Rensselaer Republican, Volume 13, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 November 1880 — Mystery of Exchange. [ARTICLE]

Mystery of Exchange.

Most of our readers are aware that the quotation of foreign exchange represents a premium considerably in excess of the actual feet; but we doubt whether all of them- know precisely what is the difference. S the usage of the bankers, the old Spandollar is as the par of exchange, one pound sterling being equal to four and four-ninths of these dollars. In point of feet, however, in the established moneys of Great Britain and the United States, a pound sterling contains as much gold as $4.87 of United States money; and this is the true par of exchange or rate which must be used in converting the money of one country into that of the other. For instance: if anything costs £IOO in Great Britain, its true value expressed in the money of the United States is $487. Accordingly, it is a fact familiar to all bankers, that when exchange is quoted at 109 1-2, there is no real premium, but the true par has been attained; because if we multiply 4.44 4-9, which is the nominal par, by 109 4-2, which is then the quoted rate, we get $4.87, which is the true par. We need scarcely add that it isowing to thiscircumstanee that the exports of gold frem the United States are not larger. If there really existed such a heavy premium on bills of exchange as many people suppese, it would be immensely profitable to export gold to Great Britain. In point of fact, m view of the necessary expenses of freight, insurance and loss of interest, the margin does not more than cover the risk. The United States half-eagle, it may be added, contains 116 grains of pure gold, equivalent to $6, the British sovereign, or Kund sterling, 113 grains, equivalent to .87 of the United States money.

At Minneapolis, Minn., alone, the enormous amount of 300,000 cords of sawdust accumulates annually at the mills, which shows that saw-mill men would makes handsome profit on this material if they could only readily pell all of it. Heretofore, however, on account of the difficulty of disposing of sawdust at any price to any considerable extent, great quantities of it have been thrown into the streamson which the mills stand, and in many instances have tended to seriously obstruct navigation. Another insignificant materia) for which good use has been found is waste rubber. The process, recently patented in Germany, where many tons of this rubber has been annually thrown away, is thus described: “The rubber waste is subjected to distillation in an iron vessel over a free fire, with the aid of super-heated steam. The lighter oils which come over first are separated from the heavier products. The latter, when thickened and vulcanised in the usual manner, are found to possess all the good qualities of fresh rubber.” Furnace slag is a third common material that is being profitably utilized. An American inventor named Wood has discovered how to make from slag bricks that are superior to those of the usual kind. For this purpose he converts the slag into sand as it is run from the blast furnace, and mingles with it a certain amount of selenitic lime. He likewise uses this slag in the making of concrete, cement and mortar. Mr. Wood has also succeeded in employing slag, reduced to a fibrous condition, as a non-conductor of heat, in clothing steam pipes and boilers. A notable use has also been made of slag in the manufacture of glass bottles and glass railway sleeper*. Glass bottles containing this material are said to be stronger than those made of flint glass. A quite recent means of utilizing slag has been discovered by Mr. Frederic Ransome, who can make from it a firm, white cement of the greatest durability.

Traveling Stones.—The curious traveling stones of Australia are paralleled in Nevada. They are described as almost perfectly round, and about as large as a walnut. When distributed about the floor, table or other level surface, within two or three feet of each other, they immediately begin traveling towards a common center, and there lie huddled up in a bunch like a lot of eggs in a nest A single stone, removed to a distance of three and a half feet, upon being released returns to the heap, but if taken away four or five feet remains motionless. They are composed of magnetic iron ore. Illinois still leads all other states in the number of miles of its railroads. Thi* position Illinois has occupied since 1879, when it passed Pennsylvania, which previously had been the leading railroad state. The railway mileage of the former state is now (I 860 7,578; Pennsylvania comes second with 6,068; New York follows close behind with 6,006* Ohio is fourth with bJOI miles; lowa is fifth 4,779 miles; Inwith 4j330 miles; Missouri, ;! qP%an, Kansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Texas, Georgia and California follow in the order named. There is no state or territory which » totally devoid of railroads, though Montana can boast of but ten miles of completed road. - • The Hungarian state railway* are in *0 1,119 X miles in length, and they yield an