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Show THE DOLLAR MARK. There are a number of theories for the origin of the dollar mark. One is, that it is a combination of U. S., the initials for the United States; another, that it is a modification of the figure 8, the dollar being formerly called a "piece of eight," and designated by the character 8-8. The third theory is that it is a combination of H. S., the mark of the Roman unit; while a fourth is, that it is a combination of P. and S., from the Spanish peso duro, which signifies "hard dollar." In Spanish accounts, peso is contracted by writing the S. over the P. and placing it after the ??. The latest theory of the origin of the sign is offered by the editor of the London Whitehall Review, who recently propounded the question at a dinner party in that city, at which the American consul was present. As no one could tell, the editor gave the following explanations: "It is taken from the Spanish dollar, and the sign is to be found, of course, in the associations of the Spanish dollar. We littered the table with books in the course of our researches, but I proved my point in the end. On the reverse of the Spanish dollar is a representation of the Pillar of Hercules, and round each pillar is a scroll, with the inscription, ‘Pius ultra.' This device, in the course of time, has degenerated into the sign which stands at present for American, as well as Spanish dollars-‘$.' The scroll around the pillars, I take it, represent the two serpents sent by Juno to destroy Hercules in his cradle." The importance of manufactures to the growth of a community is very favorably exhibited by the Philadelphia Ledger, in an article comparing that city with Boston and Baltimore under the present and previous censuses. In commerce purely Boston surpasses Philadelphia and Baltimore equals it. Of population Baltimore has 365,000 and Philadelphia 817,512 inhabitants. The last named has 135,000 of population more than both its rivals, or nearly half a million more than either. This vast excess the Ledger ascribes to manufacturing industries, and says that "if Philadelphia had no more of manufactures than Boston or Baltimore, it would very soon have no more population than they." It claims Philadelphia to be the largest distinctive manufacturing city "in the country, if not in the world." |