necting the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. From both of these seas does it derive its water supply; and the fact that the two seas are nearly on the same level, and the rise of the tide very small, allowed this construction to be adopted.

PERSONAL COLUMN-PREFERRED STOCKS.

RIDOLF, Stephenson Co., Ill., Jan. 20, 1880. 1. What is the charge for advertising in the "Personal" column of your weekly? 2. What is the proper form for an introduction to a preacher? 3. In your quotations of "stocks" what is the meaning of "pref.," placed after a stock previously quoted, and what is the cause of its price being greater? S.A.

Answer.-1. Personals inquiring for lost friends, or for addresses to be used in obtaining arrearage of pensions will be inserted for $1; other personals, 75 cents a line each insertion. 2. The same as to any other gentleman. 3. Preferred stock is stock which takes a dividend before other capital stock-called in England preferential stock. This fact makes it more valuable.

SENATOR MAHONE.

GARNAVILLO, Iowa, Jan. 21, 1880.. 1. Please give a biographical sketch of General William Mahone. the new Senator of Virginia. 2. When was John A. Logan born? A SUBSCRIBER.

Answer.-1. General William Mahone was born in Southampton, Virginia, 1827; graduated at the Virginia Military Institute 1847; devoted himself to civil engineering; was the contractor of the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad; took part in the capture of the Norfolk Navy Yard April 21, 1861; raised and commanded the Sixth Virginia Regiment; was engaged in most of the battles of the Peninsular campaign, those on the Rappahannock, and those around Petersburg, was appointed Brigadier General March, 1864; and Major General Aug. 12, 1864; commanded a division in Hill's Corps, and at Lee's surrender was in command at Bermuda Hundred. Since the war he has devoted himself to the development of Virginia railroads as President of several lines. 2, 1826.

A GOOD PASTE.

GRANTVILLE, Kan., Jan. 20, 1880. Please give me a recipe for making a good cheap paste for scrap-books; something that will not spoil easily.

Answer.-Four parts, by weight, of glue are allowed to soften in five parts of cold water for some hours, and then moderately heated until the solution becomes quite clear; sixty-five parts of boiling water are now added, with stirring. In another vessel thirty parts of starch paste are stirred up with twenty parts of cold water so that a thin milky fluid is obtained without lumps. Into this the boiled glue solution is poured with constant stirring, and the whole is kept at boiling temperature. After cooling, ten drops of carbolic acid are added to the paste.

GENERAL GARFIELD.

LOWDEN, Iowa, Jan. 17, 1880. Will you please answer through the news column the following: How old was General Garfield when he entered the war? Is he a graduate of West Point? What have been the public stations filled by him?

Answer.-Senator James A. Garfield was born in Orange, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Nov. 19, 1831; graduated at Williams College, Massachusetts, in 1856; was President of a literary institution for several years; studied and practiced law; was a member of the State Senate of Ohio in 1859-60; entered the Union army in 1861 as Colonel of the Forty-second Ohio Volunteers; was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, Jan. 10, 1862; was appointed Chief of Staff of the Army of the Cumberland, and was promoted to the rank of Major General, Sept.

20, 1863; was elected to the Thirty-eighth Congress and remained in Congress until elected to the Senate. He was, therefore, 30 years of age when he entered the army, and was not a graduate of West Point.

TOUCHING GRAMMAR.

CHICAGO, Jan. 24, 1880. Will you please correct fully the following sentence, if anyting is wrong with it: "Often touching will soil silver?" Please tell the reason of the correction you make? W. O. GOODSPEED. Answer.-Touching, in this sentence, is a participial noun, and hence should be qualified by an adjective. Often is an adverb. Better say "frequent touching," etc.

WOMEN VOTERS.

MORRIS, Ill., Dec. 15, 1879. In what States and Territories do women have the right to vote and hold office, and to what extent in each? J.D.BENNETT.

Answer.-The constitution of Kansas requires that the Legislature, in providing for the formation and regulation of schools, "shall make no distinction between the rights of males and females." Pennsylvania makes women 21 years of age eligible to any office of control or management under the school laws of the State." Minnesota authorizes the Legislature to confer the suffrage on women for school purposes and to make them eligible to school offices. Colorado secures to women the right to vote at school district elections and ellgibility to school district offices, and requires the Legislature to extend the entire suffrage to women at its first session, contingently upon the ratification of the enactment at the polls. The same procedure may at any subsequent time admit women to the polls. Before 1807 New Jersey admitted women with over £50 to the polls, but a legislative enactment of that year excluded. them from the scope of a provision of the constitution which conferred suffrage on "all inhabitants of full age who are worth £50." 2. Such patentee must conform with the local laws which govern peddlers and hawkers of the town, county, or city in which he does business.

THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION. INDIANOLA, Iowa, Jan 20, 1880. Did Abraham Lincoln issue more than one proclamation for the rebels to lay down their arms and retain their slaves? GEO. H. HUTT. Answer.-President Lincoln issued a proclamation Sept, 22, 1862, in which he declared that all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people thereof being in rebellion against the United States, on the first day of January, 1863, should be then and forever free. Accordingly, on Jan. 1, 1863, he issued his memorable proclamation, declaring the freedom of all slaves that were in the States that were then in insurrection against the Government of the United States, except such portions of States as were held by the Federal Government.

Will you please to inform me whether there has ever been a land grant to any railroad allowing them the privilege to take any lands other than the alternate section? H. VANBLARICOM. Answer.-Hardly any two land grants in aid of railroads have been alike. The first donation of this kind consisted of one-twentieth part of certain proceeds derived from the sale of land; then ninety feet of land, followed soon by onehalf of five sections per mile on each side; then by six sections; then by ten, and finally by

twenty sections per mile on each side of the road. The Union Pacific grant was "every altermate section of public land," designated by odd numbers, to the amount of five alternate sections per mile on each side of the road. In Willis Drummond's history of "Land Grants in Aid of Internal Improvements," we can find no account of such a privilege as you mention being accorded to any road. For additional interesting facts about land grants, see "Economic Picture," No. 3, published in THE DAILY INTER OCEAN, February 6.

BANKING IN THE UNITED STATES MAPLETON STATION, Blue Earth Co., Minn. Please inform us as to the amount of banking capital in the United States and general rate of interest. D. K. COOK. Answer.-The capital of the 2,056 national banks in operation June 29, 1878, was $470,393,366, not including surplus, which amounted to more than $118,000,000. The capital stock of all the State banks, private banks, and savings banks, was $205,382,832, which amount is considerably less than one-half that of the national banks. The net deposits of the national banks were $677,159,298, while the average deposits of all other banks and bankers, including savings banks, were $1,242,794,903. The average deposits for the same period, of 668 savings banks, having no capital stock, were $803,299,345. It will thus be seen that the total number of banks and bankers in the country at the date named was 6,456, with a total banking capital of $675,776,198, and a total of $1,919,954,201. The following table

shows by geographical divisions the ratio of capital and surplus of the dividends declared by all national banks during several years past:

Ratio of dividends to capital and surplus.

1870. 1872. 1874. 1876. 1878.

DIVISIONS.

8.3 7.9 7.5 6.2

United States. 84 The ratio to capital and surplus of the total net earnings of the national banks was, in 1876, 6.9 per cent; in 1877, 5.6 per cent; and in 1878, 5.1 per cent. According to Comptroller Knox, the belief, so widely prevalent, that the profits made by the national banks are excessive is in a great part due to the exceptionally large dividends paid by a few banks which are favorably located and have a large surplus, and which make large returns to their shareholders on the amount of their nominal capital.

INTERNAL TRANSPORTATION OF RUSSIA. BENSON, Ill., Jan. 10, 1880. Which way is the grain shipped from Russia to England? By way of the Baltic Sea, or by way of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean? WM. CHARNINGS.

Answer. The bulk of the grain is shipped from the ports on the Black Sea. Russia has greatly improved her railways and waterways. which aid greatly in bringing the grain from the interior to the Black Sea coast. Through the best part of Southern Russia waterways now compete against the railways, and, from the nature of the produce carried, must have the best of it. The Volga for Asiatic trade, and the Dneiper-navigable far into the heart of Russia

for the corn trade with Europe. These are the

true commercial arteries of the country, and, if supplemented by a large canal net-work, grain transportation will be facilitated and cheapened.

THE ARMED PEACE OF EUROPE.

MIRABILE, Caldwell Co., Mo., Jan. 5, 1880. 1. What is the present number of enlisted soldiers in Europe, including Russia and Persia, which lies in Asia; each Empire, Kingdom, and State separately; and the grand total should a general war break out? 2. What is the number of the Ute Indians whom General Sherman proposes to wipe from the face of the earth? ELIAS LANKFORD.

Answer.-A moment's reflection will show that it is impossible to answer your questions definitely. The United States has but a handful of soldiers, but, should a "war break out," we could soon put a million armed men into the field. From recent official statements we can say the European nations are now competing with each other in striving to turn as many as possible of their subjects into soldiers. In the event of a war, Russia should be able at a short notice to command the services of upward of two millions of soldiers, France of nearly a million and a half, Germany of above thirteen hundred thousand, and Austria of above a million. The following is a statement of the standing armies of the several countries at the close of 1879-exclusive of the last classes of reserve: Germany-Peace footing, 420,000; war footing, 1,300,000. France-Peace footing, 502,000; war footing, 1,340,000. Russia-Peace footing, 780,000; war footing, 2,190,000. Italy -Peace footing, 189,000; war footing, 335,000. Austria-Peace footing, 267,000; war footing, 771,000. The other nations mentioned are generally making similar preparations on a scale proportioned to their population. These enormous numbers of men, whom it is intended to prepare for war, are not as yet available for military service; perhaps they never may be so. 2. About 15,000.

LIFE OF GEORGE B. ARMSTRONG.

NEW ORLEANS, La., Jan. 20, 1880. We have been greatly interested in your valuable information scattered so widely. Can you inform us who first suggested the great change in the Postoffice Department that occurred, I think, about the year 1863, when the old mode existed of entering or registering letters, first, in a blank book or blotter, then copied on sheets, then on way-bills accompanying each letter or package, etc., of mail sent from each office, requiring tons upon tons of stationery. When was all this dispensed with, and at whose suggestion was it done? Did it not originate in the Chicago Postoffice, some time in the winter of 1863 or 1864; and had not a Mr. Armstrong, First Assistant under Mr. Scripps, something to do with it?Is he living, and where is he?

B. LEAS.

Answer.-The important change to which you refer was wrought by the late Colonel George B. Armstrong, who was Deputy Postmaster under Issac Cook, John L. Scripps, and Samuel Hoard, and afterward a member of the Postmaster General's Cabinet, as Chief of the Bureau of Railway Mail Service. Colonel Armstrong was undoubtedly one of the ablest postoffice men that the country has ever known. He made the economics of the service his constant and profound study, and to his intelligence and foresight is due a large number of the reforms which have gone far toward making the postal service of America the finest and most perfect in the world. It was he who improved the method of registering letters, which greatly simplified the work; but the crowning achievement of his was the successful conception and inauguration of the railway mail service, which was first placed upon the Northwestern Road from Chicago to Clinton, Iowa, in 1864, and after fighting his way over

career

numerous obstacles he had it placed upon every trunk railway line in the United States. This railway service is a perfectly planned system, and gives to the letter the same rapidity of transit which a passenger enjoys. Nearly one thousand men are employed in this bureau. Colonel Armstrong was appointed Postal Commissioner by Postmaster General Montgomery Blair to inspect the postal systems of the old world for the benefit of the American service. He died in Chicago May 5, 1871, after a lingering illness, of congestion of the brain, caused by overwork. A bronze statue, to perpetuate his memory and his work, is soon to be erected in the new government building in Chicago. Colonel Armstrong was born in Armagh, Ireland, and came to this country with his parents in his youth, and settled in Virginia. Prior to his entering the postal service, he and Rufus Hatch, the New York millionaire, were in partnership in the commission business in Chicago, but failed in the crisis of 1857.

CRIME-MURDERS OF 1879.

ADMAH, Neb., 1880. What is the number of persons arrested for crimes and misdemeanors in the United States annually? How does it compare with Great Britain? How many murderers were executed last year? E. J. HOGAN.

Answer.-England has a good system for collecting crime statistics, the United States has not. Crime in England has been gradually decreasing in the last twenty-five years. In 1834, no less than 22,451 were committed for trial in England; in 1841, 27,760; in 1873, 14,893; in 1876, 16,078. The following are the number of criminal offenders committed for trial and proportion to total population in England in each of the undermentioned years, with number of acquittals and convictions:

According to recent statistics there are now 29,197 convicts in the prisons of the United States; in 1870 there were 32,901. The total number of persons convicted during the year ending June, 1870, according to the census, was 36,562. In 1860, the census reports give 98,836 as the number of persons convicted of crime during that year. But these statistics (especially those of 1860) are in our opinion wholly unreliable. For example, Pennsylvania is returned with but 2,930 convictions during the year, while New York, with a population only a little larger and in much the same social and industrial condition,

was returned with 58,067, or nearly twenty times as many as Pennsylvania. We can, not believe human nature, with its opportunities and temptations, varies to that extent with two degrees of latitude. 2. The following is a complete list of the murderers executed in the United States last year: Jan. 10, Benjamin Hunter, at Camden, N. J., for the murder of James M. Armstrong. Two Indians hung for murder on Umatilla Reservation, Col. 14. James

the

McDowell and Charles Sharp, Mollie Maguires. hanged at Mauch Chunk, Pa., for the murder of George K. Smith. 29. William Merrick, at Indianapolis, for the murder of his wife; John Achey, at Indianapolis, for the murder of Leggett, a gambler. 30. Aps, an Indian, hung at Portland, Oregon, for the murder of George Coggins. Feb. 8. James Cook, at Dalas, Oregon, for the murder of George Craig. 13. Charles McGill, at Cleveland, Ohio, for the murder of Mary Kelly, his mistress. 14, John Edmunds, Smithfield, N. C., for the murder of K. J. Ballard, a preacher. 20. George Washington, colored, at Louisville, Ky., for the rape of a white girl 11 years of age; the girl afterward recovered. March 14. William H. Delvin, at Boston, for murder of his wife and child; Henry Grovelin, at Windsor, Vt., for the murder of Herbert White; J. V. Pinkham, at Concord, N. H., for the murder of Mrs. Merriain Berry: Victor Nunez, a Mexican, at Pueblo, Col.; Ah Bees, a Chinaman, at Marysville, Cal., for the murder of John McDaniels; Eugene L. Avery and James Johnson, at Portland, Oregon, for murder

Hoyt,

of Louis Joseph. 22. Edward of Bridgeport, Mass., for the murder of his father. 25. Patrick Smith and Julius Christian, colored, New Kent, Va., for the murder of John C. Lacey. 28. Knox Martin, colored, Nashville, Tenn., for the murder of Mr. and Mrs. Wittemeyer. April 3, Walter Watson, Newport, Ind., for murder of Ezra Compton. 10. John P. Phair, Windsor, Vt., murder of Mrs. Ann E. Frieze. 17. Hezekiah Schaffer, Chambersburg, Pa., for the murder of his wife. 25. Charles Rash, colored, Tuscumbia, Ala., for the murder of his wife. 26. S. D. Richards, Minden, Neb., for the murder of Peter Anderson. May 2. E. Bradley, colored, Beyon, Tex., for the murder of a negro named Pollocks. 5. Kat Kos, a Chilcat Indian, at Portland, Oregon, for the murder of Mrs. J. Brown. 9. Richard Lee, at Fayetteville, N. C., for burglary. Tom Jones and Henry McLeed, colored, Affling, Ga.; Jones murdered his mistress, McLeed his son. 16. John J. West, a tramp, at Booneville, Mo., for murder of Frank Shinn, a fellow tramp. Alonzo Davis and Henry Andrews, white, and Lewis Carlton, colored, at Hillsboro. N. C., for burglary. Robert Cheney, at Iberville, La., for the rape of Amelia Voegt. Orlando Cassler, at Seward, Neb., for the murder of G. L. Manuel. 23. "Indian Jack," Shasta, Cal., for the murder of a Chinaman, simply for the fun of the thing. A. W. Ford, Lake Charles, La., for the murder of Dr. Joseph Bozer. Shelly, hanged at Black: Shea's, Ga., for the murder of his wife. 29. Troy Dye, ex-Public Administrator, and Edward Anderson, Sacramento, Cal., for the murder of A. M.. Tullis. June 5. Peter Swingler, colored, Chambersburg, Pa.. for the murder of John Anderson, 6. John Bland, St. Charles, Mo., for the murder of his brother-in-law, Elijah Warren. Felix McCann, Norwich, N. Y., for the murder of James Morris Hatch. 13. Jesse Davis, colored, Johnson County. N. C., for rape. 20. Edward Foy, colored, Bradford County, N. C., for rape. 25. Robt. Jones, colored, at Tarboro, N.C., for the killing of Rudolph Eaton. 27. Henry Taylor, colored, Forest City, Ark., for rape. July 3. Nimrod Spattenhuber, at Lebanon, Pa., for the murder of John Evison. 7. Jose Cordova. San Antonio, Texas, for the

murder of Robert Trimble. 9. Frank Davidson, Warren Spring, Mo., for the murder of William Haggerty. 10. J. B. Brizzell, Concord, N. H., for the murder of Susan A. Hanson. 11. John Williams and Winter Payne, both colored, at Warrenton, Pa., for the murder of Mr. Holtz Clow and James Adams. Andrew Joy, colored, at Greenville, Miss., for the killing of Sarah Clement. John Davis, colored, at Smithville, N. C., for the murder of Henry McDuffey. 25. Henry Miller, Johnsonville, Miss., for the murder of Henry Murphy. Aug. 8. Jacques Handline, at San Antonio, Texas, for the murder of Peter Maddox. 15. Bob McCorkle, colored, Taylorsville, N. C., for killing F. W. Wykoff. 29. Hilan Latrimonille, at Albany, N. Y., for the murder of Caroline Dumsbach. 29. Charles Harris, at Montague, Texas, for the murder of his brother. Henry Stewart and William Elliott, at Fort Smith, Ark.; Stewart murdered Dr. J. B. Jones, and Elliott shot David Brown. Thomas P. Brownson, executed at Ashboro, N. C., for poisoning his wife. Sept. 12. At Batesville, R. N. Lancaster for the murder of T. J. Johnson. An Indian, named Packett, at Halletsville, Cal., for the killing of French Edwards. Charles Gloss, colored, Cairo, Ill., for the murder of Carter Newman. 26. Anthony Blair, colored, at Morristown, Tenn., for the murder of his step-daughter. Marcus A. Whitely, at Pocahontas, Ark., for the murder of -Duke Summer. Oct. 2. Salradu, an Indian, hanged at San Rafael, Cal., for the murder of Paul Rieger. 3. Jo Kemp, Evening Shade, Ark., for the murder of Marion Hulsey. 13. Lachette, an Indian, at New Westminster, Cal., for the murder of a Chinaman. 14. Neill W. Blair, at Charleston, S. C., for the murder of Will1am Anderson. 31. Bob Boswell, colored, Hillsboro, N. C., for the murder of his wife and children. Nov. 6. William Davis, at Lockhart, Texas, for the murder of Dolly Hudsgeth. 13. Lewis Wettel, at Sherman, Texsa, for murder of J. A. Bremur. 14. Charles Drew and Frank Stickler, hanged at Lebanon, Pa., for the murder of Joseph Raber; Myron A. Buell, at Cooperstown, N. Y., for the murder of Kate Richards; Jordon Sheats (colored), at Davidsville, Ga., for killing Ledbetter. 21. George and Andrew Brown, hanged at Denton, Texas,for murdering "Doc" McLain; Edward Holmes (colored), at Union, S. C., for raping a 3year-old girl; George Garvey, at Beaufort, N. C., for the murder of a colored man named Brown. 28. At Laredo, Texas, Caemgio Matti, a Mexican, for the murder of his wife; Asa Magoon, hanged in the Vermont Penitentiary for killing Rufus Streeter; Loban Walker, at Wayne, W. Va., for the murder of Pat Nolan. Dec. 4. Andrew Tracy, at Smithport, Pa., for the murder of his cousin, Mary Riley. 5. Medford Waters (colored), at Elkhart, Ind., for murder of Jenkins Whaley. 19. Drew Holloway (colored), at Statesboro, Ga., for the murder of Benson Brown; Frank Baker (colored), at Sussex, Va., for the murder of Henrietta Shends and her child; John Dean, at Esterville, Pa., for the murder of Henry Fugati.

OLD POSTAGE STAMPS.

ATKINSON, Ill., Jan. 29, 1880. May a small girl of 10 venture to ask you a question which I know will interest many readers? For what purpose are so many persons collecting old postage stamps.. VERDANT.

Answer.-This question has puzzled us for some time, and though we once wrote to the Post

office Department for a solution, we have failed so far to get one. The following is one explanation, but it should be taken with considerable allowance: "It is said that postage-stamp collecting originated in India, where the missionaries are able to reclaim from the heartless Hindoo parents the little babies they are accustomed to sacrifice before their idols, by trading postage stamps for them. For some reason the barbarians covet these paper tokens, either to offer to their gods after the manner of the Chinese, or to decorate their huts. The fact becoming known in England, has worked a change in the economy of canceled stamps. There are charity schools in England to which admittance is gained by presenting a certain number of defaced stamps. All large counting-houses throughout the realm carefully preserve every envelope, and the junior clerks make it their business to soak off the Queen's heads and paste them on rolls of wall paper. They are presented to some worthy lad, who makes an exchange of them for learning."

HOMESTEADING QUESTION.

SMITH CENTER, Smith Co., Kan., Jan. 20, 1880. The homestead law gives each citizen of the United States 160 acres of government land. Now, if he takes forty or eighty acres, can he ever take any more, or does that exhaust his right? Please answer this, for there is a good many forty and eighty acre lots of gov ernment land here that would be taken, but people do not like to waste their right on that amount if they cannot finish out their 160 acres in the future. MANY CITIZENS.

Answer.-The above letter was sent to the Land Office at Washington, and we are indebted to that department for the following answer: "In reply to your letter received here on the 13th inst., I have to state that a qualified party under the homestead laws is entitled to enter according to their provisions 160 acres of the public lands of the United States, or a less quantity thereof, as he may elect. In any case, if the party elects to enter a less quantity, he is bound by his election, and cannot thereafter claim the right to enter additional land to make up the maximum quantity under the homestead laws. His right to enter thereunder is exhausted in the one entry. Section 2,306 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, which allows additional entries for the benefit of soldiers and sailors of the late civil war who, prior to its adoption, had made homestead entries of less than 160 acres, and the acts of Congress of March 3, 1879, and July 1, 1879, which allow additional entries for the benefit of parties who, prior to the passage of the acts, were restricted by laws then existing to homestead entries of eighty acres of double minimum land within the limits of railroad and military road land grants, prescribe special rules for certain classes of cases therein defined, but do not affect the general rule above stated."

IMMIGRATION SINCE 1819.

ELKHART, Ind., Feb. 1, 1880, Will you please inform, through your "Curiosity Shop." as nearly as possible, the total number of immigrants from Europe to America since the discovery of America, or as far back as there are any statistics, with the number of Irish, Germans, English, French, ann other nationalities, and probable estimate of all others, including Africans? The idea is to find out, as nearly as possible, the extent of the relief Europe has experienced from population during the period referred to, and oblige A READER.

Answer.-We have no statistics of immigration dating back so far as the time of Columbus. In fact at that time there were no statistics, and few statisticians roamed over the gloomy solitudes of this continent. In the sixty-four years from 1815 to 1878, the total number of emigiants who left the United Kingdom for this