The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-11-17


performers. has been "A daring sfecuaatvF
who went out % South Africa few years
ago as a circus clown. and ls now reputed
10 b. a muifi-mlllignatre. patron ~ niu-
etc and the arts. ara a designer u palaces
in PiccadiIlv Il IS not O Eh0w u9aer
tent with Lemonade and peanuts AZ access
SORES II & q daily perforrnauce m mar
bic hall not far from the Bank ~ In
gland
The Black Friday scenes IN New York
did not witness. but 7 have seen IN buenos
Avres in Sush times the Cadayer0us Ar
genflne Rauehos. bred or the pampas. at
tired Ike French dandLes and disporftng
themselves in a mad reEel Of speculation
on the stock exchange, and they were So
Der and cautious operators re comparison
with the London Kanlrs. Day after day
the exchange haa been filed with a dense
thr0ug a. brokers and 1obbers dealing IN
South African mining stocks, shouting
fhanHelves hoarEc. tUmhng over one an
other 10 q frenzy ~ excitement. and alter
natelv making fortunes and hinging them
away There has been n side show In Paris
equally entertaining bat London has been
the real headquarters Of the kaffir boom
n has been the best advertised show cl
recent times. Every newspaper in Lon
don and Paris has bristlcd with pros
uectlrRes Of African mining ventures. one
of the chief functions 81 the postmen has
been the distribution OF circulars, pamph-
lets expert opinions and fiariuE puffs of
South African projects. The mining col
umn has been read at the breakfast table
In advance Of the luminous leader 81 the
most statesmanike Bi0Witz Interview
.'Kanirs" have smothered politics I'm the
clubs There has been q South African
under every vine and fg tree, and not in
frequently zone little wooliy one in the
Kitchen wo0dpilc ON the streets and -
drawing rooms tales as marvellous as the
ffHI 81
penturers who could only count their shil-
iings a few months ago. but who couid
AFFORD 70 drop half a million IN a single
week without losing a nights sleep.
A Revcl of speculation.
Stranger than any club stories % tho
smoking room are the revelations Of the
statisiiclans. The Economist published re-
Gently a table showing the decline Of
dozen representative African stocks dur
ing ten days. IT aggregated sll3. 0o0 on
q nominal capital Of SEE 9i3. 50 This was
the shrInkage In a dozen lines Of stocks
out Of the many hundreds OF companies
which have been organized. Yet ranic
there was none. either IN London or Paris,
for the Kaffir boom had merely had "a
little setback" The bubble had not been
pricked. Cautious operators. inconven-
fenced by carrying over shares had ef-
fected "a clearance" and this had been
followed by considerable realizations"
from continental centers. The kafflr boom
remains "a before the most popular lot
terry Of London. The prices are below the
inflated quotations Of September. hut far
and above the figures Of January
Speculation I'm mining shares has more
than kept pace with discovery and pro-
ductl0n. All classes Of investors have
been drawn into the maddening whirl.
During the last eighteen months specula-
ton IN South African stocks has steadily
Increased IN volume They have been oc-
casional sharp reactions when the open
bull accounts have become so unw.eldlv and
unmanageable as 20 compel brokers Ia self
defense % require a partial liquidation by
their customers. hut after a brief l-usc
the spectators have resumed operations
with Increased vigpr More than once the
machinery OF the stock exchange has
broken down from sheer inability to
handle the immense volume Of business. Tho
whole mining market within "A fortnight
has had = sharp setback. both in Paris
and IN London bat even with this shrink
age prices Of all stocks are stin enormous
IL inflated.
The Rand mines. which are among the
best properties, may serve as an inustra-
ton. on January > 1885,. the shares Of
sixty-seVen companies, Of nominal par
valne of fla.72.T29. We're selling in the
market for ElqT2.6l5 ON December 81.
Isal the same shares had q market Valuo
OF G55. aai. So That was a tremendous add
vance FOR q single year. bat greater iuflG-
ton was o. follow. The same sh8rcs on
October r.. 1885. were selling az &l05,11a,-
90: and that too. after the recent shrink
age OF all mining shares. That IS um'-
nous example OF the extent and magnitude
OF what IS popullrly known as tho "Kahir
Circus"
Rigging tho Bourscs.
IL has Goen lmprscdcable Tor the ordi-
nary investor % discriminate properly Ice
tween the meritorious aud the worthless
mining property. for such information as
has been available has been either meager
or Enthusiastically. During the last Eh-
teen months reckless ana unprinciplct conn
pany promoters have heeu able 20 fo.st up-
on the market Valueess shares on the
strength OF South African names and the
reputation OF the great properties. Ai-
yeuturers haNe made fun use 81 their ops
portGnities. Tho Stock Exchange Itself bv
It's methods has facilitated imposture by
permitting quotations tar shares many
weeks before the actual date az issue. Sa-n
quotations. appearing day after day sa the
stock Exchange reports. have surrounded
unknown undertakings with an Atmosphere
OF gcnulncncss ANA Importance in the m'nIs
OF tho speculative as Wei as the investing
buyer. There have been not u Gcw .n-
stances Of thls kind Of swindlins.
The progress az this speculative mama
was greatly accelerated when abe Paris
bourse Was opened 10 South Afc.can shares.
and tho French people began to take a hand
IN the game. Indeed. Che rapid advance .n
prices dT.ak tEa Lass ve9r has be- chiefly
due 20 purchases ana speculation beyond tte
channel French DuyIaE htz been even
more in3iscrmmatc thtu purchases II min
iuE stocks awsaE she se-e3iiea coassrNa -
tive investors tn Er&3Ant. The mining oal-
umn 81 .ae Parts Journal 3f-sr being eager
~ scanned Icy thc bead - lHe tiolN. aa,