The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-12-09

Bad Boy which 1 believe is not in the
library. The girls show a marked prefer
ence for Miss Alcott's books, which are
read in less degree by boys, while hey
read nearly everything the boys do. For
the little tots, Gertrude Smiths "Arabella
and Araminta Stories" and 1.-The Wonder
full Story of Jane and john seem TO satisfy
the crying need, with the books of Laura
e.. Richards and Margaret Sidney a close
second. Take it all in all, the list is not
unlike that from which The Gossip selected
his reading a score or more of years ago,
except that there are a few new Writers;
that the boys do not take so kindly to Du
Chailiu as the boys of that day did, and
that Alger, Castlemon and Fosdick nave
been eliminated by the library authorities,
the wisdom of which action is fairly open
to question.
A visitor from Vermillion county tells me
that the phenomenal Republican success
in that bailiwick was largely due to the
Democratic activities Of the Hon. Dunk
Puett, who is said TO be own cousin of
the Hon. Dink Bolts, Of Georgia, whose
offensive craftsmanship" made such heavy
tnroads on the Democratic unanimity in
Butts county when Cleveland ran the last
time.
Some years ago the man who had SIS in
his inside pocket cut a very considerable
figure before the public, but the other day
I talked with a man who had a cool quar-
ter of a million tucked inside his inner
overloaded. Think of it-s25O,OO 900. 1t wasn't
ppvo hn< ,-oo- 90
million represented, not the retail price,
but the closest net price to the biggest
wholesale buyers in the country. sS.25 less
on the carat than any Indianapolis firm
could buy them for here. He is one of the
seven travelling representatives of the big
gest diamond importing house in New
York, and made Indianapolis on his West
ern round on the way back from Cali
fornia- He opened an envelope Of bril-
lants ranging from one to three carats-
forty-ive or fifty Of them. What do you
think they are WORTH" he asked.
Oh said my friend, who is buyer for
a local jewelry house, i've bought such
stones for $50 to $50 a carat"
Yes he said, but when? When?"
"a year or so ago."
"Ah. Yes, A year or so ago, And I
sold them for even less than that. But
now-thats a different story. The very
closest price, to the biggest jobbers in the
country. men who buy for cash, is SOC. 70.
To all others it is s1c5. / can't buy them
at the old price in Europe. And let me
tell you something else. The Boer war
has had some effect in putting up the price
of diamonds. but it is small, and is purely
sentimental. The real cause is this: The
Kimberley mines are practically xhaus
cd. The De Beers people say they are
fun of water. hat is true. but it is be-
cause Ii is not worth while TO keep the
water out If new fields are not opened
soon the price will double again within a
very few years"
] suggested hat the De Beers people
have at least a billion dollars worth salt
ed down and that the present price might
bring them out.
mot at ALL" he said. '.They don't neec
the money. and IL they can make an. addi-
tional billion by holding the stones a year.
two -ears. ten years. they will do IL. be-
cause they cam"
Several days previous to this CONVERSE
ton I had heard from a local jeweler who
goes TO Europe for his diamonds the same
story Of the exhaustion Of the Kimberley
diamond fields. He had got it in Amster-
DAM THE GOSSIP.