Chapter D: M. Mcintosh

_Answer._—The following are some of the many ways in which “scalpers” or ticket-brokers supply themselves with tickets that they can afford to sell at a reduction from the regular prices and still make a profit: 1. They purchase at a discount partly-used through tickets between the large cities, from travelers getting off at intermediate cities and way stations. As the fares between the prominent Eastern and Western railroad centers are usually proportionately lower than to way stations, where there is no competition, travelers often find that they can purchase through tickets at such prices as make it more economical for them to get such tickets and sell the unused mileage to the scalpers, even at a considerable discount, than to pay full way-passenger rates. Second—During excursions many persons use but half of a ticket, and sell the “return” to the “scalpers” at a discount on full rates. Third—In railroad wars they can buy quantities of tickets cheap to retail later, the railroad companies selling tickets in large quantities at such times to speculators, who transfer them to “scalpers” to sell at their convenience, when the war is ended and rates have increased. Fourth—Sometimes, while a railroad company is bound by contract not to sell at less than a specified rate, it will offer to “scalpers” a commission large enough to enable them to undersell the regular ticket agents, who are bound by the agreements entered into between railroad companies to sell only at fixed prices. 2. He did.

LIBERIA.

VINTON, Iowa.

Please give the principal facts in the history of Liberia.

A READER.

_Answer._—The negro republic of Liberia owes its origin and much of its prosperity to American philanthropy and enterprise. Dec. 31, 1816, a body of energetic men organized themselves into the American Colonization Society, with Henry Clay for President, their aim being to establish an African colony for freed negroes. Not until six years later did they succeed in inducing the African princes of Guinea to favor their plan; but in 1821 a treaty was concluded by which they obtained a tract of land 500 miles long and 50 miles wide on the grain coast of Upper Guinea. Thereupon the society began at once the exportation of colonists. To each man was given 30 acres, together with the means for cultivating the land. The first town was Monrovia. The form of government adopted was that of the United States, and the country is universally recognized as an independent republic. Since 1847, when the protection of the United States was withdrawn, Liberia has enjoyed a certain prosperity, since more schools and churches have been established in proportion to the population than in Great Britain or America. But as to wealth and political influence it has failed. Only about 19,000 negroes have emigrated from our country, but surrounding tribes have been added gradually to their territory, and the present population is estimated to number 1,068,000, of whom about 18,000 are Americo-Liberians. About 50,000 have learned the English language and 3,000 are Christians. The chief products are sugar, palm oil, cocoa, cotton, coffee, arrow-root, and rice.

THE ARGENTINE CONFEDERATION.

PILZEN, Neb.

Be so kind as to name the States composing the Argentine
Confederation, their areas and population, and a few of the chief
facts as to the government and condition of the country.

VESPER.

_Answer._—The Argentine Confederation is composed of a group of fourteen States or Provinces, and four Territories, whose population, according to the census of 1869, and estimated areas are as follows:

Provinces— Areas. Population.

Buenos Ayres, on the coast 63,000 495,107
Santa Fe, on the coast 18,000 89,218
Entre Rios, on the coast 45,000 134,235
Corrientes, on the coast 54,000 129,023
Rioja, Andes 31,500 48,746
Catamarca, Andes 31,500 79,962
San Juan, Andes 29,700 60,319
Mendoza, Andes 54,000 65,413
Cordova, Central 54,000 210,508
San Luis, Central 18,000 53,294
Santiago del Estero, Central 31,500 132,898
Tucuman, Central 13,500 108,904
Salta, Northern 45,000 88,933
Jujuy, Northern 27,000 40,362
—————— —————————
Total 515,700 1,736,922

Territories—

Gran Chaco 125,612 45,291
Missiones (1879) 23,932 32,472
Pampas 191,842 21,000
Patagonia 347,400 24,000
——————— ———————
Total 688,796 122,763

This shows a total population in 1869 of 1,859,685. The present population is believed to be over 2,500,000. By the treaty of 1881 between the Argentine Confederation and Chili, the latter concedes to the former all the territory east of the crest of the eastern ridge of the Andes, including a small part of Terra del Fuego, and the greater part of Patagonia. The form of government is republican. The President is elected for six years by an electoral college, composed of 133 representatives chosen by the several states. The National Congress is composed of a Senate of twenty-eight members, two from each state, or province, and a house of fifty members, apportioned according to population. There are five ministers, viz.: The Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the Interior, Finance, War, and Education. Each of the provinces has a governor and legislature elected by a popular vote. A large part of this vast country consists of rich, alluvial plains, called pampas, similar to the prairies of this country, with a soil four or five feet thick, formed for the most part, like our prairie soil, by the decay of luxurious vegetation. Immense herds of cattle and sheep are raised on these grand prairies, furnishing the principal exports, hides, tallow, wool, and canned meats. In 1881 the horned cattle were estimated at 18,000,000 head, and the sheep at 100,000,000. The exports of the country amounted to $56,497,423, and the imports to $54,029,545. Most of this trade is between Buenos Ayres—the capital, having a population of about 200,000, and European, chiefly English, ports. Twelve lines of steamers run to Europe, making the trip in an average period of twenty-nine days. The revenue for 1881 was $24,349,450, derived almost wholly from import and export dues. The expenditures amounted to $26,747,480, and the national debt has grown to $107,681,639, a considerable part of which is represented by recent public improvements: railways, bridges, roads, etc. There are now about 1,600 miles of railway and 10,000 miles of telegraph in the country. The laws recognize no difference between natives and foreigners, and of late foreign immigration, mostly from Spain and Italy, has been flowing in at a steadily increasing rate, amounting now to about 50,000 per annum.

THE OLD CALIFORNIA MAIL.

CHICAGO, Ill.

By what route was the first California and Oregon mail, via the
Isthmus, carried; where was it first opened; what was the postage
on letters: and what was the distance run?

JOHN ALBRIGHT.

_Answer._—On the 1st day of December, 1848, the Falcon sailed from New York to Chagres, stopping at Havana en route, and carrying the first regularly established United States mail via the Isthmus. From Chagres it was carried up the Chagres River, thence overland to Panama, where it was taken by the California Steampacket Company’s vessels to San Francisco, Cal., and Astoria, Oregon. The distance between New York and Chagres, by this route, was given as 2,860 miles, and from New York to Astoria, 7,500 miles. The postage on letters between places in Oregon and California and places on the Atlantic was 40 cents for each half ounce, or fraction thereof; while local postage between offices in Oregon and California was 12½ cents per single letter.

MEASURING HAY.

WHITE LAKE, D. T.

How many cubic feet constitute a ton of hay, and what length of
time is required for it to settle sufficiently to make measurement
correct?

W. A. ROGERS.

_Answer._—Measuring is a very crude, unsatisfactory method of estimating the weight of hay. There are times, however, when it is impracticable to use the scales, and a close approximation to the true weight will answer all purposes. Then, by taking into consideration that fine, soft hay will pack more closely than a coarser, stiffer quality, that when cut early in the season it will become more solid than stiff, late-cut hay, that the degree of dryness when stacked will affect the weight, that the compactness of the lower part of a stack or lead is affected by the height, the time it has stood, or distance and kind of roads it has traveled over, it is quite possible for a person of ordinary experience and judgment to make an estimate of the quantity in a load or mow. It is estimated that, with all the above-mentioned conditions at an average, timothy, in stacks of ten feet high and upward, measures about 500 cubic feet to the ton; clear clover, between 600 and 700 cubic feet; new mown hay, about 675 cubic feet; fine hay, well settled, 450 to 500 cubic feet. To find the cubic feet in a circular stack, multiply the square of the circumference by four one-hundredths (.04) of the height. Below is given a set of rules for computing the number of cubic yards in a ton of hay in the field, stack, or load, which can be easily reduced to cubic feet by multiplying the result in cubic yards by 27:

1. The number of tons of meadow hay in windrows is the quotient of the product of the length, breadth, and height, in yards, divided by 25.

2. To find the number of tons of hay in a mow, divide the product of the length, height, and width by 15, if the stack be well packed. If shallow, and the hay recently stacked, divide by 18, and by any number from 15 to 18 according to the density of the stack. In square or long stacks the number of tons is the quotient of the product of the length of the base, the width, and half the height, in yards, divided by 15.

3. In loads the number of tons of hay is found by multiplying together the length, width, and height, in yards, and dividing the product by 20.

BRAVE BARCLAY’S BRAVE BRIDE.

CHICAGO, Ill.

The allusion to the British commander in the battle of Lake Erie, made last week in Our Curiosity Shop, when giving the fragment of the popular old song of the war of 1812, reminds me of an incident I have read which goes to show that Captain, afterward Commodore, Barclay, our defeated enemy, was not only a brave but a noble-minded man. He was sadly crippled in that battle, and having been previously engaged to marry a lady of rank and fortune in England, after his return to that country he sent a message to her by a mutual friend, saying that although his love for her was not abated, yet, as he was so badly mutilated, if she desired it, he would release her from her engagement. The noble lady replied “Tell Commodore Barclay that I will marry him if he has only body enough left to _hold the soul_.”

A READER.

DEFINITION OF LITERATURE.

WEYAUWEGA, Wis.

What is included under the term “Literature?” Is all prose
literature?

H. L. A.

_Answer._—It would be difficult to improve upon the definition of literature in Webster, quarto edition: “1. Learning; acquaintance with letters or books. 2. The collective body of literary productions, embracing the entire results of knowledge and fancy preserved in writing; also the whole body of writing upon a given subject, as the _literature_ of biblical literature, of chemistry, etc. 3. Belles-lettres, or the class of writings distinguished for beauty or style of expression—as poetry, essays, or history—in distinction from scientific treatises and works on positive knowledge.” Which of the above senses is intended must be judged from the subject and context. Webster further says: “Literature, in its widest sense, embraces all compositions, except those on the positive sciences, mathematics, etc. It is usually confined, however, to belles-lettres, or works of taste and sentiment, as poetry, eloquence, history, etc., excluding abstract discussions and mere erudition. A man of _literature_ is one who is versed in the belles-lettres; a man of _learning_ excels in what is taught in the schools, and has a wide extent of knowledge, especially in respect to the past; a man of _erudition_ is one who is skilled in the more recondite branches of learned inquiry.” The perspicuity of the above definitions leaves nothing obscure. Prose is the common language of men, in distinction from verse. All of literature that is not in verse may be classed as prose, but so may ordinary social and business correspondence, text-books of science, court records, State statutes, and city ordinances, and much else which is plainly excluded from literature by the definitions given above.

“OLD GRIMES.”

MARION, Ind.

Your correspondent, C. N. H., of Chicago, says: “For several years
I have seen notices, or sketches, of ‘Old Grimes,’ generally
without age, date, and other items to identify the real ‘Old
Grimes’ as I knew him. Ephraim Grimes was born about 1770, in
Connecticut.” C. N. H. further states, after giving something of
his history, that he finally “landed at Fort Covington, N. Y.,
where he remained, making shingles, until about 1834, when his son
came and took him to Connecticut.”

Now, I wish simply to say that I am sure that Ephraim “Grimes,”
born in 1770, and living and making shingles in 1834, was not, as
C. N. H. declares, the real “Old Grimes” about whom was composed
the song:

Old Grimes is dead, that good old soul.
We ne’er shall see him more;
He used to wear a long blue coat
All buttoned down before.

I heard this old song sung when I was a lad going to school, about
1825. So that if “Old Grimes” was dead in 1825 your correspondent
is mistaken in stating that he has seen and known the “real Old
Grimes.” Again, the real “Old Grimes” is said, in the rhyme, to be
a “good old soul;” but C. N. H. states that “Ephraim Grimes was a
dealer in counterfeit money, was convicted, imprisoned, and had the
tip of his right ear taken off and was banished the State.” Not a
very “good old soul,” was he?

H. H. H.

_Answer._—The article above referred to, as from “C. N. H.,” was not published in Our Curiosity Shop. Beyond doubt the subject of the rhyme quoted was not the Grimes who died in Connecticut in 1834. The original Grimes was first immortalized by the English poet Crabbe, who was born in 1754 and died in 1832. Grimes was the subject of one of his tales in rhyme. Later, the American poet Albert G. Greene, of Rhode Island, wrote the humorous ballad which has rendered “Old Grimes” familiar to every American boy and girl.

LORD CHANCELLOR AND CHIEF JUSTICE.

MATTOON, Ill.

What are the duties of the Lord Chancellor of England, and of the
Lord Chief Justice? Tell something of the courts over which they
preside.

READER.

_Answer._—The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain is the highest legal authority in the kingdom, the confidential adviser of the sovereign, and in rank precedes all except the members of the royal family and the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is a political officer, and one of the Cabinet, the President of the Supreme Court of Judicature, and also a member of the Privy Council, a Court of Appeal composed of the Lord Chancellor, the Judges of the High Court of Justice, and four other judges. He is created without writ or patent, by the simple delivery of the great seal, of which he becomes the keeper, and during his term of office he acts as prolocutor for the sovereign in Parliament.

The High Court has five divisions: The Queen’s Bench—the Supreme Court of Common Law—presided over by the Lord Chief Justice of England, assisted by four “puisne justices;” the Chancery, presided over by the Master of Rolls and three vice chancellors; the Common Pleas, by the Lord Chief Justice of Common Pleas, and four “puisne justices;” the Court of Exchequer, by the Lord Chief Baron and four “puisne barons;” the Court for Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty cases, by a president, judge, and admiralty advocate, Queen’s proctor, and admiralty proctor.

RIVERS, RAILROADS, AND MINES.

BERLIN, Neb.

Please to give the coal area, product of gold and silver, and
number of miles of river navigation and railroads in the United
States and in other countries.

PETER THOMAS.

_Answer._—The coal area of the world is distributed as follows, according to a late estimate made by the geologist Le Conte:

Square Miles.

United States 192,000
British America 18,000
Great Britain 12,000
Spain 4,000
France 2,000
Germany 1,800
Belgium 518
Rest of Europe 100,000
China 2,000
Japan 5,000

The estimated production of gold and silver from 1800 to 1880 is, according to “The West in 1880,” as follows:

U.S. $1,780,000,000
Australia 1,260,000,000
Spanish A $900,000,000
Other coun’ts 330,000,000

The railroads of the world were distributed thus in 1880:

Square Miles.

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.