The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-01-24
NEW BIOGRAPHY OF HIM PRE-
PARED BY AN OLD
FRIEND.
HIS VERY METEOR!C CAREER.
SCRIBED BY A SOUTH AFRI-
CAN REPORTER.
His Success Finally Wonderful
Suicide From the Steamship
Scot.

The story of Barney Barnato's origin
and meteoric career in South Africa
and later in London has been told fire.
Quently and each time with different
assortment Of facts. For two years the
effect of his name in London was mag
ical. Everything that he touched be-
came profitable and English investors
went crazy over Barnato stocks. Much
was known about his financial opera
lions, but very little definite informa-
ton could be obtained about the man S
history. According to one story he
went to South Africa as a circus clown
and according to another he was a
younger son of a titled family and a
man of much culture, and the news
paper-reading public struck an aver
age between these two portraits. Bar
nato's millions were not myths if the
stories about him were, and he seldom
took the trouble to deny the latter
What purpOrts to be practically an
authorized biography Of Barnato has
just been published under the title "B.
]. Barnato; A Memoir" Harry Ray
mond, the author of it, was a reporter
on a South African newspaper during
the years when Barnato was fighting
his way to great wealth, and knew him
Intimately. If his sketch Of Barnato's
life is authentic, the previously pub
lished biographies were chiefly fairy
tales. Mr.. Raymond tells his story in
a simple, straight forward fashion with
out attempting to portray Barnato
other than as shrewd financier with
a ready wit and the money-getting in
stinct. Many of Mr.. Raymond's anec-
dotes Of Barnato are new.
It was in 1871 when there were gath
cred in the diamond fields in a series
of camps some 1900 white men and four
times that number of Kaffirs, that a
young Hebrew named Henry Isaacs
made his appearance in Kimberley,
and, assuming the name Of Barnato,
began to give public entertainments for
the miners. Harry Rarnato didn't take
long to discover that he could make
more money in diamonds than on the
stage, and at the end of q year he sent
home for his brother, Barnett Isaacs,
to come out and help him gather prof
its. Barnett Isaacs also assumed the
name of Barnato, and it was his gen
Jus which guided the new firm to sue
cess. They were the sons of a pious
Hebrew in London named Isaac Isaacs,
and the grandsonS of a rabbi of some
reputation. When Barnato became ia
nous and one of his friends chided
him on the amusement that he derived
from the absurd stories told about him,
he replied:
''Well, why shouldn't I? A man who
doesn't care twopence about me comes
with a yarn and asks If it Is true.
say oh, 1 suppose so; go and ask So
and-So, he will tell you what really oc-
Cured Now, If 1 was to say there
was not a word Of truth in the whole
story l should not be believed. l have
had hundreds of men come to me for
details of my career. If I told them
the truth they wouldn't believe me; if
I didn't tell 'em anything at all they
would go off angry and try to write
nasty things. So I let them talk, find
cut what they want to hear and then
tell it to them; and they believe it all
and go away and say what is, perhaps,
the only absolutely true thing they
Will say, that 1 am not a bit ashamed
of my origin and never put on side.
If you do not like it, tell me what else
can do better
The history of Barnato's dealings in
the gold fields has been told frequently,
and Mr.. Raymond adds little that is
new. According to this biographer
Rarnato was an amateur actor Of great
repute in South Africa, and his favor
Ticket-of-L Leave Man" and Matthias in
1.-THE Bells
AS an illustration of Barnato's bust
ness methods this incident is related:
ION one occasion, after being very little in
the Office for some twelve days, he suddenly
entered and asked what the balance at the
bank was and what business had been done.
When told he sat down and made some brief
calculations.
a No, that is not right he said. Have
" Yes have checked everything this week.
All is in order
Well, you are wrong, tell you. You are
about $4,000 out You had better find out
where it is
1.-The books were re-examined, every detail
of the business of the firm was closely scrut-
iniZed and in the end-after six weeks con-
tinuous work-it was found that an employe
had misappropriated a single parcel of shares
of a little over "A 0OG in value, consisting OF
100 Kimberley Centrals at f41 and had very
cleverly falsifed the entries. Barnato had nc
knowledge of the misdeed, and never dreamed
of suspecting the individual; but he happened
to want to know the exact position of affairs
and he could at any time roughly balance tbs
whole of his vast business to within a few
pounds. 1 never heard him enunciate the
ume-honored maxim Look after the pence the
pounds will take care of themSelves'-he gen
orally preferred to clothe his thoughts in his
own terse phrases-but 1t was never better ex-
emplified than in his conduct of business
Barnatos. philosophy. was of the get-there
kind, and Mr.. Raymond quotes him as saying
IF you are going to fight, always get in
first blow. If is going to hit you, hit
him first and say If you try that, III hit you
again. 1t is no use your standing off and
saying, If you hit me I'll hit you back. Dye
understand?
Yes I understand, answered. but you
are quoting Kingsley in Westward Hon.
Who was Kingsley and Westward Hon.
he sharply Queried
After l had explained and quoted the pas.
sage from brakes letter to Amyas Leigh, he
said:
All! 1 did not know anything Of King.
sley, but when he wrote that he knew what
life was and he was right and l am right
though it is queer for me to get su~1ortel