Chapter 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.”

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Prohibition.

[2] Liberal.

[3] Independent Republican.

[4] Independent Democrat.

[5] Independent.

[6] Readjuster.

[7] By union of anti-Prohibition Republicans with Democrats. Lieutenant Governor and Legislature went Republican.

[8] By union of Democrats, Greenbackers, and Independents.

[9] By fusion of Democrats and Greenbackers.

[10] By combination of Readjusters and Republicans.

[11] Republican, elected for term of one year, beginning May 29, 1883.

[12] This is what is known as “Police London,” its broadest definition. The London covered by “Mortality Bills” contained but 3,831,719 inhabitants.

[13] Glasgow and its suburbs.

[14] Dublin County, most of the population of which is in Dublin and its suburbs.

MISCELLANEOUS ANSWERS

AND

EXECUTIVE AND CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTORY.

R. D. M., Edwardsburg, Mich.—THE DAILY INTER OCEAN first took that name in March, 1872.

* * * * *

S. L. Moore, Prior Lake, Minn.—General Sheridan was married to Miss Irene Anna Rucker, daughter of General D. H. Rucker, U. S. A., June 3, 1875, by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Foley, of Chicago.

* * * * *

A School Girl, Westville, Ill.—The Russians held Alaska by the right of Behring’s discovery, in 1741, and the subsequent settlement of the territory. In 1799 Paul VIII. granted this land to the Russo-American Fur Company. The charter of the corporation was renewed in 1839, but finally expired in 1863, and in 1867 Alaska was ceded to the United States for $7,200,000.

* * * * *

Willis Hollings, Albany, Ill.—Greenwich, situated upon the right bank of the Thames, six miles southeast of London Bridge, is a favorite suburb of Londoners, on account of its fine parks and picturesque views. Its meridian was selected as the one from which to reckon standard time because from it navigators generally, the world over, are in the practice of reckoning time and longitude.

* * * * *

G. H. S., McLean, Ill.—Snow-shoes consist of a flat wooden frame, of lanceolate form, from four to seven feet long, and from eight to fourteen inches in width at the broadest part. This frame is filled with wicker-work or thongs, and furnished with straps upon the upper side, for the feet. The sole may be wholly of wood. By the extreme length and breadth the shoe is prevented from sinking in the snow.

* * * * *

S. S. H., Smith Center, Kan.:—“The Little Old Sod Shanty on the Claim” was composed by Mr. F. E. Jerome, and first published in the _Smith County Pioneer_ in 1878, and refers to a claim one mile from Smith Center.

* * * * *

John Stuart, Lyneville, Wis.—The ordinary expenditures of the United States Government for the year 1881 amounted to $178,204,146.41.

* * * * *

Constant Reader, Chicago—The first negro slave owned in Chicago, it is believed, was Black Jim, the property of John H. Kinzie, brought here by him in 1804.

* * * * *

A Subscriber, Morris, Ill.—“Johnson’s Universal Cyclopædia” says that Miles Standish lost his wife, Rose, during the first winter in America.

* * * * *

Daisy, Emporia, Kan.—The sections of one mile square are the smallest tracts, the out-boundaries of which the law requires to be actually surveyed. The minor subdivisions are defined by law, and the Surveyors General, in protracting township plats from the field notes of sections, designate them in red ink, the lines connecting being imaginary.

* * * * *

Mary Maxwell Call, Fulda, Minn., evidently agrees substantially with another correspondent, whose communication on this subject was published a few days ago, as to the origin of the saying “All is lovely and the goose hangs high.” She writes: “It is a corruption of the sentry call, ‘All is lovely and the goose honks high,’” meaning, the weather is pleasant and the high flying of the geese indicates that it will continue so. She thinks, therefore, that it is not “slang.” Webster, however, does not recognize “honk” as an English word in good standing, though we are not sure but he should do so.

* * * * *

W. F. Smith, Manning, Iowa.—The steeple of Trinity Church, New York City, is 284 feet in height.

* * * * *

W. H. L., Springfield, Ill.—“Lady’s Day” is the name given in England to “Annunciation Day,” which always comes on the 25th of March. In France it is known as Notre Dame de Mars. This year it and Easter Sunday corresponded.

* * * * *

James Wilson, Pontiac, Ill.—Journeymen printers on Chicago morning dailies are paid 40 cents, on evening and weekly papers and book work 37 cents per 1,000 ems. Job printers get from $18 a week, the minimum, to $21. The expenses of living are greater in the city than in the country; this is one reason why wages should be higher in the city. Another is that most of the work on a daily paper must be done at night.

* * * * *

W. D. Doane, Kokomo, Col.—The government farms out the seal fur fisheries of Alaska to a commercial company for a stipulated revenue, and under strict laws regulating the business.

* * * * *