although opposed by the Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson, and
by Edmund Randolph, the Attorney General, on the ground of its
unconstitutionality, was approved by President Washington, July
25, 1791. The bank was organized at Philadelphia. The different
clauses declared that the capital should be $10,000,000, which
should be divided into 25,000 shares of $400 each; that any person,
copartnership or body politic might subscribe for any number of
shares not exceeding 1,000—only the United States could subscribe
for more than this number of shares; that, with the exception of
the United States, the subscriptions should be payable one-fourth
in gold and silver, and the remaining three-fourths in certain 6
per cent bonds of the United States; that the subscribers should
be incorporated under the name of “The President, Directors, and
company of the Bank of the United States,” and the organization
should continue until March 4, 1811; that the bank could hold
property of all kinds, inclusive of its capital, to the amount of
$15,000,000; that twenty-five directors should be chosen, who in
turn should choose from their number a President; that as soon as
$400,000 in gold and silver was received on subscription the bank
could organize, after giving a notice of its intention. The general
effect of this institution was very salutary. The credit of the
United States became firmly established. The bank notes stood at par
with gold and silver. The large deposits made the money available
for the use of the Treasury, and the State bank currency, which had
flooded the country, with no prospects of redemption, was greatly
reduced. But with all its recognized advantages the act to re-charter
was defeated in 1811, by the casting vote of the Vice President,
George Clinton. Its loss, however, was immediately felt in the sudden
and rapid increase of the currency of the State banks. To ward off
an impending crisis, the second bank was established by an act
approved by President Madison, April 10, 1816, at Philadelphia. A
capital of $35,000,000 was required, which was to be equally divided
into 350,000 shares, of which the United States took 70,000. The
charter extended to March 3, 1836. It was prohibited from lending on
account of the United States more than $500,000, or to any prince or
foreign power any sum whatever, without the sanction of law first
obtained. The bank was also prohibited from issuing bills of less
denomination than $5. In time, to facilitate business, branch offices
were established in every State. In December, 1829, however, the
bank met strenuous opposition in the message of President Jackson,
who argued, like Jefferson, against the constitutionality of its
charter. When Congress, in 1832, passed a bill to re-charter the
institution, Jackson imposed his veto, and soon after removed from
the bank the United States’ deposits. The bank corporation, however,
continued to exist, hoping that succeeding elections would change the
complexion of affairs before their charter expired; but in this they
were disappointed. In 1836 the charter terminated, and a few months
afterward the business interests of the country were overwhelmed in a
most disastrous financial revulsion.
JAMES FENIMORE COOPER.
PERRYVILLE, Ind.
Give a short biography of James Fenimore Cooper.
C. A. MOODY.
_Answer._—J. Fenimore Cooper, the pioneer of American novelists,
was born in Burlington, N. J., Sept. 15, 1789. Reared in the wild
country surrounding Otsego Lake, he early became acquainted with the
natural scenery which he afterward so vividly described. His father,
who was a member of Congress, sent him when but 13 to Yale College,
where he remained two years. At the age of 16 he joined the United
States navy, and made two extended cruises, which gave him all the
information he desired concerning the sea. Resigning, he married, and
settled at Westchester, N. Y., where he began to write his novels.
The first, “Precaution,” appeared in 1819, and from that time he
continued to write until his death, in 1851. In 1826 he visited
Europe, returning in 1833. The novels of Cooper are considered
remarkable for their descriptions; but in the general finish of
his stories he has many superiors. His histories, while they are
fascinating in interest, are not considered altogether reliable. His
principal works are “The Pioneers,” “The Spy,” “The Pilot,” “The
Prairie,” “Naval History of the United States,” and “The Pathfinder.”
MACKINAC.
BRIMFIELD, Ind.
Please give a short history of Mackinac Island.
D. D. POITNER.
_Answer._—The island of Mackinac, famed in Indian legends and the
early French and English history of the West, was first visited by
white men in 1634, when John Nicollet and a few Hurons and French
voyageurs came to Green Bay to make a treaty with the Indians of
that region. In 1670 that devout Jesuit missionary, Jean Marquette,
lived on this island for about two years while building a chapel
and dwelling on a point opposite on the site of the present
Mackinac City. While here he wrote the following description:
“Missili-Mackinac is an island, famous in these regions. It is of
more than a league in diameter, and elevated in some places into
such high cliffs as to be seen more than twelve leagues off. It is
situated just in the strait forming the communication between Lakes
Huron and Illinois (Michigan). It is the key and, as it were, the
gate for all the tribes from the south.” “This place is the most
noted in these regions for the abundance of its fisheries; for,
according to the Indian saying, this is the home of the fishes.”
The history of this gem of the lakes is intertwined with that of
the old Mackinac town. This ancient village was for many centuries
the headquarters of the Ottawa, Objibwa, and other Indian nations,
and when Marquette succeeded in winning their friendship and in
constructing his chapel, it became the great trading post of the
French-Canadians. Soon a fort was constructed, and the white
foreigners lived here and traded in peace. But when in 1759 Quebec
was taken by the English, Mackinac fell to the conquerors. These
new masters were very unpopular with the suspicious inhabitants,
who soon found an opportunity to avenge their previous wrongs and
defeats by a complete massacre of the garrison. In order to retain
a post in that locality and prevent a repetition of such slaughter,
the English constructed in 1780 a fort on the island, which in 1793
was surrendered to the United States. In the war of 1812 it was
surprised before its garrison was aware of the declaration of war and
surrendered to the English besiegers. Upon the close of the struggle
it was returned to the jurisdiction of the United States. For many
years the island was the outfitting and furnishing place of John
Jacob Astors’ Indian traffic, under the name of the Northwestern Fur
Company, but when that gentleman sold out in 1834 to Ramsey Crooks,
of New York, the trade of the post gradually decreased. The island
is one of the most beautiful localities, in its natural scenery and
surroundings, of which our country can boast. The clear water, the
imposing rocks, and the old fort, all add luster to its many charms.
One of its chief natural attractions is Arch Rock, which, projecting
from the precipice on the northeastern side of the island, forms
a natural bridge 140 feet in height. The bridge, the Indians say,
was constructed by the giant fairies, who formerly made the island
their abode, but the unpoetical scientist declares that at one time
the water was much higher than in this age, and that its continuous
action wore away the calcareous rock, and left this arch.
METALS AND THEIR USES.
WALL LAKE, Iowa.
How many kinds of metals are there? For what are they used; where
found?
LAURA.
_Answer._—There is a difference of opinion among practical chemists
as to the number of existing metals. Professor Youmans affirms that
there are at least fifty simple metals, nearly one-half of which are
of little importance. Other scientists make the number considerably
less. The greater number of metals are rarely or never found in
nature in a simple state. They exist in compound forms, and are
useful only in such conditions. For example, sodium, the basis of
our common salt, cannot be exposed to any moisture, and therefore in
its simple state is comparatively useless. Aluminum, as it is found
in the ordinary clay, or the alum of commerce, is of great utility,
but when separated from its associated elements its use is confined
almost exclusively to the laboratory. Of the more important metals
iron is the king. In its production Great Britain leads the world.
From her furnaces and mills in 1879 were taken 5,995,337 tons of
cast and pig iron, and 1,344,297 tons of steel, a ton consisting of
2,240 lbs. During the same year the United States produced 2,741,853
tons of iron, and 1,440,121 tons of steel; Germany, 2,161,192 tons
of iron and 800,000 tons of steel, and France, 1,344,759 tons of
iron and 561,691 tons of steel. Of the production in the United
States, Pennsylvania furnaces yielded about one-half, and those of
Ohio about one-seventh. Copper has been in use from early times.
Often among the bones of primitive man are found utensils beaten
out of this malleable metal. At present it is mined extensively in
Wales, Germany, Australia, Upper Michigan, Northern Wisconsin and
Minnesota, and to a small degree in various other localities. Tin
is found either as rock-tin, in veins with rock and other ores,
or as stream-tin in alluvial deposits. The principal mines are in
Cornwall, Germany, Hungary, Bohemia, Mexico and China. Not only is
it used in the manufacture of tin-plate, but also in the composition
of various valuable alloys. Zinc, in the form of a carbonate or
selicate, is obtained from mines in Silesia and Belgium, and also
in small quantities in Wales, France, and this country. Like tin,
it is used in the composition of various alloys, as well as in the
ordinary form of zinc plate. Until a recent date, the value of
nickel was not known. The Germans, who, out of derision, gave it its
name, were accustomed to cast it aside as a spurious or base copper.
The mines of Germany and Wales produce nearly the entire amount,
although a little has been obtained from mines in Pennsylvania. Its
use is mainly confined to its alloys, such as German silver, white
metal, and a few minor coins. Platinum, which, owing to its high
fusive point and its lack of affinity for acids is peculiarly adapted
for the manufacture of chemical vessels, is found in Brazil, and
also in Russia. In the production of gold the United States leads
all other countries. The yield of our gold mines in 1881 was valued
at $36,500,000, while the total yield from 1845 to 1880 amounted to
$1,523,678,301. Between the years 1493 and 1875 Austria produced in
gold $889,963,800, New Granada $596,501,675, and Russia $590,629,944.
The silver of the world for the last four centuries has been
produced mainly in Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia. Since the discovery of
America Mexican mines have yielded over $2,600,280,659; Peruvian,
$1,065,357,084; and Bolivian, $1,286,999,947. The mines of the United
States have yielded since their first discovery about $540,000,000.
Mercury is obtained either in the fluid state, inclosed in the rocky
receptacles of the earth, or is derived by roasting its sulphate.
In Southern California and Mexico, and also in Austria and Spain,
productive mines are worked. It is valuable in the construction of
thermometers, barometers, pendulums, etc., manufactures, and also in
refining metals by amalgamation.
A SHORT HISTORY OF SUFFRAGE.
WOODLAWN, Mo.
Please give a brief history of the right of suffrage in this
country.
READER.
_Answer._—The history of suffrage has been a record of progress and
extension. The most limited form is observed in the first election
of the Virginia colony in 1607, and the most extensive to-day is in
Wyoming Territory. By the charter granted to the Virginia Company
the members of a council of settlers, chosen by a higher council
resident in England, were privileged to choose annually a President
from their own number. In accordance with this the first right of
suffrage that existed in any permanent American colony was exercised
by six members of the council, who, in May, 1607, chose Edward Maria
Wingfield as the first President. In 1619 the different towns of
Virginia elected, by general suffrage, twenty-two burgesses, who,
assembling at Jamestown, constituted the first legislative body
convened in America. In the following year, a few hundred miles
north, the Plymouth Fathers gathered on the deck of the Mayflower,
and exercised a still more extended right of suffrage in the choice
of John Carver as the first Governor of the colony. These privileges
continued, with only a few changes in Virginia, until the American
revolution, excepting that eighteen years after the election of
Carver, in Massachusetts, their mass assemblies were deemed too
large, and a representative government was established. Although
democratic in principle, a few laws passed by the New England
colonists restricted the privilege of suffrage. No person who had not
become a freeman by taking the oath of allegiance was permitted to
vote. No man, according to a law of 1631, was admitted to the freedom
of the body politic who was not a member of some of the churches
within the limits of the same. No Quaker was permitted to become a
freeman. The two latter restrictions, however, were soon removed. The
power of the people was greatly increased through the results of the
revolution, yet in several of the original thirteen States the right
of suffrage was restricted to property-holders or rate-payers, and
otherwise limited for periods extending in some cases through one or
more decades of the present century. The tendency was constantly to
the wide limits of manhood suffrage, which was then prevailing rule,
but only as regards white citizens, until the fifteenth amendment
in March, 1870, extended the same right to colored citizens. The
present movement toward the extension of the right to women has
been successful in Wyoming Territory and to a certain extent in
Massachusetts, which permits women to vote for members of the Board
of Education. The agitation, also, of the educational qualification
of electors has resulted in late years in a slight limitation of the
right of suffrage in a few of the States, notably Massachusetts.
ELIZA COOK.
OHIO.
Please give a short sketch of Eliza Cook, the English poetess.
MRS. RANKIN.
_Answer._—Eliza Cook, who is now residing in the village of Merton
in Surrey, England, was born in Southwark in 1817. In early life she
established a considerable reputation through the poems which she
contributed to several of the leading magazines of London. In 1840
these poems were collected and with others published in one volume,
since which time she has issued several editions of her lyrics that
are read with as much interest in our country as in England. In 1849
she published a magazine entitled _Eliza Cook’s Journal_, which
was quite successful for many years. Although the effects of age
are beginning to be noticeable, she still contributes to various
magazines.
A HISTORY OF OUR FLAG.
MILTON, Ind.
Please give a history of our National flag.
HARRY WOODARD.
_Answer._—In June, 1777, a committee having been appointed by
Congress to confer with General Washington concerning a design for
a National flag, reported in favor of a flag containing thirteen
stripes, alternately red and white, and a blue field adorned with
thirteen white stars. This was adopted June 14, and the design was
carried to the upholstering shop of Mrs. Ross, No. 239 Arch street,
Philadelphia, where the first National flag was made. The original
design required six-pointed stars, but, upon Mrs. Ross’ suggestion
that five-pointed stars would be more symmetrical, the pattern was
changed. This lady was afterward given the position of manufacturer
of government flags, which occupation upon her death was retained
by her children. The stars and stripes were first unfurled at the
battle of Saratoga upon the occasion of the surrender of Burgoyne.
By an act of Congress, Jan. 13, 1794, the design was changed so as
to incorporate fifteen stripes and fifteen stars, and one star was
to be added for every subsequent State admitted. This, however,
was repealed in 1818, when the original number of stripes were
established, the stars continuing to increase as new States were
admitted. In designing a flag the field should be one-third the
length and cover the width of seven stripes. Of the colors, red
represents courage, white, integrity, and blue steadfastness, faith
and love.
INDIA, BROWN, AND YELLOW INKS.
BLACKBERRY STATION, Ill.
Please give a recipe for making India ink, also recipes for making
yellow and brown inks.
ELMER WEYANT.
_Answer._—Pure India ink, or sepia, is made only in China, but a good
imitation and common substitute is made as follows: Ivory black,
ground to an impalpable powder, is made into a paste with weak gum
arabic water, perfumed with a few drops of essence of musk and half
as much essence of ambergris. This is pressed into cakes, ready for
use. Brown ink may be made with a strong decoction of catechu. The
shade can be varied by cautiously adding a little weak solution
of bichromate of potash. A yellow ink may be made with a strong
decoction of yellow dyeing ingredient with alum and gum arabic.
ONE OF OUR NEW BRIGADIER GENERAL.
CHICAGO.
Please give a short sketch of General Mackenzie, lately appointed
Brigadier General in the regular army.
M. J. FOREMAN.
_Answer._—Ranal S. Mackenzie was born in New York in August, 1840.
Graduating from West Point in 1862, he was made Second Lieutenant
of Engineers. He immediately entered active service in the Ninth
Corps, and was wounded at the second battle of Bull Run. When Lee,
in 1863, advanced into Maryland, Mackenzie was very busily employed
in constructing bridges for the Union forces which followed in the
rear of the rebel army. He took part in the various battles of the
Army of the Potomac in Maryland and in West Virginia, and in May,
1864, had charge of a company before Richmond. He passed through the
battle of the Wilderness, and in June was wounded before Petersburg.
For his gallantry he was appointed Brigadier General of Volunteers.
Resuming the command of his company, he continued his efforts against
Petersburg. At the battle of Five Forks he commanded a division of
cavalry with so much skill that he was brevetted Major General. After
the close of the war he retained the command of a company in his old
corps. In March, 1867, he was promoted to the Colonelcy, and in 1870
he was transferred to the cavalry and sent to the Mexican frontier.
In quelling the depredations on the Texas border and in putting down
the Indian insurrections in New Mexico and Arizona he has since
displayed considerable military ability. Previous to his present
promotion he had charge of the army in New Mexico, Santa Fe being his
headquarters.
SOUND AND SENSE.
WYOMING, Ill.
Can sound be produced with no ear to hear?
WILLIAM E. WHITE.
_Answer._—The word sound is used in different senses. In the sense
defined in the first definition given by Webster and Worcester, the
answer to your question is “no;” but in the sense of his second
definition, it is “yes.” This second definition, as given in the
last edition of his Unabridged Dictionary, is as follows: “Sound—The
occasion of sound: the impulse or vibration which would occasion
sound to a percipient if present with unimpaired organs.” This use
of the word is strikingly illustrated in the expression “inaudible
sounds,” i.e., such as can only be heard by the help of instruments.
GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE.
MONTICELLO, Ill.
Please give a biographical sketch of the late rebel General, Robert
E. Lee.
JACOB A. RHOADS.
_Answer._—The Commander-in-chief of the rebel forces was born at
Westmoreland, Va., Jan. 19, 1807. At the age of 18 he entered
West Point, from which he graduated, the second in his class, in
1829. Receiving an appointment of Second Lieutenant in the Corps
of Engineers, he spent his time at various places, engaged in the
government surveys, until the breaking out of the Mexican war. During
the greater portion of the war he served under General Scott, who
considered him a very capable officer. For his excellent services he
was brevetted major, then lieutenant colonel, and soon afterwards he
was made colonel. At Chapultepec, he was wounded, but not seriously
enough to prevent his entering the City of Mexico. After the war he
was engaged on the Atlantic coast until his appointment in 1852 to
the superintendency of the Military Academy. In 1855 he was made
Lieutenant Colonel of the Second Cavalry, and was transferred to the
Texas border. While on leave of absence in Washington in 1859, he was
placed in charge of the troops which quelled the raid at Harper’s
Ferry. In March, 1861, he was made colonel, but when he learned of
Virginia’s secession he resigned and accepted an appointment in the
insurrectionary forces of his native State. Repairing to Richmond he
was made commander-in-chief of the forces of Virginia, with the title
of Major General. Soon after, by an act of the Confederate Congress,
he was made third in rank of the entire rebel forces, Samuel Cooper
and A. S. Johnston being his superiors. Because of his inactivity
before Rosecrans he was transferred in December to North and South
Carolina, where he remained until March, 1862, when he returned to
accept the position of commander-in-chief of all the Confederate
forces. In June he defeated McClellan and began his northward march,
routing the forces of Pope and invading the State of Maryland. The
bloody battle of Antietam was claimed as a victory by both sides,
but Lee thought best immediately to retire into Virginia. Until his
next invasion and defeat at Gettysburg in July, 1863, he remained on
the defensive. His subsequent retreat, his generalship in the battle
of the Wilderness and other engagements following it disclosed great
tact and prudence. The ability which he displayed in the defense of
Richmond excites the admiration of every impartial reader of history,
and does great credit to his military genius. This genius was more
than matched at last by that of General Grant, sustained by the
greater resources of the North, and he was compelled to surrender his
sword at Appomattox Court House. Subsequently he became President of
Washington and Lee College, located at Lexington, Va., where he died
Oct. 12, 1870.
VARIATIONS OF THE COMPASS.
KENSETT, Iowa.
It is said that the companions of Christopher Columbus were greatly
alarmed when the variations of the compass was first remarked.
Please explain why the needle of a compass points north, and also
give the amount of its variation for different places.
C. E. LOCKE.
_Answer._—Why the magnetic needle points northward is not positively
determined. There are several theories but none of them explain
all the phenomena of the needle. That which perplexes scientists
most is that in every place the needle is subject to variations. By
observations at Paris it was found that in 1681 the magnetic needle
varied 2 deg. 30 min. to the west, in 1865 18 deg. 44 min. to the
west. At London between 1580 and 1692 the needle varied from 10 deg.
15 min. E. to 6 deg. W. In Dakota Territory the average variation is
12 deg. 30 min. east, in Minnesota 11 deg. east, while in Montana
it is 20 deg. east. S. V. Clevenger, United States Deputy Surveyor,
says in a work on government surveys: “The needle does not point due
north, except in a few localities, and at no place does it continue
to point with a given angular distance from the north, for any stated
length of time. It changes secularly, annually, diurnally, and
hourly, and is further subject to fluctuations reducible to no method
of tabulation. In the vicinity of iron in any shape, or magnetic
sands, the needle is deflected toward the material attracting it.
This perturbation is known as local attraction. The author has known
the needle to vary 5 deg. in a distance of one mile, and 1 deg. 30
min. during two hours when stationed at one place.” The variation in
the magnetic needle of Columbus’ compass was probably caused by some
local attraction of which he knew nothing.
DISCOURAGEMENTS TO ANTARCTIC EXPLORATIONS.
PALESTINE, Ind.
Why is the north pole the object of more research than the south
pole?
SUBSCRIBER.
_Answer._—Soon after the discovery of America European navigators
began to search the arctic zone for a passage to Asiatic countries
which would be less dangerous and circuitous than that usually
traveled. Although the object of polar expeditions has changed
somewhat, yet one of the reasons which actuated them influences the
explorers of the present time. The nearness of this pole has rendered
it of greater interest than its southern counterpart. Expeditions
are fitted out more easily for the shorter voyage. Relief can be
procured with less delay. Other reasons are that from the closer
neighborhood of the continents, and from the action of the Gulf
Stream on the one side and the Japan current on the other, and from
the fact that the earth is in perihelion during the winter season of
the Northern hemisphere, and in aphelion during the winter of the
Southern hemisphere, the Arctic Sea is more free from ice, which
in the Antarctic region is an impregnable barrier in the way of
discovery.
WAGES IN ENGLAND AND AMERICA.
OSKALOOSA, Iowa.
Give a comparison of the wages of the United States with those of
England.
O. P. L.
_Answer._—The following is a comparison of the wages paid per week in
Chicago and Great Britain to various artisans:
Chicago. Great Britain.
Bakers $8.00 to $12.00 $6.50 to $6.60
Blacksmiths 9.00 to 12.00 7.04 to 8.12
Bookbinders 9.00 to 20.00 6.50 to 7.83
Bricklayers 6.00 to 10.50 7.58 to 9.63
Cabinetmakers 7.00 to 15.00 7.70 to 8.48
Carpenters 7.50 to 12.00 7.33 to 8.25
Farm laborers 3.40 to 4.25
Laborers, porters, etc 5.50 to 9.00 4.50 to 5.00
Painters 6.00 to 12.00 7.25 to 8.16
Plasterers 9.00 to 15.00 7.68 to 10.13
Plumbers 12.00 to 20.00 7.13 to 8.46
Printers 12.00 to 18.00 7.52 to 7.75
Shoemakers 9.00 to 18.00 7.35
Tailors 6.00 to 18.00 5.00 to 7.30
Tinsmiths 9.00 to 12.00 6.00 to 7.30
THE BANKERS’ CLEARING HOUSE, LONDON.
DAVENPORT, Iowa.