The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-10-17
GOLD IN TUE TRANSvAAL.
THERE Is MORE THERE NOW THAN
IS IN USE IN THE WORLD.
Report Made BY George $. Becker,
the Chief Expert of the United
state GeoiogicaI Survey.

WASHINGTON, Oct. .16.-There is
more gold in the Transvaal field ready
to be mined than the amount now in
use throughout the world, according 70
George F. Becker, the chief expert of
the United States geologic survey, who
has recently returned from Johannes
burg, where active Investigations as
regards precious metals were in
progress at the time OF Hammond's
trial. Most of the Americans, includ-
ing Hammond. had formerly been as
sistants or pupils of DIR. Becker. and
in a great measure his cablegrams TO
Secretary Olney insured impartial trials
go go eillzeLS. Dr. Becker declares
that the primary cause of the troubles
80 4...i4seeta4 VAS the lack Of sym
patty between the extremely CONNER
ciai INDUSTRIAL foreigners or JltI4Htxc. .,
and the Beers. The Beers had made
repeated and extraordinary struggles
for freedom from English rule, and re-
garded the influx OF the English to
Johannesburg as a new and insidious
form of. aggression. Their distrust of
the English was excusabie only on his
torical grounds. The English. he said.
had not pursued policy of deliberate
oppression in South Africa, but they
had made many plumbers, with effects
as bad as if their motive had been evil.
Gold production, DR.. Becker says, be-
gan in 1887. Since then the town of
Johannesburg has grown UP with $1,000
whites and as many colored inhabi-
tants, according to census in July.
The number of Beers in the Transvaal
is probably only about $4,000 souls.
The laws of the country did not con-
template a large industrial town, and
the Beers have been slow to adjust
their ideas to the needs of such COM
munity- They dare not give the Uit-
landers the franchise, and their adj
ministration of Johannesburg has been
extremely faulty, giving rise to long
list of real grievances on the part of
the Uitlanders. The grievances, how
ever, affect the capitalists far more
than the other foreigners, who really
have little to complain of, since they
are much better off than in any other
mining community in the world The
reformers laid no plot against the in
dependence of the republic, their idea
being to brighten the administration
into a redress of their grievances, or,
az most, to substitute forcibly more
liberal administration.
Jamesons announcement that he
would raise the British flag, was made
only after he had crossed the border
( in contravention of an explicit agree
ment with the leaders. It came as a
great shock to the refornaers and Ham
mond, the only American among the
leaders, Immediately demanded and OBJ
tanned an oath OF allegiance to the
Transvaal flag. Had he failed to take
this step, the punishment subse-
quently awarded 10 the reformeTs
would have been much more severe.
{ There were seven Americans among the
reformers, but none of them was in
the slightest degree implicated in any
attempt to overthrow the republic.
They took their punishment like Amer
leans, and have done nothing to forfeit
the respect Of their countrymen. Quiet
now reigns in the Transvaal, and Or.
! Becker believes that reforms demanded
! by a sense of justice will be granted,
though the franchise will be withheld.
The effect of the disturbances. how
ever, has been to draw together the
Beers throughout South Africa. and to
accentuate race feeling.