Joseph Cook, 3311 Howell Street, Wissinoming Philadelphia, is engaged in the commendable task of looking up names of his ancestry, and he wants all the Cooks in the country to write him. If all do, his mail will be large. "M. T." is here again for further information. She asks for yells and colors of the following colleges: Pennsylvania State, Grinnell, Stevens Institute, St. Albans Military, Georgetown, Lake Forest, and the State universities of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Wisconsin.
Henry B. Foss asks if Chicago is not now the richest of all American colleges. Hardly, we think, but it is among the very wealthiest. The last gift of its chief founder, $3,000,000, was, we believe, contingent upon the people of Chicago, or at least the friends of the university, raising an equal sum. Should they do so, the plant of the university would be worth about $13,000,000--a vast sum, which can make Chicago a great factor in educational matters. "Who writes our puzzles!" asks Victor Landrum. A score or more different persons. Some authors furnish material, and one of the editors puts that material together. Some of our cleverest puzzle work has been done by women--Ellen Douglas Deland, Mrs. Pollie Pemberton Bermann, Mrs. Clara J. Denton, Mrs. H. E. Banning, Miss J. M. Cox, Mrs. M. E. Saffold, and Miss L. E. Johnson.
Fred Hayden asks if we think young men should study politics. We answer, yes. "Is an electric locomotive for heavy traffic doing successful work anywhere?" inquires Emanuel Parrish. Yes, on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, hauling freight trains through the tunnel under the city of Baltimore. "Do members of the House of Representatives at Washington get the same salary as United States Senators?" asks J. B. G. Yes, $5000 a year, besides some allowances for stationery and travelling expenses. No, the members of the British Parliament, either Lords or Commons, are not paid. Yes, the young Duke of Marlborough is a full member of the British House of Lords.
This Department is conducted in the interest of stamp and coin collectors, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question on these subjects so far as possible. Correspondents should address Editor Stamp Department.