The times., 1899-10-06
DIAMOND Mines MAY FAIL
That Is Why the Gems Price Is
Now Going Up.
.Africa's Output CurtaiIed by Cecil
Rhodes Precautionary Order An
fies-Possfbility of the Discovery
In This Country of Diamond Fields.
(From the New York SUM-


The price Of diamonds is going up, and
this is why: One day, about ten years ago,
Barney Barnato proposed to Cecil Rhodes
that they put all the diamonds at Kim
berley in pail.
Good enough" said the continent grab
ber. Pour them in. I'd like to see how
they look.
Barnato placed a large bucket on one of
the sorting tables in the main office, and
into that dumped all the rough diamonds
that had been mined during the year 1889.
They filed it to the brim.
Now" he said, 'I'll buy that bucket OF
diamonds from you, Rhodes, just as they
are, unassorted.'
The two agreed upon a price, and then
there was laid the foundation Of the famous
diamond syndicate which is now attracting
the attention of the gem wearing public;
for when Barnato packed up the stones and
sent them to London and Amsterdam it
required the experts there three months to
accomplish the sorting, and in that period
diamonds became so scarce on the market
that they began to bring fancy prices. Mr.
Rhodes, who can awaken TO such an oppor-
tunity without, being rougly jolted, saw 1t
was good thing, and since then his syndi-
cate has been buying up the Kimberley
diamond crop in advance and doling out the
stones as it sees fit.
The product is now arranged for until
June, 1900. and if the demand continues to
increase no one can say what diamonds
will be worth year from now. The De
Boeers Consolidated Mines Company has
the world at its mercy. Not enough dia-
monds are produced in Brazil, Australia
and other scattered localities to supply
the demand of the city of Philadelphia
alone. The jewellers in Maiden Lane say
that the market value Of stones is al
ready 40 per cent higher than it was
year ago. Every few weeks the syndicate
makes 10 per cent advance and the buy
ers must pay it or leave. their contracts
untitled, which is a costly proceeding.
Meanwhile the De Beers Consolidated is
going right along paying 40 per cent divi-
dends. There were nearly eight millions
of dollars to divide among the stockhold-
ers nthe De Beers Consolidated for the
year 1898, and these fortunate persons
will be enrich in still greater proportion
when the accounts for 1899 are cast.
Contrary to the general impression, the
man whom the directors of this company
hold responsible for it's prosperity is not
Cecil j. Rhodes. He is not even an Eng
lishman, but a thoroughly whole souled
American. who has displayed such wonder
full managerial talent that the stockholders
look 20 him, as it were, for their yearly
dividends.
Gardner F. Williams, though compare
lively unknown in this country, is one of
the few prominent characters in South
Africa, for he is head and front of the da-
mond industry and has metamorphosed the
town of Kimberley from a struggling set
tlement into a model city. He is so great
ly valued by the De Beers Company that
no one ever questions his actions. He has
often requested them to accept his resig-
nation, but on each occasion the directors
increase his salary as an inducement for
him to remain. AS for Mr.. Rhodes, he sell
dom comes to Kimberley these days. and
makes whatever suggestions he has by let
ter His last instructions were TO decrease
the output for the next twelve months,
which will accordingly be done.
Mr. Williams is about fifty years old, of
imposing figure and kindly face He is
American consular agent at Kimberley.
His ambition is to establish city where
each man win own his own home and
make money enough to live in comfort To
this end he has begun a model village on
the outskirts of Kimberley, which is called
Kenilworth. Here there are beautiful cot
tages with the best sanitary arrangements,
which the employees can rent for &2 los
month and purchase on installments.
There are special buildings for bachelors
and an excellent clubhouse. The village
is threaded by wide driyeways flanked
with eucalyptus, oak, cypress, and pine
trees
Making model town, however, has been
only a small part of this enterprising
Americans services to the De Beers Com
pany. Every day he goes over the three
mines now being operated, namely the
imberley, the De Beers and the Premier
The Bulfontein and Dutoitspan, though
controlled by the company, are not worked.
He visits the convict station, the va
rious departments of each mine practi-
cally handles every diamond shipped from
his family which consists of II 900 ma
tive Africans and 1000 white miners.
The De Beers mine has been carried
down to and beyond 1,400 feet, and the
Kimberley to 1900 feet. The Premier is
less rich than these two. but has larger
area and is very easily worked, so that
much lower cost of production compen-
safes for a smaller yield. The amount of
blue ground reported as in sight in the
three mines is enough TO keep them busy
at Kimberley for five years, but Mr.
Rhodes is cautious and advocates a con-
stapt diminution in the yearly output for
fear that this vein of blue ground may sud
denly become exhausted and humanity de-
prived of its supply of diamonds
He has also instructed Mr.. Williams to
tighten the watch against diamond thiev-
ing, for when the employees learn that the
stones have increased in value nearly one
half there is sure to be an outbreak in that
direction which the Illicit diamond buyers
viii take advantage Of Formerly the