Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 28, 1994 TAG: 9408300062
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: D5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
A: Beginning with Nellie Ross, who served as governor of Wyoming from 1925 to 1927, there have been 13 women (11 Democrats and two Republicans) who have served as state chief executive. The only five states that have never elected a woman to any statewide executive post - such as lieutenant governor, attorney general or insurance commissioner (U.S. Senate excluded) - are Alaska, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina and West Virginia, according to the Center for the American Woman and Politics at Rutgers University.
The four women now serving as governors - Christie Whitman of New Jersey, Barbara Roberts of Oregon, Ann Richards of Texas and Joan Finney of Kansas - make up the largest number ever serving at the same time.
The late Ella Grasso of Connecticut, elected in 1974, was considered the first woman elected in her own right (not as a male candidate's surrogate or designated successor). Kay Orr, elected in Nebraska in 1986, was the first woman to defeat another woman for a governorship. Madeleine Kunin of Vermont is the only woman governor to serve three terms - from 1985 to 1991.
Q: What benefits are made available to winners of the Medal of Honor and/or their families?
A: A Medal of Honor winner gets an additional military pension of $400 a month. He also gets the privilege of first rights on free military flights - which sometimes can include family members, depending on the trip's purpose. A medal winner also has certain privileges, which are different from benefits. Medal winners often are sought after as speakers and can make money from their speeches. A medal winner can wear his medal anytime and use it for political purposes, as when Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.) displays his on campaign literature. They also are entitled to have their medals engraved on their headstones, which are provided by the military. And their children, if otherwise qualified, get preference for admission to the service academies.
Q: I have heard that at one time there was a very close call on German being declared the official language of the United States. Can you tell me what the story behind this is?
A: There really never was any serious challenge to English as the official language of the United States. Congress has never voted on having an official language, but what you've heard is a common story that's been repeated for years. Here's what's behind it, according to the Washington-based group U.S. English:
The matter goes back to the Revolutionary War period, when, because of the large number of Germans in Colonial America, the Continental Congress had the Articles of Confederation and a number of other documents translated into German. All-German battalions were formed, reflecting the importance of German participation in the war.
In the 1790s, German citizens asked Congress to translate laws into German, but the bills failed to pass. One opposition argument was that England never published laws in Welsh. Between 1867 and 1870, Congress did have General Land Office documents regarding free land available to immigrants printed in several European languages.
Q: I read that the Vietnam Veterans Memorial needs to be rebuilt because of cracks in the marble. Where did the marble come from? Who will pay for the repairs? Who maintains the wall?
A: The 140 3.5-inch-thick panels of black granite came from India. Congress has authorized sale of commemorative coins to raise $5 million to study the problems, ensure long-term maintenance and buy replacement granite, probably from the same quarry that supplied the original stone. The coins go on sale July 29. Maintenance of the memorial is the responsibility of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and the U.S. Park Service.
Q: We recently viewed a video about the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, and I was wondering how historically correct it was. The narrative said the SOS distress signal was new at the time, but I thought SOS had been around long before that. Was the video correct? If so, what was the distress signal before SOS?
A: The Titanic sank in 1912, but the Morse code SOS distress signal - three dots, three dashes, three dots - had existed since the turn of the century, and the Titanic was equipped with a telegraph. But the Coast Guard did not set up a separate radio frequency specifically for SOS signals until 1924. The Titanic was sending its SOS signals over a commonly used frequency, the same one used by people on the shore planning welcoming parties for those on the ship. The messages were crowded out in an overworked system and were not heard.
The mayday call - from the French venez m'aider (come to my aid) - was used before the telegraph. It was a system of lights or semaphore flag signals used by ships to signal their distress to each other or someone on land. The Coast Guard shut down its antiquated Morse telegraph system in 1993 as obsolete. Satellites, digital technology, marine phones and electronic beacons are used now.
Q: Gloria Steinem's last book stated that 150,000 women die each year from anorexia. Is that an accurate figure?
A: The figure you mentioned has been cited by various authors, but also has been criticized as grossly exaggerated. The actual number of deaths is unknown. Any statistics regarding anorexia should be taken with a grain of salt, primarily because there is no government agency or private organization that tracks the disease. Anorexia often is characterized by secrecy by the victim and their families, said Dr. Jean Rubel, who researches and disseminates information on eating disorders. The source for most anorexia figures is studies examining the incidence of the disease in one population or geographic area, with the results being extrapolated. Whoever cites such figures should say they are estimates based on a small sample, rather than an actual count.
Q: To whom does the pope make his confession?
A: Any cardinal or priest will do, according to the Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta.
Q: I've heard that no white person has ever been executed for killing a black person in this country. True?
A: Not true. Watt Espy of the Capital Punishment Research Project in Headland, Ala., says there have been a number - although ``not a large number'' - of such executions nationwide. Of the 244 executions nationwide since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, only one involved a white defendant who killed a black person: Donald Gaskins was executed in 1991 in South Carolina for killing Rudolph Tyner, a black fellow prison inmate.
In Georgia, 12 black men and six white men have been executed since 1983, and all but four of the victims were white. All of the whites were executed for killing other whites. Previously in Georgia, Seaborn Smith, a white man, was hanged in Covington on May 20, 1892, for the rape of a black woman, and James O'Berry was hanged on Nov. 27, 1911, for the robbery and murder of two black women.
by CNB