Education for 1880 the following statistics of schools in the United
States not under State control are given: One hundred and sixty-two
commercial and business colleges, generally self-supporting, and
unconnected with, or not dependent on, Christian or other benevolent
organizations or private benevolence. There were 232 kindergartens,
most of which were private schools and self-supporting. Such as were
charity schools, like the free kindergartens of certain cities, were
supported, for the most part, by Christian benevolence. There were
1,264 “schools of secondary instruction,” such as seminaries and
academies; 355 asylums for orphans, 142 theological schools, and
227 “institutions for the superior instruction of women.” Most of
all four classes of schools were and still are under the direction
of Roman Catholics, Protestants or Hebrews. Of the 364 universities
and colleges, only eighty are marked non-sectarian, and to these
institutions are attached nearly all the 310 theological, law, and
medical schools. There are forty-nine schools of science, (mining,
engineering, agriculture, etc.), endowed with the National land
grants, apportioned to the several States under act of 1862, the
States providing in nearly every instance the grounds, buildings,
apparatus, etc., and supplementing the income of the endowment
fund. Even many of these schools, such as Purdue University,
Indiana, Illinois Industrial University, and others, are indebted to
private individuals, or county and city subscriptions for handsome
contributions in money, lands, etc. Then there are thirty-five
schools and collegiate departments of science not endowed by
the National land grants or State grants, but almost wholly the
product of private benefactions, the benefactors in nearly all
cases being pronounced Christian philanthropists. The benefactions
to educational institutions of the United States, (mostly
denominational), in the years ending with 1880, amounted to about
$60,000,000.
If by “infidels,” you intend persons who disclaim all faith in
Christianity, then it is doubtful if any of the above institutions
were founded or are sustained to any degree worthy of mention, by
an infidel. Even Girard, the founder of Girard College was not an
out and out atheist or deist, though he was bitterly opposed to all
existing sects, and had a strong aversion to the clergy of every
denomination.
GENERAL E. R. S. CANBY.
ANN ARBOR, Mich.
Tell us something about General Canby.
A. B. D.
_Answer._—Edward Richard Spriggs Canby LL. D., was born in Kentucky
in 1807, graduated at West Point in 1839, and spent the remainder of
his life on the warpath. His first post was in Florida (1839-42),
but he was little known until the war with Mexico, when he fought
with such valor at Cherubusco and the City of Mexico as to win the
brevets of major and lieutenant colonel. From 1849 to 1861 he served
on the Pacific coast, in Washington, and Utah Territory, and against
the Navajoes, and at the outbreak of the civil war took command in
New Mexico, where he was brevetted brigadier general at Valverde. Two
years later he was commander of the expedition which captured Mobile,
and there won the title of brevet major general. Soon afterward
Generals R. Taylor and E. K. Smith surrendered to him. In 1866 he was
made a brigadier general in the regular army.
In 1869, having served in several important commissions, and being
worn out, he voluntarily consented to take charge of the Department
of Columbia; and there he was treacherously shot by the chief “Jack,”
April 11, 1873, while trying to arrange for the removal of the Modocs
from Northern California.
“PRECESSION OF THE EQUINOXES.”
BLUNT, D.T.
Please explain in the Curiosity Shop the meaning of the expression
“Precession of the Equinoxes,” and how the climate of the earth is
affected by this phenomenon?
ARTHUR SNOW.
_Answer._—As the plane of the earth’s orbit crosses the equator at an
angle of about 23½ degrees, the attractive force of the sun, moon,
and planets, constantly exerted upon the earth, has a tendency to
tilt the pole away from the sun and to draw the equator toward it. As
a consequence, the sun crosses the equator each time a little farther
west than the point where it crossed the last time preceding, and
where it would have crossed on its return if there were no disturbing
force. Originally it was said that the equinoctial point, or place of
crossing, went forward to meet the sun, and hence this phenomenon was
called the precession of the equinoxes. But, from the fact that the
equinoctial point really falls backwards on the celestial equator,
toward the west, each time about 50 seconds of a degree, it is now
very frequently termed the recession of the equinoxes. In consequence
of this recession the seasons begin a little earlier each year,
and it is estimated that in 12,800 years they will be reversed, our
summer occurring when the sun is in the constellation that he now
traverses in winter time. It requires about 25,000 years for the sun
to complete one circuit of precession of the equinoxes.
COMET OF 1812 AND 1813.
LAKE FOREST, Ill.
Is it true that the comet now coming into view is the same as the
one of 1812? When will it become plainly visible to the naked eye,
and when will it be nearest the sun?
STAR-GAZER.
_Answer._—It is generally admitted that the comet discovered by
Professor Brooks on the 5th of September last, and now visible, with
the aid of a good opera or field glass, in the constellation Draco,
between the “Great Dipper,” in Ursa Major, and the “Northern Cross,”
in the Constellation Cygnus, is identical with the comet of 1812,
which was believed by the superstitious to prognosticate our last
war with Great Britain. It will reach perihelion, or the point in
its orbit nearest the sun, Jan. 25. It will increase in brightness
rapidly from the first of December, and be plainly visible to the
naked eye by the middle of that month. At its brightest it will
be brighter than in 1812, but it will not equal at any time the
magnificent comet of 1882. The period, as calculated in 1812, was
70.6 years. As the interval between its perihelion time, Sept. 15,
1812, and its perihelion passage, Jan. 25, 1884, will be but 71.5
years, it is not strange astronomers—considering the imperfections
of astronomical science and art then as compared with the state of
astronomy now—are not surprised at this small error in this comet’s
calculated orbital period.
LONGEVITY OF THE CIRCASSIAN RACE.
_Garden City_, Kan.
Is it a fact that the longevity of our race is on the increase? If
so, what are the data from which this conclusion is reached? Is our
physical strength on the increase, and what is the evidence? It has
been agreed to leave these questions to you. One of the parties
to the dispute is an ex-judge of the Supreme Court of one of the
greatest States in the Union.
J. W. HOLMES, M. D.
_Answer._—The above questions having been referred to one of the
highest medical authorities in the West, a member of a State Board of
Health, he replies as follows:
“It is a fact that the longevity of our race [i. e., the Caucasian
or white race] is on the increase. Statistics published by the
British Registrar show that during the last 150 years the average
length of human life in the British Islands has been increased by
nearly one-third. It is also true that the physique of the race is
improving. I am sorry that I have not time to look up references for
you; but any reasonably well-equipped life-insurance agent should be
able to furnish them readily for the first question; and the _Journal
of Anthropology_ would supply evidence enough for the second. Dr.
Nathan Allen, of Lowell, Mass., has made the subject a special study.”
RAILROADS IN ILLINOIS.
COOPERSTOWN, Ill.
How many companies are there owning railroads in Illinois?
E. P. R.
_Answer._—According to the commissioner’s report for 1880-81, there
were during the year fifty-four railroad companies operating
roads in Illinois. Poor’s “Manual” gives the names of sixty-five
companies operating roads in the State in 1882. It is difficult to
state how many companies own these roads, for every year many of
them change hands by lease or sale. There are more companies owning
roads than there are operating companies. For instance, during the
years 1880-81 six railroads were merged into the Wabash system,
another was purchased by the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad
Company, and still another was leased for an indefinite period by
the Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Chicago. Probably the
next annual report of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission will show
exactly how many proprietary companies are still in existence. We
have no data for an answer to your other question.
FOREIGN IMMIGRATION.
MOUNT VERNON, Iowa.
From what countries is most of the immigration to the United
States? What proportion of the immigrants can read and write? Are
any of them well educated? What was the immigration last year?
F. P. F.
_Answer._—During the sixty years included between 1820 and 1880, the
following countries were represented in the immigration to the United
States, as here shown:
England 894,444
Ireland 3,065,761
Scotland 159,547
Wales 17,893
Netherlands 44,319
Poland 14,831
Portugal 9,062
Russia 38,316
Austria-Hungary 65,588
Belgium 23,267
Denmark 48,620
France 313,716
Germany 3,002,027
Greece 385
Spain 28,091
Sweden and Norway 306,092
Switzerland 83,709
Turkey 619
Italy 70,181
All other countries 1,161,875
Most of the immigrants from Sweden and Norway, Germany, Austria,
Denmark, Netherlands, and Scotland, are able to read and write; the
majority of the others are illiterate. Many are very well educated,
having enjoyed college privileges, and the advantages of travel. The
total number of immigrants during 1882, was 788,992.
BASE OF THE METRICAL SYSTEM.
OMAHA, Neb.
Is it true that the unit of the metrical system is exactly the
ten-millionth part of a quadrant of the earth, measured on a
meridian? Please answer and settle a controversy.
AARON.
_Answer._—It is not true. After all the pains taken by scientists to
obtain the exact measure of a quadrant of a meridian of the earth,
it is now conceded that this problem is still unsolved. In the
latter part of last century, certain French astronomers and geodetic
surveyors persuaded the French Academy of Sciences that they had
succeeded in measuring so much of such an arc as enabled them to
accurately determine the whole arc by geometrical calculations. In
this belief what is now known as the metric system of measures was
constructed, and under the French Republic, in 1795, the existing
standards of French measures were adopted, based on the meter, the
ten-millionth part of the earth’s meridian quadrant as thus computed.
According to this a meter is 39.368 American inches, or 39.37 English
inches. But while later surveys have failed to determine the quadrant
with absolute certainty, it is conceded that they have demonstrated
the inaccuracy of the earlier surveys and computations, and what is
now generally accepted as a very close approximation to an exact
measure shows that the standard French meter falls short of the
ten-millionth part of the earth’s meridional quadrant by its 1-5,400
part. That is, according to the progress of more extended geodetic
measurements, brought down to 1875, the earth’s meridional quadrant
exceeds 10,000,000 meters by about 1,850 meters. Nevertheless the
International Bureau of Weights and Measures very wisely adheres to
the original standard meter, represented by the platinum meter of the
French archives as the fundamental unit of the metric system.
EXECUTING FOR WITCHCRAFT.
OSHKOSH, Wis.
Will our Curiosity Shop please tell us the facts about witchcraft
at Salem and elsewhere. Respecting Salem witchcraft, give causes,
number killed, cruelties practiced, and names and characters of the
men upholding the persecutions?
H. F. FEHLANDT.
_Answer._—The Salem witchcraft was only one of the results of the
superstition, as old almost as man himself, that certain persons,
through intimate connection with the spirit world, possess superhuman
influence for evil over their fellow-men. The early Christians
inherited the idea from their pagan forefathers, and in 1484 Pope
Innocent issued a bull directing the inquisitors to search out
and punish all guilty of such crimes. For nearly three centuries
following the delusion reigned, so that in Germany alone more than
10,000 persons were executed in consequence of this bull, and in
England, during the 150 years following the reign of Elizabeth, over
30,000 persons were sacrificed to this wild superstition. In fact
witches were hung in the latter country as late as 1716, and in
Scotland until 1722. Under these circumstances it is not strange that
Englishmen in America partook of the fanatical excitement, and when
in 1688 four children of John Goodwin, a respectable man in North
Boston, began to show strange symptoms, immediately after receiving
abuse from a disreputable Irish woman, the people should at once
attribute them to witchcraft; the more so since three Bostonians
had been hung already for that offense, and lately a book had been
published in defense of the popular belief. Four years later the
excitement culminated at Salem. The first alleged victims were in
the family of Samuel Parris, a clergyman. His daughter, niece, and
two other girls began to show symptoms like those of the Goodwin
children, and accused Tituba, an Indian squaw in the family, of
bewitching them, though she stoutly protested her Innocence. Soon
the number of bewitched increased, and likewise the number of
accused. The excitement grew, being constantly fanned by those
who should have been foremost in checking it. None were safe from
accusation, and many, to save their own lives, accused their dearest
friends and relatives. When Sir William Phipps became Governor of
Massachusetts, in May, 1692, his first act was the appointment of a
court for Suffolk, Essex, and Middlesex, consisting of seven judges:
William Stoughton, the Lieutenant Governor; Chief Justice Nathaniel
Saltonstal, who refused to act, and was replaced by Jonathan Curwin;
John Richards, Bartholomew Gedney, Wait Winthrop, Samuel Sewall, and
Peter Sergeant. Cotton Mather and Samuel Parris were among the chief
Instigators of the prosecutions that followed. Under this tribunal
twenty persons were hung, fifty or more tortured into confession of
guilt; the jails were filled, and hundreds more were under suspicion,
when the reason of the community awoke to a realization of the
injustice and barbarity of such proceedings, and fanaticism was soon
succeeded by bitter remorse. There is not space here to enumerate
many of the tortures employed to extort confessions. The lash, the
stocks, binding the sufferers in painful postures, as with neck and
heels together; starvation and thirst, and other barbarities were
exercised, until hundreds falsely accused themselves, their friends
and neighbors, and even their dearest relatives, to obtain release.
AN ARMY LEGION.
CHICAGO, Ill.
Please state how many men the Austrian and Belgic legions enlisted
for the service of Maximilian I. of Mexico, contained. I would like
to know somewhere near the number, whether it was 500 or 5,000 men.
CHARLES SEYMOUR.
_Answer._—It is impossible to give a definite answer to this
question. The military term “legion” was not a very definite term,
as regards numbers, even in the case of the old Roman legion, where
it corresponded somewhat to the modern “army corps.” Sometimes it
numbered 3,000 men and at others 6,000 or more. In 1792 the whole
army of the United States was officially designated the “Legion of
the United States” the Infantry regiments being styled “sub-legions.”
This was not a popular organization and nomenclature with army men,
and was soon abandoned. The term has been applied in modern times
to divisions in the German, French, and other European armies,
variously organized, and numbering from 2,500 to 5,000 men. It would
be impossible, without reference to official records of Maximilian’s
government, to say what number of Belgians and Austrians were
enlisted in his service; but it was less than 10,000 all told, and
most likely, judging from facts in our possession, not more than
7,000.
RAPHAEL’S SUPREME MADONNA.
WINCHESTER, Ill.
Where was the Sistine Madonna executed? Where and by whom was it
taken to Dresden?
MAGGIE HUSTON.
_Answer._—The “Madonna di San Sisto” was executed by Raphael as an
altar-piece for the Church of St. Sixtus at Piacenza, in Northern
Italy. It is perhaps the most widely known of Raphael’s works, and
universally regarded one of his supreme efforts. Mrs. Jameson,
renowned as an art critic, says of it; “For myself, I have seen my
ideal once, and once only, there where Raphael—inspired, if ever a
painter was inspired—projected on the space before him that wonderful
creature which we style the Madonna di San Sisto.” It was painted
between 1517 and 1520. We are not positive as to when and by whom
it was removed to Dresden, but think it was during the reign of
Frederick Augustus II., King of Saxony from 1797 to 1854. This King
did more than any of his predecessors to embellish Dresden.
AUTHOR OF “THE FLAG OF OUR UNION.”
STANBERRY, Mo.
Will your Curiosity Shop give a short sketch of the author of the
poem entitled, “The Flag of Our Union”?
J. M. H.
_Answer._—George P. Morris was a native of Pennsylvania, born
in 1802. From early manhood he followed journalism, and was the
originator of the two newspapers, _The Mirror_ and _The National
Press_. For several years he was associated with N. P. Willis, and,
under their united efforts, the _Mirror_ became a leading literary,
magazine, having among its contributors Poe, Bryant, Halleck, and
Paulding. In 1853 Morris and Willis edited “Prose and Poetry of
Europe and America.” His reputation, however, chiefly rests upon his
original poems, and of these the most familiar are “Woodman, Spare
that Tree,” and “The Flag of Our Union.”
PENSIONS OF SOLDIERS OF 1812.
HAZELHURST, Miss.
Are the soldiers of 1812 entitled to pensions or land warrants? If
so, how may they obtain them?
H. J. BRAINARD.
_Answer._—By the act of Congress, approved March 9, 1878, any soldier
of the war of 1812, or his widow, is entitled to a pension of $8 a
month, provided he is not already receiving that amount, or more, as
a pension; or, if receiving a pension of less amount, he is entitled
to enough more to raise it to $8 per month. In addition he may claim
160 acres as a land warrant, granted to all soldiers who fought in
the American army before 1855. For further information write to the
Commissioner of Pensions, W. W. Dudley, Washington, D. C.
COUNTY LICENSES FOR DRAM-SHOPS.
HAMILTON, Iowa.
Can whisky be sold in Illinois outside of the corporate limits of a
city by the drink? Are they not limited, under government license,
to quantities of one gallon or more?
READER.
_Answer._—Spirituous liquors cannot be legally sold in quantities
of less than one gallon in any part of Illinois without a license,
either from city, incorporated town, or village or county
authorities. Counties are empowered to license dram-shops outside of
incorporated cities, towns, etc.
CERTAIN CANADIAN AND AMERICAN CITIES.
RIVERTON, Iowa.
1. What is the population of the four largest cities of Canada and
the four largest cities of the United States next the Canadian
border? 2. If a man having a family takes a homestead claim must he
forfeit his claim if his family refuse to accompany him?
SUBSCRIBER.
_Answer._—1. In Canada: Montreal, 140,863; Toronto, 86,455; Quebec,
62,446, and Hamilton, 35,065. In the United States: Cleveland,
155,946; Buffalo, 149,500; Detroit, 116,340; Toledo, 50,143. 2. No.
M. TAINE, THE AUTHOR.
OMAHA, Neb.
Can you give me some information regarding M. Taine, author of a
“History of English Literature?” 2. Where does Louis Kossuth reside?
DON QUIXOTE.
_Answer._—Hippolyte Adolphe Taine, one of the foremost essayists and
critics of our time, was born at Vouziers in Ardennes, France, April
21, 1828. After completing his education at the College Bourbon
and the normal school of Paris, he published several works which
attracted attention, and marked him as a polemic writer of power. In
1864 he was given the professorship of æsthetics in the School of
Fine Art, Paris. Besides his controversial writings he has published
several works on art and literature. 2. In Turin, Italy.
FATHER TAYLOR.
VESPER, Wis.
Please give a short sketch of, “Father Taylor,” the sailor-preacher
in Boston.
S. BOYNTON.
_Answer._—Edward T. Taylor, better known as “Father Taylor,” was
a sailor during the war of 1812, and first acted a preacher while
a prisoner at Dartmoor, England. In 1819 he was ordained by the
American M. E. Church, and in 1828 was appointed to the Seamen’s
Bethel, in Boston. Warm-hearted and quick-witted, he won the hearts
of the rough men there, and from them received his “title.” He
revisited England in 1832, and traveled in Palestine in 1842. During
the famine of 1846 in Ireland he was chaplain in the United States
relief frigate. He was born in 1794, in Virginia, and died in 1871.
LONDON.
COLUMBUS, Wis.
Please give us the derivation of the word “London.”
WILL SMITH.
_Answer._—There is a fable that London was founded by Brute, a
descendant of Æneas, and called New Troy, or Troy-novant, until the
time of Lud, who surrounded it with walls and named it Caer Lud,
or Lud’s town. But Haydn’s “Dictionary of Dates” contradicts this
statement, and writes the old name Llyndin, meaning “the town on the
lake.” The name is evidently of Celtic origin. It is claimed by some
that there was a city on that same spot 1107 B. C., and it is known
that the Romans found a city there called Londinium, A. D. 61.
THE HULLS—ALEXANDER HAMILTON.
LAWLER, Iowa.
1. Was General Hull, who surrendered at Detroit, a relative of
Commodore Hull, of the United States frigate Constitution? 2. Of
what nationality was Alexander Hamilton?
D. HALL.
_Answer._—l. The distinguished revolutionary soldier, General William
Hull, who was afterward condemned for surrendering to the British at
Detroit early in the war of 1812-15, was an uncle of the naval hero
who commanded the Constitution for a time. 2. Alexander Hamilton
was born on the British West India island, Nevis, one of the lesser
Antilles.
OLD POSTAL RATES.
CHICAGO, Ill.
Will you please inform us what the postal rates have been since the
foundation of the system, and particularly the rates to Europe? If
not convenient to give the latter for the whole period, give them
for twenty years ago.
J. M.
_Answer._—A detailed reply to this question cannot fail to interest
the readers of Our Curiosity Shop, since it will enable them to
appreciate more fully the strides of progress made in interstate
communication since this government was formed. It is impossible
to fully estimate the service cheap postage on letters, newspapers
magazines, and books, and of late on seeds, samples of merchandise,
etc., has rendered in the marvelous intellectual, moral, and
material development of this country. The postal service is one
of the most beneficent, as it is one of the most potent, forces
in the control of the Federal Government. As a bond of union
between the States its influence is of inestimable value. It is a
life-long school of patriotism, minifying and almost annihilating
the alienating force of distances, keeping the links of friendship
bright and strong between old friends scattered throughout the land,
familiarizing voters with the condition of all parts of the country,
and fostering the common good in innumerable ways.
From the organization of the Postoffice Department, in 1786, to 1816
the rates on domestic letters (or letters for any place within the
United States) were as follows: “For each piece of paper of which a
single letter, or letter packet, may be composed,” under 40 miles, 8
cents; under 90 miles, 10 cents; under 150 miles, 12½ cents; under
300 miles, 17 cents; under 500 miles, 20 cents; over 500 miles 25
cents.