The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-10-15
King of the aKamr..v

shares about 10 burst2 That is the ques-
/ ton that is just now agitating hundreds
/ Of spectators in these shares in London
I Paris and Berlin. 1t is said that in the
Z stock exchanges in the foregoing cities
great uneasiness is manifested respecting
these shares.
For more than a year the London papers
have been declaring that the speculation
in the "Kahir" gold mining shares had
very little substantial foundation. and that
at any hour confidence in them might
disappear. In that event most of those
who had invested their money In them
would be losers.
The amount Of money invested in shares
in the South African gold mines almost
surpasses belief. It reaches hundreds OF
Of millions of dollars. When the boom
bursts. and there are now indications that
it will burst soon. there will be a wall
of dispair from many throats.
The speculation in the "Kafir'' shares
has been something extraordinary. It be-
gan about two years ago. and has stead
lily increased in intensity and volume IN
til it has become greater than the South
Sea bubble" speculation in 1870. the rail-
way speculation between 1870 and 1880. or
the great speculation in the securities of
the Argentine Republic. which ended so
disastrously for the Earrings.
A few men have made enormous for
tunes. One Of these men is Barney Bar
nato, who is known in London and Paris
as king of the Kaffirs." A London cable
gram says that within two years he has
made $1OOOOOOOO. No doubt this sum ex-
ceeds the truth greatly. Nevertheless,
the fact remains that he has gained from
the "Kafir" craze many millions of dol
lars.
OF the origin of this king of the Kaf-
frs" but little is known. 1t is alleged
that he was a London street Arab, and
that he went to South Africa when he
was only about Is years of age. There
he filed various humble positions, one OF
them being that of clown in a circus.
But this street Arab and circus clown
has proved that he possesses remarkable
qualifications for making money. 1t is
doubtful if in all the world there is an
other man who has accumulated so vast
a fortune in so short a time.
1t may be that some of the "Kafir''
shares he has put on the market
have a value, but it would not be at all
surprising if some of the mining shares
he has sold are practically worthless. II
is absolutely certain that millions of dol
lars worth of the shares that are on the
market will never pay a cent to any
body. They are called shares Of Land
and Exploration" companies It is prob
able that nobody knows whether these
companies have any valuable gold-bearing
lands or not or whether they ever at
tempt to make explorations for gold. But
as indefinite and uncertain as the infor-
nation respecting them is people have
been so blinded by the gold speculative
craze that they have tumbled over each
other in their efforts to get chance to
pay four or five times the face value of
the shares.
1t is matter of little consequence to
Barney Barnato. the king of the KAT
frs" whether the shares pay anything or
not. He was one of the first men to put
'Kaffir shares" ~on the market, and it is
understood that he disposed of all his
holdings long ago, and has invested his
many millions in safe dividend-paying Sc
curities. According to a recent cable dis
patch, he is not bothering himself about
the question as to whether the "Kafir'-
boom is about to burst or not. He is en-
joying himself giving expensive suppers
to pretty girls of the London and Paris
theaters. 1t is said that he recently APP
peared among the "supers" in a play at
the Drury Lane theater, the scenes of the
play being laid in South Africa He is
having jolly good time. but how about
the victims of the "Kafir" craze? win
they feel Ike being jolly when the KAT
fir" boom bursts? Hardly.