The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-09-24
WAS IN SOUTH AFRICA
Link Will Return When the
Trouble Is Over.
RIGHTS OF THE QUARREL
A Big Demand for American Goods in
Johannesburg Trouble Has
. 'Se Been Fomented by Ce-
Gil Rhodes.

Great Falls, Sept 23-Frank Link,
formerly of Neihart, but more recently
engaged in mining in South Africa,
was in town to-day and spoke of his
recently adopted country.
Mr.. Link said that he had left Jo-
hannesburg in July, but expected to
go back again as soon as the trouble
now brewing there is over. He is of
the opinion that If the war ensues
England win have a hard time of 1t
for awhile. as the Beers of the Trans
vaal and the Orange Free State can
put at least $4,000 men in the field, all
Of them acclimated. all familiar with
the country and each one. sharp
shooter. The boys Of the country are
taught to handle rifle from the time
they are old enough to walk, and the
natural advantages of the country are
such that a handful of men can hold
back a large army for quite awhile.
OF course, in the end, Mr.. Link says,
the, British will win, but it will take
about three men to every Boer.
AS to the rights of the quarrel, there
Is much to be said on both sides. In
speaking of the country in general,
Mr.. Link said it was a great country
to go to and good one to live in,
wages being high and the living cheap,
comparatively. A miner there gets
pound a day. and his board costs him
only about $35 per month, so that he
has a good surplus left.
The name of the town. said Mr..
Link, should be changed to Jewhan-
nesburg, there are so many of that
nationality there. They run nearly all
of the stores, and control a good share
iG
mon sight to see Chicago store or
an 'Anglo-American store kept by a
Jew direct from Palestine. Many of
the goods in the stores are of Ameri-
can manufacture and in fact the
American goods are considered the best
sold there. If you want a hat, the
best on sale is a Stetson, and other
articles of American manufacture are
just as good and just as popular.
Nearly all the machinery in the mines
is of American manufacture. They use
Rand drills. Ingersoll compressors and
the Fraser & Chalmers mining ma
chinery, cars and etc. American tools
of all kinds are also considered supe-
rior to any others in durability finish
and in every way, and are used almost
exclusively by the miners and arti-
sans"
( Mr.. Link says that much of the trou-
gble between England and the Trans
y ooi ueks Dctil loiH6Hteu Dy Cecil
Rhodes, Who having made failure of
his sRhodesia colony, is looking for
more worlds to conquer. Rhodesia has
few mines, but none of them have
ever amounted to much, and that part
of the country is in a way a failure
The stock exchange at johannesburg
does larger volume of business than
that in London, and before the war
scare fortunes were made and lest
daily. Mr.. Link himself operated upon
change when Barney Barnato was in
the zenith of his power and tells MANY
interesting stories of that gentleman
and his partners and the way in which
they laid the foundation of their i'm
mense fortunes. For a time Mr.. Link
was in charge of a diamond mine in
Kimberley for German syndicate and
took out 916,000 worth of diamonds in
a short space of time. He says the
diamond fields are full of detectives and
one never knows to whom he is talk
ing. Asked if many diamonds were not
stolen, and If it was not easy for the
Workmen to get away with the precious
gems, he said that it was not frequent,
as the penalty was very severe If a man
was caught, consisting of IL years hard
labor in the breakwater of Cape Town,
but he says that in the early days the
foundations of many South African for
tunes were started by diamond SNUG
Cling Among other Neihart men who
were in South Africa Mr.. Link men
toned Glen Owens, a former Neihart
miner, who has since gone to Aus
tralia, and others well known in Mon
tana. All are doing well.