not make a rope; one swallow does not make a summer.” “Sensuality is the chief of sins, filial duty the best of acts.” “The horse’s back is not so safe as the buffalo’s”—the former is used by the politician, the latter by the farmer. “Too much lenity multiplies crime.” “If you love your son give him plenty of the rod; if you hate him, cram him with dainties.” “He is my teacher who tells me my faults, he my enemy who speaks my virtues.” Having a wholesome dread of litigation, they say of one who goes to law, “He sues a flea to catch a bite.” Their equivalent for our “coming out at the little end of the horn” is, “The farther the rat creeps up (or into) the cow’s horn, the narrower it grows.” The truth of their saying that “The fame of good deeds does not leave a man’s door, but his evil acts are known a thousand miles off,” is illustrated in our own daily papers every morning. Finally, we close this list with a Chinese proverb which should be inscribed on the lintel of every door in Christendom; “The happy hearted man carries joy for all the household.”

SHINTUISM—BUDDHISM—CONFUCIANISM.

Castleton, Ill.

Please give us a statement in the “Curiosity Shop” of what is known as Shintuism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, as now existing in China and Japan.

W. H. Jordan.

Answer.—Shintuism, Sintuism, Sintoism, or Sin-syuism, is the prevailing religion of Japan, the worship of the sun-goddess, Ten-sio-dai-sin. The descendant and viceregent on earth of this deity is the Mikado, who is therefore worshiped as a demi-god. Two ecclesiastical judges, with monks and priests, complete the hierarchy, and the latter minister at innumerable shrines and temples, raised for the worship of the chief deity and a legion of canonized heroes and benefactors. In these temples there is no idol visible, but on the shrine is a mirror, symbolizing purity. Sintuism requires pre-eminently heart purity and general temperance, and as aids to these prescribes pilgrimages to holy places, observance of holy days, and mortification of the body. Buddhism, one of the oldest existing religions, traces its origin 2,460 years back, to Siddhartha, or Buddha, a Hindoo prince. Its two most prominent doctrines are the transmigration of the soul and the cursed condition or total depravity of human existence in its natural state. The first teaches that at death every soul immediately assumes another body, corresponding in form and habitation to the previous character of the spirit. If noble, it may become a divinity, or dwell in some high place upon the earth, while the wicked wander as reptiles and vermin, or inhabit the hells in the interior of the earth. The least term of suffering is 10,000,000 years, of happiness 10,000,000,000 years. But however long or short, it must have an end, and the soul enters a new body. Buddha himself, it is said, has passed through every form of existence. The second doctrine is embodied in the “Four Sublime Verities:” Pain exists; its cause is desire; it may be ended by Nirvana; the way to Nirvana is a rise through eight gradations, from simple faith to complete regeneration. Theoretically this religion has no priests nor clergy nor public religious rites. Every man is his own priest and confessor, and the monks are ascetics only for their own advancement in holy living; but, in fact, Buddhist countries swarm with priests, or religious teachers, so reputed. Confucianism is epitomized in the following words of the great teacher: “I teach you nothing but what you might learn yourselves, viz., the observance of the three fundamental laws of relation between sovereign and subject, father and child, husband and wife; and the five capital virtues—universal charity, impartial justice, conformity to ceremonies and established usages, rectitude of heart and mind, and pure sincerity. Confucius did not profess to have received any revelation from “Shan-te”—the Supreme Ruler—or to have any clear conceptions of Him, although he acknowledged the existence of such a being, and taught that His will as learned by studying and practicing the wisdom of the ancients by the light of nature, should be implicitly obeyed, as the only means of living virtuously and happily and avoiding both in this life and the life to come the penalties of evil-doing.

MERMAID TAVERN AND CLUB.

Chicago, Ill.

Please give in the Curiosity Shop a description of the famous club founded by Sir Walter Raleigh and called the “Mermaid Club.” I have searched in vain for information on this subject.

Fannie Mack.

Answer.—Tradition states that Sir Walter Raleigh, before his unfortunate engagement with Cobham, gathered a number of his most eminent friends in “The Mermaid,” and there instituted what was known as the “Mermaid Club.” “The Mermaid” was a tavern so situated as to have three entrances—on Bread, Cheap, and Friday streets, and was the favorite resort of the leading actors and literary men in the reign of Queen Elizabeth; but the Raleigh club was acknowledged to combine “more talent and genius than ever met together before or since.” Here Jonson, Beaumont, Fletcher, Selden, Carew, Donne, and Shakespeare met for convivial enjoyment, and this was the scene of the famous disputes between Jonson and Shakespeare, the two eminent dramatists.

THE BLACKSMITH KING.

Quincy, Ill.

Did any king crown the blacksmith king of all trades, as illustrated in the heading of the Industrial Worker? If so, what is the story?

James Alberts.

Answer.—In reply to this query we received the following explanation from the editor of the paper mentioned: Our heading illustrates an old Scriptural and Masonic legend, that of “Solomon and the Iron-worker,” otherwise known as “Tubal Cain.” The scene is the celebration of the completion of the great temple at Jerusalem. It has been announced that on this occasion the one who of all others has been most instrumental in the erection of the sacred structure shall be given the chief seat of honor, and the guests are horrified to perceive that the lowly blacksmith has, unobserved, placed himself in it. Loud murmurs arise, and a movement is made having for its object his ejectment. Nothing daunted, the man rises and declares his supremacy over all the other artificers, in that he wrought all their tools, and without his work they could have done nothing. The correctness of his position is thus proven to the satisfaction of the king, complaints are silenced, and all honor accorded the humble smith. The dignity of labor, however unpretending, is thus demonstrated. The Rabbinical legend of which we have here traced a sketch, is full of beauty in its entirety, giving in detail the challenge of the assembled guests, the defense of the man, and the speech of the king.

NEBRASKA STATE NORMAL.

Wahoo, Neb.

What are the principal facts as to the State Normal School of this State? How long has it been in operation? What is the amount of the normal school fund? What is the amount of the annual appropriation to meet current expenses? What results have been obtained? Please answer and throw as much light as possible upon this subject, about which there is a good deal of discussion going on in this part of Nebraska just at the present time.

Subscriber.

Answer.—The State Normal School of Nebraska is located at Peru, near the Missouri River, about fifty miles north of the Kansas line. This is a town of 567 inhabitants, according to the census, accessible only by a branch of the Burlington and Missouri Railroad. It secured the location of the school by a donation of site and other inducements at a time when the population of the State was only about 100,000. It graduated its first class, consisting of two members, in 1870. The total number of graduates to date is 73. Total enrollment last year, 318—the largest number in the history of the school. The normal endowment fund, in notes and bonds, aggregated $16,308.35 last year, and the income from all sources in 1881 amounted to $2,423.58. The total appropriation asked of the last Legislature, was as follows, the several items being represented by the principal as “absolutely necessary to the efficient working of the school for each of the next two fiscal years:”

Salaries for teachers, per year $11,000

Fuel and lights, per year 1,000

Repairs, per year 500

Board’s expenses, per year 500

Janitor’s wages and help, per year 500

Apparatus, per year 500

Printing, stationery, advertising, per y’r. 300

Furniture, per year 300

Wells and cisterns, per year 200

Imp’ts of grounds and buildings, per y’r. 200

Incidentals, per year 200

Postage and postal expenses, per year 100

Expense special inst’n and lectures, p. yr. 100

Total $15,400

The total amount granted averaged about $14,300 a year.

BLACK HAWK’S TOWER.

Springfield, Ill.

Where is Black Hawk’s Tower, and what is it like? Is it built of masonry or earth?

A. H. C.

Answer.—It is a natural rock near the Falls of Rock River, near the southeastern angle of Rock Island bluffs, a few miles from the city of Rock Island. It commands an extensive view of the surrounding country for ten miles up the Rock River Valley, and northward nearly eight miles to the Mississippi. Black Hawk’s chief village was situated in the forks of the Mississippi and Rock River, just below this, and this wooded rock formed a natural lookout tower for him on the side most open to attack. The name was given to it by the pioneers.

WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING.

Charles City, Iowa.

Please give a short account of the life and writings of Dr. Channing.

Mrs. R. W. May.

Answer.—The great apostle of Unitarianism, as he has been called, was born at Newport, R. I., April 7, 1780, and in his 15th year entered Harvard University. In 1798, on his graduation day, he delivered an oration that captivated the whole audience, and foretold his future fame as an orator and writer. While teaching in Richmond, Va., he became impressed with the evils of slavery, and deemed the surest cure for all such abuses to be the spread of Christianity. Returning to Harvard, he began his theological studies, acting at the same time as regent of the university. In 1803 he assumed the pastorate of Federal Street Church, Boston, and at once became known as an eloquent and brilliant orator, as well as an efficient minister. His finest oration, perhaps, is the one delivered upon the fall of Napoleon, in 1814, and entitled “The Goodness of God in Delivering the Christian World from Military Despotism.” In 1820 he received the title of Doctor of Divinity from Harvard. Two years later, while visiting in Europe, he met Coleridge, who said of him, “He has the love of wisdom and the wisdom of love.” His “Remarks Upon the Life and Character of Napoleon Bonaparte,” which appeared in 1828, did much to spread his fame throughout the civilized world. His greatest theological work is, probably, the “Evidences of Christianity.” An earnest minister of the Unitarian Church, he was always a sincerely devout Christian. A friend of the anti-slavery and temperance movements, when they had but few, his last public speech was in commemoration of the abolition of slavery in the British West Indies. His death occurred in 1842, and his body was laid in the cemetery of Mount Auburn.

SIR WILLIAM WALLACE.

Postville, Iowa.

1. Please give a sketch of Sir William Wallace, the Scottish patriot. 2. In what year was the Crimean war.

Maud Murlin.

Answer.—William Wallace was the youngest son of a knight of good family in southwestern Scotland. The place of his birth is uncertain, but the date was probably about the middle of the reign of Alexander III. When Edward offered pardon to the Scottish leaders, after the subjugation of Scotland and the surrender of Baliol, Wallace was excepted by name, being ordered to surrender unconditionally. This he refused to do, and for many years eluded the search of those who coveted the handsome price put upon his head. In 1305, however, he was seized and carried to London, and there, after a mock trial, on the 23d of August, he was hanged, drawn, and quartered, as a traitor. But his cause lived, and a year later Robert Bruce was crowned at Scone, King of independent Scotland. 2. The Crimean war lasted nearly two years, from 1854 to 1856.

“HOBSON’S CHOICE.”

Marshalltown, Iowa.

Please tell us the origin of the expression,“Hobson’s choice.”

F. W. Wilder.

Answer.—The Atlantic Monthly for December, 1883, contained the following: “The explanation of the proverbial saying about ‘Hobson’s choice’ is given by Steele in the Spectator, No. 509,” The passage referred to is this: “Tobias Hobson was the first man in England that let out hackney horses. * * * When a man came for a horse he was led into the stable where there was a great choice, but Hobson obliged him to take the horse which stood nearest to the stable door: so that every customer was alike well served, according to his chance, from whence it became a proverb, when what ought to be your election was forced upon you, to say, ‘Hobson’s choice.’”

CALIFORNIA.

Fonda, Iowa.

Will you be kind enough to give your readers a description of California—the climate and resources of the different parts of the State, and the price of land to each; what places are best adapted to fruit trees, and what fruits grow there, and the amount of teachers’ wages?

Henry Johnson.

Answer.—The State of California is divided into three entirely distinct sections: the coast region, the valleys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, and the deserts. Owing to the irregularity of the surface, only about one-third of the State is arable, and in northern California the crops are wholly dependent upon the rainfall. In the southern part of the State the land is irrigated by numerous streams. The chief products of California are wheat, barley, fruit, timber, and gold; the raising of cattle and sheep is also profitable business. The coast region is fertile and beautiful, abounding in vineyards and orchards. The climate, varying from 51 degrees to 75 degrees in summer, and in winter seldom colder than 15 degrees, is well suited to the cultivation of such fruits as apples, peaches, pears, oranges, lemons, almonds, olives, and figs. In this region also, is the great gold belt, most of the mines being on the western slope of the Sierra Nevadas. All of the gold, however, is not found here, as the earliest mining was on the southeastern slope, and the precious metal is distributed over the most of the State. The valleys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers occupy the country between the coast range and the Sierras. This fertile region is devoted to farming and grazing, and produces more barley than is raised in any other State, while its wheat harvests increased 133 per cent from 1860 to 1870. Here, during the rainy season, the mercury falls to 45 deg., and seldom rises higher than 85 deg. In the Colorado desert the difference between the mean temperature of January and July is greater, being some 45 deg., while the mean annual temperature ranges from 68 to 75 deg. Little land here is arable, owing to the lack of irrigation. California has an excellent public school system, closely resembling that of Massachusetts. In 1880 the average monthly pay of male teachers was $79.50; of female teachers, $64.73. Land in California is by no means cheap. The fruit lands are scarce, and for the most part in the hands of private individuals; when well cultivated and irrigated they sell for $150 to $300 per acre. Grain lands in Northern and North Central California sell for $50 to $100 per acre, though some at a great distance from railroads and rivers may be bought for $20 to $30. Grazing lands vary in price from $1.25 to $10 per acre, according to locality. There are fruit lands in Southern California, far from Los Angeles and any good market, which can be had for from $30 to $50 per acre.

THE “BRANDED HAND.”

Beaver City, Neb.

Please give an account of the “Man with the Branded Hand,” who died a few years since. Why was he branded, and what was the name of the miscreant who officiated?

B. W. Hawkins.

Answer.—The man who has become so famous was Jonathan Walker, captain of a small vessel off the Florida coast. He was born at Harwich, Mass., March 22, 1799, and died at Lake Harbor, Mich., April 20, 1878. June 23, 1844, though quite ill, and daily expecting death, he attempted to carry seven slaves to Nassau, in the British island, New Providence; but, when only a short distance out, he was challenged by the sloop Catharine, and taken back to Key West. There he was brought before a justice of the peace, and committed first to jail, and afterward to the filthy hold of a steamboat that carried him to Pensacola, where a new trial awaited him. This time, when he was imprisoned, a chain of half-inch iron secured him to a huge ring bolt, being fastened at the other end to a shackle around his ankle that weighed half a ton. Owing to his feeble health his sufferings were excruciating, but his further sentence read thus; “One hour in the pillory, pelted with unmerchantable eggs; one year in prison for each slave—seven in all; $600 for each slave, and all the costs; and to be branded on the right hand with a large S, by a redhot branding-iron.” But he bore his tortures without flinching, and lived to be restored to his family after much unjust litigation. We do not know who may have officiated at the branding; but Ebenezer Dorr, of Maine, was at that time the United States Marshal for that district. A beautiful monument to the memory of Captain Walker has been erected in Muskegon, Mich.

THE OLDEST ARCHITECTURAL RUINS.

Des Moines, Iowa.

What is the oldest architectural work known to exist?

Scholar.

Answer.—Perhaps it is safe to say, with the editor of the “People’s Cyclopedia,” that it is the remarkable rock-cut temples at Ipsambul of Abousambul, in Nubia, on the left bank of the Nile. The largest temple contains fourteen apartments hewn out of the solid rock. The first and largest of these is 57 feet long and 52 feet broad, and is supported by two rows of massive square pillars, four in each row, and 30 feet high. To each of these pillars is attached a standing colossus, or human figure, of enormous proportions, reaching to the roof, overlaid with a kind of stucco and painted with gaudy colors, apparently as brilliant now, after the lapse of over 4,000 years, as when first laid on. In front of this temple are seated four still larger human figures, two of them being 65 feet in height—presumed to represent Rameses the Great, more frequently termed Sesostris, whose marvelous military exploits are depicted in drawings and paintings on the temple walls.

PRODUCTION OF SPIRITS.

Huron, D. T.

Is the production of spirits increasing or decreasing? Some temperance advocates maintain that it is growing less, owing to the efforts of the various temperance organizations.

Anti-Saloonist.

Answer.—The best answer to this question is contained in the latest report of the Secretary of the Treasury. Mr. Folger says: “The quantity of spirits produced and deposited in distillery warehouses during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1883, is less than the production of 1882 by 31,839,853 gallons, and of 1881 by 43,741,842 gallons.” He distributes this decrease as follows:

Decrease in production of— Gallons.

Bourbon whisky 20,913,422

Rye whisky 4,440,123

Alcohol 4,482,965

Gin 23,366

Highwines 2,260,428

Miscellaneous 241,385

Total decrease 32,361,689

Increase in production of— Gallons.

Rum 97,876

Pure neutral or Cologne spirits 423,960

Total Increase 521,836

Net decrease 31,839,853

There were remaining in distillery warehouses at the dates below specified distilled spirits as follows:

Dates. Gallons.

June 30, 1883 80,499,993

June 30, 1882 89,962,645

There should come out of bonded warehouses, under the present law, and pay tax, distilled spirits as follows:

Dates. Gallons.

By June 6, 1884 26,104,531

By July 6, 1884 3,495,512

Total 29,600,043

It is to avert taking this large amount of spirits out of warehouse and throwing it upon the market more rapidly than it is called for that the distillers are so lustily petitioning Congress to postpone the date of withdrawal. Several causes have conspired to bring about the decrease in production of spirits above shown, of which the vigor with which the temperance movement has been pushed of late years is indisputably one.

ART, HISTORICAL, AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.

Battle Creek, Mich.

I am satisfied that many keen observers of climatic changes and other scientific phenomena, and many old residents of this country who are in possession of historical information of pioneer times which should be preserved, would communicate what they know to societies interested in such matters if The Inter Ocean would only publish a list of some of the most important of such societies. “Will not Our Curiosity Shop favor us with such a list? Also, give the names of a few of the most noted societies or academies of Europe.

Amateur.

Answer.—Taking the world at large there are many hundreds of societies for the promotion of science, literature, or the arts. It is not worth while to enumerate more than a few of those in foreign countries. In France they have the famous Institute of France, with its four academies, viz: The French Academy, the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles Lettres, the Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Fine Arts. There is the Royal Academy of Sciences at Berlin; the Academy of Science at Manheim; the Electoral Bavarian Academy of Sciences at Munich; the Imperial Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg; the Academy of Sciences at Stockholm; the Royal Academy of Sciences at Copenhagen; the Royal Academy of Sciences at Amsterdam; the Academy of Sciences at Madrid; the de Screti. or Academia Secretorum Naturæ, at Naples; the Royal Academy of Sciences at Turin; the Academy of Sciences at Lisbon; the Royal Academy, London; and the Royal Irish Academy. Then there are academies for the advancement of literature in nearly all European countries. There were no fewer than 171 of these in Italy alone as early as the sixteenth century, many of which still exist. Then there are many academies of archæology and history, such as the Academy of Herculaneum, Italy; the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles Lettres, constituting one of the four academies of the Institute of France, as above shown; the Celtic Academy, and others. There are academies of medicine and surgery in various parts of the old world. As to painting, sculpture, and music, they have such powerful auxiliary societies as the Royal Academy of Arts, the Royal Academy of Music, and the Academy of Ancient Music, in London; the Academy of Painting and Sculpture and the Royal Academy of Music, in Paris; and similar academies at Rome, Turin, Madrid, Berlin, Munich, and elsewhere. There are geographical societies at all the principal capitals of Europe. Of these the most conspicuous are the Royal Geographical Society, London, the Geographical Society of France, Paris, the Geographical Society of Berlin, and the Royal Asiatic Society, London, with branches at Calcutta and Shanghai.

For the practical purposes stated above, and other laudable causes, which are certainly worthy of encouragement, the following list of some of the most important societies in the United States is of much greater consequence to readers of The Inter Ocean:

Academy of Sciences, Chicago. Albany Institute, Albany, N. Y. American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Boston, Mass. American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass. American Association for Advancement of Science, Salem, Mass. American Association for Advancement of Social Science, Boston, Mass. American Bible Society, New York. American Colonization Society, Washington. American Geographical Society, New York. American Institute, New York. American Museum of Natural History, New York. American Numismatic and Archæological Society, New York. American Oriental Society, New Haven, Conn. American Peace Society, Boston, Mass. American Philological Society, New York. American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia. American Public Health Association, Washington. American Society of Civil Engineers and Architects, New York. American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, New York. Anthropological Society, Washington. Board of Trustees of Peabody Academies and Model Schools, New Orleans. Buffalo Historical Society, Buffalo, N. Y. Chicago Historical Society, Chicago. Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, Conn. Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York. Essex Institute, Salem, Mass. Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, Pa. Georgia Historical Society, Savannah, Ga. Iowa Historical Society, Iowa City, Iowa. Lowell Institute, Boston, Mass. Maine Historical Society, Brunswick, Me. Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, Md. Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, Mass. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, Minn. National Academy of Design, New York. National Academy of Sciences, Washington. New England Historic-Geneological Society, Boston, Mass. New Hampshire Historical Society, Concord, N. H. New Jersey Historical Society, Newark, N. J. New York Academy of Sciences, New York. New York Historical Society, New York. Ohio Philosophical and Historical Society, Cincinnati. Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. Peabody Academy of Sciences, Salem, Mass. Peabody Institute, Baltimore, Md. Pennsylvania Historical Society, Philadelphia. Rhode Island Historical Society, Providence, R. I. Smithsonian Institute, Washington, South Carolina Historical Society, Charleston, S. C. Southern Historical Society, Richmond, Va. Virginia Historical and Philosophical Society, Richmond, Va. Vermont Historical Society, Montpelier, Vt. Washington Philosophical Society, Washington. Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio. Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Madison, Wis. Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wis.

WILLIAM EWART GLADSTONE.

Chicago, Ill.

Please give a short biography of William E. Gladstone.

C. B.

Answer.—The Hon. William Ewart Gladstone was born of Scottish parents in Liverpool, Dec. 29, 1809. He received a thorough education at Eton and Oxford, graduating from both with the highest honors. In 1832 he entered politics, being returned for Newark. He early joined himself with the Conservative party, under the leadership of Robert Peel, in which his abilities were soon recognized by that distinguished statesman, who gave him the position of Junior Lord of the Treasury in 1834, and in the following year made him Under Secretary of State; but with Peel’s retirement he relinquished that office, in 1841, when Peel again became Premier, Gladstone served under him as Vice President, and afterward as President of the Board of Trade, in which capacity he derived much information concerning the commerce of the nation. He left the Conservative party in his support of Peel’s free-trade policy, and again retired in 1845. In 1859 he became Chancellor of the Exchequer in Lord Palmerston’s administration, which office he held to his credit until 1866. Two years afterward he was elevated into the premiership; but his defeat in 1874 resulted in the elevation of his great rival, Disraeli. He then resolved to remain out of politics; but the policy of Beaconsfield in the Eastern question called forth his earnest disapprobation, and again brought him before the people in opposition to the administration. The year 1880 signalized his triumph, a triumph which was universally acknowledged as the result of his own personal popularity and sterling qualities. Gladstone has always been recognized as a man of strong character, who has conscientiously endeavored to advance the interests of the nation and people. In oratory he possesses the wonderful faculty of making statistics eloquent. He quickly perceives a difficulty, and with wise discernment unravels it. The past three years have only added honor to his name, and it is to be hoped that so favorable a beginning may be the dawn of a fruitful administration, and that ere long the vexed Irish question or questions will be solved forever.

INTERNAL REVENUE.

Madison Wis.

Let us know how the receipts from internal revenue in 1883 compare with those in 1882, and oblige an opponent of the proposition to take off the tax on spirits and tobacco. Add cost of collecting the same.

James.

Answer.—The total receipts under the internal revenue laws for the two fiscal years ending June 30, 1882, and June, 1883, were as shown in the table below;

Objects taxed. 1882. 1883.

Distilled spirits $69,873,408.18 $74,368,775.20

Tobacco 47,391,988.91 42,104,249.79

Fermented liquors 16,153,920.42 16,900,615.81

Banks and bankers 5,253,458.47 3,748,994.60

Adhesive stamps—

Bank checks 2,318,455.14 1,946.272.10

Friction matches 3,262,258.00 2,920,545.20

Patent medicines, etc. 1,978,395.56 2,186,236.16

Penalties 199,830.04 305,803.57

Collections not otherwise provided for 81,559.00 71,852.43

Total $146,523,273.72 $144,553,344.86

The increase of revenue from spirits during the last fiscal year was $4,495,367.02; from fermented liquors was $746,695.39: the decrease from tobacco, $5,287,739.12; and from banks and bankers, $1,504,463.87. The total decrease of internal revenue from all sources up to June 30, 1883, was $1,969,928.86. This decrease was due mainly to the removal of certain taxes and the reduction of others effected by the legislation of the last Congress. The cost of collecting the internal revenue in the last year above named was $5,113,734.88. Owing to the recent action of the President consolidating collection districts, which dispenses with the services of a number of collectors, and other curtailments rendered possible by the legislation of the Republican Congress of 1881-1883, the estimated cost of collecting internal revenue during the current fiscal year is $4,999,190, and from present indications the actual cost will be considerably less than this.

INTEREST PAID BY PACIFIC R. R. COMPANIES.

Columbus, Neb.

What amount, if anything, have the Pacific Railroad Companies repaid on account of interest on their bonds advanced by the General Government?

Anti-monopolist.

Answer.—We are not prepared to give the whole amounts, but during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1883, the total amount received by the Secretary of the United States Treasury toward repayment of Pacific Railroad bonds, of various names and descriptions, guaranteed by it, was $1,556,866.90, an increase of $716,312.53 over the sum received on this account during the next previous year. During the same period the sum of $1,322,103.11 was collected for the various Pacific railway sinking funds toward liquidation of their bonds. This was $525,831.69 more than during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1882.

SALT REVENUE OF NEW YORK STATE.

Muskegon, Mich.

Please let us know what income New York State has derived from salt since the manufacture was brought under State control, or monopoly, whichever you please to call it.

A Michigan Salt.

Answer.—The following statistics on this subject, derived from official sources, have been compiled for these columns by David H. Mason, Esq., who is authority on questions of revenue obtained from industrial products, either by Federal or State authorities. It should be observed in this connection that the State of New York supplies the brine to the manufacturers at the cost here indicated. That is to say, for example, for the thirty-six years, 1846 to 1881, inclusive, it supplied the brine for all salt made, and collected in return therefor 1 cent for every bushel of salt produced within the State.

Salt expenditures and revenues of New York in undermentioned years:

Rate Duties

Expenditures. per bu. received.

1843 $29,816.72 6c $187,650.00

1844 33,286.58 6c 240,213.24

1845 30,407.77 6c 225,741.48

$93,511.07 $653,604.72

Deduct expenditures 93,511.07

Net revenue $560,093.65

The total net revenue to the State from this industry from 1818 to 1881, inclusive, was as follows:

Net revenue—

1818 to 1824, 7 years $452,393.39

1825 to 1845, 21 years 2,900,916.50

1846 to 1881, 36 years 706,319.58

Sixty-four years $4,059,629.47

The State tax of 12½c per bushel was levied previous to 1834: from that time to April 20, 1846, the tax was 6c per bushel; since then 1c.

Another statement—

1818 to 1833, 16 years, 12c per bu. $1,746,719.45

1834 to 1845, 12 years, 6c per bu. 1,606,590.44

1846 to 1881, 36 years, 1c per bu. 706,319.58

Net revenue in 64 years $4,059,629.47

THE ORIGINAL MONITOR.

Chicago, Ill.

Is not the statement recently made that the original Monitor, which fought the rebel ram Merrimac, is still afloat a mistake? I am of the impression that she foundered at sea.

Old Citizen.

Answer.—You are quite correct. According to G. V. Fox, at one time Assistant Secretary of the Navy, “At 1 o’clock a. m., Dec. 31, 1862, Cape Hatteras bearing N. N. E., distant twenty miles, this little Monitor—whose fame, ‘following the sun and keeping company with the hours, had circled the earth,’ found a resting place at the bottom of the ocean.”