Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-04-25
INDUS TRIES IN AFRICA
Mr.. Gardiner G. Hubbard Delivers an In
teresting Lecture.
The Growth aad development of nm
ming - Saving the Ostrich.

A large and apprpciative audience. and
one that was representative Of the culture
Of the capital. gathered last evening at
Metzerott Hall to- hear the annual address
Of the president Of the National Geographic
Society. The occasion was a delightful. one
in every way. and the eighth annual adj
dress of President Gardiner g. Hubbard
amply repaid all those who took advantage
Of the opportunity to hear what he had to
say on a most timely and interesting topic.
President Hubbard took for his subject
Africa Since 1885, With Special Reference
to the Recent Troubles There"
The topic which the president selected
Tor the exhaustive paper gave plenty of OPP
portunity for an interesting dissertation,
and Prof. Hubbard, in a clear and lucid
manner, explained at length the geographic
and political changes which have been SO
frequent of late, especially in South Africa.
With the troubles in Matabeleland and the
awkward position in which the English
nave been recently placed at BuluWayo,
Prof Hubbard had deal to say, and he
threw some interesting light upon events in
that part Of the world.
South Africa Company.
President Hubbard reviewed at some
length the history of South Africa, leading
up to the present state of affairs, criticisng
the British South Africa Chartered Com
pany and holding the board of directors of
that remarkable business enterprise, with
Its noble head, Sir Cecil Rhodes, as partic-
ularly to blame for the friction which has
arisen. This company has a most valuable
charter and has made the best of it's
chances to acquire tremendous wealth, and
It's success Is largely responsible for the
great boom in South African gold and dia-
mond mining stocks which, under the
leadership of that remarkable individu al
Rarnaf0 nlaVa1 N
portant part in the British financial world
of late.
In the Mines.
In the course of his address President
Hubbard said that the British South Afri-
ca Chartered Company has the only pos
sessions in that part of the world which
have really yielded any considerable divi-
dends to their promoters. large proper
ton of all the diamonds in the world are
found in their diamond fields. Did they
Out choose to do so, they might flood the
world with precious stones, and put an end
to the immense values now obtained. Their
polcy, however, wise one SO far as they
are concerned is to allow the fields only to
be worked to such an extent as to partially
supply the demand, and thus keep up the
prices. President Hubbard described at
some length the methods which are pur-
sued at the diggings, telling what tremen-
dous efforts are used TO prevent the work
men from carrying away any of the da-
monds which they may unearth during
their labors. Every night at the end of
their days work the miners are stripped
to the skin, and their clothing IS thor
oughly searched by experts. The men are
penned in the mines, andit is impossible
Tor them to escape; yet it is an admitted
fact that every year the company must
lose upward of million dollars through
the dishonesty of their employees. The
miners Secrete the precious gems about
their persons in most unique ways, SO
skillfully as to defy detection.
Other Industries.
President Hubbard said that ostrich
farming is one of the most important in
dustries of South Africa, after the diamond
and gold mining. The ostrich was once al
most destroyed, but before the bird had
become extinct ostrich farms We're started,
and they are becoming more plentiful
yearly. Gold mining is almost profitable
there as diamond mining 1t is estimat ed
that the worlds yield of gold this year
will be greater than that, of any previous
year. and that half Of the supply will come
from South Africa. .'rt-
The Beers, that remarkable people who
are attracting SO much of the worlds at
tention just now, were described at length.
In the course Of his remarks, Mr.. Hubbard
expressed the opinion that the kaffirs will
not suffer the same fate as did the aborig-
ines of America, in being driven out by
the whites. but that they will ultimately
predominant or, at least, offer powerful
resistance to the encroachments Of the
European colonists. The lecture was illus
trated with many beautiful lantern slides,
which materially assisted the audience in
their understanding of the subject.