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Chapter XII - Urbi et Orbi
The astronomical, mechanical, and topographical difficulties
resolved, finally came the question of finance. The sum
required was far too great for any individual, or even any
single State, to provide the requisite millions.
President Barbicane undertook, despite of the matter being a
purely American affair, to render it one of universal interest,
and to request the financial co-operation of all peoples.
It was, he maintained, the right and duty of the whole earth
to interfere in the affairs of its satellite. The subscription
opened at Baltimore extended properly to the whole world-- _Urbi
et orbi_.
This subscription was successful beyond all expectation;
notwithstanding that it was a question not of lending but of
giving the money. It was a purely disinterested operation in
the strictest sense of the term, and offered not the slightest
chance of profit.
The effect, however, of Barbicane's communication was not
confined to the frontiers of the United States; it crossed
the Atlantic and Pacific, invading simultaneously Asia and
Europe, Africa and Oceanica. The observatories of the Union
placed themselves in immediate communication with those of
foreign countries. Some, such as those of Paris, Petersburg,
Berlin, Stockholm, Hamburg, Malta, Lisbon, Benares, Madras,
and others, transmitted their good wishes; the rest maintained
a prudent silence, quietly awaiting the result. As for the
observatory at Greenwich, seconded as it was by the twenty-
two astronomical establishments of Great Britain, it spoke
plainly enough. It boldly denied the possibility of success,
and pronounced in favor of the theories of Captain Nicholl.
But this was nothing more than mere English jealousy.
On the 8th of October President Barbicane published a manifesto
full of enthusiasm, in which he made an appeal to "all persons
of good will upon the face of the earth." This document,
translated into all languages, met with immense success.
Subscription lists were opened in all the principal cities of
the Union, with a central office at the Baltimore Bank, 9
Baltimore Street.
In addition, subscriptions were received at the following banks
in the different states of the two continents:
At Vienna, with S. M. de Rothschild.
At Petersburg, Stieglitz and Co.
At Paris, The Credit Mobilier.
At Stockholm, Tottie and Arfuredson.
At London, N. M. Rothschild and Son.
At Turin, Ardouin and Co.
At Berlin, Mendelssohn.
At Geneva, Lombard, Odier and Co.
At Constantinople, The Ottoman Bank.
At Brussels, J. Lambert.
At Madrid, Daniel Weisweller.
At Amsterdam, Netherlands Credit Co.
At Rome, Torlonia and Co.
At Lisbon, Lecesne.
At Copenhagen, Private Bank.
At Rio de Janeiro, Private Bank.
At Montevideo, Private Bank.
At Valparaiso and Lima, Thomas la Chambre and Co.
At Mexico, Martin Daran and Co.
Three days after the manifesto of President Barbicane $4,000,000
were paid into the different towns of the Union. With such a
balance the Gun Club might begin operations at once. But some
days later advices were received to the effect that foreign
subscriptions were being eagerly taken up. Certain countries
distinguished themselves by their liberality; others untied
their purse-strings with less facility--a matter of temperament.
Figures are, however, more eloquent than words, and here is the
official statement of the sums which were paid in to the credit
of the Gun Club at the close of the subscription.
Russia paid in as her contingent the enormous sum of 368,733 roubles.
No one need be surprised at this, who bears in mind the scientific
taste of the Russians, and the impetus which they have given to
astronomical studies--thanks to their numerous observatories.
France began by deriding the pretensions of the Americans.
The moon served as a pretext for a thousand stale puns and
a score of ballads, in which bad taste contested the palm
with ignorance. But as formerly the French paid before singing,
so now they paid after having had their laugh, and they subscribed
for a sum of 1,253,930 francs. At that price they had a right
to enjoy themselves a little.
Austria showed herself generous in the midst of her financial crisis.
Her public contributions amounted to the sum of 216,000 florins--
a perfect godsend.
Fifty-two thousand rix-dollars were the remittance of Sweden
and Norway; the amount is large for the country, but it would
undoubtedly have been considerably increased had the
subscription been opened in Christiana simultaneously with that
at Stockholm. For some reason or other the Norwegians do not
like to send their money to Sweden.
Prussia, by a remittance of 250,000 thalers, testified her high
approval of the enterprise.
Turkey behaved generously; but she had a personal interest in
the matter. The moon, in fact, regulates the cycle of her years
and her fast of Ramadan. She could not do less than give
1,372,640 piastres; and she gave them with an eagerness which
denoted, however, some pressure on the part of the government.
Belgium distinguished herself among the second-rate states by
a grant of 513,000 francs-- about two centimes per head of
her population.
Holland and her colonies interested themselves to the extent of
110,000 florins, only demanding an allowance of five per cent.
discount for paying ready money.
Denmark, a little contracted in territory, gave nevertheless
9,000 ducats, proving her love for scientific experiments.
The Germanic Confederation pledged itself to 34,285 florins.
It was impossible to ask for more; besides, they would not have
given it.
Though very much crippled, Italy found 200,000 lire in the
pockets of her people. If she had had Venetia she would have
done better; but she had not.
The States of the Church thought that they could not send less
than 7,040 Roman crowns; and Portugal carried her devotion to
science as far as 30,000 cruzados. It was the widow's mite--
eighty-six piastres; but self-constituted empires are always
rather short of money.
Two hundred and fifty-seven francs, this was the modest
contribution of Switzerland to the American work. One must
freely admit that she did not see the practical side of
the matter. It did not seem to her that the mere despatch of
a shot to the moon could possibly establish any relation of
affairs with her; and it did not seem prudent to her to embark
her capital in so hazardous an enterprise. After all, perhaps
she was right.
As to Spain, she could not scrape together more than 110 reals.
She gave as an excuse that she had her railways to finish.
The truth is, that science is not favorably regarded in that
country, it is still in a backward state; and moreover, certain
Spaniards, not by any means the least educated, did not form a
correct estimate of the bulk of the projectile compared with
that of the moon. They feared that it would disturb the
established order of things. In that case it were better to
keep aloof; which they did to the tune of some reals.
There remained but England; and we know the contemptuous
antipathy with which she received Barbicane's proposition.
The English have but one soul for the whole twenty-six millions
of inhabitants which Great Britain contains. They hinted that
the enterprise of the Gun Club was contrary to the "principle of
non-intervention." And they did not subscribe a single farthing.
At this intimation the Gun Club merely shrugged its shoulders
and returned to its great work. When South America, that is to
say, Peru, Chili, Brazil, the provinces of La Plata and Columbia,
had poured forth their quota into their hands, the sum of $300,000,
it found itself in possession of a considerable capital, of which
the following is a statement:
United States subscriptions, . . $4,000,000
Foreign subscriptions . . . $1,446,675
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Total, . . . . $5,446,675
Such was the sum which the public poured into the treasury of
the Gun Club.
Let no one be surprised at the vastness of the amount. The work
of casting, boring, masonry, the transport of workmen, their
establishment in an almost uninhabited country, the construction
of furnaces and workshops, the plant, the powder, the projectile,
and incipient expenses, would, according to the estimates, absorb
nearly the whole. Certain cannon-shots in the Federal war cost
one thousand dollars apiece. This one of President Barbicane,
unique in the annals of gunnery, might well cost five thousand
times more.
On the 20th of October a contract was entered into with the
manufactory at Coldspring, near New York, which during the war
had furnished the largest Parrott, cast-iron guns. It was
stipulated between the contracting parties that the manufactory
of Coldspring should engage to transport to Tampa Town,
in southern Florida, the necessary materials for casting
the Columbiad. The work was bound to be completed at latest
by the 15th of October following, and the cannon delivered
in good condition under penalty of a forfeit of one hundred
dollars a day to the moment when the moon should again present
herself under the same conditions-- that is to say, in eighteen
years and eleven days.
The engagement of the workmen, their pay, and all the necessary
details of the work, devolved upon the Coldspring Company.
This contract, executed in duplicate, was signed by Barbicane,
president of the Gun Club, of the one part, and T. Murchison
director of the Coldspring manufactory, of the other, who thus
executed the deed on behalf of their respective principals.
Content of Chapter XII - Urbi et Orbi [Jules Verne's novel: From the Earth to the Moon]
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