Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1897-06-24
THE CITIZEN
Barney Barnato.

mltted suicide DE jumping ONSiboaAo
from the steamer on which he was
travelling. The body was recovered.
Barney Barnato was reputed to be
the richest man in the world. his for
tune having been estimated as high as
$500 600. 600. but where he came from
and how he laid the foundations of his
fortune are matters which have never
been made quite clear. He appeared
in London about FIVE years ago with his
head full of great schemes, and
within two years he launched stupen-
dous speculative movement in South |
African mining stocks, and he was |
known as the Kaffir King
According TO one story he was the son |
of Barney issacs who used to go about |
the White chapel district of London
gathering rags and old iron, and Barney
himself turned cartwheels in the street
behind omnibuses to amuse the passen-
gers and earn half.pence. That his
name was originally Isaacs, and that he
was born of Jewish parents in London
there seems 70 be no doubt, and, al
though another story says that his
father was able to afford private tutors
for him this is probably myth, for his
lack of education and his uncouth man
ners were notorious.
Some time during his early youth
Barnato drifted eff to the South African
mining country What he had done
before that time to earn living, and
what he did during much Of the time
| after he arrived in Africa, is largely
matter of conjecture, but their are sto-
ries told by persons who claim to have
known him at various periods Of this
stage of his career which indicate that
he lived by his wits then, just as he has
since only working upon much small
er scale. He is said to have been, by
turns, a barber, a street fakir, circus
lclown, an actor, and a mining camp fol
lower, according as fancy prompted or
the opportunity afforded. Just before
he made his first big strike he is reputed
to have been the owner Of a circus,
which consisted of a single donkey that
did clever tricks Some times he ped
ldled watches, or even cheaper articles,
and there were hints that he had dealt
sn "contraband as diamonds are call
which are not bought through the reg
ular channels Men who make money
| in the South African country do not al
WAYS tell Just how it is done, and Bar
lnato himself never made it clear how
he got his big start.
However it was its rapidity that sug
gested the marvels that followed the
rubbing of Aladdin's lamp. One story
| is that he discovered by accident that
1.-THE blue earth at Kimberley was the
true diamond bearing soil. According
to it. 20. 600 men had been digging for
diamonds at the Kimberly mines and
when they reached depth of 100 feet
or more below the surface the yellow
sand in which they had been working
suddenly ended, and they came upon
Isnbstratum of blue earth that was al
Imost as hard as stone. One digger
went some distance into the blue earth
and piled up several hundred tons of it,
| but tne rest abandoned their claims
and went away. The last man ietI
when the racing season came ON, and
| four months later Barney came tramp
ing that way and in the crumbling blue
earth left by the miner he fonnd 30
carat diamond He sold the stone peg
ged out all the mine, entered claims for
it and sold the claims for so, 200, 600.
This is no better substantiated than
the others, but it is certain that as early
as 1886 Barnato had become heavy
lspeculator in mining properties, and
iabout that time he went to Johannes
burg and bought up a lot OF mining
claims from men who could not aford
TO pay the heavy license fees demanded
by the Government Here he came IN
deposition to Cecil Rhodes and his
friends and for time they made war
on one another but III 1888 their inter
ests were combined South Africa
grew too small for Barnato after that
and perhaps too uncomfortable. lie
had represented Kimberley for a couple
of terms in the Cape Colony Legislature
and been admitted TO number of clubs
but first the Kimberley Club expelled
him for using bad and insulting Ian
gnage to other members, and eight
months afterward the Rand Club, the
most exclusive organization of South
| Africa followed suit.
| Wien he appeared in London it was
said that he took daily baths in cham
pagnc, and he spent money freely
enough to warrant such stories, But
in spite of his lavishness and his racing
stable, he could not induce London to
take him up. London Clubs black
balled him London people affected to
despise him, and no one would go
into his schemes. Sir Edgar Vincent
changed all this. First he went with
Barnato, as the latters guest, to visit
the South African mining regions. His
wife, the beautiful Lady Helen Duns
combe. sister of the Duchess of Leinster
was one of the party, and when they re-
turned, her social support did much to
help launch the great Kaffir boom. Sir
Edgar took Barnato to Paris and intro
dueed him in other European financial
centres and the companies and shares
which he was enabled to create and sell
seemed endless. Anything with South
Africa" and Barnato's name upon it
Twas accepted as a sure sign of wealth
making power and it was estimated a
lyear or more ago that the British pub
lie had invested $3.50, 100000 in his
Ischemes
| One of these was the creating of the
"Barnato Bank Mining, and Estate cor
lporation, Limited, of London. Its
capital stock was g, 500, 600, divided in
to 81 shares The morning the shares
were issued fifteen hundred brokers
began to bid for them, and they sold at
l,,ra,ni,1,,G ranuinor from p3 los m CT