Part 42

United States 93,000 Canada 6,145 Rest of N. America 1,738 Germany 21,275 Great Britain 17,696 France 15,375 Russia 14,698 Austria 12,160 Spain and Portugal 5,260 Scandinavia 5,167 Italy 5,096 Belgium and Holland 3,910 Turkey, etc 1,870 Switzerland 1,650 South America 6,830 Africa 5,897 Australia 4,350 India 8,611 Rest of Asia 1,203

We have not within reach the number of miles of river navigation, except by the tedious process of adding the navigable waters of all the rivers and streams of the world. It may be said, however, that the corps of United States civil engineers has estimated that there are 20,000 miles of navigable waters, or waters that can easily be rendered navigable, in the Mississippi system, and in the St. Lawrence system there are about 15,000 miles more, under the control of the United States alone and with Canada.

COPYRIGHTED ILLUSTRATIONS.

CHICAGO, Ill.

Is it right or permissible for one paper to copy engravings or cuts appearing in another paper or magazine? If not, why?

CONSTANT READER.

_Answer._—Not if the paper, magazine, or book is copyrighted in this country, as most American illustrated papers, magazines, and books are. The copyright law is intended to give artists and publishers exclusive control of their productions. The right course to take to get the privilege of using copyrighted works of any kind is to negotiate with the publishers, who will, in some cases, make very moderate terms, particularly for the use of wood-cuts and other engravings that are several years old. There is no law against pirating the illustrations published in European periodicals, and this is done in this country by photo-engraving and other means, to an unlimited extent. Last winter an enterprising contemporary astonished all Chicagoans by loading our newsboys with illustrations of the still flaming ruins of the Newhall House, Milwaukee, before noon of the day of the conflagration. It turned out that the illustration was a photo-engraving of the ruins of a London theater, pirated from the London _Illustrated News_.

CHRISTADELPHIANS.

PEWAUKEE, Wis.

Please give a description of the sect called Christadelphians.

H. G. PURINTON.

_Answer._—This sect is one lately organized in America. The principles of the church are thus briefly stated: The Old and New Testaments are equally important; those who love God in this life He will restore to immortality; others He will annihilate; there is no personal devil; Christ is the son of God, deriving from Him moral perfection, but from his mother a human nature. He appeared upon the earth as a prophet; He now mediates between God and man as a priest; he will again appear on earth to reign as a king of the house of David.

A BEAUTIFUL HYMN.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.

The lines asked for in THE INTER OCEAN of Nov. 3, beginning:

“Those everlasting gardens, etc.”

are from the concluding stanza of Sir John Bowring’s hymn, “From the Recesses of a Lowly Spirit.” I found it as No. 2,546, in Foster’s Cyclopedia of Poetical Illustrations. It is set to a beautiful chant in Baker’s Church Music.

R. B. POPE.

THE GLACIAL PERIOD.

MIDLAND, Wis.

How long has it been since the “Glacial Period” ended? How far south did the glaciers extend.

D. W. BROWN.

_Answer._—It would be a rash geologist who would undertake to say how many years it has been since the Glacial Period. Geological periods cannot be reckoned by years with any approach to certainty. Even the dates of geological events in the “Recent,” or “Human Period,” immediately following the Glacial Period, cannot be arithmetically computed. The order of their succession is about all that can be established with reasonable certainty. Such events belong, practically speaking, to an era of which it has been said: “Then time was not.” In America evidences of glacial action extend as far south, at least, as Washington and the Ohio River; in Europe to 50 degrees north latitude, and in some places down to 45 degrees.

LOUIS PHILIPPE.

ARGYLE, Minn.

In what year did Louis Philippe ascend the throne? Give a brief history of his life and death.

J. G. LEGRANGE.

_Answer._—Louis Philippe, son of Louis Philippe Joseph, Duke of Orleans, was born at Paris in 1773, and, having held the title of Lieutenant of the Kingdom since the abdication of Charles X., as a result of the revolution of July, 1830 ascended the throne of France Aug. 9, 1830. During the first revolution, in which he fought on the side of the people, he became suspected of aspiring to the throne, and, his arrest having been ordered, he sought refuge for himself and sister in Switzerland. There for a time he taught under the assumed name of Chabaud-Latour. Later he visited Northern Europe and America, and in 1800 settled at Twickenham, near London. Upon the restoration of the royal family, he returned to Paris, and recovered his estates. Though coldly received by his suspicious kinsman, Louis XVIII., he was extremely popular elsewhere, and in recognition of his plain manners and attention to the bourgeoisie he received the title “Citizen King.” His reign was prosperous, and his wise government did much to restore France to a state of quiet industry. But suddenly the cry arose for a reform in the electoral system, and receiving no friendly response from the King or ministry, the people grew rebellious. The King used military force, the people became their own army, and Feb. 24, 1848, Louis Philippe fled from Paris, with his faithful minister, Guizot. He and his queen were concealed in Normandy for a few days, and then passed on a British steamboat to Newhaven, Eng., as Mr. and Mrs. Smith. He died quietly at Claremont in 1850.

POSTAL EXPENDITURES NORTH AND SOUTH.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.

It was stated not long ago, in Our Curiosity Shop, that the postal expenses in the Southern States have long exceeded the postal revenue from the same States, while in the Northern States the opposite is true. I challenge you to show that this was the case before the late civil war.

A CONFEDERATE.

_Answer._—That is not at all hard to show. It has been the case pretty much ever since the government was formed. In the Northern States the postal revenue has almost always been in excess of the expenditures, while the reverse has been true in the South. In 1846-7 the transportation of the mails throughout New England cost $256,464, while the postal revenue collected in those States amounted to $443,648. The expense of mail transportation in New York and Pennsylvania was only $384,719, while the postal revenue collected amounted to nearly double that amount, say $746,933. In Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia, during the same time, the expenditures aggregated $770,044, while the amount received for postage was but $311,569, or less than half as much. At the same time Alabama paid in less than $50,000, while the expenditures were over $136,000; and Texas returned but $3,246 for an expenditure of $24,102; though Wisconsin, in which the expenditure reached but $15,043, returned to the general postoffice $56,703, and Iowa, then in its infancy, came within less than $500 of meeting all the cost of her postal service. This is a fair sample of how it was before the war.

WEALTHIEST STATES.

CHICAGO, Ill.

Will you kindly state in Our Curiosity Shop which State in the Union is considered to be the richest? Say if Pennsylvania does not rank the highest in the aggregate of products. If not, what State does? and what is Pennsylvania’s rank?

ENQUIRER.

_Answer._—According to the census of 1880 the four States showing the highest assessed valuation of real estate and personal property are: New York, $2,651,940,006; Pennsylvania, $1,683,459,016; Massachusetts, $1,584,756,802; Ohio, $1,534,360,508. Assessed valuations are so far from being the true values of property, and there is such divergency in the practice of the various States—some assessing at nearly the true value, others at scarcely 25 per cent of it, and most of them at rates ranging between 40 per cent and 50 per cent of it—that there is no great amount of satisfaction in a comparison based on these valuations. For example, the total assessed valuation of personal property for the State of New York is $322,657,647, when it is generally believed that four men, Mr. Vanderbilt, Jay Gould, Russel Sage, and Augustus Belmont, together, own very nearly this amount in bonds, mortgages, and other personal property.

As to the value of their chief products, the States holding the highest rank are as follows:

Number of Value of States. establishments. products.

New York 43,739 $1,080,696,596 Pennsylvania 31,232 744,818,445 Massachusetts 14,352 631,135,284 Illinois 14,549 414,864,673 Ohio 20,699 348,298,390

In agriculture: Value of Value of all States. live stock. farm products.

Illinois $132,437,762 $203,980,137 New York 117,868,283 178,025,695 Ohio 103,707,730 156,777,152 Iowa 124,715,103 136,103,473 Pennsylvania 84,242,877 129,760,476

In mining: Value of product of Value of States. precious metals. non-precious metals

Pennsylvania .......... $65,559,576 Colorado $19,249,172 1,041,350 California 18,301,828 ......... Nevada 17,318,909 ......... Michigan 25,858 14,279,437 Illinois .......... 8,911,279 Ohio .......... 8,077,488

From the above it appears that in the aggregate value of their agricultural, manufacturing, and mining products, New York leads all the other States, with a total of over $1,381,000,000; Pennsylvania follows, with $1,024,000,000; Illinois marches third, with over $760,000,000; Massachusetts fourth, with over $676,000,000; and Ohio fifth, with nearly $617,000,000.

PENSION-ATTORNEY’S FEES.

TIPTON, Iowa.

Is it true that a pension attorney cannot lawfully charge more than $10 for his services in procuring a pension? If so, when was this law passed? It used to be $25: at least that was what pensioners around here paid.

OLD SOLDIER.

_Answer._—Prior to June 20, 1878, it was lawful for an attorney to make a contract with a pension claimant for $25 as a fee, which amount was paid by the Commissioner of Pensions, or on his order, when the pension was allowed, out of the first pension payment. It was wholly contingent upon the successful prosecution of the claim. In 1878 Mr. Bentley, then Commissioner of Pensions, arrayed himself against claim attorneys, and procured the enactment of the present law, approved June 10, 1878, making it unlawful for an attorney to receive a greater sum than $10 for his services in procuring a pension. This amount the attorney can collect from the applicant and keep, whether the claim is allowed or not. It is doubtful whether Mr. Bentley’s well intended endeavors to benefit applicants through this law have not resulted in more harm than good, as hundreds, if not thousands, of applicants have paid attorneys this $10 in advance, and therefore the latter, having nothing more to gain, have merely filed the applications, and left the cases to take the regular red-tape course, and be thrown out for informalities or for want of a little additional testimony, which defects the attorneys would have strived to cure if the fee had remained at $25, and been wholly contingent on the allowance of the pensions.

HEADLIGHT OIL.

ALDEN, Iowa.

Please give the composition and properties of “headlight oil,” such as is used by the railroad companies in lanterns and headlights.

P. M. EDWARDS.

_Answer._—Strictly speaking, headlight oil of the first quality is what its discoverer, Joshua Merrill, named mineral sperm. It is an illuminating oil intermediate between kerosene and neutral lubricating oil, the specific gravity of kerosene being .804, that of mineral sperm .847, and that of lubricating oil .883. The boiling points of these are respectively, 350 deg. Fahr., 425 deg., and 575 deg. It is volatile only at very high temperature, therefore, and cannot be ignited at less than 300 deg. Fahr., which is one reason why it is preferred to kerosene, particularly on railroad cars and locomotives and ocean steamers. The headlight oils in common use do not conform strictly to the above descriptions, being, some of them, only a fine quality of kerosene. The chemical constituents of refined petroleum are hydrogen and carbon, in the proportions of 75 of the former to 85 of the latter. We have not the precise chemical formula for headlight oil.

UNITED STATES NATIONAL CEMETERIES.

BUCYRUS, Ohio.

How many United States National cemeteries are there, and where are they? What salaries are paid to superintendents? Are they kept in good condition?

OLD SOLDIER.

_Answer._—The National cemeteries consecrated to the remains of the fallen patriots of the late civil war are all well cared for by salaried superintendents, and are examined from time to time by competent inspectors, whose duties require them to report any neglect. Every grave is marked with a headstone; the grounds are handsomely laid out; the walks, winding among the green swarded lots, are neatly graveled; and shade trees, ornamental shrubs and flower beds are tastefully arranged to beautify these “God’s acres,” sacred to the Nation’s dead. The cemeteries west of the Missouri contain the graves of a good many soldiers who have died since the rebellion, in the regular army service on the frontiers. There is an United States National cemetery near the City of Mexico, consecrated to the gallant fellows who fell at Chapultepec, and Contreras, and in other brilliant actions of the war with Mexico. The locality of the awful massacre of General Custer and his entire command by the Indians, led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, is marked by a National cemetery and a suitable monument. The following is a full list of the National cemeteries, with the salaries of their superintendents:

Cemeteries. Salaries.

Mobile. Ala. $840 Little Rock, Ark. 900 Fort Smith, Ark. 840 Fayetteville, Ark 780 Soldiers’ Home, D. C. 900 Battle Ground, D. C. 720 Barrancas, Fla. 780 St. Augustine. Fla. Andersonville, Ga. 900 Marietta, Ga. 900 Camp Butler, Ill. 780 Mound City, Ill. 900 Quincy, Ill. Rock Island, Ill. Crown Hill, Ind. 720 New Albany, Ind. 780 Fort Gibson, I. T. 780 Keokuk, Iowa 780 Ft. Leavenworth, Kan. 840 Fort Scott, Kan. 840 Cave Hill, Ky 720 Camp Nelson, Ky. 900 Danville. Ky. Lebanon, Ky. 720 Lexington, Ky. 840 Logan’s Cross Roads, Ky. 840 Mill Springs, Ky. Alexander, La. 840 Baton Rouge, La. 480 Chalmette, La. 900 Port Hudson, La. 900 Annapolis, Md. 780 Antietam, Md. 900 Laurel, Md. Loudon Park, Md. 720 City of Mexico, Mex. 900 Corinth, Miss. 900 Natchez, Miss. 900 Vicksburg, Miss. 900 Jefferson Barracks, Mo. 900 Jefferson City, Mo. 780 Springfield, Mo. 780 Custer Battlefield, M. T. Fort McPherson, Neb. 720 New Berne, N. C. 840 Raleigh, N. C. 840 Salisbury, N. C. 900 Wilmington, N. C. 840 Beverly, N. J. 720 Finn’s Point, N. J. 720 Cypress Hills, N. J. 720 Woodlawn, N. J. Gettysburg, Pa. 900 Philadelphia, Pa. 840 Florence, S. C. 840 Beaufort, S. C. 900 Chattanooga, Tenn. 900 Ft. Donelson, Tenn. 780 Knoxville, Tenn. 840 Memphis, Tenn. 900 Nashville, Tenn. 900 Pittsburg Landing, Tenn. 900 Stone River, Tenn. 900 San Antonio, Texas 720 Brownsville, Texas 840 Alexandria, Va. 840 Arlington, Va. 900 Balls Bluff, Va. City Point, Va. 840 Cold Harbor, Va. 780 Culpeper, Va. 840 Danville, Va. 780 Fort Harrison, Va. 720 Fredericksburg, Va. 900 Glendale, Va. 720 Hampton, Va. 900 Poplar Grove, Va. 900 Seven Pines, Va. 720 Richmond, Va. 900 Staunton, Va. 720 Winchester, Va. 720 Yorktown, Va. 780 Grafton. W. Va. 720

In all, there are 315,555 graves under the supervision of the Quartermaster General, according to a late report, only 172,409 of which had been identified.

A TRULY REMARKABLE EGG.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.

SIR: Having read a short time since in your columns an account of a “Wisconsin hen” having laid a double egg, I enclose the following:

“About fifteen years ago a Mr. Green, of Toledo, Ill., had a hen which laid an egg as large as a goose egg. Inside the outer shell was another perfect egg inclosed in a shell, and between the two shells, two yolks and two whites. It is needless to remark that the hen died in a few hours. There are a number of people now living in or about Toledo who can vouch for the truth of this story.

L. W. A.”

FOREIGN POSTAGE.

CHICAGO, Ill.

Please state the rates of postage between this country and Europe as far back as possible, but particularly the rates in force twenty years ago.

J. M.

_Answer._—It is not easy to ascertain the rates of postage between the United States and each of the States of Europe for the whole period of our history, nor would the information repay the research. The Whig Almanac for 1849 gives the following rates of foreign postage prevailing at that time: Letters, per half ounce, to Bremen, paid or unpaid, if mailed at New York, 24 cents; within 300 miles of New York, 29 cents; over 300 miles, 34 cents. If to Prussia, 12 cents additional; to Hamburg, 6 cents additional; to Austria, 18 cents; Bavaria, 22 cents; Switzerland, 21 cents; Egypt, 37 cents—each additional, per quarter-ounce letter. To Denmark, 22 cents; Sweden, 39 cents; St. Petersburg, Russia, 24 cents—each additional, per half ounce. To British West India Islands, by British West India mail steamers, 25 cents per half ounce; to Martinique, Havana, Porto Rico, St. Thomas, or other islands not British, 50 cents; to Chagres, Panama, Valparaiso, or any port on the Pacific coast, 75 cents. The same year the postal difficulties with Great Britain and her colonies were adjusted by the adoption of a uniform rate of sea and port postage not to exceed 24 cents, the inland rates (5 cents to 10 cents here and 2 cents to 4 cents in Britain) being added. In 1860 the following foreign postal rates prevailed for one-half ounce; to France and Algeria, by French mails, 30 cents; to the German states, 30 cents; to Great Britain, 24 cents, except from Washington, Oregon, and California, (29 cents); to Bremen, 10 cents; to Hamburg, 10 cents; to Frankfort or Wurtemburg, 22 cents; to Luxemburg, 25 cents; to Holland and the Netherlands, 42 cents; to Austria, 30 cents; to Russia, 29 cents; to Prussia, 30 cents; to the Papal States and Tuscany, 35 cents; to Spain, 42 cents; to Portugal, 42 cents; to Denmark, 35 cents; to Sweden, 42 cents; to Norway, 46 cents; to the West India Islands, (not British) 34 cents for less than 2,500 miles, and 44 cents for more than 2,500 miles: to the British West India Islands, 10 cents for 2,500 miles or less, and 20 cents for any greater distance; to the two Sicilies, 30 cents; to Parma and Modena, 33 cents; to Lombardy, 33 cents; to the Sardinian States, 38 cents. In 1865 the postage was about the same; but after the formation of the postal union, in 1874, an uniform postage was adopted of 5 cents on prepaid, and 10 cents on unpaid letters, weighing not more than one-half ounce, between all members of the union; newspapers not exceeding 4 ounces, 2 cents; books and all other printed matter and patterns of merchandise, not exceeding 8¾ ounces, at the rate of 2 cents per 2 ounces; postal cards, 2 cents.

HIGH TARIFF AND CHEAP GOODS.

OSKALOOSA, Iowa.

In a recent political dispute the free-trader declared that the consumer pays all the tariff. How can the protectionist answer this?

INQUIRER.

_Answer._—This question has been answered, substantially, several times before, but the following extract from the speech made before the Fair Trade Congress, Leamington, by Robert P. Porter, formerly editor of Our Curiosity Shop, author of “The West in 1880,” and member of the late United States Tariff Commission, is so much in point that it is given here:

“In the cotton industry need I say that we have practically robbed England of 50,000,000 of customers, increased the number employed in our mills to 200,000 persons, and, in the last two decades, doubled the value of the product. Imports of cotton goods have steadily declined from 227,000,000 yards in 1860 to 23,000,000 yards in 1881, while exports reached the same year 150,000,000 yards. Has the consumer been injured? No! With the exception of a few special lines which we do not manufacture, cotton goods are as cheap, and even cheaper, with us than in England. A more remarkable progress has been made in the silk industry, which before the Morrill tariff gave employment to 5,000 persons; in 1880 it employed over 30,000, a six-fold increase. The importation of silk goods has remained stationary since 1860 at about £6,000,000, the production of our own mills increasing from £1,200,000 in 1860 to over £8,000,000 in 1880. Yet the cost of the manufactured goods to the consumer, estimated on a gold basis, has steadily declined at a much greater rate than the cost of the raw material.”

Further on Mr. Potter says: “I have this year made a careful comparison of the average earnings of labor in the important branches of industry in Great Britain, Germany, France, Belgium, and Holland, with the average earnings of the same class of workers in the United States. In prosecuting this inquiry I have visited the industrial centers of these countries, and am prepared to further substantiate my conclusions with details if necessary. I find that in the United States wages are from 60 to 150 per cent higher in the various industrial pursuits than they are in the mentioned European countries. At the same time the difference between the purchasing power of a dollar in free trade and protection countries is absurdly exaggerated by the Cobden Clubites. In Germany and France (under protective tariffs), especially in the former country, the workmen can live far cheaper than in England. The purchasing power of a dollar, so far as the wants of the working man is concerned, when the cost and quality of food is taken into consideration, is about the same in the United States as in England, though wages are often 100 per cent higher in America.”

HALBIG, THE SCULPTOR.

CHICAGO, Ill.

Please give a sketch of John Halbig, the sculptor.

OTTO F. H. MASCH.