Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 10.djvu/417

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WHITING 357 WHITMAN Mezen falls, is 47,346 square miles. The coasts are flat, with numerous lakes, small rivers, and mountains in the N. and E. The White Sea is blocked with ice except during the months of June, July, and August. Canals connect it with the Volga and the Dnieper. The dwellers on its shores are Lapps, Finns, and Samoyedes, who live by fishing, seal hunting, and the chase. The chief port is Archangel. The passage to the White Sea was discovered in 1553 by Richard Chancellor, an officer under Sir Hugh Willoughby. The English in 1584 es- tablished the little fort of Archangel as the center of the White Sea trade, in which they enjoyed great privileges till the founding of St. Petersburg. WHITING, a city of Indiana, in Lake CO. It is on the Elgin, Joliet and East- ern, the Indiana Harbor Belt, the New York Central, the Pere Marquette, the Baltimore and Ohio, and the Pennsyl- vania railroads. Its industries include the manufacture of oilcloth, chemicals, asphalt pavement, etc. It has a public library and a park. It is an important station of the Standard Oil Company. Pop. (1910) 6,587; (1920) 10,145. WHITING, LILIAN, an American author; born in Niagara Falls, N. Y., Oct. 3, 1859. She was literary editor of the Boston "Traveler" in 1880-1890, and editor of the Boston "Budget" in 1890- 1894. She then traveled in Europe. Her publications include: "The World Beau- tiful" (3 vols.) ; "From Dreamland Sent" (poems); "After Her Death"; "The Story of a Summer"; "A Study of the Life and Poetry of Elizabeth Barrett Browning"; "Kate Field: a Record"; "The Spiritual Significance"; etc. WHITLOCK, BRAND, an American writer and diplomat; born in Urbana, 0., in 1869. After a common school education he entered the field of journal- ism in Toledo, O., but, in 1890, went to Chicago to join the staff of the Chi- cago "Herald." Three years later he became a clerk in the office of the secre- tary of state of Illinois. During this period he studied law and was admitted to the bar of Illinois in 1894 and, in 1897, to the bar of Ohio. He began to practice law in Toledo, where he was elected mayor in 1905, being re-elected to the same office for three other terms. Under his administration a new charter was granted the city and such innova- tions as the initiative, the referendum, the recall of public officials, and direct nominations were instituted. Meanwhile he was also becoming known as a regu- lar contributor to major American maga- zines, both as a writer of verse and of prose articles. In 1913 he was ap- pointed Minister to Belgium, where he distinguished himself for his expert handling of the situation during the World War. War having been declared against Germany by the United States in April, 1917, Mr. Whitlock was re- called, but after the signing of the armis- tice and the restoration of the Belgian Government, he returned to Brussels as Ambassador, Among his many works are: "Her Infinite Variety" (1904); "The Gold. Brick" (1910) ; "Belgium, a Personal Narrative" (1919). WHITMAN, CHARLES SEYMOUR, an American public official, born at Nor- wich, Conn., in 1868. He graduated from Amherst College in 1890. After admission to the bar, he practiced in New York City. From 1901 to 1903 he was assistant corporation counsel, and from 1904 to 1907 was a city magistrate. He was appointed judge of the Court of Special Sessions in 1907, and from 1910 to 1914 was district attorney of New York county. In 1914 he was elected governor of New York. He was re- elected in 1916. WHITMAN, MARCUS, an American pioneer; born in Rushville, N. Y., Sept. 4, 1802. In 1836 he emigrated with a number of others to work as a mission- ary among the Indians of the Upper Columbia. Accompanied by his young wife he crossed the plains by wagon, being the first person to reach the Pa- cific by this means. He was soon fol- lowed by a large number of emigrants who settled in what was then known as Oregon, and which now forms the States of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, At this time the Hudson's Bay company were using every possible means to secure this territory to the English. When this plan became evident to Dr. Whitman he decided to take every precaution to fore- stall it. The Ashburton-Webster treaty was then before Congress and was expect- ed to settle the Oregon question. Knowing that the Government should have full in- formation as to the true state of affairs, Whitman rode over 3,000 miles on horse- back, enduring all the hardships of a -Western winter in the mountains, and reaching Washington on March 3, 1843, only to find that the treaty had been signed. Fortunately the Oregon ques- tion had not been included, Dr, Whit- man at once went to work and taught the Government the value of the land it had deemed worthless, demonstrated to the people the fertility of the soil of Oregon, and the fact that it could be reached by wagon, and then returned at the head of 1,000 emigrants. By his