The Dolores star., 1923-05-18

In 1891 he went TO England to live He be-
came naturalized British subject in 1899 bought
several London newspapers and magazines, pur
chased Cliveden from the Duke of Westminster
struggled hard to get into high-up British society
ana contributed so enormously to charitable en-
terprises that George created him Baron Astor
In 1916 and later Vscount. He did not live long
to enjoy his title. The present Vscount Astor
married in 1906 Mamie LanghOrne Shaw, widow
who was born in virginia; she is the Lady Astor
who visited US not long ago to scod us for not
joining the League of Nations. There other
Astors in America. The family holdings in New
York real estate total hundreds of millions
The history of the North American fur trade of
course begins with the Hudson Bay company-the
old saying was that the II. B. c." its blood
red banner stood for Here Before Christ" and
that the company's motto pro pee cutem,'
meant "a skin for a skin" Anyway, Charles II
in 1910 granted Il royal charter ITO our dear and
entirely beloved cousin Prince Rupert Count Paa-
tine Of the Rhine, Duke Of Bavaria, etc
constituting the Governor and Company of Ad.
veuturers trading into Hudsons Bay" The Mer-
~ Monarch turned to the company practically
all of North America north of the Great Lakes
with power Of life and death over all present and
future Inhabitants. InasmuCh as Canada was
then admittedly French, there was war to the
knife until the Treaty of Utrecht In 1713 con-
hrmed to the company as part of the shore of
Hudson Bay. The Treaty Of Paris in 1863 of course
wholly confirmed the charter of the company since
all Canada thereby became British territory
In the meantime the Hudson Bay COMPANY had
been sitting tight; working in secrecy; keeping
missionaries, school teachers, agriculturists and
all strangers out of the country; extending Its
chain of trading posts; making the Indian bring
the furs to the posts, reaping profits and
building up the biggest and best-managed monopoly
in the worlds history. In 1884 was organized Mt
Montreal the Northwest Company, which entered
into mighty struggle with its older rival. In
1921 the younger company merged in the Hud-
son Bay Company. In 1870 the British govern
ment forced the company to surrender its charter
Now the Hudson Bay Company probably richer
than ever. is engaged In selling off the 10000 OOO
acres left to 1t out of 100000 square mIIes and
running chain of mail order houses and denart
ment stores
The Louisiana Purchase of the land between
the mississippi and the Rockies was confirmed in
the spring OF lso4 Thereupon the Lewis and Clark
expedition started from st. Louis to see what ya
had bought for S15,OOO,OOO 1t went ur, tho u,s
souri, and spent the first winter on the site of p,
marck, N. ID. The second winter was snent on
the site OF Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia
II returned to St Louis In the fall of 1906 after
having been given up for lost
The Lewis and Clark expedition reported un,r,
ited numbers of beaver. That was the beaver .ye
canada and the West lived off the beaver Tran
peis s"afmed on every frontier Beaver skins were
the medium of exchange
Astor quick to see the chance for fur o,oro
uons on big scale. He had already got contro,
OF the Mackinaw Fur Company and had practically
corhered the fur trade of the Great Lakes region
ne Planned chain of trading posts across the
continent from st. Louis to the Pacific He planned
10 snip part or his furs to China then as now
eood market for fine skins He planned re,ur,
carsoes OF silk and tea to New York and Boston.