The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-05-27
state Of Montana.

| IL may be arrived at by reading the
story of what he has done. and of his
way.
Cecil Rhodes was about 25 years of
age when he went to South Africa from
| England, is years or so ago. He was a
slim, pale young fellow, whom the doc
tors SAID was on the verge of consump-
tlon. AT oxford university, where he
was when his health failed, he was
known only as hard student, whose
passion II was to be the leader in
everything he undertook He was poor
IN those days, for he was one of that
numerous class, the younger sons" Of
English gentlemen, whose family for
tune is insufficient for their mainte-
nance at home and who, therefore, are
shipped off to the colonies where they
either find their way to fame and for
tune or else are claimed by death in
some of the many forms IL takes in
those wild lands.
From the moment that Cecil Rhodes
set foot on African soil, with a few
pounds in his pocket, he seemed to be
gifted with the touch of Midas, for his
handful Of sovereigns multiplied with
marvellous rapidly, and in less than
five years reached the astonishing sum
of &1,000,000. Perhaps If Rhodes had
settled in New York instead of Kim
berley, he might have become king of
Wall street instead of the diamond
king. For il was on the stock exchange
of that little African city that he won
his first thousands of pounds.
His first move was the organizing of
all the gold and diamond mines Of
South Africa into a gigantic syndicate,
of which he, of course, was the head
This was known as the Consolidated
DeBeers mines. For one of his part
ners Rhodes had the now famous Bar
ney Barnato, the "Kaffir King" the
fuctuation of whose South African
stocks last year meant the daily loss
and gain of millions of pounds.
The stock of the new company was
at par on the day of it's birth, but be-
fore ii was a month old il had doubled
in market value, and Cecil Rhodes
name was on every tongue. A little la
ter came the news of a discovery which
then seemed like a stroke of fabulous
good fortune. but which, through his
greed for power and wealth, has since
brought about his undoing-the discov-
cry of new and rich gold fields in the
Transvaal republic. Rhodes and his
associates sent more than half a hun
dred different companies Immediately
into this new territory to locate and
seize upon-in a perfectly legal way of
course-all the best and richest of it,
Millions more poured into their treas
ury.
But all this while Cecil Rhodes was
maturing and beginning to carry out
his political plans. His first taste of
this sort of power was when he was
elected member of the Cape parliament
from Kimberley. To adequately appre-
ciate his success as a statesman il will
be necessary to observe that there were
in the Cape parliament two bitterly OPP
posed factions. one of which was jeal-
Gus of even the slightest control of En-
gland and wished to be entirely indie
pendent, while the other was as strong
in its allegiance to the home govern
ment and to her whom their opponents
named as the widow at Windsor"
No man could have been popular with
both these hostile parties had he not
been a diplomatist of the first rank, Sc
cret. self-reliant and masterful
1t was not long before they all knew
what an iron hand his velvet glove
for when the time was ripe
he threw aside all disguise and declar-
ID that the Cape was able to govern it.
self without aid or advice from London.
His views were hailed with acclaim by
a vast majority. and from that day &C.
I'll Rhodes has been the most popular
and powerful man in that part of the
world. He became a member of the 4
Cape ministry in 1884, and six years la
er he reached the highest office he |
could hope to attain in a colonial de-
tendency, that of prime minister.
Such was the beginning and growth
f Cecil Rhodes ambitious dream which
las not yet been realized-the forming
# an Independent federation of South
African states, of which he should be
he undisputed leader.
In appearance Cecil Rhodes is a Dig
nan-tall, broad-shoyldered and mus
ular. He is not handsome, but there
S look of bulldog tenacity and
trength about his mouth, half hidden
~ a clOse-clipped musJacne and i'm his
zen eyes that to women, as well as
men, is more admirable than the best
f good looks. He has a high forehead
nd a rather florid complexion. His
eep-set eyes are blue, and, like his
dice, never betray any telltale emo
ions of the mind that lie back of
hem.
Like Napoleon. Cecil Rhodes has the
bility to throw himself down. even
1hen the greatest affairs are in sus-
ense, and Immediately fall asleep at
ill. rising refreshed after a short nap.
Despite the tremendous amount of
FORK he does. he is never troubled with
lsomnia. He rises very early in the
Forming and begins work at 6 O'clock.
He is generous yet cynical in his
haracter-a cynicism that is almost
apellant at times. He is said to be a
etter judge of bodies of men, their ca
abilities and what they are likely to
o. than he is OF individuals. and ii is
,r this reason, probably. that he pre-
FRS 10 trust mankind in the collective
lther than in the individual
Long ago he recognized the great
nth that self-interest is the motive ,
lat moves most men and makes them
Use or faithful servants. and he there
IRE has always been careful TO reward ,
ght royalty those who served him
18th blind obedience and devotion. /,
A mans private life is generally sup !
Dsed TO be one OF the best guides TO :
rming an opinion as to his character
II Cecil Rhodes seems to have really q
, private life. OF ambition toward So I