During a quarter century following 1857 the city was the centre of an idealistic philosophical movement that has had hardly any counterpart in American culture except New England transcendentalism. Its founders were William T. Harris (q.v.) and Henry C. Brockmeyer (b. 1828), who was lieutenant-governor of the state in 1876–1880. A. Bronson Alcott was one of the early lecturers to the group which gathered around these two, a group which studied Hegel and Kant, Plato and Aristotle. Brockmeyer published excellent versions of Hegel’s Unabridged Logic, Phenomenology and Psychology. Harris became the greatest of American exponents of Hegel. Other members of the group were Thomas Davidson (1840–1900), Adolph E. Kroeger, the translator of Fichte, Anna Callender Brackett (b. 1836), who published in 1886 an English version of Rosenkranz’s History of Education, Denton Jaques Snider (b. 1841), whose best work has been on Froebel, and William McKendree Bryant (b. 1843), who wrote Hegel’s Philosophy of Art (1879) and Hegel’s Educational Ideas (1896). This Philosophical Society published (1867–1893) at St Louis The Journal of Speculative Philosophy, the first periodical of the sort in English.
Since the war the city’s history has been signalized chiefly by economic development. A period in this was auspiciously closed in 1904 by the holding of a world’s fair to celebrate the centennial of the purchase from France, in 1803, of the Louisiana territory since then divided into 13 states, and containing in 1900 some 12,500,000 inhabitants. Preparations for this Louisiana Purchase Exposition began in 1898. It was the largest world’s fair held to date, the site covering 1240 acres, of which 250 were under roof. The total cost, apart from individual exhibitions, was about $42,500,000, of which the national government contributed $5,000,000 and the city of St Louis and its citizens $10,000,000. Altogether 12,804,616 paid admissions were collected (total admissions 19,694,855) during the seven months that it was open, and there was a favourable balance at the close of about $1,000,000.
Up to 1848 St Louis was controlled in politics almost absolutely by the Whigs; since then it has been more or less evenly contested by the Democrats against the Whigs and Republicans. The Republicans now usually have the advantage. As mentioned before, the state is habitually Democratic; “boss” rule in St Louis was particularly vicious in the late ’nineties, and corruption was the natural result of ring rule—the Democratic bosses have at times had great power—and of the low pay—only $25 monthly—of the city’s delegates and councilmen. But the reaction came, and with it a strong movement for independent voting. Fire, floods, epidemics, and wind have repeatedly attacked the city. A great fire in 1849 burned along the levee and adjacent streets, destroying steamers, buildings, and goods worth, by the estimate of the city assessor, more than $6,000,000. Cholera broke out in 1832–1833, 1849–1851, and 1866, causing in three months of 1849 almost 4000 deaths, or the death of a twentieth of all inhabitants. Smallpox raged in 1872–1875. These epidemics probably reflect the one-time lamentable lack of proper sewerage. Great floods occurred in 1785, 1811, 1826, 1844, 1872, 1885 and 1903; those of 1785 and 1844 being the most remarkable. There were tornadoes in 1833, 1852 and 1871; and in 1896 a cyclone of 20 minutes’ duration, accompanied by fire but followed fortunately by a tremendous rain, destroyed or wrecked 8500 buildings and caused a loss of property valued at more than $10,000,000.
East St Louis, a city of St Clair county, Illinois, U.S.A., on the E. bank of the Mississippi, lies opposite St Louis, Missouri. Pop. (1880), 9185; (1890), 15,169; (1900), 29,655, of whom 3920 were foreign born (mostly German and Irish); (1910 census) 58,547. It is one of the great railway centres of the country. Into it enter from the east sixteen lines of railway, which cross to St Louis by the celebrated steel arch bridge and by the Merchants’ Bridge. It is also served by three interurban electric railways. The site of East St Louis is in the “American Bottom,” little above the high-water mark of the river. This “bottom” stretches a long distance up and down the river, with a breadth of 10 or 12 m. It is intersected by many sloughs and crescent-shaped lakes which indicate former courses of the river. The manufacturing interests of East St Louis are important, among the manufactories being packing establishments, iron and steel works, rolling-mills and foundries, flour mills, glass works, paint works and wheel works. By far the most important industry is slaughtering and meat packing: both in 1900 and in 1905 East St Louis ranked sixth among the cities of the United States in this industry; its product in 1900 was valued at $27,676,818 (out of a total for all industries of $32,460,957), and in 1905 the product of the slaughtering and meat-packing establishments in and near the limits of East St Louis was valued at $39,972,245, in the same year the total for all industries within the corporate limits being only $37,586,198. The city has a large horse and mule market. East St Louis was laid out about 1818, incorporated as a town in 1859, and chartered as a city in 1865.
Consult the Encyclopaedia of the History of St Louis (4 vols., St Louis, 1899); J. T. Scharf, History of St Louis City and County . . . including Biographical Sketches (2 vols., Philadelphia, 1883); E. H. Shepherd, Early History of St Louis and Missouri . . . 1763–1843 (St Louis, 1870); F. Billon, Annals of St Louis . . . 1804 to 1821 (2 vols., St Louis, 1886–1888); G. Anderson, Story of a Border City during the Civil War (Boston, 1908); The Annual Statement of the Trade and Commerce of St Louis . . . reported to the Merchants Exchange, by its secretary.
ST LOUIS, the capital of the French colony of Senegal, West Africa, with a population (1904) of 24,070, or including the suburbs, 28,469. St Louis, known to the natives as N’dar, is 163 m. by rail N.N.E. of Dakar and is situated on an island 1112 m. above the mouth of the Senegal river, near the right bank, there separated from the sea by a narrow strip of sand called the Langue de Barbarie. This strip of sand is occupied by the villages of N’dar Toute and Guet N’dar. Three bridges connect the town with the villages; and the Pont Faidherbe, 2132 ft. long, affords communication with Bouetville, a suburb on the left bank, and the terminus of the railway to Dakar. The houses of the European quarter have for the most part flat roofs, balconies and terraces. Besides the governor’s residence the most prominent buildings are the cathedral, the great mosque, the court-house, the barracks and military offices, and the docks. The round beehive huts of Guet N’dar are mainly inhabited by native| fishermen. N’dar Toute consists of villas with gardens, and is a summer watering-place. There is a pleasant public garden, and N’dar Toute is approached by a magnificent alley of palm-trees. The low-lying position of St Louis and the extreme heat render it unhealthy, whilst the sandy nature of the soil causes intense inconvenience. The mouth of the Senegal being obstructed by a shifting bar of sand, the steamships of the great European lines do not come up to St Louis; passengers embark and land at Dakar, on the eastern side of Cape Verde. Ships for St Louis have often to wait outside or inside the bar for days or weeks, and partial unloading is frequently necessary. From July to the end of September—that is during flood-time—the water over the bar is, however, deep enough to enable vessels to reach St Louis without difficulty.
St Louis is believed to have been the site of a European settlement since the 15th century, but the present town was founded in 1626 by Dieppe merchants known as the Compagnie normande. It is the oldest colonial establishment in Africa belonging to France (see Senegal). Its modern development dates from 1854. The town, however, did not receive municipal government till 1872. All citizens, irrespective of colour, can vote. From 1895 to 1903 St Louis was not only the capital of Senegal, but the residence of the governor-general of French West Africa. In November of the last named year the governor-general removed to Dakar. Small forts defend St Louis from the land side—the surrounding country, the Cayor, being inhabited by a warlike race, which previously to the building (1882–1885) of the St Louis-Dakar railway was a continual source of trouble.
The town carries on a very active trade with all the countries watered by the Senegal and the middle Niger. St Louis is connected with Brest by a direct cable, and with Cadiz via the Canary Islands.
ST LUCIA, the largest of the British Windward Islands, West Indies, in 14° N., 61° W., 24 m. S. of Martinique and 21 m. N.E. of St Vincent. Its area is 233 sq. m., length 42 m., maximum breadth 12 m., and its coast-line is 150 m. long. It is considered one of the loveliest of all the West Indian islands. It is a mass
