460 



THE CENTURY BOOK OF FACTS,. 



not more fortunate. A community of St. 

 Simonians established a college or corporation 

 at Menilmontant, with a "supreme father" 

 at their head. The leaders were brought to 

 trial by Louis Philippe on a charge of under- 

 mining morality and religion. They were 

 subjected to imprisonment, and not having 

 public feeling with them, they were unable to 

 bear up against contumely thus thrown on 

 them. Socialism is a sort of limited Commu- 

 nism. It would not entirely abolish individ- 

 ual rights of all, but would make such rights 

 subordinate to the common good, and in a 

 manner limit them to it. 



Locomotives, Weight and Cost. 

 The average weight of the locomotive engines 

 now on the standard gauge roads is from 

 twenty-five to thirty-five tons. As locomotives 

 are now built, anything above thirty-five tons 

 would be considered heavy, although there 

 have been locomotives built weighing seventy 

 tons. The cost of a locomotive for the stand- 

 ard gauge roads is about $10,500. It is usu- 

 ally computed by railroad men that in weight 

 and cost the locomotives on the narrow gauge 

 roads are from one third to one half less than 

 those of the standard gauge lines. 



Fur Trade, American. The North- 

 west Fur Company, a British organization, 

 practically controlled the fur industry along 

 the great lakes and westward at the beginning 

 of this century. A rival company, composed 

 of American and French, and called the Mack- 

 inaw Fur Company, was formed about that 

 time ; but the importance of the American fur 

 trade is undoubtedly due to the commercial 

 genius of John Jacob Astor. In 1783 Mr. 

 Astor landed in America with a few hundred 

 dollars' worth of musical instruments, which 

 he immediately exchanged for furs. This 

 action was brought about through a conversa- 

 tion with a furrier during the voyage, who im- 

 pressed upon the young emigrant the great 

 profit to be gained in the fur traffic. From 

 that time until 1809 he made repeated visits 

 to the scattered settlements of western New 

 York and Canada for the purchase of furs, and 

 did much business with the Northwest Fur 

 Company. All direct trade between the United 

 States and Canada was then forbidden by laws 

 of the British Government ; hence furs pur- 

 chased in the latter had first to be taken to 

 London before they could be brought to New 

 York. These restrictions on trade with Can- 

 ada were removed by treaty in 1794. In 1809 

 the American Fur Company, an organization 

 with $1,000,000 capital, was granted a charter 

 by the New York Legislature, and it was gen- 

 erally understood that the capital for this 

 enterprise was furnished by Mr. Astor in 



fact that he was the company. In 1811 Mr. 

 Astor, in connection with certain parties for- 

 merly connected with the Northwest Fur Com- 

 pany, purchased the Mackinaw Fur Company 

 and merged it, with the American Fur Com- 

 pany, in another organization known as the 

 Southwest Fur Company. Four years later, 

 1815, Mr. Astor bought all the shares of this 

 company and pushed the American Fur Com- 

 pany to the front again, and in the same year 

 succeeded in having a bill passed through Con- 

 gress excluding all foreigners from taking any 

 part in the fur trade of the United States 

 thus securing at one stroke a monopoly of the 

 business. From that time he accumulated 

 enormous wealth. 



Gold Exports. When this country buys 

 abroad more than it sells abroad it must pay 

 the difference, which is called the balance of 

 trade, in sterling exchange. The par value 

 of sterling exchange is $4.867, that is, a 

 pound sterling is worth $4.867 in United 

 States gold. The price or demand of sterling 

 exchange varies according to the supply and 

 demand of bills drawn against London. If we 

 have made heavy shipments to London, or if 

 Europe has been a heavy buyer of our securi- 

 ties, there is plenty of sterling exchange in the 

 market, and it can be bought below its par 

 value. When we have made heavy imports 

 from Europe, or when Europe has been a 

 heavy seller of our securities, or when Ameri- 

 can travelers have spent a large amount of 

 money in Europe, the supply of sterling ex- 

 change is limited and its price rises. If the 

 price of sterling bills is as high as $4.88| it is 

 just as cheap to ship gold bars to London and 

 pay the expenses of the shipment as it is to 

 buy the exchange. If sterling exchange is 

 $4.89^ gold coin can be shipped without loss. 

 If rates go higher, as, for instance, to $4.90, 

 gold coin or bars can be shipped at a good 

 profit and exchange sold against them. When 

 the rate of sterling exchange falls to $4.83| 

 gold can be imported from London without 

 loss, and if it goes lower it can be imported 

 with a profit. 



The South Sea Bubble The " South 

 Sea Bubble," as it is generally called, was a 

 financial scheme which occupied the attention 

 of prominent politicians, communities, and 

 even nations in the early part of the eight- 

 eenth century. Briefly, the facts are : In 1711, 

 Robert Hartley, Earl of Oxford, then Lord 

 Treasurer, proposed to fund a floating debt of 

 about 10,000,000, sterling, the interest, about 

 $600,000, to be secured by rendering perma- 

 nent the duties upon wines, tobacco, wrought 

 silks, etc. Purchasers of this fund were to 

 become also shareholders in the " South Sea 



