The Portland daily press., 1899-11-02
KIMBERLEY'S VAST RICHES.
The Enormous vsIue Of tho Dismo n d
Mines Threatened by the Beers.

(From the Chicago Times. Herald.
Kimberley, which IL 10 said the Beers
have invested and isolatsd from the out
side world, Is the diamond region OF the
world. far surprising the mines of Bra
I'll In richness. II the report Of the In
vestment be true, this Ia the most serious
blow which Kruger has struck at the
commercial interests Of dreat Britain In
SO nth Africa. Cecil Rhodes Ia In the
town and its defence will be stubborn.
Kim berley is not city In the modern
use of the word. 1t IL q great camp In
which mems passions rise and fall "a
the treasures Of the earth are uncovered
or not found. The camp is in what Ia
called the Vaal BASIN, the wash ground
of the river which divides the TransyAsl
from the Orange Free State. The first
diamond discoveries there were made
about 1870, but Il was ten years later
when Englishmen and others realized
that the spot was the most valuable of It's
Kind in the world.
BY 1881 the mines which had been
opened had yielded gems to the value of
SEQ 0o0, 900. By 1887 seven tons Of dia-
| ,pond had been taken out valued at
s2s0 0O0, 900. THIS rec3rd placed the Bra
zIl diamond mines IN the shade and made
Kim berley worldwide in its fame. The
scil Rhodes sy Indicate. known as the DE
Beers, came into control NJ all the mines
after much negotiation This syndicate
| 10 capitalized for x75. 0o0. 0eO and pays In
terest at the rate OF 1-2 per CENT. per
snnum and an annual divideI d of.20 per
ceot. since Cecil Rhodes came into con-
troll Of the mines they hsve given out
| z, SEQ, 900 kArats of diamonds. 10 get
at these Ii has been nscessary t. wash
2, 700, 600 loads OF the blue earth In which
they are found.
In the working Of these diamond mines
there are employed about l 500 white
men and 6,O0o natives The greater pro-
portion of these nen are employed IN the
DE Beers aud Kimberley mines, t5s two
biggest holes which greedy man has ever
dug Into the earth, The De Beers mine
has an area at the surfaoe Of thirteen
acres and depth OF 45O fset The mines
are worked from shafts sunk some dis
tapce from the OH yinal holes and pene
tratlng to the blue earth by transverse
drtvfnss at depths varying nom 500
TO 1910 feet. The blue earth wien ex-
tracted, is carried In small iron TRUCKS
| to the levels Upon these levels the blue
earth is worked until the gems within
are extracted. 9hs process of extracting
takes from three to six months. The
stones found vary in size from a pin head
Co the largest ever found-426 l-2 karats.
1t Is one of the experiences of the mine
v ners that they lose from 10 to Is per
cent. of their product each year through
the thefts of employees, who although
closely watched, still manage to get away
with their Loot. Ths punishment for
stealing q diamond 10 fifteen years i'm
pi isop ment. All diamonds except those
xvk nh issit
sent TO England, the weekly shipments
averaging from 40, 600 to $1,000 karats
TIE greatest outlet for stolen diamonds
is through the Iransyaal TO Natal where
they aie shipped by respectable msr-
chants.
1t Is said of the Rhodes interests in
the mines that they take good care Of
their workmen. They have built q mod
el village called kenilworth within ths
precincts of the mines. In this village
are cottages for the white workmen.
club huuss has been built for their use
and there 10 q public library. The equip
ment of tie mines Is something remark
able. Each mine has ten circuits of else
trio lamps. Thy consist Of nfty-two arc
lamps Of LOCO candle power each, and
6s1 glow lamps Of 16 and "a candle power
each, or a total Illuminating power of
about 5000 candles. Thirty telephones
| are located in each mine ana over 100
eiectrfs bells to each for signalling. The
lives II the workmen are insured and
| every precaurion Is taken to make their
condition tolerabie. The rate Of wages
run from 8. TO IS per day. unskilisd labor
receiving the lowest prioe. What effect
the closing of the mines by war will have
| on the world at large it Is hard to say.
Diamonds have already risen In price,
but there IL n large stock on hand in
Enalish and French hands. OF course
all labor has ceased at Kimberley, and II
the Beers get into the mines they may
win rich prixeg